FBC Travel 2010: Day 10 Revisit Part 2

Day Ten Revisit Part 2 - Tuesday June 15th - Cruise and Patmos

After Ephesus, we boarded the bus and drove to the port of Kusadasi and got there before 10:00. We said goodbye to our Turkey guide Hakan, driver Hasan, and assistant George. We went through customs and boarded the cruise ship. We had a nice surprise in that Expedition Travel had provided a guide, Yanni, on the boat. He helped a lot, especially at Patmos dealing with the taxis.

Entrance to Grotto

At Patmos, the Grotto and the monastery built to honor John are at the top of a hill. There are tour buses, but we took taxis with four people each. Yanni negotiated a price of 25 Euros up and back. At the top, we sat in the shade on some stands while Pastor Wayne taught. We were able to get another group picture here.

Ephesians 5-15-21 One of the great 'therefore' passages in the second half of Ephesians. "how you walk" means "how you live". In verse 18, "filled with the Spirit" means "controlled by" -- the more that you are controlled by the Spirit and by God, the more you can be yourself, not as your old flesh, but as a new creation in Jesus -- not dogs any more, but ducks, so quack.

Detail above entrance

Revelation 1:4-15 Verse 8 - Alpha and Omega -- Jesus is not only the Word, but He is the very letters of the word, from the first to the last. Verse 15 -- Many waters -- is a reference to Amos where he uses the term as a form of judgement. Verse 17 -- John, the apostle that knew Jesus so well that he leaned against him as a friend at the Last Supper, falls down "like a dead man" when he sees the glorified Jesus - Jesus IS God. John knew how to balance the friendship with the worship and obedience that God requires. This is something that many people struggle with due to their backgrounds -- many Catholics know about the worship but have a hard time with the friendship -- many people that come to Christ at a very early age know about the friendship but have a hard time with the worship. May we all learn to balance these two viewpoints.

After the teaching, we saw the Grotto where John is said to have written the Book of Revelation. This was very Catholic, especially since the Catholics built a monastery on the island in the ninth century and made the Grotto a sacred site.

We got back to the town Patmos and had a couple of hours of free time before the ship sailed. The ship left Patmos and we had our first dinner on the cruise. While we slept, the ship sailed for Rhodes, arriving before we got up.

Prev: Day 10 Part 1 <=> Next: Day 11

Dale's Pics for Day 10 - Patmos: here
Approx Miles Traveled Day 10: Boat 220