POVERY / REVELATION 2:9

(KJV) Revelation 2:9

I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Poverty (Greek ptocheia) literally means “having nothing, at all.” Smyrna was a proud Asian City closely aligned with Rome and eager to submit to the empire’s demands for emperor worship. Smyrna also had a large community of Jews that rejected Christ, though they claimed to follow God. In truth, they were under Satan’s control and helped to create a hostile environment for the Christians. Polycarp, one of the most famous early Christian martyrs (killed for his faith), was the bishop of Smyrna. The persecution and poverty of the believers at Smyrna were extensive. They were economically at the lowest point, yet Jesus says they were spiritually rich. Note the contrast to the Laodicean church, which had great material wealth, yet was considered spiritually “wretched, pitiful, poor” (Revelation 3:17; Matthew 6:20; 2 Corinthians 6:10; James 2:5). To keep our Christian faith and lives in proper perspective, we should ask ourselves: Is serving Jesus a matter of convenience for me, or is it truly costing me something? am I serving God more for what I can get from Him, or for how I can surrender myself for His kingdom and purposes?

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1. TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES / REVELATION 2:7
2. YOU HATE THE PRACTICES OF THE NICOLAITANS, WHICH I ASLO HATE / REVELATION 2:6
3. REMOVE YOUR LAMPSTAND / REVELATION 2:5
4. FORSAKEN YOUR FIRST LOVE / REVELATION 2:4
5. WHO CLAIM TO BE APOSTLES / REVELATION 2:1-2
6. WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN – WHAT IS NOW AND WHAT WILL TAKE PLACE / REVELATION 1:19
7. SEVEN STARS / REVELATION 1:16
8. A SON OF MAN / REVELATION 1:13
9. SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS / REVELATION 1:12
10. IN THE SPIRIT / REVELATION 1:10-11
11. ISLAND OF PATMOS / REVELATION 1:9
12. THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA / REVELATION 1:8
13. HE IS COMING / REVELATION 1:7
14. HIM WHO IS, AND WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME / REVELATION 1:4-5
15. TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES / REVELATION 1:4
16. BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO READS / REVELATION 1:3
17. REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST / REVELATION 1:1-2
18. DEATH AND HADES – THE LAKE OF FIRE / REVELATION 20:14
19. ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY HAD DONE / REVELATION 20:12
20. EARTH AND SKY FLED / REVELATION 20:11
21. GREAT WHITE THRONE / REVELATION 20:11-13
22. THE FIRST RESURRECTION / REVELATION 20:6
23. THRONES ON WHICH WERE SEATED / REVELATION 20:4
24. KEEP HIM FROM DECEIVING THE NATIONS ANYMORE / REVELATION 20:3
25. TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS / REVELATION 11:16
26. THE SEVENTH ANGEL SOUNDED / REVELATION 11:15
27. TERROR STRUCK THOSE WHO SAW THEM / REVELATION 11:11
28. THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH WILL GLOAT / REVELATION 11:9
29. THE BEAST … KILL THEM / REVELATION 11:7
30. OLIVE TREES … LAMPSTANDS / REVELATION 11:4
31. MY TWO WITNESSES / REVELATION 11:3
32. TRAMPLE ON THE HOLY CITY / REVELATION 11:2
33. MEASURE THE TEMPLE / REVELATION 11:1
34. BUT THE COWARDLY, THE UNBELIEVING / REVELATION 21:8
35. HE WHO OVERCOMES / REVELATION 2:17
36. A PALE HORSE / REVELATION 6:8
37. A BLACK HORSE / REVELATION 6:5
38. HORSE … FIERY RED ONE / REVELATION 6:4
39. A WHITE HORSE / REVELATION 6:2
40. A FEW PEOPLE IN SARDIS / REVELATION 3:4
41. YOU ARE DEAD / REVELATION 3:1-2
42. I WILL GIVE THE MORNING STAR / REVELATION 2:28
43. HOLD ON … UNTIL I COME / REVELATION 2:25
44. THE REST OF YOU / REVELATION 2:24
45. A MALE CHILD / REVELATION 12:5
46. WHO OBEY GOD’S COMMANDMENTS / REVELATION 14:12
47. A MARK / REVELATION 13:16
48. REFUSED TO WORSHIP THE IMAGE TO BE KILLED / REVELATION 13:15
49. WORSHIP THE FIRST BEAST / REVELATION
50. DRAGON … BOUND HIM FOR A THOUSAND YEARS / REVELATION 20:2
51. THE GREAT TRIBULATION / REVELATION 7:14
52. THE DEVIL … THE LAKE OF BURNING SULFUR / REVELATION 20:10
53. SURROUNDED THE CAMP OF GOD’S PEOPLE / REVELATION 20:9
54. DECEIVE THE NATIONS / REVELATION 20:8
55. SATAN WILL BE RELEASED / REVELATION 20:7
56. SPIRITS OF DEMONS PERFORMING MIRACULOUS SIGNS / REVELATION 16:14
57. FROGS / REVELATION 16:13
58. WAR IN HEAVEN / REVELATION 12:7-9
59. A THIRD OF THE STARS / REVELATION 12:4
60. FALSE PROPHET … THE MIRACULOUS / REVELATION 19:20
61. THE LAMB OPENED / REVELATION 6:1
62. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME

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Summary

Article Name

POVERY / REVELATION 2:9

Description

Poverty (Greek ptocheia) literally means “having nothing, at all.” Smyrna was a proud Asian City closely aligned with Rome and eager to submit to the empire’s demands for emperor worship.

Author

Margarita Crews

Publisher Name

Guided By Grace

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