On the Road with Paul and John
Just some quick updates about our ongoing travel in Turkey. Several places associated with Paul in Asia Minor have been on our itinerary for the last couple of days. For example, we stopped at the archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Alexandria Troas. According to the Acts account, this city is the one in which Paul had his vision of the man from Macedonia asking for help. Because of the vision, Paul moved his mission activities to a new continent as he across the Aegean Sea (Acts 16:6) to Europe. Below is an unearthed section of the road on which Paul would have travel into and out of Troas.
We also visited Assos, a city in which Paul met coworkers (Acts 20:13-16) as they traveled by ship onto Mitylene. The picture below is taken from the theater of Assos which shows the Aegean Sea in the background.
Our group has also traveled to Pergamum which is mentioned in Revelation 1:11 and 2:12-17. In the letter John writes to this church, he commends the Christians for their ability to live “where Satan’s throne is” (2:13). While many of the allusion in Revelation are difficult to understand with our separation from that period, John may have been referencing the great altar of Zeus in Pergamum. The photograph below illustrates only the base of where the altar would have been.
The original is now in the Berlin Museum. Perhaps what is most impressive about Pergamum is the theater carved into the mountain side. It is one of the most spectacular views in all the ancient world. It is also steep and not for the faint of heart.
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