TWO THOUSAND years ago, the city of Ephesus was dominated by the cult of Artemis. Her temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the silversmiths who made images of the goddess started a riot because Paul’s preaching cut into their business.

Stephan Caraway, co-founder of Fig Tree Watchers Ministries (https://www.figtreewatchers.com/), joins us to discuss a new article he’s posted as part of a series on the Book of Ephesians, “Why Ephesus Lost a Lamp Stand to Paganism and Violence (https://www.figtreewatchers.com/2023/05/02/ephesus-lamp-stand/).” Even with the Word of God delivered by the apostle Paul, the church at Ephesus fell back into pagan practices that focused on icons, individuals, and images. Stephan explains why Ephesus, and the message from Jesus delivered by John in the Book of Revelation, is a dire warning for believers today.

ONE OF THE difficulties in understanding the spirit realm is that New Testament authors, especially Paul, used the same Greek terms for both earthly and heavenly beings.

So, how do we understand terms like thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities, principalities, and powers? To borrow another phrase from Paul, as though we’re looking into a mirror in a darkened room.

Joining us for our monthly Iron and Myth series are Brian Godawa, award-winning screenwriter and best-selling author; Pastor Doug Van Dorn, author of Giants: Sons of the Gods and The Angel of the LORD; and Director of the Institute of Biblical Anthropology Dr. Judd Burton, author of Interview With the Giant: Ethnohistorical Notes on the Nephilim.

We grapple with the terms used for denizens of the unseen realm, including the term rendered “saints” in English (and why it doesn’t always mean humans), and the mysterious Glorious Ones that, according to Peter and Jude, were blasphemed by rebellious persons within the first-century church.

We also discuss the reason that terms used of divine beings in the Old Testament apply to believers in the New Testament—because a day is coming when we will be restored to the divine council as inheritors of the Kingdom of God, replacing the rebellious elohim.

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