Where is ephesus in the bible

The Greek travel writer Pausanias said that she was the most worshipped goddess in private devotions in the Mediterranean world.

Statues of Artemis had a stiff, long body with her legs bound rather like an Egyptian mummy , and with many breasts, reflecting the fact that Artemis worship was a fertility religion, particularly as it was practised at Ephesus.

She wore a necklace of acorns and a high crown, often topped with the turrets of the city of Ephesus. Her skirt was decorated with rows of animals, symbolic of her fertility. A eunuch priest served Artemis, assisted by virgin priestesses.

This heavily-women-dominated religion may be part of the reason why Paul insists so much on women keeping their proper place in the church, and on men rising up to play their proper role in worship 1 Timothy Remember that, by the time Paul write to Timothy, Timothy was leading the church in Ephesus.

As a fertility goddess, ritual prostitution played an important part in the worship of Artemis. So, from a Christian point of view, the temple was an exceedingly immoral. There was a guild of silversmiths who made little silver shrines and copies of the stone that fell from heaven.

Clearly they made a good living out of it; because when Paul began to preach about Jesus and people started responding to the gospel, they were afraid that it might affect business and so stirred up a riot Acts But Artemis affected more than the livelihood of a guild of silversmiths. So to challenge Artemis, like Paul did, was to challenge the whole social and economic order.

But that is what the gospel is meant to do! He established Ephesus as his regional apostolic base, and it became a major centre of the Christian faith. Sadly, it seemed to sit back on its laurels eventually, and the first love and passion of the church had waned by the late first century AD Revelation Early church tradition links John the Apostle with Ephesus and it is said that he spent his final years here.

When he wrote Revelation, he was in exile on Patmos Revelation , which was a tiny island some 50 miles south-west of Ephesus, so it is entirely possible. Several church councils were held here in the first five centuries AD, including the important Council of Ephesus of AD But as the River Cayster silted up, Ephesus ceased to be a port and its importance diminished.

Several earthquakes led to the city being gradually abandoned, and its stones were gradually taken away for buildings elsewhere, leaving only the ruins that are there today. No photograph attributed to Mike Beaumont may be used in any written or electronic publication without prior written permission.

Skip to content Home Contact. The street was lined with shops and homes for the rich. Under the houses were colonnaded galleries which protected shoppers from the sun. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus.

There he found some disciples. As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,.

And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day! This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. 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. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. History of Ephesus. Curetes Street. Marble Street. Paul Born in Turkey Journeys of St. Paul St. About St. John St. John and The Seven Churches. Certificate of Excellent.