Author: Gregory Scott

One of the cool things about a cruise is waking up in a different port every day. Each morning one goes to the window curious as to what new experience waits behind the curtains. This day, Yalta awaited, with her slumbering slopes slipping casually down to the Black Sea.

Yalta is a summer destination for Ukrainians. It was also a summer destination for Russian czars and Russian premiers.

Our first stop was Massandra Palace, Joseph Stalin’s dacha (summer home). This was a place where Uncle Joe could unwind and relieve some of the stress associated with murdering 30 million people. Mass murder has proven to be one of the fruits of political atheism; just ask Pol Pot and Mao Tse-Tung.

Next was Livadia Palace, the place where Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin carved up post-WWII Europe. It was also the summer home of Czar Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. Nicholas II, along with his wife, four children, domestic staff and dog, were executed by the Communists during the Bolshevik Revolution.

It has been reported that Nicholas II read his Bible regularly and even underlined his favorite Scriptures. Notwithstanding that, he made some serious errors in judgment and did not follow the counsel of his advisors that could have helped Russia avoid revolution.

It’s not enough to simply love God.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but it’s just the beginning. If the kingdom of God is going to fill the earth, Christians will need to be more than lovers of God, though that is a necessity; they must also be competent, compassionate, excellent and ethical in the exercise of authority.

Strolling the promenade along the beach at Yalta, we saw two other sights worth noting.  One was Ukrainian men sauntering along the promenade in nothing but Speedos and flip-flops. It was warm in Yalta, but it was not that warm. The other was a huge statue of Vladimir Lenin (see picture).

The two most important Vladimirs in Russian history are Vladimir I and Vladimir Lenin.  Vladimir I converted to Christianity in 988 A.D. and facilitated the spread of the Gospel, helping make Russia a Christian nation.  I previously blogged on Vladimir I here in the Kingdom Hero series.

Vladimir Lenin initiated the Bolshevik Revolution, which installed state-imposed atheism in Russia and the surrounding nations.  The rotten fruit of the bad Vladimir is still seen throughout the former Soviet Republics.

Atheism has no virtue to offer the world. Even Greek and Roman paganism initially inspired some virtue in its followers. Atheism yields only hedonism and selfishness. What a man believes affects how he acts, and how he acts affects the world around him. Faith has consequences. GS

Today we were at sea all day.  I always look forward to at sea days on a cruise because they are days when I don’t have to be anywhere or do anything, which is always part of a good vacation.

I was getting caught up on the news from the States today and saw the story regarding the controversial mosque near ground zero. A lot of people are thinking and debating about how this issue should be resolved.

For a citizen of the kingdom of God the issue is an important one because as the Kingdom expands more Christians will find themselves in authority and leadership positions in governments ruling nations where people practice false religions.

The Byzantines grappled with this same issue in the form of paganism. Constantine I (ruled 306 – 337 A.D.) and Theodosius I (ruled 379 – 395 A.D.), both Christians, instituted laws addressing the practice of false religion.  These two men took two very different approaches to the issue.

Constantine, who became a Christian in 312 A.D., instituted the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., guaranteeing to Christians and others “the right of open and free observance of their worship.” It is one of the most progressive and important documents in history. Temples remained open and people continued their pagan practices, unless, of course, they became Christians. Constantine’s maxim was that Christians should persuade pagans to Christianity but if persuasion fails, compulsion should not be attempted. Constantine took steps to promote and support the church, but he didn’t ban paganism.

Theodosius took a different approach. In the early part of his reign, he banned public pagan worship and sacrifice, effectively closing the pagan temples. As a result, private homes became the primary place of pagan worship. Interestingly, Theodosius did not ban Judaism or close synagogues. Later in his reign, Theodosius took a much harder line, prohibiting pagan worship and sacrifice both publicly and privately, and imposing harsh penalties on those who violated the law. Theodosius’s reign and his laws effectively put an end to paganism in the Roman Empire.

It’s important to note that neither Constantine nor Theodosius compelled people by force of law to become Christians or attend church. Both recognized that citizenship in the kingdom of God is voluntary if it is anything. So, who was right?

What do you think and why? GS

We spent the morning on a boat cruising up the Bosphorus, taking in the sites from a different angle. We went north as far Rumeli Hisari (Castle), which Mehmed II built in 1452 to control of the traffic on the Bosphorus and prepare his army to lay siege to Constantinople the following year. Rumeli Hisari is in remarkably good condition, as you can see from the photograph.

By the time Mehmed II attacked Constantinople he controlled the Bosphorus and surrounding land areas. The Byzantines solicited help from the Latin church (the Catholics) to prevent this Christian city from falling to the Muslims, but received only nominal support.

In fact, seeing the threats from the Ottomans years before, the Byzantine Emperor had, against great opposition from his own people, reunited the Eastern Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church, healing, at least on paper, the Great Schism that had happened in 1054. The reunification wasn’t to last long, and it was too fragile to save Constantinople from the Muslims.

After a brief visit to the spice market, we went to the Mosaic Museum where we saw some of the largest and most well-preserved mosaics in the world.  These were from the Great Palace of Constantine, probably from a part added by Justinian in the 6^th century.

Having visited Pompeii a few years ago and seen the mosaics and sculptures there in which phallic symbols and other erotic scenes were commonplace, it was refreshing to see here nothing of the sort. In the 500 years from the destruction of Pompeii to the creation of these mosaics, the kingdom of God had leavened and transformed Roman culture.

The highlight of the day was the Basilica Cistern, an enormous underground water jug, supported by more than 300 columns, designed to collect rainwater for use in the palace and surrounding areas.  Most interesting here was the base of two of the columns, not discovered until recently because they are on the base of the column, were under water and could not be seen until the water level receded.

As you can see from the photograph, the figure on the base of the column is the head of Medusa.  A big head.  This head was taken from the Temple of Apollo in Medina. Justinian’s placement of the Medusa upside down, underwater at the bottom of the column was intended to denigrate paganism and symbolize its defeat by Christianity in the Roman Empire.

When we were in Israel a few months ago, we visited Caesarea Philippi in northern Israel, where Jesus told his disciples the gates of Hades would not prevail against the church. (Matthew 16: 18). What I didn’t realize until I was there in Caesarea Philipi and our guide explained it, is that the “gates of Hades” is an actual place. It’s the opening to the cave at Caesarea Philippi, which you see in the photograph. When Jesus was there, the cave opening was surrounded by pagan temples. You can still see the foundations of the temples at the opening to the cave.

The pagans believed this cave opening—the “gates of Hades”—was a door to the spirit underworld. Therefore, when Jesus said the gates of Hades would not prevail against the Church, He was prophesying the Church would soundly defeat paganism within the Roman Empire. These two columns erected in the Basilica Cistern 500 years later, flaunting the defeat of paganism, are proof that Jesus’ prophecy regarding the advance of the kingdom of God in the Roman Empire had been fulfilled. GS

Today, we only toured in the morning, but it was an inspiring and interesting day. We began with a short stop at the back side of the far end of the Hippodrome, which is the only part of the structure remaining. We hadn’t seen this Sunday, because it’s hidden from view by the buildings that were erected on its ruins. This last remaining part of the Hippodrome hints at its once awe-inspiring size and magnificence at a time when the Christian city was the envy of the world.

We next stopped at what was formerly the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus but is now a mosque. It was not on the standard tour itinerary, but I’d come across it in the Byzantine history I’ve been reading and wanted to see it. So our tour guide arranged for us to see it. It was built by Emperor Justinian between 530-533 A.D. and is in remarkably good shape. Its marble columns look like they were hewn yesterday. The dome ceiling, marble columns and vaulted interiors create an impression of vertical space that is disguised by the exterior of the church. The vertical pull of the sanctuary was intended to direct one’s attention God. It succeeded.

You may wonder, “What’s the big deal with looking at old churches?” There are two things really. It’s the history for one; there is something about seeing a building erected 1,500 years ago that helps one transcend one’s own time and see the present through the more objective lens of the whole. But then there is the beauty. Devotion to God inspires the most creative impulses in the heart of man, and when one looks at churches like Hagia Sophia and SS Sergius and Bacchus, one is seeing clearly into the heart of men from a distance of 1,500 years.

The highlight of the day, and perhaps the trip thus far, was found at our next stop: the Theodosian Wall. This is the wall constructed by Theodosius II between 408 and 413 A.D. What’s the big deal about a wall? This wall, combined with the preexisting wall protecting the sides of the city facing the water, completely encircled the city–12 miles of walls. From the photograph you can see it disappearing in the distance. Just imagine it continuing for 12 miles. This wall successfully protected Constantinople for more than 1,000 years. During that time, only the crusaders in the Fourth Crusade breached the walls. Perhaps more on that tomorrow.

Walls were necessary at this point in history, as they are, though in a different form, today. But the future toward which the kingdom of God is progressing is a world where walls are unnecessary, where men will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. (Isaiah 2:4). GS

This day began early. We were out of our hotel by 6:00 a.m. on our way to the airport to catch a flight to Kayseri (in English “Caesar”), our ultimate destination a Central Turkey region called Cappadocia.

Cappadocia was once inhabited by the Hittites (as in “Uriah the Hittite,” 2 Samuel 11), then the Greeks, and for the last several hundred years, the Turks.  Cappadocia is known for its otherworldly rock formations, which were created by the two hands of desert heat and mountain snow placed on volcanic rock and spun by a persistent wind. The result appears as purposeful as anything that has ever left the potter’s wheel, as you can see from the photograph.

In the late morning, we visited Goreme, another cave-community, this one used as a seminary where St. Basil taught Christianity to the locals and to aspiring priests.  The churches carved out of the rock at Goreme contain frescos more than 1,000 years old that have survived Iconoclast and Muslim defacement.

After a long relaxing lunch finished off with a Turkish coffee, we stopped in a small village for some shopping. The Turks have been very friendly to us everywhere we’ve been, and in this village a local proprietor offer us tea and was so friendly we were looking for things to buy from him. Did I mention the Turks are also very good businessmen?

We ended our tour of Cappadocia at an underground cave-city. Like the cave city at Zelve, the Hittites used this underground city to escape from their enemies. The Greeks used the underground city after the Hittites, followed by the Christians, who used the underground city to escape persecution from the pagans.

Christians in caves was the theme of the day.  What’s interesting is that even after the persecution ended and Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, the Christians at Zelve and in other cave communities in Cappadocia, continued to live and worship in the caves.  Moreover, other Christians joined them, apparently desiring the community of other believers to the challenge of discipling the nations.

In it’s nascent stages in a hostile intolerant culture, it’s sometimes necessary for the Church to remain underground.  This is certainly the case now in China and Iran. But the destiny of the kingdom of God is not the seed planted in the ground but the tree in whose branches the birds of the air nest.

Leaven only changes the dough when it is in contact with it; salt requires a similar interaction. What was true in Cappadocia in the days of the early church is true today.  Christians will not change the world escaping from it, but from engaging it. One doesn’t change the world from a cave.

Until tomorrow…  GS