The Last Disciple: Exile in Ephesus by Kurt Brouwer

Author:Kurt Brouwer [Brouwer, Kurt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kurt Brouwer
Published: 2024-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

They woke up to a cold, wet world. Nearby, the wild river swept logs and brush past their campsite. John muttered from underneath his blankets, “You were right again, Emmaus. I was lazy, and if you had listened to me, we’d be stuck over there on the wrong side of the river.”

“Aye. I’m glad we’re over here too. But I don’t like the feel of this wind. It’s gotten much colder. We may get even more rain or even snow.”

They decided to get on the road without building a fire. The rain eased up, but the cold wind blew. Though wet, the paved Roman road was still passable as it wound lower and lower. In a couple of hours, they began to see glimpses of water through the trees ahead.

When they reached a low hill, Lake Marmara stretched below them. The lake would likely be very beautiful in warm weather, but now it looked dark, choppy, and uninviting.

“Nothing at all like the Sea of Galilee when I first saw it, Uncle.”

“Indeed. You barely waited for a minute before you jumped in. But it was warm then. And I’m sure this would be lovely if we had warm weather and sunshine.”

With one more glance at the lake, Emmaus urged John to hurry because he hoped to reach Sardis, or at least some shelter, before the rain came again.

Not long after noon, they came to a smaller river with a broad, shallow place to ford and crossed without getting too wet.

Once across, they soon reached a paved road wide enough for wheeled traffic in both directions. On each side of the road, water channeled down in a gutter and puddled when the road leveled out. Both Emmaus and John stopped dead and stared because the road had been laid out very well. The center curved slightly so the water ran to the side and gathered in the gutter.

As they drew closer, a forbidding, yet magnificent sight came into view—the Acropolis of Sardis. Walls and buildings sat at the top of a sheer cliff, perhaps one thousand feet above them. But it was not just one cliff they saw but rather two.

Emmaus stopped a man passing by. “Excuse me sir, which one is Sardis?”

“Why both are, young man. Well, in a manner of speaking. One for the living and one for the dead.” He broke out laughing and walked away.

Emmaus hustled after him, laughing. “Please, sir, don’t leave us in suspense. What did you mean?”

The man again laughed. “No great mystery. There are twin hills here, those two high up there above us. The Sardis you seek is on that first hill. The Sardis that none seek is on the other.”

Emmaus put up a hand. “None seek?”

“Indeed, young man. For that other hill is a vast city of graves and tombs. Memorials and monuments. Not a living soul in it. It’s a vast city of the dead. Why it developed is lost in the mystery of the past, but I assure you that it is not a place to seek.

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