THE

REVENGE OF

EPHESUS The Issues of First-Century Ephesus Are Back!

Dr. Joseph B. Fuiten

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© Copyright 2005 Dr. Joseph B. Fuiten, Senior Pastor of Cedar Park Assembly of God and Founder of Cedar Park Christian Schools All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owners. Pastors and teachers may use the pictures found in this book for non-commercial ministry uses. For a digital copy of the pictures go to http://www.cedarpark.org/resources/media/books/Revenge_of_ephesus.pdf

Italicized words and phrases denote emphasis added by author.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9793546-0-1 I

Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................3 Ancient Ephesus and the 21st Century .................7 The Amazons and the Founding of Ephesus ....9 The Emergence of Diana’s Goddess Religion .14 The Devil is in the Details .................................19 Paul and Timothy Versus the Amazons and Diana ...............................................................26 Modesty and Very Public restrooms ...............28 Public Bathing ...................................................32 Saved in Childbirth ..........................................35 The Women of Romans 16 ...............................42 A Seattle-Ephesus Comparison........................48 Diana and Islam’s Star and Crescent ..............52 The Swastika and Pagan Religion ...................57 Diana’s Business Connections ..........................62 Goddess Worship as a Tool of Radical Feminism.........................................................67 The Worship of Goddess Artemis and Radical Environmentalism ..........................................72 Artemis, Astrology, and Tarot Cards .............77 Diana and the Light .........................................80 Ephesus and Christian Theology ........................83 The Council of Ephesus in 431— Can the Cult of Women in Ministry Go Too Far? ....................................................84 How Did Mary Get designated the Mother of God? ................................................................87 The Apostle John and Artemis ........................93 II

The Grave of the Apostle John ........................96 Christian Political Activism in Ephesus .........................................................102 How the Conflicts and Issues of Ephesus Impacted the New Testament .........................109 Ephesus in Acts ...............................................110 Ephesus in First Corinthians ........................112 Ephesus in Ephesians .....................................115 Ephesus in Revelation ....................................131 Pentecost at Ephesus ......................................136

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Other Books by Dr. Joseph B. Fuiten Modern Pentecostal Controversies Special Appointments with God Chaos and the End of Time Hedges

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Diana surrounded by her animals. Ephesus Museum.

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Introduction I was on ebay, bidding on a travel book about Ephesus. I wanted to find more information on the temple of Diana and the religion that flourished there. I kept noticing the same name going against all my bids. If I bid on a coin with Diana’s impression on it, that name was there. Every time I raised my bid, so did this person. I started to think there was some nice minister’s wife out there trying to buy something for her husband who was preaching a series through the book of Ephesians. Although I was determined to get the goods, I felt bad for beating them out. In my mind I saw that little dedicated wife in some small church in Iowa, struggling with their small salary, using her meager milk money for this one sweet gesture of devotion to her husband. I decided to email them with an offer of sharing material. I was partially right. It was a lady I was bidding against. Her interests and mine were identical. I was looking for ancient coins with the image of Diana and so was she. I was interested in Ephesus as a decisive place in history and so was she. I soon discovered the one main difference. My competition was a Wiccan priestess. In our e-mail exchanges she summarized her life like this: My name is Barbara. I recently acquired my B.A. at the age of 51 in Women’s Studies and plan to do interdisciplinary graduate studies combining Women’s Studies, Religion, Philosophy and Anthropology. My interest in Ephesus materials is twofold. My avocation is Numismatics (ancient coin collecting) and my area of interest within that field is Greek and Roman coins depicting the goddess Artemis/Diana. Even within that narrow subject area, my focus is on coins minted in Ephesus. This is in large part because I am Wiccan and am a priestess in the Dianic Tradition. 3

After I picked myself up off the floor, I settled in for a few exchanges on the subject. (I was more willing to share my material than she was to share hers.) I didn’t make any comments to her about what American public universities are doing promoting paganism. I didn’t believe she was likely to appreciate my views on that subject. It is strange, though, that universities won’t allow Christianity, but will use Women’s Studies programs to promote goddess worship. That odd encounter cemented for me what I had been feeling for some months. The defeated foes in the ancient battles in Ephesus were making a comeback. Thanks to my tax dollars, Diana has a whole new set of priestesses. It is astounding to me that any modern woman would want to be a part of a religion that required the women to act as ceremonial prostitutes for the men. It is particularly amazing that this should be promoted in a Women’s Studies department of a modern American university. My esteem for such an “academic” department was not going up.

Overlooking Ephesus

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My feeling became a growing awareness that the ancient city of Ephesus may be more important than we realize. We are accustomed to thinking about Ephesus in the past tense or as a wonderful archaeological site. We may need to revisit Ephesus to understand its spiritual and historical impacts on us even today. The importance of Ephesus in the book of Acts is obvious, as is its relation to the book of Ephesians. What is more often overlooked is its importance to understanding First and Second Timothy. In addition to those four books, we should not overlook the fact that John probably wrote his Gospel as he pastored the church in Ephesus. We would expect some intersection between his Gospel and the issues that he knew to exist within his own church. Beyond that, the book of Revelation was written by John between pastoral stints at Ephesus. The Romans removed John from Ephesus as part of the persecution under Domitian. After the trouble subsided, he returned to Ephesus. At least six New Testament books are thus directly tied to the city. In understanding the Bible, we always try to see it through the lens of the culture at that time. In this case, at least six books must be directly viewed through the culture of Ephesus. Even beyond the six books, we could add First and Second Corinthians as having some connection. When the list of New Testament players connected with both Ephesus and Corinth are compared, they are very much alike. People traveled back and forth between the two cities often. They were both major seaports on either side of the Aegean, typically separated by only eight days at sea. It is no exaggeration to say that Ephesus influences virtually all the New Testament outlook. Ephesus would be like Los Angeles or New York influencing the world beyond their population numbers. Ephesus was the fourth or fifth largest city in the world at the time of Paul. It boasted the largest building in the world. The Artemision of Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Just as American movies from Los Angeles 5

shape the world, so the religion that centered in Ephesus set the standards for everyone else. The impact of such a religious and cultural system became part of the backdrop for virtually every epistle in the New Testament. A knowledge of Ephesus and its influential culture is very helpful in understanding the way people thought in those days. In my study of this ancient city, I see the seeds of so many modern issues and conflicts. I have been interested to see how the ancient church handled these challenges. I have hoped for insight in how I need to respond to the similar challenges of today. Ephesus was the center of feminism, environmentalism, paganism, the sexual revolution, an excessive love of prosperity, astrology, and anti-Christian fervor. Learning about Ephesus is like walking onto a 21st century college campus in America. The issues of ancient Ephesus are back with a vengeance. The ancient Christians fought the cultural battles with Ephesian paganism and won. Now that we are facing the revenge of Ephesus, with God’s help, maybe we can do it again in the 21st century.

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ANCIENT EPHESUS AND THE 21ST CENTURY

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The Amazons and the Founding of Ephesus Sorting out the ancient history of Ephesus can be tricky. There are conflicting versions of how the city got started. One of the earliest clues comes from Hittite documents around 1500 BC. They mention the kingdom of Ahavia and the city of Apasas. The city was in the Miletus region which is close to Ephesus. From the book of Acts we know that it was close because it was from Miletus that Paul sent for the Ephesian elders to come see him.1 People who study the etymology of language believe Apasas sounds like Ephesus. This causes them to suspect they might be the same city. There was an ancient myth that Androklos, son of the king of Athena, came with his friends to colonize the city and became the founder of Ephesus. The Ionians have a better claim to their place in the ancient history of the area. Respectable historians do not doubt that they colonized the area, and maybe the city, in the tenth century BC. Writing in the first century BC, Strabon, a famous historian, claimed that the Amazons initially founded Ephesus. Pausanias, another historian from the second century AD, made the same claim. My purpose here is not to write the ancient history of Ephesus or even to evaluate the various historical claims. What I want to assess is how the Ephesian understanding of their history influenced their culture and practices. In particular, we know the Amazon legends had a tremendous influence. The Amazons were a group of half-mythical women of ancient times. In Ephesus, among their several founding legends, _________________________________________________ 1

Acts 20:17. 9

was the idea that Ephesia, the beautiful queen of the Amazons, had been the founder of the city. Not only had she founded the city but under her supervision the first image of Diana, the Roman goddess, had been introduced, carved out of the wood of a palm tree. On Hadrian’s Monument in Ephesus, shown here, the founding legends are illustrated on the friezes on either side of the arch.

The Amazons are prominently illustrated first on each side of the doorway. Both the left and right side Amazons are shown in the close-ups on this and the following page. In the lore passed down from ancient times, the Amazons were genuine men haters. When they believed that the male god Zeus was growing too powerful, and that men were making too much of their role in having children, they swept through the area 10

killing as many men as possible. Then they offered the severed genitals of their victims to Diana, the female goddess of fertility. When they needed to have children to replenish their city, they

went to neighboring cities, mated with men, then killed them. These aggressive women were both the initiator and the finisher. All sex was on their terms. The man was nothing. Men today worry about sexually transmitted disease. The men then worried about sexually transmitted death. Same thing, just quicker! These women were ferocious fighters using bows, lances, hatchets, and shields. Their horsewomanship was legendary. According to the tradition surrounding these warriors, they even burned one breast so it would not interfere with their ability to fight. In modern times, the double-headed axe as a lesbian or feminist symbol has its roots in these stories. The double-headed axe shown in this obol of Troas, minted around 350 BC, has the Janiform head of Hera and Zeus.2 (It was in Troas where Paul received the divine call to take the Gospel into Europe at _________________________________________ 2

Sear Greek Coins and their Values (SG) Number sg4151; Tenedos, Troas, AR obol, 480-450 BC, Janiform head of Hera and Zeus / Double headed axe, T E below. The double-headed axe was not a lesbian symbol in ancient times. 11

Macedonia.) By the time of Paul, centuries had passed since the founding of Ephesus. The legends had been embellished, no doubt. Whether the legends were all precisely true or not is less important than the ideas that were cherished in the culture as a result of those legends. Among the Ephesians, the Amazons were very highly regarded. They were featured in their art and in the temple of Artemis, the Greek goddess. For example, from the frieze of the altar at the Artemision, a wounded Amazon is shown. The honor of doing the sculpture was the result of a contest between the most famous artists of the time.3 Between her two naked breasts, her belted dress is drawn up over the right shoulder. The left arm hangs limply down. This piece, found in the pavement in front of

the Theater, is from the fourth century BC.4 It would have been but one among many such representations of these women. They were the cultural icons of that era, the celebrated heroines. As a result, a ________________________

Phidias of Athens, Polycletus and Phradmon of Argos, and Cresilas of Kydonia. 4 Onen, Ulgur. Ephesus, Ruins and Museum, The City’s History through Art. (Izmir, Turkey: Akademia, 1983) p. 142. 5 Caria, Amyzon AE21 5.95g 2nd-1st cent. BC. O: Hd Artemis r., quiver + bow at neck. R: AMYZONE(WN)/ENEKPAT- -DARD- either side of lyre, AHR monogram above. Unlisted in Sear, SNG Cop, Lindgren I+III. The coin is interesting to me in that on one side is Artemis while on the other is the word Amyzone or Amazon. 12 3

certain brand of feminine legacy was built into the Ephesian way of thinking about the sexes.5 The sexual legacy of the Amazons was the aggressive female. A woman didn’t need to act exactly like the original Amazons to retain the legacy. The sexually aggressive woman, who set the agenda by what she wore and how she acted, was “normal” in Ephesus. It not only affected sexual relationships, but all dimensions of gender roles. As a city founded by women, and dominated by a female deity, the women easily thought of themselves as superior. A significant part, maybe even a majority of the city’s economy was based on the tourism and commercial activities surrounding Diana. Women were not only central to the history but they were central to the ongoing economic success of the region because of the economic impact of the temple. The history of the city was amplified into current events by the values of the religion. There was a direct link between the Amazons and the religion of Diana. In this book I want to show that not only did the religion of Diana impact the world of St. Paul, it is still impacting us today. Along the way, I will point out some of the ways that we can see the devil’s hand in shaping the Diana religion as well as its modern manifestations. Before we get to that, it might be helpful to consider the origins of this religion.

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The Emergence of Diana’s Goddess Religion The religion of Diana was a fertility religion based upon a female goddess. As such, it shared common features with many of the other religions and deities of that region and time. The Diana religion, even when it first emerged, could hardly be seen as new.

It should really be seen as the continuation of many of the other religions from the ancient past. Spiritually speaking this is obvious, but it is also true from a purely historical point of view since it absorbed many of the practices of these other fertility religions. This picture from Sardis (in modern Turkey) provides an excellent illustration of these shifts. In the foreground are the remains of a Christian church largely destroyed by the Moslems. The two columns rising above the rest are from the huge temple to Artemis. When the Greeks arrived in 330 BC they found a temple to Cybele, a local fertility goddess, on this site. The religion seemed quite like their Artemis religion so they readily incorporated the themes of Cybele into their goddess Artemis. One more god or goddess 14

in the pantheon of gods doesn’t make much difference.6 It was a friendly religious takeover made easy, not just because they are both goddesses of fertility religions, but also because they shared a common demonic root. In Ephesus, the story is similar. Hadrian’s monument in Ephesus, shown here, had an arch with Cybele as the keystone in the arch. The original Artemis temple built in 580 BC in Ephesus was also dedicated to Cybele. It was located on Mount Pion, Coin of Cybele the main cemetery of the city. The base of the hill had niches with reliefs carved into them showing Cybele as the protector of the dead. Hadrian’s monument was in that same area, which may be why he had her image over the main entrance. A road around the base of the hill was used for parades in honor of Cybele. A cart carried her statue with crowds of devotees following behind. In time, Artemis was substituted for Cybele, but the activities remained virtually the same. When the new Artemis temple was built at the time of Alexander the Great, lions and bulls guarded the doorways. These creatures, reminiscent of the cherubim that guarded the sacred _________________________________________________

The coin is a silver denarius “The great mother-god, Cybele” Obverse: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA. Reverse: MATRI MAGNAE - Cybele seated left, holding branch, her elbow on a drum and behind, a lion. Rome mint: AD 161175 = RIC III, 706 (s), page 270 - Cohen 172. 6

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space in the Garden of Eden, were common in the sanctuaries of Artemis and Cybele throughout Anatolia and indeed, throughout the ancient world. Even at that late date, the memory of the expulsion from the Garden echoes in the architecture and artwork of the sanctuaries they created to their female goddesses.7 When the Romans replaced the Greeks, Artemis became Diana but most of the other details remained essentially the same. Diana is thus extensively identified with the Cybele of the Phrygians. In Cappadocia she was known as Ma. (There is no known relationship between this name and the nickname used by American teenagers for their mothers.) The Syrians knew her as Atargatis or Mylitta. The Assyrians called her Ishtar, following the lead of the Phoenicians who knew her as Astarte. The Hittites also had a similar female deity whose images are carved at Yazili Kaya, near the Hittite city of Boghazkeui.8 The conclusion we eventually come to is that a mother-goddess was a central feature of many ancient religions. In religions based on other than truth, it is easy for one to blend into another. Even physical dimensions can be absorbed. The Artemis of Ephesus was sometimes known as Polymastis, many breasted. But so were other goddesses as suggested by the Mycean jug pictured here. Buffie Johnson, author of “The Lady and The Beasts”, has traced the ancient images of the goddess and her sacred animals through the various ancient cultures. Her book has over 300 _________________________________________________

I have detailed this connection in my extensive article, “Memory of the Cherubim?” 8 The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, James Orr, General Editor. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1929) p.842 16 7

pictures showing ancient representations. Her analysis closely follows Carl Jung’s concept of the archetype. That is, the goddess is real and it appears in so many ancient cultures because it is fundamental to human consciousness. Although Jung and Johnson think of the mother-goddess as evidence of an archetype, I see it more in terms of the recurrent evidence of our archrival! Why are these fertility goddesses so much alike? The broad similarities could have several explanations beyond what Carl Jung and Buffie Johnson suggest. First, as one culture blended into another neighboring culture, the ideas would have been exchanged as in the case of the Sardis temple. In paganism, there was no concept of an exclusive god. They were more than happy to borrow another, seemingly powerful god from their neighbors. Anthropologists would likely give this kind of explanation. There is a second, spiritual possibility. In reality, each of these ancient gods is a demonic manifestation. Satan himself would have been behind the development of these gods and goddesses. Playing upon basic humans concerns, he would have suggested common themes for their gods.9 Radical feminists have tried to develop a version of history wherein women used to rule until men and patriarchal religion supplanted them. In their radical feminist version of history, the original religion of humanity was goddess worship. When the goddess was worshipped, women had first place in the conflict between the genders. In their view, the relative status of women is determined by which deity rules. Merlin Stone’s book, When God was a Woman, is a classic rewrite of history for feminist purposes. Interestingly, she is a sculptor, not a historian or archaeologist. She applies her sculpting knife to history cutting off a little “truth” here and adding a bit of her own “truth” there, until what emerges is a female deity that created the world and established women as _________________________________________________

For a full treatment of how spiritual entities interact with humans, see my book Hedges. It is available for purchase at the church or is free on the internet at www.cedarpark.org. 17 9

rulers. In their radical vision, these many iterations of a female goddess are the result of women trying to regain the status lost when male gods such as Jehovah came to dominate. Honest history describes the many iterations of the goddess theme in ancient history without turning it into either a universal archetype or a polemic for feminism. Without a doubt, female deities relating to fertility of animals, productivity of crops, and financial success are common in the ancient world. It is the old “mother earth” concept. Feminists are right about one thing: Mother earth is the alternative theology or cosmology as opposed to Father God. Artemis of the Greeks and Diana of the Romans, by whichever name, are indeed “mother earth” type deities. What the feminists are not right about is that the conflict is between men and women. It is nothing less than the conflict between God and Satan and has nothing to do with feminism or gender. The irony of feminists claiming that an ancient goddess has any gender is striking. Demons are not feminine but only represent themselves as feminine. Feminists are twice deceived. Their goddess is a demon, and the demon is not feminine.

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The Devil Is in the Details It has been difficult to get a reliable and definitive description of the actual workings of the religion itself. In part, this is because the activities of the religion changed over the centuries of its active life. It constantly morphed into new forms and practices. Unlike the Bible, demonic religion has no set foundation by which to evaluate its current practices and procedures. Most of its daily workings have been lost in antiquity. Presumably the modern resurrection of Diana’s religion will be another change. The religion was so demeaning to women in its ancient form, I am still stunned that any modern woman would want any part of this religion. In spite of the lack of comprehensive information, there are a few details that seem to be widely agreed upon. Modern feminists who see themselves as priestesses in the “Diana tradition” are probably borrowing little more than the name. The nasty details of the past are conveniently overlooked. New, “historic” details are invented. They speak of “empowering” women when the ancient reality is more like enslaving them. The past is changed or overlooked in order to serve the ideological needs of Women’s Studies. Let’s consider what we know about the religion and what it was actually like. At the head of the religion as chief priest was a castrated male. He came to bear the title Megabyzos.10 Under him were priests known as Essenes. (No relationship between the Essenes of Judea and the Dead Sea Scrolls.) The Essenes were apparently appointed by the officials of the city of Ephesus to offer sacrifices to the goddess in behalf of the city. Other subordinate classes of priests were called Kouretes, Krobatai, and Hilroi. Their duties have been obscured by the passage of time. Most of the functions in the temple were conducted by men. _________________________________________________

Some evidence suggests the position may have been ended somewhere in the first century BC, although the story of the Apostle John’s encounter with the temple mentions him. 19 10

Priestesses were a significant part of the temple as well. They were divided into three classes, but the details on the distinctions between the classes are lost to us. Each of the priestesses, in order to serve in the temple, had to start out as a virgin, in their context meaning unmarried. Buffie Johnson tells us, “Virgins were dedicated to the temples as cult hetaeras (sacred prostitutes) so that men could worship the Goddess through intercourse.”11 Ritual prostitution thus became a dominant feature of the religion and the city. The temple rituals consisted mainly of sacrifices and ceremonial prostitution. Even though feminists promote Diana as the ultimate in equality for females, it is a serious strain in credibility to suggest that such a style of worship was equal for men and women. Even less credible is the idea that Diana promotes virginity in the sense that we know the word today. Ancient writers laughed at the idea of Diana or any of the other goddesses being a “virgin” in the modern sense: Whence did Ceres bring forth Proserpine, except from debauchery? Whence did Latona bring forth her twins, except from crime? Venus having been subject to the lusts of gods and men, when she reigned in Cyprus, invented the practice of courtesanship, and commanded women to make traffic of themselves, that she might not alone be infamous. Were the virgins themselves, Minerva and Diana, chaste? Whence, then, did Erichthonius arise?12 Priestesses were called Melissai or bees.13 The use of the bee as symbol goes further back in pagan history. As early as 2,000-1,700 BC in Crete, on a Minoan offering table, there is a _________________________________________________

Buffie Johnson, Ibid, p 153. Johnson also points out that virgin in that context means an unmarried woman rather than a woman who has never had sexual relations. 12 Lactantius, Epitome of the Institutes. ANF Vol 7, Chapter IX.-Of the Disgraceful Deeds of the Gods. 13 Onen, Ulgur. Ibid, p 1. 20 11

drawing of a bee goddess. Her Medusa-like head is “crowned with five snakelike tresses, connecting this figure to Medusa and Athena…”14 Johnson suggests these bee or dew goddesses were helpful in the growth of vegetation. Dew provides moisture for growth. Since the dew comes at night, it was believed that the moon caused it, hence the connection to Artemis, goddess of the moon. The dew or bee goddesses thus became associated with the growth of crops and fertility. In the coin shown here, minted in Ephesus around 48 to 27 BC, a deer is shown with a bee inside a circle above the back of the deer. The front of the coin has an image of Artemis. It didn’t take much for Artemis to absorb these old “bee” ideas and incorporate them into her fertility cult. A sexual relationship with a “bee” was a way to worship the goddess and to procure the dew of blessing for one’s crops.15 The sexual relationship in this context almost certainly resulted in spiritual attachments upon the participants. From my doctoral study of how spiritual entities relate to humans, titled “Hedges,” I came to the conclusion that the sexual relationship with a demonized person is one of twenty-nine ways in which the door is opened to demonic activity in a person’s life. Given the nature of their temple work, the “bees” must have had a very high rate of demon possession. As a result, the men who had sex with these demonized women must have been afflicted by the demons through that open doorway. This may be one reason that Paul took _________________________________________________

Buffie Johnson, Ibid, p. 157. The altar in St. Peter’s is liberally scattered with the heraldic bees of the Barberini to whose family Pope Urban VIII belonged. I am not sure of any connection to the bees of Ephesus. 14 15

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the unusual step of using handkerchiefs and aprons as ways of extending his ministry of exorcism.16 He had so many demonized people he couldn’t get to them all by himself. These special articles became extensions of his personal ministry. When he sent out the workers armed with these handkerchiefs and aprons, they went up the river valley into the cities that Ephesus naturally served. These priestesses, and the sexual relationships with them, were so central to the religion that many city coins had a bee imprinted on them. The coins with bees on them circulated around the world. They were like business cards of call girls inviting people to come to Ephesus and enjoy their pleasures. The statue of Diana from Ephesus had bees carved into the side of her outfit. The bee came to symbolize the sexual activities of these prostitutes.17 Pollinating flowers or impregnating women had no distinction. It was all wrapped up in the concept of fertility. Dr. Ulger Onen traces the early roots of the symbol. If one considers Ephesus as the coastal city of the Hittite Kingdom Arzawa, mentioned in the cuneiform tablets under the name of Apasas, then one goes back to the 2nd millennium before our era…. the name Apasas contains the words “apis,” pre-Latin meaning “bee.” Would Ephesus be the city of the bee-goddess? The most ancient coins of Ephesus bore the sign of a bee. Before the Roman period, the bee had more or less assimilated into the symbol of the city. The bee, symbol of gentleness, _________________________________________________

Acts 19:11-12 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” 17 Mascetti, Ibid. Page 36 “Bees were often depicted flying around Artemis, symbols of her virginal acolytes.” 22 16

suffering and divine fertility, played a predominant role in the cult of the Ephesian Artemis.18 Male priests served one year, and I presume the women were also rotated in similar fashion, although this is not known. These human “bees” helped the male devotees celebrate “divine fertility.” In such a system where large numbers of people did official “duties,” the social impact must have been enormous. (I presume this is part of the story that feminists of today would prefer to forget. Returning to a religion of women as sex-slaves hardly seems a good vision or step forward for modern feminism.) The use of sex in religion, and the moral values that inevitably flowed from it, must be one reason why abortion was as common in ancient Rome as it is in modern America. Over the centuries, several temples were built in Ephesus. The one that existed in New Testament times was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was influential throughout the empire. Indeed, there were numerous temples to Diana all over the Roman and Greek worlds. I have visited the ruins of a number of them. The religion of Diana was centered in Ephesus, where it had begun, but its impact was universal.19 Each of the 127 columns in her temple was said to have been donated by a different king, a symbol of her widespread influence. It is true that the identity of other goddesses had been absorbed into Diana’s identity. As we have already noted, in many ways she is the culmination of many of the ancient female fertility goddesses. However, Diana is also her own goddess. Her temple dominated all aspects of Ephesian life, including their social and moral values. _________________________________________________

Onen, Ibid, p 1. Phillip Schaff says Ephesus was often called on inscriptions “ the first and greatest metropolis of Ate.” Another title of the city is “ temple-keeper “ (i.e., of Diana; Acts 19:35, R. V.; the Greek is neakoroe, the usual word for the custodian of a temple). 23 18 19

The religion of Diana was a peculiar pagan blend of feminism, environmentalism, capitalism, and astrology. Diana was said to come to the aid of women in childbirth and to preside over when, and if, a child would be born. John Stambaugh and David Balch summarized an ancient oration: …she is praised as one who has remained a virgin, loves women, helps them to hunt and to capture men in war, helps them in childbirth, and even protects the civilized urban Greeks from the wild forest.20

The connection to birth gave Diana her connection to the Zodiac and fate. Power over the Zodiac was her counterclaim to the God of heaven who created the universe and set the stars in place. The crescent of the moon, worn around her neck, is one symbol of the Zodiac. That same crescent is seen in the national flag of Turkey and many other Moslem nations. In the movie, “Gladiator,” set in the second century AD, the Roman princess wears a pair of earrings with the crescent. If the producers of the movie knew what they were doing, it suggests the princess may have been a devotee of the religion of Diana. If a woman died in childbirth, this was because of Diana and her governance of fate. If the mother and baby were fine, this was because of Diana’s aid. Fate was much more than the birth of a child. It included whether or not it rained and how well the crops did. It is hard for us to imagine how completely astrology dominated the Roman world. Diana dominated astrology. By her control, she spread abundance, prosperity, and fertility in all manner of life, including animals, fish, and birds. _________________________________________________

Stambaugh, John E. and Balch, David L. The New Testament in its Social Environment, (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1986) p.150. Quoting Libanius, Oration 5. 20

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She was the goddess of hunting and nature,21 a further reflection of a fertile land. She did not live in the temple in the same sense that Jehovah inhabited the tabernacle. In her case, the temple was only her shrine. She lived in nature, wherever there was life. Fertility of land, birds, and animals, as well as humans, was all under her jurisdiction. In an earlier time before money, such fertility had determined and measured wealth. An abundance of wildlife and domesticated animals had more than a sentimental or environmental value. They actually ate these creatures. They used them for food. Although the New Testament period was a generally peaceful and prosperous time, the “Pax Romana,” food was always an important element in wealth. If things were not going well, a visit and an offering to Diana were required. Of course, the men were rewarded with a little visit with the bees that ended more favorably than a visit with an Amazon. Attendance at temple functions remained high, even in the summer. We might be tempted to think of this culture as existing only in the ancient past. The whole thesis of this book is that such issues are back with a vengeance.

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Minucius Felix (210 AD) wrote “Diana sometimes is a huntress, with her robe girded up high; and as the Ephesian she has many and fruitful breasts; and when exaggerated as Trivia, she is horrible with three heads and with many hands.” The Octavius of Minucius Felix, XXI, ANF Vol 4, page 185. 25 21

Paul and Timothy Versus the Amazons and Diana The words of Paul in 1 Timothy 2:8-15 are particularly difficult for modern readers to understand. The instructions about submission and childbearing seem so out of step with current practice in the church and even more out of step with today’s society. The question is, have we drifted so far from God’s purposes for our lives, or have we drifted so far from the original context that we no longer understand? In truth, it is probably a bit of both. We want to get at the truth because anti-Christian feminists and others point to this passage as a reason why women have suffered so much in the world. Even though women have done the best in Christian societies, unlike under Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists, and pagans, such information seems to be lost on the critics. The critics can’t get past their misunderstanding of the words of Paul. I don’t mind the opposition of the world to truth, but I do mind being criticized because we have not been clear on what the Bible actually teaches. There are two main points I want to make in this context. First, the words mean what Paul meant them to mean and what the people of Ephesus understood them to mean. We do not have the right to change the meaning by imposing our thoughts or our modern context on what was written long ago. The first rule of hermeneutics or interpretation is that the author had something in mind. He wrote in a context that cannot be ignored. To understand Paul’s context, we must return to the city in which Paul preached for three years, Ephesus. He knew their practices and how they thought. The book of the Bible we are considering here is called a Pastoral Epistle. It was addressed to Timothy as he pastored the church in Ephesus. Paul wanted to help Timothy address the problems brought into the church by false 26

teachers. The second point is that what Paul writes here cannot be separated from what he wrote elsewhere and what his practice actually was. After we have considered the context of Ephesus, I want to briefly review Paul’s actual practice with regard to women, especially in light of what he wrote in Romans 16. As a starting point, let’s read again this greatly misapplied and misunderstood passage in 1 Timothy 2:8-15. I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing— if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. When people with the Ephesian social history got saved, they brought some baggage with them. Timothy, as pastor, had to create something entirely new out of this warped culture. Paul, having pastored there himself, understood the problem and informed Timothy about how to address it. Paul, in order to address these problems, set special standards for how women were to act. The standards were designed to balance the scales with something a little more usual and acceptable in the wider Roman world. Let’s consider a bit more of the world of first-century Ephesus. 27

Modesty and Very Public Restrooms Paul wanted to create a sense of modesty. He mentioned dress, but the issue was much broader than that. It is hard for us to imagine how little modesty there actually was in ancient times. Public bathrooms, for example, gave new levels of meaning to the word public. In Roman cities, there was no separation of men and women, no his or her facilities. Indeed, people of both genders sat virtually “cheek to cheek” in long rows with almost no space between the people.

Gülin Pazaro-lu, our guide on a recent trip to Ephesus, sits with Justin Zeck along with Philippe and Laura Vallerand, illustrating the fellowship of unisex latrines. Even though the restrooms were very public, the Romans applied their engineering genius toward making great advances in solving certain age-old problems. Although they didn’t invent the liftable toilet seat, they had their own answer to the problem it 28

addressed. As the picture illustrates, their toilet seats were fixed. If the seats were fixed and shared by both genders, in a city with gender conflicts anyway, how did they keep women from hating men even more? Men used the front part of the toilet as men use urinals today. In this way, they did not soil the seat for those who followed them. Think how many marriages might have been saved had their invention been preserved into the modern era! A person of either gender entered the latrines directly from the street. The interior courtyard was open to the skies. Other than making the marble seats a little chilly during the winter, the open sky served as the ventilation system. Around the outside of the room, and beneath the seats, was a fresh water canal that served as their flushing system. In the middle of the open courtyard was a small shallow pool from which water for washing off flowed in gullies on the floor.22 The restroom was located next to the public baths. Their close proximity allowed each one to be conveniently served by the same city water supply and drains. The fact that these public facilities were located in the very center of town suggests the high volume of use they received. I provide this level of detail as a way of illustrating the cultural context. We would never accept such ways because we have been influenced by centuries of Christian values. Christianity carries with it values with regard to the human body and acceptable relations between the genders. These values are not always present in pagan societies. For example, I remember visiting Calcutta, India, and going down to the Hoogly River that runs through the city. There men and women still openly squat on the riverbank, __________________________________________________ 22

Dr. Onen, Ibid. Page 39. 29

using it as their restroom, while a few feet away others bathe in the same water. In Ephesus, common usage of the restroom was considered normal. It was not an issue. Given the sexual aspects of their religion, the restrooms should come as no surprise. Was there any redeeming value or personal dignity to this crude scene? Does it count that the seats were made of marble?!! Even though we are discussing Ephesus, there is no need to leave the impression that such public restrooms were unique to Ephesus. Virtually identical restrooms existed all over the civilized Roman world. In the engineering literature of the Romans there were books on how to construct aqueducts, baths, and restrooms. In fact, I have seen restrooms exactly like this in the heart of the Roman world, in the Roman Forum, as well as in several other Roman cities. Think of the long bathroom lines the Roman Forum restrooms would have had after thousands exited the coliseum following a big gladiator battle. The Ephesian restroom was the type of facility that was the standard for Roman public restrooms, built according to the engineering textbook. Even though these restrooms were built more than two thousand years ago, there are many countries today that have not yet risen to the level of the sanitary sophistication of the Romans. Some years ago I led a tour that included the Forum in Rome. The college professor who was guiding the tour took considerable pride in the Roman accomplishments in developing restrooms. I had never really thought of toilets as a point of national pride, but after listening to him I could appreciate what they had accomplished. For him it was a moment of national pride. In Israel, I asked our very well educated tour guide if men and women used the same facilities. He looked at me with an incredulous look on his face. He said, “No, of course not!” He was so used to the modern, Christian-influenced way of operating onegender restrooms, he could not even imagine that it had ever been any other way. I doubt if our guide had ever even thought of the 30

question before. For Paul, such public restrooms were the norm; however he saw the issues that related to their inherent lack of modesty. In my travels through the ancient world I have photographed every Roman latrine system that I have seen. (It’s a strange interest, I admit!) Among the dozen or more that I have photographed, I have only found one that had what I think must have been a divided latrine. That was at Sardis just past the church and gymnasium of the fourth century. In that case, the influence of the church must have had its effect.

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Public Bathing In addition to these very public restrooms, general bathing was also very public. Roman baths were used by both genders and neither sex wore clothes. There would be a series of rooms with different temperatures of water. Each of the rooms would often be full of people who were all naked. We have a latte at Starbucks and sit around and talk. Romans went to the baths. People accepted this as normal. As time passed and Christian values of modesty were adopted, these practices gradually ended. Eventually, by law, men and women were not allowed to bathe together “lavacvo pro sexibus separauit.” (Sexes must bathe separately).23 At Paul’s moment in time, however, the baths were still commonly in use. Around 200 AD, when Tertullian wrote his work “On Modesty,” he was still complaining about Christian use of the Roman baths and was still urging them to abandon the practice because of its lack of modesty. Given these kinds of restroom and bathing practices, it is not hard to understand why Paul wanted them to adopt practices more in keeping with modesty than with aggressive sexual behavior. This cultural style was the context in which Paul’s Pastoral Epistles to Timothy were written, and must be read through the eyes of the Ephesians, particularly the newly saved Ephesian women. Today, a woman who gets saved already has many Christian moral values. In spite of our decadence, the values of Christianity continue to dominate in America. Non-Christians accept these values without even knowing where they come from. This was not the case in Ephesus. Paul had to start from scratch to teach Christian people who would eventually fashion a Christian society. It would be centuries before the tide would fully shift from paganism to Christian values in society, but it began with one person at a time. _________________________________________________

Daily Life in Ancient Times. Selcuk Gür, archaeologist. No date, p. 63. 32 23

Paul’s instruction urges the women to make themselves attractive by means of their character. Instead of being sex objects, as their pagan religion made them, Paul wanted women to be admired for their actions and the kind of life they lived. They had brains, not just bodies. Paul did not object to gold or braided hair in and of themselves. Rather he used those things as illustrations of the sensual approach. His desire was for a spiritual approach to a woman’s self image. In their pagan religion, Diana was in charge of everything, including passing out sexual rewards. The inherent female control, starting with the founding of Ephesus, continued to be nourished to some extent in the religion. Conflicts were naturally engendered. While women never did actually dominate in Ephesian society, there appears to have been an impulse toward it. Men reacted to the feminist aspects of Ephesian social life. Now Paul needed to instruct the men to leave their angry and argumentative ways outside the church. Women were tempted to dominate and the men fought back. Those battles didn’t immediately or automatically stop the minute people got saved. Gender wars don’t make for great church services. How could these men expect that God would see their hands as holy hands when they were so hostile and mean? The men needed to restrain themselves, which Paul instructed in verse 8. If men are hostile, women will naturally band together to defend themselves and their honor. Paul did not allow the men to continue to act that way. On the other hand, the women needed to stop seeing themselves as Amazons and therefore superior. Paul’s letter to Timothy needed to counter those pagan values. He needed to strip away the morals and ideas of Diana and Roman culture and replace them with Gospel values. He needed to adjust the thinking of Diana’s former followers. To balance the cultural tendency, Paul urged them to quiet down and listen. The Ephesian women needed to stop this aggression and learn with quietness. They were so much one way that he needed to emphasize balance. 33

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Saved in Childbirth The Diana cult taught that Diana saved a woman in childbirth. We have already mentioned that blessing, fertility, and childbirth were key positive elements in the religion. Having gone through several childbirth classes, I can appreciate the religious connotations that are associated with childbirth. Diana or Artemis came to be associated with childbirth in several ways. For the average woman in ancient Greece, the fact that Artemis’ mother, Leto, did not suffer labor pains when giving birth to her must have inspired hope. Further, Artemis was said to have assisted her mother in giving birth to Apollo, the twin of Artemis. The newborn Artemis miraculously assisted in delivering Apollo right behind her. Here she took the place of Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, and for that reason she was worshipped as Artemis Lochia, the patron of pregnant women. At her sanctuary at Brauronin Attica (where she was Artemis Brayronia) women who had successfully given birth would make sacrifices and offerings to Artemis, and the clothes of women who had died in childbirth were also dedicated to her.24 Given these ideas from Greek religion, we can understand why Greek women would go to the temple of Artemis during pregnancy to pray for a painless birth and to invoke her help during difficult deliveries.25 I can imagine that every woman must dread __________________________________________________

Mavromataki, Maria. Greek Mythology and Religion (Athens, 1997) p. 62. One of Artemis’ titles was Eileithyia, “she who helps women in childbed.” Another title is Gentyllis-protector of births. Locheia means of childbirth. It is from an early Spartan goddess later merged with Artemis. 25 Mascetti, Manuela Dunn. Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Moon (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1996) p. 18. 35 24

the painful process of giving birth. Such dread formed a fertile field for Diana’s religion. If we conducted a special “Delivery Sunday” prayer service for pregnant women so they could have a painless birth, I am sure the attendance would be large. This was what Diana offered. Even though it never quite worked out as they prayed, the hope kept them coming. With a wonderful bit of tongue in cheek, Paul acknowledged that a woman will indeed be saved in the process, or through childbearing. Then he identified the full requirements for a woman to be saved. Notice what follows. The additional things he identified as being necessary are actually the essentials of salvation. If he had not included childbearing, would the list of requirements for salvation have been any less true? In other words, had he only said “if you continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety, you will be saved,” that would have been completely true. So the childbearing thing is really superfluous. It is like us saying, “that and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee.” Well, the dollar would buy you a cup of coffee without the first thing. I have one other thought on this idea of being saved in childbirth as it might relate to Artemis. One of many titles given to Artemis is “Savior.” Once again this line of speculation is suggested to me by a coin in my collection.26 In the coin picture, it is not terribly clear because part of the inscription is missing, but the Greek title Soteira appears in front of Artemis. This image and title appeared on a number of her coins in the ancient world. _________________________________________ 26

The coin as shown is from Ancient Greece, Syracuse (Sicily), reign of Agathokles (317-289 BC), bronze AE25. Obv.: Laureate head of Artemis to right, Greek legend: SOTE[IRA] Rev.: Winged thunderbolt, Greek legend AGATHOKLEOS / VASILEOS. SG 1200 36

Given that history, I wonder if Paul didn’t want to offer an offhand challenge to the notion that Artemis is the Savior. At least he may have given a nod to that idea with his counter proposal on how a woman might be saved. Soteira means savior, deliverer, preserver. It was used as a title of divinities by Pindar27, Aeschylus28 and more. Papyrus inscriptions use the term for the god Asclepius29, the god of healing. It is also used on a coin of Asclepius as I note elsewhere in this book. Celsus is said to have compared the cult of Asclulapius30 with the Christian worship of the Savior.31 The term is likewise used to refer to divinities in the mystery religions, like Serapis and Isis, as well as Heracles32 or Zeus.33 The Septuagint has soteir as a term for God, and so do Philo and Oracula Sibyllina. I do not know if this understanding was part of Paul’s jab at Artemis but it would seem to be well within his character for sarcasm. A woman might well be saved, but not by Artemis.

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born 518/522 BC , Cynoscephalae, Boeotia, Greece; died after 446, probably c. 438, Argos Greek Pindaros, Latin Pindarus the greatest lyric poet of ancient Greece, the master of epinicia, choral odes celebrating victories achieved in the Pythian, Olympic, Isthmian, and Nemean games. (Britannica) 28 born 525/524 BC died 456/455 BC, Gela, Sicily. He was the first of classical Athens’ great tragic dramatists, who raised that emerging art to great heights of poetry and theatrical power. (Britannica) 29 Greek Asklepios, Latin Aesculapius, Greco-Roman god of medicine, son of Apollo (god of healing, truth, and prophecy) and the nymph Coronis. (Britannica) 30 The Latin for Asclepius. 31 This is referenced in Origen, though I found no helpful information there. 32 Ie. Savior of the earth and of men. 33 ie. Zeus the Savior. 37 27

Of this much we are certain, the Ephesians were living in a city with one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was a huge temple to the goddess of fertility where childbearing was one of the idol’s chief areas of activity and salvation. Paul landed an indirect but devastating hit on the Diana cult. Keeping the faith with holiness is the essential act, not childbirth. When the Ephesians would have read the piece about being saved in childbearing, they would have enjoyed the jab at Diana and moved on. It was a clever bit of rhetorical jousting, that’s all. While I am pursuing tangential thoughts, let me add one more with respect to salvation. The religion of Artemis also had a baptism ritual. It was a ceremony of blood baptism which was later adopted as a sacrament by the worshippers of Mithras. This baptism was associated with Artemis Tauropolos. The word “tauropolos” means bullslayer. This coin, also from my collection, features the head of Artemis Tauropolos on one side and a bull on the other. It was minted in Amphipolis between 168 and 149 BC. We actually know more about the ceremony of Mithras, but I believe there are strong similarities. At the temple to Artemis in Amphipolis they practiced this type of blood baptism. A bull was sacrificed above a grate (a bit like draining oil from a car at Jiffy Lube). As the throat was cut, blood spilled on the priestesses below. Thinking about Artemis the bullslayer and the application of a bull’s blood to the body reminds me of a very similar thing that happens at the temple of Kali, the Hindu black goddess of death, in Calcutta, India, still today. I have been to that temple. An animal such as a bull is sacrificed. People come in and dip into the blood and apply it to their foreheads. The meat is distributed 38

to people in the area of the temple just as in the days of Artemis Tauropolos.

When I consider Artemis and Kali I know that the devil is not particularly creative, which is why we keep seeing the same old things again and again. There are some significant similarities in the Artemis religion and the goddess Kali. For example, Minucius Felix (210 AD) wrote, “Diana sometimes is a huntress, with her robe girded up high; and as the Ephesian she has many and fruitful breasts; and when exaggerated as Trivia, she is horrible with three heads and with many hands.”34 The many arms and hands of the Hindu gods may well have been adapted from Diana.35 With this in mind, let’s return to the Apostle Paul’s comments about childbearing and authority. Paul’s statements on authority are part of the same flow of thought that he used on the topic of being saved in childbirth. The topic was not so much authority, but the way in which the Ephesian women should learn or receive instruction. Furthermore, the women seemed to be excessively attached to some of the cultural ideas inconsistent with the Christian faith. Later, in 1 Timothy 4:7, Paul associated these bad habits with “godless myths and old wives’ tales.” I don’t know if the expression “old wives’ tales” was in use before Paul, but he either invented it or put it to a good use _________________________________________ 34 35

The Octavius of Minucius Felix, XXI, ANF Vol 4, page 185. Sculpture at the Kailas Temple, Ellora. 39

in this passage. Later, in chapter five, he noted that some of the women had returned to following Satan, particularly through the vehicle of what they had been saying.36 The term for busybodies, according to Thayer, has implications of the magic arts. In any case, their talking was getting them into trouble. It was leading people back to Satan. They hadn’t fully left their old ways. At least a residue of the old religion was too frequently coming back in. As a result, they needed to be learners rather than teachers. Paul was not proposing a universal, everlasting prohibition but rather an ad hoc argument for specific issues in the Church at Ephesus. Paul had encountered the same backwash from temple prostitution and related sins in Corinth. Here he reached to the Corinthian experience for wisdom in handling the Ephesian problems. These problem women in Ephesus were leading people astray because they themselves were being deceived. A further statement to undercut the idea of female superiority had to do with Eve. Paul notes that Eve was first deceived, not Adam. If women were inherently superior, as some women in Ephesus said, then Paul wondered why Adam was made first but Eve was the first one to be deceived. Again, this is an ad hoc argument to bolster his instruction in that particular instance. He wanted these Ephesian women to have a more humble view of themselves. All the vestiges built up through centuries of culture are not eliminated in a short time. To universalize Paul’s ad hoc argument is to make too much of it. By definition, ad hoc arguments are applied to a particular situation and are not meant for universal application. The end of chapter two is not a global instruction for all time. Paul just wanted Timothy to temper the residual values of the feminist cult of Diana and the Amazons. _________________________________________________

1 Tim 5:13-15 “Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. 40 36

Historical and textual approaches have their limits to understanding an author’s meaning. However, Paul revealed his practice quite clearly in Romans 16. We want to briefly review references in that chapter for insight into Paul’s actual practice with regard to women. Consequently, we must read Paul’s Epistles to Timothy along with his Epistle to the Romans. Otherwise, we will universalize the local situation in Ephesus while ignoring the clear practice in Rome.

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The Women of Romans 16 It is virtually impossible to honestly read Romans 16 and still say that women did not have important and even leading roles in the New Testament Church. They occupied every office that was available, and Paul seemed very comfortable with the idea. It is also true that the number of women in church offices did not match those of men. Men clearly had the larger numbers, demonstrating that the usual pattern was for male leadership. However, given the number and significant roles that women played, it is also clear that an absolute prohibition did not exist. Certainly, more women were involved in leadership in the New Testament Church than at any other time since then. Consider the key posts women held in the church at that time. In Romans 16:1, Phebe37 is called a deacon or servant. The word translated deacon38 is masculine, not feminine. In the early church, the office of deacon was not a terminal position for lay people but a person in an office leading to ministry. The “seven” in Acts 6, including Philip, are examples. This is a term that Paul applied to himself in Corinthians. By calling Phebe what he also called himself, he showed clearly that she had an important place in the church. They were to receive her with all the privileges and honors of a deacon. She had earned her place by service in the church near Corinth and they were to recognize her. In verse three, the fact that Priscilla is mentioned first indicates that she had a high place of honor. This is also seen in 2 Timothy.39 On the other hand, she is mentioned second in _________________________________________________

Phoebe meaning bright moon, is a name of Artemis. diakonos (dee-ak’-on-os); probably from an obsolete diako (to run on errands); an attendant, i.e. (genitive case) a waiter (at table or in other menial duties); specially, a Christian teacher and Pastor. KJV-- deacon, minister, servant. 39 2 Tim 4:19 Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 42 37 38

Corinthians.40 Both she and her husband traveled with Paul to Ephesus. There, Apollos “began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.”41 They were both obviously involved. The Greek word used for them is sunergos.42 This is a ministry term applied to those ministers who served in similar ways as Paul. Indeed, the church met in their home. It is hard to imagine that Priscilla had to stop talking in her own home the moment church guests arrived. Priscilla was clearly a knowledgeable and outspoken member of the leadership team. In verse seven there is Junias.43 She was a female who was listed among the apostles. Paul described her as a relative who had accepted Christ even before he had. She had even spent time in prison for her faith in Jesus. Not only was she listed as among the apostles, but she was said to be “outstanding” among that group. The editor of a series of books on the early church fathers goes so far as to insert into the footnotes that Paul must have been mistaken about the female name. The editor was so steeped in his anti-female prejudice that Paul must have been mistaken in what he had clearly written, not the editor in his interpretation.44 Several other verses mention women. Verse twelve offers greetings to “Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work __________________________________________________

1 Cor 16:19 “The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 41 Acts 18:26. 42 soon-er-gos’--a co-laborer, i.e. coadjutor: 43 Iounias (ee-oo-nee’-as). 44 There is apparently only one other use of this name in Greek in the first century A.D. literature. The other is to the wife of Cassius and the sister of Brutus, who murdered Julius Caesar. There is one other possible reference found in an inscription, which reads: “[ ]ia Torquata.” It probably refers to a woman mentioned by Tacitus (Annals, 3:69) named Junia Torquata, a Vestal Virgin. She is contemporaneous with Tiberius. 43 40

hard in the Lord.” Paul adds greetings to “my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.” Again, in verse fifteen he greets Julia as well as Nereus and his sister. The sheer number, as well as having every available title, suggests that women played important roles in the Church in the capital of the empire. If Paul listed them as deacons, ministers, and apostles, they probably were entitled to talk in church. As a footnote in church history, Tertullian wrote extensively about modesty and quoted Paul’s words to Timothy for support. It was Tertullian, the father of Latin Christianity, whom I credit with “nailing the lid on the coffin” for the role of women in the Church at large. He said they should not serve in the sacred church offices, but be limited to special female groups or orders. He wrote this in the middle of his ministry. By the end of his ministry, however, he had joined the Montanists who had women in leadership. After about twenty years of being accepted, the church eventually censured the Montanists for some of their practices. Because of his association with the Montanists, Tertullian also was marginalized. It is interesting that the Roman Church institutionalized Tertullian’s mid-life view about women in ministry. Even though he is the virtual founder of Latin or Roman Christianity, his latelife view that included women in ministry was not accepted. Others followed who seemed to be more in the stream of the Apostles, following Tertullian’s late period of ministry. For example, Clement of Alexandria saw that the grace of the Spirit was equal for men and women. By writing “grace of the Spirit,” he is using the terminology of that period to describe the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Women also received the gifts of the Spirit just as they did at Pentecost. If they received the gifts it was for good reason— they were to be used. Let us, then, embracing more and more this good obedience, give ourselves to the Lord, 44

clinging to what is surest, the cable of faith in Him, and understanding that the virtue of man and woman is the same. For if the God of both is one, the master of both is also one; one church, one temperance, one modesty; their food is common, marriage an equal yoke; respiration, sight, hearing, knowledge hope, obedience, love all alike. And those whose life is common, have common graces and a common salvation; common to them are love and training.45 It is certainly true that the even-handed early beginnings of the faith did not continue. Women were eventually forced into narrower and narrower confines. We have to wonder why this occurred. It seems that spiritual movements that begin as friendly to women, often end in some hostility. The tide eventually turned against women in the ancient church. I believe there is some evidence of this now in some parts of the Assemblies of God. We still have the largest number of female ministers of any denomination. However, some of our leading churches no longer accommodate female leadership including some leading churches in Springfield, Missouri, where many national leaders attend. It took seventeen centuries for the Holy Spirit to clear away the accumulating debris of misguided cultural ways. By the end of the 19th century this was beginning to turn. When Pentecost broke into Christianity again at the start of the 20th century, it also opened the door, once again, to the ancient role of women in the church. The cry of Pentecost is if God fills them with the Spirit and places his grace upon them, our part is to cooperate with God. __________________________________________________

Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson, eds., “The Instructor, Book I,” AnteNicene Fathers; vol. 2 (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994) 211. 45 45

Most of us who cling to our Pentecostal roots and allow women in ministry, do not do so because we favor feminism or out of feminist impulses. To the contrary, we support women in ministry, not because of feminism, but in spite of it. The extent to which feminist ideals have infiltrated Pentecostal circles is troubling to me. A few years ago, when I attended a California meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, of which I am a member, I was stunned by the feminism promoted by many of the female college professors who also attended the California meeting. It seemed to me that they were spouting the usual liberal mantra of the radical feminists. They sometimes quoted the Scriptures, but it seemed that their ideas had been shaped by the academy, not the sanctuary. We support women in ministry because the Holy Spirit calls them to places of leadership. He pours his Spirit upon them just as he does on men. In the last days, the daughters prophesy just as the sons.46 He puts his Spirit upon the handmaids, as well as upon the other servants. Pentecostals follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in this context. Feminism has another spirit that we will consider shortly. I do not argue that Rome, Ephesus, or the Church in general primarily had women leaders or even large numbers of women leaders. It seems clear that even in Ephesus, the leadership was mainly in the hands of men. Neither Ephesus nor any other major city was dominated by female leadership. There is no record of any church in the first century that primarily had women leaders. As evidence of that, the false teachers of Ephesus were not women but men “who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak_________________________________________________

Joel 2:28-29 “‘And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” This is what Peter quoted on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:18 )when the Spirit came upon the 120 of the upper room. It could only have been fulfilled if the women had received the Spirit as well as the men. 46 46

willed women.”47 Further, in the society in general, according to the ancient sources, the roles of teachers, philosophers, sophists, and rhetors were held by men, not women. With regard to economic and civic affairs, it also appears that men held the leading roles. Demetrius the silversmith and the silversmith guild were men. The Asiarchs were men. A man defused the mob in Acts 19. What Romans 16 does inform us of is that some women also held these roles. Women did not dominate nor was there an absolute prohibition on their leadership. Like Deborah among the Judges, are these women among the leaders—infrequent but present nonetheless. In view of what Paul wrote here, we cannot read the Timothy passages as absolute prohibitions with respect to the role of women in church leadership.

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See 2 Timothy 3:6 and 1 Timothy 1:6. 47

A Seattle-Ephesus Comparison Since I live in the Seattle area, and want to apply the lessons of the Bible to my own culture, I thought a good starting point would be to consider how Seattle and ancient Ephesus might share common features. Even though I will consider Seattle, if you live elsewhere you might look for the parallels in your own city. I am confident that almost any modern American or European city will be filled with examples. Consider Ephesus and Seattle. Ephesus was a great commercial center, as is Seattle. Seattle is on America’s west coast. Ephesus was on the west coast of the Roman Province of Asia Minor. What Seattle is to the Pacific Ocean, Ephesus was to the Aegean Sea and beyond. We have Puget Sound, but they had a river link to the interior. Located at the mouth of the Cayster River, Ephesus had the advantage of river and valley access to the rich farmlands of the interior as well as access to the sea. For Ephesus, the river was like a liquid railroad or highway, bringing farm products to the city ready for shipping to the world. Its fully developed harbor was the most favorable seaport in the province of Asia. As such, it developed into the most important trade center west of Tarsus, much like Seattle is to the whole northwestern United States. Ephesus could have used the dredging activities of the Army Corps of Engineers. Over the centuries, erosion and farming gradually produced silt. The silt settled at the mouth, which was at Ephesus, turning it into a disease-infested marsh. Today, because of that silting, what was once a coastal town is several miles inland. The harbor is gone and so is the economic viability of the city. We think of Seattle as having a sophisticated seaport with those giant orange cranes lifting boatloads of foreign treasures to our shores. In turn, we send boatloads of money to China and the rest of the East. Ephesus also went out of its way to make it easy for trade to occur. The road from the harbor up into the city was beautifully 48

paved. Unlike American roads that break down after ten years, with some repair, the Ephesian road could still be used today. All the way from the harbor up to the street in front of the theater there were warehouse-type shops along the road making it easier for some goods to be sold without having to haul them so far.

Americans like to think of Benjamin Franklin as inventing streetlights. However, 1,800 years before he was born, the clever Ephesians had lighted streets. Ships that came in late at night could unload their cargo and bring it into the city by the bright lights that lined the road. Seattle and Ephesus shared the size factor. Although Pergamum was the capital of the province of Asia in Roman times, Ephesus was the largest city in the province, having a population of perhaps 300,000 people. There was also a large population in the coastal area and nearby villages that would have looked to Ephesus as their center. Cultural influence would be an additional shared feature. Seattle probably does not quite qualify as a cultural center compared to New York or Los Angeles. However, if you count grunge and Starbucks, the Northwest region can claim its share. 49

Ephesus, on the other hand, would have rivaled Alexandria, Rome, or the other great centers of the empire. Ephesus had a theater that seated an estimated 25,000 people. It is still in use today for some events. Sheila Shipley, my Administrative Assistant, graduated from high school in a ceremony held in that theater. A main thoroughfare, about one hundred feet wide, ran from the theater to the harbor. At each end of the street stood an impressive gate. The thoroughfare was flanked on each side by rows of columns fifty feet deep. Behind these columns were baths, gymnasiums, and impressive buildings. Their theater has lasted for over 2000 years. Seattle’s Kingdome didn’t last twenty-five years, and at this writing, we still owe over $125 million on it. This is not just anti-government sour grapes. I have a genuine admiration for the Romans. In my mind they compare very favorably to modern governments and organizations. We are clearly not smarter than they were. They were brilliant engineers and artists. Giftedness for administration and organization seemed to pass from generation to generation. When I consider Safeco Field, I must admit it is impressive. If it is still as impressive one hundred years from now, that will be an accomplishment. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world was located in Ephesus. The temple of Artemis (or Diana, according to her Roman name) was truly something to behold. It was made of pure marble and was larger than any other building in the world, including the Parthenon in Athens. (Only a single resurrected column remains.) In its original splendor, Seattle really has nothing to compare to it. Paul Allen’s 50

Experience Music Project at the Seattle Center makes us wonder, but it is not a wonder of the world. St. Peter’s in Rome might be in the league of Diana’s temple. Otherwise, there is very little today, by way of a religious building, to compare to it. Elsewhere we look in detail at the religion of Diana. As the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus, Artemis was known variously as the moon goddess, the goddess of hunting, the patroness of young girls, and dozens of other similar titles. The temple at Ephesus housed one of many of the multi-breasted images of Artemis that came to adorn the Roman world. One hundred twenty-seven columns supported the temple of Artemis in Paul’s day, each of them sixty feet high. By way of comparison, Cedar Park Church in Bothell where I pastor is thirty eight feet at its highest point. The Ephesians took great pride in the building as well as in the religion it reflected. During the Roman period, they promoted the worship of Artemis by minting coins with the inscription, “Diana of Ephesus,” as well as images of the deity and her symbols. I have collected dozens of such coins from all over the Roman world. Visitors from around the world flocked to Ephesus as a vacation and business destination. What the Chamber of Commerce is to Seattle, the religion of Diana was to Ephesus. The coins minted in Ephesus were like mini-vacation and business brochures sent around the world. Even though this Ephesian culture was a long time ago, we are still feeling its impact in surprising ways. In this next section I want to go beyond the similarities and examine some of the ways that Ephesus has become us and is being reincarnated in our world today. It is making a comeback.

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Diana and Islam’s Star and Crescent The star and crescent are well known as symbols of Islam. What is less well known are the star and crescent’s connections to Diana and to paganism in general! Although Islam claims to be about one god, it has this embarrassing connection to paganism in one of its most notable symbols. As far as I have been able to discover, Diana first became connected to the star and crescent by way of Byzantium. The tradition is that in 339 BC, Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, attacked Byzantium. He was attempting to access the city by way of tunnels. A waxing moon, normally dim, was unusually bright one particular night and exposed the effort. The unusual brightness of the moon was attributed to the help of Diana, goddess of the moon. To show their gratitude, the citizens adopted the crescent of Diana as the city’s emblem. The coin of Byzantium, shown here, pictures Artemis in the front and the star and crescent on the back.48 From the second century (126 BC) we have this denarius example of Diana driving a biga. Note the crescent moon above her head. The denarius of P Claudius Turrinus, 41 BC, shows that the crescent moon and star were part of general Roman coinage as well. Note that on the Byzantine coin, the moon has the two horns _________________________________________________4

Thrace. Byzantion. Circa 1st Century BC. Æ 20mm. Draped bust of Artemis right; quiver, bow behind / ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΩΝ, six-rayed star above crescent. SNG Cop 498. 48

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up. In the coin with Diana driving the biga, the moon is shown in its more usual position. We will explain the significance of this later. The moon and stars were on the flags and coinage, as well as other symbols of Byzantium. At this early stage they reminded the citizens of Artemis. Ironically the same symbols continued into the Christian era of the city. The star and crescent morphed into symbols of Mary who became the new patron saint of Byzantium, renamed Constantinople. Mary replaced Diana but the symbols remained the same. (We will see another similar morphing of Diana into Mary in Ephesus.) The use of the star and crescent in Byzantium was not the first such case in history. All through the pagan cultures of ancient times, this symbol appears again and again. As early as 2000 BC there were similar examples in the Sumerian culture. They called their god by many names but the most popular were Nanna, Suen, and Asimbabbar. The symbol of this god was the crescent moon. Culture after ancient culture followed this pattern. In addition to being the most popular god in Sumeria, it was also the most popular religion throughout ancient Mesopotamia as well as among the Assyrians and Babylonians. The Akkadians took the word Suen and transformed it into the word Sin, making it their favorite name for the Moon-god. 49 The coin shown here was minted just before Islam developed as a religion. The king whose image is on the other side was deposed by the Moslems. This reverse of the coin

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A good part of the information in this section came from http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm

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depicts a Zoroastrian fire altar.50 Note the star and crescent above the heads of the two attendants and the familiar star and crescent at each of the four compass points of the coin. In virtually every coin of this king, there are similar symbols. The only exception to this style of coin for this king came after he captured “the true cross of Christ” in his 613 conquest of Jerusalem. For a brief time, his coins showed the cross over his head. Such a coin makes me think he briefly became a Christian before returning to Zoroastrianism. He may also have been following the style of the Byzantine kings without really knowing why they used the cross on their coins. Ultimately his Persian kingdom fell to the Moslems in the very earliest wars with their advancing armies. For the Zoroastrians and the other ancient pagans, the stars and crescent moon were creation symbols. The creation symbol of the gods made its way into Israel as indicated by the idol shown here. Note the crescent moon on the chest of the idol. In ancient Syria and Cana the moon-god Sin was usually represented by the moon in its crescent phase. The sun-goddess _________________________________________ 50

Silver Dirhem (Drachm) of Khusru II, AD 591-628. Zoroastrian Fire Altar with an attendant standing on each side. The Sassanian rule in Parthia (Persia) lasted from 226 AD to the middle of the 7th Century, when Islam rose up to supplant it. This king captured Jerusalem in 613 and returned it for about a decade to Jewish rule. It remained in Jewish hands until the assault of the Moslems. 54

was the wife of Sin, and the stars were their daughters. For example, Ishtar was a daughter of Sin. Sacrifices to the moongod are described in the Ras Shamra texts. In the Ugaritic texts, the moon-god was sometimes called Kusuh. In Persia, as well as in Egypt, the moon-god is depicted on wall murals and on the heads of statues. He was the judge of men and gods. The Old Testament constantly rebuked the worship of the moon-god (see: Deut. 4:19;17:3; II Kngs. 21:3,5; 23:5; Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Zeph. 1:5, etc.). When Israel fell into idolatry, it usually involved the cult of the moon-god. As a matter of fact, everywhere in the ancient world the symbol of the crescent moon can be found on coins, seal impressions, steles, pottery, amulets, clay tablets, cylinders, weights, earrings, necklaces, wall murals, etc. In Ur, the Stela of Ur-Nammu has the crescent symbol placed at the top of the register of gods because the moon-god was the head of the gods. A temple of the moon-god has been excavated in Ur by archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley. He dug up many examples of moon worship in Ur. Today these are displayed in the British Museum. Harran was likewise noted for its devotion to the moon-god. In the 1950s a major temple to the moon-god was excavated at Hazor. Two idols of the moon-god were found. Each was a statue of a man sitting upon a throne with a crescent moon carved on his chest (shown on previous page). The accompanying inscriptions make it clear that these were idols of the moon-god. Several smaller statues were also found which were identified by their inscriptions as the “daughters” of the moon-god. What about Arabia? Thousands of inscriptions from walls and rocks in northern Arabia have also been collected. Reliefs and votive bowls used in worship of the “daughters of Allah” have also been discovered. The three daughters, al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat are sometimes depicted together, with Allah the moon-god represented by a crescent moon above them. The archaeological evidence clearly suggests that the dominant religion of Arabia was the cult of the moon-god. 55

I have looked at a number of Moslem websites. They do not like to acknowledge the Islamic connection of the crescent moon to pagan origins. Their spin on the story goes more like this. In 1299, conquering what is now Turkey, Sultan Osman had a vision of a crescent moon stretching over the world. With his success, he made it a symbol of the Ottoman dynasty. When Constantinople was captured by Muhammed II in 1453, their star and crescent symbols were adopted and came to represent both Islam and the Turkish empire.51 For our purposes, we note that the star and crescent has ancient pagan roots which were adopted into the religion of Diana. Both from Diana and other pagan sources, the symbol made its way into Islam. The Artemis/Diana religion is one of the most powerful manifestations of the demonic religions. That one of her primary symbols should be carried over into Islam is a clear indication of the similar demonic origins of that religion.

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“Signs & Symbols, page 42, by Clare Gibson. 56 51

The Swastika and Pagan Religion For thousands of years the swastika has been a symbol of pagan religion in general, and it relates to Diana in particular. The earliest known swastika is engraved on the underwings of a flying bird of mammoth ivory.52 That oldest known swastika, by some assessments, may date as early as 16,00013,000 BC. Pictured here is a goddess excavated at Homer’s Troy. It is from the third millennium BC. Note the swastika and its placement over her genital area. From the placement of the swastika it is clear that it relates to reproduction, the life force, or more generally, prosperity. The discovery of this goddess with a swastika by German archaeologist Heinrich Schlieman as he excavated Troy between 1871 to 1875 was to have fateful consequences. He associated his discovery with swastikas he had seen near the Oder River in Germany. He assumed the Troy swastikas were the religious symbols of his German ancestors. In his mind the Greeks and ancient Teutons were his pagan ancestors, and he could live out the connection by making their symbol his symbol. Hitler, who was also a pagan, borrowed from the archaeological work of Heinrich Schlieman at Troy and incorporated the symbol into his system. In that way, the swastika __________________________________________________

Buffie Johnson, The Lady and the Beasts (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1988) page 236. She cites Joseph Campbell, Primitive Mythology, Vol. 1, The Masks of God, p. 257. 52

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on the goddess from the 30th century BC made its way to 20th century Europe. Hitler intended for his empire to be a millennial empire lasting a thousand years. In order for it to endure, it had to be built on pagan ideas and needed the blessing of his pagan deities and Germanic ancestors. His hatred of God’s people, the Jews, is not surprising, nor is his hatred of pastors and Christians. It is generally known that he killed six million Jews. It is less well known that he killed two million others in the same way, including many pastors and Christians who stood against his pagan system. I remember visiting a Hindu temple in India some years ago. The walls of the temple were covered with swastikas. I was surprised to see this because in my limited knowledge at the time, I only associated the swastika with Hitler. I learned that Hinduism had long incorporated the swastika as a symbol of prosperity in their pagan religion. The swastika gets its name from the Sanskrit word svastika which means good fortune or well-being. In Buddhism, the footprints of Budda were said to be swastikas. The symbol is all through paganism in many countries. When Hitler, along with the Hindus, Buddhists, and others, used the swastika to express their pagan ideas, they were reaching back into the ancient past. Although the symbol is ancient, the 58

demonic force that created it is still at work in paganism today. I mention the swastika in this book because the swastika was long associated with Artemis or Diana. A seventh century BC Greek terracotta vase from Boeotia, Greece, shows Artemis in a classic role. She has her animals around her. The birds of the air, animals of the fields, and fish of the sea are all present. Liberally sprinkled about are swastikas. She is shown raising her arms in blessing. The triangles on her bodice speak of her generative powers. She is the source of blessing and prosperity. This particular funerary amphora shows that she presides over the path to the underworld. Below her left arm, marked by the bull’s leg and the swastika, is the path to death’s underworld.53 The jug pictured here is from my collection showing another ancient version of the swastika in a bird vase.54 These types of pottery existed all over the Mediterranean world with several examples from 3000 BC forward. Hadrian’s monument in Ephesus is also interesting for some of the symbols on it. It has most of the founding legends of Ephesus illustrated on the monument. For example, the Amazons are shown on either side of the arch. The swastika, shown on the following page, is on the face of the monument. In the ancient mind, Artemis _________________________________________________

Johnson, Ibid, pages 236-238. Cyprus Swastika Iron Age Bird Oinochoe, also called a “Bird Jug” because of the “eyes”, associated with the Cypro-Archaic period, approximately 750 - 475 B.C. I acquired this jug by way of the Boyden-Thomas Collection. It was a Father’s day gift from my wife. 59 53

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and the swastika went together. I suspect that modern pagans, along with radical environmentalists and radical feminists, will try to suppress the swastika as an ancient symbol of their religion. (Did the term “femi-nazis” originate with this?) Their symbol of “life force” has come to mean anything but life. In my view, it accurately illustrates what paganism ultimately produces. The ancients were better educated about the reality of Diana. Lactantius offers his report. We have spoken of the gods themselves who are worshipped; we must now speak a few words respecting their sacrifices and mysteries. Among the people of Cyprus, Teucer sacrificed a human victim to Jupiter, and handed down to posterity that sacrifice which was lately abolished by Hadrian when he was emperor. There was a law among the people of Tauris, a fierce and inhuman nation, by which it was ordered that strangers should be sacrificed to Diana; and this sacrifice was practiced through many ages.55

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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book I, Chapter XXI.-Of Certain Deities Peculiar to Barbarians, and Their Sacred Rites; And in Like Manner Concerning the Romans. ANF 7. 60

In the name of Diana, humans were religiously sacrificed in ancient times. There is another connection of Diana to human slaughter. Tertullian, around 200 AD, came to hate the games of the amphitheater and coliseum. In those places people by the thousands died under the patronage of Diana and Mars. …the amphitheater is consecrated to names more numerous and more dreadful than the Capitol, temple of all demons as it is. There, as many unclean spirits have their abode as the place can seat men. And to say a final word about the arts concerned, we know that Mars and Diana are the patrons of both types of games.56

For those among modern pagans who want to remake the image of Diana, we ask a simple question. Who is the real Diana? Is it the human sacrifice Diana of Tauris? Is it the Diana of the gladiators? Is it the Diana of the swastika, or the Diana of everything sweet and nice? How can the Diana of the theater be a killer while the Diana of the temple is a blesser? Paganism and feminism would like to pick and choose, especially since modern paganism understands the public image problem they have with the reality of their religion. However, they cannot just claim the nice people of their history. They must acknowledge that the Hitlers and swastikas also belong to them. Further, the destruction of the people directly related to the God of heaven, namely Jews and Christians, is a revealing statement about the real spirit of paganism.

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Tertullian, The Spectacles, Chapter 12 (7). 61

Diana’s Business Connections Ephesian business consisted of trade in religious icons, manufacturing, and in commercial trade along the roads, river, and seaways. A great part of the commerce of central and east Asia flowed through Ephesus. There was probably also a substantial supporting industry in metalworking. We know the silversmith guild was present as they are identified as making miniature copies of Artemis. From archaeology we know they used metal for sculpting. Many such examples have been found in the ruins of Ephesus. “Almost every type of metal alloy used at the end of the eighteenth century had been discovered and used more than four thousand years earlier.”57 One of the people who figure prominently in Paul’s Ephesian near-death experience was Demetrius, the leader of the riot. He was very likely the leader of the guild that made the silver shrines. Shrines were also made of gold, marble, or clay. The term “shrinemaker” was also a legal phrase for the group of twelve wardens who had the custodial oversight of the temple itself.58 It is possible that Demetrius was both a business owner and a leader in the management of the temple. As such he was heavily vested in the success of the temple and was a natural enemy of the religious change that Paul represented. We know that the temple had been going through a difficult phase in its finances just a few years before this event. They may not have fully recovered even yet. Probably there was a great sensitivity to financial issues, and Christians may have been the convenient scapegoats for this. I don’t doubt that Christianity was depriving them of resources in the temple. Peter Wagner has estimated the value of what was destroyed at four million dollars. _________________________________________________

Kelso, James A. An Archaeologist follows the Apostle Paul. Page 20. Kelso, Ibid, page 78. 62 57 58

Probably, however, it was only one of the reasons for a decline at the temple that made the wardens eager for someone else to blame. There are several inscriptions from around 44 AD which deal with the efforts of the Roman proconsul to repair the finances of the temple.59 In one of the inscriptions they complain about fires and earthquakes and note that Augustus Claudius had acted to increase income to the temple. Even so, they did not have enough to keep things maintained because of the misappropriation of funds by those who were charged with the responsibility of the temple. It may be that Demetrius himself was involved in this and was more than happy to blame someone else. The problem had reached such proportions that the proconsul himself had to intervene. This effort to support Artemis did not succeed because a century later, around 160 AD, the proconsul is again intervening trying to prop up the sagging finances of the religion. The Roman economy had a strong business sector. In fact, they had invented a steam engine that was used in the “University” of Alexandria and in opening the doors into the sanctuary of Apollo. A scientist from this school also invented an automatic vending machine for dispensing their version of “holy water” at the temples.60 These people were great engineers and scientists. Considerable wealth also originated in the crops of the land, in animals, and in humans. The Romans regularly moved large quantities of food and animals around the Aegean and Mediterranean. Their grain ships were large, handling enough grain to keep cities like Rome well supplied. Slaves also were a measure and source of wealth. The religion had a special function in this world of business and commerce. Diana was the goddess of financial blessing. We might miss this idea because we think of wealth exclusively in terms of money. However, the Diana religion originated before __________________________________________________

Grant, Robert M. Gods and the One God. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1986) p. 27. 60 Kelso, Ibid, page 20. 59

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the use of money when wealth was measured exclusively in land, flocks, and power. This was her original domain. The seventh century BC amphora mentioned earlier showed Artemis with arms outstretched in the classical image of blessing. At the elementary level, people brought an offering and hoped for a successful crop or business deal. This was the original “seed faith” gospel. Put a little money in Diana’s temple and she would make sure you were well repaid. Give a little, get a lot. In the rebirth of the Artemis cult today, we see similar attitudes. The modern manifestation is mainly for women, not men, but other than that, the concept is unchanged. The author of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Moon, Manuela Mascetti, suggests that Artemis possessed clear vision for her life. The clear vision and independence were key to her success and something which she could impart to others. “So it is with women in whom the Artemis archetype is active. Their ability to achieve their goals and to make their dreams come true goes beyond mere good fortune. One of the greatest gifts the archetype brings is the ability to focus on an inner desire and make it come true.”61 That type of connection existed in the ancient world as well. As a result, the connection between money and Diana soon led to other functions. In time, the temple became a financial institution as well as a religious one. Instead of the bizarre outfit she wore, Diana should have worn a pin-stripped business suit. In addition to whatever else she was, she was also a banker. The Ephesians wouldn’t necessarily have called it a bank, but the temple came to be used very much like a modern bank. In addition to their offerings, people brought their money to the temple for safekeeping. From there it might _________________________________________________

Mascetti, Ibid, page 28. Modern writers refer to the concept of archetype as though it had some innate force. If the force comes from Artemis, then we would say that it is demonic, not archetypal. The Jungian concept of the archetype, as applied to female deities, I see as a thinly veiled academic cover to acceptance of ancient demonic practices. 64 61

be loaned out at a rate of interest. This was the start of banking as we know it today. The temple keepers loaned money out at about 8% interest. On loans from the temple, the borrower could pawn himself or his family or mortgage his estate. Many lost their personal liberty or were bought and sold as a result. When land was mortgaged to the temple, a mortgage stone was placed at one end of the property to indicate the land was mortgaged. On the north wall of the temple of Artemis in Sardis there is an inscription which publicly “records the property of a certain Mnesimachos, who had taken a loan from the temple and had to mortgage many of his lands, when he was unable to repay it. This inscription is dated c 220 BC.”62 The loan business brought considerable financial success to the temple, which was noted by others in the region. The Delos temple copied Ephesus and started in the banking business in 434 BC. They charged 10% through the second century BC. In the Attica region the rate was 16-18% for businesses and 12% for agriculture. Sea-traders had to pay 20-33% and that was limited to the summertime.63 People would come from all over the region, well beyond Ephesus, to acquire money for their projects. Such trips were often a combination of religious devotion, family vacation, and financial necessity. By these financial transactions, a seamless web began to emerge connecting religion, business and personal plans for the future, and all the rest. Diana was at the center of life, an inevitable intersection of all roads. Having access to large sums of money allowed the temple direct control of a great part of the business life of the region. __________________________________________________

Thomas N. Howe, 1983. Sardis Guides. Archaeological exploration of Sardis jointly sponsored by Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University, Cornell University, the Amererican School of Oriental Research, and the Corning Museum of Glass. 63 Gür. Daily Life, page 50. 62

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The temple itself owned valuable lands on which herds of deer roamed64 and controlled fisheries.65 The emperor had granted that income derived from the fish ponds and rental of farmlands should be the property of the temple. We know this in part because of boundary stones on the farmlands which read: Imp. Caesar Augustus fines Dianae restituit.66 In addition, there were professional guilds such as the “Association of the Sacred Taste” responsible for managing the banking, real estate, and agricultural resources of the Artemisium.67 In all, the temple was easily the most important segment of the Ephesian economy. As we have noted elsewhere, it had its financial problems like any business, but it was nonetheless highly influential. What Bank of America is to America, the temple of Diana was to Ephesus and the Aegean. People thought of her as responsible for the success of their businesses. Even if the businessman didn’t need to borrow money for his enterprise, he brought an offering to Diana in hope of her blessing on it. Everywhere you turned, Diana was there. She touched your family and children. She was critical to your business and finances. Even the food you ate came from her blessing. She was more than a religion in the culture, she became the culture itself. When we come to the section of study relating the Diana cult to Paul’s Epistles, we will see the numerous passages relating to finances and business. One of my purposes in doing this research was to show the context in which Paul’s Epistles were written and the importance of culture in interpreting what he wrote. _________________________________________________

Stambaugh, The New Testament in its Social Environment, p.150. He cites Dio Chrysostom 31.54; Strabo, Geography 14.1.29. 65 International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, p. 961. 66 Die Inschriften von Ephesos (ed. Wankel, Merkelbach, et al.; 8 vols.; Bonn: Rudolf Habelt, 197984) cf. Dieter Knibbe, et al., “Der Grundbesitz der ephesischen Artemis im Kaystrostal,” ZPE 33 (1979) 13946. 67 Baugh, “Paul and Ephesus,” 3942. 66 64

Goddess Worship as a Tool of Radical Feminism One of the amazing features of the spiritual and intellectual landscape of our day is the resurgence of goddess worship. From a Christian perspective, we can understand that the devil never gives up. He always looks for a way to regain his position. What is surprising is that radical feminism would choose such an unlikely religion to bolster its status. There is a kind of irony that Artemis is actually thought of as female. Manuela Mascetti writes, “Artemis carried the vestiges of an earlier fertility goddess, worshipped since prehistory as the Lady of the Beasts…As an archetype, Artemis is the sister of the women’s movement; clear and discriminating, determinedly promoting the social change that will rescue her companions from the unfair burden of patriarchy.” This is the deception of the devil. In fact, all these “female” deities are merely demonic manifestations, or even manifestations of the devil himself. This should be evident to those who know how the devil operates. In ancient times this was known to Christians. In fifth-century Ephesus, a statue of Artemis was replaced with a cross. This inscription was placed on the reused base, “Destroying the deceitful figure of the demon Artemis, Demeas raised this monument of truth, the cross of God that drives away idols…”68 Even feminism’s own authors acknowledge that the serpent is an ancient symbol of these “female” deities. Merlin Stone makes the connection without apology. “In several Sumerian tablets the Goddess was simply called Great Mother Serpent of Heaven.”69 __________________________________________________

Macmullen Ramsay. Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997) p.52. 69 Stone, Merlin. When God was a Woman. (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1976) p 199. 68

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Stone also traces it in other cultures. So far we have seen that the female deity, as she was known in Babylon, Egypt, Crete and Greece, was identified as or with serpents and closely associated with wisdom and prophecy. But it was not only in these lands that the Serpent Goddess was known. Again, when we look over to Canaan, which bordered on the Mediterranean Sea (as do Egypt, Crete and Greece), we discover evidence of the esteem paid to the Goddess as the Serpent Lady.70 Without a doubt, Artemis is a manifestation of the serpent. One of her titles is Opheltes, meaning benefactor, or wound round by snakes. The coin71 shown here has the statue of Artemis standing above the bow case with the serpents wrapped around her. “She” is the same serpent that led Adam and Eve astray centuries ago. Now “she” is leading the feminist movement astray. Because the radical feminists _________________________________________________

Stone, Ibid. page 204. Coin of Ephesus, 133-67 BC, AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm. Obverse is a Cista mistica with serpent; all within ivy wreath. The reverse, shown here reads EFE. It is a bow-case with serpents and bow; to the right, Z (date) left; above, cultusstatue of Ephesian Artemis; to the right, long torch. BMC 158 70 71

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believe that Artemis is female, they are willing to hold her up as a model. Manuela Mascetti’s book, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon, is one of those warm, fuzzy, hallmark-style books with pretty pictures and little sayings that present Artemis as the inspiration for women. How ironic that the serpent, who is not female, should be viewed this way. He must be laughing as women follow him to his place of abode. From my collection of ancient coins I have one that features the snake.72 It is from Pergamon and features the Asklepios on the obverse. My view of the snake of Asklepios, god of healing, is that it is the satanic counterfeit of the serpent raised on the pole by Moses that brought healing to the Israelis bitten by snakes. Indeed, the Greek inscription on the coin shown here reads asklepiou sotiros which is roughly translated “Asklepios saves.” The devil always has his counterpoint to “Jesus saves.” Merlin Stone goes to great lengths to dispute the account of Adam and Eve. She sees it as the ultimate assault on women by “Hebrew Levites” who wanted to suppress women and deprive them of their rights of inheritance and rule. In her view, women were the original inventors of every great advance, and a female was Creatress of the world. Women ruled when the female deity was in charge.73 However, Indo-European men invented male gods as a counterattack against female rule. She sees the Hebrews as part of this Indo-European plot. In particular, the story of Adam and Eve was a calculated attempt to discredit women. If men could paint Eve as the great failure, then women must be great failures. __________________________________________________

Ancient Greece, Pergamon (Mysia), 2nd - 1st c. BC, bronze AE20 Obv.: Laureate head of bearded Asklepios to right. Rev.: Asklepian snake coiled around omphalos, Greek legend ASKLEPIOU SOTIROS. SG 3967 73 When I read all this about women making all these discoveries and advances I scratched my head trying to recall what evidence might support such claims. Even though Stone says writing developed under women, she claims they did not write about their religion but only about business and finances. Then, when the patriarchal religion took over, men destroyed any record of these female accomplishments and turned writing to their own advantage. 69 72

Further, by having the serpent be the tempter, men were trying to discredit the Great Mother Serpent of Heaven. All of this was a male attempt to impose patriarchal religion and the rule of men, upsetting the Creatress’ order. In the photograph, taken in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, we see the serpents guarding the entrance to the afterlife. The story of the Garden of Eden was probably reverberating into the Egyptian culture, as this picture would indicate, long before Moses got around to trying to figure out how to discredit women through his telling of the fall of man into sin. To hear Stone tell it, the story should be called the fall of women. For Stone, the good old days were the pagan days when women ruled on earth and a female deity, preferably a serpent, ruled the universe, deciding who would make it to the afterlife beyond the river.

The answer for women’s rights, according to these radical feminists, is to reestablish goddess worship. Only then, when Christianity is banished and goddess worship returns, will women have full rights to property, “sexual autonomy” (whatever that means), and a return to their rule of the earth. For all the public talk about equal rights, there was nothing in Stone’s book about equality. It was all about female rule. The tragedy of this movement to restore ancient paganism is that it will not take women’s rights where they want it to go. Paganism, if it returns, 70

will not raise the status of women but lower all humans to the level of the animals. Where in all the world has paganism lifted the status of women? After centuries of paganism and then atheism, do Chinese women have the rights that women enjoy here in America? What about India and Hinduism? Has their worship of “female” deities elevated the status of women there? What about the 11% of girls who are eliminated so families will not have to pay a marriage endowment? Has paganism blessed them? Can Africa claim greater civil rights for women? Where are women more honored than in Christian America?

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The Worship of Goddess Artemis and Radical Environmentalism The Christian faith knows a creator, and He is Jesus. We are very clear that creation and creator are not the same thing. The creator is to be worshiped but the creation is not. Further, God is sacred, but the same should not be said of the things that God created. Paul made that very point in Romans 1:25 when he wrote “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever praised. Amen.” For purposes of worship, there is a clear line between the creation and creator. A few sentences before the conclusion, Paul wrote in verses 21-23, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” That describes the Roman world that Paul knew. It was not just idols but also a worship of living creatures associated with the Artemis cult. In the Artemis religion there are several foundational ideas for radical environmentalism. The most fundamental is the failure to worship the Creator. Substituting for the Creator is Diana who regulates the growth of crops through the dew. As we noted earlier, the ancients believed the bee or dew goddesses were helpful in the growth of vegetation. Dew provides moisture for growth. Since the dew comes at night, it was believed that the moon caused it. The dew or bee goddesses thus became associated with the growth of crops and fertility. As the 72

moon goddess, Artemis absorbed these old “bee” ideas and incorporated them into her fertility cult. In the coin shown here, the triple cult statue of Diana Nemorensis or Diana of the Woods is shown. The triple cult statues of Diana are holding a plank across their shoulders that supports five cypress trees. I suspect this represents one of two things. It might reference the “sacred groves” in which many of the rites of the religion were practiced. It could also be a more generic reference to her role in the forests. She becomes a supporter of the forests in much the same way as the plank supports the cypresses. Lake Nemi is a volcanic lake located east of Rome in the Alban Hills where one of the many temples to Diana once stood. The temple was surrounded by her sacred grove. In that time the lake itself was known as “Diana’s Mirror” because, when standing in the temple, one had a perfect view of the reflection of the moon upon the lake. (Some years ago we enjoyed a wonderful dinner near Castelgandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope, overlooking the other volcanic lake opposite Nemi. It was beautiful.) In places like this the Lady of the Lake myths were associated with Diana as well. Of course, within that grove was Diana’s sanctuary at Nemi. The Latin word nemus, from which Lake Nemi is named, means “sacred grove.”74

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www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/k/king_of_the_woods.html

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The guardian of the sacred grove of Diana was known as Rex Nemorensis, the King of the Woods, or alternatively, Virbius. He was a type of “green man” figure in the witchcraft of the area because he was covered with the greenery of the woods. It is not merely coincidental that people who are the radical environmentalists today are called “green.” They are part of a long occultist tradition that includes Diana. Artemis was known by dozens of titles in antiquity, including being a “tree goddess.” Trees in general belonged to her, including the world tree from which unborn souls were said to come. There are all sorts of occultist themes that swirl among the trees. Dryads, also known as druids, were oak nymphs and priestesses of the oak groves. Among the Greeks there was the belief that druids kept their souls in the trees suffering the same fate as the trees themselves. It is not hard to find radicals today who view the trees as having souls and being of essentially the same type as humans. (Remember the trees in Lord of the Rings?) All this is connected spiritually to these ancient pagan religions. The connection to the Garden of Eden is made when we note that these druids could become serpents called hamadryads. A clear connection to Diana comes through when we know that the greatest shrine of the Galatians of Asia Minor was called Druremeton, “Grove of the Moon Druids.” In the worship of Diana both real and artificial trees played an important role. Masks or doll images of the goddess were hung upon the trees in much the same way that people hang ornaments on Christmas trees.75 The environmentalism of the ancient times included more than trees. There were sacred herds of animals as well. These sacred animals roamed through the sacred woods of Diana.

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http://www.amazonworlds.com/index/osborne10.htm 74 75

In artistic depictions, she is often represented between two deer or even as a deer herself. As was common among Greek cities, an animal was associated with most cities. In the case of Ephesus, it was both the deer and the bee. In their own way, each was a symbol of the Artemis religion as these Ephesian coins indicate. We have discussed the bee elsewhere so I won’t repeat that analysis here.

Diana is frequently shown with the deer in a variety of contexts. She can be the huntress with deer on either side or with a bow and arrow. At other times she is subduing and killing the deer with her bare hands as in this rock carving from the temple of Artemis at Philippi. (Poor Bambi!)76 The Philippi carving is a three-panel series showing Artemis killing the deer. She is sometimes shown riding the deer. (Where are the people for the prevention of cruelty to animals when you need them?) My __________________________________________________ 76

One title for Artemis is Elapheboli- she who strikes the red deer. 75

personal favorite is Diana as the Santa Claus look-alike. In that coin, Diana is being pulled in a sleigh, known in Roman times as a biga. The deer are flying over the crescent moon as shown in the coin here. I am not sure that I can make the case that the image of Santa Claus driving his sleigh derives from Diana, but the coincidence is too good to pass up entirely.77

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Anonymous Denarius. 143 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind / Diana in biga of stags right, crescent below, ROMA in ex. Cr 222/1, Syd 438. RSC 0101. No.7164. nVF. 3.5g. 76 77

Artemis, Astrology, and Tarot Cards Like many other things I have written in this book, this section derives from an observation I made of one of the coins in my collection. As far as I know, no one has ever made this observation before. The coin is of two naked children playing with astragali in front of the Ephesian statue of Artemis.78 (I wish the coin were clearer but it is the only one I have ever seen.) When I bought the coin I had never heard of Astragali. It did, however, cause me to wonder why the playing of astragali would be shown in front of Artemis. My conclusion is that there was a connection between the two in ancient times. There would be no reason to have two unrelated themes on such a coin of Ephesus. In one of those “can’t sleep anymore” late night searches through the internet I discovered that astragali are knucklebones. In ancient times, playing the game of knucklebones was sometimes apparently used to divine the future. Ironically, the knucklebone was known as an “astrologos.” People who played the game were known as “astralagizontes.” This ancient game evolved over the centuries into the modern game of “jacks.” It also has connection to many “dice” games. The game did not start with Rome but centuries before in ancient Greece. There is some evidence that it began as a religious rite rather than just as a game. It is in this context that I believe the game is portrayed on the coin. __________________________________________________

IONIA: EPHESUS. Third Century AD. Bronze -18mm (3.02 gm). SNG Copenhagen, Pl. 11 78

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Under the Romans, the equipment was modified to the six-sided cubed dice rather than the four-sided Astragali.79 I don’t yet have one of these dice, but they are sometimes available on ebay and one of these days I will make the purchase. “There is circumstantial evidence that the Tarot derives from an earlier system of divination using dice or astragali (knucklebones), both of which were used for divination in ancient times.”80 My impressions are that these things all connect on an occultic level. While we are at it, we should also mention playing cards. Playing cards have their origins in 14th century Europe and seem to have some connection to dice as well. This is why there are technical terms for one to six, namely ace, deuce, trey, cater, sink and sice, but not beyond. The terms now are used for cards, but originally they were used for dice. In antiquity, there were six-sided dice like we have today and knucklebones (astragali, tali), which have four sides. For divination purposes, five astragali were used. The combinations _________________________________________________ 79

http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~museum/Brueghel/knuckle.html

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http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/PT/BA/PT/D-dice.html#dice-ast

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rolled were looked up on four-sided pillars. According to the Tarot card reader who pointed this out, the number of possible five-astragali throws is fifty-six, which is precisely the number of Minor Arcana. When three dice are thrown, the number of possible throws of three dice is fifty-six while the number of two dice throws is twenty-one, Major Arcana. From this he concluded that Major Arcana derives from divination with pairs of dice, and the Minor Arcana from triples of dice (or quintuples of astragali).81 He goes on to give techniques for doing Tarot divination without Tarot cards by using dice and astragali. In short, he sees the modern Tarot system as having derived directly from the ancient games depicted on the coin. My parents will feel vindicated by all this as, they never thought a Christian should play cards. I just provided them the proof they never needed. Seriously, it is worth noting the dark side of all this. At the very least we should note that the modern world is not so modern after all. I am citing this to show the long reach of Artemis even after all these centuries. It is also worth noting that Diana herself is featured on one of the tarot cards being pulled by two deer in a sleigh or biga.

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www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/PT/BA/PT/Mintro.html#dice 79

Diana and the Light Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world!” He said this in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles. Tabernacles reminded Israel of their journey in the wilderness where they were led by the fire by night and the cloud by day. If Jesus is that light, one would naturally expect the devil to offer his counterfeit. We have that counterfeit in Diana Lucifera or Diana Lucina.82 In many of the coins of Diana in ancient times she is shown carrying a torch. In this sense, she is the metaphorical giver or bearer of light and is in direct competition with Jesus who is the light of the world. Further, she competes with the Word of God which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. It is very typical that the devil operates by counterfeit. The more I know about his style, the more I see that he lacks creativity. He knows how to copy and to modify but in the end, the demonic world is the same old stuff recycled again and again. Paul seems to take direct aim at Diana Lucifera when he contrasts who she is with who Christ is. He is very clearly appealing to their common understanding that Diana is supposed to be light but is not. He offers them a new and better definition of light. More than that, he describes Diana’s influence as “darkness.” Although he does not mention her by name, there is little doubt that she is his target. _________________________________________ 82

Silver Denarius of Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus. Note the crescent moon on Diana’s shoulder on the first coin in this section. In this coin she is Diana Lucifera because she is holding a torch. Minted at Laodicea ad Mare. 80

In Ephesians 5, beginning in verse eight Paul writes, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”83 Diana is not light at all, but darkness. The Ephesians needed to wake up and let the light shine on them. 84 Not only in Ephesus where the main temple was, but in other places, she was worshipped as the light-giver. For example, she was worshipped in that way at the temple of Diana Nemorensis at Lake Nemi near Rome. Here is how one legend tells the tale: “When Diana divided herself to create Darkness and Light, the __________________________________________________

Ephesisans 5:8-14. The third coin in this section is a Roman Republic Denarius featuring Apollo and Diana. Rev: M-F (on right) P CLODIVS (on left) - Diana Lucifera standing right holding long torch in each hand. Rome mint: 42 BC , SEAR RCV I (2000), #492, page 163 - RRC 494/23. 81 83

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Light was Lucifer. Diana used magic to charm and seduce Lucifer. She changed places with a cat and lay with her brother Lucifer, thus conceiving Aradia. Diana decided she liked magic and wanted to develop it. She disguised herself as a mortal woman and went to earth to teach magic and sorcery. She found that times were very hard. Many people were oppressed; so she decided to teach them magic so they could take care of themselves and protect themselves from their oppressors. Diana became very powerful and could not remain hidden. So Aradia was taught witchcraft by Diana and was bade to teach mortals on earth.”85

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http://www.fabrisia.com/aradia.htm 82 85

EPHESUS AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

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The Council of Ephesus in 431—Can the Cult of Women in Ministry Go Too Far? Ephesus has several distinctions in church history, two of which revolve around the issue of Mary. The first church in the world ever dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, was in Ephesus. The remains of that original church are pictured here. Today, there are thousands of such churches dedicated to Mary. Ephesus began that tradition. We wonder if there was not some connection between the desire of the people to acknowledge an ancient female deity and a church dedicated to Mary. In that city there was no reluctance to honor the female goddess. That had been a key issue with which the church had contended in the early years. If my wondering has merit, how might this situation have come about? Even though the church was separating from paganism, there was still considerable accommodation and interchange. The Christian emperors were being memorialized in coins and inscriptions as “deified,” still divus in the mid-fifth century. The father of Theodosius received honor in Ephesus from a Christian governor in the late fourth century. The honor was to be portrayed in stone, accompanied on one side by the city’s guardian goddess Artemis and on the other side by Athena.86 Why would Christian leaders do this? Like politicians today, I suspect they were trying to appeal to both sides. On the one hand they were Christians. _________________________________________________

Macmullen Ramsay. Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997) p.35. 84 86

On the other, they wanted public support from the considerable number of pagans who still lived in that area. For their purposes, it did not seem inappropriate to mix pagan titles and pagan goddesses with Christian leaders. For that matter it was acceptable to them to reach back into the “Caesar is god” cult, even if they saw it only as a civil expression and not for worship or religious purposes. The inclination of the church to try to capture pagan holidays and activities, reorienting them to Christian ideas, has been around for some time. Many of the traditions that are part of Christian celebrations today had their roots in pagan practices. Even the tune to a song like “Amazing Grace” has its origins in less than a holy place. As a teenager, my generation took the popular song, Bridge over Troubled Waters, and set it to pictures about Jesus. We gave a new and also Christian meaning to the old terms and melodies that were strictly secular when they were written. While I cannot be certain, I wonder if something like this was not partly in operation in Ephesus. Maybe they thought that taking away all memory of Artemis and other female inclinations in religion would leave a void. Rather than a void, or to counter pagan ideas, they may have begun to play up their side of the story. The pagans of Ephesus had Artemis, Christians had Mary. Just as Theodosius’ father was shown in stone relief with Artemis, the ancient title for Artemis, “Queen of Heaven,” began to be applied to Mary. It seems understandable to me that preachers would showcase their counterpart to the old culture. They might even have used the popular understanding of Artemis as a bridge to teach about Mary and Jesus. In learning, we always go from the known to the unknown by way of similarities or contrasts. I have not been able to discover the precise date when the Church was named in Mary’s honor. I seem to recall, although I am not positive and have been unable to locate the source, that temples to Artemis were officially closed by Emperor Theodosius II around 430 AD. I know his predecessors closed similar temples 85

elsewhere between 380 and 391, including a temple in Alexandria. Certainly, the mood all around the empire turned against the continued existence of pagan temples especially after Julian the Apostate. There were imperially funded and directed campaigns against sacred images in various parts of the empire.87 It became increasingly difficult for pagan religion to survive publicly. There may have been a convergence of interests here. The Artemis temple was long ago destroyed and not rebuilt. Officially, there had been a longstanding and growing crack-down on Artemis worship. It may have been in someone’s interest, in such an environment, to name a Church in honor of Mary. The naming of a single church in honor of Mary, which is not necessarily negative, is a very small thing compared to what would later transpire in that church building. In that church dedicated to Mary, a significant theological decision was made which still reverberates into our time. That decision was to shift the title of “Mary, Mother of Jesus” to “Mary, Mother of God.”

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Macmullen Ramsay. Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997) p.51-52. 86 87

How Did Mary Get Designated the Mother of God? We think of the conflict around the definition of Mary’s role and title as something of the Reformation. In fact, the controversy goes back many centuries. The decisive spark of conflict was lit when Emperor Theodosius II appointed Nestorius to be Patriarch of Constantinople, the leading ministry post in the empire. Somewhere around 428 or 429 Nestorius preached the first of his famous sermons against the word theotokos, and detailed his Antiochian doctrine of the Incarnation. As the theological battle intensified, so did the rhetoric. In a couple of sermons preached December 13 and 14, 430, Nestorius said, “If Mary is called the Mother of God, she will be made into a goddess, and the Gentiles will be scandalized.” 88 Nestorius was opposing the growing tendency to elevate the status of Mary. Even though he had the most influential church position and spoke for the tradition of the church, he did not ultimately carry the day. The views of Nestorius were finally overturned, possibly in part because of his lack of political skills. Nestorius was outflanked at the Council of Ephesus, refusing to participate in meetings unless also accompanied by his loyal bishops. Theology can, at times, have a political side. The story of the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD was one of those times. Stephen Ulrich wrote the following account of that Council.89

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Chapman, John Transcribed by John Looby The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight. 89 The Lynching of Nestorius, A Feature Article by Stephen M. Ulrich, Institute for Holy Land Studies, Internet. 87 88

Nestorius arrived on Easter, April 16, with 16 bishops and an armed escort. He had heard of the reputation of Cyril. He had also faced opposition and physical threats from some monks in Constantinople. Apparently Cyril was stirring up opposition to Nestorius through the onus of Eusebius, a lawyer of the Basilica of Constantinople. (Gregory 90) Nestorius arrived to find some lesser bishops already there. Cyril arrived in the city shortly afterward accompanied by about fifty-five bishops and a considerable number of monks. By the June 7 deadline 198 bishops had arrived but they were still expecting the oriental delegation which comprised John of Antioch and thirty other bishops. This delegation was crucial support for Nestorius’ case. The bishops had already agreed to wait until July 10 for the delegation but on June 21, armed with what he thought was special authority from Pope Celestine, Cyril proposed to open the council under the pretense of preventing more sickness and death among the bishops. Sixty-eight bishops, along with the chief guard of Nestorius from the Emperor Theodosius, presented letters protesting the decision and demanded that Cyril wait. Cyril ignored them. The next day, June 22, Cyril opened the council presiding over 60 like-minded bishops (Kelly 32907), and dispatched four bishops to summon Nestorius. He refused to appear before the oriental bishops arrived. In the absence of Nestorius, the supporters of Cyril moved quickly to depose him. They finally pronounced a formal statement against Nestorius. Meanwhile, outside _________________________________________________

The citations of Ulrich are listed in the footnote at the end of this quotation. 88 90

there was a crowd gathered, eagerly anticipating the outcome. It is worthy to note that there were demonstrations of women in Ephesus supporting the position of Cyril. When the decision of Nestorius’ deposition was announced to the gathered crowd, the women formed a procession to show their support. (Gregory footnote 124) It seemed they had a special attachment to Mary. But why did they feel this special kindness and closeness to Mary? The Mother of our Lord through a late tradition seems to be connected to Ephesus by the Apostle John. While on the cross, Jesus gave John custody of his mother. Near the end of John’s life according to tradition she accompanied him to Ephesus. Epiphanius denies this tradition has any historical or biblical merit. These women of Ephesus who expressed a special veneration for Mary were following an older tradition and devotion of another virgin and mother, Artemis (Diana) of the Ephesians. (Emphasis mine) (Acts 19 & Gregory 106, 107) Meanwhile, Nestorius met with a group of 43 rival bishops in a synod and issued a similar verdict against Cyril and the rest of the bishops. (Atiya 250) Finally, on June 26, the oriental delegation of bishops arrived under the leadership of John of Antioch. John petitions Emperor Theodosius and describes the city in a state of civil war and “all manner of confusion.” (Gregory 104) In his letter, he squarely places the responsibility on the shoulders of Cyril and Memnon. Theodosius, after hearing of the condemnation of Nestorius and his 89

teaching (June 29) dispatched a letter to Ephesus decrying the decision of the council and reproving the bishops for not waiting for the oriental bishops. On July 10 the legate of the Pope of Rome arrived and declared the Pope’s support for Cyril. Cyril was quick to point out to the emperor that his continued support of Nestorius was contrary to the decision of the ecumenical council. (Gregory 108) The story continues on in typical Byzantine fashion with enough intrigue and deception to satisfy any modern student of politics. One surprising aspect of this Council was its relatively small size, particularly the sixty who were present when eliminating Nestorius’ influence. This handful of bishops compares quite unfavorably to the Council of Nicea where some 400 bishops were present.91 Even though it was over a 100 years later, the number of bishops present was less than half of the Nicean Council. Like modern elections, the Ephesian Council was notable for how few actually participated. It is common to assign this conflict to spiritual issues. Without a doubt, there were spiritual issues. In those days, most of the discussion centered on the appropriate use of the term theotokos (“she who bore God” or “Mother of God”) for the mother of our Lord. Nestorius disliked the term. He preferred Christotokos (“Mother of Christ” or “Messiah bearer”), Anthropotokos (“Mother of man”), or Theodokos (“Godreceiving”). _________________________________________ 91

Elesha Coffman, editor of Christian History magazine, wrote in a September 1, 2000, general distribution email, “Ecumenical councils trace their lineage back to the First Council of Nicea (325), which is most famous for giving us the Nicene Creed … and being called by Emperor Constantine. Of the 1,800 or so bishops he invited, fewer than 400 came; nonetheless, this was considered a quorum, and the authority of the council has never been seriously questioned.” 90

As a theological term, theotokos first appeared in a letter written in 324 by Bishop Alexander of Alexandria to the Bishop of Thessaloniki. What Ulrich’s text points out is the political side to the conflict. Ultimately, Cyril of Egypt anathematized Nestorius. “What is the benefit gained by Cyril anathematizing Nestorius? The evidence seems to suggest that within Egypt there was an Antiochene community before the Council of Ephesus and Nestorian sympathizers after the Council, who were obstinate against the authority of Cyril. So Cyril sought a means by which he could lessen or eliminate their influence.” 92 Ulrich notes that eventually Nestorius agreed that the title theotokos was acceptable enough when properly explained and qualified. Both Cyril and Nestorius agreed that Christ had two natures. Cyril, for his part, emphasized the differences and called the difference heresy. Nestorius was not as politically clever as his opponent was and, as a result, we have the idea “Mary, Mother of God.”93 I am particularly interested in Ulrich’s comments on the role of the women demonstrators outside the Church. Does it mean anything that these were women and not men? Is this more of the ancient traditions of Ephesus and Artemis that Paul had encountered and reacted against 400 years earlier? Given what we know of the spiritual battles fought in that city, it is entirely possible. _________________________________________ 92

The Lynching of Nestorius, A Feature Article by Stephen M. Ulrich, Institute for Holy Land Studies, Internet. 93 Ulrich cites the following sources in his bibliography: Gregory, Timothy E., Vox Populi: Popular Opinion and Violence in the Religious Controversies of the 5th Century A.D., Ohio State University Press, Columbus, Ohio, 1986; Kelly, J.N.D., Early Christian Doctrines, A & C Black, London 5th Ed. 1977; and Anastos, Milton V., Studies in Early Christianity, Vol. IX “Nestorius was Orthodox,” Ed. Everett Ferguson, 1993. 91

What does it say about the spiritual climate of that city that the women believed the outcome could be influenced by a popular demonstration? Rather than an appeal to the words of Scripture, these women somehow appealed to the passion of the street. What significance does their personalization of the argument hold? Simply this, they attached the personalities of various people to their side of the argument. So when the decision of Nestorius’ deposition was announced, they formed a procession or demonstration to show their support. I am aware that theology had a lot more participation at the popular level in that time. Even that, however, does not fully explain to me why the women of Ephesus were so involved in this issue. Nestorius’ ideas could not just be defeated. They had to get rid of him as well. In Peter Wagner’s short Queen of Heaven booklet on this subject, he stops a fraction of a millimeter short of saying outright that the deification or elevation of Mary was a spiritual substitute for their previous loyalty to Artemis. In fact, I suspect he really believes that but didn’t want to say it outright for fear of being misunderstood by faithful Catholics and the Orthodox. This much we can say with certainty. Ephesus had a long history of feminist activism in favor of the female mother goddess. It was also the city that first named a church after Mary, and it was the city where Mary, over four centuries after her death, became “Mother of God” in Christian theology. Although we cannot say with certainty that any actual relationship existed between these facts, it is at least a striking coincidence.

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The Apostle John and Artemis In The Acts of John, an ancient book of uncertain origin, there is an account of John’s encounter with the people of the temple of Artemis. While we cannot say for certain that all the details are correct since it is not found in Holy Scripture, we do know the story was widely circulated. In the decades following this reported event, the story was widely read and believed.94 In their telling of it, on the anniversary of the temple, when all Artemis’ devotees were dressed in white, John showed up dressed in black. When Artemis’ crowd moved to kill John, he presented an Elijah-like challenge. He said, Behold, I stand here: you all say that you have a goddess, even Artemis: pray then unto her that I alone may die; or else I only, if you are not able to do this, will call upon my own god, and for your 95 unbelief I will cause every one of you to die. The people knew that John had done miracles so they were reluctant to kill him. John continued his challenge while praying for God’s mercy on them. Either they could convert to his God or Artemis could kill him. John prayed a simple but powerful prayer.

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Ramsey, MacMullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire (A.D. 100-400) (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1984), p. 112. 95 The Acts of John, From “The Apocryphal New Testament” Translation and Notes by M. R. James Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924. Section 40. Internet http://www.webcom.com/gnosis/library/actjohn.htm) James says in his introduction, “The best edition of the Greek remains is in Bonnet, Acta Apost. Apocr. 11.1, 1898: the Latin is in Book V of the Historia Apostolica of Abdias (Fabricius, Cod. Apoer. N. T.: there is no modern edition).” 93 94

O God that art God above all that are called gods, that until this day hast been set at naught in the city of the Ephesians; you put into my mind to come into this place, whereof I never thought; you convict every manner of worship by turning men unto thee; at whose name every idol flees and every evil spirit and every unclean power; now also by the flight of the evil spirit here at thy name, even of him96 that deceiveth this great multitude, show thou thy mercy in this place, for they have been made to err.97 When John finished praying, all heaven broke loose. Several images of Artemis split and fell to the ground. Dedicated items were destroyed. The altar itself was suddenly split. At the same time, part of the building collapsed, killing the priest. (I presume this was their chief priest, the Megabyzos.) Upon seeing all this, the crowd began to repent and call on God for mercy. They asked God to save them from their error. Some knelt while others fell on their faces. Some cried while others tore their clothes. Even such signs were insufficient to convince the few who tried to escape. John prayed to the Lord in behalf of them all. Rise up from the floor, ye men of Ephesus, and pray to my God, and recognize the invisible power that cometh to manifestation, and the wonderful works that are wrought before your eyes. Artemis ought to have succored herself: her servant ought to have been helped of her and not to have died. Where is the power of the evil spirit? where are her sacrifices? where her birthdays? where her _________________________________________________

Notice that John calls the Spirit behind Diana a “him.” John is not fooled into thinking that Diana is anything other than “him” who deceives. 97 The Acts of John, 41. 94 96

festivals? where are the garlands? where is all that sorcery and the poisoning (witchcraft) that is sister thereto? 98 There is a great touch of irony in what John said about Artemis, the many-breasted one. When he said, “Artemis ought to have succored herself,” the meaning is essentially “she should have nursed herself.” After the great fall, all the Queen’s horses and all the Queen’s breasts couldn’t put Megabyzos together again. John mocked her priests lying dead and the evil spirit that empowered the splintered image of the Queen of Heaven. He challenged the sacrifices and sorcery and witchcraft that sustained her. He preached the triumph of Jesus Christ over the demons and over the “female” goddess Artemis. John had a long relationship with the Church at Ephesus. He pastored there before his exile. When freed, he returned to the church. From his place of prayer and study in Ephesus, he penned the Gospel of John. All the while he served as overseer of the church until his death at a very old age. Some accounts have him living as long as 100 years. Given such a life as the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” and his illustrious writings and deeds, the Apostle was given the highest place of honor, burial beneath the altar.

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The Acts of John, 43. 95

The Grave of the Apostle John

The ancient record is quite clear that Ephesus was the city of the Apostle John. St. John Chrysostom would be among those who testified, “The blessed John the Evangelist spent the chief part of his time there: he was there when he was banished, and there he died.” Upon his death, John was either buried in an existing 96

church or else a church eventually sprang up on the site of his grave. I am inclined to think they had an existing church. The old Church of St. John was somewhere in the city.99 We know this because when they moved to the new church, his grave was moved from the old church, inside the city, to its new location. When the new church was built, it was located up the hill from the old temple of Artemis. Unlike many medieval churches, it was not built on the very highest point. A small fortress presently occupies the highest point. However, the church was built on a considerable rise overlooking the whole area just beneath the fort. John’s grave became the centerpiece of the new church. If we were numbering the churches of St. John in Ephesus, this would be number two. With considerable ceremony, his remains, now turned to dust, were transported to the new site. Beneath the center of the altar he was reburied.

Church number two lasted for over 200 years. Then Justinian the Great set about the task of building churches all around the empire. He was the builder of the greatest church __________________________________________________

Those who say the early church met exclusively in homes do not have an explanation for the return of Church properties under Constantine. Over the years, in the waves of persecution, church property had been seized by the State. There was even a church building inside of the Forum in Rome that the ancient records describe as being torn down by the persecuting Romans. It was the confiscated church property that was returned. 97 99

ever built to that time, Hagia Sophia. It was built in the capital, Constantinople. John’s grave, the only known apostolic grave at that time, was the site of another of his churches. Church number two was apparently removed or remodeled to make room for Justinian’s church (number three). It is Justinian’s church that has been excavated and somewhat restored. If you visit today, you will see the remains of the church pictured here. B. W. Johnson says that much of the marble from the temple of Artemis was used in building Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.100 More commonly, other writers say that the Artemis marble was used in building the Church of St. John. The reuse of stones and columns was very common in those days, as was transporting such items considerable distances. It is not surprising that Justinian used such beautiful marble work on two of his favorite projects. Since the Church of St. John was only a couple hundred yards up the hill from the ruins of Artemis’ temple, it seems very reasonable that the demise of one was the foundation of the other. By the time the Church of St. John was built, the temple of Artemis had been closed for over a century. I am particularly interested in John’s Church and grave for a couple of reasons. First, it is one apostolic grave that we can locate with certainty. Some will argue that St. Peter’s in Rome is over the site where Peter is buried. This might be correct. Certainly, it is built over a very ancient cemetery, but it is far less certain that they have located Peter’s grave. John’s grave, on the other hand, has ample ancient documentation to support its location. It is quite moving to kneel at John’s grave, touching the marble that covers it. Although his remains have long since turned to dust and mingled with the surrounding earth, it is the place where they laid his body to rest, awaiting the great resurrection. _________________________________________________

Johnson, B.W., The People’s New Testament (1891). Notes on Acts 19, Paul at Ephesus. 98 100

Although we are separated by 2000 years, when I touched the grave, time dissolved and I could imagine him preaching and pastoring at this very spot. The other important reason I’m interested in John’s grave is found in the layout of the church itself. Within less than one hundred feet, the three main elements of an ancient church were found. First there was the cathedral, the main meeting place. The cathedral as a meeting place tended to be long and narrow with two arms, the arms of the cross, on either side of the altar. Then there was the baptistry. The baptistry in St. John’s is a rather narrow space about 40 inches deep in the center. There is a set of narrow steps leading into the pool and another matching set on the opposite side leading out. There are some additional holes in the floor on one side with a purpose unknown to me. They may have had something to do with the process of holy anointing which took place immediately after baptism. In the Orthodox style, the person was baptized then anointed with oil just as Jesus was first baptized, then anointed with the Holy Spirit. For the Orthodox, the Spirit is received by means of the imposition of hands and the holy anointing oil. In turn, the third necessary element of the ancient church was the martyrium or place of burial. In the Church of St. John, the burial places were surrounding the place of baptism. This was not an accident or the whim of some architect. Churches in those days had a very precise design including the location of art based on its subject matter. 99

Church architectural design reflected a spiritual reality. The Christian life has a natural progression. First you are baptized. Then you receive holy communion and enter into worship. In the end, you are buried. For the ancients, all these key experiences took place inside the Church within just a few feet of each other. There was a connectedness to it all. This connectedness is what I have tried to recreate at Cedar Park where I serve as Pastor. Keeping in mind modern sensibilities, I have tried naturally to connect living with dying and worship with it all. At Cedar Park we have added one additional feature. We include marriage as part of it. Inside the Chapel of the Resurrection we have the place for worship and marriage. Outside is the place of burial. A short distance away the fabric covered sanctuary creates the “Cathedral of Light” with the baptistery just off to the side of the platform. Just as in the Church of St. John, Cedar Park brings these elements back together again, returning to our ancient forms.

Chapel of the Resurrection 100

In designing the Chapel of the Resurrection on Cedar Park’s campus, we wanted an historic design. The Roman-style fluted columns with Corinthian capitals speak of the antiquity of our faith. The acanthus leaf, the major thematic element of a Corinthian capital, is the ancient symbol of eternal life. The interior picture frames, sculpted by Dan Rice, feature the acanthus leaf as its main thematic element. The same is true for the Corinthian capitals. On the front, there is a replica of a fourthcentury Byzantine mosaic from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The mosaic is copied from the floor of that ancient church built over the remains of a first century Christian cemetery. In these and other ways, we have wanted to show the connection between ourselves and the generations that have gone before us. Just as the early Christians cared about the burial of the Apostle John, we care about the burial of Christians today.

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Christian Political Activism in Ephesus I have come to believe that whatever else Paul was, he was also a political activist. Before he became a Christian, he was quite active in persecuting Christians in a quasi-political fashion. In Acts 8 he was persecuting the church in Jerusalem and participated in the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen. Acts 9:1-2 describes the expansion of that activity. Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. His expanded persecutions immediately preceded his Damascus-road experience. This kind of activity shows a certain turn of mind. He had the brain of a political activist. When Paul got involved in things, he went right to those in leadership because he himself was a leader. In most of the cities where he worked, he had some relationship with the political powers. Often they were hostile, but sometimes they were friendly. Paul’s political activism may have paid off when politicians saved his life in Ephesus. Luke tells us in Acts that political leaders who were friends of Paul, encouraged him not to go into the theater to confront those shouting their support of “Diana of the Ephesians.” Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the 102

officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.101 Who knows the outcome of such a confrontation had Paul ignored the advice of the political types and persisted with his mission. Clearly the leaders of the province were alarmed at the prospect that the riot might spin further out of control. They were worried about the potential it had for adversely affecting their standing in the Roman Empire. They didn’t want Paul to keep pressing his point because they were not sure they could control the outcome. As a college student during the Vietnam era, I came to understand the politics of demonstrations. The demonstration part is interesting, but I want to highlight that these political leaders were “friends of Paul.” How did politicians become friends of the Apostle? It is not that they merely knew about Paul and Paul knew about them. Nor is there any indication that these men were students of Paul’s or members of the church in Ephesus. We have to accept the text for what it says. These men were friends. You get to be friends by meeting together and doing things together. We have to surmise a little, but it seems reasonable to assume they must have talked about the political work these men did. Maybe Paul had made suggestions related to their work. To me that seems likely since they are now reciprocating by making suggestions to him on what he should do. Paul helps them. They help Paul. When I think about this, I wonder how many Pastors would have a member of the city council come to them unsolicited and suggest an alternative plan of action strictly for the benefit of the Pastor or the church. Those kinds of actions happen when political leadership believes it has an interest in preserving friends or friendly interests. _________________________________________ 101

Acts 19:30-31. 103

All through the missionary journeys of Paul, he interacted with political types. At Paphos, the proconsul sent for Paul and subsequently became a Christian. Paul capably handled the situation and seemed to be well at ease among the leaders. At Philippi, Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and jailed illegally. This was done by the “magistrates” who were the praetors or governors of the city, tois strategois, the officers of the army as the term is translated.102 It is possible they were military types, but the word also indicates judges or chief rulers. Roman law, both lex Procia and lex Sempronia, prohibited liberum corpus Romani civis, virgis aut aliis verberibus caedi (the free body of a Roman citizen to be beaten with rods or otherwise). There were instances where Roman cities lost their charters because of improper dealings with Roman citizens. This is why the magistrates acted so quickly when they learned Paul and Silas were citizens. The main point of the story is that God delivered Paul and Silas, and the jailer was converted. However, it is interesting to see how Paul used the miscarriage of justice that he had suffered. Here we see Paul using his newly acquired political clout for ministry purposes. Paul made the magistrates come to his prison cell and let him go. “They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.” But Paul didn’t leave immediately. Using their virtual immunity, they “went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.”

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Acts 16:16-24. 104

When Paul was an anti-Christian persecutor he used the system. Now the tables were turned. The hunter became the hunted. The system was after him, and he was the persecuted. He did not avoid entanglements with political types. He interacted with them. When they were out of line, he held them accountable. He used the law when he thought it would benefit the work of the kingdom. As he did at Philippi, he even engaged in what we might call hardball politics coercing the other side to do what they otherwise would not have done. Certainly Paul did not ignore what was happening in the political world. I don’t think Paul would be impressed with Pastors today who don’t want to be involved in anything political. If Paul wanted to avoid anything political, he would have headed out of Philippi at first light. He didn’t. He stayed in Philippi until he was done because he had the political upper hand, at least for that brief moment. When Paul arrived in Athens, it didn’t take long until he was standing in the place of power. The Areopagus was composed of city fathers who in an earlier time had the ultimate authority in political as well as religious matters. In Paul’s time, the Areopagus dealt more with educational and religious issues but still had great influence. Paul was unwilling to remain inside the synagogue alone. He wanted to be where the action was. That took him into the political arena. When given the opportunity, he jumped in. After leaving Athens, Paul went to Corinth and was very quickly in the thick of things again. By this time Paul may have been getting a little nervous with all his troubles. God himself had to calm him down with some assurance based upon the political situation. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 105

So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.103 In this case God himself refers to the power that comes from having the support of many people. God did not say that he would take care of Paul in a supernatural way as he did for Daniel in the lion’s den. The Lord’s statement reflects political reality. He said Paul would be safe because the Lord had many people in this city. In public life the number of people you have on your side has a lot to do with how you are treated. Since our church has been known to be large, the friendliness of the press coverage has markedly improved. In the passage that followed the vision, Luke seems to be giving an illustration of how the political aspect worked out practically. Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law–settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever. Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time.104

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Acts 18:9-11. Acts 18:14-18. 106 104

My conclusion is that even though Paul was a spiritual man, as well as a political animal, he had to be assured by the Lord in political terms because Paul would understand that completely. I think there is evidence that the Church in Ephesus enjoyed considerable political favor over a long period of time. When the late first century persecutions came down during the pastorate of John in Ephesus, the political leadership may not have wanted to be hard on John. John was banished to Patmos for a period of time. That would appear to be persecution. However, he was not killed. Patmos was not a Roman penal island at the time. The actions of the political leaders in Ephesus were more private than Roman. That makes me think they banished John to Patmos as a way of protecting him from worse damage. It was a boot out of town instead of a sword to the heart. They may have wanted to be seen as following the direction of the Emperor but without going all the way. I am thinking of John’s banishment more as protective custody rather than punishment. My point is, John also had friends in the government of Ephesus who wanted to act kindly in his behalf. You don’t develop these kinds of relationships without being active in some way. I suspect that John must have continued some level of political activism in the style of Paul. When I see how connected Paul and John were to things political, I can only come to the conclusion that they were politically involved. In Romans 13 it is clear that Paul recognized the legitimate authority of the government even when he was a victim of it. Government was an instrument of God. As such it was an appropriate place for his involvement. Paul was a political activist.

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HOW THE CONFLICTS AND ISSUES OF EPHESUS IMPACTED THE NEW TESTMENT

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Ephesus in Acts The riot in Ephesus recorded in Acts 19 focuses our attention upon the city in a compelling way. The drama and power of the scene stirs the imagination. There is an interesting phrase in Beza’s text of the New Testament. If his phrase is authentic, then it provides a revealing insight into the actual events of that day. His unorthodox text might be tied closely to a knowledge of the city. In Acts 19:28, after being agitated by Demetrius’ speech, the crowd poured “into the street.”105 It is easy for me to think of it that way. The crowd is fired up, spilling into the street and flowing to the great theater like wastewater to the lowest drain. The topography of Ephesus drains down to the theater. Arriving at the great theatre, they shout for hours their support of Diana and their opposition to Paul and his message. It was mob psychology at its worst. The unruly crowd is only quieted by the threat of Roman justice. It took all the political skills of the grammateus, not a “town clerk,” but the leading official of the city government, to restrain their evil intent.106 The comments of the city official might also help fix the date of this event. He makes reference to the remedy for anything illegal. “There are proconsuls,” he said. The plural is used. It might refer to the year 54 AD when Nero’s horrible mother had poisoned the ruling proconsul, a great-grandson of Augustus, to eliminate any rival to her son’s rise to power. Two co-conspirators with her temporarily filled the proconsul position, hence the reference in the plural.

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Blaiklock, E.M. Cities of the New Testament. 1965 (Fleming Revell Company) page 62. 106 Blaiklock, Ibid, page 65. 110 105

The riot occasioned another surprising development. “Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.”107 Who were these people and why would they be coming to Paul’s aid? Blaiklock suggests these “Asiarchs” were members of a corporation, built on an earlier Greek model in the area, that had been set up to organize the Caesar-cult in Ephesus. They were supporters of the Caesar religion, and as such, may have had some sympathy with those who opposed Diana’s religion. This may be true, but it does not speak to Luke’s statement that they were friends of Paul. It seems more likely that they liked Paul, as many leading people of that time apparently did. Even though they did not yet share his faith, they did share his citizenship and sought to give him good advice in this volatile situation.

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Acts 19:31. 111

Ephesus in First Corinthians It is apparent that a connection existed between Corinth and Ephesus. This makes sense for a variety of reasons. First, like Ephesus, Corinth had a temple to Artemis in the city. As a result, many of the moral and social issues of Ephesus would have related directly to the Corinthians. Their common religion left common legacies. These two great cities of the ancient world were both major seaports separated by only eight days at sea. Undoubtedly, many ancient travelers would go from one city to the other without another port of call between.108 We see the connection between the cities reflected in the New Testament. Several key players travel back and forth with some regularity between the two cities. Priscilla and Aquilla apparently started their ministry in Rome. When Claudius exiled all Jews from Rome,109 they went to Corinth. From there they moved to Ephesus and remained there with Paul.110 When Paul wrote First Corinthians, he did so from Ephesus. He concludes the Epistle with this greeting, “The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.”111 Later, when Paul wrote to Timothy, he _________________________________________________

After leaving Corinth, if they stopped in Piraeus, the port for Athens, they would have found another temple to Artemis. Tertullian mentions those who stop at her temple there and pray to her as if she were god. 109 Acts 18:2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. 110 Acts 18:18-19 “Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. 111 1 Corinthians 16:19. 112 108

again recognized and greeted Priscilla and Aquila who still lived in Ephesus.112 There is a similar connection with Timothy. While Paul was in the area of Ephesus, “he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.”113 The “wild beasts” that Paul fought in Ephesus remain something of a mystery to me. In 1 Corinthians 15:32-33 he wrote, If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character. It might be that the wild beasts are a reference to the religion of Diana. In her earliest appearances she is the guardian of wildlife.114 Her religion had lots to do with the wild beasts. One of her titles is Admetus, “of the wild things, untamed.” She is shown with the wild beasts surrounding her. She is their provider and they are her protectors. The wild beasts may be a nickname or descriptive expression that summarizes the religion of Diana. We know from Greek and Roman history that demons often appear as animals. Maybe Paul’s “wild beasts” are some kind of reference to the spiritual battles he faced in the city, literally contending with demons in some direct way. This is what

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2 Timothy 4:19. Acts 19:22. 114 F.F. Bruce, Jesus and Paul; Places They Knew. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984) p. 106. 113 113

Peter Wagner thinks.115 On the other hand this expression might reference the human element of the riot in the great theater. There the crowd acted like a pack of wild wolves.116 There is an intriguing statement in 1 Corinthians 16:89. “But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.” In my book, Modern Pentecostal Controversies, a section of which is included as a last chapter, I make the case that Ephesus was developing a special Pentecostal tradition. Rather than repeating that analysis here, I will just point out that some of the themes and scripture references in Ephesians make sense when set in the context of a first century celebration of the Pentecost events. For Paul, there was effective ministry going on, which was always his first priority. In addition, as one who still observed the biblical feast days at this late date, he wanted to celebrate it in a place that still appreciated the Old Testament roots of Pentecost.

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Wagner, Peter C., Confronting the Powers, (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1996) p. 209-210. He cites F.F. Bruce for support as one who thinks this might be possible. 116 Blaiklock. Cities of the New Testament, page 65. 114 115

Ephesus in Ephesians Most preachers will localize some comments to the particular situation of their church. At the same time, a great part of any sermon is going to be universally applicable. The same is true for Paul’s writings. Most of it was of universal application. However, some was meant to apply particularly to the local situation. At least we could say that Paul would have written it with the unique aspects of Ephesus in mind. This is especially true of his writings relating to Ephesus. Paul had preached there for some time. He was very familiar with the situation and the people. It is necessary to read Ephesians through the eyes of the original readers. In this section I am not trying to write a commentary on Ephesians. Rather, I want to highlight terms and viewpoints that I believe Paul intentionally used because he was writing to a particular group of people. For example, consider how Paul uses the local fixation with wealth and financial blessing as a springboard for his teaching. Paul began his Epistle praising God for the blessings that God bestows in the heavenly realm. This is neither just an idle statement nor is it how he generally began his other Epistles. Ephesians has several expressions that speak of blessings, riches, and the lavishness of God’s treatment. This is a key theme in Ephesians and one which I think is uniquely designed to speak to the people of Ephesus. In verse 3, Jesus “blessed us in the heavenly realms.” Also in verse 3, we have “every spiritual blessing in Christ.” In verse 6, Jesus “freely” supplies his grace. Our forgiveness is based upon the “riches of God’s grace.” This grace He “lavished”117 on His church. Every definition of this word speaks of abundance and excessive supply. Paul used these words __________________________________________________

perisseuo (per-is-syoo’-o); to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; excel. This word speaks of abundance, being more abundant, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above). 117

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because they are true and because they communicated to that particular audience. We thank God for the bountiful way in which He treats us. What is especially worth noting is that Paul rarely used this kind of language in his other Epistles. To the Corinthians, who also had the cult of Diana, he spoke of being “enriched”118 in wisdom. To Corinth he also said, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”119 Even though there are limited references elsewhere, in Ephesians he used so many prosperity words he almost sounds like Kenneth Copeland. The question is why does Paul use this kind of language mainly here, and not as much in his other Epistles? Like a good preacher, Paul is relating to his audience. Ephesus was a rich city that enjoyed a worldwide reputation for wealth. People went there from all over the world to have a good time enjoying prosperity. The buildings of the city had so much marble the people got tired of it and started painting over it just to vary the look. Aristides, a rhetorician of the second half of the second century, gives us a flavor of the blessings and pleasures to be enjoyed in Ephesus: I am of the opinion that all men…know Ephesus well because of its internationality, its traffic, and the stay that one may enjoy there. They all go there as if to their own homeland and no one can deny the facts, that is that Ephesus is the general bank of Asia and the place one hurries to, to find credit.120

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ploutizo (ploo-tid’-zo); to make wealthy or rich. 2 Cor 8:9 Paul also said in 2 Cor 9:11 “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 120 Quoted in Onen, Ibid, page 9. 116 118

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We like to think we invented all these great economic and business ideas in the modern era. In actual fact, people have been charging each other way too much interest for a long time. The empire had its worldwide banks with bills of exchange that were good in any world market. Interest rates for reliable customers in Rome ran about 8% in New Testament times but were much higher in many other cities.121 The wealth of the city was only part of the story. The religion of Diana was a prosperity gospel. In addition, the temple itself was used as a kind of banking function. People believed that Diana held the key to blessings and prosperity of every kind. Ephesus was a prosperous city located at the heart of a prosperity religion. People traveled to Ephesus for blessings like Amway salesmen flock to Zig Zigler. It was just part of the package of the times. Paul did not ignore this background of the Church in Ephesus. Instead, he used their language and life experience to tell them who Jesus is and what he does. These Ephesians understood lavishness. They understood blessing. They understood that things could be freely given. However, Jesus is not Diana. His blessings are not necessarily of a material type. We have been blessed in “heavenly realms” and with “spiritual blessings.” Ephesus may have its wealth and glory, but it does not compare to the wealth and blessings we have in Christ. The Church is not some secondclass operation compared to Diana of the Ephesians. We have the “riches of his glorious inheritance.”122 “Because of his great love __________________________________________________

Kelso, James A. An Archaeologist follows the Apostle Paul (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1970) pages 18-19. 122 Ephesians 1:18. 117 121

for us,” God “is rich in mercy.”123 These riches are realized in the heavenly realms so that in the ages to come people will see “the incomparable riches of his grace.” It is the same language they were used to, but with a spiritual application. When we consider Timothy, we will see a similar kind of approach using the language of material wealth to address spiritual issues. The references to spiritual blessings and riches are absolutely true in every way. However, they had special meaning and application to the materialistically inclined Ephesians. Beyond riches, there is a second unique reference that deals with how these Ephesians came to be Christians and then to receive the Holy Spirit. Paul referred them back to his original encounter with them. While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.124

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Ephesians 2:4. Acts 19:1-7. 118 123

124

Here we see a very clear two-step process. First they were included in Christ. Then, having come into that relationship, they were marked with a seal. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession— to the praise of his glory.125 We remember that they were first disciples, having been taught about Jesus accurately. When Paul arrived, he built on their foundation of belief. Through him they received the seal of the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues and prophesied. The Ephesian Pentecost must have had a special place in the Church since Paul makes reference to it here. He wants them to recall the experience. We know that Paul wanted to be in Ephesus for Pentecost. In the letter itself, there are numerous references to celebrating Pentecost. The very structure of the book itself suggests a connection to the annual celebration of the Feast of Pentecost. I deal with this in more detail in the concluding chapter, “Pentecost at Ephesus.” Another area where the culture of Ephesus should be taken into consideration is in Paul’s discussion of the temple. Probably the best known fact about Ephesus was its temple to Diana. At the time it was the largest building that had ever been built. There was nothing comparable in the entire world. Even by today’s standards it was big. If Ephesus would have had a professional football team, they could have played inside the temple and still had room for spectators. They didn’t have a retractable roof, but the interior of __________________________________________________ 125

Ephesians 1:13-14. 119

the building was open to the sky. It was huge and beautiful, built completely of marble. Their temple was among the seven wonders of the ancient world. They regarded it as magnificent, just as we do to this day. Paul did not allow Diana’s temple to stand alone or unchallenged in its physical glory. There was also a magnificent Jewish temple in Jerusalem126 but Christians were not really welcome there either. However, God has a temple that is even better then either of those. God’s temple covers more than the area of a football field. His temple is grander than that of Judaism’s. It covers the world through the Gospel. Furthermore, the believers are not strangers looking in. They are the temple, having been “brought near through the blood of Christ.” Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.127 These Ephesians did not need to feel they had been deprived of anything. They no longer attended events in the temple of Diana, but nothing was truly lost. They still had a temple! They were part of the glorious temple along with all the great ones of God. They didn’t need to feel inferior or think of themselves as people without a temple. “Hence, perhaps, have arisen his _________________________________________________

Paul writes this around 64 AD. The Jerusalem temple will survive only another six years. 127 Ephesians 2:19-22. 120 126

images in this Epistle drawn from a beautiful temple: the Church being in true inner beauty that which the temple of the idol tried to realize in outward show.”128 What they had was even greater than a leading wonder of the world. The Christian temple was supernatural, beyond this world and full of wonder. The fourth local area that Paul used is the cultural identity of the Ephesians. How they thought about themselves needed to change. Chapter three reveals the mystery of Gentiles being made heirs with Israel and members of the same body. Paul explained that he was to make plain the administration of the details of this mystery. By creating the church, the body of Christ, a lesson would be taught to all those heavenly rulers and authorities that inhabit the universe. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.129 This idea flips Diana on her head. She is no longer “Apaturos, guardian of secrets.” Instead of the dispenser of blessings and controller of fate, she is reduced to a simple student. She no longer decides who gets to have children, she must learn of God’s eternal plan as a child. She does not control the church, the church teaches her God’s salvation. She is not in charge, she is charged to listen and learn. An earthly church will teach rulers in the heavenly realms the wisdom of God. One of the big struggles that Paul had with the Ephesian people was to change their sense of who they were. Ephesus people were not fundamentally different from Seattle people. _________________________________________ 128 129

Jamison, Fausett, Brown. The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians by Fausett. Ephesians 3:10-11. 121

We think of ourselves in Seattle as hi-tech, independent, coffee drinkers. We love to reflect on that definite cultural sense of who we are. Industry, climate, or significant historical events can shape self-identity. It might come from some other combination of important events. The cultural self-identity of the Ephesians was built mainly upon the religion of Diana and its relationship to the major events in their history. For example, Alexander the Great and his Greek culture shaped the lands surrounding Israel. He had come to Ephesus as well. Two unique factors impacted Alexander and Diana of the Ephesians. Those factors had to do with the destruction and rebuilding of the temple. A nutty guy named Herostratus decided the best way to go down in history was to set fire to the temple of Diana. His plan worked on both accounts. He burned down the temple, and his name is right there for you to look at. Put his name next to Lee Harvey Oswald, Booth, Hinkley, Nero and others who are known for their crazy deeds. That fire was said to have taken place on the night that Alexander the Great was born. Alexander, having defeated the Persians, arrived at Ephesus in 334 BC. He re-established democracy in the city in hope of winning their loyalty. He offered to rebuild the temple. They declined under the pretext “it does not befit a god to construct a dwelling for a goddess.” His second offer was to make a great sacrifice to Diana and to put on a military parade in her honor.130 The impact of this story in Ephesian history was for them to believe that their goddess and her temple were even more important than the greatest conqueror of that time. Alexander may have come to Ephesus a conqueror, but Diana emerged the victor. Powerful rulers will come and go, but Diana is forever in Ephesian culture. _________________________________________________

Onen, Ibid, p. 6-7. 122 130

In a thousand personal and corporate ways, Diana was seen as inextricably tied to their self-identity. In the same way, their city name derived from Diana and the Amazons. One of their civic legends was that the city was named after Ephesia, Queen of the Amazons. It was under her rule that the first statue of Diana supposedly came down from heaven. To say the name Ephesus was to speak of their dominant religion and the tradition of the Amazons. They were named after Ephesia as I am named after my grandfathers Joseph and Benjamin. I grew up respecting my family name and wanting to carry it on with honor. This is the nature of cultural or personal identity. Consider the problem that Ephesian self-identity raised for Paul. He wanted them to be Christians and to see themselves as Christians. After centuries of worshiping the gods and goddesses, and particularly Diana, it was hard to think of themselves in any other light. They grew up celebrating birthdays and important events in her temple. They were named after a notable founder of the religion. How could they ever shift from all that glory and history into something else? Paul’s answer was to give them a new identity and the origins of a new name. Even though Paul was suffering, he was not defeated. He was linked to the creator of the universe and bore his name. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,131 The Christians might live in a city named after Ephesia, Queen of the Amazons, but they were children of the Heavenly Father. His family was not limited to a city on the coast of __________________________________________________ 131

Ephesians 3:14-16. 123

Anatolia. All the saints in heaven above and in the whole earth beneath derive their name from the Father. We are children of Father God, not mother Diana. We are named after our Father, not some wannabe woman, Ephesia. Paul wanted them to think of themselves in the new light. In 64 AD, the church could not compete with Diana in buildings and external trappings. But in heavenly resources and inner strength, Diana could not compete. So Paul linked them in prayer to something better. Out of the glorious riches (of his heavenly temple) he will strengthen you (in your inner being). The fifth area where I see a local emphasis is in Paul’s statements about unity. Within this area there are at least four subthemes. It is true that he covered the subject of unity in Romans 12 and in 1 Corinthians 12. Conflict is a fairly common human situation to which the Church is not immune. Unity is pretty much always a necessary preaching theme. On the other hand, unity may well have been exacerbated in Ephesus. To the Ephesians he wrote: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.132 There are several references in Ephesians 4 that suggests this lack of unity might be related to how people talked to one another or to gender relations. We suspect there were conflicts _________________________________________________

Ephesians 4:1-6. 124 132

relating to gender roles. They were told not to live any longer as the “Gentiles do.” They had given themselves over to sensuality and lived in a continual lust for more. They were to put off their old way and begin to speak to each other truthfully without anger. These kinds of references speak of anger between the genders. This would certainly have been an issue in the city, and so we presume it would have also been so in the Church. The answer that Paul proposes follows the same line of reasoning that he used in his Epistles to the churches in Rome and Corinth. That is, each party needed to recall that all gifts come from the Holy Spirit. No one is better than anyone else. Whatever our role in the Church, it was the Holy Spirit who was at work. No man or woman should think of themselves as better. The goal was unity and maturity. Other passages suggest certain sub-themes to the gender conflict. Two passages in close proximity to each other contrast the old sexual lifestyle with what God is calling them to. The old Gentile way was not how they came to Christ. Sexual intercourse as a way of worshipping the goddess promoted sin masked as religion. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.133 The old ways of sensuality must go away. Paul lays down a very high standard in sharp contrast to the old ways. His instructions cover the two great temptations of Ephesus, sex and money. __________________________________________________ 133

Ephesians 4:19-20. 125

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater— has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.134 We think of the three temptations as money, sex, and power. All these would have been on prominent display in Ephesus. Such temptations bring out the worst in people. Inevitably the competition will spill over into lying, cheating, anger, stealing, and nasty talk. I suppose we could say that anywhere there are people these sins will be present. The only difference with Ephesus was the degree. These things overwhelmed all other values. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for _________________________________________________

Ephesians 5:3-7. 126 134

the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.135 The theme of wifely submission appears twice in the writings of Paul. He wrote it to the people at Ephesus and Colossi. The two cities were less than a hundred miles apart and undoubtedly shared many common values. To the Colossians it is a single sentence without commentary. “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”136 To the Ephesians he wrote extensively on the subject.137

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Ephesians 4:26-32. Colossians 3:18. 137 Peter also writes on this subject in 1 Peter 3:1-8. Peter’s passage is in the general context of submission to governmental authority by all citizens, and slaves to their masters. When Peter addresses wives, they are to submit in the same way that everyone submits to the government. He uses the expression “in the same way” for both women to their husbands and men to their wives. In each case, they are to submit to the others in their lives. Peter wrote, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” 127 135 136

We are pointing out the unique context of Ephesus. There must have been something in Ephesus that caused Paul to write extensively to them on this subject, while to people less than a hundred miles away he writes only one sentence. In his other Epistles he does not even mention the topic. Throughout the entire region the Amazons were admired, but Ephesus was the epicenter. Much of the Roman world admired the Amazons, but the Ephesians adored them. We have spoken earlier of the sexual and cultural legacy left to Ephesus by this admiration. The Amazonian double-headed axe cut gender relations to the quick. As Paul pastored Ephesus, it soon became clear that gender roles needed to be adjusted. What he was looking for is mutual love and respect. What begins in verse 22 of Ephesians chapter 5 as submission, ends in verse 32 with respect. I suspect in Paul’s mind they are the same things. He was recapping the specific obligations. Wives must show respect, a serious problem in Ephesus. Husbands must love their wives. It is clear that this is a mutual obligation. He says as much in verse 21. “Submit to one another.” Husbandly love and wifely respect are the two aspects of mutual submission. Each is to follow the example of Jesus. Those who demand their partner perform as required in this passage are almost certainly violating their responsibilities in the same passage. The gender problem of Ephesus is a mirror of modern feminism and the “angry white male” reaction. Two thousand years have passed, and we have moved an inch. Actually we have moved a mile and come all the way back to the pagan legacy of the past. If we are to build a decent Christian society, there has to be a mutual submission, “out of reverence for Christ.” Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is 128

the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.138 The sixth area is too obvious to need much comment, but that will not hinder me here. Diana was a demonic manifestation, not just an image carved in wood or stone. The early church understood, just as their pagan neighbors did, that these images represented spiritual realities. We might call it mythology but they called it reality. Living in the backwash of the so-called “Enlightenment” when religious realities gave way to “scientific” ideas, demonic issues are not part of our usual conversation. To these Diana-drenched Christians, however, the spiritual dimension was very real. They saw evidences of it every day. Paul simply urged them to stand strong against these demonic forces just as a soldier stands strong in the day of battle. _________________________________________ 138

Ephesians 5:21-33. 129

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.139 The spirit realm is as real as the material. For the Ephesians who faced the demonic every day, spiritual conflict was inevitable. They couldn’t go to the store without passing images of Diana. Further, many people were under her spiritual influence. Paul did not want them to see these people as enemies. They were neighbors. The battle was not against even the staunchest defenders of Diana. The battle was with the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The Queen of Heaven was a spiritual force, not a statue in a temple. Even her priests and priestesses were not enemies. They were people blinded into believing they were serving a female goddess rather than the demonic force that actually lay behind the whole thing.

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Ephesians 6:12. 130 139

Ephesus in Revelation There is one section in Revelation that obviously relates to Ephesus since it is directed there by name. We have it in Revelation 2:1-7. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. These words came from Jesus. I love the two ways in which Jesus described himself. He holds the seven stars in his hand. According to the last verse of chapter 1 the seven stars are the “angels” or messengers of the churches.140 I think he is _________________________________________ 140

Rev 1:20 “The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” 131

referring to the Pastors of those churches. Jesus was concerned about what was happening in the Church at Ephesus. There is a certain irony here. John was the most recent Pastor at Ephesus, leaving only because of the forced exile. There had been other great ones before him. Priscilla and Aquilla, Apollos, the Apostle Paul, and Timothy were among some of the other big names associated with this church as Pastors. They had some of the finest leaders Christianity has ever known. Even so, they had a particular issue to deal with. I sometimes wonder how a church is characterized. If it is by our worst members, then we are a bunch of backslidden, drunken, unfaithful louses. If you measure us by our most devout, then we are a phenomenally devoted group of people, the best there are anywhere. We are not left to wonder about what God thought of Ephesus. He told us directly. First, Jesus acknowledged their good work. He said, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.” Second, Jesus appreciated their suffering. We remember that the scribe is none other than John himself who is in exile. In verse 3 he notes their suffering without getting weary. They had been through persecution and were experiencing one right at the time this was written. In spite of that, they had stuck with it through thick and thin. Third, Jesus appreciated their steady adherence to truth. There had been false apostles who had come through town. They had a big exciting story but didn’t have the truth to back it up. In verse 2 Jesus said, “I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.” Jesus appreciated their stand against the unrighteousness of the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans wanted to mix with the crowd that went to Diana’s temple and thought the Christians were being too old-fashioned with their sexual values. The Nicolaitans were 132

following Nicholas, one of the seven Deacons chosen by the apostles in Acts 6. Hippolytus said, But Nicolaus has been a cause of the widespread combination of these wicked men. He, as one of the seven (that were chosen) for the diaconate, was appointed by the Apostles. (But Nicolaus) departed from correct doctrine, and was in the habit of inculcating indifferency of both life and food. And when the disciples (of Nicolaus) continued to offer insult to the Holy Spirit, John reproved them in the Apocalypse as fornicators and eaters of things offered unto idols.141 The Ephesian Church did not go along with the modern trend to accept all sorts of sexual sin into the church. God said he appreciated their stand on that. What he did have against them was that they had forsaken their first love. The language is of the romance between a man and a woman. Do you remember what that was like in the beginning? I remember when Linda and I got engaged. She was working at the Springs of Living Water in Chico, California. I was working in a paper bag factory in Beaverton, Oregon. I arranged my work schedule to get down there to see her. By working nights, I got off work at 7 AM on Friday mornings. If I worked swing shift the next week, I didn’t have to be back until 3 PM on Monday. It gave me 16 extra hours on that weekend. After working all night, I got _________________________________________________

Hippolytus, “The Refutation of All Heresies, Book VII”, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Alexander Roberts, D.D., and James Donaldson, LL.D., eds., (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson), Vol. 5, pg. 115. The views of Hippolytus on this subject are very important. He lived between 170 and 236 AD. Not only is he early, but he is the disciple of Irenaeus who was the disciple of Polycarp, who was the disciple of the Apostle John himself. It would be hard to get a more authoritative statement about the Nicolaitans. 133 141

in my little Fiat convertible at 7 AM Friday morning and drove straight through to Chico. I stayed at the Christian resort where she worked until about midnight Sunday night. I got back in my car and drove straight through to be at work by Monday afternoon. I was in love. Still am! God equates our relationship with him to that very thing. In Jeremiah 2:1-2 it says, “The word of the LORD came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “’I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown.” Forsaking your first love is not necessarily about a feeling. It is not that squishy feeling of the first date or of the first moments of your relationship. Companionship, intimacy, and closeness are the elements of maturing love. There is a desire for God, to know him and to be with him, that fills your heart and thoughts. Ask yourself some questions: Is pleasing God a lot less important to you now than it used to be? Do you pray a lot less? Are you neglecting the study of the Scripture? Do you miss church a lot more than you used to? Were you once on fire for God, but now things have grown cold? In the case of the Ephesian Christians, they were guilty. The prescription was simple: remember, repent, and repeat. The requirements are expressed in verse 5: Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first (Repeat). There is both a threat and a promise based on how the church in Ephesus responds. If they do not repent, they will be lost. That is the meaning of verse 5. “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” On the other hand, there is a promise in verse 7. “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” The tree of life refers us back to the Garden of Eden and forward into heaven itself. There was both 134

a paradise on the earth and a paradise in heaven. Many of the coins of ancient Ephesus show a date palm, sacred to Artemis, and symbol of her life and activity. The blessings of Artemis might provide dates to eat which satisfy for a time. The Lord offers something better. Through continued obedience to God, he offers the ability to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

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Pentecost at Ephesus142 The Epistle to the Ephesians has several references that indicate that Paul may have had Pentecost at least partially in mind when he wrote it. At one point Paul even expresses a desire to be in Ephesus for Pentecost when he wrote, “But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost.”143 I doubt if his reference to Pentecost is comparable to our referring to an event as being around Thanksgiving. It was more than a reference in time. Pentecost was a Jewish feast. If it was only a time reference, would the Gentile Corinthians have understood the Jewish reference? We have to remember that when 1 Corinthians was written the church in Corinth was four or five years old at the most, and that the majority of its members had come out of paganism and would have known nothing of the Jewish calendar before their conversion. Would the date have meant anything to them unless it had some association with the Christian life?144 Paul’s attitude may have been related to the content of the Feast of Pentecost itself. By Paul’s time it had already changed from its ancient agricultural roots to a celebration of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. _________________________________________ 142

A chapter from my book Modern Pentecostal Controversies. 1 Corinthians 16:8. 144 J. Kirby. Ephesians: Baptism and Pentecost, An inquiry into the Structure and Purpose of the Epistle to the Ephesians. (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1968), p. 80. 136 143

In the “Tanach” the Feast of Weeks is also called the Feast of the Harvest, the Feast of the First Fruits, and the Feast of Ingathering (cf Exodus 23:16). It was thus an agricultural feast, marking the end of the wheat harvest. However, in late Tanach times this festival also came to be related to a historical event, the giving of the Torah and the covenant at Sinai. The book of 2 Chronicles tells us that in the fifteenth year of King Asa (i.e. approx. 896 BC) the people renewed the covenant with God in the third month—the month when the covenant was made at Sinai and the Feast of Weeks was celebrated (2 Chr. 15:10). By the mid-second century BC observance of the Feast of Weeks included also celebration of the Sinai covenant and the giving of the Torah.145 This early connection with the giving of the Law is also the opinion of J. Kirby, Professor of New Testament at McGill University. As a summary of his lengthy defense of this idea, he says, …while there is little direct evidence in rabbinic Judaism in the first century to connect Pentecost with the giving of the law, the evidence is clear in the ‘apocryphal’ tradition and in the Qumran literature.146

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Ole Kvarme. The Acts of the Apostles. (Caspari Center for Biblical and Jewish Studies, PO Box 71099, Jerusalem, 91710, Israel, 1994). p. 9. 146 J. Kirby. p.69. 137

There are numerous indications in Paul’s Epistle that he is slanting his comments to fit into this understanding. The passage that we associate with the so called “ministry gifts” is one example. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: ‘When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts147 to men.’148 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.149 In considering this passage, we first must ask, why does Paul link the ascension of Jesus with giving of the gifts of Grace? Paul’s first thought is about the gifts of the Spirit. He refers to the gifts as “grace” which has been given to each one. Once his mind turns to the gifts of the Spirit, he turns immediately to the ascension. The question is why does he do that? There are three reasons why Paul links the two. _________________________________________ 147

Greek: doma from the base of 1325; a present. (Strong’s) Ps 68:18 “When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious-- that you, O LORD God, might dwell there.” 149 Ephesians 4:7-13. 138 148

First, Peter did this from the first day of New Testament Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out. That first sermon of the Gospel era linked the two together: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.150 In Peter’s mind, there was a direct connection between the resurrection, ascension, and the giving of the Holy Spirit. His sermon simply reflects his understanding of the flow of events. On that Pentecost Sunday, the words of Jesus are still fresh in Peter’s mind. Those words form the second reason: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.151 For the disciples, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was associated with the promise of Jesus, a promise he gave them just before he ascended into heaven. Thereafter, to think about the ascension was to think about his promise. In the same way, whenever they received gifts of the Spirit, the new recipients were no doubt told that this was what Jesus had promised just before he ascended to the right hand of the Father. _________________________________________________

Acts 2:32-33. Acts 1:8-9.

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The third reason has to do with the scripture readings for the Feast of Pentecost. There are three scriptures that formed the synagogue readings for Pentecost. They were Exodus 19-20, which is the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai,152 Psalms 68 and Numbers 18. One of the more interesting subjects is how Psalm 68:18 migrated into Ephesians 4:8.153 Of course, we believe in the inspiration of scripture, both Old and New Testament. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Rabbis had given their commentary on this passage as meaning the one who ascended was Moses, and the gifts that God had given to man was the law. One Rabbi had translated the passage, not “received gifts from men” but “gave gifts to men.” Paul, if not his Jewish readers, may have had this in mind as he wrote, and it shaped his understanding of the passage. We might ask, why does this teaching emerge at Ephesus? Was there anything unique about Ephesus that made it a likely candidate? Ephesus had been treated to some of the best Bible teaching available. Paul himself was there a long time.

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Kvarme. The Acts of the Apostles. p. 9. See Richard Taylor, Professor of Old Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary in Bibliotheca Sacra, July-September 1991 in an article titled, “The Use of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8 in Light of Ancient Versions” for a complete study on this topic. He says: “In a similar vein Cambier maintains that the Ephesians pericope adopts a midrashic technique which in this instance exploits the variant textual tradition found in the Targum in order to make an analogous application to Christ of ideas which in the Targum are applied to Moses.” (p. 329). Then he adds: “That Ephesians 4:8 is following a variant text-form of Psalm 68:18 is the view to be preferred. The general technique behind this preference for the variant reading has much in common with a restrained use of Midrash pesher as sometimes practiced in early rabbinic circles.” 140 153

They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.154 Apollos followed the ministry of Paul, Priscilla and Aquila: Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.155 Timothy pastored there: As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer.156 Even the Apostle John pastored the church, and many think he wrote the Gospel of John while there. However, it is not likely that he had pastored here before Paul wrote the Epistle of Ephesians. Given such leadership, the connection between Old and New Testament Pentecost seems unlikely to have been missed by these outstanding preachers and teachers. Connecting the two events was done by the early preachers. This makes perfect sense when you consider God’s promise to Jeremiah.

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Acts 18:19. Acts 18:24. 156 1 Tim 1:3. 154 155

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“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.157 Ole Kvarme makes note of the connection between the Old and New Testament Pentecost. In the prophetic literature of the Tanach the memory of the Sinai covenant is also connected with the hope of a new covenant. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak about an end-of-days act of God when he will give his people a new heart and a new spirit. Then he will forgive the people their sins and by his Spirit write the Torah in their hearts so that they will live according to his will.158 These early preachers made the connection because the evidence was so obvious as to be inescapable. Acts 2 looked and sounded like Exodus 19-20. The comparisons are so striking that only God could have planned it. The cloven tongues of fire reminded them of Sinai where the words of God divided into 70 tongues of fire, representing the tongues of the 70 nations. In Jewish thought, the world is divided into Jews and 70 Gentile nations. According to the tradition, there were literally tongues of fire at Sinai that sat upon the people of Israel like a diadem or crown. It may be that Cyril was aware of this tradition because of the words he used to describe the tongues of fire. He said, “He sat upon them in the form of fiery tongues, _________________________________________________

Jeremiah 31:33. Kvarme, p. 10. 142 157

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that they might crown themselves with new and spiritual diadems by fiery tongues upon their heads.”159 On the day of Pentecost, when the tongues of fire sat upon the 120,160 this came as no particular surprise to those present. Israel had seen it before. By seeing it again, they clearly made the connection that what God had done at Sinai, he was doing again. God had made a covenant with Israel at Sinai. Now he was communicating the new covenant with Israel and those who would believe, the Covenant that Ezekiel and Jeremiah had foreseen. Acts 2 and the sound of the rushing mighty wind reminded them of the growing sound of the trumpet on Sinai. On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.161

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Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture XVII.8, p. 126-128. See also the following footnotes. 160 Chrysostom in Homily IV on The Acts of the Apostles, (Vol 11, p 25) says that it was not upon the 12 but the 120 that the Spirit came, otherwise the prophecy regarding all flesh, including sons, daughters, and young and old men could not have been fulfilled as Peter preached. 161 Exodus 19:16-19. 143 159

The great sound that accompanied God’s speaking at Sinai was echoed at Jerusalem in Acts 2. Again, it was not just that a sound was present, but it was a sound that reminded them of God’s presence on Sinai and communicated that this was an event of equal significance. Kirby gives us a possible second connection with the wind.162 One of the other frequent readings for this day was out of Genesis 11, the story of the Tower of Babel. In the Book of Jubilees (10:18-27), there is a version of the story which includes a mighty wind which God sends to destroy the tower. Unlike Babel, the Pentecostal wind is not for destruction, but for construction. It is part of God reclaiming his fallen world. When we see that Cyril used the speaking in tongues of Pentecost as a reclaiming of the confusion of tongues at Babel, we may be seeing reflection of a document that Cyril possesses which is a reflection on this event. Indeed, it may be the Book of Jubilees. If it is, there can be no doubt that the early church made the connection between Pentecost and Sinai. The speaking in tongues reminded them that at Sinai, God’s words came first as flames of fire that then became words and voice. When God spoke, they could both see and hear his words. They could see them in stone, but also hear God speak in their language. At Zion, this was how God manifested himself. First came the sound, then the fire, then his Spirit speaking through the believers in words that could be heard. The glory of God has spoken by the Spirit in the tongues of those who were present to listen. The spoken languages were a physical evidence that God had spoken. God spoke to Israel on Sinai with physical evidences.

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Kirby, p 116-117. 144 162

Now he speaks to the world, also accompanied by evidence that it is God and not another who is speaking.163 164 165 Jewish Sages have interpreted Exodus 20:22 as reading, “...you have seen in the heavens what I spoke to you.” They say that while God spoke the Law to Moses audibly in 70 languages, He also wrote the commandments in the sky with fire for the Children of Israel to read.166 _________________________________________ 163

Kvarme, page 10 writes: “Aramaic Targums of the Tanach and the Jewish Hellenistic writer Philo explain that God’s words at Sinai came first as flames which then became words and voices [Texts 2 & 3]. The rabbinic tradition also mentions that the words from God were divided into seventy tongues of flames-i.e. the tongues of the 70 nations. The same rabbinic tradition also explains that the glory of God descended upon the heads of the Israelites as divine diadems when they received the Torah at Sinai [Text 4].” Note: A Targum is an Aramaic translation or paraphrase of an OT book. The Tanach is the Hebrew word for the Old Testament taken as a whole. It has three divisions: Pentateuch or Torah, Prophets or Nebiim, and the Hagiographa or Ketubim. 164 Philo, The Decalogue, 45-46: “They had cleansed themselves with ablutions and lustrations for three days past, and moreover had washed their clothes. So in the whitest of raiment they stood on tiptoe with ears pricked up in obedience to the warning of Moses to prepare themselves for a congregation which he knew would be held from the oracular advice he received when he was summoned up by himself. Then from the midst of the fire that streamed from heaven there sounded forth to their utter amazement a voice, for the flame became articulate speech in the language familiar to the audience, and so clearly and distinctly were the words formed by it that they seemed to see rather than hear them.” 165 Fragment-Targum (from the Cairo Geniza) to Exodus 20:2 said, “I am the Lord: The first commandment, when it left the mouth of the Holy One Blessed be He,...as meteors and lightening and as torches of fire; a fiery torch to its right and a fiery torch to its left, which burst forth and flew in the air of the heavenly expanse; it proceeded to circle around the camp of Israel; and then was engraved upon the tablets of the covenant.” 166 Clarence H. Wagner, Jr. International Director, Bridges for Peace, May 1996 Newsletter. 145

Given these obvious connections between Pentecost and Sinai, it is understandable that Paul uses Psalm 68 in relation to the gifts of the Spirit. For him, if it applied to Sinai, then it must have something to do with Pentecost as well. The third Scripture reading does not relate as directly to Sinai, but does relate to the order that was established there. At Sinai, God said: I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.167 In the minds of Israel, then, the service of those who served God in the tabernacle was seen as a gift. Peter also described the coming of the Holy Spirit as the “gift of the Holy Spirit.” Kirby reflects on this possibility of how this understanding came about: W. L. Knox shows that this Psalm (68) was connected with Pentecost in Acts: The Targum on that Psalm interpreted the verse, “the Lord gave the word; great was the company of preachers” by rendering it “Thou _________________________________________ 167

Numbers 18:6-7. 146

by thy word gavest thy word unto thy servants the prophets.” So Jesus, having been exalted to the right hand of God, received from the Father the promised Spirit and has poured it out on the Apostles. He thinks that it is only in the light of this rabbinic view that any sense can be made of Acts 2:33, for no reason is given in Acts why the ascension should have been followed by the gift of the Spirit. In a similar way, the author of Ephesians brings in Psalm 68:18 to show that the ascended Jesus gave gifts to men.168 We might comment on how this understanding played itself out in the understanding of how ministry is to be performed. If the gifts of the Spirit are analogous to the Old Testament Priesthood, then we should say that all ministry in the Lord’s Church is to be done by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, this is how Irenaeus and others described the Church as functioning. By listing what we call “ministry gifts” in this passage in Ephesians, it is clear that Paul is relating these gifts of ministry in the New Testament to the role of the Levites in the Tabernacle. Without any doubt, Paul views the operation of spiritual gifts as the equivalent of the priesthood. In this, the vision of Zechariah is realized. The golden lampstand is the means of ministry within the Church:

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Kirby, p. 146. Numbers 18:6-7. 147

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty.169 A Pentecostal view of ministry is that all the gifts of the Spirit are meant for ministry to the Church. However, in recent years some have started breaking up the various lists of gifts in the New Testament as if there were different types of gifts. The gifts of Romans 12 change into “motivational gifts,” while those of 1 Corinthians 12 become “manifestation gifts.” The Ephesians 4 list is arbitrarily named “ministry gifts.” The labelers think they are adding clarity by making these distinctions. However, their unwarranted distinctions undermine the Pentecostal view of gifts. We really should think of gifts simply as the manifestation of the Spirit, and leave it at that. Unlike today, the so-called “ministry gifts” of Ephesians 4 were not understood in the early church as narrowly limited to the five mentioned, but were inclusive of all ministries in the Church. If this is true, then any distinction that tries to separate the five gifts as being different from the others is a departure from what the early church would have accepted. The Pastor of Hermas, a very early church father, knows no such division: Hear now with regard to the stones that are in the building. Those square white stones which fitted exactly into each other, are apostles, bishops, teachers, and deacons, who have lived in godly purity, and have acted as bishops and teachers and deacons chastely and reverently to the elect of God. Some of them have fallen asleep, and some still remain alive.170 _________________________________________________

Zechariah 4:6. “The Pastor of Hermas,” V, Ante-Nicene Fathers; vol. 2, Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson, eds. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994) 14. 148 169 170

St. Hilary writes often of the charisms. In one place he writes about wisdom, knowledge, teaching, miracles, healing, tongues and interpretations as “ministries and workings (ministeria et operationes) of the church in which (church) is the body of Christ.”171 Hilary knows nothing of the distinctions that moderns try to place on the gifts. In fact, he specifically argues against it in Book 8, section 33. My personal view is that Pentecostals have uncritically adopted evangelical designations that make it possible for Evangelicals to have the gifts of Romans and Ephesians without taking on the obligation of the more “uncomfortable” 1 Corinthians 12 gifts. When Paul applied the concept of the Grace of God, he did so in all the Hebraic ways familiar to the celebration of Pentecost. He related it to the Mt. Sinai ascension, to law as a gift, and ministry as gifts to the Church. There are tremendous pastoral and theological implications to this application of spiritual gifts to the law from Mt. Sinai. For Paul, the gifts of the Spirit to the Church carry the same force as the law had to the covenant community at Sinai and beyond. There is now a new dynamic in the covenant community. We have maintained that the anointing of Jesus is a prototype of the normative Christian experience. Some have suggested that the anointing of Jesus at the Jordan also carries with it connections to Sinai.172 If this is so, we have another Pentecostal connection with Paul’s teaching.

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Hilary, “On the Trinity,” 8:33, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, p. 147. 172 James Dunn says (30) “if the echoes of Isa. 63:11f., suggested by S. I. Buse could be established, it would suggest that Mark saw the events at Jordan as parallel in significance to the passing through the Red Sea. The gift of the Spirit would then parallel the giving of the law at Sinai,…” 149 171

Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people—where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them…173 God has put the law in our hearts, and he expresses it through the people as they exercise their spiritual gifts. Given this high place of spiritual gifts in the new covenant community, we can understand why Paul urges us to “covet earnestly” the best spiritual gifts. The pastoral implications of this are profound. If we are to take on the role of Pastor, we must also be about the process of urging the search for spiritual gifts. We must also provide the means within congregational life for the gifts to be acquired, developed and used. To fail in this is to fail in a fundamental function of pastoral ministry. Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.174

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Isaiah 63:11. 1 Corinthians 14:1-5. 150 173 174

In setting forth the priority of spiritual gifts, Paul also establishes a hierarchy of value for the spiritual gifts. 175 He indicates that prophecy is to be prized because it strengthens, encourages, and comforts. On the other hand, speaking in tongues benefits the person who speaks. Prophecy is superior to speaking in tongues because in prophecy the church is edified, whereas speaking in tongues benefits only the speaker. The indicator of the relative value of a spiritual gift is based upon the number of people who benefit by its exercise. In conclusion, we have found several connections between the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai, and the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on Mt. Zion. These two mountains, along with Calvary in between, form the high points of their respective Testaments. Paul, in writing Ephesians, is mindful of these connections and draws upon them for his analysis. In doing so, he reminds us that Pentecostal expressions are not an appendix to the church but part of its very core. This connection is one more brick in the wall of “normative.” As Pastors, we must find ways to encourage the growth of the use of spiritual gifts within our congregations. Let’s return to the question of the Book of Acts as the basis for theology. Paul’s use of Acts to form his theology of the church is very clear. He used Luke’s description to form the foundation for his teaching. Acts 2 is to the church what Sinai was to Israel. Just as a Jew studies what was written on Mt. Sinai, so the Christian looks to the Acts 2 experience to be repeated in his heart. It is as though the tablets were imprinted on the heart. The baptism of the Spirit becomes a personal Sinai. _________________________________________ 175

Origen, “Origen Against Celsus, Book 3”, Ante-Nicene Fathers, (Peabody, Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), Vol.4, pg. 483, writes, “Paul also, in the catalogue of “charismata” bestowed by God, placed first “the word of wisdom,” and second, as being inferior to it, “the word of knowledge,” but third, and lower down, “faith.” And because he regarded “the word” as higher than miraculous powers, he for that reason places “workings of miracles” and “gifts of healings” in a lower place than the gifts of the word.” 151

Obviously, Sinai was not a repeated event. Yet it shapes our understanding of Pentecost. Pentecost and Sinai are analogous events. Pentecost is personal, not just corporate. An event which occurred before I was born cannot impart spiritual substance to me unless I come to be a participant in it. To the extent that each individual needed to obey the law, then each individual needs to experience a personal Pentecost. The counting of the Omer moved the Israeli from Passover to Pentecost. In the same way, a Christian should move from Salvation to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. When Paul urges the Ephesians in the direction of the gifts of the Spirit, using the comparison of Sinai, then I think he makes Acts 2 normative. Sinai and Zion, as Hebrews 12 also shows us, peer down on our theology. All other sights must have these two mountains also in the picture.

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