Ephesus—the desirable church

In the opening vision of the book of Revelation, seven letters are ad dressed to seven churches of Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These cities stood along one of the well-traveled Roman roads of that day and, be ginning at Ephesus, might well have been visited in the order in which they are named. The distances be tween them averaged about 30 to 40 miles.

Come, visit with me. We'll view the ancient remains, stop at archaeological digs (some still underway), visit museums, and marvel at temples and tombs already centuries old in Christ's day. And along the way we'll seek a better understanding of the messages addressed to the Christian churches, which challenged these cities' most cherished deities. (Perhaps they'll challenge some of ours! For their messages have meaning for every age.)

Ephesus, already ten centuries old in John's day, was the gateway to Asia Minor, and one of her important cities, boasting in Roman times a population of 250,000. In inscriptions the city called itself "the first and greatest metropolis in Asia."

In New Testament times a little gulf extended inland, providing shelter for incoming ships. Today it is a reedy plain, but the ruins of the harbor works are still visible, now three miles from the sea. Nearby are also the fourth-century harbor baths of Constantine.

Visiting there today, one can easily visualize the ancient city. From the harbor area we walk the broad Arkadiane Street (before) fronting the theater. This famous colonnaded boulevard was paved with marble slabs and, unique in its day, was illuminated < at night with oil street lamps. The inner sides of the colonnades housed the shops. Excavations of the area have uncovered its full length of 1,710 feet. Many of the decorative columns that lined the street still remain.

A sloping walkway takes us down to the agora, or marketplace, a vast area that in ancient times bustled with activity. Like the streets, it too was surrounded with artistic colonnades, some of which remain.

With our back to the harbor area, we approach the Great Theater, the outstanding monument of the city, built against the sloping side of a hill. Seating 25,000 persons, it was one of the largest ever built by the Greeks. Its huge stage, measuring 70 by 115 feet, featured the greatest performers of the day. Standing amid the 66 tiers of seats, we reflect on Paul's visits to this fabulous city. The first was brief and occurred at the close of his Second Missionary Journey. On his third journey he made Ephesus his first major stop, and remained almost three years, longer than at any other place. His preaching resulted in a great bonfire of books of magic, as well as interfering with the business of the silversmiths, who specialized in silver idols of Diana and of the temple, which were purchased as souvenirs and lucky charms. The result was a mob scene in the theater. Quiet was finally restored by the city's leading official, but only after hours of "howling." So Paul "fought with beasts at Ephesus."

From the theater we follow an other boulevard to the right and around the back side of the hill. On either side of the street stand impressive remains. There is the ornate Fountain of Trajan of the early second century, which must have been a masterpiece of beauty. Remains of temples and shrines also front the street, among them the second-century Temple of Hadrian, with its lofty columns and arches still standing. Many of the altars and shrines are now in the local museum. Among these are the statues of gods and national heroes.

Continuing down the street, we approach the Odeum, or Little Theater. To the left we see the temple ruins where two large, gold-covered, life-size statues of Diana, the goddess of Ephesus, were uncovered by archaeologists. The multibreasts of Diana served to enhance her influence as the goddess of fertility.

Now entering the Odeum, to the left of the street, we mount the well-preserved stone steps and sit down on the very seats once occupied by the senate. For this theater, seating 1,400 and scene of many a performance, served also as council chamber for the transaction of official business. An inscription places its construction after A.D. 150. Opposite it, across the street, was the governmental agora, site of the administrative buildings.

Beyond the Little Theater we pass through the first-century Magnesium Gate as we make our way to the site of the great temple of Diana, of which only a few foundation stones remain. Four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens, it measured 425 by 420 feet and was counted among the Seven Wonders of the World. Destroyed in the third century, it was rebuilt on a smaller scale. In the fourth century its marble was used in the construction of the basilica of St. Sophia, in Constantinople, and the original Church of St. John, in Ephesus. In the sixth century Justinian incorporated eight of its huge green columns into the enlarged St. Sophia, which has survived to our day.

Fragments from the temple may also be seen in the British Museum, having been taken there by the British archaeologist J. T. Wood, who made the notable discovery of the site of the famous building in 1863. Articles in the museum include the base of one of the columns, as well as some of the artistic capitals.

Beyond the temple site we approach the massive remains of the Church of St. John, crowning the highest point of Seljuk Hill. Here in the fourth century a church was built over the site believed to be the resting place of the beloved apostle. Justinian crowned the height with a much larger edifice. The wide central nave was covered with six large domes, and the narthex with five smaller ones. The tomb of the apostle was under the floor beneath the main dome. At the site of the tomb the base of the original high altar is still visible. The authenticity of the site is maintained by Eusebius, who quotes Polycrates, disciple of John and bishop of Ephesus. According to tradition, Timothy became the first bishop of the church. John probably came .there about A.D. 67 or earlier.

Not far from the tomb in the church enclosure is the ancient baptistry. Stone steps lead down into the cross-shaped font, which provided ample room for baptism by immersion, the standard practice until well into the twelfth century.

While on the cross, Jesus en trusted to John the care of His mother. So Mary must also have been a resident of Ephesus. A few miles above the city we come, ac cording to tradition, to her mountain home. A lovely path takes us to the house, restored in 1951 on the foundations of an ancient chapel. It is presently a museum.

From the mountains we look down again upon the impressive ruins of the ancient city, the city that housed the company of believers to whom John addressed the first of the seven letters. Although these letters had a local application, in a prophetic sense they symbolized seven successive periods of the history of the church, reaching from the time of the apostles to Christ's return (see Ministry, January, 1978, page 8).

The letter to the Ephesian believers is usually identified with the experience of the first-century church. For it, this was a period of missionary expansion. The name Ephesus means desirable, and as indicated in the letter, the church warranted commendation. These early church members were zealous, full of good works and patience. And theirs was a pure faith. They hated "the deeds of the Nicolaitanes," a group that sought accommodation with the pagan world and discounted obedience to God's law.

A parallel prophecy to that of the seven letters, in Revelation 4-8:1, appears in a scroll sealed with seven seals. In the first seal the Ephesus first-century church is symbolized by a rider on a white horse that "went forth conquering, and to conquer" (chap. 6:2). Within a few short years Ephesian missionaries reached the habitable world with the gospel.

But already a problem was developing. The words to the Ephesian believers were, "Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, be cause thou hast left thy first love" (chap. 2:4). Although pure in doctrine, the believers began to look for defects in others, dwelling upon their mistakes, rather than looking to Christ and reflecting His love. They became more strict in regard to outward form and ceremony, more particular about the theory and practice of the faith, while losing the brotherly love that was to be their true mark of discipleship.

It was this loss, no doubt, that prompted John to write as he did in his epistles, urging upon the believers the constant need of love, especially among brethren.

A tradition handed down by Jerome says that, as an old man in Ephesus, John had to be carried to the church in the arms of his disciples. At the meetings he would say no more than, "Little children, love one another!" Finally, becoming weary of hearing the same words so often repeated, they asked, "Master, why do you always say this?" "It is the Lord's command," he re plied. "And if this alone be done, it is enough!" ¹

Tertullian relates that John was for a time with Peter in Rome and that while there he was placed in a caldron of boiling oil, but was miraculously delivered. While in Ephesus, John wrote the Gospel that bears his name, only to be banished by Domitian to the island of Patmos, where he was given the scenes of the Apocalypse.

Of John's later life, Jerome writes, "But Domitian having been put to death ... he returned to Ephesus under [Nerval] Pertinax and continuing there until the time of the emperor Trajan, founded and built churches throughout all Asia, and, worn out by old age, died in the sixty-eighth year after our Lord's passion and was buried near the same city." ²

Archaeologists working at Ephesus have found many coins dating to the ancient Roman city. Some show a date palm, sacred symbol of the goddess Diana's life and beneficence. How appropriate, then, the promise to the Ephesus church, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (verse 7).