The Ephesians were the residents of the ancient City of Ephesus. The city was important from both commercial and religious standpoints. Wealth abounded, although not every resident was prosperous. The location of Ephesus contributed to its importance. Situated near the mouth of the Cayster River on the western coast of Asia Minor, it lay nearly opposite the island of Samos. Perhaps you can better fix its location in mind by noting that the ruins of Ephesus are some thirty-five miles (56 kilometers) southeast of what is now known today as Izmir, Turkey. Ephesus had an artificial harbor that was kept open by dredging. With the passing of years, however, silt deposits apparently choked it, so that the site now is several miles inland. In the first century of the Common Era, Ephesus was noted for its sorcery, magic, astrology, and worship of the fertility goddess Artemis. Around the statue of the goddess, there had been erected a magnificent temple that was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. According to excavations of the site in the 19th century, the temple was built on a platform that measured about 240 feet [73 m] wide and 418 feet [127 m] long. The temple itself was about 164 feet [50 m] wide and 343 feet [105 m] long. It contained 100 marble columns, each about 55 feet [17 m] in height. The roof was covered with large white marble tiles. Gold is said to have been used instead of mortar between the joints of the marble blocks. The temple attracted tourists from all over the earth, and visitors numbering hundreds of thousands would throng into the city during festivals. The silversmiths of Ephesus carried on a lucrative business selling small silver shrines of Artemis to pilgrims as souvenirs. Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians from Rome, probably 60 or 61 C.E., and sent it by Tychicus, who was accompanied by Onesimus In the course of this zealous preaching, Paul exposed the use of images in worship. This stirred up the wrath of those making and selling them, such as the silversmith Demetrius, and in the uproar Paul finally had to leave the city.See Acts 19:23 and 20:1. While in prison, Paul is thinking of the problems faced by the Ephesian congregation, surrounded by pagan worshipers and in the shadow of the awe-inspiring temple of Artemis. These anointed Christians no doubt needed the fitting illustration Paul now gives them, showing that they constitute a holy temple,in which Jehovah dwells by his spirit. (Eph. 2:21) Paul emphasizes the union of Jew and Gentile in Christ. He exhorts to oneness, to unity As the years wore on, Christians in Ephesus faithfully endured much suffering for righteousness sake. But the glorified Jesus Christ found that by the end of the first century C.E. some members of the congregation there had lost the consuming love that they once had for Jehovah God. Later in the Book of Revelation, chapter 2 vs 1-6, the apostle John notes that Jesus set a pattern for all but two of his seven messages to the congregation s by opening with warm words of commendation. For the Ephesians, he has this message: "I know your deeds, and your labor and endurance, and that you cannot bear bad men, and that you put those to the test who say they are apostles, but they are not, and you found them liars. You are also showing endurance, and you have borne up for my name's sake and have not grown weary." (Revelation 2:2, 3) Years before, the apostle Paul had warned the Ephesian elders about "oppressive wolves," apostate disturbers of the flock, and had told those elders to "keep awake," following his own tireless example. (Acts 20:29, 31) Since Jesus now commends them for their labor and endurance and for not growing weary, they must have applied that counsel. During the rule of Antoninus Pius (138-161 C.E.) a large part of Ephesus was rebuilt. About 262 C.E., however, the Goths ravaged the city, and the great temple of Artemis was destroyed. With the city's historical significance gone, little can be said about Ephesus in later times, except that it changed hands often. For instance, the Turks took it in 1308 and built a town at nearby Ayassoluk. Both fell to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem during the fourteenth century. Little by little, the once resplendent city was abandoned, leaving in its ruins only a hint of the city's former grandeur. Ephesus was one one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). It was founded by colonists principally from Athens. The ruins of Ephesus are a major tourist attraction, especially to people that travel Turkey by cruise, via the port of Kusadasi. A part of the site of this once famous city is now occupied by a small Turkish town, Sel, which is also the site of the St. John's Basilica.