The Letter to the Church in Smyrna (Rev 2: 8-11) is the second letter among the Letters to the Churches in Asia Minor.The letter deals with two problems: one is the socio-economical ostracism of the Christians, which made their lives in the city harsh and constantly under pressure; the other is the persecution of the Christians in order to force them to deny their faith in Jesus, the Lord.The second problem is the main theme of the Lord's teaching to the Smyrna community.It concerns the priority of being free from the "second death" that is the eternal condemnation, before the "first death" that is death of the earthly body.Avoiding the "first death" and denying the faith leads to eternal condemnation (the second death) but accepting the "first death" in order to preserve faith in the Lord leads to eternal life with the Lord and avoiding the "second death."1. Smyrna from the beginning until the time of the Apostles.Among the Letters to the Churches in Asia Minor, the second is the Letter to the Church in Smyrna.The city of Smyrna (today Turkish Izmir) was located north from Ephesus on the The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor east coast of the Aegean Sea in the region of Anatolia 1 .The city itself and the two harbors of the city were strategic points for the whole region 2 .This location was the source of the prosperity of the city since the natural location of the city and the harbors provided necessary safety and greatly contributed to defense during invasions 3 .The city prospered greatly due to the harbors that connected the city with Athens and other cities of Aegean Sea, as well as due to its location on the end of the minor Asia Minor trade route connecting it with the eastern parts of the Roman Empire.The beginning of settlement in this region is dated to the third millennium BC, however, the Greek colonists appeared in this region probably in the second millennium BC, and in 688 BC the city of Smyrna became the thirteenth city-state of Ionia 4 .As an essential trade city between Anatolia and the Aegean Sea, Smyrna in the seventh centur y BC became wealthy and prospered, but after 500 BC it began to lose its power, and at the end of fourth century the city's greatness was already a thing of the past.During the Hellenistic period the city was rebuilt, according to the wish of Alexander the Great, by Antigonus and Lysimachus during the period 316-281 BC, and the beauty of the city became proverbial.Archeological excavations confirm the existence of the city wall, acropolis, several temples, a gymnasium, the stadium, and theatre 5 .Since the city was built on the slope of the mountain the main road called Golden road runs from west to east, from the top of the city to the lower parts of the city which were frequently flooded during the rainy season.At the end of second century Smyrna turned from its Greek ally Pergamum in order to form an alliance with the new rising power of Roman Empire.After falling under Roman influence, Smyrna accepted Roman and Greco-Roman cultic religions, building the temple for the goddess Roma (195 BC) and for the emperor Augustus, making it possible for the city to receive the title "neokoros" ("temple keeper") due to the erection of a temple for the Emperor Tiberius (AD 26) 6 .During the first century AD the city was home to a large Jewish community, and also had a significant Christian community 7 . The beginning of Christianity in Smyrna.The city of Smyrna is mentioned in the New Testament only twice (Rev 1: 11; 2: 8), which clearly enough attests that the city itself was not a subject of interest to the authors who 1 The distance between Ephesus and Smyrna is about 57 km.2 Smyrna was located almost on the shore of the river Hermus which flows to the Aegean Sea, thus making it possible for ships to enter the harbor though it was a considerable distance from the sea.3 An example of this was the unsuccessful invasion by king Gyges (680-644 BC) of the Mermnad Dynasty. 4 According to Strabo, however, the city of Smyrna was a colony of Ephesus.
Janusz Kucicki (Wed,) studied this question.