Read Revelation 2:1-11
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (v. 11).
As I hear news reports of the torture that Christians in other parts of the world are undergoing and enduring, my heart bleeds for them. I am moved to pray that God will be their constant companion through these times. I remember the three Hebrew Children and the ridicule and testing they were put through before finally being cast into the furnace. God could have delivered them by some miraculous act without them going through the furnace, but when they faced what seemed certain death, God was with them. Those who are today being persecuted, tortured and slain for their faith are finding their God with them in the midst and to the end of their trying.
Though none of us like to think about having to go through the things that our Christian brothers and sisters in other parts of the world are enduring, we need to remember that there are worse things coming if we do not remain steadfast in our dedication and service to our Lord. Our text verse tells us that if we overcome these things in this present life that we shall not be hurt of the second death. Revelation 20:14 tells us that the second death is the casting of death and hell into the lake of fire. (Larry DeOrnellis)
"When our ears hear, and our hearts respond, we come into a love relationship with God and that love is rewarded by not being hurt of the second death."
This devotional is the Saturday, June 11, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.