Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

Artemis, the mythological daughter of Zeus, and Leto and twin to her brother, Apollo were all Greek gods or goddesses. She was worshipped primarily in Ephesus as a motherly goddess where a temple was built in her honor called, appropriately, the Temple of Artemis. This temple is called one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In Greece she is often portrayed in a pose with a bow and quiver aimed in hunt along with a hunting dog or a stag. One might see how the people of that time could be enticed into believing and worshipping the gods and goddesses created by the minds of men as we see the slave girl who had a spirit of divination.

Therefore, making much money for her owners by fortune telling, and she followed Paul while saying, "These men are bondservants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." (Acts 16:17). Paul finally commanded the spirit to come out of her, which made the owners very unhappy and had Paul and Silas drug before the magistrates where they were beaten with rods and thrown in prison (Acts 16:18-24).

When Paul traveled to Athens, which had many idols and he was talking with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who said. "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimed of strange deities," because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection." (Acts 17:18). So they took him to the Areopagus where he said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD'. What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all the things in it, since He is the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; And He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; For in Him we live and move and exist, even as some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:22-31) This statement by Paul got sneers from some as well as some who wanted to hear more and some believers (Acts 17:32-34).

 That brings us to our question, "Who cried out, 'Great is Artemis!'?". Their were men who had artistic talent and spent their time making images of the gods and goddesses that people worshipped, and it made them great profit. Some who practiced magical arts that were converted by Paul and others changed their practice after hearing of the seven Jewish sons of Sceva who were trying to cast out a demon by saying, "'I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.' And the seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, 'I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?' And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded." (Acts 19:13-16) When the people heard of this they became fearful and brought their magic books and burned them, fifty thousand pieces of silver's worth (Acts 19:17-19)!

So then, for the answer to our question we turn and read, "And about that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsman; these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades and said, 'Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great god Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all Asia and the world worship should even be dethroned from her magnificence.' And when they heard this and they were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'" (Acts 19:23-28). So there we have the answer to our question as it is the tradesmen who shout out, "Great is Artemis", because they fear for the loss of their income and the possible downfall of their goddess, Artemis!

Are we practicing magical arts? May we be as bold as those who feared God and destroy them as those people who realized that even though their job was bringing income for their families, their were other ways to make a living and were ready to change for life!