21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theatre. 32 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. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defence to the crowd. 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!”

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. (ESV)

In verse 26 we get a sense of the very great and widespread impact of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. Let’s remember that this was within just a few decades of the incarnation of Christ, and already there were giant ripples going out across the Roman Empire. This Empire (like every other earthly dominion) was destined to fall, but the Kingdom of Jesus has continued to grow, and will endure for ever (Daniel 2:34,35).

I once read a book in which this question was posed: ‘Does persecution come as a precursor to revival, or does it follow in its wake?’ I don’t know that there is one definitive answer. It seems to me that it can be one or the other, or both. This persecution in Ephesus had to do with vested economic interests being threatened, and there was a huge backlash in the wake of a move of God. (By the way, it looks like the first concern of these opponents of the gospel had to do with their wealth, or potential lack of it, rather than the worship of their goddess.) Nevertheless ”the gates of hell” can never ”prevail” against the church that Jesus is building, however forcefully they may try

Verse 35 reveals that the Ephesians had a reverence for a meteorite that ”fell from the sky”. It is remarkable what mumbo-jumbo people will believe, rather than turn to Jesus Who ”came down to earth from heaven
who is God and Lord of all…”