Day 05 - West Central Turkey: Sardis

Sardis: Ruins, Revelation, and Reflection

Today was another beautiful day, starting in Sardis.

As we left the hotel, George shared a devotional centered on God’s incomparable grace—how He seats us with Christ and makes us like Him (Ephesians 2:6-7, 1 John 3:2). He reminded us that the mighty cities and cultures we’re learning about are now in ruins, and yet our neighbor is eternal.

“Our neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” — C.S. Lewis

We took a short drive to the ancient, wealthy, and once-populous city of Sardis, estimated to have held 30,000–60,000 people. We learned that this city was home to:

• The first gold coin mint in the world
• A “royal road” stretching 1,500 miles—similar to a modern four-lane highway—lined with restaurants, dye shops, bathrooms, and hardware stores
• These shops were located right in front of the largest synagogue ever found, dated around 300–400 AD. It had ornate fountains, altars, and beautiful mosaic tile floors, with space for around 1,000 people.

Beside the synagogue, Pastor Ty gave a compelling message on the relevance of the Book of Revelation—both for its first readers and for us today. He reminded us that:

• God is at work
• In the end, we win
• There are things we’re called to be doing now
• Referencing 1 Peter 4, 2 Peter 3, and 2 Peter 13, we were encouraged to live as if Jesus is returning soon—full of hope and purpose.

Next, we crossed a field to explore a massive gymnasium and bathing complex that towered beside the synagogue.

There, Alex led us through Revelation 3:1–6, which speaks to the Church of Sardis. He challenged us to consider what it means to finish the race well. The Christian life requires a spiritual alertness and a commitment to ongoing repentance. The people of Sardis may have looked alive on the outside, but they were spiritually dead. We, however, have overcome through Christ. So now, we’re called to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His conviction in our lives.

After that, we boarded the bus again and drove through a modern village to visit the Temple of Artemis, an enormous ancient structure. Appalling practices that took place in this temple. Its size was shocking—one of the top four largest ancient temples in terms of height and area (370 X 150 feet). The temple ruins were filled with broken and some standing columns, each at least six feet wide and around 40 feet tall. The white marble bases were intricately carved with snake-like designs. 

Tucked behind this massive pagan temple was something powerful: a small church, built in the 300's.

Here we had our third session of the morning with Ty. He began by pointing out how pagan worship is not a thing of the past—it still exists and is even re-emerging in the Western world. We went back to Genesis 1–3, reflecting on God’s original design for relationship with Himself and with others. 

We discussed how the same lies the serpent told in the garden are still being told today—and how people are still falling for them.

But then came a powerful image: that small church, planted right up against the temple. A reminder that we want to be a light that goes to the dark places. And we go to these places and fight the deception using truth, our presence, and prayer.

- Todd Sanford