{"id":1338,"date":"2011-09-01T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2011-09-01T00:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=1338"},"modified":"2022-04-07T19:02:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T11:02:00","slug":"39-ephesus-%e2%80%93-the-church-that-had-forsaken-its-first-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=1338","title":{"rendered":"39. Ephesus \u2013 The Church that Had Forsaken Its First Love."},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflections on a Pauline Pilgrimage to Turkey [6]<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love<\/span>.<\/strong>\u201d [Revelation 2:4<\/span>, KJ<\/em>]<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[<\/span>1] Library of Celsus, Ephesus. [2]\u00a0Temple of Hadrian in Ephesus, \u00a9 Dick Osseman.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Ancient Ephesus [near the modern town of Izmir] must be magnificent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miles of streets were paved with marble. Specialty shopping lined the high street. The synagogue boasted both the substantial size and the economic strength of the Jewish community. A giant theatre that seated some twenty to thirty thousand pointed to the size of the affluent segment of the society. The famous Library of Celsus, built in AD 117 by an heir of Tiberius Julius Celsus, held at least 12,000 papyrus scrolls. The size and architectural complexity of the Temple of Artemis made it one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Terms like \u201cthe supreme metropolis of Asia\u201d are used by historians to describe Ephesus, alluding to a highly developed city. In a word, Ephesus was rich.<\/span><\/p>\n

No wonder Ephesus was the first of the seven churches to be addressed by Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

In chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ dictates seven letters to the Apostle John, addressed to each of the seven churches of Asia Minor at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ruins of the Seven Churches of Revelation stirred up quite a great deal of feelings and emotions which would take some time to process. In regard to each of the seven churches, we were mighty impressed by the work of the early missionaries. This feeling of admiration, generating praises in our hearts, quickly gave way to sadness as we saw laying before us nothing but pathetic ruins. To be sure, a great deal of the physical ruins and abandonment that we saw so much of across Turkey were caused by earthquakes. Coupled with earthquake devastations, there was the gradual silting up of rivers, causing the decline of trade and commerce in otherwise booming townships. Finally, migration of people out of those dying port towns spelt their eventual demise. But pilgrims\u2019 sadness went paralysingly deeper, as they saw in some cases the total disappearance of the Christian presence. We looked in helpless wonderment: How could the work of the early missionaries be erased so completely? What would it take for modern day St Pauls and St Barnabases to rise from the ashes?<\/span><\/p>\n

And as we read the Scriptures at every ancient church-site, we could not but feel challenged and unsettled by the Word. Somehow, Scripture sounded different when we read them standing in the ruins of the seven churches. A sense of urgency happened inside<\/em> of us when we read the messages. On a pilgrimage, it is so important to not only read each of the messages at the relevant sites, but to give time to pause and reflect. Perhaps hearing them as a conversation with the Lord was what helped us open our hearts in spiritual dialogue. And perhaps in spiritual dialogues, the partners are changed in no matter how big or small a way so that, even though they might not realize it at the time, one is never exactly the same person after a pilgrimage.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 churches and 7 messages<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Modern Turkey is home to all seven churches mentioned in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation. At the time it was written, around 100 AD, the churches were located in a region of the Roman empire known as Asia Minor. The messages were church-specific – seven churches, seven messages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Differing in length according to the needs of each community, these messages follow a common pattern: the Lord of hosts first addresses each church and identifies himself, then defines the character of each church based on details specific to each, followed by a challenge or reproach and a promise that everyone who conquers will be rewarded by Christ. A feature common to all seven is the inclusion of this admonition: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Message to the church in Ephesus<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The message to Ephesus is contained in Revelation 2:1-7, which opens to a 3-point reflection.<\/span><\/p>\n

[1] The Lord acknowledged and praised what was good and commendable<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord judged and praised the Ephesians for four counts of right attitudes and behaviours in their previous life of faith:<\/span><\/p>\n