Day 4 in Turkey (Ephesus)

Well, it's still cold in Turkey (at least cold for Turkey). Temps today started off around 25 degrees and rose to 34 degrees by the end of the day. Although we were cold, we were still thankful that the wind wasn't blowing and it wasn't raining. In the end it was a beautiful day to spend in Ephesus.

And we did spend the day in Ephesus. It was a short drive from the hotel to Ephesus this morning. We had a tremendous blessing of being in Ephesus this time of year. For the first two hours of our time in Ephesus we were, basically, the only ones in the entire city. Our tour guide and professor told us that this is highly unusual, even for this time of the year. So, we had free run of the place and many opportunities to take pictures of structures without crowds of people in front of them.

We saw many of the same structures in Ephesus that we have in the previous cities. We were able to see another Boularion (a small theater used for city officials). We saw two Agora's (marketplaces)--a political agora and a marketplace agora. We were able to see a beautiful marble streets throughout the city that were very well preserved. We were also able to see the famous Celsus Library in Ephesus (you've probably seen pictures of it).

One of the highlights from Ephesus was viewing the "slope houses." They were given this name because they are built into the side of a hill on a slope. These were really amazing. They were houses of very rich people. Most likely these houses would have been similar to those the early church met it. It seemed that Paul always made a connection with a wealthy person in each city who was able to "house" the Christian gatherings. These houses had walls and floors lined in marble. The walls sometimes had very expensive green marble and some had rose marble. It was beautiful. They also had tiled, mosaic floors. Some of the mosaics were very intricate. Interestingly enough, each of these houses had an open area in the middle. This area allowed light to shine into the house and also allowed them to collect rain water.

I would have to say that my biggest highlight from Ephesus was the theater. It wasn't a highlight because of how well preserved it was or because of how large it was (although it held about 25,000 people). It was a highlight because of it's connection with Paul. Paul's minisry in Ephesus was very effective. So much so that it was affecting local commerce. One of the most important revenue sources in Ephesus was a their selling of images of Artemis. Well, Paul was teaching and preaching that Artemis was not god at all. It was hurting the local businesses enough that they started to stir up trouble, eventually leading to a riot. In Acts 19:28-34 it says, "28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'" So this was the theater where Paul caused a great riot to break out. What really stood out to me was the size of the theater and the anger of the crowd. Picture 25,000 people chanting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" for two hours, angry about the Christians and their message. Then, imagine Paul saying, "Hey, let me in their so that I can preach the gospel!" Talk about boldness! However, his friends didn't let him enter the theater. It was pretty incredible to be in that very stadium and thinking about this situation.

I was also reminded, today, how connected Ephesus is to much of the New Testament. We have a letter written by Paul to the church in Ephesus. In Revelation 2, Jesus gives John a sermon for the church in Ephesus. Also, it's commonly understood that John was a leader of the church in Ephesus, which connects John's gospel and his three other letters to this city. Then, on top of this, it is also believed that Timothy was a leader in Ephesus, which connects both 1 & 2 Timothy to this city. And, of course, Acts mentions this city. That brings to total to eight books of the New Testament that discuss the city of Ephesus. This realization has gotten me to want to study all of these books and connect some of the dots.

I'll finish this post by connecting a few that have jumped out at me throughout the day and evening. In Revelation 2:1-7, Jesus gives John a sermon for this church. Jesus commends the church of Ephesus for being a bastion of truth and being committed to correcting false teaching and heresy. That makes perfect sense when you understand the tensions Paul encountered in this city. The town was focused on the worship of Artemis. The town had multiple temples to various Roman emperors. The town was known for embracing magic and superstition. This city was flooded with people who were passionate about false teaching. Jesus gives them a "thumbs up" for standing fast, working hard, and persevering in the truth. But he has one complaint. He says, "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first" (Rev 2:4). I had always understood this as talking about them losing their love/passion for God. However, connect this with John's first letter, where he says, "19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:19-21). Then, connect this with Ephesians 4:15 where Paul tells the Ephesian church that they must be "speaking the truth in love..." You can see that the this passage of Revelation is talking about the church losing it's love for one another. They have become so embroiled in the battle for truth that they have forgotten to love on another.

I'm sure there are more connections--I know there are strong connections between all of these books and false teachers--however, this will do for now. For me, it is time for bed. The cold sure knocks it out of you.

Thanks again for all of the prayers. I have truly felt them and truly appreciate every one of them. Please continue to pray for me and my family, as I continue to pray for all of you.