Santa Maria Via Lata in Rome Italy by Chris White

He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,  proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.   –Acts 28:30-31

Picture of Church Facade taken by Author

Just a few blocks away from the famed Coliseum of Rome stands a quiet and diminutive Abbey and Church called Santa Maria Via Lata.  The church itself is quite pretty and done in the baroque style but what it is famous for is its crypt.  In America, we think of a crypt strictly as a place of burial, but the term is much more flexible in Italy denoting an underground space such as a cave or basement.  Such spaces might include human graves but many times turn out to be ancient ruins of a home or worship space pagan or Christian.  In the case of Santa Maria Via Lata, the crypt is believed to be the site of the first-century apartment that housed St. Paul as he awaited his trial as described in Acts chapter 28.  The strong tradition is that Luke lived with Paul and that the Apostle Peter may have lodged there as well.  Apparently several centuries later, the home was converted into a chapel and relief center as the Catholic church assumed more and more leadership over the city of Rome in late antiquity.  There are some first century era remains such as a Roman column with a cross inscribed on it (sacred graffiti?) and you can see that there is a baptismal font and the remains of some frescoes on the walls which would at least indicate there was a reason this particular site was considered very important in ancient times.  Could this be the actual site where Paul worked and preached to all who came to visit?  There is no definitive proof, but it gives us a picture at the very least, of how Paul and Luke might have lived at the time which would have been a modest home on a heavily traveled road where there would have been a lot of access to people.

If you are in Rome and want to visit:

http://www.cryptavialata.it/visita_della_crypta.html

I would recommend having your hotel concierge call and confirm they will be open.  It is in close proximity to the Forum, Coliseum, and the Vittorio Emmanuelle Monument making it a nice addition to your itinerary.

The Lost City of Colossae by Chris White

 

Author climbing the tell of Colossae

" Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father."   –Col. 1:1-2

  

Collossae is a city known to us today primarily because St. Paul wrote a letter to the church there in the first century.  We know from the text that Onesimus, the recipient of the letter in the New Testament known as Philemon, was a prominent citizen there and also that a key person if not the founder of this church was named Ephaphras.  From the text of Colossians there is the indication that there was some doctrinal confusion concerning the person of Jesus Christ as well as the mixture of folk religion that was the subject of Paul’s encouraging words to them.  The wonderful news to the Colossian church is that if you are connected to Jesus Christ, you are totally connected to God.  But also that our worship of Him should be reflected by a mental and moral renovation directed by the Holy Spirit, not by keeping certain religious rituals. 

Colossae was once an important city but by New Testament times it was in decline.  No concrete explanation is known, but it has been surmised that a more improved road bypassed Colossae and it simply wasn’t on the way to anywhere.  This is a common occurrence in the western United States where towns have simply disappeared because highways or railroads changed travel patterns and they were no longer convenient destinations.  Whatever the reason, Colossae’s nearby neighbors of Laodicea and Hierapolis remained on the map much longer.

Colossae today is nothing but an unexcavated tell which is a hill that conceals the remains of an ancient city.  The value of seeing it is just to get an idea of what an archaeological site looks like before it is opened up.  Money is the root of all sorts of evil but it is also the root of all archaeology.  Perhaps someday soon this town of Bible significance will be the subject of a future dig.

Istanbul is Constantinople by Chris White

Hagia Sophia Today

When Constantine became the emperor of the Roman Empire he made the momentous decision to move the capitol from Rome to the east where Europe and Asia Minor meet near the Black Sea in a small fishing village known as Byzantium.  Constantine quite modestly renamed the city after himself (Constantinople) and set about to utterly transform it into a grand, fortified city which he did within a few years.  Constantine was a military general and knew that the Roman empire’s greatest enemies lie in the east and so part of this decision was motivated by military strategy but the other part of this decision lay in Constantine’s spiritual commitments.

 Rome had been the physical and spiritual capitol of the Republic and later the Empire for 1000 years by then.  Constantine respected it for what it was, but he felt it was greatly contaminated by centuries of idolatry.  In his new city, only Christ would be honored and it would be free of pagan sacrifices.  Constantinople, flush with the wealth of government patronage became  a center of art, architecture, trade and commerce, but mostly for Christianity.  Constantine built a very famous church there called the Church of the Holy Apostles.  In this grand basilica he prepared tombs for the twelve apostles hoping to have their graves found and their bones brought there.  Unfortunately, he never got very far down the list.  The bones of Andrew, St. Luke, and Timothy were entombed there but that was about it.  Constantine was buried there as the 13^th apostle (sort’ve implied here) but the church was not to stand the test of time.  Later a descendant of Constantine, Justinian I built the Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) and this became the grandest and greatest church in Christendom with the largest dome in the world.  It was the inspiration for the dome on St. Peter’s and the Washington D.C. capitol.  Despite centuries of earthquakes and wars and conquests, Hagia Sophia stands today in all her glory.  She is a museum today because Turkey is a Muslim country, but if the walls could talk they would give witness to some of the greatest preachers and beautiful church services in the world. 

A city awash in gold and opulence, Constantinople was very, very sophisticated compared to the west.  During the peak years of the Crusades, the armies of Europe would pass through and were stunned at the sight.  No one in Western Europe lived in this degree of sophistication.

Constantinople was also an impregnable fortress because of its location and incredible walls.  When it fell in 1453 to the Muslims, it was largely because they were exhausted militarily and were no longer a match technologically to the implements of war.  When the city was conquered, a flood of scholars and theologians made their way to Europe with ancient manuscripts of the Bible in Greek.  These were read and studied with great interest all over Europe.  With the renewal of interest in ancient Greco-Roman culture and Christianity the Renaissance and later the Protestant reformations were touched off within 50 years, and thus the effects of the fall of Constantinople, touch our lives today as Protestant Christians who study the Bible today.

           

  An interesting irony: Rome was founded by Romulus.  When it fell in 476 the emperor’s name was Augustus Romulus.  Constantinople was founded by Constantine the Great.  When it fell, it    was ruled by Constantine the XI.  The lesson for us in this is to never elect a president with a name like George Washington in his name.  That would be tempting fate.

Today Constantinople is called Istanbul.  There are a few theories for the origins of this name but the one that suits my fancy is that Istanbul was the best the Arabic speaking Muslims could do with the word Constantinople.  As one drives through the city today, you see a plethora of Mosques that all look like the Hagia Sophia; even in conquest, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The Seven Churches of Revelation Pt. 11 by Chris White

The remains of the marketplace in Laodicea

“ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”   ---Rev. 3:20-22

We come now to the last of the Seven Churches of Revelation with Laodicea.  The Christians of Laodicea faced much of the same type of temptations that Christians in America have today.  Laodicea was prosperous, was a shopping mecca, and placed a huge value on sports and entertainment.  It wasn’t enough for Laodicea to have one sports arena or amphitheatre, they had two of each and massive public baths as well.  Jesus pointed to Laodicea’s aqueduct system that didn’t work quite right, and said like their water, they were lukewarm Christians instead of hot or cold.  Like the minerals which corroded the pipes, the Laodicean brothers and sisters had become less effective because they were so distracted with their many opportunities.  Laodicea was also known for it’s great tolerance because it hosted people from every walk of life and nation who came there for the treatment of eye problems.  There was a mineral product they made called Phrygian Powder which was made into a balm for the eyes and sold for a high price.  Needless to say, the Laodiceans had seen everything and were quite comfortable even to the point of indifference.  In Britain today, a person possessing general indifference about philosophical and social issues is often called a “Laodicean” in the matter.  Perhaps the Lord saw his people had grown too comfortable and tolerant of sin and was wanting them to take such things with a greater seriousness than they were exhibiting.  Many years ago Holman Hunt painted a picture based on Jesus’ words to the Laodicean church “behold I stand at the door and knock”.  In the picture Christ stands at a door of a house without a doorknob on the outside (meaning it can only be opened on the inside by the owner) and waits for the occupant to answer his call.  In the city of Laodicea, the Roman emperor Domitia  But like Holman Hunt’s picture, this door could only be answered from the inside.  Jesus was crucified and died for our sins outside the city and there the Lord waits until we truly invite him in and let him rule our hearts.  The problem so many of us have is that we don’t hear the knock on the door because our minds are overly occupied with all the good things around us instead of setting our minds on the things above.  We need to dial those disctractions back that we can better hear and respond to the Lord’s call upon our lives.  The Lord is not to be an outsider or stranger to any of our lives!

n had erected a huge door that opened up to the city.

With you on the journey,

 Chris

The Churches of Revelation Pt. 10 by Chris White

Pillars are all that remain in Philadelphia

 “ Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”              --Rev. 3:10-13

Jesus had no correction for the church in Philadelphia, His word to them was carry on and persevere even in persecution and he would give them a permanent place of dwelling and safety in the kingdom.  What makes this interesting is that those who lived in Philadelphia suffered under the continual pressure of earthquakes for many centuries.  At one point earthquakes happened so often that the residents gave up building homes out of stone and went to stick and mud dwellings because they were so much easier to rebuild.  During the New Testament era, the Philadelphians came up with an idea that worked at least for a while to preserve their city.  They would add pillars to buildings as a means of strengthening the walls after they repaired them.  Although imperfect, much of what stood in Philadelphia did so because of pillars.  As a pillar in the church you would be more than an ornament, you would be an essential part that could be depended upon even when the church was being shaken with persecution.  It is a wonderful accident of history that the only remnants of that church in Turkey are the huge pillars that once held up sanctuary ceiling near the altar.  No matter where you attend church, endeavor to be a pillar for that congregation.  Support its ministries with your time, prayer, finances, and participation.  Stand with your church in its good times and hard times.  This is pleasing to the Lord and brings with it His reward.  Of all the churches of Revelation, Philadelphia lasted the longest and remained the very last of all these cities to be a Christian witness even when Asia Minor was being overrun by the Muslims.  Philadelphia was eventually conquered but only when it was betrayed by fellow Christians in Constantinople who were jealous of their prestige and strength.  Instead of brotherly love, it was the love that Cain had for Abel, the one that betrays and murders.  But that happened 1000 years after the writing of this letter and that is a pretty long record for any church hold.

With you on the journey,

 Chris

The Seven Churches of Revelation Pt. 9 by Chris White

Wealthy Sardis had a large school and gynasium for youth

“ Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.  So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. ⁴ But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.  He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white. garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”   --Rev. 3:2-5

Sardis is where the legendary King Midas was supposed to have lived.  King Midas was given by the gods the unique power of turning everything he touched into gold (hence, the “midas touch”).  At first this was seen as a good thing because it created untold wealth for his city, but in time proved to be more of a curse than a blessing.  Imagine all the things you touch in a day turning to gold.  See any problems here?  Having had too much of a good thing, Midas begged to be released from this gift and was told to bathe in the nearby Pactolus river.  Upon entering the river, King Midas was instantly free of his power but the Pactolus river became full of gold dust.  By the Christian era, the gold in the Pactolus river had played out, but not before making Sardis a very wealthy city.  And it is in Sardis that the minting of gold coins was introduced to the Greek and Roman world as a means of purchase and paying debt.  The church of Sardis was born and lived in an environment plagued by affluence, Judaism, and paganism.  Their problem was that they were not struggling with temptation, but rather embracing and walking in it.  It is interesting to note that the community of Sardis had a very short attention span and were known in the ancient world for not finishing things they started.  When the Lord rebukes them, and frankly He doesn’t seem to have even one thing to commend them on, Jesus says even his church has not finished the deeds he has called them to do.  The church of Sardis was quite incomplete in their obedience to the Lord.  How easy it is for any of us to mistake our knowledge of Jesus for actually walking with Him in obedience.  The Gospel of Christ calls us to a totally new life and way of thinking that is oriented towards the Kingdom of God.  To be living for this world is the antithesis of embracing the Gospel of Christ.  To the few in Sardis who were obedient, the Lord says keep your garments clean.  In the ancient world all priests in pagan temples wore the whitest of robes and if they had even one stain they were not to be worn in the temple because it would be unworthy of the god.  What are Christians to do when they live in a corrupt and decadent place?  Ultimately, we must look to our own lives and our own relationship with the Lord, and seek to keep ourselves unstained by the world around us.  We are in the roll book of another kingdom which means we should all be cautious of becoming over invested in the ambient culture.

With you on the Journey,

 Chris