Ples wea Tru Worship and Heathen Teaching Divaedem Pipol
FOR winim wan handred year, olketa man for digim old samting duim bigfala research long west saed bilong Turkey long ples wea taon bilong Ephesus hem stap bifor. Olketa buildim bak samfala old building and olketa scientist studyim and explainim mining bilong planti samting wea olketa faendem long there. From diswan, olketa tourist interest tumas for visitim Ephesus long Turkey.
Wanem nao olketa savveman faendemaot abaot Ephesus? Wanem idea nao pipol distaem garem abaotem datfala interesting taon wea stap bifor? For helpem iumi minim hao tru worship and heathen teaching divaedem pipol long Ephesus, iumi need for visitim Ephesus Museum long Vienna, Austria. And tu, iumi mas visitim taon bilong Ephesus for lukluk long olketa old samting wea stap yet long there. Firstaem, bae iumi lukim lelebet history abaotem Ephesus.
Ples wea Staka Pipol Kavetem
From staka problem kamap long area bilong Asia and Europe long mek-11 century B.C.E., planti pipol muv go long olketa difren ples. Long datfala taem, olketa Greek pipol from Ionia go and stap long west saed long Asia Minor. Olketa meetim pipol wea worshipim wanfala woman god, wea bihaen, pipol long Ephesus kolem hem Artemis.
Long mek-seven century B.C.E., olketa Cimmerian pipol, wea no stap wan ples, kam from Black Sea long north for tekovarem Asia Minor. Bihaen, long samting olsem 550 B.C.E., King Croesus bilong Lydia, wea rich fogud, hem start for rul. Long disfala taem wea Rul Bilong Persia kamap moa big, King Cyrus tekovarem olketa taon long Ionia, and Ephesus tu.
Long 334 B.C.E., Alexander from Macedonia start for go againstim Persia, and gogo, hem kamap niu ruler bilong Ephesus. Bihaen Alexander hem dae long 323 B.C.E., olketa bigman long army bilong hem trae for winim each other for kasem paoa for rul ovarem Ephesus. Samting olsem 200 year bihaen, Attalus III, king bilong Pergamum hem dae, and from hem no garem eni pikinini, hem givim Ephesus go long pipol bilong Rome. So Ephesus hem kamap part long Asia, wanfala province bilong Rome.
Tru Worship and Heathen Teaching Divaedem Pipol
Samting olsem 300,000 pipol stap long Ephesus taem aposol Paul kam long there klosap long end long mek-tu missionary gogo bilong hem long first century C.E. (Acts 18:19-21) Long mek-thri missionary gogo bilong hem, Paul go bak long Ephesus and strong moa for givim tok long synagogue abaotem Kingdom bilong God. Bat bihaen thrifala month olketa Jew barava againstim hem, so Paul disaed for givim olketa tok long skul hall long Tyrannus. (Acts 19:1, 8, 9) Hem duim disfala preaching waka for tufala year, and hem duim tu samfala nambawan mirakol, olsem healing and wei for raosem olketa demon. (Acts 19:10-17) Olketa saen hia nao mekem staka pipol biliv! Tru nao, word bilong Jehovah hem win, mekem staka wea duim magic bifor bonem olketa buk bilong olketa nomata olketa kostim staka selen.—Acts 19:19, 20.
Preaching waka bilong Paul muvim planti pipol for finis for worshipim datfala woman god Artemis, bat hem mekem olketa wea mekhae long heathen worship kamap kros. For wakem olketa smol silver haos for olketa idol bilong Artemis hem bisnis wea kasem big selen. From teaching bilong Paul mekem olketa bisnis hia stap long danger, wanfala man wea nem bilong hem Demetrius leadim olketa bisnisman for showimaot kros bilong olketa.—Acts 19:23-32.
For tufala hour sekson hia singaot: “Artemis bilong pipol bilong Ephesus hem nambawan!” (Acts 19:34) Bihaen, taem olketa kwaet, Paul encouragem olketa Christian moa and then hem lusim olketa. (Acts 20:1) Bat nomata hem go long Macedonia, datwan no stopem worship bilong Artemis for gogo daon.
Worship Bilong Artemis Hem Gogo Daon
From bifor kam, worship bilong Artemis hem strong long Ephesus. Bifor taem bilong King Croesus, woman god Cybele hem main god bilong pipol long there. From Croesus laekem evriwan, nomata olketa wea Greek or nomoa for worshipim sem god, hem laea for sei Cybele hem kam from laen bilong olketa Greek god. Hem sapotim waka wea start long midol bilong mek-six century B.C.E. for buildim temple bilong Artemis, god wea changem Cybele.
Datfala temple hem wanfala building wea luk difren evribit. Hem firstaem wea pipol iusim olketa bigfala marble blok for wakem kaen building olsem wea big fogud. Fire finisim datfala temple evribit long 356 B.C.E. Temple wea olketa buildim bak hem barava olsem first wan and staka pipol kasem waka long there and pipol laekem tumas for go long there and worship. Waed bilong temple wea olketa buildim bak hem samting olsem 50 meter and long bilong hem 105 meter and hem antap long wanfala platform wea waed bilong hem samting olsem 73 meter and long bilong hem 127 meter. Long datfala taem, pipol ting long hem olsem wanfala long sevenfala barava spesol samting long world. Nomata olsem, no evriwan laekem disfala temple. Savveman from Ephesus, Heracleitus, hem sei road for go long altar hem dark and olsem ples wea evri wicked samting stap, and hem sei fasin bilong pipol long there worse winim olketa animal. Nomata olsem, long tingting bilong planti pipol, temple bilong Artemis long Ephesus hem samting wea bae stap for olowe. Bat datwan no happen. Datfala buk Ephesos—Der neue Führer (Ephesus—The New Guide) hem sei: “Kasem mek-tu century C.E., seknomoa wei for worshipim Artemis and olketa nara Greek god hem gogo daon.”
Long mek-thri century C.E., wanfala bigfala earthquake sekem Ephesus. And tu, olketa Goth pipol wea gogo long sea olketa kam from Black Sea and stealim olketa riches from temple bilong Artemis and bonem datfala temple. Datfala sem buk sei: “From Artemis no savve protectim temple bilong hemseleva, hao nao pipol savve gohed for ting long hem olsem god for protectim taon bilong olketa?”—Psalm 135:15-18.
Gogo, klosap long end long mek-foa century C.E., Emperor Theodosius I talemaot hao “Christian Wei” nao religion bilong kantri. No longtaem bihaen, olketa hip ston wea bifor hem temple bilong Artemis, hem kamap ples wea pipol go for luk aotem eni samting wea olketa savve iusim for wakem haos. Worship bilong Artemis hem barava nomoa nao. Wanfala man wea readim wanfala toktok wea praisem datfala temple olsem spesol samting from bifor kam hem sei: “Distaem hem ples wea emti evribit.”
Artemis, Then “Mami Bilong God”
Paul warnim olketa older man bilong kongregeson long Ephesus hao bihaen hem go awe “olketa raf wild dog” bae kamap, and from midolwan long olketa seleva samfala man bae “talem olketa laea samting.” (Acts 20:17, 29, 30) Datwan nao samting wea barava happen. Olketa samting wea happen showimaot hao apostate Christian Wei hem kamap strong long Ephesus.
Long 431 C.E., Ephesus nao ples wea datfala mek-thri bigfala meeting bilong evri church kamap for story abaotem hu nao Christ. Ephesos—Der neue Führer hem sei: “Olketa from Alexandria wea sei Christ hem God, . . . olketa win nao.” Diswan barava affectim staka samting. “Datfala disison long Ephesus, wea sei Mary hem mami bilong God and no mami bilong Christ, hem start bilong wei for worshipim Mary, and tu, hem firstaem for church barava divaed. . . . Datfala raoa hem gohed kam kasem distaem.”
So wei for worshipim Mary olsem “mami bilong God” hem changem worship bilong Cybele and Artemis. Datfala sem buk talem hao, “wei for worshipim Mary long Ephesus . . . hem kastom wea pipol followim kam kasem distaem, wea kam from worship bilong Artemis.”
Samting Bilong History Nomoa
Bihaen worship bilong Artemis hem gogo daon, Ephesus hem gogo for finis tu. Olketa earthquake, malaria, and wei wea river tekem kam graon and fulimap harbor hem mekem laef long datfala taon barava moa hard.
Kasem mek-seven century C.E., Muslim religion start for spred go long staka ples. Olketa Muslim duim moa samting winim wei for mekem olketa Arab tribe followim teaching bilong olketa nomoa. Long olketa year from 600 go kasem 700 C.E., olketa ship bilong olketa Arab kam and olketa spoelem Ephesus. Gogo, Ephesus hem finis evribit taem harbor hem fulap witim graon and datfala taon kamap olketa hip ston nomoa. Nomata hem wanfala bigfala taon bifor, wanfala smol area nomoa wea olketa kolem Aya Soluk (wea distaem hem Selçuk) hem stap.
Lukluk Long Samting wea Stap Yet Long Ephesus
For minim hao nao Ephesus bifor, iu savve tour long there. Sapos iu startim tour bilong iu long gate antap, bae iu luk stret go aot long Street of the Curetes go kasem Library of Celsus. Long raet saed bilong datfala street, bae iu interest for lukim wanfala smol stadium wea olketa kolem Odeum, wea olketa buildim long mek-tu century C.E. From hem garem inaf spes for 1,500 pipol sidaon insaed, olketa iusim olsem meeting ples for olketa bigman long taon and for hapitaem for pablik tu. Olketa building stap long tufala saed bilong datfala Street of the Curetes. Hem nao ples wea main market stap wea olketa bigman long gavman hipap for story. Long there tu hem temple bilong Hadrian, samfala pablik fountain, and olketa haos bilong olketa important pipol bilong Ephesus long saed long olketa hill.
Bae iu sapraes for lukim datfala Library of Celsus wea olketa buildim long mek-tu century C.E. wea luk naes fogud. Long wanfala big rum wea pipol savve read insaed, olketa scroll stap insaed olketa hol long wall. Fofala statue long front bilong datfala building showimaot olketa fasin wea wanfala wakman bilong Gavman bilong Rome, olsem Celsus, shud garem. Fofala statue hia nao: Sophia (wisdom), Arete (gudfala fasin), Ennoia (love), and Episteme (savve wea minim wei for minim samting). Olketa really statue wea stap hia bifor stap long Ephesus Museum long Vienna distaem. Klosap long ples for go insaed datfala library hem wanfala barava big door wea lead go long Tetragonos agora, wea minim marketples. Hem nao bigfala area wea garem ruf bifor and wea pipol duim bisnis evriday.
Next ples wea iu kasem hem Marble Road, wea lead go long wanfala maeti stadium. From olketa mekem hem moa big long taem bilong Rul Bilong Rome, 25,000 pipol savve sidaon insaed datfala stadium. Olketa decoratem wall bilong hem witim olketa post, piksa, and karving. Hem nao ples wea Demetrius, wea wakem samting from silver, mekem crowd wea hipap long there for showimaot kros bilong olketa.
Street wea start long datfala maeti stadium go kasem harbor hem spesol narawe. Long bilong hem 500 meter and waed bilong hem 11 meter, and olketa putim olketa post long tufala saed bilong datfala road wea mekem hem luk naes tumas. Saed long disfala road tu hem tufala ples for exercise. Wanfala hem long stadium and narawan long harbor. Bigfala gate bilong harbor long end bilong datfala road hem gate wea lead go aot long full world, and long hia nao iumi endim disfala tour long disfala barava interesting ples from bifor kam. Insaed Ephesus Museum long Vienna hem samfala spesol samting from datfala ples and tu, olketa garem wanfala model bilong taon bilong Ephesus wea olketa wakem from timba.
Taem man hem tour long datfala museum and lukim statue bilong Artemis, god bilong Ephesus, hem mekem man tingim wei wea olketa first Christian stand strong long Ephesus. Olketa stap long taon wea fulap witim spiritism and pipol strong for againstim eni religion wea difren. Pipol wea worshipim Artemis barava againstim Kingdom message. (Acts 19:19; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 2:1-3) Nomata hem nogud tumas, tru worship hem kamap strong long there. Wei for worshipim tru God bae win tu taem false religion wea stap distaem hem finis evribit, olsem worship bilong Artemis hem finis tu.—Revelation 18:4-8.
[Map/Piksa long page 26]
(For formatted text, lukim pablikeson)
MACEDONIA
Black Sea
ASIA MINOR
Ephesus
Mediterranean Sea
EGYPT
[Piksa long page 27]
Ston post from temple bilong Artemis bifor
[Olketa Piksa long page 29]
1. Library of Celsus
2. Piksa bilong Arete
3. Marble Road, wea lead go long datfala maeti stadium