Meet the Church That Suffered Persecution
Here's the second installment of an eight-week-long tour through the different sites the Mars Hill trip will visit next year on the Turkey expedition.
[photo via]
Days 1 and 2: Izmir (ancient Smyrna)
And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. "I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death."Revelation 2:8-11
This is where it will all begin. The core group, led by Pastor Mark and the MH crew, will arrive in Izmir (ancient Smyrna) in the afternoon and meet up at the hotel with the others who have come in from all over the world. The rest of the day is open for people to explore Izmir – and recover from jetlag.
Izmir, located on the Aegean Sea, is Turkey's third-largest city today and one of the oldest settlements on the Mediterranean basin. It has over 3,500 years of recorded history as an urban city center.
In 333 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Smyrna and moved the city to its present-day location on the southern shore of the bay.
One of its most popular site is the Agora (pictured above), the ancient city's market space, which was originally built by Alexander. Later, after an earthquake razed the city in 178 AD, the wife of then-Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Faustina, had it rebuilt.
Next up: Pergamum and Thyatira.