Day 01 - Smyrna, Pergamum

Our first day in Asia Minor felt like stepping directly into the pages of Revelation.

We began in Smyrna, modern-day Izmir, where the ruins are few but the memory is powerful. This was the city where Polycarp, the beloved bishop and disciple of John, was martyred for refusing to call Caesar “Lord.” As we stood where the ancient agora once bustled, we imagined the pressures he faced: civic loyalty, cultural compromise, and the whisper of death.

“Be faithful unto death,” Jesus says to the church in Smyrna, “and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

It struck us—faith doesn’t always mean escape. Sometimes it means endurance.

From there, we drove to Pergamum, a city that towered above the plains. Our first stop was the Asklepion, a famed healing center in the ancient world. Here, medicine, ritual, and paganism blended—a sanctuary where people came to be healed, sometimes by science, sometimes by sleep, sometimes by “the gods”. We reflected on how true healing—deep, eternal healing—comes not from incense or whispered dreams, but from Christ who speaks truth into our brokenness.

After lunch, we ascended the acropolis of Pergamum—home to imperial temples, guild feasts and the altar of Zeus, and a view that makes you feel like you’re on the edge of history. Here, the words of Revelation came alive again:

“I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is” (Revelation 2:13).

What was “Satan’s throne”? Was it the imperial cult? The altar of Zeus? The crushing pressure to conform? We don’t know exactly—but as we walked among the ruins, we were reminded that faithfulness in Pergamum meant resistance, and often, a cost.

By the end of the day, Revelation began to feel less like an abstract prophecy—and more like a spiritual map, guiding real people through real decisions in a very real empire