Ephesians

Paul spent three years in Ephesus, preaching Christ to Jews and Gentiles.
Located at the western edge of Asia Minor, it was a port city. with a rich heritage of wealth, philosophy and Roman law. It boasted a library containing some 12,000 scrolls.

It had a magnificent temple! dedicated to the goddess Artemis, (Diana) a goddess of fertility and love. Into this city absorbed with the worship of the deity of fertility, entered Paul proclaiming "they are not gods which are made with hands (Acts 19:26)
His message struck at the heart of Ephesus worship as well as Ephesus' economy, for people came from all over to this port city to honor Diana. Making images of Diana was lucrative business.

The conflict between Christ and Diana is an old one.
And still strikes at hearts today.
Not only of morality vs immorality.
Also the appeal to the immediate as opposed to the eternal, to the emotional as opposed to the spiritual, to the pleasures of life as opposed to salvation from sin.

At Ephesus the two sides faced each other in confrontation.

It still confronts us today.
The ever present challenge of choice: Diana or Jesus?
The falsehoods of Satan offering immediate pleasure or benefits at cost of morals and integrity
Or Jesus and His transforming message of salvation from sin.


EPHESUS VISITED

A few years ago I had the privilege of visiting Ephesus! A thriving sophisticated city in Paul's day. It was quite an elegant, luxurious city. Lots of baths, streets lined with oil lamps, running water from an elaborate system of aqueducts, and lots of art work, sculptures, painted pictures on walls, mosaic floors. Houses had many rooms around an open court in the center which often contained a fountain. Terraced houses built on the hills. Only about 20% has been excavated so far.

The real reward of visiting these "ruins" of an ancient great city, was sensing the reality of the place. The city's open town square area where Paul would have stood to preach, and where the people would have gathered to burn those books. The huge amphitheater where they dragged two of Paul's companions during their riot.
The hill where once stood one of the "seven wonders of the world" the temple of Diana (Artemis) overlooking the city. Just imagine all the people streaming down that hill chanting, "Great is Diana"
Quite a challenge for Paul to stand and preach in this city! It was definitely a pagan city, with more temples to gods besides the main one for Diana. It wasn't the most moral city.

A little ways apart from the main part of Ephesus is another house, (we did not go there, it's more of a Catholic shrine) but it supposedly was the house of John the apostle and Mary, the mother of Jesus, where they lived after Jerusalem was destroyed.