an 11 day tour of greece, patmos, churches of revelation, and rome illustrating the growth of the...

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.