Ephesus footage 1

Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Roman empire during the time of the New Testament. It was connected to the sea by its protected harbor, and to the vast expanse of “Asia” (modern-day Turkey) to the east. The population of the city was between 250,000 and 400,000. Because the city slowly dried up as its harbor filled with silt, no one built on top of the ruins we see today. One of the scenes in this video is of a modern-day effort to restore a waterway to the ruins of   Ephesus. The impressive two-story structure at the very beginning of the video is the Library of Celsus. It was built early in the second century, long after Paul spent time in the city. Even so, it is a beautiful way to imagine the grandeur of Ephesus and the Roman empire. Libraries and the concept of keeping scrolls or books was a relatively new concept in the world. Alexander the Great had taken Greek thought and values (Hellenism) with him as he conquered vast areas of land about 325 years before Jesus was born. Four centuries later, the largest library in the Roman empire was in Alexandria, Egypt. Pergamon had the second largest library, and Ephesus the third. When Paul’s preaching led to the burning of expensive scrolls (Acts 19:19), the entire city must have taken notice.