Translation
He who has an ear let him hear
Go to footnote numberwhat the SPIRIT says to the churches.
The one who prevails will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Paraphrase
The one who is spiritually tuned in will catch these important words that the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD is saying to the churches.
The one who is prevailing will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Footnotes
1: “he who has an ear let him hear”
This is a tool Jesus employed (in the Gospels and in this vision) to highlight important things that people needed to give special attention to. But it refers to more than just hearing with the physical ear; it is addressing issues of the heart. While most ears can hear, only a few hearts are ready to receive truth. Those with spiritual hunger will be fed by these words; those without spiritual hunger will not be impacted by them at all.
The Prominence of Life and Death in the Letter to Smyrna
Jesus did not promise to rescue them from death, but to reward their martyrdom with a “crown of life.” While the people with political power claimed that Dionysius had given them the authority to choose who would live and who would die, Jesus proclaims that those who remain faithful to Him even unto death would experience true life, receive authority that is greater than that exercised by these imposters. Those who remained faithful to death would never be subject to death again, while we know that the imposters and evil political powers would suffer eternal death.