Day 07 - Western Coast: Ephesus, Ephesus Museum

While touring these ancient cities and receiving a crash course in their cultures, we have learned that it was a privilege to be a city chosen to build a temple for an Emperor, even when the Emperor was a hated megalomaniac, like Domitian, whose 16' statue loomed high atop his elevated temple. This physically small man did all he could to enlarge his presence, even to the point of naming himself "Lord and God,"and demanding that he be worshipped. Ephesus was the city given the status of "Neokoros", that is, Keeper of the Temple, for the Emperor Domitian's Temple.

But the main bill of fare for Ephesus, was the Temple of their patron deity, Artemis, the goddess of fertility. This pagan culture did a masterful job of synthesizing its religious, civic, and economic activities, bringing them together in this structure that was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Everyone was expected to gather there, and participate in the licentious behavior that constituted the worship of Artemis.  

It was to this city, that God sent a veritable "Who's Who" of New Testament characters, such as the young peacher Timothy, John (the disciple whom Jesus loved), and others, most notably, that Jewish scholar, Saul, turned fiery evangelist, Paul, who spent two years in Ephesus, preaching the gospel in the Agora and other public meeting places. God worked mightily through Paul causing more and more people to sit up and take notice of this Jesus, whom Paul preached. Paul's message clearly called for a decision to abandon allegiance to any other deity and worship Christ . . . ALONE! 

Evil, dark Ephesus was turned upside down by the gospel. And as the new converts were stepping up to make a difference, both in Ephesus and around the  ancient world, riots stirred up by the unconverted pagans were causing civil unrest. That was our big take away from our time in Ephesus: to make a difference in the world, we MUST continually, faithfully be about the work of sharing the Good News. We were challenged to turn Texas upside down by stepping out and boldly proclaiming the gospel.

Sure there was (and will be) persecution of the faithful, but it's more noteworthy to call out the fact that hardly anything remains on the site of the Artemis Temple, that most grandiose structure whose 128 columns stretched to a full 60 feet in the sky. And how many people have ever even heard of the Emperor, Domitian?  For it is a failing and fruitless endeavor to attempt to elevate to greatness anyone or anything other than Christ, the only true Lord and God. For Christ, ALONE is. 

" . . . far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come."  From Paul's letter to the people of Ephesus (Eph. 1:21)