It’s fun to watch TV shows and movies as a family, but sometimes you want something that’s mostly for yourself, that’s not a cartoon or something, right? I know I do. I was given a copy of the Exploring Ephesus DVD to watch from FishFlix.com. In this DVD, you get to walk (or drive in a BMW convertible!) down memory lane and explore the city of Ephesus along with Dr. Andy Jackson and Dr. Mark Wilson. It’s a bit historical in nature, so I was pretty stoked to get to watch this. The runtime is 58 minutes, so I got nearly an hour to watch something for myself. Yay me!
FishFlix.com is a new-to-me company, but I just love finding cool new things, don’t you? The company began more than a decade ago. The company’s founder, Dr. Enis Sakirgil, is a Turkish Christian, and Exploring Ephesus actually takes place in Turkey. Dr. Sakirgil produced a film called Apostle Paul and the Earlier Churches that he began selling online after his family immigrated to the U.S. Pretty Awesome! Fishflix.com offers a good amount of Christian films for purchase in a wide range of topics. If you can think of it, I bet they have it!
In case you didn’t know, Ephesus was an ancient Greek city in what is now known as Turkey. The Apostle Paul actually lived in Ephesus, and wrote the book of 1 Corinthians there, as well.
Now, onto the DVD. We start off in Smyrna, where Andy is waiting to meet Mark so that we can all go on our tour together to explore Ephesus. Both have actually lived in Israel. Did you know that about two-thirds of the New Testament was written in Turkey? I had no idea! Ephesus is also one of the 7 churches mentioned in Revelation. Tarsus is also Paul’s hometown. He spent 3 years of ministry in Ephesus, which was the longest he spent anywhere.
As Mark and Andy are driving through Turkey, in a convertible no less, we get to listen to their conversation. It’s not like eavesdropping, though, because while they’re conversing, we are learning some great facts. If you’re like me, there maybe be much for you to learn about Paul and Ephesus. The goddess Artemis was a popular pagan goddess to worship in Ephesus at the time, and we get to see a replica of her statue from that time. We also get to see where the riot in Acts 19 happened. It’s a very wide open looking space now. I just can’t believe how much great information Andy and Mark have locked away about Ephesus. It’s just so wonderful to see the ancient Roman land where the apostles once walked. There are so many old structures to see; it’s really pretty remarkable. We even get to see a portrait of Paul that was painted inside a cave.
Occasionally throughout the film you’ll see some subtitles with tidbits of extra information that are related to what Mark and Andy are discussing at the time. There are several pagan gods mentioned, but not in a praise-worthy way at all; it’s strictly from a historical standpoint. It wasn’t anything concerning to me, and I would have no trouble letting children watch the film.
The DVD also has several bonus featurettes: The Book of Ephesus, The Seven Churches, and Lessons for Today. There’s also a music video and a trailer for the film itself.
I really enjoyed Exploring Ephesus so much! I was able to watch it on my laptop, since it’s rare for me to be able to wrangle actual time using the TV. It’s just under an our long, so finding time for it was easy. I can’t wait for my husband to watch it as well, and I think the kids would even like it! This would be a great way to maybe work some unit studies into your homeschool day. If you’d like to learn more history about Paul, definitely check out Exploring Ephesus from FishFlix.com!
Be sure to read the reviews written by my fellow Crew Mates. There were different DVDs reviewed for Fishflix.com. Thanks for stopping by today!
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