14 Adam wasn’t deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience; 15 but she will be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with sobriety.

These are some of the verses that cause us to wonder what in the world Paul is talking about. Paul is most likely addressing women who were converts from the cult of Artemis, a feminist cult. To have power over men, women ran the temple of Artemis and officiated at all services. As part of their cult, they dressed as goddesses with gold braided hairstyles and other adornments. They were told that if they left the Artemis cult, they would die in childbirth, which was a huge concern. They took that fear with them into their practice of the Christian faith. Often, when people come to Christ, they bring superstitions and errant beliefs with them. This sometimes even reaches the level of syncretism by which Christianity absorbs beliefs and practices of prior pagan religions. Examples of this include taking the Day of the Dead (think Halloween) and turning it into a Church feast day called “All Hallows Day” (All Saints Day). Likewise, early Christians pegged Christmas to the time of year when pagan Europeans would celebrate Saturnalia (a Roman holiday). A third instance would be Resurrection Day itself, which was calendared to coincide with “Easter”, which could very likely have the origins of the name itself in the ancient goddess of fertility, Ashtarte (from where we get the word “estrus” meaning an animal’s sexual drive in Latin). 

A biblical example of “carrying the gods with you” was Rachel, who took her father’s gods with her when she and Jacob fled Midian and her father, Yitro (Jethro). Genesis 31:30-35 gives the full account. Many scholars believe that Paul’s instructions concerning the women in the congregation stemmed from the many practices of Artemis worship they had brought with them. It was strong in their minds and practices. Even though these women were Jesus-believing Gentiles, they were too bold in speaking out as the service was conducted, interrupting Paul as he spoke and preached. Paul instructs Timothy not to let these women speak (essentially hijacking the service). Even though they were Christ followers, some may have kept a little statue of Artemis to protect them from the dangers of childbirth. Like Rachel, they kept the pagan god hidden just in case it could somehow help them. They were not fully committed to their faith. Paul says that they should depend instead on believing in God to "save them in bearing children". A lot is going on in this chapter, but each of us must examine our own hearts to see if we carry any vestiges from our unsaved, unredeemed past. Ask the Lord to reveal to you any "idol in the closet" that you might be holding on to instead of Jesus. Then ask Him to help you remove that thing. You should rely on Christ Jesus and Him alone.