During the year 2008, we witnessed spiritual deception on a scale never before seen in Christendom. There was the Florida Outpouring, a much televised event which centred around one particular 'prophet' who believed he was ushering in a 'paradigm shift' that was to sweep the globe. Miracles, signs and wonders, they boldly proclaimed, were to become common place as the angels brought 'winds of change' to the Church. The movement eventually petered out, as did Bentley's marriage following allegations of misconduct in his ministry, but unfortunately many people still bear the scars left by this wolf in sheep's clothing. It was not to be the only New Age deception that year. A prominent psychic by the name of Blossom Goodwin also predicted that a UFO was to appear above the skies of an American city in full view of the world's media. This event would prove once and for all that these benevolent beings exist, and that they have an interest in the human race. The purpose of their revealing was to prepare the world for a great calamity that will soon unfold. But the craft never materialized and the extraterrestrials left Blossom sputtering to explain why. Both these events, in my mind, were simply preparation for two future events mentioned in Bible prophecy. The Florida Outpouring proved that it was possible for even genuine Christians to be misled by a 'wonder-working' false prophet, and that the medium of television is a very effective way of spreading his message. And while the UFO did not appear, the message relayed from Blossom Goodwin still left its mark, and is conditioning the public into accepting the possibility that such things exist and enabling the possibility of a cover-up for the disappearance of millions of Christians from this Earth when Christ returns. It's serious days.
Looking over the past year, there have also been quite a few significant developments concerning Biblical prophecy. Perhaps the most dramatic development this year would be the passing of the Lisbon Treaty. The EU won't change overnight, but it now has its own legal identity on the world stage. It now has the one European voice that Javier Solana once craved, with a permanent President and Foreign Minister at the helm. And it has the ability to acquire new powers from state governments as it pleases. The EU is now effectively a federal superstate, and will soon become the world's last great empire, just as the Bible predicted (Daniel 7:7-8). Concerning the Mark of the Beast, 2009 saw yet another admission by a journalist that the VeriChip RFID implant is often inserted into the right wrist, and not necessarily in the upper forearm as specified by its producers. Following the Asian Tsunami in 2004, we had a startling statement by a journalist who candidly remarked that the Verichip was often injected in the "right hand or forehead", with no mention of any possible connotations with the Biblical Mark of the Beast. This year a journalist went on record to say that, "The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona, Spain, already injects a rice-size VeriChip RFID device into the wrist or upper arm of its jet-set guests to make paying as simple as waving your hand". Perhaps the second most significant development concerning end time Biblical prophecy is in the Middle East peace process. While negotiations have been stalled for over a year now since the breakdown of Annapolis, world patience with Israel in particular is at an all time low. Following Obama's election to office and the subsequent shift in US foreign policy, there has been a worldwide condemnation of Israeli settlements in Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem. The international community has, for the first time, demanded that Israel cease all settlement construction in these areas. And for the first time, the US President has seemingly put a deadline on the establishment of a Palestinian state, in accordance with Javier Solana's wishes. While President Bush sought to establish a state within his presidency through negotiations, it seems that the world is preparing for the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state in these lands, like the Bible predicted (Zechariah 12:2, Zechariah 14:2, Revelation 11:2). Concerning the division of the city of Jerusalem, the Swedish government, which held the rotating presidency of the European Union at the time, put forward a proposal that would have recognized Palestinian political rights in the east of the city by declaring it the capital of a future Palestinian state. In regards to the building of the Third Temple, as prophesied in Revelation 11:2, we have had several significant developments this year. During a meeting with the recently re-established Sanhedrin, the highest religious authority in Israel, a prominent Muslim author called for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. The Temple Institute completed the manufacture of the Golden Censers which sit in the Holy Place, and also began building the foundation of the altar itself on the anniversary of the destruction of the First and Second Temples. 2009 was also the year that Israeli firms discovered gas off the coast of Haifa, in enough quantities to ensure they will no longer be dependant on Arab or Russian exports, yet another Bible prophecy fulfilled (Deuteronomy 33:24).
While prophetic events seem to have moved a bit slower than I would have imagined they would, it is easy to see how things are leading up to the end times as described in the Bible. I don't know how much longer we will have on this Earth. But I do know that all of Christ's prophecies concerning the coming judgement mention imminence, and that the world will be taken by complete surprise with the suddenness of the destruction. So I wouldn't necessarily use currents events as an indicator of when Christ may return for His Church. Are you a saved? Have you made preparation against the coming storm? Or like those of Noah's day, are you blissfully unaware of all that is happening around you? Concerning the flood, the Lord said it came, "and took them all away", Matthew 24:39. The same will happen when Christ returns. Your wealth won't save you. Your good works will not avail. Only those who accepted God's plan of salvation survived the flood. Only those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour will survive the wrath that will be poured out on this world. Don't put it off. Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart (Hebrews 4:7). You may not get another opportunity. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.
John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
I had a really strange dream last night and I don't know quite what to make of it. Most of the time I only remember bits and pieces of my dreams, but this one felt so real and I remembered everything. I wakened after the dream had finished, and looked at the clock. The time was 3:21 am. A friend's mother, Enid, and another friend and myself were on a boat in the middle of the sea. It was quite a warm, moonlit night, and there were no clouds in the sky. The moon started to flash brightly, and the three of us stood staring up at it, wondering what was happening. Enid said, "I knew He had to come soon!", referring to the coming of the Lord to the air for His saints (1st Thessalonians 4:13-18). I didn't know what to think, and was just waiting to see what would happen next. Some seconds passed. Then the moon turned a bluish colour like the earth, and I started to think, that's unusual and that maybe Enid was right. Suddenly the three of us were lifted off the boat by an unseen force. There was a metal and glass canopy covering part of the boat, and I thought the three of us we were going to collide with it, but we just passed straight through it. We were being drawn toward this object, which I had thought was the moon, like iron is drawn to a magnet. I looked across the horizon as this was happening, and could see hundreds of others being drawn towards this bright circle in the sky in streams. The thought suddenly entered my head, "I am going to see the Lord", who I believed was at this bright spot in the sky. I was thrilled. But I never saw the Lord. Before I reached the circle, the force that was lifting me up started to lose power, and I drifted back down towards Earth again. I landed on the ground. I could still float a little, and tried to run and jump off a hill or two, but I couldn't get back into the sky again. When I wakened, I was thrilled to have dreamt about this, but equally disappointed that it was only a dream. The verse in Joel 2:28 stuck in my head, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions". I have no idea why I dreamt this, whether it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, or whether there is anything more to it than that. But I think it very interesting to have dreamt about it anyway, and I look forward to the day when this happens for real. Jesus Christ promised that if He went back into heaven, He would come again to receive us unto Himself, that where He is we may be also (John 14:3). We don't know when that day will be, but looking at all that is coming to pass around us, we believe it could be soon. Are you ready for when the Lord comes? The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice upon the cross so that your sins could be forgiven. The Lord Jesus says that all those who trust in Him for salvation shall have everlasting life in heaven (John 5:24). Turn away from your sins, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.
Isaiah 26:19-21 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
I apologize for not having updated the website in recent days. I didn't mention this on the site for security reasons. Last week I had the pleasure of going away with a group of Christians for a week's holiday in Greece. I have only been to Greece once before, for ten days holiday on the island of Kos. The island of Kos is mentioned in the Bible (Coos - Acts 21:1), but that wasn't the reason for our holiday. On this occasion we travelled to the mainland to see some of the actual places that Paul visited on his second missionary journey. Around fourteen of us had booked to go on the trip. We met at Belfast International Airport at 4:30am and caught a plane tfrom London Stansted to Athens, and then another to Thessalonica, where we would begin our journey. We met up with missionaries from the United Kingdom, David and Wilma, who would guide us on our travels.
My first impressions of Greece were that it seemed a lot like Kos. This somewhat surprised me. Compared to the UK, Greece appears underdeveloped. Much of the modern architecture seems haphazardly designed and non-uniform. Buildings are hastily erected using pre-cast concrete slabs inside earthquake-proof box frames. There are four and five-storey apartment blocks everywhere you look, each with their own veranda, reminding you how much Greece relies on tourism for its economy. Stray dogs roam the streets of many towns. Driving on the right-hand side of the road takes a while to get used to. The standard of Greek driving also leaves a lot to be desired. Road markings are often ignored and horns are sounded at the slightest provocation. Greece is much like Israel in that respect. But the condition of the main roads are a lot better than those of the United Kingdom. The European Union spent a lot of money upgrading Greek motorways for the Athens Olympic Games. Greek food is also much different than in Ireland, with the staple diet comprising mostly of salad and various grilled meats rather than potatoes and vegetables.
The first place we stayed in was the Hotel Avra in Thessalonica. We spent the first three nights at this hotel. We rested Saturday night, and in the morning we attended an assembly in Thessalonica, which was based in a room of a hotel. Our tour organizer Thomas Jennings gave a message in English at the family service, which was interpreted by a member of the assembly. After the breaking of bread, we were invited to the home of one of the Greek believers, were we were treated to a traditional Greek meal. In the afternoon we toured around some of the sites in Thessalonica, including a Roman forum that is being excavated in the centre of the city. This forum was located along the Via Egnatia, an ancient Roman highway which Paul would have undoubtedly used on his missionary journeys. That night we went back to the fellowship in Thessalonica for the Gospel meeting.
The following day we made our way towards the city of Kavala, known in Bible times as Neapolis. This is a port city, and it was from here that Paul made his journey north to Philippi (Acts 16:1), which was a main city in his day. Greece is a big country. We couldn't imagine making the kind of journeys Paul made without modern transport such as cars and planes. Yet Paul travelled thousands of miles using relatively primitive means of travel in his efforts to spread the message of the Gospel across the known world. If only we were able to catch a spark from the fire that burned within his soul, it might make us more determined to be greater witnesses for the Lord. There is no modern city of Philippi today, but the ruins of the ancient city are being excavated. Philippi was also located along the Via Egnatia. We were able to see the place were Paul would have been arrested and tried for preaching the Gospel (Acts 16). One of our group used the occasion to preach the gospel in the Roman amphitheatre at Philippi. It's hard to believe it but the sound from this video was actually recorded by the microphone on my camera while I was standing at the top of the amphitheatre. As one guide told us when we were visiting the Parthenon, the acoustics of the ancient amphitheatres have not been beaten despite all the advancement of our modern technology.
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It is not known where the prison at Philippi was located. After this we walked along the Via Egnatia to the place where Luke records that prayer was accustomed to be made. There was no synagogue in Philippi, but Jewish women met at this river to pray. It was here that Paul met with Lydia, a seller of purple, whose heart the Lord opened. We then travelled to Edessa, which according to Foxe's Book of Martyrs, was the place were the apostles Andrew and Jude were martyred. We also visited the spectacular waterfalls in Edessa. After this we travelled to Berea and saw the Bema seat which has been erected by the Greek Orthodox Church in honour of Paul's visit here, although there is little to suggest that the site has any historical connection. Luke records for us that the Jewish believers at Berea were more noble than those of Thessalonica because they searched the Scriptures daily to verify the truth of the message Paul was bringing them (Acts 17:10-11). After we photographs of Paul's altar, which depicts his vision of the man from Macedonia and the Jewish believers at Berea, we were invited in to view an evangelical assembly located in the same area that is faithfully proclaiming the message Paul brought to the city over nineteen centuries ago
We spent the night in another small hotel before travelling to David and Wilma's house for breakfast. David and Wilma are missionaries from the UK who live in the shadow of Mount Olympus. They are doing a fantastic work in the area, witnessing to their Greek neighbours through friendship evangelism and supporting the work in neighbouring countries, often hazarding their own lives for the furtherance of the Gospel. It was a privilege to spend the week with them, and hear their experiences of how the Lord has worked in their lives, and to learn from David as he opened the Scriptures. After breakfast we began the long journey to Athens. It took us around five hours to get there, travelling at speed on the Greek motorways. Paul may have made the journey by boat in an effort to escape his Jewish antagonists. On our way there we stopped off to visit a youth camp run by evangelical Christians. They are seeing a good work done despite enduring hardship from the Greek Orthodox Church, which more or less runs the government of Greece. A group of evangelical Christians bought a plot of ground near the sea many years ago to run a youth camp. But recently the Greek authorities decided that the value of the land had increased substantially, so they demanded that the Christians produce papers to prove how much they had bought the land for. When the relevant papers could not be produced, they then rezoned half of the camp ground and demanded the Christians pay over a million and a half euros in tax for the remainder. Unfortunately Christians often face discrimination in Greece if they admit to belonging to a background other than the official Orthodox Church.
We arrived that night at the Hotel Bousoulas, which is located half way between Athens and Corinth. It was the best of the three hotels we stayed in. The back of the hotel is adjacent to the beach, and all of our rooms looked out over the Aegean sea. The improving weather enabled us to go for a swim on the last day of our trip. The next day we proceeded to Athens. The traffic in the capital is not for the faint hearted. Cars and trams crowd the bustling streets, while motorbikes and mopeds dodge between vehicles with little care for pedestrians. We enjoyed a refreshing drink at a local cafe before going to visit the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena, which dominates the Athens skyline. Photographs do not adequately portray how large and imposing this building actually is. It's hard to believe that when Paul visited this city, the structure was already over 500 years old. He found the city wholly given over to idolatry, and debated in the synagogue and the market place with certain of the Jews. Unfortunately not much has changed in 2000 years. When Paul encountered philosophers of the Epicureans and Stoics, they took him to Mars Hill, where they asked him to explain this 'new doctrine' to them. We had the pleasure of climbing Mars Hill, and our Irish friend Maurice used the occasion to speak to a few tourists about their need of salvation. It was thrilling to be in a place where we know for a fact that the apostle Paul preached the Gospel. And it is thrilling that long after the Epicureans and Stoics have gone, Paul's speech is now inscribed at the very place where he once stood, a testament to the fact that heaven and earth will pass away but God's Word will never pass away. In Paul's day he saw an altar with this inscription, "to the unknown God", but now at the base of Mars Hill there is an inscription to the one true God! Praise God that it is possible to know the same God that Paul knew, and that we can enjoy the forgiveness of sins that he preached about, through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
On the last day of our holiday we visited Corinth. There is still a modern city of Corinth. The ruins of the ancient city are being excavated, and it is possible to visit the place where the Corinthian church would have been located. Sadly the church lay in the shadow of the Temple of Aphrodite, which served as a centre for prostitution at the time. That may have had an undue influence on some of the difficulties faced by the Corinthian church (1st Corinthians 5). It is also a reminder to us that we live in the shadow of evil, and we need to do our utmost to live lives that are pleasing to God. We also visited the Corinthian Canal. Then we passed on to Cenchrea where Paul took a vow, completing his second missionary journey. I hope you have enjoyed reading this account of our trip. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time, and it was great to see that God is still working in these lands, even today.
A dear friend of mine has very kindly given me permission to upload a video she has created to the website. A lot of work has gone into producing this animation, and I think you will agree that the message portrayed in it is very thought provoking. The video is entitled, The Truth. I hope you enjoy watching it. You can visit her own YouTube page by following this link.
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Genesis 7:1,4 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation... For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
Borrowed time. I think that just about sums up my thoughts for this year. After all had been said and done, in His mercy, God gave the world seven more days of grace, giving man space to repent of his wickedness and opportunity to escape the coming judgement. Our God is definitely the God of second chances. But men did not repent. They were warned by God through the preaching of Noah for over 120 years (2nd Peter 2:5), and fully knowing what judgement they would face, men chose to go on in their sins. And they perished...
Job 22:15-17 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
A lot is taking place in the world today in relation to end time prophecy. 2007 saw record-breaking extreme weather on a global scale, while 2008 will be remembered for one of the greatest financial depressions the world has ever seen. The Middle East peace process continues apace, as does the Iranian nuclear crisis. We witnessed the official launch of the Union for the Mediterranean, and Russian interest in the Mediterranean is also on the increase. 2008 saw one of the most widely publicized predictions to date of a UFO apparition, which inevitably failed to materialize. It was also the year in which prominent theologians went out of their way to accommodate the unbiblical notion of the existence of extraterrestrial life forms. 2008 saw the first asteroid discovered to be on an immanent collision course with Earth, and later in the year, the first major meteorite strike to be caught on film as it happened. We saw the first fossil proof that mankind walked with dinosaurs. And the apostolic-prophetic movement launched its Florida Outpouring, which saw elderly women getting kicked in the face, cancerous men kneed in the stomach and bizarre claims of female angels and trips to the third heaven. It's been a strange year. The shape of things to come, you might say.
There are some who claim that we are now nearing the middle of Daniel's seventieth week. But there is no peace treaty, no Antichrist reigning, no Jewish Temple and no sacrificial system. If 2010 was the midpoint of man's final seven years, then that would leave only 12 months at the most by which all these things must be in place. It's not going to happen that quickly. Are we nearing the end? I think the signs of the times would indicate that. Perhaps God in His mercy has given the world another seven days in which to repent. What will 2009 have in store? I don't know. None of us are guaranteed to see tomorrow's light. That's why it is important to be ready now. Jesus Christ is coming back again. One thing I was meditating on during the New Year. In relation to His coming, Christ said this...
Luke 12:35-38 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
The second and third watches are in the middle of the night. The hour is late and we need to be found watching. When Christ comes, will you be ready? Or will you be asleep? Are you ready to meet God? Have you had your sins forgiven? Have you trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).
My first impressions of Greece were that it seemed a lot like Kos. This somewhat surprised me. Compared to the UK, Greece appears underdeveloped. Much of the modern architecture seems haphazardly designed and non-uniform. Buildings are hastily erected using pre-cast concrete slabs inside earthquake-proof box frames. There are four and five-storey apartment blocks everywhere you look, each with their own veranda, reminding you how much Greece relies on tourism for its economy. Stray dogs roam the streets of many towns. Driving on the right-hand side of the road takes a while to get used to. The standard of Greek driving also leaves a lot to be desired. Road markings are often ignored and horns are sounded at the slightest provocation. Greece is much like Israel in that respect. But the condition of the main roads are a lot better than those of the United Kingdom. The European Union spent a lot of money upgrading Greek motorways for the Athens Olympic Games. Greek food is also much different than in Ireland, with the staple diet comprising mostly of salad and various grilled meats rather than potatoes and vegetables.
The first place we stayed in was the Hotel Avra in Thessalonica. We spent the first three nights at this hotel. We rested Saturday night, and in the morning we attended an assembly in Thessalonica, which was based in a room of a hotel. Our tour organizer Thomas Jennings gave a message in English at the family service, which was interpreted by a member of the assembly. After the breaking of bread, we were invited to the home of one of the Greek believers, were we were treated to a traditional Greek meal. In the afternoon we toured around some of the sites in Thessalonica, including a Roman forum that is being excavated in the centre of the city. This forum was located along the Via Egnatia, an ancient Roman highway which Paul would have undoubtedly used on his missionary journeys. That night we went back to the fellowship in Thessalonica for the Gospel meeting.
The following day we made our way towards the city of Kavala, known in Bible times as Neapolis. This is a port city, and it was from here that Paul made his journey north to Philippi (Acts 16:1), which was a main city in his day. Greece is a big country. We couldn't imagine making the kind of journeys Paul made without modern transport such as cars and planes. Yet Paul travelled thousands of miles using relatively primitive means of travel in his efforts to spread the message of the Gospel across the known world. If only we were able to catch a spark from the fire that burned within his soul, it might make us more determined to be greater witnesses for the Lord. There is no modern city of Philippi today, but the ruins of the ancient city are being excavated. Philippi was also located along the Via Egnatia. We were able to see the place were Paul would have been arrested and tried for preaching the Gospel (Acts 16). One of our group used the occasion to preach the gospel in the Roman amphitheatre at Philippi. It's hard to believe it but the sound from this video was actually recorded by the microphone on my camera while I was standing at the top of the amphitheatre. As one guide told us when we were visiting the Parthenon, the acoustics of the ancient amphitheatres have not been beaten despite all the advancement of our modern technology. 
It is not known where the prison at Philippi was located. After this we walked along the Via Egnatia to the place where Luke records that prayer was accustomed to be made. There was no synagogue in Philippi, but Jewish women met at this river to pray. It was here that Paul met with Lydia, a seller of purple, whose heart the Lord opened. We then travelled to Edessa, which according to Foxe's Book of Martyrs, was the place were the apostles Andrew and Jude were martyred. We also visited the spectacular waterfalls in Edessa. After this we travelled to Berea and saw the Bema seat which has been erected by the Greek Orthodox Church in honour of Paul's visit here, although there is little to suggest that the site has any historical connection. Luke records for us that the Jewish believers at Berea were more noble than those of Thessalonica because they searched the Scriptures daily to verify the truth of the message Paul was bringing them (Acts 17:10-11). After we photographs of Paul's altar, which depicts his vision of the man from Macedonia and the Jewish believers at Berea, we were invited in to view an evangelical assembly located in the same area that is faithfully proclaiming the message Paul brought to the city over nineteen centuries ago 
We spent the night in another small hotel before travelling to David and Wilma's house for breakfast. David and Wilma are missionaries from the UK who live in the shadow of Mount Olympus. They are doing a fantastic work in the area, witnessing to their Greek neighbours through friendship evangelism and supporting the work in neighbouring countries, often hazarding their own lives for the furtherance of the Gospel. It was a privilege to spend the week with them, and hear their experiences of how the Lord has worked in their lives, and to learn from David as he opened the Scriptures. After breakfast we began the long journey to Athens. It took us around five hours to get there, travelling at speed on the Greek motorways. Paul may have made the journey by boat in an effort to escape his Jewish antagonists. On our way there we stopped off to visit a youth camp run by evangelical Christians. They are seeing a good work done despite enduring hardship from the Greek Orthodox Church, which more or less runs the government of Greece. A group of evangelical Christians bought a plot of ground near the sea many years ago to run a youth camp. But recently the Greek authorities decided that the value of the land had increased substantially, so they demanded that the Christians produce papers to prove how much they had bought the land for. When the relevant papers could not be produced, they then rezoned half of the camp ground and demanded the Christians pay over a million and a half euros in tax for the remainder. Unfortunately Christians often face discrimination in Greece if they admit to belonging to a background other than the official Orthodox Church.
We arrived that night at the Hotel Bousoulas, which is located half way between Athens and Corinth. It was the best of the three hotels we stayed in. The back of the hotel is adjacent to the beach, and all of our rooms looked out over the Aegean sea. The improving weather enabled us to go for a swim on the last day of our trip. The next day we proceeded to Athens. The traffic in the capital is not for the faint hearted. Cars and trams crowd the bustling streets, while motorbikes and mopeds dodge between vehicles with little care for pedestrians. We enjoyed a refreshing drink at a local cafe before going to visit the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena, which dominates the Athens skyline. Photographs do not adequately portray how large and imposing this building actually is. It's hard to believe that when Paul visited this city, the structure was already over 500 years old. He found the city wholly given over to idolatry, and debated in the synagogue and the market place with certain of the Jews. Unfortunately not much has changed in 2000 years. When Paul encountered philosophers of the Epicureans and Stoics, they took him to Mars Hill, where they asked him to explain this 'new doctrine' to them. We had the pleasure of climbing Mars Hill, and our Irish friend Maurice used the occasion to speak to a few tourists about their need of salvation. It was thrilling to be in a place where we know for a fact that the apostle Paul preached the Gospel. And it is thrilling that long after the Epicureans and Stoics have gone, Paul's speech is now inscribed at the very place where he once stood, a testament to the fact that heaven and earth will pass away but God's Word will never pass away. In Paul's day he saw an altar with this inscription, "to the unknown God", but now at the base of Mars Hill there is an inscription to the one true God! Praise God that it is possible to know the same God that Paul knew, and that we can enjoy the forgiveness of sins that he preached about, through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
On the last day of our holiday we visited Corinth. There is still a modern city of Corinth. The ruins of the ancient city are being excavated, and it is possible to visit the place where the Corinthian church would have been located. Sadly the church lay in the shadow of the Temple of Aphrodite, which served as a centre for prostitution at the time. That may have had an undue influence on some of the difficulties faced by the Corinthian church (1st Corinthians 5). It is also a reminder to us that we live in the shadow of evil, and we need to do our utmost to live lives that are pleasing to God. We also visited the Corinthian Canal. Then we passed on to Cenchrea where Paul took a vow, completing his second missionary journey. I hope you have enjoyed reading this account of our trip. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time, and it was great to see that God is still working in these lands, even today.