And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
The book of Revelation contains a series of letters written to seven real Christian communities in cities located in what is now western Turkey. Smyrna was a prosperous, culturally vibrant port city — but its Christian community faced serious persecution from Roman authorities and local opposition. Christians there risked their lives for their faith. Before delivering any specific message to this embattled church, Jesus introduces himself in a very deliberate way: as 'the First and the Last,' meaning he exists outside of and beyond all of time. And as the one who personally died and came back to life. He is not speaking to suffering people as a distant observer — he is speaking as someone who has crossed through death himself.
Jesus, you are the First and the Last, and you have been through death itself — so you know what it feels like when I am losing something I can't afford to lose. Sit with me in this. Remind me that you have already crossed the hardest threshold, and you crossed it back. Amen.
When you're sitting in a hospital room at midnight, or you've just received news that rearranges your whole life, you don't need a philosophy lecture about suffering. You need to know whether anyone in the room actually understands. That's what Jesus does at the very start of his letter to a persecuted church — before giving any instruction, before offering comfort, before making any promise — he says: I am the one who died and came to life again. I know this territory from the inside. There's a specificity in how Jesus identifies himself here that's easy to rush past. He doesn't just say 'I am God' or 'I am powerful.' He says he died. Past tense. He has been where the people of Smyrna feared they were heading. If you're carrying something heavy right now — a grief that won't lift, a situation with no visible exit, an exhaustion that has gone bone-deep — the one speaking these words is not speaking from a safe distance. He knows the weight in his own body, not just in theory. That doesn't resolve everything. But it changes who is in the room with you.
Jesus introduces himself to this suffering church specifically as someone 'who died and came to life again' — why do you think that particular description was chosen for this particular audience, and what does it reveal about how Jesus meets people in pain?
Have you ever found it difficult to trust God during a hard time because he seemed too distant or unmoved by your situation? How does this verse speak into that feeling?
The title 'the First and the Last' places Jesus outside of time — before everything and after everything. How does a view of God that transcends your current circumstances change how you face an uncertain future?
The church in Smyrna faced the possibility of death for their beliefs. Most of us don't face that same threat, but what things in your life feel like they are being slowly threatened or taken from you? How might this verse speak to those losses?
If you were writing a short letter to a close friend going through the worst stretch of their life right now, what would you want them to know? How does this verse shape what you would say?
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 8:58
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is , and which was , and which is to come , the Almighty.
Revelation 1:8
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Revelation 1:17
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore , Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Revelation 1:18
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:6
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
Deuteronomy 32:39
"And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Smyrna write: "These are the words of the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God] who died and came to life [again]:
AMP
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
ESV
'And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:
NASB
To the Church in Smyrna “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
NIV
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:
NKJV
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:
NLT
Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks:
MSG