Day 20 Biblelands trip

Day 20

Rev 2 "To the angel of the church in Pegamum write..I know where you dwell, where the seat of Satan is..yet you remain true to my name.. Nevertheless some among you hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitans..Repent..I will give that person a white stone with a new name.."
First stop Bergama (ancient PERGAMUM) The modern city again has been built on top of the 1st century city. We took the cable car to the top of the agora. There are so many temples to different gods.. the most well known is the temple of Zeus.. maybe this was why it was called the seat of Satan.. false worship. You can see the dark rock that is naturally occurring which the original City was built from.. also the white stones the Romans used as a facade to beautify it.. Perhaps this explains the reference to white stones with a new name. More than a facade..a true change.

"To the angel of the church in Thyatira write. .I know your love and faith, your service and perseverance.. Nevertheless.. You tolerate Jezebel..who misleads my people.. Repent.. The rest of you- hold on to what you have until I come.."

Very little remains of ancient Thyatira, as the modern city of Akhisar has been built around it.This area was known for its purple dye. Lydia the seller of people came from here..

It's been fantastic to visit all 7 ecclesias and we noted that in every letter there are those mentioned that needed to repent and those that were exhorted to hold fast, which we found both sobering and encouraging.

We then had a 5 hour bus ride which seemed to go very quickly with lively discussions and a stop over for Turkish delight 😊 We witnessed another glorious Turkish sunset as we crossed the Ozman Gazi Bridge, across the Marmara Sea, an inland sea separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. We also crossed the Bosphorus bridge which joins the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. The next few days we will spend on the European side.Read more