Monday afternoon, October 11, we drove to Sardis, Turkey, one of the seven churches of Asia that was known for its spiritual deadness, with the exception of a faithful remnant. The Jewish synagogue where Paul probably preached was being renovated so we could only see the outside (picture #1).

The gymnasium, built during the Byzantine Period is nearby (picture #2). On the other side of town is a small fourth century Byzantine chapel that the Christians built on the ruins of the Temple of Artemis (picture #3).

Our first stop was ancient Ephesus, home of the most impressive archeological site in all of Turkey. The remains are breath-taking, particularly the Library of Celsus there which was one of the largest in the ancient world (picture #1), but we also saw the well-preserved remains of the Temple of Artemis, the Roman baths, the Odeion, the Marble Road where Paul walked, and public buildings such as the town hall. The Ephesian church was the first recipient of the so-called seven letters to seven churches in Asia recorded by John in Revelation 2 and 3. Jesus praised this church for its doctrinal faithfulness but admonished her for leaving her first love

Paul visited Ephesus briefly on his second missionary journey and later spent nearly three years working in Ephesus during his third missionary journey. I had the privilege of standing and preaching on the very place where Paul often preached on the public square or “gathering place” (called the Agora) of Ephesus, adjacent to the library (picture #2). For me, this was perhaps the most moving experience of the entire trip as I contemplated on the fact that eternity alone would reveal how many Ephesian people were converted on this very spot under Paul’s preaching. In the great Ephesian amphitheater which seats 25,000, Marty and Larry from our group led us in singing Psalters. The acoustics were amazing (picture #3).

Next, we headed off to a Turkish rug-making cooperative. After demonstrating the process and displaying their products, they said that the rugs are best tested barefoot (picture #4). Several from our group purchased rugs, and as tour leaders we were given a small but beautiful rug for our seminary

From there, we headed to Sardis…..

On December 27-30 I will be speaking at the iDisciple Online Conference, a large online conference in the Philippines. This year’s conference is on “The Majesty & Ministry of the Church.”

My first address will be on “The Nature and Necessity of Reforming the Local Church” and my last plenary address will be on “The Utopian Marriage of Christ and His Joyful Bride in Heaven” (Rev. 19:6-9). I will also be speaking about my life and ministry during a Zoom discussion on November 5 at 10PM (Manila PST / 9AM EST).

More information to follow, but in the meantime you can register for the conference here: https://idisciple.ph/D21

Last Saturday (Oct. 9), we thought about Paul sailing the Aegean, as we approached Turkey on our yacht. We sailed to the town of Pythagoreio on the island of Samos, birthplace of the ancient philosopher Pythagoras. I gave lectures on the churches of Philadelphia and Thyatira. We had time to relax and walk around the waterfront. Later we sailed for the mainland of Turkey (see beautiful sunset, picture #1), docking in the port city of Kusadasi.

Our excellent guide, Andy, is a short, spunky Greek woman (picture #2), who shares her vast knowledge of biblical, cultural, and archeological history with us in a very interesting way. We learn a great deal from her. She is also excellent at caring for the details, which are numerous because of COVID restrictions.

On the Lord’s Day, we held services on the boat. I preached on the churches of Ephesus and Smyrna from Revelation 2, and Pastor David Woollin preached on Colossians 1:23, on our need for building a firm foundation in Christ. It was a restful, worshipful day with sweet fellowship.

My apologies for not posting updates for the last week. Leading the PRTS tour in Greece and Turkey trip has kept us very busy.Last Friday, October 8, we viewed the Panathenaic Stadium, built in 1896 entirely of marble, in Athens, Greece. It was the site of the first Olympic Games of the modern era. Here we took our first group picture (#1 above).

Next we headed to the nearby port city of Piraeus, where Paul landed when he came to Athens on his second missionary journey. We boarded the beautiful sailing yacht, the MS Panorama, our home for the next week (picture #2 above). We were introduced to the captain and the crew and given safety instructions, including how to properly wear the life jackets (David Woollin snuck a quick picture of us, #3 below).

Seas were calm as we headed out to the Aegean Sea, but by dinner time, the waves were quite tumultuous. We had to grab the railings wherever we walked, and our plates and cups slid on our tables. Then our stomachs started to roll with the waves. One by one, people left the dining room to lie down in their rooms. We were reaching for our Dramamine. More than half the people felt sick or were sick; even some of the crew were affected. A number of us thought, “What did I get myself into? A week of this will be unbearable!” Thankfully, it calmed down a bit around midnight. Most of us slept well. Devotions in the morning included Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Happily, this was our only time of encountering rough sea water on the trip—the rest of the trip was absolutely wonderful!

This morning our PRTS tour group flew from Thessaloniki to Athens. Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece with a population of 4+ million souls.

We first went up to the Acropolis which towers over the city (photo #1) and contains the famous Parthenon, the Erechtheion with its Porch of Maidens (photo #2) and the Temple of Athena Nike, all from the fifth century B.C. We then went to the Areopagus (Mars Hill) where Paul gave his famous Christ-centered address to Athenian city leaders (photo #3 of Mars Hill in the foreground, with the people listening to him in the Agora off to the right).

It was a moving and humbling experience to stand at this very impressive place with the idol-worshipping Acropolis in the background. You can almost feel Paul’s urgency in preaching the gospel to these needy people who were so accustomed to serving their unknown gods. From the top of this hill, we looked down on the Agora, where the people listened to Paul and which was also the political and economic center of the ancient city.

Rev. Casey Freswick and I had the privilege of giving short addresses at these places to buttress our guide’s informative comments. May God help us to assert and defend gospel truth in our needy day as Paul did in his own day.

At the moment, our tour group in Greece is in the airport in Thessaloniki heading for Athens, Greece. I would like to request your earnest prayer for Rev. Kenneth Hutton, a Graduate from Puritan Reformed seminary and a young Free Reformed pastor in Mitchell, Ontario, and Douglas Bond, a well-known author for young people with whom I am presently coauthoring a title, “Modern Heroes.” Both brothers are seriously ill in the hospital with COVID.

Today was incredibly full and rich for us in touring Greece. This morning we drove three hours by bus with our tour group of 39 from Thessalonika to Philippi, named for its founder Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.

Highlights of the day included:

(1) seeing the place where Lydia was baptized by Paul as Europe’s first convert as the fruit of Paul’s first sermon in Europe (picture #1 of me preaching to our tour group on the history of Lydia’s conversion);

(2) visiting the vast amphitheater in Philippi where various forms of cultural entertainment occurred, probably including the throwing of Christians to lions, which moved us to sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” (picture #2, where Jim Beeke spoke on Philippi and the epistle to the Philippians);

(3) seeing the vast archeological remains at Philippi, including the prison where Paul and Silas sang in the inner prison and the Philippian jailor was saved (picture #3, with my brother Jim at the prison entrance, after which I preached on the jailor’s conversion); and

(4) visiting Kavala (ancient Neapolis), the port through which Paul passed with Silas on his way from Asia into Europe (picture #4).

We also sang “Amazing Grace” on the bus and enjoyed wonderful fellowship throughout the day. What a glorious God we serve!

Mary and I and the group that we are leading for the next two weeks through Greece and Turkey as we follow the footsteps of Paul and John, had an excellent journey (despite my catching a nasty cold), such that all 39 of us arrived in Thessalonika, Greece on time with all our luggage intact.

This morning we visited two historic places: the Roman Agora (picture #1) where, according to tradition, Paul almost certainly preached nearly 2000 years ago to a mixed crowd of Hellenists and Jews, and the White Tower (picture #2). The walls of this tower were said to have been blood red from killing convicts and Christians centuries ago, but were then whitewashed to hide the crimes—hence it became named the White Tower. At both sites I was challenged in my own mind: (1) Would I have dared to put myself forth at the Roman Agora to preach with the boldness that Paul did? (2) Would I have stood firm for Christ even if it meant the shedding of my blood in the White Tower?

After visiting these moving sites, I walked along the coast of the Aegean Sea with Mary (picture #3), and visited with some of our touring friends. After eating lunch in one of the many bakeries that are on nearly every street corner of Thessaloniki (a city of one million souls—second only to Athens), we settled into our hotel on the outskirts of the city, rested up a bit from the long journey, and had a delicious dinner in the hotel with the full group. Afterward, I gave a devotional from Hebrews 12:1-2 about running the race set before us, and David Woollin gave a short address on Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians. The 39 of us then spent more than an hour introducing ourselves to each other.

We certainly are blessed on this tour with a God-fearing and interesting group of fellow-travelers; please pray for God’s continued benediction for the weeks to come.

From October 18 to 23, 2021, I will be joining Steve Lawson, John MacArthur, Burk Parsons, Sugel Michelén, Steven Nichols, Thomas Ascol, David Garner, Sam Waldron, Conrad Mbewe, and Noé Acosta, among others at the largest ever virtual international conference, the 2021 SRL Latin American Reformed Conference. The theme this year is “The Person & Ministry of the Holy Spirit.”

For more information, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk8dPRym2-U

Register now for free at the following link: https://srlseminary.org/2021-convention%20/