In The Footsteps of Paul

Revival And Riots At Ephesus

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Tony Moore

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Series Code: IFP

Program Code: IFP000014


01:37 Paul left the great city of Corinth and walked the 6 miles
01:40 back down here to the harbor at Cenchraea.
01:44 While he was waiting for a ship he cut his hair because
01:47 he intended to go to Jerusalem and honor a vow.
01:52 He boarded a ship from this port and sailed with
01:55 Aquila and Priscilla across the Aegean to the
01:59 great city of Ephesus.
02:01 When they went into that great city they found a
02:04 responsive community amongst the Jews.
02:07 It was decided that Aquila and Priscilla would stay there
02:10 and teach that community.
02:12 Paul continued his journey toward Jerusalem by taking
02:16 a ship over to the coast of Phoenicia and then down
02:19 Caesarea, then he walked up to Jerusalem
02:22 and honored his vow.
02:25 He then returned to the great city of
02:27 Antakya to give a thrilling report of what God had done
02:30 in the province of Macedonia and Aecia.
02:33 They were thrilled to hear how the Gospel had made such
02:37 tremendous advances among the Gentiles.
02:40 Here he stayed for some time, but there was a
02:43 restlessness in his soul.
02:45 He kept thinking about the openness of the Jews in
02:49 Ephesus, he kept thinking about the synagogue that was
02:53 open and willing to listen to the Gospel.
02:56 He kept thinking about that large metropolitan area where
02:59 he had left Aquila and Priscilla.
03:01 In his prayers the Holy Spirit was moving upon his heart and
03:05 soon Paul decided that he must return,
03:09 once again, to Asia.
03:12 Philip describes how that Paul left Antioch on
03:17 his third missionary journey.
03:19 He would have walked through the regions of Syria up
03:23 through Cilicia by his family in Tarsus, to strengthen the
03:27 church that had been planted there.
03:29 Then he would have walked on this road, as he walked up
03:32 into the foothills of the Taurus Mountains.
03:35 He walked this Roman road through the Cilician Gates
03:39 into the Anatolian Plateau.
03:42 In those days the region was known as Galatia.
03:46 He walked through Galatia strengthening the churches that
03:50 he had planted, strengthening the churches at Derbe and
03:55 Lystra, Iconium, Pisidia Antioch.
03:58 But he did not tarry because his heart was set on
04:01 going back to Ephesus.
04:03 Yes he had sailed across from Corinth with his companions
04:07 Aquila and Priscilla who were also tent makers.
04:10 He left them there and he had been thinking and praying
04:16 about them knowing they were preparing the ground for the
04:19 planting of the Gospel seed.
04:21 Paul was anxious to see what had developed.
04:25 He had an open reception in the city of Ephesus when he
04:30 preached in the Jewish synagogues there.
04:32 So he was pressing on his way to go back to the city
04:36 where he would find fertile ground for the Gospel.
04:39 Paul would live in residence for three years in the
04:42 city of Ephesus, preaching the good news that
04:45 Jesus was the Christ.
04:47 We must press on our journey following the footsteps
04:50 of Paul to the great city of Ephesus.
04:55 Paul was on a mission and his path was beating
04:58 to the city of Ephesus.
05:00 This was the greatest city of Asia, know at this time
05:04 it was not the capital of the province of Asia,
05:07 but it was leading city commercially.
05:09 It had a commerce because of the great port.
05:12 The capital of Asia was at Pergamum, another of the seven
05:16 churches, that Jesus sent a message, to from the Isle
05:20 of Patmos, when John was exiled there.
05:23 But Ephesus was leading city, the major city.
05:28 It had a population of over 300,000 people.
05:32 It had fantastic public buildings, it had the Odeon that
05:37 that would seat 1400 people.
05:40 Here the leaders of the city, some 300 in number,
05:43 would come together, the elected officials and decide
05:47 the course of the city.
05:48 In addition it had the great theater where performances
05:52 would be held and where the citizens of the city would
05:54 come together to discuss the future of their city.
05:58 Yes Ephesus was a magnificent city, Paul had
06:02 a desire to reach Ephesus.
06:04 As he walked mile after mile, he was praying,
06:08 Lord prepare their hearts for when I get there.
06:12 Help the cross of Jesus to be exalted in this great pagan
06:16 city, this great center of immorality and drunkenness.
06:20 Lord May you be exalted, may Your name be
06:23 exalted here in this city.
06:26 This city was the center of the cult
06:29 worship of Artemis.
06:31 Artemis was a Greek name by which the goddess was known.
06:35 The mother Goddess, this goddess was known throughout
06:38 the East, and in other places she would be known as
06:41 the goddess of Astra.
06:44 The Romans called her Diana, this was the center of
06:48 her cultic worship.
06:50 As Paul came closer to the city he would have passed
06:53 by the great Temple of Artemis which was one of the
06:57 seven wonders of the ancient world.
06:59 Yes this was a fabulous city with a fabulous Temple
07:03 reported to be the finest of the seven wonders
07:06 of the ancient world.
07:07 Paul came though, not to see the temple, he came to plant
07:12 the cross of Jesus Christ in this city.
07:15 He entered in through the gate to the north,
07:18 the Magnesian Gate and as he proceeded into the city,
07:22 he would have walked past the great Odeon where the
07:25 political leaders would gather together
07:28 to make their decisions.
07:30 Only citizens were allowed in this section of the city,
07:34 but Paul was a citizen of Rome so he could walk proudly
07:37 here, Paul would have walked past this state Agora where
07:41 the Temple of Augustus was located.
07:44 Today we see the Temple of Augustus in the museum here at
07:49 Ephesus, a mute testimony to the grandeur of the past.
07:53 Then he would have walked by the great Temple of Artemis
07:57 in this city, and also the Temple to the spirit of Roma.
08:02 Ephesus was permitted to build a temple to the deceased
08:06 Emperor, Augustus Caesar.
08:08 And to the spirit of Rome, which was deified here in this
08:12 great metropolitan area.
08:15 Paul continued walking down the road passing by various
08:19 Cultic establishments.
08:21 He came to the great Pedestrian Way, lined on both sides
08:25 by the portico, the covered mosaics.
08:30 He would have walked down this great pedestrian Way and
08:33 noted shops of the age.
08:36 Here is Domitian Square, where Paul had walked through the
08:41 city Domitian Square had not already been built.
08:44 Ephesus had not yet permitted to worship a living Emperor,
08:48 they had vied for the permission to do this
08:51 and finally they received permission and constructed
08:55 this great Temple to Domitian.
08:58 Domitian was an ego maniac and he had a statue,
09:02 done 21 feet tall, made of himself.
09:06 It was placed it on this raised platform and required
09:10 all to come and worship the spirit of Rome and
09:14 the living Emperor.
09:16 A generation later, after Paul was here,
09:19 John refused to burn incense to Caesar.
09:24 He would acknowledge no other deity
09:27 then Jesus Christ alone.
09:29 Domitian compared himself to be the Lord God and because
09:35 of John's obstinate attitude, he banished him here to
09:40 the Rocky Penal colony of Patmos about 20 miles
09:45 off the coast of Asia.
09:48 John separated from his friends, no longer able to
09:53 encourage the church during this great time of crises.
09:56 Rumors being spread about the church that Christians
10:00 were atheist because they would not burn incense to
10:02 the spirit of Caesar.
10:04 They would not worship the Roman gods.
10:06 They have lost the protection of being Jews,
10:09 they were now being viewed as a separate entity because
10:12 they came from various backgrounds, from other nations
10:16 and no longer spoke Hebrew, or Aramaic.
10:20 John was exiled to the island of Patmos for not
10:25 acknowledging Domitian, the Caesar as the Lord God.
10:30 But while there Jesus appeared to him in vision and
10:34 instructed him to send a message back to the church
10:38 of Ephesus, don't be afraid church, of what they may
10:42 do to you for I am the one who was dead,
10:45 and am alive for evermore.
10:48 John had not seen Jesus for 60 years, he had not seen
10:52 Jesus since he ascended up into heaven from
10:54 the Mount of olives.
10:55 But now Jesus appears and says, John don't be afraid,
10:58 I am the first and the last, on the One that was dead
11:01 and came back to life, and John, I am alive forevermore.
11:05 John sent this message here to the church at Ephesus,
11:08 and encouraged the church to remain faithful,
11:12 even during times of distress.
11:14 In vision, the 24 elders cast down their crowns before the
11:20 throne, saying thou art worthy O' Lord our God to
11:24 receive glory and honor and power,
11:27 for Thou has created all things.
11:29 Yes the message from Jesus, on the island of Patmos,
11:33 to his servant John was, encourage the believers.
11:36 I am the Lord God, not this imposter sitting on a throne
11:41 in Rome, not this imposter who has put up a 21 foot
11:45 statue of himself in the square of town.
11:47 I am the Lord God and I am the only one worthy to receive
11:52 glory and honor and worship, for I created all things.
11:56 Yes it was a tremendous message of encouragement to the
12:00 church here at Ephesus to remain faithful in spite of the
12:03 persecution of the Domitian's.
12:05 In spite of what the enemy was trying to do,
12:07 and the Church remains faithful.
12:10 Paul continued down the street and would have passed
12:13 this sign for the brothel.
12:16 Yes this was a city of gambling, and drunkenness,
12:20 prostitution and immorality, yet it was a city Paul had
12:24 a burden for, a city that Jesus had died for.
12:35 This is a fantastic Celsus Library where the patron who
12:40 dedicated and built this building loved books and willed
12:45 that he would be buried inside with the 12,000 scrolls so
12:49 he could be close to the scrolls he loved.
12:52 This building was built after the death of John, and yet
13:00 it is the most stunning fa÷ade in all of Ephesus.
13:05 It has been largely re-created in the
13:08 restoration that was done.
13:13 But the Celsus Library was not here in Paul's day or in
13:16 John's, the street let down to the commercial Agora.
13:20 This large area where the commerce of
13:23 the city was conducted.
13:25 This massive gate had been built by two freedmen in honor
13:31 of Caesar Augustus who had granted them
13:33 their liberty as citizens.
13:34 Today we can still see the mighty Caesars name inscribed
13:39 above two of the arches going into the Agora.
13:43 Then the street turns and goes down to the massive
13:49 theater, some 24,000+ seats in this theater.
13:55 When you stand in the theater, there is a fantastic view
14:00 of the harbor, today the harbor has silted up and is now
14:04 6 miles out to the beach.
14:06 It was a magnificent entrance into a magnificent city.
14:11 Paul did not come to go to the theater,
14:14 Paul came to share the gospel.
14:47 For three months he was invited to teach in the synagogues,
14:49 he shared daily there at the synagogue from
14:53 Sabbath to Sabbath that Jesus was the Messiah.
14:56 People listened with open ears and open hearts.
15:00 After three months of opposition began to build.
15:03 Luke says they became obstinate about the message.
15:07 Paul was no longer welcomed to teach on the Sabbath
15:10 in the synagogue, and so he moved to a rented hall,
15:14 the lecture hall of Tyrannous and there he taught
15:17 every afternoon as well as on the Sabbath that
15:21 Jesus was the Messiah.
15:23 He instructed the disciples, the new believers in this
15:26 great city of Ephesus.
15:27 Yes the power of the Gospel was alive and moving.
15:30 Paul would remain here for 2 and 1/2 years.
15:33 He stayed at Corinth for year and a half and now he
15:37 stretches it to 2 and 1/2 years and perhaps going out into
15:40 the surrounding cities teaching them that
15:43 Jesus was the Messiah.
15:45 Luke said the whole province of Asia heard the teachings
15:49 of Paul about Jesus as the Christ.
15:52 Luke said that even a handkerchief touched by Paul,
15:55 could be taken to a sick person and they would be made well.
15:59 This caused the entire city to take notice of the message
16:03 of Jesus, and many, many people believed.
16:08 There is a curious story found in Acts 19:13-17.
16:13 Of Jewish exorcists who heard that Paul cast out demons
16:19 in the name of Jesus, they thought this was a new
16:21 incantation, so Luke records this curious story of how
16:25 they attempted to cast out demons in the name of
16:28 Jesus, whom Paul preaches.
16:30 On one occasion, the demon said, I know Paul, I know
16:34 Jesus whom Paul preaches, but I don't know you and the
16:38 man leaped upon them and beat them.
16:41 Luke gives this very interesting and humorous insight, verse 16.
16:58 What an amazing story happened here.
17:00 All of this caused attention to the Gospel and the
17:04 power of God in transforming human lives here in this
17:07 great city of Ephesus.
17:09 Luke goes on.
17:42 Paul's reputation was growing, the power of Jesus was
17:46 growing here in the city.
17:48 They recognize they could not fool around with evil
17:51 spirits, even the believers were moved to a deeper
17:55 sense of commitment after this happened
17:57 with the sons of Seva.
17:59 So they brought their books on magic, incantations,
18:02 and potions, Ephesus was riddled with this idea of magic.
18:07 They brought their scrolls and publicly burned them.
18:11 Luke calculates the value as 50,000 Drachmas.
18:14 A drachmas was a silver coin representing an
18:18 average man's daily pay.
18:21 50,000 days of labor, that was the value of the scrolls
18:26 that were burned publicly.
18:28 These scrolls about magic, yes the Holy Spirit wanted
18:32 to emphasize these miracles that were taking place,
18:35 were not taking place by the power of magic, or the power
18:39 of incantations, no there was a total difference
18:42 between Jesus and magic.
18:45 It was not magic but the power, the blood of Jesus by
18:48 which people were being restored by Paul's preaching.
18:51 The church continued to grow and there was a mighty
18:54 movement happening, but as we have seen in every place
18:57 that Paul had gone, the devil was angry and
19:00 begins to stir up opposition.
19:02 Paul can sense the opposition building, he's senses the
19:05 anger of the devil, the Dragon was wroth with the woman
19:09 and wanted to make war with her seed.
19:12 Paul recognize this and he decided it was time to go.
19:16 We read what happens next in Luke's account.
19:37 Yes Paul sensed there was danger looming ahead.
19:40 He wrote to the church of Corinth from this city
19:43 and said I am in peril every hour, I'm
19:46 surrounded by problems here.
19:48 He sensed that something was not right, that something
19:52 was afoot and so he sent Timothy and Erastus over to
19:55 Macedonia to prepare the way and
19:58 he planned to follow them.
19:59 Before Paul could leave, the devil tried to take Paul's
20:04 life one more time.
20:06 The devil stirred up a man by the name of Demetrius
20:09 right here in this city.
20:10 Demetrius was a leader of the metalworkers of the city
20:15 who manufactured little silver statuettes of Artemis,
20:19 Goddess of the city, or Diana as she was known by the
20:23 Roman name, the mother Goddess.
20:25 He stirred up Demetrius' heart, and Demetrius stirred
20:30 up the metalworkers saying, this guy Paul is preaching
20:34 there are no gods made with human hands.
20:37 That there is only one God, the invisible God, Jesus,
20:40 and if this continues, it is impacting our business
20:43 and soon the very temple of Artemis will fall into
20:47 disrepute and no one will come here and our
20:49 great city will collapse.
20:51 Demetrius stirred the metalworkers up.
20:53 They came down and stirred the people of the city up.
20:57 They looked for Paul and could not find him,
20:59 they found two of his companions and dragged them
21:01 here into the theater.
21:02 Soon the theater was filled with people from all through
21:06 the city, and they had come in not knowing what it was
21:09 all about, some were shouting one thing and some
21:11 were shouting another.
21:13 Great is Artemis, the God of the Ephesians, great is
21:15 Diana, the God of the Ephesians, away with these men
21:18 who are teaching that she is nothing.
21:20 There was confusion and total chaos here in the theater.
21:23 As the people were close to rioting, most of them had no
21:27 idea what was going on, but the crowd mentality
21:29 swept over them all.
21:31 When Alexander stepped forward to try and quiet the crowd
21:35 and to clear the Jewish name, he raised his hands to
21:39 try and say they were not leading people away from
21:42 Artemis, they were minding their own business in the city.
21:45 It was really Paul and the others that were doing this,
21:47 but when they saw he was a Jew they begin to shout,
21:50 he's a Jew, he's a Jew, greatest Artemis of the
21:52 Ephesians, great is Diana, and this riot continued on.
21:55 For over two hours here in this stadium you could hear
21:58 their voices, even now, echoing back and forth,
22:01 great is Artemis, great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
22:04 Soon it seemed as the whole place would be torn upside
22:07 down, Paul wanted to go in and try to speak to the crowd,
22:11 but the disciples would not allow him, nor with the
22:13 public officials, they said Paul you are
22:14 crazy, they will kill you.
22:16 So they restrained Paul from going in.
22:18 After about two hours the crowd had went through many
22:21 of the emotions and the city clerk address them.
22:24 Notice his wise counsel in verse 35.
23:13 Yes this wise Roman official stepped forward and said,
23:16 they have done nothing wrong, they have not robbed the
23:20 city, they have not defamed the Temple, therefore let them
23:24 Demetrius and his associates bring the charges against
23:28 them in the civil court before the proconsul.
23:31 The mob accepted this, things quieted down,
23:34 but Paul knew it was time to go.
23:45 Paul knew that his time in Ephesus had ran its course.
23:49 This would be the last time he would visit the city.
23:52 He said goodbye to the brothers and went out to the coast
23:57 to Assos and Troas and caught a boat to Macedonia to join
24:01 Timothy and the others, to go through and
24:05 encourage the churches.
24:06 Ultimately Paul returned to the city of Jerusalem
24:09 with the offering that he had collected in
24:12 Macedonia and in Aecia.
24:14 While he was worshiping in the Temple he was arrested.
24:18 To achieve justice, he was forced to exercise his right as
24:22 a Roman citizen by appealing to Caesar.
24:24 After two years and many difficulties, he finally arrived
24:28 here in the city of Rome.
24:30 It was not the grand entrance that he had envisioned.
24:33 For he came into the city bound with chains.
24:37 While he was here he remember the church back in Ephesus
24:41 and he wrote them a letter to encourage them.
24:45 He reminded them that God had made them alive in Christ
24:49 while they were still dead in their sins.
24:51 He reminded them that they had been saved by grace
24:54 through faith, not by works so that no one could boast.
24:57 He reminded them that God called them now to live as
25:01 children of the light.
25:02 Whenever I read the letter to the Ephesians, I remember
25:07 Paul being here in the city of Rome.
25:10 He could not walk freely among the people on the streets
25:14 of Rome for he was under house arrest.
25:17 For two years he was chained to a Roman soldier.
25:22 For two years he closely studied and examined the
25:26 garments and the weapons of a member of the praetorian
25:30 guard, one of the elite soldiers charged with guarding
25:33 the interest of Caesar.
25:35 When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians he concluded
25:40 by using the weapons and the garments of that Roman soldier
25:45 as a spiritual analogy to describe how they should
25:49 live the Christian life.
25:51 Let me read it to you, it is found Ephesians 6:11.
26:59 Yes we are to where the spiritual garments of faith.
27:03 The helmet of salvation, the breast plate of righteousness,
27:06 the belt of truth.
27:07 We are to take the sword of the spirit for our fight is
27:10 not against flesh and blood, but against principalities
27:13 and powers, against spiritual wickedness in dark places.
27:16 If we are to live a successful Christian life today,
27:20 we too must put on the whole armor of God.
27:24 Join me as we pray together.
27:26 Eternal God I thank You so much for the privilege it
27:30 has been to go to the great city of Ephesus and see
27:33 where Paul and Aquila and Priscilla planted
27:35 the gospel long, long ago.
27:37 I thank You for how the gospel took deep root in the
27:40 lives of people, the revival that happened there.
27:43 In spite of the devil's best efforts by causing a riot
27:47 in the city and the imprisonment of Paul,
27:48 that the gospel triumphed.
27:50 I thank you that your faithful servant sent a letter to
27:54 the Ephesians to encourage not only them in the first
27:57 century, but us in the 21st century.
28:00 Lord as we follow that counsel I pray that we too might
28:03 be strong in You, to live in a way that will bring glory
28:07 an honor to You each and every day.
28:10 Thank you so much for hearing our prayer and for blessing
28:13 us now, in Jesus name we pray Amen!
28:16 Well in the next episode of our series we are going to
28:20 travel east to the region of Galatia to examine a
28:24 practice of the apostle Paul that has been sadly neglected
28:27 in the 21st century.
28:29 Don't miss the return to Galatia in our next episode.
28:33 From here in the city of Rome we wish you God's
28:36 blessing and God speed.


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Revised 2014-12-17