From Nominal Muslim to Christian Author

 Last week, I heard an interview by Susie Larson of author Tessa Afshar, and wanted to share it with you.

The interview was about Tessa's book, Daughter of Rome, my favorite of hers, and the incredible couple of Aquila and Priscilla. I spoke more about them in this blog on July 27, 2020. It again really brought their story alive to me to understand with better context what was really going on in the lives of this couple in the Early Church.

But for the last 10 minutes of the podcast, Tessa spoke more about her story, being raised in Iran, moving to England, and then the US, and what it was like coming to Christ from a nominal Muslim context. How incredible! Her story is so good that I wanted to share it with you here. It was blown away by the goodness of God and the power of her testimony of this woman who now writes Biblical fiction. I think it will bless you too! You can listen here on Apple podcasts and here on Google Podcasts. 

Let me know what you think below in the comments!

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians: What happened to the Ephesian Church?

This is the final post in the series on Tony Merida's Exalting Jesus in Ephesians. I hope the explanation for the context of the book of Ephesians gives all of us greater perspectives on what Paul is saying in this powerful letter.

Before I go, there is one more thing I'd like to share that Merida pointed out on page 17:

• As stated before, Paul was in Ephesus for 3 years, from AD 50-52. It was his longest stay in one place on a missionary journey.
• He wrote Ephesians in AD 62 from Rome, about 7-8 years after he left.
• And in AD 90ish, when John wrote the book of Revelation, Ephesus is mentioned as one of the 7 churches: the one that lost its first love. 

"What is interesting about the church in Ephesus is that even though it had an amazing history, the final mention in Revelation 2:1-7 about this great church is that they 'abandoned the love [they] had at first. Think about it: Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos, Paul, Timothy, and later, John, ministered to this church. What a heritage! Yet about 40 years after the first generation of believers, they had lost their love.... They had a cold orthodoxy. We must ask ourselves: Is our service to Jesus mechanical? Do we love Him, or are we just using Him for our own ambitions?" (page 17). 

What happened to the church in Ephesus? Could that happen in our own lives and churches?

That's it for our study on the context of Ephesians! Go buy this book! Also, if you love historical fiction, check out Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series. Book 2 is set in Ephesus... and you even catch glimpses of John!

Exalting Christ in Ephesians: The Church of Ephesus

Now that we've explored the context of the letter of Ephesians and the cultural context of Ephesus, we're going to look at bit at the local Church, as described in Exalting Jesus in Ephesians by Tony Merida.

It's not an exaggeration to say that the church of Ephesus was birthed under opposition. It would be hard to read about the culture of the day and not think that. The church was made up of some Jewish believers that were in Ephesus before Paul ever went there (Acts 18:24-27), but it was mostly Gentile. "The Ephesian churches were perhaps made up of about 30-40 people, meeting in homes. Since they hadn't seen Paul in about 7-8 years, "They needed instruction. There may have been a lack fo unity amount the pre-Paul converts and those who came later, as well as division between the Jewish and Gentile groups....[It is no wonder, then, that] Ephesians mentions union with Christ and being 'in Christ' more than any other letter, about 36 times" (page 13).

The author concludes his description of Ephesus by stating something I think is especially important in 2019: "Remember, may of us still live in a culture filled with idolatry, superstition and the occult, demonic activity, public sexual immorality, materialism, a love for education devoid of God, and the worship of political leaders. Remember, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to break through these forces and bring people to saving faith in Jesus Christ" (page 12).

How can understanding the cultural and historical contexts for the book of Ephesians give us greater insight into the Truth it proclaims? 

*for a fictional representation of the Church of Ephesus in the late first century, check out Francine Rivers' 2nd book in the Mark of the Lion series, A Voice in the Darkness.

Exalting Christ in Ephesians: Cultural Context of Ephesians

Now that we've explored the context of the letter of Ephesians, in this post we're going to look at the cultural context of Ephesus, as described in Exalting Christ in Ephesians by Tony Merida.

Ephesus, which sits in modern-day Western Turkey, was a busy port city on a river that connected to the Aegean Sea. "It was the 4th or 5th largest city in the world at that time... its massive amphitheater held about 25,000 people. The city hosted athletic events similar to the Olympics. It was at the junction of 4 major roads in Asia minor, which several villages surrounding it. It was the gateway of Asia that became the gateway of the Gospel, as Paul's ministry in the city reached out to 'all... of Asia' (Acts 19:10)" (pages 8-9).

(photo from Kudadasi.biz)

This was an important city, and it was full of spiritual warfare.

First, the city was known for different forms of paganism. The more sophisticated example of this is those who pursued the Greek idea of true enlightenment, "which involved rising to high levels of mysterious knowledge. This knowledge was obtained not just by learning but my experience, though erotic and ascetic practices.... The culture was steeped in materialism, sensuality, and perverted idolatrous practices" (page 9). (For a fictional portrayal of this, An Echo in the Darkness, book 2 in Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series, shows the time and culture of Ephesus in the late first century.

Second, it was home to the Roman emperor cult, where the emperor himself was worshipped as a god. For example, Caesar Augustus was called "Savior", so the author points out that this led to a "Gospel conflict": "Coins, statues, temples, and other items proclaimed the gospel of Augustus, but the church was proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus.... When Christians were saying, 'Jesus is Lord,' they were saying that Caesar was not" (page 9).

(example from here)

Third, Ephesus was also the headquarters for the cult of the Roman goddess Diana (Greek: Artemis), whose temple was gigantic and beautiful (4x as large as the Parthenon in Athens!), and located a mile from the ancient amphitheater. Funny... the author points out that while the remains of the amphitheater still stands, only small portions of pillars remain from what was once called one of the 'Seven Wonders of the World'. (God was definitely saying something clearly there!). "Paul's Ephesian ministry threatened the commerce of those who made silver models of Diana (Acts 19:23-41).... Ephesus seems to have been obsessed with demons, magic, and idolatry, particularly the worship of Diana" (page 10).

(photo from Ephesus.us)

Fourth, in Acts 19:11-24, Paul talks about pretty intense demonic oppression to the spiritual awakening that was going on. "These Christians were turning 'the world upside down' in Ephesus" (page 11)!

Fifth, there was opposition from the silversmiths. As previously stated, the silversmiths in the cities made graven images of Diana that weren't being purchased anymore. The Gospel literally disrupted the socioeconomic system, which highlights the materialistic and superstitious nature of the culture. As a result, they dragged Paul and his companions into the amphitheater where they were all but killed (Acts 19:25-41), because in the words of Demetrius in verses 25-27, "Not only did [the silversmiths] run a risk of [their] businesses being destroyed, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis might be despised and her magnificence come into the verge of ruin" (page 12). 

Sixth (and finally), there were the Jews (mentioned in Acts 20:19), who plotted as well! In fact, after two months teaching at the synagogue, Paul ended up moving to teaching in a lecture hall where Gentiles were able to hear it!

Okay, next week will be our final post of this series exploring the context of the book of Ephesians. We're going to look at the Church itself.

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians: Context for the book of Ephesians

As I said last week, in this post we are going to study the cultural/historical context of Ephesus in connection with the book of Ephesians, using the information found in Exalting Jesus in Ephesians by Tony Merida.

I said last week that Ephesians is likely my favorite book in the Bible. In the introduction to this exposition, the authors point out that it is likely the "most contemporary" epistle in the New Testament, because, "apart from the mention of slavery, which is addressed later in the book, it literally could have been written to the modern church" (page 4). The author points out that instead of writing to correct something Paul wrote more reflexively. "It was a circular letter, distributed and read by the churches in the Asia Minor region and therefore, comes to us in a general form.... Ephesians resonates with contemporary Christians because it seems Paul could have written the letter to a 21st century church" (page 4).  It was sent to mostly Gentile believers throughout Southwestern Asia (we'll explore this more in a later post).

Believed to have been written near the end of his 2-year imprisonment in Rome, the letter is a contemporary of Colossians and Philemon, likely written around AD 62. Paul wrote this while chained to a Roman soldier! He was free to receive visitors, so one was likely a a secretary who wrote down his words, and then those letters were sent to the churches.

The author points out that this book was written 7-8 years after Paul left Ephesus, where he spent 3 years (AD 50-52) on his longest stay of any missionary journey (Acts 19). He spent 3 months teaching in the synagogue, then 2 years teaching in a lecture hall during siesta time, and then "some time" after that. It's also where he faced the wild beasts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:32 (page 8).

Okay, now that we've looked at the context of the letter, we're going to learn more about the culture of Ephesus next!

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians

Happy New Year!

So, I've said it a lot in this blog, but I love all Biblical history (even though Israel is probably my favorite part). In addition to wanting to return to Israel and having visited Rome, I want to explore Egypt, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, and any other locations associated with the Bible.

That's a lot of places! But it's good to dream, right?

So, this year I started a study on the book of Ephesians, which is one of my favorite books of the NT... actually of the Bible. I think, as far as the NT, it goes Ephesians... then Acts and Philippians are tied. Why? Because it ties directly to history I love (the Roman Empire) and discusses the early church, which fascinates me. And the message of Ephesians is just incredible. If Ephesians 1 doesn't make you want to praise God... or Ephesians 3:14-21... then... well...

So, I started a study of Ephesians using the book: Exalting Jesus in Ephesians by Tony Merida (edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida). This is a book in a series on books Christ-centered exposition of the Bible.

The book starts with an introduction/cultural/historical context for Ephesians, and then moves verse-by-verse through the text. What a treasure! For the sake of this blog, I'm only going to talk about the historical/cultural things I learned—starting next week. So, stay tuned! I hope you're as excited as I am! 

Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers

I can't talk about ancient Rome without talking about my favorite historical fiction series: The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers.

This series not only entertains but also comes with powerful lessons of forgiveness, grace, and faith. There is so much to learn and enjoy from each aspect of the story, but for me, the character of Hadassah is one of the most incredible (and challenging) I've ever read. The reader finds themselves immersed first in Roman-ravaged Judea, then finally in Rome, Ephesus, and even Germania. Honestly, while the 3rd book contains a lot of references for the first 2 books and repeating characters, it can almost stand alone. I often just re-read books 1 and 2 because they are my favorites. 

From the roar of the games to the wilds of Germania, you'll go on the most incredible adventure and hopefully be encouraged in your faith as well. This series, (or at least books 1-2), are a "must read" to me.

Click here to find it on Amazon!