The letter to the Ephesians was actually a circular letter written by the apostle Paul. It was meant to be passed from church to church as he included guidance on on how to live for Jesus in a pagan world.
Paul lived and served in Ephesus for 2 years (and may have been imprisoned there for another year). Ephesus was the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire behind Rome and Alexandria. There were 250,000 people living there in what was the most prominent city in all of Asia. Ephesus had a giant Temple to Artemis which was 4 times bigger than the Parthenon.
As people came to Christ, they stopped buying idols to the goddess Artemis and sorcerers even burned their scrolls. As a result, Paul and the church experienced persecution including the famous moment where 25,000 Ephesians chanted for their goddess while Paul hoped to speak to the rowdy crowd.
The letter to the Ephesians describes our identity and Christ, our calling to be people who walk the way of love, our invitation to live as children of light in a multiethnic church community, how to have healthy households, how to put on our the armor of God, and how we are made alive in Christ.
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Ancient Ephesus
In the days of the apostle Paul, Ephesus was the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire with 200,000-250,000 people.
Paul spent at least 2 years serving here and possibly a 3rd year in jail where he may have written some of the letters we have in the New Testament.
His ministry was so successful that sorcerers burned their magic books and people weren’t buying idols as they had before. Idol makers threatened Paul and a riot broke out!
We can walk the same streets as Paul and see some of the sites he saw including the the theater described in Acts 19.
Beautiful to be here and so inspiring to consider how this city was turned upside down by the dramatic changes in the lives of the people finding faith in Jesus!
