Revelation 2:8

8 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in 2:8 In ancient times Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey) was a beautiful, cosmopolitan city. Located on the Aegean coast, it vied with Ephesus and Pergamum in importance in Asia Minor. It was closely identified with Rome and the cult of emperor worship. Smyrna was later the home of Polycarp, the great Christian church leader who, at the age of eighty-six, was burned at the stake for his refusal to worship the Roman emperor.Smyrna write:

These are the words of the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God] who died and came to life [again]: [Is 44:6]