The second letter is written to the church in Smyrna. Why were the letters written in this order? One reason for this is that if you were a postman, you would post the letters in this order. Another reason is, that the 7 churches in this order resemble the main church variants over the 2000-year church history.
When Revelation was written Polycarp was the leader of the church in Smyrna.
Rev 2:8-11 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Like is mentioned in this letter, many Christians in this church paid for their faith with their life. So did Polycarp: CHURCH FATHERS: Martyrdom of Polycarp (newadvent.org).
The history of Smyrna
Historic information about Smyrna can be seen in this great video. And of course, the pastor also explains the letter quite a bit.
The church in Smyrna
Poor and yet rich
As we read physically, it was a poor church with poor people, but Jesus Christ calls them rich and is very happy with them. They hold on to whats it the most importnt in life, their faith in Jesus Christ.
The synagogue of Satan
So the Christians were persecuted by a group of people who said they were Jews but were not. Who would that be? What was the most important secret society at that time? This was the Eleusis mysteries. An important book written about this secret society is Essay on the Mysteries of Eleusis / by M. Ouvaroff.
On page 58 we read: Essay on the Mysteries of Eleusis / by M. Ouvaroff. Translated from the French by J.D. Price. With observations, by J. Christie. | Wellcome Collection
That indeed this secret society was persecuting Christianity.
These days many secret societies have Jewish/christian names for their ranks and have a great interest in the temple of Solomon. Albert Mackey, a famous Freemason, writes about Solomons temple: The Symbolism of Freemasonry, by Albert G. Mackey, M.D. (gutenberg.org).
And indeed in Albert Mackeys Encyclopedia of Freemasonry we find that the Elsuisian temple resembles Solomons’s temple. There even is a holy of holies in the Eleusininan temple.
In Secret Societies and Their Infiltration of The Seven Churches of Revelation | PDF | John The Apostle | Jesus (scribd.com) the names of the 6 lesser and greater degrees are described.
| Lesser degrees | Greater degrees | ||
| 1 | Eleusis | 7 | Epoptes |
| 2 | Hierophant | 8 | Altopsy |
| 3 | Hooperith | 9 | Hebrew |
| 4 | Diokonos | 10 | Teleos |
| 5 | Dadouchos | 11 | Israelite |
| 6 | Photogog | 12 | Jew |
ye shall have tribulation ten days
Not so much is known from the history of Smyrna that we can point to a 10-day tribulation time. It could have been the trial and death of Polycarp. But these verses might be more relevant by looking at Smyrna from a church history view.
The crown of life
A crown was the symbol of Smyrna, as you can read in Smyrna – Wikipedia. In the end, many, many people would end their lives dying for Christ, but they will be assured that the second death has no grip on them.
The church of Smyrna as a church in the Church History
So these 7 churches of this letter also resemble the main churches during the church’s history. These 10 days of persecution could then as well be seen as 10 time periods of persecution.
Why did Nero start the persecution of Christians?
Simon Magus who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 8 made as well his road to Rome, where he had a good talk with Peter, Paul and Nero. This is written down in:
CHURCH FATHERS: The Acts of Peter and Paul (newadvent.org)
This story makes clear how Peter and Paul ended their lives, and how Nero got influenced.
Smyrna churches in the 2000 year church period
The 7 churches were there in the first century. However, the church description of Syrna fit as well about the churches over the centuries. Smyrna would fit in the timeframe of the persecutions of the Roman Empire. In the letter, it is mentioned that there are 10 days of persecution. In the Roman era, there were 10 periods of church persecution.
The ten periods of Persecution during the Smyrna church period.
| Emperor | Start Date persecution | End Date persecution | Remarks | |
| 1 | Nero – Wikipedia | 64 AD | 68 AD | |
| 2 | Domitian – Wikipedia | 81 AD | 96 AD | |
| 3 | Trajan – Wikipedia | 108 AD | 117 AD | |
| 4 | Marcus Aurelius – Wikipedia | 182 AD | 180 AD | Polycarp died in this period |
| 5 | Septimius Severus – Wikipedia | 193 AD | 211 AD | |
| 6 | Maximinus Thrax – Wikipedia | 235 AD | 238 AD | |
| 7 | Decius – Wikipedia | 249 AD | 251 AD | Decian persecution – Wikipedia |
| 8 | Valerian (emperor) – Wikipedia | 257 AD | 260 AD | Many famous christian died |
| 9 | Aurelian – Wikipedia | 274 AD | 275 AD | |
| 10 | Diocletian – Wikipedia | 294 AD | 303 AD | These 10 years were the most severe |
This Smyrna period ended in 303 AD with 10 years of persecution under emperor Diocletian. A few years later Constantine would come to power and he made Christianity the state religion.
All you ever wanted to know about the Roman Empire after 100 AD, can be read in: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – Wikipedia. Mister Gibbon is a very good, I would say, independent writer, who studied the matter very very deeply.