A Shipwreck & Snakebite Of Biblical Proportions - Cave Of Paul The Apostle / Inside Malta Catacombs
Following Path Of Paul The Apostle
Transcript
0:04
Today's adventure begins as the
0:04
recording of this TGIF. It is Friday,
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December 5th,
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2025.
0:14
Starting off at this church here in
0:16
Milha,
0:19
Malta. And I'm going to be traversing
0:22
around the very small country of Malta.
0:25
Kind of going into
0:28
some stories from 60 AD,
0:32
a long time ago, some biblical stories,
0:37
and it should be interesting. And I'm
0:39
starting off here because on this
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property is a painting that I showed the
0:43
first day I arrived. I didn't really
0:44
know what it was when I first looked at
0:46
it, but now I know a little bit more.
0:47
So, I'm going to start off
0:49
at that before grabbing an Uber to else
0:52
going other areas. Welcome everyone.
0:55
Adam the Woo here. One of the most
0:56
famous shipwrecks in all of this country
1:00
happened not too far from where I'm
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staying in the hotel which is right next
1:03
to this chapel, cathedral, church
1:06
building
1:08
involving the Apostle Paul and St. Luke
1:13
was also with him as well as 276 other
1:17
people whose ship hit the shoreline
1:20
and they spent some time right here. In
1:22
fact, Luke wrote about it. He wrote the
1:25
Gospel of Luke in the Bible and also
1:28
Acts Acts 27 and 28 is where the story
1:32
could be told of what some of the spots
1:34
I'm going to go to. And according to
1:37
local legend, Luke, who was on that
1:40
ship, who wrote Gospel of Luke and Acts,
1:43
painted a painting that was in the cave,
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one of the original caves that they took
1:48
shelter in after the shipwreck.
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And the painting was moved here to
1:54
Millyhoff and it's located down below.
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I'm going to start off with that and
1:59
then go to where the general vicinity of
2:01
where the shipwreck happened. Join me.
2:04
got a lot of spots to hit, shall you?
2:07
Now, keep in mind, I'm kind of just
2:08
going off some slight research and
2:11
certain things that I've, you know,
2:14
taken from my youth,
2:16
Bible study, and going to a Christian
2:19
school and
2:25
my dad being a minister my whole life, a
2:25
preacher's kid.
2:27
I'm not an expert on any of this, so a
2:29
lot of it I'm just kind of going off
2:31
the, you know, off the cuff, off the
2:34
seat of my pants, if you will. Also, I'd
2:36
like to give a mention to my dad who
2:39
before I left town and said one of the
2:41
spots on this international travels
2:43
would be going to Malta, and he goes,
2:44
"You really know what you should do? You
2:47
should really get into and go to the
2:49
spots of the shipwreck
2:52
from Paul and Luke."
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So, this one goes out to my dad. And if
2:57
you do or do not believe all or some or
2:59
even a portion of what is stated
3:03
of what I'm basing some of the some of
3:06
the stuff I've read, the spots I'm going
3:08
to be going, that's fine, too. It's
3:09
still going to be some pretty
3:11
interesting adventures today. So, I
3:13
appreciate you tagging along. But
3:15
located in this courtyard, again, I
3:17
stopped by here right off I got my plane
3:19
the other day before I checked in my
3:20
hotel or right around the time I checked
3:22
in my hotel. And right inside here is
3:25
the artwork. And it is said, some say
3:30
that St. Luke painted himself on the
3:33
side of a cave. And I am just going to
3:36
assume that this is not where the cave
3:38
was, but they took the artwork and moved
3:40
it into here.
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And this may be the closest I've ever
3:44
been to today's episode of seeing stuff
3:48
that is mentioned in the Bible up close
3:50
and personal. I think, you know, years
3:53
of going to a Christian school and being
3:56
homeschooled and taught passages from
3:58
the Bible and growing up a preachers's
4:00
kid. This will be the first time I've
4:02
really kind of been in the same vicinity
4:04
of some of those stories. So, it's kind
4:07
of neat.
4:29
Right there is the artwork said
4:29
was painted
4:31
by St. Luke.
4:42
who wrote all of Acts and the Gospel of
4:42
Luke in the Bible.
4:54
And if that's true, that is an amazing
4:54
piece of artwork
4:57
that I will not deny. I did purchase an
5:00
umbrella, which I'm probably going to
5:01
need. Now, I'm going to go from this
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point. I'm going to grab a ride share
5:05
and head over to the spot where it is
5:08
said the wreck took place.
5:25
Evidently, there's a chapel at the spot
5:25
where the wreck took place.
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And evidently that chapel is also where
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it is said that Paul was bitten by a
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poisonous snake, an asp and survived.
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The thing I really find fascinating
5:39
about this and this episode in
5:41
particular is I'm going to be putting
5:44
places to go along with the stories and
5:46
it makes the stories really seem a lot
5:50
more feasible and real when you're in
5:53
the spot, if that makes any sense.
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All right, I did not grab an Uber. I had
5:58
to use a new car system. Well, car ride
6:03
share system by the name of Bolt. Had to
6:05
download it, put my information in. Not
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a lot of Ubers around this area, but
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tons of Bolt. So, I waited for a while
6:14
and decided, you know what? I don't
6:14
think the Uber train is going to work
6:16
out. So this is the church here that is
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at the spot where the shipwreck happened
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right along.
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We got these boats over here. St. Paul's
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Bay
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next to the Octopus Garden Diving Center
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right here right off the Mediterranean
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Sea,
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And I believe off in the distance is St.
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Paul's Island.
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I'm going to have to double check that.
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But here, this is St. Paul's Bay
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and St. Paul's Island is right there.
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This is St. Paul's shipwreck church.
7:12
There are a lot of
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buildings with Paul's name on it.
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There's a big cement truck that just
7:23
went by.
7:30
Basilas with his name, cathedrals with
7:30
his name. This is St. Paul's Chapel.
7:36
And take a look at this. This chapel
7:38
stands on the side where tradition
7:39
holds. A Maltese lit a fire so that Paul
7:42
and his companion could warm themsel up
7:44
after the shipwreck. This is why it is
7:47
known as the shipwreck chapel and is
7:49
also the chapel of the bonfire.
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I'm not saying any I'm not seeing
7:53
anything on here about this being the
7:55
spot where he was bit by the snake, but
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some say it was, some say it wasn't.
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About 40 years later in 1575. Oh, at
8:03
this time in the 16th century, two noble
8:05
malt maltes families financed the
8:09
rebuilding of the chapel. But this dates
8:11
back to this spot from 60 AD
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where a fire was lit so Paul and his
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companions,
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possibly Luke and others,
8:25
could warm themselves up after the
8:27
shipwreck.
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That is fascinating. That is
8:36
fascinating.
8:41
Right over here next to this building
8:41
which is the Blue Seas Motel or
8:44
accommodations. There is a lighthouse
8:46
out here.
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There are a number of sculptures of Paul
8:52
as well in honor of him.
8:55
Again, the most famous shipwreck that
8:59
this country has ever had. One of the
9:00
most famous shipwrecks
9:06
in the Bible. I was going to say in the
9:06
history of existence, but there's plenty
9:08
of others as well. But this is a very,
9:12
very notable one. In fact, over there,
9:15
use my umbrella to point at the island
9:17
over there. If I zoom in with my phone,
9:19
there is some say again this is all
9:23
depends on who you talk to and what you
9:25
read and who has different opinions. But
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it is said by many that that is the spot
9:30
where the shipwrecked and then came
9:33
ashore right over here where the island
9:35
is. You cannot get to that island except
9:38
by boat. And the weather conditions
9:39
probably not too great to get a tourist
9:41
boat over there. That's a worker boat.
9:43
But I zoomed in and you can see where
9:46
some say the exact spot was right over
9:49
there. There there is a sculpture
9:53
of of Paul. So take a look here. There
9:58
looks like there's a piece of some sort
10:00
of a building there. Then right there on
10:03
that pillar is a sculpture of Paul. And
10:07
here's a close-up image that I found
10:09
online.
10:10
A quick search. There's a bunch of them.
10:17
here in Malta. Believe this is supposed
10:17
to represent him also.
10:20
San Paul. Sen P A W L. Now, I don't know
10:24
for certain,
10:26
but I would imagine that's a different
10:28
spelling and different language for
10:31
Paul. P A U L.
10:34
St. Paul.
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San Paul.
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Right here in the front of the building
10:40
itself.
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This particular church is not open to
10:44
the public at this particular moment,
10:51
but it's right here at a little
10:51
roundabout. It goes around it.
11:05
St. Luca. Oh, that must be St. Luke.
11:05
Yeah, that's got to be St. Luke, right?
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So, you got St. Paul and St. Luke.
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St. Luke who is responsible for the
11:13
passages in the Bible
11:16
in Acts talking about this happening.
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Oh, look. St. Paul's shipwreck on Malta.
11:22
Acts of the Apostles
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27 and 25. Acts 27:25. I have faith in
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God that it will be exactly as I have
11:32
been told. We shall not have to run. We
11:35
shall have to run on some island. After
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we had escaped, we then learned that the
11:40
island was called Malta. The natives
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showed up, showed us unusual kindness.
11:45
The people of the island who had
11:46
diseases came and were cured. And when
11:49
we sailed, they put on board whatever we
11:53
needed, provided by the English speaking
11:54
parish
11:56
right there, written by this man,
12:01
St. Luca,
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St. Luke. I'm assuming that's St. Luke.
12:06
I would imagine
12:08
this is cool. This is very cool. Lots of
12:10
other languages or the Bible verses as
12:13
well. And there are these carvings
12:16
which could be representations
12:19
of the shipwreck or at least some of the
12:22
events around
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the shipwreck.
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And from where I just was, I'm going to
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walk just about a mile, about 9/10 of a
12:39
mile, over to the Apostle Spring, also
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known as the Gajin Razul Fountain,
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which as the legend says, Paul struck
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the ground, creating a spring of water
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for those to drink for the thirsty
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survivors of the shipwreck.
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And Razul, I was reading a little more.
13:04
Brazul. Evidently, the Phoenetians came
13:07
up with that word, which means apostle.
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Thank the Phoenicians. Here's an
13:13
artistic interpretation of the bonfire
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where the snake came out and bit him.
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Also reading some other accounts that
13:21
that church is
13:23
the poisonous snake church as well
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because the bonfire is where the snake
13:28
came out of.
13:37
Zooming in again on the island.
13:37
Evidently, they found a lot of anchors
13:39
around that island. That is why it is
13:41
heavily assumed and said that that is
13:45
where the shipwreck took place. Right
13:47
here
13:49
along the shore next to where the church
13:53
was built, where the bonfire took place.
13:56
I'm walking along the shoreline of St.
13:58
Francis Street.
14:00
This is
14:02
Marisa Anna
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Ugasia
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and I'm going to connect
14:10
with St. Paul Street
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named for good reason and go over to the
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Apostles Fountain where he took his
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stick, his cane and struck the ground
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creating water.
14:25
Here's
14:28
another church building.
14:43
Got the manger scene here. Depicting the
14:43
manger scene.
14:51
Oh, here is Publius.
14:51
Okay, I recognize that name from the
14:53
stories. And here is Paulus. Is this
14:57
could this be Paul? Paulus.
15:06
Yes. This name rings a serious bell.
15:06
Publius.
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Which cathedral is this?
15:10
All right. I did recognize the name, but
15:12
I had to look up who Publius was. He was
15:15
a leading Roman official who gave Paul
15:18
and his shipwrecked
15:20
friends or his those who were on the
15:23
shipwreck with him. He didn't Paul
15:25
probably didn't know all of them, but
15:28
gave them shelter and a place to stay
15:30
for three full days.
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And by some accounts, it is said that
15:36
Paul healed Hublus's father.
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Miraculously healed him.
15:54
There he is right there. Publius. Nice
15:54
little classic car alert.
16:03
Bible stories coming to to real life and
16:03
real places. Walking right in them. It's
16:07
definitely a rainy day. I had to
16:08
purchase this little tiny umbrella.
16:11
Shield me from the elements.
16:37
Again, the name of this road is named
16:37
after St. Paul, St. Paul
16:40
right there.
17:06
It splashed.
17:06
Small sidewalks, lots of puddles,
17:09
splashing and splash
17:28
All these boats out here.
17:28
So evidently the sculpture that is a top
17:32
of the spring itself.
17:35
Apostle Spring is what this is called.
17:38
Was made in the 1700s.
17:41
Should also be noted that the road
17:43
expanded
17:44
to make way for vehicles,
17:48
passerbys,
17:49
workers, city buses. And this is not
17:54
the original stop of where it was. This
17:57
is the bus stop here now, but
18:01
the spot of the Apostle Spring was moved
18:04
just a little bit a few feet from where
18:06
it originally was.
18:13
And it does not look like the spring is
18:13
even working. It's full of trash,
18:17
some water that's been standing still
18:20
for a while. Even see a couple little
18:21
tadpoles down in there. And behind the
18:24
sculpture is like a new apartment
18:26
complex of some sort. You can see right
18:28
there all that was not originally there.
18:32
Looks like he has his scepter, his rod,
18:35
his stick that as the story goes, he hit
18:38
the ground and created water.
18:48
beautiful
18:48
representing
18:50
story of the shipwreck and the events
18:51
that incurred.
18:54
You have the coral coral type of rocks
18:56
here making up a grotto of sorts.
19:00
The spring is not working. I do not see
19:02
the water flowing.
19:04
But the sculpture still stands right
19:06
across
19:07
from St. Paul's Bay.
19:14
now highly developed. Nothing looks
19:14
nothing like it did back in 60 AD when
19:18
he was shipwrecked here.
19:48
Here's another artistic rendering of the
19:48
shipwreck and paw with the ship off in
19:50
the background and him making his way to
19:53
the shores of Malta.
19:58
All right, from here I'm ordering
19:58
another one of the bolts. I go over to
20:00
St. Paul Milkwe,
20:03
which evidently means St. Paul the
20:05
Healer in Maltese.
20:08
some Roman architecture that no longer
20:10
opened but has a massive historical
20:14
history to what I am talking about. It's
20:16
about a mile and a half from here and is
20:18
where Publius who I showed earlier
20:27
sheltered and let Paul
20:27
and others stay at the what are now
20:31
remains Roman remains. But I'm going to
20:32
go to the actual spot.
20:41
Yeah, one thing about Malta,
20:41
it'll rain pretty hard for a while, then
20:43
it'll stop. Then it'll rain very hard
20:45
for a while, and then it'll stop. The
20:48
whole duration of my stay here, it's
20:49
pretty much been raining on and off.
21:00
There a lot of ducks down there.
21:00
They're not in a row. They need to get
21:02
their ducks in a row.
21:04
They're just all over the place.
21:07
All right, the bolt dropped me off. I
21:10
told him I'd walk from here. This is not
21:12
open. So, I'm probably going to get to
21:13
the top and they're going to have a gate
21:16
closed or whatever. But
21:19
yeah, it's completely closed off. In
21:21
fact,
21:23
there were some workers up there.
21:26
This is one of the largest Roman sites,
21:29
agricultural sites in the entire country
21:33
of Malta. And you can only see the tippy
21:35
top of it over that wall. Cannot get up
21:38
to it, but I just kind of wanted to get
21:40
as close as I could. Evidently, it's
21:43
been closed for a long time to the
21:44
public.
21:49
Get a general idea of what it looks like
21:49
now by this photo I found.
21:53
private road to probably lead up to it
21:54
that way, but not be not going to be
21:56
doing that.
21:58
But that is where Paul and others stayed
22:01
under Publius, if I'm pronouncing his
22:04
name right. Gave us some accommodations
22:06
up there
22:08
at the top of the hillside for a short
22:10
while. All right, I've ordered another
22:12
one and it's going to be here
22:13
momentarily. Going to take me over to
22:14
Rabbat. R A B- A T is the name of the
22:18
area, the village, and a lot more Paul
22:20
history. Let's keep it going.
22:25
All right, I've arrived now at the
22:26
Basilica of St. Paul, the church of St.
22:29
Paul.
22:31
St. Paul's name is on a lot of different
22:32
chapels, basilas, churches, etc.
22:35
Basilicas
22:38
around all of Malta, but especially in
22:40
this general vicinity because of the
22:41
wreck. And also located near here is a
22:45
museum that has a little bit of history
22:46
of the wreck and other things related to
22:55
the descriptions of acts
22:55
and there's also the grotto of St. hall.
22:58
And right in front of the basilica, take
23:00
a look, is a what's it called? A Cubo
23:02
ball. One of these type of things. They
23:04
have one of these at Disneyland. Also in
23:08
front of a lot of Ripley's attractions
23:10
where you can guide it with your own
23:11
hand. This is a smaller version.
23:21
There's also a big sculpture around this
23:21
corner
23:22
Paul as well.
23:24
If you look over here, this says St.
23:27
Paul's Grotto. There's also some
23:30
catacombs
23:41
and evidently the grotto which I think
23:41
he gained admission to it over there or
23:43
at least on this premises. The grotto
23:45
evidently Paul lived and preached for 3
23:48
months from 60 AD in the around 60 AD or
23:53
in 60 AD I should say. And right over
23:56
there on the little elevated area is
23:59
Paul himself.
24:05
An artistic
24:05
carved formation.
24:14
I would like to go into the catacombs
24:14
and I would like to go into that grotto.
24:17
That would be really cool. The fact that
24:19
you can go into the spot
24:25
where he was there. That would be pretty
24:26
amazing to know that he was in that
24:27
grotto for 3 months.
24:31
All right, this is showing
24:33
grotto and catacombs and museum this
24:35
way.
24:37
Get out of the elements a little bit. Be
24:38
kind of nice.
24:40
Maybe this is it. Ah, yes. Here we go.
24:44
Paul's Grotto and Catacombs's entrance.
24:47
I might if I do. I might if I do.
25:09
All right, I'm in the museum now. And
25:09
here is a scale model
25:30
They were doing some construction over
25:30
on the sculpture.
25:32
There's a smaller version of it.
25:42
There's some abbreviated stories on Paul
25:42
and Malta.
25:48
Paul arrived in Jerusalem when arrested
25:48
in the temple
25:50
to be judged. He was going to be judged
25:53
by Caesar in Rome. Paul set sail to
25:56
Italy along with a number of other
25:57
prisoners. The weather was not
25:58
favorable. The crew had to change ship
26:01
and plan a different route along the
26:03
journey. Conditions worsened
26:05
and the captain ignored Paul's advice to
26:07
plan a different route to spend 14 days
26:08
in stormy weather with little food. An
26:11
angel appeared to Paul and informed him
26:13
all passengers on the crew and ship
26:14
would survive, but the ship would be
26:16
wrecked and they would have to stop at
26:18
an island. Sure enough, the time came
26:21
and the ship in a shaw began to shake
26:23
sink. The prisoners and crew jumped in
26:25
the sea, swam to land, quote, we then
26:28
learned the island was called Malta. The
26:31
Maltese showed the crew usual kindness
26:35
and made a fire for them. Paul threw
26:37
some wood in the fire and a viper jumped
26:39
up and fastened to his hand.
26:43
The maltes concluded that Paul must be a
26:45
murderer and justice had not allowed him
26:47
to live. Paul shook the viper off and
26:49
when no harm came to him, the people
26:51
began to believe that he was a god.
26:54
He immediately corrected them began to
26:56
preach the Christian faith to the
26:58
Maltese people. Paul stayed in Malta for
27:00
3 months circa 60 AD. And it is believed
27:04
through strong age-old tradition that it
27:08
was in the grotto downstairs that he
27:10
evangelized the Maltese and formed the
27:12
first Christian
27:14
community.
27:34
This is absolutely amazing.
27:34
What is happening?
28:07
the old inscriptions up on the side of
28:07
the wall as well.
28:24
And here it is in all its glory.
28:24
This is the grotto
28:27
that it is said that he was in for 3
28:30
months
29:30
Just trying to wrap my head around that.
29:30
That is That is really That is really
29:33
something.
29:58
That's some intense history. Biblical
29:58
history.
30:03
says his holiness Pope John Paul II on
30:04
May of 1990
30:06
during a visit to the islands visited
30:07
this cave blessed presence of St. Paul
30:10
the Apostles of the Gentiles and prayed
30:12
for a long time.
30:14
Reason I know that because it's spelled
30:17
out here in English.
30:56
right. Going into the catacombs now. The
30:56
main catacomb site.
31:49
This was once a water system used during
31:49
the times of the Knights of St. John.
31:56
If you look up, you can see various
31:56
apertures to the well.
33:03
All kind of passageways out here.
33:03
Corridors, catacombs.
35:56
made a helium of St. Paul. This was
35:56
carved in 1530.
35:59
All right, I'm up on ground level. Well,
36:00
technically I went to ground level. Now
36:02
I'm up on the second floor at the
36:04
technical
36:06
museum portion out of the catacombs and
36:08
out of the grotto where they have a lot
36:11
more artwork.
36:13
here on the property.
36:51
I've seen a lot of good stuff today. I
36:51
didn't really know what I was going to
36:52
find.
36:54
So, you just go out and start doing it.
36:57
And obviously, I'm not going to cover
36:58
every sculpture and every piece and
37:00
every place named
37:02
after St. Paul, but I'm hitting some key
37:04
spots I wanted to see today.
37:52
St. John the Baptist, an artistic
37:52
representation of him.
38:30
St. Peter at prayer is the name of this
38:30
one.
38:32
Painted back in the 1600s.
38:47
It's a portrait of Pope Alexander II
38:47
and a pair of 17th century shoes.
38:56
Map of Malta
38:56
cir 1700s.
39:27
I don't know really when it comes to the
39:27
story of Paul the shipwreck. I don't
39:30
know if there's any other spots that
39:31
really be as meaningful as the pivotal
39:35
ones that I found.
39:37
Again, there are others, plenty of
39:38
others. You probably spend a week going
39:41
to all the Paul spots, but
40:02
An incredible amount of sculptures
40:02
representing him, including this one.
40:09
Oh, wow.
40:09
Is that a coffin or a bed?
40:18
Oh, this is a funeral room.
40:18
Oh, wow. Funeral flags.
40:22
That is definitely a coffin.
41:30
Oh, look at this. Pope John Paul II
41:30
express his parting wish. Beloved people
41:33
of Malta earlier today at Rabbat Rabbit,
41:37
I was privileged to spend a few moments
41:39
in silent prayer at the ancient grotto
41:41
venerated at St. Paul's dwelling during
41:43
his stay in Malta. In that holy place, I
41:45
give thanks to God for the rich harvest
41:47
of faith and good works which he has
41:48
brought forth upon you upon you since
41:51
the apostle of the Gentiles first
41:52
proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to
41:54
your forebears.
41:56
God bless Malta and God bless you all.
42:00
What a nice day. What a nice rainy, very
42:03
rainy day, but a very nice day. Saw some
42:05
things, learned a lot, walked a lot,
42:08
took a lot of ride shares around. And
42:12
that's going to do it for today. A
42:16
little historic biblical
42:18
episode.
42:20
Walking the streets of some stories from
42:22
the Bible. It's kind of neat. Thanks for
42:25
watching. I appreciate it. And I'll see
42:26
you in the next video.
42:38
or nauseiating one of the two. Thanks
42:38
for watching. The vlog