Transcript Document

Paul at Ephesus, Home of the
Temple of Artemis, 1 of 7
Wonders of the World
Seven Wonders of the Ancent World
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The Great Pyramid at Giza (still standing)
The Hanging Garden of Babylon
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Tomb of King Mausolus (Mausoleum)
The Colossus at Rhodes
The Lighthouse at Alexandria
The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Brief History of Ephesus
• Augustus (27BC –14 AD) made Ephesus the capital of the
province Asia.
• Flourished as the greatest commercial center of the province of
Asia.
• Population estimated to be 200,000 – 300,000
• Became a major center of Christianity.
• Said to be the abode of Mary, Mother of Mary
• One year after the outlaw of Artemis worship by Emperor
Theodosius, Council of Ephesus (Ad 431) declared Mary is
“theotokos” (mother of God).
• Due to silting the the harbor, earth quakes, invaders (Goths)
Ephesus suffered a decline.
Blue dots
represent the 7
churches in
Revelation 2-3
Note LaodiceaColossaeHierapolis all
mnetioned by Paul
in Colossians 3
Ephesians 1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a]]the faithful in Christ
Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
[a] Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus
Map of Ephesus
State Agora – Governmental Functions
Gate of Augustus leading to the Agora
Agora - Market
Theater
Theatre
Theatre and Agora (open area with trees)
From the Agora to the Theater – Acts 19
•
24 A
silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of
Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.
25 He called them together, along with the workers in related
trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good
income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this
fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of
people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of
Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.
…
• 28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting:
“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was
in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s
traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed
into the theater together.
Act 19
30Paul
wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples
would not let him. 31Even some of the officials of the province,
friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture
into the theater.
32The assembly was in confusion …
33The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the
crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in
order to make a defense before the people. 34But when they
realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two
hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
Artemis Hunting
Artemis figurine
2nd century
AD figurine,
in Ephesus
Museum
Date Palm Tree
Coin of Ephesus
Bee, Stag, Palm Tree
From Letter to the Ephesians – Revelation 2
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right
to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Artemis
• Daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo. Born out
of wedlock.
• Of the first things Artemis asked from her father as a gift,
were eternal purity and virginity.
• Dedicated to hunting and nature she showed no interest
in the joys of marriage and the pleasures of love..
• Queen of the mountains and forests, goddess of hunting,
and protector of young children and animals.
Artemis and Magic
1. Ephesia Grammata, Εφέσια Γράμματα, ("Ephesian words“,
“Ephesian Letters”, or “Ephesian Scripts”) the most celebrated
words of maigc power in the classical world.
= Ephesian Hocus Pocus
1. askion, kataskion, lix, tetrax, damnameneus, aision
According to Pausanias the Lexicographer (Eust. ad Od. 20, 247,
p. 1864), these were inscribed on on the feet, girdle, and crown of
the cult statue of Artemis
Paul’s Triumph over Magical Cults and
Artemis Worship
• Acts 9:11-12 Healing through aprons and handkerchiefs
• Acts 19:13-17 Sons of Sceva failed to exorcize using
name of Paul and Jesus
• Acts 19:18-20 Some magicians burned their magical
books
Ephesus, a center of Magic Practice
• Magic amulet bearing Jewish characteristics found at Ephesus
• More such amulets found between smyrna and Ephesus
• A whole set of magical apparatus found at Pergamum (table,
dish, amulets, rings, spikes, plates)
• Ignatius Letter to the Ephesians, chap 19
“Hence every kind of magic was destroyed, and every bond of
wickedness disappeared; ignorance was removed, and the old
kingdom abolished” – only appearance of the word “magic” in
Ignatius’s Letters. (Early 2nd centry AD)
See Clinton Arnold. Ephesians: Power and Magic. Cambridge U.
Press, 1989.
God saw fit to counter with
miracles
Acts 19:11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him
were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the
evil spirits left them.
Imitation by Jewish Exorcists
•
13 Some
Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to
invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demonpossessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul
preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a
Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit
answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who
are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them
and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they
ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
• Acts 13: 6 They traveled through the whole island until they came
to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet
named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul,
Sergius Paulus.
Was Luke Mistaken about Jewish
Sorcerers? No!
• Though magic was forbidden to Jews in the Hebrew Bible …
• It was widely practiced in the late Second Temple period and
particularly well documented in the period following the
destruction of the Temple into several centuries AD.
• Samaritan magician Simon in Acts 8
• Magicians in Josephus, such as Atomos, a Jewish Magician of
Cyprus (Antiquities of the Jews 20:142)
• Spells in Hebrew and Aramiac on amulets, ostraca. Magic
amulet bearing Jewish characteristics found at Ephesus
• More such amulets found between Smyrna and Ephesus
Magic Books Burned
17 When
this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in
Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the
Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who
believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls
together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the
value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand
drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely
and grew in power.
Magic Papyrus
PGM – now published in 2 Vol
• The Greek Magical Papyri
(Latin Papyri Graecae
Magicae, abbreviated PGM)
• (2nd century BC to the 5th
century AD)
Paul left Ephesus soon after the Theater Riot.
How did he expect the Ephesians do to fight magic?
Ephesians no doubt would have asked Paul how they can
withstand sorcery and the practice of magic. Paul must have
told them what he repeated in Ephesians 6.
Ephesians 6
•
10Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on
the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the
devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of
this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that
when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm
then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted
with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of
prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep
on praying for all the saints.
End of Acts
Since this is the last lecture, we should cover at least
Paul’s parting speech in Acts 28.
Did Paul have no hope for Israel? No at all.
Romans 11 –Jews and Gentiles are bound up
with each other!
Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather,
because of their transgression,
salvation has come to the Gentiles
to make Israel envious.
12 But if their transgression means
riches for the world,
and their loss means
riches for the Gentiles,
how much greater riches
will their full inclusion (pleroma) bring!
Romans 11
v. 15 For if their rejection brought
reconciliation to the world,
what will their acceptance be
but life from the dead?
v.25-26
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters,
so that you may not be conceited:
Israel has experienced a hardening in part
until the full number (pleroma)
of the Gentiles has come in,
26 and in this way all Israel will be saved.
Are you optimistic about Missions?
Do you have these words in your vision and commitment to
Missions?
Fullness will come in – (Jews and Gentiles)
Salvation
Riches for the world, even greater riches
Life from the dead
Get these words into your eschatology!
Romans 11:32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience
so that he may have mercy on them all.