Hymn 216

One of the things I miss about being in a mixed-language meeting is the simple joy of singing aloud with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  When we went to Sunday meeting in Mexico, you could always  sound out the words in the Spanish hymn book and sing along.  But Greek has it's own script, and although we can decipher the letters, by the time we get the sounds figured out, everyone else has moved on to the next verse.

I woke up one morning with the words of hymn 216 in my heart. "May thy perfect love, O Lord, burn strong within my heart, that I may in thy truth abide, and from all sin depart."  Denita and I decided to learn this hymn in Greek.  We started on this project last week, and have pretty well "mastered" the first verse and chorus.  So when Doyle asked in Greek this morning what I hoped was a hymn choice, I piped up with #216 in the English book.  It felt very good to be able to join in with everyone else and sing with gusto.

I hope the folks here like #216 as much as I do, as I think we'll be singing it a lot.  Smile.

Laodicea

After leaving Pamukkale, we drove about five miles south and bumped into a sign along the road that said "Laodicea."  We were intending to tour Colosse, which was another ten miles down the road, but hey, who could resist seeing one of the Seven Churches of Revelation.  Needless to say, I love Turkey!!!!!!!!!  We found out later that Colosse, near the modern city of Honuz, is just an unexcavated mound, and so we spent all of our available time walking around Laodicea.

Laodicea was built on top of a low-lying hill, with the Lycus River on one side and another stream on the other.  It was pretty significant in its day.  There is an ampitheatre on the north which holds an estimated 12,000 spectators, and another on the west with seating for 8,000.  On the south is the largest stadium in Asia Minor, with the capacity to seat 20,000 spectators.

  

As you can see from the third picture below, the white cliffs of Pamukkale are visible across the Meander valley.  One would think this would have something to do with the message to the Laodicean church:  "I know thy works, that thou art neither hot nor cold: I would thou wert hot or cold. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spue thee out of my mouth ....." (Rev. 3:15, 16).  The water flowing down the Pamukkale hillside is indeed lukewarm, neither hot nor cold.  It is very pleasant to swim in, but not to drink.  

This was the main gate to the city followed by Main Street

The reconstructed temple

The travertine cliffs of Pamukkale are visible across the valley.

Going native with the locals.  

Pamukkale

After touring the ruins of Ephesus, we went back to Kusadasi on the Turkish coast and spent the night.  The next day, we rented a car and drove three hours up the Meander River Valley.  (The twisting course of this river gave rise to the word "meander.")  Near Denizli, from a distance of about ten miles, we first saw the gleaming white travertine cliffs of Pamukkale.  The word means "cotton castle" in Turkish, and it is a pretty accurate description.  These pools of water cascading down the hillside would remind you of the Mammoth Hot Springs at the north end of Yellowstone.  There are 20 or 25 pools of water formed by the evaporation of calcium in the water, the same way a stalagmite is formed in a cave.  The pools have 3' to 5' walls where they adjoin the cliff, and then taper out to nil on the other side.  Very hard to explain, but they look for all the world like they are man-made.  The hillside is about 300' high.  You walk up part way, take your shoes off, and then you are in the warm water all the way to the top. 

Above Pamukkale are the ruins of Hieropolis.  This was a major city in the first and second centuries, and it is important in Catholic studies as the home of Papias, one of the earliest Catholic presbyters of whom we still possess writings. (Incidently, Eusebius, the fourth century church historian, had read Papias, and he commented that "he must have been a man of very low intelligence, to judge by his writings."  The mainstream of Catholicism had shifted that much in the intervening 200 years.)  Hieropolis was considered a holy city because of the "magical" springs and pools, and people came from all over to be healed.  There is a necropolis next to Hieropolis with over 1000 sepulcres.  The Turks built a pool over some ruins, and we got to swim amid the Greek columns just under water.

On the way down, the sun was coming in at a low angle, hitting the sulfur and iron deposits on the white rock.  It made the most amazing gold color.  I wondered if the camera would pick it up, but it did. 

Ephesus

August 26 - This week we made our first foray into Turkey.  I had no idea it was such an amazing country.  It is clean, modern and progressive; and blessed with an incredibly rich historical legacy. The people would remind you a lot of Americans.  However, in this country of 78 million people, there is not a single pair of workers.  Truly the need is great, and the fields white unto harvest.

Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire, possessing some 200,000 souls.  It was double the size of Jerusalem.  To see how astounding this is by historical standards, London and Paris did not reach this size until the 16th century.  In Paul's day it was a harbor town, situated right on the Aegean Sea.  Now, due largely to the silting up of the Cayster River, it lies about five miles from the sea.  The area between is rich, productive farmland.  The upper part of the city lies between two hills, and the lower part was right on the ocean.  The two parts were connected by a gleaming road of marble, with statues on both sides.  I paced it off, and it is 20' to 25' wide, wider than many Greek streets today.

The story of the Gospel in Ephesus begins in Acts 18:19.  Paul came to the city, left his companions there, went to Jerusalem, and came back.  In his absence, Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla moved there. Although he had an imperfect understanding, Apollos was teaching Christ in the synagogues.  He was Jewish, as was the initial nucleus of believers.  Paul's stayed there two full years, and the mission yielded spectacular results among the Greeks.  Perhaps he alludes to the miracle of the Gospel  bringing the two peoples together in Ephesians 3:14.  "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us."

The first two pictures below show the amphitheatre which was the setting for Acts 19:23ff.  Paul's companion's, Gaius and Aristarchus, were hauled there to face the wrath of the silversmiths.  "Great is Diana of the Ephesians," the mob shouted for two hours.  The acoustics are superb in the theater, and it would have been incredibly intimidating.  The theater is scooped into the hillside in the lower city, not far from the harbor.  The current design holds about 25,000 people, larger than in Paul's day.  It had been expanded up the hillside in the second century.  Autzen Stadium was likewise renovated a few years ago to seat more than the 50,000 rabid Duck fans it used to hold.

Eight or ten years later, the Spirit, through the apostle John, had a message for the Ephesian church, Revelation 2:1-7.  He compliments them on their labor and patience, and for their discernment in rejecting the false apostles who had come their way.  These were the circumcising missionaries who were telling the gentile believers they had to keep Torah to be saved (see 2 Cor. 11:3, 4, 13ff).  But they had lost their first love, and their zeal for the things of God had cooled.  Paul had also admonished them to "walk in love" and reminded them of the necessity of being "rooted and grounded" in love.  "That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ....." (Eph 5:2, 3:17-19)

 

The amphitheatre where they shouted, "Great is Dianna of the Ephesians."

Another view of the ampitheater

The library of Celsus

The view from the upper city down the marble roadway to the lower city

The public latrines

I didn't find Dianna of the Ephesians to be all that great.

The foot incised in marble.

It's Greek to me

Denita and I have been trying to learn a little Greek, to help things along here.  I knew we were in trouble when our instruction manual got to the word for "yes."  It is nai, pronounced "nay."  Yep, the Greek word for yes is the old English word for no.  It was not a promising start.  Here at the house we have two teachers, Doyle and Erica, who delight in helping us along.  I have accused Doyle on occasion of relishing this role a little toooo much, if you catch my drift.  If you attempt a word of Greek in public, and a native hears, they will not leave you in peace until you get it right.  They are utterly without mercy.  Like a dog with a bone, they will not let up until you get it exactly - and I do mean exactly - correct.

Nevertheless, we have persevered.  A watermelon is a karpoosie, and a grape is a stefelie.  The word for lentils is Φακές, pronounced "Fahkeys, which was pretty easy for an Oakes.  Most of our language skills, you will notice, revolve around food.  We have learned enough Greek to order in a restaurant, as long as we always want a coffee and a sandwich (or a watermelon).

Life is different here.  Living in America is incredibly convenient.  You hop in the car, drive to Albertsons, load up the trunk, stop by McDonalds for a meal, get home, unload, and you're done for the week.  Here, you walk to the bakery, then to the little market, carrying everything in little bags, walk up the 99 steps to the house - and tomorrow you will do it all over again. 

The streets here are narrow and the cars tiny.  Jaywalking in Greece is not a crime, it is a custom, a national pastime, if you will.  Everyone shares the narrow rights-of-way:  cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, in no particular order, and cars park in the adjoining little sidewalks.  But traffic moves along slow, people are courteous, and accidents are rare.

Lest you get the wrong idea, we love it here!  It is truly the experience of a lifetime.  Life is slow and it is quaint.  We get to one of the gorgeous beaches several times a week, and sometimes I just hop in the car and drive, exploring new nooks and crannies of the island.  The friends here have gone out of their way to make us welcome, and living with people who possess the "faith that was once delivered unto the saints," has increased my faith.  My joy is overflowing is this rich, rich experience.

Doyle, Eric & Erica

The vacation phase of our Greek adventure is quickly coming to a close!  Last week Doyle arrived on our doorstep, and then a couple of days later, the older sister who will be staying with us for the year came to the island by ferry.  Erica reminds me of a Margaret Greenaway with a Swiss accent.  She's impossible not to love!  Eric came earlier this week to see how things were going, and this afternoon we put him on the plane to Athens.

Two Canadian girls E-mailed Doyle last week to say they had just arrived on Samos.  Erica Lewis and Briley Lewis are cousins and go to college in Alberta.  I picked them up along the road in front of their motel and brought them to the Sunday morning meeting.  This was the first meeting we have had with the Pythagorio folks.  The four had met on their own for many years, and now there were 11 of us packed into their living room!  Erica translated.  We are learning a bit about what it's like to speak through a translator.  It changes the cadence of things.  Sunday night we went back to Pythagorio for Bible study, the custom throughout Greece.  It is a continuation of the Wednesday study.

It was decided to start Gospel meetings in Pythagorio this Sunday.  Think of us at 7:00 Samos time, which would be 9:00 in the morning on the Lord's Day on the west coast.  Erica's companion needs time to do some doctoring, and so Doyle will be staying with us through the middle of next month.  That change of plans was easy to take.  Smile.

Patmos and the Revelation

August 9 - We took the ferry to Patmos yesterday.  It lies about 15 miles south and west of Samos, one of the outermost islands off the Turkish coast.  We never lost sight of land.  As we left the port of Pythagorio, we had the island of Agathonisi on our left, then as we travelled we could see Fourni on the right, Arkoi and Lipsi on the left, and finally we entered the harbor at Patmos.  The island is about seven miles long, with many low hills and a deeply indented coastline.

Patmos, of course, is where John received a vision of "things which must be hereafter."  All that is known of John's circumstances on the island is contained in just one verse, Rev. 1:9.  "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."  Much has been built on these few words.  Most Bible commentators assert that John was exiled to Patmos, supposedly a Roman penal colony, but that is not required by the language.  It would be equally true to say that, when Doyle arrives here tomorrow, he will be on Samos for the Gospel's sake.  John may simply have been lying low in a safe harbor during a very stormy period of history.

To my knowledge, Patmos is never mentioned by a single ancient writer as a place of punishment.  I would be very interested to hear if anyone knows otherwise.  We know that, in AD 37, two leading Romans were put on trial, and it was suggested that they be exiled to Giaros, in the western Cyclades.  They were ultimately banished to the remote Cyclades island of Amorgos.  The Roman historian Tacitus mentions the same two islands as places of exile as well as a third, Donoussa.  Amorgos and Donoussa are the next islands beyond Patmos, in the easterly-most ring of the Cyclades.

The dating of Revelation is even more suspect.  The AD 95 date cited by most reference books is taken from Irenaeus, the Catholic bishop of Lyon, who wrote "Against Heresy" around AD 185.  He is making the point that only the "Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" can be traced back to apostolic seed; the other Christian sects were all of later origin.  Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch around the turn of the first century, was one of their key links to the New Testament church.  Supposedly Ignatius had been taught by the apostle John, and this is only possible if John had lived to a ripe old age.  So they invented a very late date for the Revelation.  

A  more plausible date is between the death of Nero and the destruction of the Second Temple.  We are given a set of clues in Revelation 17:10.  "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."  If we begin the count of the seven kings with Augustus, the first imperator of the Roman Empire following the Republic, the fifth emperor, that is, the last one fallen, would be Nero. He fell by his own sword on June 9th, 68. The king "now reigning" would therefore be Galba, and "the one not yet come", who would "continue a short space," would be Otho, who sat on the throne from January to April of A.D. 69.  It is thus reasonable to date the Book of Revelation to AD 69.

The Book of Revelation has had a chequered history in the Universal Church.  When Eusebius wrote AD 325, he said  the churches were "evenly divided" on the canonicity of Revelation.  The western churches went on to adopt it without reservation, but many of the eastern rites, including the Syrian Orthodox, the Nestorians, and the Maronites, still do not include the book in their canon of scripture.

The house & the neighborhood

Our home for the next 12 months is three stories high, with a daylight basement that we discovered belongs to another party.  It sits a couple of blocks in from the harbor, and we are getting used to going up and down stairs.  I stepped it off, and the house measures about 40' by 30', so with the two floors of living space and the full rooftop, it should be perfect for our intended use.  

The first picture shows the house partway up the "stairs," which actually shows up as a street on the city map.  Our house is slightly whiter than the others, at the right side of the picture.  The first balcony comes off the the main floor, which contains a living room, kitchen, dining room, and a single bedroom.  The second balcony shows the floor with three bedrooms and a large bathroom.  The covering over the rooftop barely shows up as a brown line.

The second picture shows the stairs looking down toward the harbor, and the third shows the warren of houses and narrow alleyways behind us.

The fourth picture shows the covered rooftop, where we spend a lot of our time.  We have a Bible study up here every morning before breakfast.

The last three pictures show the panoramic view across the harbor from the rooftop.

The Isle of Samos

August 3 - We spent the last week moving into the house and getting acquainted with the island.  Samos is a "land of hills and valleys," reminding me of Maui in that there are two high mountains and a saddle in between.  We have circumnavigated the island, checking out the towns and the beaches.  Kokkari is a funky beach town about 15 minutes west, and then we drove to the west end town of Karlovasi.  Today we visited the picturesque mountain village of Manolates.

The first two pictures show Samos Town, where we live.

Pictures #3, 4, 5 and 6 show Kokkari, which has become our favorite place to bring visitors and relax.  We met Chris and Gloria there for lunch, picture #7.  They live on Cyprus, and were vacationing in Samos after convention.

The last three pictures show Tsamadou Beach, located about 10 minutes west of Samos Town, and the cave at Balos beach, on the south side of the island.

                                                              Kokkari

                                                     Tsamadou Beach

                                   Potami Falls

                                                 Balos Beach