FRIDAY April 16, 2021
The Ephesian Goddess
And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.
Acts 19:23-24
Ephesus is located on the west coast of Turkey. Ephesus served as a Roman providential capital of Asia Minor. The city of Ephesus is incredible. Its streets and temple columns were made from marble. Some columns are still standing there today. The city had a massive theatre that seated twenty thousand people! It was a leading city, one of the richest cities of the Roman Empire.
Ships docked there and transported products to Rome. It was a multi- ethnic city, and its roads caused it to become one of the greatest commercial centers of the time. The city was home for Romans, Greeks and Egyptians. Its occupants were also composed of Jews and Gentiles.
It was here in Ephesus that people zealously worshiped the goddess Diana. The name Diana means “luminous, perfect.” In Ephesus, the Temple of Artemis (or Diana) was considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The temple had 127 columns that stood 60 feet high and were 6 feet thick––36 columns were sculptured and overlaid with gold.
The people jealously guarded Diana. When Paul preached to the Ephesians that idols were not gods when made with man’s hands, the craftsmen became greatly afraid that their businesses would be destroyed and the worship of Diana with it. They told the people in the city: “... the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship” (Ephesians 19:27).
Paul’s preaching caused a riot, so all with one voice [they] cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:34) It was a volatile situation and Paul’s travel companions were almost killed!
You don’t have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you love more than God is your idol.
~D. L. Moody~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!