ANNOUNCER:
ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY, AUTHOR AND CORNERSTONE
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT JOE STOWELL
TRAVELS TO MODERN TURKEY... TO ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE
EXCAVATIONS OF A CITY OF
THE ROMAN EMPIRE: EPHESUS. IN THE FIRST CENTURY EPHESUS
WAS HOME TO A GROWING CHURCH
LED BY THE APOSTLE JOHN, ONCE THE YOUNG DISCIPLE
OF JESUS CHRIST. JOHN'S BELIEF IN JESUS
AS THE RESURRECTED
SAVIOR OF THE WORLD... OFFENDED THE WORSHIP AND LOYALTY TO THE MANY GODS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, WHICH INCLUDED CAESAR. JOHN WAS THEREFORE IMPRISONED
ON THE ISLAND OF PATMOS, 50 MILES OFF
THE COAST OF TURKEY. IT IS ON PATMOS THAT JESUS
SUDDENLY APPEARS TO JOHN... WITH A VISION THAT
MAPS OUT THE END OF TIME. THIS FINAL BOOK IN THE BIBLE
IS KNOWN AS THE REVELATION
OF JESUS CHRIST. IT IS A BOOK THAT, FOR MANY,
SPEAKS OF A TERRIBLE FUTURE
FOR THE WORLD AND MANKIND, CULMINATING WITH JUDGMENT
AND GOD'S WRATH BEING
POURED OUT ON THE EARTH. BUT THIS FINAL REVELATION
OF JESUS CHRIST... UNVEILS FAR MORE
THAN A FINAL WORLD WAR
AND COSMIC DESTRUCTION. IT ALSO REVEALS A YET FUTURE
TIME OF RESTORATION AND PEACE, A TIME WHEN SUFFERING
AND TEARS WILL CEASE. THE BOOK BEGINS BY REVEALING THE
HEART OF THE RESURRECTED JESUS
FOR THOSE HE'S LEFT BEHIND, WITH SEVEN PERSONAL LETTERS TO
SEVEN FIRST CENTURY CHURCHES... WITHIN THE BORDERS
OF MODERN TURKEY. THE FIRST LETTER IS
TO THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS. JOURNEY TO THE SEVEN
CHURCHES OF REVELATION,
THE LETTER TO EPHESUS, ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. TODAY, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD COME TO
THIS ANCIENT CITY OF EPHESUS. THEY COME TO VIEW
THE SPECTACULAR RELICS, TO BUY T-SHIRTS FOR THEIR
GRANDKIDS AND LITTLE IMAGES
TO THE GODDESS ARTEMIS, WHO WAS WORSHIPED HERE
2,000 YEARS AGO. BUT 2,000 YEARS AGO
PEOPLE CAME TO EPHESUS FOR
A WHOLE DIFFERENT REASON. FROM EVERY CORNER OF
THE GLOBE PEOPLE CAME BECAUSE
THIS WAS A WORLD CLASS CITY. IT'S LIKE OUR NEW YORK OR
SINGAPORE, PARIS, OR BEIJING. IT WAS THE CENTER OF
THE CULT WORSHIP TO ARTEMIS. PILGRIMS CAME TO THIS MASSIVE
TEMPLE THAT WAS ONE OF THE SEVEN
WONDERS OF THE WORLD. AND IN THIS CITY THERE
WAS A GROUP OF FOLLOWERS
OF JESUS CHRIST. THIS CHURCH PLANTED HERE
THRIVED IN THE MIDST OF
THIS PAGAN ENVIRONMENT. HEADLINERS LIKE PAUL WERE
HERE FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS,
THE APOSTLE JOHN AND TIMOTHY. AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH,
THE LETTERS THAT JESUS WROTE
TO THE CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR, THE VERY FIRST LETTER HE WROTE
WAS A LETTER TO THIS CHURCH
IN THE CITY OF EPHESUS. "WHAT YOU SEE, WRITE IN A
BOOK AND SEND IT TO THE SEVEN
CHURCHES WHICH ARE IN ASIA: "TO EPHESUS, TO SMYRNA,
TO PERGAMOS, TO THYATIRA, "TO SARDIS, TO PHILADELPHIA,
AND TO LAODICEA." THEN I TURNED TO SEE
THE VOICE THAT SPOKE, AND HAVING TURNED,
I SAW SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS, AND IN THE MIDST
OF THE SEVEN LAMPSTANDS,
ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN. "TO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH
OF EPHESUS WRITE, "THESE THINGS SAYS
HE WHO HOLDS THE SEVEN
STARS IN HIS RIGHT HAND, "WHO WALKS IN THE MIDST OF
THE SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS: "I KNOW YOUR WORKS,
YOUR LABOR, YOUR PATIENCE, "AND THAT YOU CANNOT
BEAR THOSE WHO ARE EVIL. "AND YOU HAVE TESTED THOSE WHO
SAY THEY ARE APOSTLES AND ARE
NOT, AND HAVE FOUND THEM LIARS. "AND YOU HAVE PERSEVERED
AND HAVE PATIENCE, AND HAVE
LABORED FOR MY NAME'S SAKE, "AND HAVE NOT BECOME WEARY. "NEVERTHELESS, I HAVE THIS
AGAINST YOU, THAT YOU HAVE
LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE. "REMEMBER, THEREFORE,
FROM WHERE YOU HAVE FALLEN. "REPENT AND DO THE FIRST WORKS. "I WILL COME TO YOU QUICKLY
AND REMOVE YOUR LAMPSTAND FROM
ITS PLACE, UNLESS YOU REPENT. "BUT THIS YOU HAVE,
THAT YOU HATE THE DEEDS OF THE
NICOLAITANS, WHICH I ALSO HATE. "HE WHO HAS AN EAR,
LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT
SAYS TO THE CHURCHES. "TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES
I WILL GIVE TO EAT
FROM THE TREE OF LIFE, "WHICH IS IN THE MIDST
OF THE PARADISE OF GOD." THESE ARE THE KINDS
OF SPECTACULAR RUINS... THAT TOURISTS COME FROM
ALL OVER THE WORLD TO SEE. BUT FOR EARLY CHRISTIANS
WALKING THROUGH THIS PLAZA, THIS WAS THE LIBRARY, ONE OF THE
GREATEST LIBRARIES IN THE WORLD, REMINDING THEM THAT THEY WERE
IN AN INTELLECTUAL CENTER. AS THEY WOULD WALK THROUGH
THESE ARCHWAYS THEY WOULD
SEE OVER THE TOP, THE INSCRIPTION: "TO CAESAR
AUGUSTUS, WHO IS GOD." AND IT WOULD REMIND THEM OF
THE WORSHIP OF THE EMPERORS... THAT CREATED SO MUCH
TENSION IN THEIR LIVES. JUST OVER HERE IS THE TOWN
BROTHEL, RIGHT OUT IN PUBLIC, WHICH WOULD AGAIN REMIND THEM
OF THE SEDUCTION OF THE RAMPANT
SEXUAL IMMORALITY IN EPHESUS. BUT THROUGH THOSE ARCHES
IS WHERE THE ACTION
REALLY HAPPENED: THE TOWN MARKET, THE AGORA. THE AGORA WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT
TRADE CENTER IN EPHESUS. IT WAS IN THE FORM OF
A LARGE SQUARE, SURROUNDED
BY COLUMNS WITH THREE GATES. I'VE ENTERED THROUGH THE GATE
FROM THE CELSUS LIBRARY. THREE SIDES OF THE AGORA WERE
SURROUNDED BY A PORTICO... THAT HELD THE SHOPS
DOING BUSINESS IN THIS
COMMERCIAL CENTER. EPHESUS WAS A PORT CITY,
AND GOODS FROM ALL OVER
THE KNOWN WORLD... WERE SOLD RIGHT HERE
IN THIS PLACE. NO CITY TELLS US WHAT LIFE
WAS LIKE FOR EARLY CHRISTIANS
IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE... LIKE THE CITY OF EPHESUS. EPHESUS WAS AFFLUENT. IT SAT ON THE EDGE OF A MAJOR SEAPORT, SO TRADE FROM, LITERALLY,
ALL OVER THE KNOWN WORLD PARKED ITS SHIPS IN THE SEAPORT, AND FILLED THE CITY WITH GOODS
THAT WERE MUCH COVETED BY PEOPLE
WHO CAME FROM LAND ROUTES. TRADE ROUTES ON LAND
ENDED UP HERE IN EPHESUS. SO EPHESUS WAS A RICH TOWN
AND IT WAS VERY COSMOPOLITAN. PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
LIVED HERE, JEWS AND GENTILES
AND PERSIANS AND... AND MOST OF THE ACTIVITY
THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT TOOK
PLACE RIGHT HERE... IN THE AGORA OR THE MARKETPLACE. THE AGORA WOULD HAVE BEEN FILLED
WITH THE FRAGRANT AROMAS... OF SPICES FROM
FAR AND DISTANT LANDS, WITH THE BEAUTIFUL COLORS OF
TEXTILES THAT HAD BEEN WOVEN
AND BROUGHT HERE FOR SALE. PEOPLE WOULD GATHER
HERE SOCIALLY. I MEAN, THIS WAS LIKE
A MALL ON STEROIDS, REALLY. THIS WAS THE CENTER
OF LIFE IN EPHESUS, AND THE CENTER OF LIFE IN MOST CITIES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. AND SO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
HERE WOULD BE LARGELY
DETERMINATIVE... OF THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
AND STATUS OF EARLY CHRISTIANS. OF COURSE, ONE CHALLENGE WAS
THAT AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE
AGORA WAS AN INCENSE BURNER. IN ORDER TO ENTER
THE AGORA ON GOOD TERMS YOU
HAD TO TAKE A LITTLE INCENSE... AS AN ACT OF
LOYALTY TO THE EMPEROR,
WHO CLAIMED TO BE LORD, AND DROP IT IN
THE INCENSE BURNERS. CHRISTIANS STRUGGLED WITH THAT. IT WAS TOUGH TO NAVIGATE THAT. TO BE... TO BE SHUT OUT OF
THE AGORA MEANT TO BE SHUT
OUT OF SO MUCH OF LIFE. BUT THAT WAS
THE CHALLENGE FOR THEM. EPHESUS WAS TYPICAL OF
THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH EARLY
CHRISTIANS NEEDED TO NAVIGATE, NOT ONLY FOR ITS MARKETPLACE
AND AGORA, BUT FOR ITS
WORSHIP OF PAGAN DEITIES. IN EPHESUS THERE WERE
14 TEMPLES, IDOLATROUS
TEMPLES TO PAGAN GODS, BUT NONE OF THEM RIVALED
THE TEMPLE TO ARTEMIS. ARTEMIS WAS THE ANCIENT
GODDESS OF FERTILITY AND LIFE. HER REIGN OVER THIS REGION
AND MOST OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
ACTUALLY STARTED IN 1,000 BC, AND EPHESUS WAS THE
HEADQUARTERS OF HER WORSHIP. THE TEMPLE
WAS ONE OF THE SEVEN
WONDERS OF THE WORLD. THINK OF THIS, IT WAS THE... BIGGER THAN A FOOTBALL
FIELD AND A HALF LONG AND
WIDER THAN A FOOTBALL FIELD. IT WAS WRAPPED WITH
127 MASSIVE PILLARS OF MARBLE. I MEAN, IT WAS A STATEMENT!
AND ALL OF THE TOWN WORSHIPPED
AT THE TEMPLE. IN FACT, THE WORSHIP OF ARTEMIS
PERVADED ALMOST EVERY ASPECT
OF LIFE AND OF SOCIETY, ALL THE WAY TO BANKING
AND COMMERCE. THE TEMPLE TO ARTEMIS BECAME
A BANKING HEADQUARTERS WHERE
PEOPLE WOULD BRING THEIR MONEY, AND MERCHANTS WOULD
BANK THEIR MONEY, AND THE TEMPLE
WOULD RECEIVE THE INTEREST
AND YOU'D GET LOANS, AND SO IT WAS A VERY
CENTRAL POINT IN THIS CITY. THERE WERE IN THE TEMPLE
OF ARTEMIS, GIVEN THAT SHE
WAS THE GODDESS OF FERTILITY, HUNDREDS OF TEMPLE PROSTITUTES,
BOTH MALE AND FEMALE. MANY OF THE FESTIVITIES
CELEBRATING ARTEMIS ENDED... IN ORGIES AND RAMPANT
SEXUAL IMMORALITY. THINK OF THE CHALLENGE THAT
THAT MEANT TO EARLY CHRISTIANS. AND ONCE A YEAR IN MAY,
TO CELEBRATE HER BIRTHDAY,
THIS, CALLED THE SACRED WAY, WAS FILLED WITH
MASSIVE PROCESSIONS
OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, LIFTING ARTEMIS' PICTURE
AT THE FRONT OF THE PROCESSION, WITH MUSIC PLAYING
AND DANCING AND CHEERING ALL
THE WAY DOWN TO THE HARBOR, WHERE THE STATUES OF ARTEMIS
WOULD BE DIPPED INTO THE WATER
TO RESTORE HER VIRGINITY AGAIN, AND THEN THE MASSIVE CELEBRATION
RETURNED TO THE TEMPLE, WHERE
LATE INTO THE NIGHT... THEY WOULD CELEBRATE AND
WORSHIP HER IN DRUNKEN ORGIES. AND SINCE ALL THE PRIESTS
TO HER WERE EUNUCHS, SOME OF THE MEN,
IN FRENZY, WOULD LITERALLY
CASTRATE THEMSELVES, AND PRESENT THEIR
DISMEMBERED PARTS TO ARTEMIS
AS AN ACT OF WORSHIP, AND BECOME A PART
OF THE PRIESTHOOD. SO THAT WAS THE ENVIRONMENT. THAT WAS THE CHALLENGE FOR
THE EARLY CHURCH TO LIVE
IN A SOCIETY SUCH AS THIS. BUT THE CHALLENGE, REALLY,
AT THE END OF THE DAY,
DIDN'T COMPARE... TO THE WORSHIP OF THE EMPEROR
DOMITIAN, WHICH WAS ALSO
HEADQUARTERED IN THIS CITY. EPHESUS HAD THE HIGH HONOR
OF BEING A NEOKOROS. THAT MEANT A CITY THAT WAS A
HOST TO A TEMPLE TO AN EMPEROR. VERY FEW CITIES GOT THAT HONOR. EPHESUS HAD TWO. DOWN BELOW US IN THE VALLEY,
IN THE FIRST CENTURY BC, A TEMPLE WAS BUILT
TO AUGUSTUS THE DIVINE. BUT BEHIND ME IS
THE TEMPLE TO DOMITIAN, BUILT ON THE HIGHEST PLACE
IN THE TOWN OF EPHESUS
SO THAT ALL COULD SEE. DOMITIAN BEGAN
HIS REIGN IN 81, AND IMMEDIATELY SELECTED
THIS PLACE FOR PEOPLE
TO WORSHIP HIM AS GOD. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, ON THE
PLATEAU OF THE TEMPLE WHERE
THE TEMPLE ACTUALLY STOOD... WAS A STRUCTURE THAT WAS
HELD UP BY OTHER STATUES. THESE WERE THE STATUES
OF ALL THE GODS OF THE EMPIRE. WHAT A STATEMENT, THAT THE OTHER
GODS OF THE EMPIRE LITERALLY
HOLD HIM UP AS THE HIGHEST. AND ON THE PLATFORM ON
THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE WAS
A STATUE TO DOMITIAN HIMSELF. GET THIS, IT STOOD 50 FEET TALL
WITH AN ARM RAISED IN POWER. AND WHEN YOU WOULD COME INTO
THE HARBOR, YOU WOULD LOOK UP, IT'S THE FIRST THING
YOU WOULD SEE IN EPHESUS,
WAS THIS STATUE OF DOMITIAN. FOR EARLY CHRISTIANS, THAT
WAS A VERY INTIMIDATING SIGHT,
BECAUSE DOMITIAN, NEXT TO NERO, IS ONE OF THE EMPERORS THAT
MOST BRUTALLY PERSECUTED
THE EARLY CHURCH. IN FACT, SOMETIMES I WONDER IF
THAT VISION OF JESUS CHRIST... AS BEING ALL-POWERFUL
AND ALMIGHTY WAS MEANT
TO CONTRAST... TO THESE KIND OF
ICONIC IMAGES OF THE EMPERORS
AND ALL THEIR POWER THAT... THAT CHRIST APPEARS IN FAR
GREATER POWER THAN THEY APPEAR. SO, AS INTIMIDATING
AS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN, WORSE YET WAS THE CHALLENGE
TO EARLY CHRISTIANS, BECAUSE
IN THE IMPERIAL CULT, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT THE
EMPERORS HELD THE ROMAN EMPIRE
TOGETHER WAS TO CLAIM TO BE GOD. ACTUALLY, THEY USED NAMES LIKE
SAVIOR, AND LORD, AND MASTER,
SON OF MAN, AND GOD. SO HOW DO YOU HOLD AN EMPIRE
TOGETHER THAT'S MADE UP OF... SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS
OF PEOPLE AND CULTURES? WELL, YOU HAVE ONE ELEMENT,
AND THAT IS ALL OF THE EMPIRE
WILL WORSHIP THE EMPEROR, WILL WORSHIP CAESAR. AND THERE WERE FESTIVITIES
AND TIMES IN THE YEAR WHEN
CHRISTIANS WERE REQUIRED, WHEN ALL THE ROMAN
CITIZENS AND ALL THE ROMAN
TOWNS WERE REQUIRED... TO PUBLICALLY AFFIRM WITH THEIR OWN VOICE THAT CAESAR IS LORD. WELL, THROUGH MANY OF
THE EMPERORS' REIGN, THAT DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF
GLUE TO IT, DIDN'T STICK, AND CHRISTIANS KIND OF
FLEW UNDER THE RADAR. BUT NOT WITH DOMITIAN,
BECAUSE HE WAS INTENT THAT ALL
WOULD PRAISE AND WORSHIP HIM. HENCE THE MASSIVE PERSECUTION. SO THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS
THEN LIVED UNDER THE SHADOW
OF THIS SEDUCTION, AND IN FACT, JOHN IS EXILED
ONTO THE ISLE OF PATMOS... BECAUSE OF DYNAMICS REPRESENTED
IN A TEMPLE JUST LIKE THIS. ANOTHER UNSETTLING REALITY
FOR EARLY CHRISTIANS... WAS THE PRESENCE OF DEMONS
AND DEMON ACTIVITY. ORACLES WERE PRIESTS TO THE GODS
AND THE GODDESSES AND THEY SPOKE
FOR THE GODS AND GODDESSES. HERE AT EPHESUS THEY DWELT
IN THE TEMPLE TO DIDYMUS. ORACLES WOULD DO MIRACULOUS
WONDERS, ALL DRIVEN
BY THE UNDERWORLD, CAST SPELLS ON ENEMIES
AND CURSES AND... AND WHIP WORSHIPPERS
INTO CONVULSIVE FRENZIES, ALL VERY EVIDENT
TO CHRISTIANS... THAT THE POWERS OF
THE DEMONS IN THE UNDERWORLD
WERE VERY MUCH AT WORK. SO WHEN PAUL WROTE TO EPHESUS,
IN EPHESIANS CHAPTER 6, "TO PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR
OF GOD, FOR WE WRESTLE NOT
AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, "BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES
AND POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF DARKNESS IN HIGH PLACES," THEY KNEW WHAT HE MEANT
AND THEY TOOK HIM SERIOUSLY. AND PAUL WAS ASKING THEM
NOT TO JUST STAND AGAINST
THE GOVERNMENT, OR FOR A CAUSE
THAT JUDGES OTHERS. READ HIS LETTER
TO EPHESUS SOMETIME. HE CALLS THEM TO LIVE
A LIFE IN THE MIDST
OF THIS COMMUNITY... THAT SAYS SOMETHING THAT RINGS
TRUE IN ALL OF OUR HEARTS, THINGS LIKE FORGIVE
YOUR ENEMIES, SHOW LOVE
AND COMPASSION TO ALL, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,
BRING YOUR CHILDREN UP IN
THE ADMONITION OF THE LORD. AND BONDSERVANTS, BE OBEDIENT
TO THOSE WHO ARE YOUR MASTERS, AND MASTERS, YOU'VE GOT
TO GIVE UP THREATENING, KNOWING YOU, TOO,
HAVE A MASTER IN HEAVEN. PAUL ADMONISHES THEM TO
SINCERITY AND GOOD WILL... IN A COMMUNITY THAT WORSHIPPED
GODS WHO SAID NOTHING LIKE THIS. IN SHORT, HE WAS ASKING
THEM TO BE LIKE CHRIST IN
A CHRIST-DENYING WORLD. JESUS WRITES HIS FIRST LETTER
TO THE CHURCH HERE AT EPHESUS. UNLIKE SOME OF
THE OTHER CHURCHES, THERE'S NO HINT IN THIS LETTER OF COMPROMISE ON THEIR PART. NOW QUITE FRANKLY, GIVEN ALL
THE PRESSURES, THAT WOULD
HAVE BEEN AN EASY THING. I MEAN, WHY NOT JUST
TAKE A PINCH OF INCENSE
TO HONOR THE EMPEROR... TO GO INTO THE MARKETPLACE
AND BE SOCIALLY ACCEPTED OR... OR GO TO THE FESTIVITIES AND
EAT MEAT OFFERED TO IDOLS, AND PERHAPS EVEN PARTICIPATE
IN SEXUAL IMMORTALITY... JUST TO KEEP YOUR POSITION
AND YOUR CAREER, AND HAVE PEOPLE STILL SHOPPING AT YOUR LITTLE STALL? ACTUALLY, JESUS SAYS,
"YOU HATE THE DOCTRINE
OF THE NICOLAITANS." THE NICOLAITANS WERE A SECT
IN THE EARLY CHURCH WHO
ABSORBED GREEK PHILOSOPHY... AND ITS GNOSTICISM
AND WHICH BASICALLY TAUGHT
THAT THE BODY WAS INSIGNIFICANT, THAT THE ONLY THING THAT
WAS VALUABLE WAS THE SOUL. SO WHATEVER IS DONE IN THE BODY
OR TO THE BODY IS TO NO AVAIL. THEREFORE YOU COULD EAT MEAT
OFFERED TO IDOLS AND PARTICIPATE
IN SEXUAL IMMORALITY. SO THEY TOOK A FIRM
STAND AGAINST THAT. SO I WONDER WHY
THEY WERE SO STRONG? COULD IT BE THAT THEY
HAD GREAT LEADERSHIP? THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS
HERE FOR THREE YEARS. THE FIRST SIX MONTHS
HE TAUGHT IN THE SYNAGOGUE, BUT THE RESISTANCE OF THE JEWS
WAS SO HEAVY THAT HE WENT TO
THE HALL OF TYRANNUS, AN OPEN MEETING PLACE WHERE
STOICS AND PHILOSOPHERS
MARKETED THEIR WARES, AND HE TAUGHT THERE
EVERY DAY, ACTS TELLS US, FROM 11:00 IN THE MORNING
TILL 4:00 IN THE AFTERNOON
FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS, SO THAT ALL THE KNOWN WORLD
WOULD KNOW ABOUT THE POWER
OF THE RISEN CHRIST. THEY WERE SO EFFECTIVE
IN BEING DISTINCT THAT
THE SILVERSMITHS RIOTED. SILVERSMITHS WOULD MAKE THESE
LITTLE STATUES TO ARTEMIS, AND PEOPLE WOULD BUY THEM
AND PUT THEM IN THEIR HOMES AND
WORSHIP ARTEMIS IN THEIR HOMES. BUT THE INFLUENCE
OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN
EPHESUS WAS SO POWERFUL... THAT THEY STARTED LOSING BUSINESS AND SO THEY RIOTED, AND THE WHOLE TOWN
WENT INTO THE MASSIVE THEATRE,
SHOUTING FOR TWO HOURS STRAIGHT, "ARTEMIS, THE GODDESS
OF THE EPHESIANS! ARTEMIS,
THE GODDESS OF THE EPHESIANS!" AND THEY DRAGGED SOME OF
PAUL'S COHORTS IN THERE, AND WERE GETTING READY
TO DRAG PAUL IN THERE, TOO. WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAVE
HAPPENED TO HIM IN THAT RIOT! EXCEPT THE TOWN GOVERNOR QUIETED
THE CROWD AND SAID, "WE HAVE
COURTS TO TAKE CARE OF THIS." BUT ALL OF THAT TO SAY, THIS
WAS A VERY EFFECTIVE CHURCH. SO JESUS CHRIST
STARTS BY COMMENDING THEM,
THROWING BOUQUETS AT THEM. "I KNOW YOUR LABOR
AND YOUR TOIL. "I KNOW THAT YOU ENDURE
HARDSHIP FOR MY NAME'S SAKE. "I KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT
ACCEPT FALSE TEACHERS." I MEAN, AFTER THAT LIST,
YOU AND I WOULD VOTE FOR
THEM AS CHURCH OF THE YEAR! BUT THEN JESUS SAYS, "BUT I
HAVE SOMETHING AGAINST YOU." I HAVE TO SAY, I NEVER WANT
TO HEAR JESUS SAY THAT TO ME. LITERALLY THE WORD "FIRST"
MEANS FIRST IN TERMS OF
PRIORITY, MOTIVATION, THE THING THAT'S MOST
IMPORTANT TO ME. AND I'M WONDERING
WITH ALL THOSE ACCOLADES... OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS
THEY'RE DOING AS A CHURCH, IF JESUS IS SAYING
TO THEM, "YOU'RE NOT DOING
THOSE BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME. "THAT CHURCH FOR YOU
IS LIKE A HABIT, IT'S LIKE
A PROJECT, IT'S LIKE A DUTY. "IT'S LIKE GETTING THE WORK
DONE, IT'S LIKE STICKING IT OUT
AND STAYING FAITHFUL, "BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE
YOU LOVE ME THAT YOU DO THIS." IT'S KIND OF LIKE
LOVELESS LABOR. IT'S LIKE
WORK WITHOUT WONDER. IT'S... ENDS UP BEING
KIND OF DRY AND BORING
AT THE END OF THE DAY. JESUS WARNS THEM,
"IF YOU DON'T CHANGE THIS
I'LL REMOVE YOUR LAMPSTAND." WHICH, IN ESSENCE, HE WAS SAYING JUST DOING LOVELESS LABOR,
NO MATTER HOW GOOD IT IS, YOU LOSE YOUR EFFECTIVENESS. YOU
LOSE THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS,
THE POWER OF YOUR CHURCH. I GUESS JESUS WANTS
US TO KNOW THAT HE LONGS
FOR A RELATIONSHIP, NOT JUST BEHAVIOR,
NOT JUST DUTY. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE MARTIE
LEAVES AFTER DINNER... TO GO OUT SHOPPING
WITH FRIENDS, OR SOMETHING, AND SO I DECIDE, "YOU KNOW WHAT
I'M GOING TO DO? I'M GOING TO
CLEAN THE KITCHEN UP," AND I WASH THE POTS AND
PANS AND I PUT THE DISHES
IN THE DISHWATER... WASHER. AND THEN AT THE END OF IT
THE KITCHEN LOOKS SPOTLESS,
IT LOOKS GREAT, AND SHE COMES HOME
AND NOTICES IT. "OH MY GOODNESS, JOE,
WHY DID YOU DO THIS?" AND I SAY, "WELL,
BECAUSE I'M DEDICATED TO
THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE, "THAT'S WHY I DID THIS." NO. I MEAN,
THAT WOULD GO NOWHERE. I JUST LOOK IN HER EYES AND SAY,
"I DID THIS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. "YOU'RE THE MOST IMPORTANT
PERSON IN MY LIFE. "I LOOK FOR WAYS TO TELL
YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU." AND THAT'S WHAT JESUS IS AFTER. AND SO HE TELLS THEM TO REPENT, AND IF THEY REPENT THEY'LL
DO THE WORKS THEY DID AT FIRST. WHICH MEANS THAT IF YOU
LOVE JESUS AND THEREFORE DO
WHAT HE WOULD HAVE YOU DO, YOU MIGHT GET OUTSIDE
OF THE CHURCH WALLS, AS GOOD AS YOUR BEHAVIOR
IS ON THE INSIDE. YOU MIGHT START CARING
FOR THE POOR AGAIN, DOING ACTS OF COMPASSION
TOWARD THOSE INFANTS WHO
ARE THROWN ON THE TOWN DUMP. YOU MIGHT START MINISTERING
TO PEOPLE IN NEED, EVEN LOVING
AND FORGIVING YOUR ENEMIES. SO THAT'S WHAT
JESUS CALLS THEM TO. I DO THINK THERE'S A MODERN
APPLICATION HERE BECAUSE IT'S
REAL EASY, ISN'T IT, TO BE DUTY, AND TO DO THINGS WITHOUT DOING
THEM BECAUSE YOU LOVE JESUS. ALL OF OUR WORK SHOULD
BE WORSHIP TO HIM. THAT'S WHAT HE REALLY LONGS FOR. THIS IS WHAT IS LEFT OF THE
TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS AFTER STANDING
HERE IN ALL OF ITS GLORY, ATTRACTING PILGRIMS FROM
ALL OVER THE KNOWN WORLD. IN 262, WHEN THE
GOTHS PLUNDERED EPHESUS,
THEY DESTROYED THIS TEMPLE. AND GIVEN THE CHRISTIANIZATION
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, IT WAS
NEVER BUILT AGAIN. SO GOES ONE OF
THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD. BUT WHILE WE'RE HERE, JESUS
CHRIST, AT THE END OF HIS LETTER
TO THE CHRISTIANS IN EPHESUS, MADE AN INTERESTING
REFERENCE TO THIS TEMPLE. HE SAID TO THEM, "TO THOSE
OF YOU WHO OVERCOME, I WILL
GIVE THE TREE OF LIFE." ARTEMIS WAS THE GODDESS
OF FERTILITY IN LIFE, AND ONE OF THE GREAT
SYMBOLS OF THAT WAS... IN THE OUTER COURTYARDS
THERE STOOD A GIGANTIC TREE. THIS TREE SYMBOLIZED LIFE. WOMEN HOPING TO BECOME
PREGNANT WOULD COME THERE
AND TOUCH THE TREE. PEOPLE WHO WANTED HEALTH
AND LIFE IN MORE ABUNDANCE
WOULD COME TO THE TREE. IT WAS THE SOURCE OF
HOPE AND THE FULLNESS
OF LIFE FOR EPHESIANS. OF COURSE, CHRISTIANS
DIDN'T PARTICIPATE IN THAT. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY
FOR THEM TO FEEL CHEATED... TO BE LEFT OUT OF ONE OF THE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES OF EPHESUS. BUT JESUS SAYS THAT,
"IF YOU STAY FAITHFUL TO ME, "IN THE END I WILL
GIVE YOU THE TREE OF LIFE,
THE ETERNAL TREE OF LIFE." AND THEN HE SAID, "WHICH IS
IN THE PARADISE OF GOD." SO WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN?
WELL, EMPERORS HAD GLORIOUS
PALATIAL GARDENS, AND IT WAS IN THOSE GARDENS
THAT THEY WOULD ENTERTAIN
GUESTS OF HONOR. WELL, MOST CITIZENS
WOULD NEVER HOPE TO GO
TO THE EMPERORS' GARDENS, TO THEIR PARADISO, THEIR
PARADISE, LET ALONE CHRISTIANS. BUT THINK OF THE IMAGERY. THESE EMPERORS WHO PERSECUTED
THEM AND MARGINALIZED THEM, THAT THE DAY WOULD COME WHEN
THEY WOULD GO BE WITH THEIR GOD, AND HE WOULD GIVE TO THEM
THE TREE OF LIFE, PLANTED IN THE VERY
PARADISE OF GOD. ALL OF THE LETTERS
RUN LIKE THIS. "STAY FAITHFUL AND I HAVE
A GREAT REWARD FOR YOU, "SOMETHING FAR BETTER THAN
THIS WORLD COULD EVER GIVE." AND IT REMINDS ME
OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 5,
IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, WHERE JESUS SAID,
"FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO
ENDURE FOR MY NAME'S SAKE, "GREAT IS YOUR
REWARD IN HEAVEN."
