Now I'm going to talk about Paul a little before I get back to Ephesus. Paul was originally called Saul. In Acts chapters7: 54-60 and 8:1-4 It describes Paul's Persecution of Christians. Just a little precursor Stephen was showing the Jews their sins and those of their fathers.
Acts 7: 54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 8: 1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. 4Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Saul had been persecuting Christians thinking he was doing so justly, because he was a Jew(also a Roman citizen, and I'm not sure how he was a Roman citizen and Jew).
Saul gets converted on his way to Damascus, he had been going there to persecute more Christians. Acts 9: 1-22 it talks about his conversion.
Acts 9:1And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
Here God does not only show Saul/Paul His power and the truth of Christ but He causes Saul/Paul to be humbled being blinded and led by the hand, then healed by the same people he came to imprison. Also Saul was in Damascus 3 days without food or drink in a representation of the resurrection. For he was dead in sin but Christ gave Him Life in Him.
Eventually Paul set out to set up churches throughout the Roman Empire and started sending out letters to them some of which are contained in the New Testament. Paul also has written the most books in the New Testament out of all its writers.
Now back to Ephesus. Before I go on with this you must understand that Revelation was sent to actual physical churches as a warning. It was sent to all the churches and to Jerusalem basically saying that Gods wrath and judgement are coming so if you don't straighten up you will be wiped off the face of the earth. The tool of his wrath was the Roman army.
Revelation 2: 1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The last passage shows that unbelievers did try to cast demons out in the name of Christ(Christ means anointed one and in the old testaments the prophets, priests, and king was not only all of these but was the culmination of them all) , yet they did not trust in Jesus and I believe it is reasonable to say that the Holy Spirit was not in them thus they were attacked by the demon.
The magic referred to in the passage above was real grade a magic, most-likely granted by demons. It would be reasonable to believe the people saw the power of God granted to Paul versus the power they had been granted by demons and realized the power of God is stronger.
Even with all the good works though some like those involved with the worship of the Greek/Roman gods.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Paul seems to open all his letters in this type of fashion. As you can see he states who he is and who the letter is to. He then give a benediction and praises the Lord.
We didn't get a ton done here but please study this and the rest of Ephesisan at least read a chapter a night. Ill have another soon enough and Ill be taking notes instead of relying on memory.
Revelation 2: 1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
As you can see God threatens to remove the candlestick which refers to Matthew 5. Although since Ephesus lasted about 14 more centuries it would be hard to believe God poured out His wrath on them but more likely the repented and were forgiven.
Mathew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Acts 19 talks about the spreading of the Gospel in Ephesus.
Acts:19: 1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.7 And all the men were about twelve.8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
So in the time-span of only two years everyone in the Roman part of Asia knew of Jesus Christ either directly or indirectly by the teachings of Paul in Ephesus.
11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.19 Many of them also which used curious(magical) arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Even with all the good works though some like those involved with the worship of the Greek/Roman gods.
21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.22 So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.31 And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?36 Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.39 But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.
Now we shall start Ephesians. We are only going over chapter1 verses 1-3 a little bit this week.(We read 1:1-14 but only went over 1-3)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Paul seems to open all his letters in this type of fashion. As you can see he states who he is and who the letter is to. He then give a benediction and praises the Lord.
We didn't get a ton done here but please study this and the rest of Ephesisan at least read a chapter a night. Ill have another soon enough and Ill be taking notes instead of relying on memory.
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
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