As our world is changing we see a strange turn back to tribalism, as opposed to a cosmopolitan society. In a cosmopolitan society all people are part of a community regardless of our differences, but in a tribal society we seem to want to identify our differences and eliminate whatever is not the same or of the majority. In a tribal society we must all have the same religion, in a cosmopolitan society we can have different religions but still function together as a community. We see this in Ephesus during the first century. Today we seem to be reforming ourselves back into tribes. We divide one another into tribes by skin color, religion, gender, age, or religion. The problem with tribalism is that it stunts the societal growth of everyone. It is an oppressive blanket that stops forward thinking, advancements in technology, and beauty in art. Communism is a form of tribalism, with strong oppressive leaders over the laity. At the end of the Soviet communist regimes those former soviets that visited non-communist countries could not believe what they saw in grocery and retail stores, that there was so much food and a wide variety of products, as they had been living with bare shelves and no product choices for so long. If we look at textiles coming from communist countries we see five solid colors, no patterns, no creativity, no beauty. We look at buildings which were built during the communist era and we see the same gray, block, poorly constructed structures, lacking any architectural inspiration, color, or style. With this in mind we see tribalism all through history. At the time that Paul was teaching in the lecture hall of Tyrannus we see how a group of tribal influencers attempted to thwart the church. At the same time, halfway around the world, we see tribes hunting one another, with little societal progress past the prehistoric age, with stone knives and bear skins. Is there a solution to tribalism?
At some point Paul fought wild beasts at Ephesus. We do not know when this happened, but Paul was in the amphitheater with the wild beasts. We can see that the most contentious times in Ephesus for Paul were during his period of teaching in the school of Tyrannus and during the uprising of the tribal followers of Diana/Artemis. Most likely before the uprising in the amphitheater and around the time of the great miracles that were being done in Ephesus, was when Paul fought the wild beasts.
1 Corinthians 15:30 [For that matter], why do I live [dangerously as I do, running such risks that I am] in peril every hour?
31 [I assure you] by the pride which I have in you in [your fellowship and union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily [I face death every day and die to self].
32 What do I gain if, merely from the human point of view, I fought with [wild] beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will be dead. [Isa. 22:13.]
33 Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.
34 Awake [from your drunken stupor and return] to sober sense and your right minds, and sin no more. For some of you have not the knowledge of God [you are utterly and willfully and disgracefully ignorant, and continue to be so, lacking the sense of God’s presence and all true knowledge of Him]. I say this to your shame.
The Amplified Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987), 1 Co 15:30–34.
Paul points out to the Corinthians that he would not fight so hard for the gospel, putting his own life in danger, if there was no resurrection of the dead. Paul himself was working under the guilt of what he had done to the church, with his passion for Yahweh Elohim he was fighting to bring the good news to the world.
Ephesus itself has an unusual history. While in later years it was known as the haggis theologos, the “Holy Elohim’s Word”, or the city of the “Holy Word of the Elohim”, the tribal inhabitants were not Elohim followers. Notice this name, it comes from the time period of Acts 19 when the disciples were seeing miracles, healings, the Holy Spirit infilling with unacquired languages, and the burning of books on magic and bonfires of curious arts. The logos of the Elohim grew mightily and prevailed, Acts 19:20.
A part of the site of this once famous city is now occupied by a small Turkish village, Ayasaluk, which is regarded as a corruption of the two Greek words, hagios theologos; i.e., “the holy divine.” Easton
On a N.E. hill stands the church Ayasaluk, corrupted from hagios theologos, "the holy divine,” Fausset
The Amazons were the tribal inhabitants of Ephesus. The interesting fact is that they were all female warriors. Think “Wonder Woman”. They were skilled militants who captured sailors, raped them to procreate, and then killed those that they raped. Their society was feared. The women were considered beautiful and the legends regarding them lasted into the first century at the time when the church was growing and experiencing many miracles.
According legend, Ephesus (also Ephesos) was founded by the tribe of the Amazons, great female warriors. The name of the city is thought to have been derived from "Apasas", the name of a city in the "Kingdom of Arzawa" meaning the "city of the Mother Goddess".
Some scholars maintain that the sign of the labrys, the double-axe of the mother goddess which adorned the palace at Knossos, Crete, originated in Ephesus. As the labrys was associated only with female deities in Crete, it is possible that it was originally associated with the goddess Artemis in Ephesus whose temple there was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Ephesus was inhabited from the end of the Bronze Age onwards, but the location was changed owing to floods and the whims of various rulers. While Carians and Lelegians were among the city's first inhabitants, Ionian migrations began around 1200 BCE and Ephesus is chiefly known as a Ionian Greek city. Ephesus is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. https://www.worldhistory.org/ephesos/
These tribal women warriors first inhabited the Ephesus region. Some believe that they were Hittite women. Later the Ephesus region was an Ionian Greek city by colonization. Colonization brought in a cosmopolitan Greek culture including education and philosophy. Being a port city, Ephesus was coveted by many different groups. The Romans then brought the ability to dredge the silt out of the harbor. They also built roads, chariots, wheeled carts, aqueducts, public plumbing for public toilets, waste disposal, and bathhouses. During the colonization of the Greeks and Romans, art also flourished, with frescoes, tiled floors, and many statues. This upgrade in art also included art made by tribalist’s of Diana/Artemis. While the colonizing cultures brought progress and invention to the region, half a world away, other tribes were still living in animal skinned tents, fighting one another, and sacrificing humans for rain. They had no roads, chariots, aqueducts, or art, apart from stick figures in caves, and stone heads.
In the first century Ephesus was a modern city with a culture of education, imports, exports, and art. People working together to make their city better. This was the result of several cultures colonizing and combining civilized ideas. There is always a flip side to every story, and the flip side of this societal improvement was the tribal mindset rising up to destroy others. In this case the tribalist’s could not overcome the Romans because the majority were cosmopolitans in a blended society, the only ones that they could try to destroy was the new church. Tribalist’s have a mindset like accountants, they sort, separate, categorize, and divide into boxes. Dividing people is not healthy for any nation because it brings civil war.
Something that we should notice is that people who live in a cosmopolitan culture have names reflecting the culture regardless of their religion. Apollos was a Jew from Egypt with a Greek name. Timothy was half Jewish with a Greek name. Alexander a Jew with a Greek name. Aquila and Priscilla were Jews with Roman names. Why is this? Because people were not tribal. They did not feel a need to adhere to a tribe. All Jews are not from the line of Judah. They may not be from the city of Judah either. They connect themselves to Judah tribally, but maybe they were from a different tribe that was not particularly adherent to Yahweh Elohim. Jacob’s heirs were not as “holy” as one might think. Men from the tribe of Benjamin raped other men and they were basically wiped out. Reuben raped Jacob’s concubine. Judah slept with his daughter-in-law. They all sold Joseph into slavery. The Levites worshiped idols in the temple and had booths for male and female prostitutes for over four hundred years. Even Moses’ grandson who was a Levite, worshipped Micah’s handmade idols.
Jdg 18:30 (DRB) And they set up to themselves the graven idol, and Jonathan the son of Gersam, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests in the tribe of Dan, until the day of their captivity.
Jdg 18:31 And the idol of Michas remained with them all the time that the house of God was in Silo. In those days there was no king in Israel.
The tribalism of religion is as old as creation, with a tribe of sons of the Elohim who rebelled and follow Satanas. After the flood a tribe that originated with Noah is the tribe of Shem/Melchizedek. Another tribe of the sons of Abraham with Hagar became a sore spot for Abraham’s seven other sons. Another tribe of the sons of Jacob rose up to inherit the land of Israel. Yet there were three sons of Noah after the flood. Japheth and Ham have heirs too.
Gen 9:27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
This does not only mean that Japheth will live among Shem but that Japheth will worship in the tents of Shem as well. Canaan will be his servant, meaning Canaan will be a servant to Shem/Melchizedek. This turned out to be the case as the people in the land, the Jebusites and Gibeonites were Canaanites but servants of Yahweh Elohim who stayed in the land when Joshua brought the Israelites. They were servants of Shem’s/Melchizedek’s school in Jerusalem. They eventually lived in Jebus at the time of David when David merged their priesthood, the Zadok priests, with the Levites and into Israel. Why did David do this? Because the Zadok priests were from Shem/Melchizedek. David was not a “tribal” thinker.
Gen 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
Jacob served in the tents of Shem until he was fifty years old. What was he doing? Worshipping Yahweh Elohim, and serving Yahweh Elohim. As we noted last week, Shem’s school in Jerusalem was a voluntary service to Yahweh Elohim. Just as Christianity is a voluntary service to Yahweh Elohim, the people we call Essenes/Nazarenes/Therapeutaes/Zedeks/Zadoks/Assideans/and Prophets did not have one “tribe” but served Yahweh Elohim voluntarily. Today church tribes are very prevalent within varying denominations and groups. What we have to remember is that while we all serve Yahweh under one of the many variations of Christianity we are truly one cosmopolitan Body of Christ.
Acts 19:21 Now after these events Paul determined in the [Holy] Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of Greece) and go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must visit Rome also.
22 And having sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself stayed on in [the province of] Asia for a while.
23 But as time went on, there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way [of the Lord].
24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [the goddess] Artemis [Diana], brought no small income to his craftsmen.
It is always about the money. The Egyptian priests sold indulgences, so that people’s dead loved ones could go into the nether world. Catholic priests sold indulgences so that people’s dead loved ones could get out of purgatory and go to heaven. Today, “Christian” leaders who wear the finest clothes, drive the most expensive cars, and live in very large homes, while enjoying the benefits of private planes for vacations, tell the people of their congregations that they must tithe or the Elohim will be displeased with them. Nothing has changed. Some people in Ephesus were making lots of money off the tribal god Artemis, selling shrines, idols, and maybe indulgences in the temple of Diana of the Ephesians. These were the silversmiths but it seems reasonable that the priests in the temple of Diana were not happy with their loss of revenue either.
Acts 19:25 These he called together, along with the workmen of similar trades, and said, Men, you are acquainted with the facts and understand that from this business we derive our wealth and livelihood.
26 Now you notice and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over [the province of] Asia this Paul has persuaded and induced people to believe his teaching and has alienated a considerable company of them, saying that gods that are made with human hands are not really gods at all.
27 Now there is danger not merely that this trade of ours may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may come into disrepute and count for nothing, and that her glorious magnificence may be degraded and fall into contempt—she whom all [the province of Asia] and the wide world worship.
The whole world did not worship Artemis. This is tribal thinking. It is small thinking. Being a port city, merchants traveled in and out of Ephesus, buying, selling, and exporting, but they mistakenly believed that the whole world worshiped Artemis. Demetrius had a tribal mindset. He believed that there were many people in his tribe. We can imagine what it would be like to visit Ephesus during the first century and pick up a wonder woman statue as a souvenir. But Paul telling people that were visiting the city that idols made with hands are not gods, means less people would be inspired to buy a wonder woman statue. Demetrius was good at gathering the other tribal craftsmen into recognizing that a loss of their income was on the horizon. Demetrius invokes other tribesmen to be in fear of the temple itself closing. Demetrius divides and separates by religion, but he doesn’t attack all other religions, just Christianity.
Acts 19:28 As they listened to this, they were filled with rage and they continued to shout, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
29 Then the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed together into the amphitheater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were fellow travelers with Paul.
30 Paul wished to go in among the crowd, but the disciples would not permit him to do it.
31 Even some of the Asiarchs (political or religious officials in Asia) who were his friends also sent to him and warned him not to risk venturing into the theater.
32 Now some shouted one thing and some another, for the gathering was in a tumult and most of them did not know why they had come together.
It is amusing to see how this tribal uprising grew with people joining who had no idea as to what was going on. We see this today. College students with no knowledge of what is happening, jump to a side before knowing who or what they are supporting. All they know is that there is a gathering and they have to join in and shout slogans like everyone else. This emotional tribalism is prevalent in young people who are easily swayed by influencers they don’t know and who have ulterior motives, using the simple minded college student to promote their plans. We see the people were confused and they didn’t know what was going on but they grabbed a couple of people Gaius and Aristarchus, they probably assaulted them or wanted to assault them. Meanwhile the disciples and the Asiarchs (rulers in Asia) who were friends with Paul told Paul not to go into the amphitheater.
This uprising regarding craftsmen for Artemis became an opportunity for some other people, the Jews. The Jews who behave tribally wanted Alexander to speak to the crowd. The Jews have no connection to the temple of Diana, in fact the Jews would have continually called out the false idols being made as being defiled. So how did the Jews find themselves in the mix of this uprising? Because the uprising was turning against the Christians. This was an opportunity for the Jews to make a tribal allegiance with the wonder woman followers to kill Paul and the believers because of all the miracles being done in Ephesus. Tribalism can be opportunistic. In fact it could have been the Jews who whispered in Demetrius’ ear regarding their loss of sales of wonder woman shrines.
Acts 19:33 Some of the crowd called upon Alexander [to speak], since the Jews had pushed and urged him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, wishing to make a defense and [planning] to apologize to the people.
34 But as soon as they saw him and recognized that he was a Jew, a shout went up from them as the voice of one man, as for about two hours they cried, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
The Jews tried to join forces with the Artemis craftsmen, but Demetrius’ tribe knew not to make an alliance with them. Instead they shouted for two hours. By that time the Jews probably left. Alexander was likely a believer in Jesus as Messiah, but had possibly been a Jew, which is why the Jews wanted to sacrifice him to the crowd. Alexander was going to apologize but instead they didn’t want to hear from him.
Acts 19:35 And when the town clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone [image of her] that fell from the sky?
36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet (keep yourselves in check) and do nothing rashly.
37 For you have brought these men here, who are [guilty of] neither temple robberies nor blasphemous speech about our goddess.
Ephesus had a rather civil society as we can see. The town clerk points out that Gaius and Aristarchus hadn’t done anything wrong. This is what a cosmopolitan society looks like, although diverse, one group doesn’t get to dominate over another. Unlike the tribal societies of the Americas at this time, where native tribes killed one another regularly, allowing the most dominant tribe to dictate life for everyone else.
Acts 19:38 Now then, if Demetrius and his fellow tradesmen who are with him have a grievance against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are [available]; let them bring charges against one another [legally].
39 But if you require anything further about this or about other matters, it must be decided and cleared up in the regular assembly.
40 For we are in danger of being called to render an account and of being accused of rioting because of [this commotion] today, there being no reason that we can offer to justify this disorder.
41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
This society is more civil than Jerusalem where they beat, tortured and killed the prophets, the wise men, and the desert scribes which Jesus had sent into the synagogues, Matthew 23:34. Ephesus had laws dictating that rioting was not allowed, but the Jews excelled in rioting. This is why the Romans eventually destroyed the temple and banned the Jews from Jerusalem, because of the civil war of the Jews. Demetrius’ uprising seemed to look like the Jews uprisings. Who would have inspired this? Was it the Jews who somehow were attending this tribal uprising?
Acts 20:1AFTER THE uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and warned and consoled and urged and encouraged them; then he embraced them and told them farewell and set forth on his journey to Macedonia.
2 Then after he had gone through those districts and had warned and consoled and urged and encouraged the brethren with much discourse, he came to Greece.
Paul finally left on his journey. We don’t know when Paul fought the beasts at Ephesus. Luke may not have been there or had left shortly after the Artemis tribes’ uprising because we see that Luke was waiting for Paul at Troas. Notice that there was a plot formed against Paul by the Jews in Syria. How did people know about the plot against Paul? Paul sent his disciples ahead of him. The disciples would find out what was happening in a particular city, and they would report it to Paul before he got there. This is why different disciples were sent ahead of each journey, so that the people in the city that Paul intended to travel to would not know of their association with Paul and that they could covertly find out about any danger in the cities.
Acts 20:3 Having spent three months there, when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he resolved to go back through Macedonia.
4 He was accompanied by Sopater the son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, and by the Thessalonians Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe and Timothy, and the Asians Tychicus and Trophimus.
5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us [including Luke] at Troas,
6 But we [ourselves] sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread [the Passover week], and in five days we joined them at Troas, where we remained for seven days.
The Amplified Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987), Ac 19:21–20:6.
Syrian Jews were planning to harm Paul. Again the tribal mentality which is similar to a communist mentality was so prevalent in the first century because the Jews believed their heritage gave them privilege. It did not. Their heritage was to teach the world about Yahweh Elohim, not beat people into submission. This explains what we have seen throughout history, where groups who believe their heritage is superior attempt to dominate others.
Even today there are many nations where the tribal mentality persists. We see silly things like women with baskets on their heads, wearing long robes in one hundred and ten degree heat, walking two miles for food. Those women are not valued in the tribe. If they were valued someone would at least give them some wheels, a cart, and lighter clothing, along with transportation. But because the tribal mentality is communistic in nature, no wheels for them. Big baskets only.
Today cosmopolitan countries are trending towards becoming tribal nations again, where uprisings intimidate people into submission to follow tribal ways. Tribal dividers bring messages of differentiation and suddenly people can’t look beyond skin color, or gender, or religion. Afghanistan is an interesting look at a tribal country that became cosmopolitan but then returned to tribalism. At one time women were educated and held high paying jobs in a very modern looking Afghanistan. Today women wear burkas with only a small window in the material to look out and again no wheels for them to roll a cart with groceries through the dirty unpaved streets. We have to understand that tribalism does not promote technological advancements, but instead goes back to dirt roads, human sacrifices, no bathrooms, and filthy water. The stone age is not a desirable place to return to.
We have three choices, we can live in a cosmopolitan society where people behave respectfully towards one another, advancing together to live better cleaner and healthier lives. We can reverse engineer our societies into tribal divisions, where there is no respect for others, their thoughts and their ideas and the people are judged solely by their color and gender. Or thirdly we can fully return to tribalism, where no one is allowed to think on their own, only tribal group think is allowed. Where the initiative to create and invent is stripped away and people are not allowed to advance technologically. Where garbage and human waste fill the broken streets, because there is no pride in cleanliness, only primal aggressions against the weak and elderly. Ultimately it is our choice.
Ephesus is a great example of a cosmopolitan society that actually functioned well. There were multiple people groups, mixing and living together in a city that had advanced living conditions, trade, and several religions. They had a functioning government as well. We generally look at this section in Acts 19 as a bad situation. However we see the same crazy things in our nations today pushed by people promoting stone aged tribalism. Logically, no one who is clear thinking burns their own cities, allows garbage and crime to flourish, allows people to relieve themselves on the sidewalks and openly use drugs, while the drug addicted live off government assistance. This is simply Satanas’ way of destroying humans by trying to turn us back to tribalism so that societies can regress into the stone age. While Ephesus had a protest against Christianity it didn’t last long and instead Christianity grew, magnifying the Elohim in the city known as the Holy Elohim’s Logos or the Holy Word of God. Ephesus is the first of the seven churches that Jesus addresses and its first love was Yahweh Elohim. The miracles that took place there were so profound that the entire region knew about them and the logos of the Elohim grew mightily and prevailed. This is why the city was known as the Holy Word of the Elohim.
