Miletus

Yesterday the well-known evangelist and missionary, Paul of Tarsus, said a tearful good-bye to the elders in Ephesus, one of his favourite congregations in Asia.

Paul, who stopped over here on his way to Jerusalem, summoned the elders to him to see them for the last time. He said that he expected to be arrested by the Jews in Jerusalem, where he planned to attend Pentecost. Therefore he would probably not see the elders again.

In his farewell speech he seriously cautioned them to protect themselves and the whole congregation which the Holy Spirit had given into their care. He compared the congregation to a flock of sheep and said that the elders were the shepherds who had to take care of the flock. Just as the danger of wolves savaging the sheep threatened an ordinary flock continuously, the elders had to guard against people threatening to mislead the congregation with lies.

The congregation in Ephesus was founded under Paul's direction. Recently, after a sojourn of two years, he left when the silversmiths under the leadership of Demetrius incited the city against him.

From Our Special Correspondent