Dan Nickerson – March 11th, 2021
Ephesus is the only one of the seven churches of Revelation that we have the most information on, which is revealed in (Acts 18-20). Paul had first visited the city with “Priscilla” and “Aquilla,” and later “Apollos” arrives to preach the baptism of John and was then taught the correct gospel from “Priscilla” and “Aquilla.” Paul himself had great opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ there (1 Corinthians 16:8-9), so he taught for three months in their synagogue and when they did not believe its message, he moved to the school of Tyrannus and reasoned daily with them there for two years. It was here where God moved mightily with miracles of healings and deliverance through the hands of Paul, even through the handkerchiefs that he touched. It is in Ephesus that revival took place (Acts 19:18-20), and from Ephesus Paul called for the elders to exhort them and warn them of difficult times ahead (Acts 20:17-38).
To understand what was spoken to this church, we need to understand their surroundings, and why Ephesus was so important. Ephesus was an important commercial city, located on the Castor river, just a few miles inland from the Aegean Sea. It was noted for its magnificent harbor, which aided to it being the richest city in Asia Minor in its day. Ephesus was an important political city because of its service to Rome. It was granted the right to be a free city, and one that could self-govern without Roman overwatch.
With all that was going on in Ephesus, it was also known for being an important religious city, home of the temple of Diana in which people came from everywhere to be part of their religious activities. Diana was considered the goddess of sex and fertility, and the temple of her name housed hundreds of temple prostitutes which were used in their pagan worship. It would have been very easy to see that the city of Ephesus was a wicked, degenerate, and vile place to live. A greek philosopher named “Heraclitus” said,…..”No one could live in Ephesus without weeping over the immortality which He must see on every side.”
It was here in Ephesus that Paul wrote 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and where Timothy eventually stayed on to Pastor the church (1 Timothy 1:3-11). It was also here that John later pastored the body of believers.