But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, there intending to
take in Paul: for so had he appointed, intending himself to go by land.
And when he met us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. And
sailing from thence, we came the following day over against Chios; and
the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after we came to Miletus.
For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to
spend time in Asia; for {426} he was hastening, if it were possible for
him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the
church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, "Ye
yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what
manner I was with you all the time, serving the Lord with all lowliness
of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of
the Jews: how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was
profitable, and teaching you publicly, from house to house, testifying
both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto
Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that
the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and
afflictions await me. But I hold not my life of any account, as dear
unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which
I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of
God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about
preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I testify
unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I
shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God.

{427}{428}

[Illustration]
DISTANT VIEWS OF OLYMPUS

Photographs taken by Prof. George Norlin. Owned by Arthur S. Cooley,
Ph.D., and used by his kind permission

It was near the foot of Olympus, the most famous mountain in Greece,
"the home of the gods," that Paul embarked on his voyage to Athens,
and it was often in sight as he sailed from point to point in the
Aegean Sea. The whole of Paul's route in Macedonia was over historical
ground. He traveled over the route taken by Xerxes' army when it swept
down to overwhelm Greece. He passed near the Pass of Thermopylae,
where one of the most famous defenses of history was made; at Phi