A Funny Thing Happened in Ephesus
Where did the love go?
Paul lands in Ephesus in Acts 18 with Priscilla and Aquila. This was a wife and husband team that Paul stayed and worked with while in Corinth (Acts 18:3). Note here that Luke mentions Priscilla before her husband, giving her an elevated standing than was not accepted in the culture of the time. In Ephesus Paul finds great reception. The Jews in the synagogue even wanted him to stay! They liked his teaching but Paul knew he needed to move on, which he did, leaving Priscilla and Aquila in his place.
On Paul’s return trip to Ephesus he stays for three months, where a riot breaks out at one point, and then he realizes that he’s headed to Jerusalem, and will eventually find his way to Rome. He goes on another round of traveling, and on a pass back through Ephesus he shares his plans to go to Jerusalem with the leaders, who are distraught.
Let’s stop here and acknowledge something. We read this heartbreaking scene of good-bye in Acts 20:17-38. You can feel the love the leaders had for Paul, and the great love he has for them.
But - what happened between Paul’s good-bye, and Revelation?! Because something did happen, and it wasn’t good. Ephesus is the first church mentioned by Jesus in Revelation. Let’s take a closer look at the words of Paul, and the prophecy over the Ephesian church. (All scripture is from the Common English Bible.)
Wondering what happened in Ephesus?
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