“And vnto the Angel of the Church in Smyrna, write, These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is aliue,”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
2:8 These things saith the first and the last, who was dead and is alive - How directly does this description tend to confirm him against the fear of death! verses 10, 11. #Rev 2:10|,11 Even with the comfort wherewith St. John himself was comforted, #Rev 1:17|,18, shall the angel of this church be comforted.
Re 2:8 THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA The church in Smyrna. The history of its planting is unknown, but it was probably founded by some of the evangelists under Paul's supervision. During the second century the church was prominent, and it has never ceased to exist. When I visited the city in 1889, I was told that there were more than 70,000 professing Christians in the place. The city, so old that its beginnings are unknown, is still the second in commercial importance of the Turkish empire. The first and the last. See Re 1:17.