Fear - Not. I - Am - With - You Poem by Dr. Antony Theodore

I am the First and the Last, " 
He told them.
 'I am the One Who was
dead and came to life.

What encouragement and
joy must have flooded
their hearts when this little
group of suffering saints
heard those words for the first time.

Revelation 2: 10, KJV: "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

(Smyrna is one of the 7 Churches mentioned in Revelation. This small body of spirit-filled believers faced serious poverty and yet they were commended by the Lord Jesus because they were spiritually rich.
They were also severely persecuted by Rome and slandered the Jews for the sake of Christ) .