Smyrna

ByBible Blender

Feb 3, 2016

Smyrna was a major city on the west coast of Asia Minor, the modern city of Izmir, Turkey. It had good harbor facilities, was at the end of a major road, and was surrounded by rich farmland. It is one of two churches of which the Lord spoke no negative word (Philadelphia was the other).

The city was headquarters for the imperial cult of emperor worship in that area of the empire, where at the same time, Christians were persecuted. Polycarp was a famous Christian martyr who was burned at the stake in Smyrna about A.D. 156.

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