Ephesus
Revelation 2:1-7
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that
holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy
patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast
tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them
liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast
laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou
art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also
hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which
is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:1-7)
Ephesus was a bustling, energetic, and
intellectual Greco-Roman city when Paul
visited it. It was considered the gateway of Asia.
In fact, one of its statutes was that when a
Roman proconsul came to take office as the new
governor of Asia, he had to disembark at
Ephesus and enter Asia through this city.
For all travelers and for all
trade—from the valleys round
about and from Galatia,
Euphrates, and Mesopotamia—
Ephesus was the highway to
Rome.
Later Ephesus became known as the
Highway of the Martyrs because it was
through Ephesus that Christians were
taken from Asia to the arena in Rome
but at the time of Paul, Ephesus was a
convenient and comfortable city in
which to live.
Its streets were straight
and clean.
Arcadia Way, leading from the
port to amphitheater.
Its houses were stylish and
comfortable.
Its library was extensive and adorned
with beautiful sculpture. In the
following picture you can see statues
representing four different virtues,
standing in their niches along the front
of the library.
The next picture shows the Celsus Library
again, but also shows the gates to the right of
the library that opened onto the smaller of
the two agoras of Ephesus. In this smaller
agora community business was often
conducted in the open air. Commercial
business was also conducted here.
The next three slides are views of the
statue of Arete at the library.
Another statue at the
library.
And this is Sophia, the
statute of wisdom.
More views of the gates,
known collectively as
the Augustus Gate,
which lead to the
smaller agora.
A side way through the
Augustus Gate.
Pillars at the lower, or
smaller, agora.
An artist’s reconstruction of
the Temple of Diana (or
Artemis) during the time of
Paul.
All that remains of the
temple now—one pillar
that has been
reconstructed to show
where the temple used to
stand.
Another temple at
Ephesus, the Hadrian
Temple (a painting of the
ruins).
Views of the larger of the two
agoras in Ephesus. Agoras were
market places.
Two views of the large
amphitheater in Ephesus, where
Paul’s companions were taken in
the uproar over Diana.