an 11 day tour of greece, patmos, churches of revelation, and rome illustrating the growth of the...
TRANSCRIPT
an 11 day tour of Greece, Patmos, churches of Revelation, and Rome illustrating the growth
of the early Church
Saturday 5th – Tuesday 15th September 2015
The Spreading Flame
Mike Fuller is a New Wine speaker, international Bible teacher; retired
Baptist Minister and teacher of Religious Studies; Tutor in
Theology at St Paul’s Theological Centre, Cheltenham; and author of “The Entire Story of the Bible in 50
Minutes”, “A Fool’s Guide to Following Jesus”, and “A Fool’s
Guide to Finding Faith”.
Direct flight from London Gatwick to Thessaloniki,
continuing by air-conditioned coach to Kavala – the ancient
port of Neapolis
Acts 16 11
Saturday 5th September
Evening free to explore the
harbour area
Saturday 5th September
Acts 16 11
We start the day with a short illustrated talk explaining the growth of the early Christian
Church …
Sunday 6th September
Acts 1-28
… and then continue to Philippi,
approaching the city walking on part of the ancient Roman Via Egnetia – just as
Paul would have done …
Sunday 6th September
Acts 16 12
… we see the Agora, where Paul freed the girl affected by an evil spirit…
Sunday 6th September
Acts 16 16-
21
… the site traditionally associated with Paul and Silas’s imprisonment …
Sunday 6th September
Acts 16 22-
34
… and the riverside
location of Lydia’s
conversion and baptism – where
we have our time of Sunday
worship.
Sunday 6th September
Acts 16 11-
15
In the afternoon, we take a direct flight to Athens,
and our new hotel. After dinner, the evening is free.
Acts 17 15
Sunday 6th September
We see the ancient city of
Athens, including the Acropolis and its museum …
Acts 17 16-
18
Monday 7th September
… and the Areopagus, where
Paul addressed the philosophers
of Athens.The latter
afternoon is free.
Acts 17 22-
34
Monday 7th September
In the evening, there will be an (optional) short illustrated talk on philosophy in the ancient world,
and its connections with Christian faith.
John 1
Monday 7th September
Acts 18 1
Tuesday 8th September
We leave our hotel in Athens to travel to Corinth
…
Acts 18 3
… where we see the streets where Paul worked as a
tentmaker …
Tuesday 8th September
Acts 18 3
… evidence of the ancient
synagogue …
Tuesday 8th September
Acts 18 3
… the “Bema”, where Paul was charged with
lawless behaviour …
… and the Acrocorinth, a
temple used for ritual prostitution.
Tuesday 8th September
Acts 18 3
Romans 16 23
2 Timothy 4 20
Among the ruins is an inscription
possibly relating to Erastus, one of
Paul’s assistants.
Tuesday 8th September
Acts 18 8
We see the ancient port of Cenchrae (from which Paul
sailed to Ephesus) ...
Tuesday 8th September
Tuesday 8th September … and then take our own ferry from the Athens port of
Piraeus to the island of Patmos. Arriving in the
early hours, we go straight to our
hotel.
Revelation 19
Wednesday 9th September
In the late morning, we
start to explore the
island of Patmos ...
Wednesday 9th September
… seeing the cave
associated with John’s
Revelation ...
Revelation 1-3
Revelation 1-3
Wednesday 9th September
… and the monastery of
St John.
Thursday 10th September Leaving Patmos,
we travel by private ferry to the port of Kusadasi …
Thursday 10th September
… continuing to walk through ancient
Ephesus …
Acts 19
Thursday 10th September
… seeing the library of Celsus …
(a little after the New Testament era – but well
worth a look!)
Acts 19
Thursday 10th September
… housing from the time of Augustus …
Acts 19
Thursday 10th September
… the amphitheatre which was the setting for the riot about the
making of shrines to Artemis …
Acts 19 23-
41
Thursday 10th September
… and a communal toilet which might – just possibly –
have been used by St Paul!
see Philippians 3 8 (in the original Greek)
Thursday 10th September
Overlooking Ephesus, we visit what may have been the final home of Mary, mother of Jesus
…
John 19 26
Thursday 10th September … and continue to
our new hotel in Pammukale …
Friday 11th September
Today, we visit four more of the churches which the Risen Jesus
speaks to in Revelation:
Revelation 1-3
Friday 11th September
Laodicaea – where we will see the remains of the aqueduct which might be behind the
“luke-warm” image …
Revelation 3 14-22
Friday 11th September
Philadelphia – where Jesus
speaks of pillars in the Temple of
God (perhaps related to the area’s frequent
earthquakes)
Revelation 3 7-
13
Friday 11th SeptemberSardis – one of the
greatest cities of the ancient world
Revelation 3 1-
6
We then continue to our new hotel in
Izmir, ancient Smyrna.
Friday 11th September
Saturday 12th September We start the day viewing the
excavations at Smyrna. This church – about which the Risen Jesus made no negative comment – was facing persecution. One of the
earliest martyrs, Polycarp, was bishop of Smyrna.
Revelation 2 8-
11
After free time for lunch by the water-front in
Izmir, we fly (via Istanbul) to Rome, where we will be taken to our
new hotel.
Saturday 12th September
Sunday 13th September
Our introduction to ancient Rome starts with the Forum …
Romans 1 8-
15
Acts 28 11-31
Sunday 13th September
… we then see the Mamertine prison, where both Paul, and
also Peter, were imprisoned …
Romans 1 8-
15
Acts 28 11-31
Sunday 13th September
… and the Titus Arch, which celebrates the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE … Romans 1 8-
15
Acts 28 11-31
Sunday 13th September
… and the Colosseum –
built using wealth taken from the Temple after
the conquest of Jerusalem; and possibly
used as a place of execution for some
persecuted Christians …
Romans 1 8-
15
Acts 28 11-31
Sunday 13th September In the afternoon, we visit the
Capuchin Crypt – a 17th century reminder of
human mortality! Following this, we will have our time
of Sunday worship.
Romans 1 8-
15
Acts 28 11-31
Monday 14th September
After lunch, we visit the Basilica of the Holy Cross
– which claims to hold a fragment of
the True Cross, nails from the cross, thorns from the
Crown of Thorns – and St Thomas’s
finger.Romans 1 8-
15
Acts 28 11-31
Monday 14th September
We then see the Basilica which is
believed to mark the burial place of St Paul
…
Romans 1 8-
15
Acts 28 11-31
We travel to the airport, for our flight home to
London Gatwick
Tuesday 15th September
£1880 includes half board, air-conditioned
coach, en-suite rooms with WiFi, gratuities, licensed guides, all entrance fees
does not include travel to and from Gatwick, any fuel surcharge, lunches, insurance
more info available from www.mikefuller.org.uk
Thanks to www.bibleplaces.com for the use of images.