ST. JOHN the Divine records this message to the angel of the church in Smyrna: "Ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." If we endure unto the end of error—prove its finity— we shall receive a crown of life, namely, a consciousness of life which is eternal. In the same verse the angel comforts us with these words: "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer." How comforting are the assurances of the Holy Scriptures! They encourage us to endure; to be faithful, to be valiant, to keep our crown, to overcome evil, to hold fast to the Christ-vision, even as Paul, down through the years, held to the vision which flashed upon him on the Damascus road. Our affliction is "but for a moment." Therefore, faint not by the wayside nor prove recreant to the eternal covenant, the unity which God has ordained between man and his Maker!
In surmounting trials, we learn new lessons in divine Science. Trials are tests of sincerity, tests of ability, tests of understanding. If evil suggestions seem to talk to us, and perhaps become manifest in financial or physical disorders, do they not indicate that clearer views of God and His Christ are needed? When our consciousness is full and running over with the knowledge of God, error's subtleties cannot gain a foothold in our thought nor find a base from which to argue. Therefore the appearing of animal magnetism, manifesting itself in fear, pain, or lack, is a bugle call for us to quit our apathy, to wake up and renew the ever-refreshing strife of resisting evil and of gaining a clearer knowledge of God.
St. John saw the span of tribulation to be ten days. To Christ Jesus evils had no power, no habitation, no weight, no time element; he destroyed them instantly. Why, then, are our burdens heavy; why are they chronic, stretching out through endless weary days? Are not our afflictions due to our need of refreshed and renewed spiritual vision? Our ills may continue, if we fail to utilize the power of Mind and to gird ourselves with divine omnipotence. Is not the Christ forever knocking at the door of our hearts, ready to come in to heal us and to illumine us anew "with the brightness of his coming"? Hear this declaration of the ever-present Christ: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him."
