This class deals with Luke's description of the uprising in Ephesus started by the silversmiths who were angered by a loss of revenue for the idol making business. We begin by reading the entire narrative unit which ends without Paul having personally entered into the fray. This is the fourth of what will ultimately be five type-scenes in Acts where Paul's ministry and its results is the focus. These happen or will happen in Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, and ultimately in Jerusalem. In the process of presenting this overview we deal with important themes in Luke-Acts. In Ephesus, believers urged Paul to stay out of the immediate uprising and he does. A Jew named Alexander joined with Christians to withstand the claims of idol makers and ask a civil authority to calm things down. This happens in this case where goddess Artemis of the Ephesians is the focus. In this overview we show how the real focus in Luke and Acts is Jerusalem who rejects the prophets who are sent to her. Paul's ministry is headed toward Jerusalem and ultimately Rome. In this class we discuss important doctrinal truths, including the doctrine of providence. Many contemporary Christian teachers have a distain for the truth that God's purposes go forward even as wicked people oppose them. We discuss the divine council as shown in Job and 1 Kings 22. Christians must make decisions based on God's revealed will in Scriptures. Sufferings which attend the gospel are part of what must happen as long as the church age goes on. Civil authorities will play important roles in the rest of Acts as happens in the Artemis riot. In many cases the gospel is preached before civil authorities all the way to the
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