The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. Acts 20:15
City: "The city is near the mouth of the Meander River on the SW coast of Turkey, 30 miles due S of
Ephesus. Miletus was originally a coastal city, built on a peninsula with four natural harbors, but because
of the silting of the area and the shifting of the course of the Meander River, it now lies more than five
miles from the sea...When the apostle Paul visited the city, it already had three impressive marketplaces,
testimony to the abundance of trade stimulated by its four harbors...Several temples stood in Miletus when
Paul was there..." (Freedman:Volume 4:825-6)
Summary: From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When the leaders of the Ephesian
church arrived Paul began by recounting his ministry with them in Ephesus. He told them of the how the Holy
Spirit had been compelling him to go to Jerusalem. Paul already knew, as he told them, that he would encounter
much suffering and would never see most of them again. He knew, however, that his own life was not important
and that what he had been doing had been for the good of the Lord. He warned them to guard themselves as
well as to keep watch over their flocks. For many would try to destroy them, even from the inside. He proceeded
to commit them to God, reminding them that it is more blessed to give than to recieve. Paul kneeled and prayed
for them, they embraced him and kissed him, greiving from the knowlege that they would never see him again.
They then accompanied him to his ship.
The theatre at Miletus, Paul's last port of
call in Asia on his was back to Jerusalem at
the end of his Third Journey. (Brownrigg:337)
