24 June. Ephesus becomes the centre of Paul's outreach campaign
"Paul went into the synagogue [in Ephesus] and spoke out boldly for three months. He talked with the Jews and persuaded them to accept the things he said about the kingdom of God."
"But some of the Jews became stubborn. They refused to believe and said evil things about the Way of Jesus before all the people."
"So Paul left them, and, taking the followers with him, he went to the school of a man named Tyrannus. There Paul talked with people every day for two years."
"Because of his work, every Jew and Greek in the country [or Roman province] of Asia heard the word of the Lord."
(Acts 19:8-10)
Paul and Timothy made Ephesus their base for the next three years (53-56AD) (see Acts 20:31). They stayed in the home of Aquila and Pricilla where the church in Ephesus met (see 1 Corinthians 16:19).
Paul preached for three months in the Jewish synagogue in Ephesus. But when some of the Jews begin to criticise the ‘Way of Salvation’ through faith in Jesus Christ, Paul abandoned the synagogue and moved – with the new believers – to the Lecture Hall of Tyrannus.
Ephesus was the most important city in the prosperous Roman province of Asia. It had many pagan temples, the most important of which was the Temple of Artemis – celebrated as one of the seven ‘wonders’ of the ancient world.
From Paul’s missionary base in Ephesus, fellow-workers carried the Good News of Jesus throughout the Roman province of Asia (see Acts 19:10). Epaphras, for example, established new churches at Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis (see Colossians 1:7 & 4:12-13).
Modern-day visitors to Ephes (Ephesus) in Turkey can explore the site of the Temple of Artemis and enter the ruins of the 6th century St John’s Basilica, built over the tomb of St John in nearby Selçuk.
John – the author of John’s Gospel and the Book of Revelation – escaped from Jerusalem to Ephesus in c.66AD, around the time of the outbreak of the Romano-Jewish War. He had pastoral oversight of the early Christian churches in Asia Minor before being exiled to the island of Patmos by the emperor Domitian in c.90AD.
The photo shows remains of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
You can read more about Ephesus @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/the-ephesians-are-fille-…/