“The Temple of Artemis [Diana] was..a major treasury and bank of the ancient world, where merchants, kings, and even cities made deposits, and where their money could be kept safe under the protection of deity” (Richard Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 1981, p. 503). Thousands of priests and priestesses served in the temple, and many of the priestesses were dedicated to cultic prostitution.
Paul taught and preached in Ephesus for well over two years (Acts 19:10), and had a great impact in the area: “…many who had believed came confessing and…many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them … .And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:18-20).
These books or scripts the Ephesians burned, once they became convicted of Paul’s teachings, contained magic spells which were sold for profit: “The spells which they contain are the merest gibberish, a rigmarole of words and names considered to be unusually potent… [and] they fetched high prices…” (The New International Commentary of the New Testament: The Book of Acts, 1974, pp. 390-391).
Because Paul’s preaching caused many to turn away from their idols and pagan practices, this led to an uprising among the craftsmen in Ephesus who made their living selling statuettes of the goddess Diana and her temple. “And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, …said, ‘Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade… (Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost throughout all Asia)… this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods” (Acts 19:23-26).
In His message to the church at Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2, Christ recognized the effort of the Ephesian members, in spite of many obstacles, to keep the faith and carry out the commission He had given them:. “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil” (Revelation 2:2). He commended them saying, “you have persevered…and have labored for My name’s sake, and have not fainted” (verse 3).
Jesus also praised them for rejecting false teachers saying, “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” (verse 2). The church members in Ephesus had obviously heeded Paul and Timothy’s advice to beware of such teachers, and had successfully faced this challenge and had not become weary throughout this taxing process (verse 3).
He praised them for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans (verse 6) who, according to the Expositor’s Bible Commentary of the New Testament bore a “close association…with the Balaamites in BOOK 2:14-15…[suggesting] either identity with this group or similarity to their teachings.” Those who follow Balaam’s example compromise with and waterdown God’s truth, and Christ praises the Ephesians for resisting this insidious way of thinking.
Paul had warned the “elders of the church” (Acts 20:17): “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (verses:29-30).
Another very important admonition is issued to the Ephesians in the book of Revelation: “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, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:4-5). Over the years their enthusiasm had waned, and they had lost their initial excitement and zeal for doing God’s work. Jesus warned them to return to their “first love” and prioritize their calling and the preaching of the Gospel.
Recapturing or holding on to their first love and enthusiasm for God’s way of life is the major admonition to the Ephesus church. They were warned not to succumb to false teachings and to pursue their walk with God with energy and enthusiasm. They were to examine themselves, as we should, to see if they were maintaining the same excitement, prayer, Bible study, teachable spirit, service and love for the brethren they had when they were first called.
Many people today think of Jesus Christ’s messages to the churches in the book of Revelation as simply historical warnings to the specific congregations addressed. While this is true, there is also a much broader application. The messages to each congregation are relevant today and the timeless instruction is strikingly applicable to events Christians continue to face. Jesus expects His followers to zealously conduct their lives in light of the inspiring reward He has in store for them and us.
It would have been difficult to live as a Christian in the midst of such an immoral city. Knowing this, Christ gives the brethren the hope that if they persevere in the faith they will receive something that all the temple worship of Diana could never give them—the gift of eternal life. Jesus promised them and us, “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” (Revelation 2:7).
