The Performance Driven and the Persecuted END TIMES JESUS SALVATION THE GOSPEL THE HOLY SPIRIT 1/24/2021 Jeff Schwarzentraub Revelation 2:1-11 After a quick overview of the seven churches that we will be addressing we spent some time discussing the structure in each of the letters. These six items can prove helpful in our interpretation of the Scriptures. We began our study by looking at the first two churches. First, we studied the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a strong church who had become performance-driven rather than living in their identity. These factors caused this church to lose its primary ministry to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Next, we studied the church in Smyrna and learned that this church was encouraged to persevere in trials, imprisonment and even death. This church reminded us that we should not fear tribulation or death in the work of Christ. Message Notes