Ephesus

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Revelation 2:1-4)

Ephesus is situated at the mouth of the Cayster river, opposite the island of Samos on the west coast of what is now Turkey, between Smyrna and Miletus. Ephesus commanded a strategic location at the end of the great caravan route from the Middle East. It was also the natural point of departure across the Aegean Sea for Rome and Corinth. Ephesus therefore became the largest and most important city in the Roman province of Asia, the bridgehead between East and West. At its height the population of Ephesus is estimated to have exceeded 300,000 people, its theatre on the side of Mt Pion seating 24,000. An artificial harbour was constructed to enable large ships to sail down the river to the city. An impressive road, 11 metres wide and lined with columns, ran from the harbour to the city, itself surrounded by a 9 kilometre wall. Ephesus was rebuilt and relocated several times on the slopes of two hills, Pion and Coressos. During the first century the harbour was already silting up so that today Ephesus is now 10 kilometres inland. This may explain why Paul met the Elders at the port of Miletus (Acts 20:15-16).

The site was associated with the veneration of a grotesque fertility mother goddess which predated Greek civilisation. The worship of Artemis, as she became known in Greek, and then Diana in Latin, was influential, prosperous but degrading. Her temple, rebuilt in 356 B.C. after a fire, was over 140 metres long and 75 metres wide. It was open to the sky with two rows of 127 columns 20 metres high. The Temple was the largest building in the Greek empire and became one of the seven wonders of the world until it was destroyed by the Goths in 263 A.D. The Ephesians believed the image of Artemis had fallen from heaven which suggests the rock may have been a meteorite (Acts 19:35). Silver coins bearing the words Diana Ephesia found throughout Asia testify to the claim that she was indeed worshipped all over the known world (Acts 19:27). So wealthy, in 334 B.C. its inhabitants were able to decline the generous offer of Alexander the Great to rebuild the Temple, if he might have his name inscribed in it. They insisted a god could not dedicate a temple to another god. Ephesus was also famous for its Ephesia grammata or 'Ephesian letters'. These were occult formulae written on scrolls and talismans. Furthermore, Ephesus became the centre for the imperial cult worship of the Roman emperors. With three separate temples, it qualified for the prestigious title 'neokoros' meaning 'temple warden' of the emperors, three times over.

There was also a large colony of Jews in Ephesus. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that they enjoyed a privileged position, able to worship freely on the Sabbath without penalty. Paul visited Ephesus briefly, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila who stayed on and discipled Apollos and a growing church (Acts 18:18-21). On Paul's third missionary journey he returned to Ephesus and made it his base for nearly three years (Acts 19:1-20:1). From here missionaries such as Epaphras were sent out taking the gospel to Colossae, Laodicea and other cities in the Lycus valley (Colossians 1:6-7; 2:1). Luke could write confidently that, "all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord." (Acts 19:10).

It was inevitable therefore that sooner or later there would be a confrontation between the apostles of Christ and the followers of Diana, especially those who profited from her veneration, such as the Guild of Silversmiths. As people came to faith in Jesus Christ they burnt their occult scrolls and destroyed their idols. They knew they must make a clean break with paganism. It was a costly business. A drachma was a silver coin worth about a days wage. Luke tells us that the value of the letters burnt came to 50.000 drachmas which would have been the annual income of 150 men (Acts 19:17-20).

Because the livelihood of the silversmiths was threatened, they incited the people against Paul (Acts 19:23-34). The crowd seized Paul's companions and stormed into the stadium where they shouted 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians' for two whole hours before the city clerk could calm them down. Paul had to be restrained from appearing. The clerk warned the mob of the serious consequences of their riot which was illegal. In so doing Luke records the official judgement that Paul and the other Christians were innocent of any crime against the State (Acts 19:35-41). It is possible that Paul had this mob violence in mind when he wrote later, 'I fought wild beasts in Ephesus' (1 Corinthians 15:32).

When Paul left Ephesus, Timothy stayed behind to pastor the congregation (1 Timothy 1:3). On his return to Jerusalem, Paul arranged to meet the elders of the church in Ephesus at Miletus. He charged them to be watchful shepherds of the flock of Christ predicting that 'savage wolves' would come, even from among their own, and would lead Christians astray (Acts 20:13-38).

The Apostle John subsequently ministered in Ephesus as well. The letters to the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse were written from Patmos, a small island about 80 kilometres south-west of Ephesus, on which John had probably been exiled for his faith (Revelation 1:9). As the largest city in proconsular Asia, Ephesus is the first of the seven churches addressed. The church is praised for its intolerance of false teachers, for its hard work and perseverance. But for all that, they are rebuked for losing their 'first love'. The Lord warns them not be proud but to remember their humble origins and repent (Revelation 2:1-7).

The great city of Ephesus including its church is long gone, its harbour silted up, its people driven away by malaria, its temples empty, the worship of Artemis now ancient history. It is a sober lesson. The abiding message of Ephesus is a loving warning to every 'successful' church. It is so easy to be busy serving Christ for the wrong reasons. When we lose sight of why Christ died for us, we can lose the thrill of knowing our sins are forgiven and fail to thank him as we once did. We must never forget, as John reminds us, 'we love because he first loved us' (1 John 4:19).