Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.
Turkey & Greece Tour
June 19-27, 2017
Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.
And Yet the Gospel Spread
For months I've been telling people that on this trip we are going to get to read a passage from the Bible and be standing where it happened. Today we stood on three different sites and learned about the people who walked those same roads 2000 years ago.
The first path we took was one of a martyr named Philip in the City of Hierapolis. Philip was one of the apostles of Jesus. The emperor at the time wanted to erase Christianity in that city by publicly crucifying Philip. Ironically, it was the emperor's name that was erased from the town records and Philip's was honored with a monument that still stands today. Christians were persecuted and yet the gospel spread.
Hierapolis
Hierapolis, the “Sacred City,” is located at present-day Pamukkale in south central Turkey. In the 1st century, it was part of the tri-city area of Laodicea, Colossae, and Hierapolis. This connection between the cities lies behind Paul’s reference to Hierapolis and Laodicea in his epistle to the Colossians (Col 4:13). Before AD 70, Phillip (either the apostle or the evangelist) moved to Hierapolis, where he was believed to have been martyred.
The second path we took was up a hill to the City of Colossae. The scenery looked very similar to the view from the foothills of Fresno. There we learned about the reasons Paul wrote the letter to the church at Colossae. They were being corrupted by a philosophy called Gnosticism so Paul writes in Colossians 2:8 "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." He reminds the church of the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ. And the gospel spreads.
Our third and final path was to the #1 most excavated site in all of Turkey. The town of Laodicea was very affluent as evidenced by the fact that they had indoor plumbing 2000 years ago! The excavation efforts have been very well funded so extensive amounts of work has been done at this site. Our guide surprised us with the incredible privilege of entering the first known Christian church building ever built in all of Turkey. It was a tangible example of how Christianity continued to spread.
By Beth Warkentin
Laodicea
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev 3:14-16)
Upcoming Signature Tours
With 30 years of experience creating trips for other ministries, we've prepared our own signature study tours featuring some of our favorite itineraries and compelling teachers! If you've never been on a GTI Study Tour, take a moment to learn more about what you can expect.