Songs In The Night

 

²⁸ When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” – Acts 19:28

³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” – Acts 19:34

Keep Shouting

GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS!  GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS!  GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS!  GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS!

So shouted the throng in Ephesus.  They had been stirred into a frenzy.  The words of Charles Dickens, although describing a different scene, well summarizes the crowd, “They had reached that pitch of impatience and anxiety where men can neither be persuaded or reasoned with; and (that) it would have been as easy to turn the most impetuous wind that ever blew, as to prevail on them to reconsider their determination” (The Old Curiosity Shop).   What caused the crowd to gather?  What were they so upset about?  What would cause grown men to gather and cry out in unison for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”?  The Truth.  And they did not possess it.  At least not this crowd.

Ephesus & Artemis

Ephesus was prosperous.  It boasted of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  The temple dominated the landscape measuring 45o feet long, 225 feet wide and 60 feet tall, with more than 127 pillars framing it in.  It also played a vital part in the culture and economy of Ephesus.  As the name implies, the temple was built in honor of their goddess Artemis who was accredited with “powers” of fertility.  The temple was served by eunuch priests, virgin priestesses, and temple prostitutes, with “worship” rituals that were very erotic.  The temple drew large numbers of people who would not only bring business to the economy but as an act of homage to Artemis would leave jewelry and other valuables.  In fact, the Temple of Artemis was the world’s largest bank during that time.  What could be more convenient?  In the name of religion, the Ephesians justified the worship of sex and greed.  Life was good.  And then Paul arrived.

Paul in Ephesus

Acts chapter nineteen begins with the account of Paul coming into Ephesus and finding some disciples who had not heard of the Holy Spirit.  Paul immediately baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus, and laying hands on them they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  In the shadow of the Temple of Artemis, the battle line was drawn.  Equipped with the Good News, Paul was bringing the fight to the “Gates of Hell”.   After baptizing these disciples, Paul entered into the synagogue and for three months he spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading with his audience about the kingdom of God.  The Spirit was unleashed and the Truth was taught, but Paul wasn’t finished.  In addition to introducing the disciples to the Holy Spirit and casting the seeds of the Gospel, Paul’s ministry was “confirmed” by extraordinary miracles.  God not only used Paul’s hands to perform these signs, but even his handkerchiefs and aprons that had come into contact with his skin were used as conduits to carry out miracles on behalf of the sick or demon possessed.  Great is Artemis?

Satan in Ephesus

As the people of Ephesus began to have their eyes opened to the Truth, Satan began to get very protective of his territory.  Among those who profited from the crowds that came to the temple were the silversmiths who made shrines of Artemis that were sold at the temple.  When Paul taught that gods made by human hands were no gods at all, they recognized the financial impact this teaching might have on their profession.  In order to protect their revenue stream, and certainly the honor of their goddess and her temple, the silversmiths, led by Demetrius, started a riot.  As they took to the streets they filled the air with their shouts of, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.”  Over and over and over.

Vain Repetition

Unfortunately for the Ephesians, and for us, repeating a lie doesn’t make it true.  Even if you shout it for two hours.  But when the facts are not on our side we become desperate and do foolish things.   Such as starting a frenzy.  If there can be a humorous side to something as dangerous as a riot, Luke exposes it,  ^“Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together” (Acts 19:32).  Quite a statement.  Paul has brought the light of the Gospel into the darkness of Ephesus, and here we have the blind leading the blind.  Paul wanted to rush into this throng with the Truth, but his friends and allies stopped him for his own safety.  They recognized the difficulty in trying to turn the impetuous wind.  Paul had scattered the seeds, the wind was now carrying them.

The Temple of Artemis is long gone.  Nobody I know of worships Artemis.  Ultimately, they were no match for the Truth.  But the church can never rest.  Satan continues to repeat his lies.  Over and over and over.  “God made me this way, how can you condemn me?”.  “God is love, He will accept my lifestyle.”  “We are all on the same path worshiping the same God.”  “I am not happy in this relationship, God wouldn’t want me to stay in it.”  “The church is full of hypocrites, why should I join them and submit to their authority?’.  Etc. Etc. Etc.  The Church must remain diligent.

First Love

In Revelation Chapter Two, the Church in Ephesus is charged with abandoning the love they had at first.  A danger we must all take to heart and guard against.  The world doesn’t like the Truth.  It is threatened by it, or more accurately, Him.  We will continue to be shouted down like a conservative at UC Berkeley, but we must stand our ground.  Paul would never compromise the Truth and neither can we.  The masses will continue to riot.  They will accuse us of hate speech and threaten us.  But we must stay true to the Word.  We must not abandon the love we had at first.  The world will continue to shout “Great is Artemis”, but as Luke pointed out, they are confused and don’t even know why they are here.  We do.  They are here because God created them in His image so that they will love Him and Worship Him.  The only way that will ever happen is if we point them to our First Love.  It should be easy enough to do, the Temple of His Body overshadows everything else in history’s landscape.  Definitely, something to shout about.