Can you believe the Bible? And does it really matter? How can you be sure that the Bible is all it's cracked up to be? Join David Curry, pastor, author, and worldwide traveler, as he shares his knowledge of many biblical places throughout the Middle East. He will take you on a journey through numerous archaeological finds that prove the validity of the biblical narrative, showing that you can believe what many have rejected. Welcome to the biblical wonders in the Middle East.
Here is your host, Pastor David Curry. I'm so pleased that you tuned in today as we continue our journey in the land of Turkey. The last time we talked, we covered five cities in which there were Christian churches.
The apostle John wrote letters to these churches and to two more that we'll visit today. The first of these two is Philadelphia. The name means brotherly love from the Greek word Philadelphia Delphia's brother philo, his love.
If you travel there today, you'd not look on the map for Philadelphia, but for Alice and her. In fact, there is very little left of the old city. You know, when we first went there, we couldn't find anything resembling an old city.
But I saw some men drinking Turkish coffee at a cafe. They were outside and sitting at tables. I used sign language to indicate that we were looking for ruins.
One man understood and got into the van and directed us to where there were some old ruins. We photographed these and then we all got into the van and the man directed us to another place. I thought maybe he is wanting us to take him to his home.
But eventually we arrived at a very beautiful fountain. It was of a lady emptying water pots. He then took one of our empty water vessels that were in the van and went to an nearby tap.
This was outside a factory where in fact they filled water vessels for sale. He filled our water container and we drank some of this water. It was so beautiful.
It was aerated and sparkling spring water coming right out of the ground. We filled all of our water containers then, including the water tanks we had on the motorhome. And for many days we had this beautiful water.
Then I remembered that this was Philadelphia, the place of brotherly love. This love was still evident in the people of this city. This church received no rebuke from John's letter.
However, he did give much commendation. Notice a part of this in Revelation three eight. I know your deeds.
See, I have placed before you an open door that no man can shut. I know you have little strength. Yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown.
What a wonderful message that John wrote, under inspiration, of course, to this Church of Brotherly Love. This church period covered by the Church is from the 17th to the 19th centuries. This was a period of great missionary movements going to the world and proclaiming the Gospel to Africa, South America, India, China and many nations in Asia.
It indeed was a period of brotherly love such as the world had not witnessed since the first century after Christ. The world during this period of time was an open door. The gospel message was growing.
Nobody seemed to be able to stop the missionary movements around the globe. It has been said that in England, every home opened the Bible for family worship, held in the mornings and the evenings. England, to name one nation, was ruling much of the world.
You know, there's a painting in Windsor Castle where Queen Victoria is pictured receiving an ambassador from East Africa to whom she's presenting a fine Bible. The scene depicted is based on a popular anecdote current in the 1850s. This stated that when asked by a diplomatic delegation how Britain had become such a powerful nation in the world, our beloved Queen sent him not the number of her fleet, not the number of her armies, not the account of her boundless merchandise, not the details of her inexhaustible wealth.
But she handed him a beautifully bound copy of the Bible. She said, Tell the prince that this is the secret of England's greatness ah. This was the Philadelphia period of church history, when hundreds of missionaries went from Britain alone to many parts of the world, taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a period when no man could shut it.
The door was open, just as it had been open when John was writing to this Church of Brotherly Love. We felt that very much when we left our Turkish friend with our water containers filled, that here was Brotherly Love. Well, our travels took us to the final city on the Roman road, which is Laodicea.
In John's day, this city was a very large provincial city, boasting banks and a large number of industries. As a city, it was very proud of its achievements. When I visited first Sale theatre, little had been done by Archaeologists.
There were two amphitheatres covered with weeds, a part of a bioduct that had carried water from the springs of Padmakali, and a few ruins of buildings. However, subsequent visits have shown that the government really wants this old town to be a showcase. Recontracted buildings have arisen, old streets have been reopened.
To me, it's just amazing what archaeologists can do with finances when governments can apply some of their budgets to such worthy projects. But note what John said when he wrote in Revelation 315 to 17. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either one or the other. See, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. I'm about to spit you out of my mouth.
You say I am rich, I've acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you're wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. You know, friend, as you read these scriptures, you cannot help but realise that this was a very stern rebuke to the church of John's day as well as to the church of our day.
The church was neither hot nor cold, but just lukewarm. 10 Laodicea are the very hot springs of Pamakali. These hot springs have flowed over the hillside for many centuries and made beautiful white terraces.
People from many parts of the world come to Pamakali to bathe in the mineral waters. Others come to photograph the lovely white terraces. The latestians built an aqueduct from these springs to bring the mineral waters into the city.
However, by the time that they had flowed the 10 km, they were just lukewarm. John wrote that this was the current condition of the church. God would have wished the church to be either hot nor cold, but here they were in between.
I believe the main churches today have members who are lukewarm in their relationship to Christ. He would have them on fire for their faith and this way be attractive to those outside of faith. But they're lukewarm and not attractive to non believers.
Christ continues to plead with the church as he says here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I'll go and eat with him and he with me.
To him who overcomes, I'll give him the right to sit on my throne, just as I overcame and sat with my father on his throne, you know. The great artist Holman Hunt pictures this scene in his original painting held at Keeble College in Oxford today, when he unveiled his painting of Christ knocking at the door, a friend said Holman, you've missed something. What is that? Said Holman.
You didn't put a handle on the door. Ha, said Holman. This is the door to the heart and the handle is on the inside.
That became such a great painting that he painted another one that today is in St. Paul's Cathedral. As John writes, he indicates that when Christ knocks, the person must open the heart's door from the inside in order for that door to open so that Jesus can come in.
I love what it says next. I will go in and eat with him and he with me. Many a business contract and friendships are made over a meal at a table.
Eating is one of the joys the Lord has given to us all. And you know, he wants us to eat with us the bread of life and drink with us the water of life. What a difference the Laodicean church will become when it opens that heart's door.
Then it says that Christ gives us the right to sit with Him on his throne. This church continues to the time of Christ's coming and his people be able to sit with Him in glory. What an opportunity that will be.
What a privilege, what a hope that today we can have in his promises of his return and eating with us and sitting with us on thrones of righteousness. It appears to me that this great event is not very far away and we can all prepare for it. We can be ready simply very higher by having Christ in our lives every day.
From Laodicea we moved several kilometers to Densley. This is quite a big city. And then we travelled by very good road to Kurzasi, which is the port city of Ephesus.
Kuzadasi is the main port in which you can leave Turkey and go to some of the Greek islands such as Saimos and Patmos. The apostle John was exiled for a time on the island of Patmos. Let's go out there and perhaps stay for a night.
In order to do this we have to charter a boat from Cusidati so that we can go directly to Patmos. Other boats go via Samos, but to do this you have to get accommodation on Samos for a night and then move to Patmos the next morning. Samos is mentioned in Acts 20 and verse 15.
It says there that Paul stayed a night on his way back to Jerusalem. Well, I did that one time when I visited this area, but it was far better to get a chartered flight and go directly. And so several times I've gone directly from Kosodasi to Patmos by chartered boat.
It also carries about another hundred passengers. It cost us about $100 each for the return trip. It takes about around 4 hours to travel to the island and then another 4 hours to come back.
But it's really worth the time. Patmos is in the Adriatic Sea, in a very quiet place. We met two or three people who were staying there from England.
They were writers and chose this lovely quiet location for writing their books. There were fishermen there who repaired their nets during the day and left in the evening to catch their fish which they would export to the creek markets at Athens. Other people, and there were many, were tourists, many of whom had come here because this is where John, who wrote Revelation, was exiled because of his faith.
He wrote in Revelation, the first chapter in verse nine i, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Here was John exiled to this lonely island, Patmos because of his strong Christian faith. There's only one cave on the island and it's believed that this is where john was incarcerated, he went into this cave and there he stayed.
I went into this cave also. It's a beautifully adorned cave by the Greek Orthodox Church and there's an open family Bible. And I was surprised to see that it was open to this passage which I've just read.
John had been the pastor of the Church of Ephesus, but was taken as prisoner for his preaching and his beliefs. It's just amazing how God works. From the quietness of this island and away from the busyness of pastoral duties, john had time to listen to Jesus and write the Book of Revelation.
This was not just for the churches on the Roman road, but for the whole world. Several years ago, I met a Hindu man from the center of India who lived in the state of Arisa. Many Christians had been persecuted in this state and many churches were burnt down.
But he asked me if I could get him a good translation of the Bible and some books on Revelation. I asked him, how do you know about Revelation in the Bible? He told me that he has a satellite and listens to many Christian programs. He particularly likes it when speakers talk about the Book of Revelation.
Even through three ABN, many people in many nations are listening to the Gospel truths. As this man was in ERISA, and I was able to send him a good Bible and some books and tracks on Revelation. He was pleased to get those.
Well, now back to the island of Patmos. It's not very big as an island. It's just 34 can hire a motorcycle and travel its several roads.
One of the roads leads up to a monastery where Greek Orthodox monks while away their time. From the monastery, one gets a very good view of the sea and even the Turkish coastlines. Nearby to the monastery are some windmills.
At one time, these were used for grinding grain into flour, but they're not used anymore. There are rock fence fields where grains and lentils grow, and donkeys are still used to separate the grains from the chaff and the lentils from their pods as the donkeys crush them under their hooves. As they go round and round over the harvested plants.
There are a number of hotels where one can stay the night, as well as a few bread and breakfast and some homes. These luxuries, of course, were not afforded to John as he was a prisoner on this lonely island. Of course, in those days, such amenities didn't even exist.
Well, we were taken back to coast, sedarsi by our chartered boat, and then we drove around the coastline to the old town of Tarsus. This coastline is dotted with lovely beaches and on the many bright and warm days it's pleasant to bathe in these places. Today, Tarsus is known as mercen.
It was the birthplace of the Apostle Paul. It was also the meeting place of Mark, Anthony and Cleopatra. Who was the Queen of Egypt.
There's a restored gate in Tarsus known as Cleopatra's Gate. It's believed that this gate commemorates the famous meeting between the two rulers. In fact, sad to say, it is really the only gate left to the Wall City.
Today, it's the fourth largest city of Turkey. Believe it or not, it has over 3 million people as residents. It is mentioned in Hittite records around 2000 BC, or before Christ.
Paul said, I am a Jew from Tarsus and Cilicia a citizen of no ordinary city. In fact, it was a large provincial town in his day. Being born in Tarsus made him a Roman citizen, which was to his advantage as he preached through all of Asia Minor, as Turkey was called in those days.
Another historical marker for Tarsus was when Cyrus the Younger camped here with 10,000 of his troops on his way to try and take the Persian crown. He was finally defeated by his brother at a battle about 80 km north of old Babylon. Well, we'll leave Turkey now and we'll head off to Jordan.
This is a marvellous country and even in ancient times covered three areas known as Moab, Edom and Ammon. In the Old Testament, we read about many wars against these three countries. Let's go into Edom, where there's a rock city known as Petra.
The English poet Bergen called this place rose red. Petra half as old as time. The first inhabitants here were the Edomites, or in fact, the descendants of Esau.
The Edomites were finally slain by King Amaziah of Israel. But Petras lost the Western world for many centuries until the British Museum employed a Swiss traveller by the name of John Ludwig Berkhart. His knowledge of Arabic and the geography of the area made it likely that he could find this hidden and mysterious city.
The British Museum were well rewarded, employing burkhart, for he rediscovered the city. When I first visited Petra, we were able to stay in a cave which was set up by a local hotel. It was quite comfortable and in its modest pricing, there was a very good breakfast.
At nighttime, we could look out from the cave at the surrounding cliffs. The stars were absolutely brilliant and my friend who's with me believed that two stars were extremely close to us. But I was able to point out that these two stars were in fact small fires lit by some of the local veterans at the entrance to their caves, which were up on the cliffs and where they were staying for the night.
It was amazing how these fires did mingle in with the brilliant stars in the night skies. When leaving the nearby town of Wadimusa, there appears about a hundred Arabs wanting tourists to ride their horses into the Sikh and center of Petra. It is fun to ride a horse, and so we opted for this alternative to wearing out our shoes on the stony track for about a kilometer and a half.
The horses took us through the canyon with cliff walls reaching up to 61 meters. Then around a bend, we saw the magnificent treasury. This is called El Casna.
The cliff has been cut away and left this beautiful building. During the day, the facade of the building reflects different colors, from pink to purple to brown. It's one of several impressive temples and buildings in this unique valley.
There's none at the top of the treasury where average thought contained treasure. You can see bullet holes in the Urn, where the Arabs have had potshots at the Urn and Deving to split it open. Well, it never happened.
From the door of the temple one can look across the canyon to the Sikh, through which the horse has been ridden and now left in the hands of the Arab guide. I've been to Petra at least a dozen times and I never get tired of seeing this beautiful treasury building left as it is by carving away the cliff around it. I tell you, those ancient carvers were certainly some architects.
On leaving the treasury building, it is best to walk down the canyon floor. On the way, one can see many of the homes of the Edomites and the Nabiteans who followed them. Then quite a large amphitheater comes into view.
And surrounding this theatre are many caves, the walls of which are covered in different colors of sandstone. They don't need any paint in these cave homes. From this part of the valley we climbed up steps and paths to where there's a high altar where in fact human sacrifices were made.
The humans were generally maidens who'd be accompanied by a priest. Up the steps and the paths that we had climbed. Before sunrise, they'd bathe in a pool cut out of the rock.
After that, the maiden would be taken to the place of sacrifice. This is an altar in which the maid would lay out and sacrifice her life as the priest cut out her heart and then placed it in a rock crucible as the sun was coming over the horizon. She was a sacrifice, the sun god, the god that so much of the ancient world worshipped.
We travelled along the valley past where there had been ancient shops and up another height from the valley to another temple known as Adir. On the way, I photographed a bright blue lizard. At first he was just putting his head over a rock and I said, please come out so that I can photograph you.
And that's exactly what he did. Later I found out that this is the only place in the world where this blue lizard has been found. Again, the mountain had been carved away and left this very fine temple of ed deer.
It tooled like the treasury had known. On the top it was a different shape, but it was quite large and it's easy to see the strata of rocks flowing through this urn. It's just amazing how they cut away the mountain and left this beautiful temple.
The Bible has quite a lot to say about Petra. It's often called in the Bible Edumia. Notice this prophecy in Isaiah 30 412 and 13 they shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.
And Thaws shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses. It shall be a habitation of jackals, a courtyard for ostriches. The Beddants who wander through Petra today have goats, but not sheep.
The goats can eat the many thorns that are growing everywhere. But sheep don't like thorns and brambles as their food. Just the prophecy indicated thorns would grow up in her palaces.
And then it says, you shall be desolate o Mount SEIR, as well as of all Edom, all of it. Then shall they know that I am the Lord. Mount Sierra is something like a musa in Petra.
The Edomites used this as a fortress, for it had a gently sloped top, and even today wells can be seen there that were dug. Something like 2700 years ago, king Amaziah of Israel came to this place and sent 10,000 Edomites to their death as they were hurled over the cliffs. This was really the last of the population of the Edomites.
In their place. The nabiteans occupied Petra. You know, King Herod the great was half Nabatean and half Israelite.
But even though he was the king set up by the Romans, the Israelites never trusted him. Another interesting old city to visit in Jordan is Jiresh. This was one of the cities of the Divolis.
In the New Testament times, there were ten cities of the diver capolis and Jerus was one of these. It has a wonderful amphitheater that is used for concerts for the Jordanians even today. Below the amphitheater is the agra, or marketplace, having columns which separated the shops one from the other.
There is quite a long main street here, under which is a very well preserved sewerage system. On a rise above the street are a number of ruins. Some are temples, but there's also a large church here with a Baptistry out in the front of the church.
It appears that when baptisms by immersion were conducted here, the Christian rite of baptism could be seen by the local people. In this very large Baptistry, at least 20 people could be in it at one time. This was a real Christian witness to the local inhabitants, as new Christians were totally immersed.
Jirash is about an hour north of Aman, the capital of Jordan, and so it attracts many tourists. Before arriving at Jiras, the tourists and locals pass over a bridge that crosses over their river Jabbak, mentioned in Genesis 32. This is the river where Jacob fought all night, asking the Lord to bless him and protect him before meeting up with the Australian brother Esau, who was the grandfather of the Edomites in Petra.
In our next presentation, we'll take you to Lebanon, Syria and a start in the land of Israel. There's plenty on our website for you to view. Please punch in the keys.
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