(by Gordon Franz)
There are two special exhibitions in New York City that illustrate the World of the New Testament. The first is at the Onassis Center in the Olympic Tower on 5th Avenue. This exhibit is entitled: “Gods and Mortals at Olympus.” All the objects from this display come from the city of Dion, a Roman colony in the first century AD, at the base of Mount Olympus. The port of Dion was probably where the Apostle Paul embarked on a ship to Athens on his Second Missionary Journey (Acts 17:14). Two highlights of this exhibition are a headless cult statue of Zeus Hypsistos (“Almighty”) and a mosaic of the epiphany of Dionysus, the god of wine and merrymaking. This exhibition is open until June 18, 2016. There are free guided tours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1 PM. Admission is free.

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The second special exhibition is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5th Avenue and is entitled “Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World.” One-third of the 264 artworks on display come from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The church at Pergamon was one of the seven churches in the early chapters or the Book of the Revelation to receive a letter from the Lord Jesus (Rev 2:12-17). Three highlights of this exhibit are the 11-foot wide painting of the acropolis by the 19th century German artist Friedrich von Thiersch; a model of the altar of Zeus that some commentators suggest is “Satan’s throne” (Rev 2:13); and a 13-foot-tall statue of Athena Parthenos, similar to the one in the Parthenon in Athens, but on a much smaller scale. This exhibition closes on July 17, 2016. Admission is free with museum admission. The website says: “If you buy tickets at a museum ticket counter, the amount you pay is up to you . . . . Please be as generous as you can.

Suggested admission is $25 for adults, $17 for seniors, $12 for students, and free for children under 12.” Click here for more information.