Acts 19:26
Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
Ephesus was the center of the worship of Diana, honored in a magnificent temple, whose image was believed to have fallen from the sky, and its people also trusted in mystic symbols and books of magic as powerful charms against danger, disease, and death. The statement that Paul had persuaded and turned away much people describes the result of more than three years of labor with Ephesus as the center, where a flourishing church was raised up and from which the gospel spread throughout the province of Asia among both Jews and Gentiles. It was spoken when Paul had purposed to pass through Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem and then to see Rome, had sent Timothy and Erastus, who ministered to him, into Macedonia, and had decided to remain in Ephesus until after Pentecost because the cause there still demanded his presence, until an event hastened his departure.
Paul taught that gods made with hands are no gods, and persuaded and turned away much people not only at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia from belief in and worship of gods made by human hands. That preaching gave the worship of Diana a telling blow, so that the worship declined and confidence in it was lost, challenging a worship represented by portable images and shrines. The effect appeared at the yearly national festival for Diana, which drew crowds from all parts of Asia with pomp and splendor, where attendance and enthusiasm for the worshipers' gods perceptibly fell off.
The influence reached far beyond actual converts and those who openly became believers, for many who did not openly accept the new faith were enlightened enough to lose all confidence in their heathen gods. At that time the small company of believers meeting in the school of Tyrannus stood out in marked contrast to the festive chorus and faced ridicule, reproach, and insult. The loss of confidence and decline of worship threatened the trade and income built on making and selling silver shrines and images of Diana, affecting image-makers and pagan priests.
Fear for their business stirred bitter opposition against Paul, bringing curses against him, and Demetrius used the claim that handmade gods are no gods to stir the craftsmen to opposition. The chapter containing this statement records the same apostolic experience as Acts 2 and Acts 10, corroborating present reception of the promised blessing where power comes upon believers and they speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, with accompanying persecution matching that of the early apostles.