Ephesus in Easton's Bible Dictionary
the capital of proconsular Asia, which was the western part
of
Asia Minor. It was colonized principally from
Athens. In the
time of the Romans it bore the title of "the first
and greatest
metropolis of Asia." It was distinguished for the
Temple of
Diana (q.v.), who there had her chief shrine; and
for its
theatre, which was the largest in the world, capable
of
containing 50,000 spectators. It was, like all
ancient theatres,
open to the sky. Here were exhibited the fights of
wild beasts
and of men with beasts. (Comp. 1 Cor. 4:9; 9:24, 25;
15:32.)
Many Jews took up their residence in this city, and
here the
seeds of the gospel were sown immediately after
Pentecost (Acts
2:9; 6:9). At the close of his second missionary
journey (about
A.D. 51), when Paul was returning from Greece to
Syria
(18:18-21), he first visited this city. He remained,
however,
for only a short time, as he was hastening to keep
the feast,
probably of Pentecost, at Jerusalem; but he left
Aquila and
Priscilla behind him to carry on the work of
spreading the
gospel.
During his third missionary journey Paul reached
Ephesus from
the "upper coasts" (Acts 19:1), i.e., from the
inland parts of
Asia Minor, and tarried here for about three years;
and so
successful and abundant were his labours that "all
they which
dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both
Jews and
Greeks" (19:10). Probably during this period the
seven churches
of the Apocalypse were founded, not by Paul's
personal labours,
but by missionaries whom he may have sent out from
Ephesus, and
by the influence of converts returning to their
homes.
On his return from his journey, Paul touched at
Miletus, some
30 miles south of Ephesus (Acts 20:15), and sending
for the
presbyters of Ephesus to meet him there, he
delivered to them
that touching farewell charge which is recorded in
Acts
20:18-35. Ephesus is not again mentioned till near
the close of
Paul's life, when he writes to Timothy exhorting him
to "abide
still at Ephesus" (1 Tim. 1:3).
Two of Paul's companions, Trophimus and Tychicus,
were
probably natives of Ephesus (Acts 20:4; 21:29; 2
Tim. 4:12). In
his second epistle to Timothy, Paul speaks of
Onesiphorus as
having served him in many things at Ephesus (2 Tim.
1:18). He
also "sent Tychicus to Ephesus" (4:12), probably to
attend to
the interests of the church there. Ephesus is twice
mentioned in
the Apocalypse (1:11; 2:1).
The apostle John, according to tradition, spent many
years in
Ephesus, where he died and was buried.
A part of the site of this once famous city is now
occupied by
a small Turkish village, Ayasaluk, which is regarded
as a
corruption of the two Greek words, hagios theologos;
i.e., "the
holy divine."
Read More about Ephesus in Easton's Bible Dictionary