 Okay Thank you dear heavenly father. Thank you in this time lot in this morning We give glory to you lot as you are going to learn your word from the Book of Acts Cloud help us to understand whatever we learn Will this pit give us wisdom and knowledge that we could understand Lord and Apply in our life also Lord. Thank you. I submit all the student and also personal slot in your mighty hand Thank you. I submit all the time in here Jesus. My prayer Yeah, thank you. Thank you Prince Let's get started So, you know, we've been reading about Paul's Time at Corinth, okay, that's that's what we saw and we said that he went and he completed his second Journey he goes up to Jerusalem and then to Antioch and all of that and he You never really has it has the time to stop by in a place called Ephesus Okay, however, now we are going to see him stopping by here at Ephesus and in Acts chapter 19 there is a lot more we will study about this particular city. We Saw how he ministered in a Thessalonica. We saw how he ministered in What is that place Athens right depending on the crowd Every city has its its makeup every city has its need and God is doing something wonderful In each city and there are churches being planted. There are disciples, you know, who are following God there are People who are maturing in God ministers who are taking that position. So It was not just Paul doing the ministry we have read of names like Silas and Timothy and even Luke remember he left Luke behind in Philippi and Many other names that we are going to see so all this work is going on and this also gives us a picture of the personality of Paul because this course that we are studying not only is it about the book of Acts, but it's also about We said Paul and and the life of Apostle Paul So, you know, we have we have a background of who he is and what he became when he was Serving right when he was serving in the in the you could say the the Positions of authority as an unbeliever and what his passion was and how he thought he was doing the righteous thing And he was persecuting the church but later on how God transformed his life and then he went through his own period of Training and equipping in silence. We saw that, you know, Silesia regions of Arabia So he was he was in Tarsus he didn't away doing the work of God and definitely Continuing ministry continuing the work of God, but we didn't read much about him later He came on the scene through Barnabas and He Led these missionary journeys. Okay, and we saw his first missionary journey We saw his second missionary journey in the last class I gave us a little somewhat, you know an understanding of the timelines of these missionary journeys and We saw how he completed his second missionary journey and now He is off on the third one. So before we get into Further study, I would really like for us to look at the maps once again. So let me quickly Okay, we have all All the three here. So let me put all of them It just gives us a very good idea and I'm going to post your assignment also Today, I want to post your assignment on the Google Classroom So it'll give you enough time to complete it before the end of the semester. We're almost we're going close to How Paul will complete his third missionary journey and then you know What will happen to him the trial that he will go through and then we will come to the close of the book of Acts shortly so You will be able to answer the assignment that I post for us So, let me just quickly go to Yes, yes, and this will be all second assignment and You will be able to Just hang on. Okay. Let me start with first. It's good to Repeat this over and over again Just so we have It's not allowing me to Share the screen class. I don't know what has happened. Just a moment, please Okay. Yeah, we're able to see it Okay, can you see it now? Is that a yes? Okay, okay, wonderful. Okay, so just have a look I'm repeating myself basically the first missionary journey Antioch, you know, then they go through Cyprus then we know that John Mark left them, right? So, I mean they go on then later to Perga, Pesidia, a lot of Opposition, Iconium, Dabi, right? Listra, Dabi and then again, go back come all the way back here Then they don't go through Cyprus, but they are out. Okay, so that would be your Second missionary journey. Sorry, first missionary journey. Now, let me quickly take you to the second one Okay Yeah, so this gives us some good clarity again, you know, Antioch is like your base church So they decided, okay, let's go back to the churches where we had been This time around, you know, Paul and Barnabas had that sharp Argument over John Mark, right? So you see the personalities, you know, John Mark Now, we don't know why Paul got so upset but it shows his personality that he was somebody who was so focused on the ministry He was, you know, a person who was focused on the task ahead and he did not like, you know, any slack or any Like an attitude of You know, how do we put it? Basically, he is passionate, you know, like like an army general He does not like any kind of compromise. So he didn't appreciate John Mark Leaving the missionary journey midway and now he does not want him at all. And so Barnabas, you see his personality He's so accommodating. He's very, very accommodating And there's a contrast and then anyway that we've discussed about it and then, you know, Barnabas Goes on another journey of his own and this is Paul but he takes along with him Silas, Silas becomes his companion. So they they move, you know, they keep Moving on. They go to those old places. You can see very clearly here. Same old names, your, your Dabi Lestra, Iconium, Visidian, Antioch and we know that He goes through, he wants to enter through the Asia Minor region and impact Asia at this point. So he's trying to go he's trying to go through That Mithinia region and Maesia and in his heart, he wants to touch Asia. That is his Dream, but he's not able to do that because Holy Spirit leads him in a different way. He gets a dream to Macedonia. So this is the Macedonian region and then you can see all the different cities here We talked about a couple of cities, Philippi, then from there he goes to Beria We Thessalonica, okay, Thessalonica then Beria We see how the people in Beria were receptive about the word of God and from there He goes to the Akea region and over there, you know, he Goes to Corinth. Corinth is a is a wonderful place where he ministers for a prolonged period of time Via Athens, he goes to Corinth and then he has a vow. Remember we said he has a vow because he honors the Jewish traditions through In Sanctria, he cuts his hair and then, you know, he wants to make a journey back to basically his goal is Jerusalem He goes to Jerusalem to fulfill his vow, but He he chooses a certain route. So what is that route? He stops at Ephesus Okay, he stops at Ephesus now. He found some people in Corinth who are they He found like Aquila, Priscilla, those those people who were also tent makers with him and together with them They taught the word. He takes them along. Okay over here in Ephesus to do ministry He moves on but he lets them stay and then, you know, he makes his journey back comes here to Caesarea, then Jerusalem and then he goes back to his Syrian Antioch base church Okay, so that would be your Second missionary journey completed. Now, let's very very quickly look at the third one Then you will have a good idea when we are discussing Okay, so this would be your third one, right? Okay, mainly You see the arrow here, Antioch Tarsus Fragia He looks like the Okay So you can see the arrows They've included seems like Okay, something funny here because The arrows are kind of different So anyway, don't worry about it. So now He goes via some of the common places and then he spends a lot of time in Ephesus Okay, so just remember that he spends a lot of time in Ephesus and the third missionary journey back So you see here. He's coming back this way Ephesus. You can see this region militus Trojillium this whole region. So he will spend time in Ephesus. He will spend time in this region Okay for some time now We don't see specifically the names of places in the region, but he spends some three months in the region in Ephesus itself. He spends two years Earlier in the previous missionary journey. He didn't spend time Because he quickly wanted to go to Jerusalem. So now he's spending time in Ephesus And then he's coming this way and you will see him making a journey back Okay, he'll go to places like Tyre Okay, he'll go To Caesarea and then to Jerusalem. So this is how his third missionary journey is going to take place Okay, I will show you a clearer map later. So don't get all confused about it right now We are discussing only about Ephesus and this region here and then the way he is going to make his journey back We will read his names not Tyre and then all the way back to Jerusalem. So if you remember this portion This is more than sufficient. Okay, come let's Go back to Acts chapter 19 here and we will discuss Right. So the second missionary journey is through And Now We're reading we at the end of Acts 18. We said that There was a another person who got introduced Apollos. We we saw how Paul sent him to Corinth because at Corinth, uh, you didn't have you didn't have the Paul himself spending Time at Corinth. It was a difficult situation, isn't it? So uh, he there was all this chaos that was that was Created by the people there and uh In fact, Paul was so fearful to continue on in Corinth and remember how God Encouraged his heart. He gave him a word and said I have many people here. So be bold be strong So God gave him a word in Corinth There was rising opposition and people really wanted to throw him out God in a supernatural way, uh, put you know, put this, uh This this, uh, I don't know what you call it But the way scriptures say in Proverbs that the heart of the king is in the hands of the lord and he turns it Any which way he wants the uh, the authority at that time when people took the matter to the authority We saw how the leader in Corinth He said look if this if it is a matter about a crime or or or you know something that has to do with the law You please bring it to me But if it is a religious matter, no, I'm not the right person You you deal with it. Okay, you settle it among yourselves. So the people were enraged Because of the kind of response which uh, the authority gave so God gave an escape To paul in in some way and he did not get tried and he did not get killed in Corinth So that that's what we observed in the city of Corinth now the city of Corinth We said that it was a very Sinful city. There was uh, there there was uh, uh, you know Immoral sexual practices there and uh, all these things, you know, were were quite tough for paul So you see as a church planter when when he goes to a particular city that city has its own challenges. The city has its uh, you know, um own own difficulties that church planter needs to work through and added to that there was opposition in this particular city and that's what we saw Now, let's look at emphasis. We are coming here to emphasis now here we uh, we see at the very beginning of act chapter 19 that uh Apollos was in Corinth. So he was sent there for some time to do God's work Then uh, paul having passed through the upper regions. So in that map, you know, I I didn't mention to you, um, All the the places that he went but you saw more or less You saw the arrow it pointed to certain cities But there's no mention of those particular cities here, but it generally says the upper regions passed through the upper regions So, you know, probably that is why in the map they have, uh, they have touched, uh, you know, all the other cities that we talked about So he passed through the upper regions and it's starting the explanation of the third missionary journey, uh, from Primarily from the city of Ephesus. So we have to understand this is the third journey that he's going through Okay, so here when he comes to Ephesus, remember he made a quick stop in Ephesus in the second missionary journey. So where the disciples in Ephesus, yes, there were He also brought along with him, uh Aquila and Priscilla, right? So there was some work which was done in the city of Ephesus Now when paul needs the disciples there and we are clearly told that there are some disciples He asks them a unique question We don't see paul asking this question earlier. He asks them, did you receive the holy spirit when you believed? And it's interesting, you know, why would we ask believers? Whether they have received the holy spirit obviously, uh, the born again experience has to do with the work of the holy spirit So every believer, uh, has encountered the holy spirit in that manner the holy spirit dwelling within that person So what is this additional question that paul is asking? Did you receive the holy spirit? I mean, isn't it understood paul? They are disciples. So they have Uh, the whole they have the holy spirit in them But you see, uh, the baptism in the holy spirit is what paul is referring to So he is asking, did you receive the holy spirit when you believed? As a pointer to the baptism in the holy spirit earlier We saw when samaria received the gospel the apostles sent People there so that they could be baptized in the holy spirit. So this practice of Uh, baptizing the believers in the holy spirit was very important and the early church made sure that the believers went through Uh, you know, all these they were aware that okay, you know Once you're born again, you must be baptized in the holy spirit. So it's a separate experience. You know, people ask the question How can you say that indwelling of the holy spirit is different from baptism in the holy spirit? We have one example here that believers are being asked, uh, whether they have received the holy spirit So look at the answer that the believers gave they say We have not even heard As much, you know about the holy spirit. So how can this happen? See basically the teaching, right? Maybe maybe they had received, uh, inputs on other things, but They were not really taught on the holy spirit the work of the holy spirit And the baptism in the holy spirit. So what happens? Uh Then paul continues to Uh, find out a little more research a little more. So he says then if you didn't hear about the holy spirit Then what baptism where you baptized? You see again, he's pointing to The baptisms we know that there were two essential baptisms which every believer needed one was Uh, the baptism in water in the name of jesus second is the baptism in the holy spirit So when he asked them about baptism they say into john's baptism. So these believers They were not even baptized properly in water. So now, you know, uh paul gives them more clarity He tells them, okay, you know john's baptism that was meant for repentance. So, all right You know, how about, you know, we go ahead and baptize you in water in the name of jesus So when they heard this These disciples they were baptized In water in the name of the lord and in verse six We see that paul laid hands on them and the holy spirit came upon them. So both the baptisms Okay, where uh, received by the disciples in emphasis. So here starts the journey now, uh These two experiences now from here we can understand that believers today You know, uh, we can equip them in similar things. Maybe they know about being born again, but you uh notice that they were led into baptism in water for repentance in the name of jesus, of course, not john's baptism and uh, We we see that they must also be led into the holy spirit baptism. So here There were 12 such people, uh, whom paul led And he baptized them in the holy spirit now moving on He goes and he starts ministering in the city Similar to all other cities. So where does he generally begin his ministry from? He will have a survey of the place and if there are Jews then the common place would be the synagogue So he goes to the synagogue and he starts speaking there boldly for three months You see his his approach was also we we saw this earlier. He was convincing people He was talking to people here again. He's reasoning persuading Okay, these are all ways of of uh unfolding god's word unfolding the truth to the people that the lord jesus is the Messiah and that they need the forgiveness of sins and along with that They need the empowering of the holy spirit and uh, they need to live their lives as disciples and go make more disciples So, you know, these are all the things that we could have expected paul to be teaching the people So in the synagogue, he's doing his part. He is revealing things about the kingdom of god and equipping the people However, similar to what happened in corinth when corinth the jews were so hard hearted. They did not want paul So he said, okay fine, you know, I'm going to the gentiles here again In the synagogue as he's ministering just think about it, you know, three months. He's persuading them He's working hard. You know, some of us when we um get a set of believers and we are serving them No, we are so excited that we are going to build up these people in the things of god three months You know writing up a sermon studying god's word and speaking to them It's not easy, isn't it? We we just invest so much of energy in it after doing that for three months. He sees The response of these people and they are not happy with him. Okay. They have hardened hearts. So what does he do? Uh, you know, he he realizes there's no point coming here to the synagogue and teaching them So, you know, we don't know how god led them, but he goes to a place called as the school of tyrannous Here he begins to teach so seems like Uh, in the school of tyrannous Whoever came there they had a willing heart because in the synagogue they had people had hard hearts and here He has the opportunity people are willing to listen to him. So how long did he teach in tyrannous? We are told for two years two years. He continued Teaching there and all who dwelt in asia heard the word of the lord jesus both jews and Greeks So what is the kind of ministry that is taking place in Ephesus? Amazing ministry. We've not heard so far that he stayed in any given city for so long But in Ephesus He stayed. Okay. He stayed and what kind of a city is Ephesus? No, we will read later That it was a city given to worship of uh, uh, the goddess diana. Okay, the goddess diana, uh, and It's a city similar to corinth, you know, corinth city where there was sin Athens a city which was given over to its philosophies you have Ephesus Where again you have worship to Goddess called diana But you know paul in the midst of this setting He is continuing to expound the word of god. He's continuing to teach the word of god and it says In the school of tyrannous, how often did he teach daily? So can you imagine? Daily for two years. Uh, how many teaching hours is that? No, at least us here. We we teach for five days in a week Three hours, you know, you all are attending online classes. Um, and that's about it. But you see Paul ministering to the people Daily and it is likely that people would come Uh, those in the daytime You know, maybe maybe he didn't spend that much of time because people would work But once they came back from work We don't know how long how many teaching hours paul put in but the passion which he had and you know the the revelation Because to be able to teach one hour, you need to have that revelation from god's word The understanding from god's word about those matters But you notice here, he must have put in hundreds of teaching hours to equip the disciples in Ephesus And it is not just the disciples in Ephesus but you know this Place in uh, uh, asia Asia minor, uh, you you find that the access for people all over asia It it is it's quite good. So a lot of people it in fact the way the scripture puts it is all who dwelt in asia So it talks of the impact Okay, uh people across asia heard the word of god from this one school of tyrannous So What a marvelous impact that uh paul and his ministry has had in the City of Ephesus that the word of god is being preached so beautifully and people are being equipped The the city was such that you know, people could come they could hear the word and they could go Impact others. This is like a beautiful example of if you want to call it a bible college Okay, so in the school of tyrannous school of tyrannous was a building which paul got maybe, you know, somebody who Responded to the gospel gave him permission to preach from there But it touched the entire region of asia because people could come there be equipped and go back So we see paul, uh, you know, uh teaching the word of god the truth about the kingdom of god What else could he have spoken? He could have spoken about the life of jesus and in that much of time two years It is likely no he himself was well-versed in hebrew. He himself was well-versed in the scriptures So he would have taken, you know Passages verses he would have taken, you know words and he would have really Imparted into the people the truth of god's word. So he did an extreme Extremely wonderful ministry equipping equipping teaching You know reasoning with the disciples on a daily basis and it also shows us, you know The way in which got it prepared paul to minister in such a way To his listeners. So overall, you know, it's wonderful ministry This place is given over to idol worship and especially diana But you know paul in the midst of that he is having an incredible ministry going on So where there are a lot of disciples we can infer yeah looks like there were a lot of disciples And not just from that region others also had joined in what else is called leading paul In in emphasis so teaching ministry not just the way jesus taught jesus preached paul is also Doing that in continuation just like jesus's ministry along with that there were There was a demonstration of god's power. So in verse 11 We see that god did unusual miracles through the hands of paul. Okay, so Miracles in itself is The manifestation of the supernatural but you see Unusual miracles handkerchiefs or aprons which were brought from his body to the sick So we we see that diseases were healed evil spirits went out of people Now, how is that possible? Because of the anointing you remember when we read about jesus in mark chapter 5 a lady came for Healing and she had the flow of blood. How did she finally receive her healing? She touched the hem of jesus's garment What is there in the garment? We can simply uh say that it was the anointing and god's anointing or power went out of his body scriptures say So what is that power the anointing of god the presence of god the healing power of god similarly When uh cloth was taken out of paul's body that is the understanding we had we have that the power of god Somehow now we don't understand all the dynamics of it. But uh, you know, it could have carried it could have carried That power and then as they took the cloth and touched those who who needed healing people were actually healed So god is working beautifully through the life of Paul here, uh, and you know, uh We also see in that same passage that people were closely observing paul Okay, and the work which he was doing. So at that time There were also people in the city of Ephesus who were Spiritual but they were engaging in the dark side of Of things, you know of the spiritual realm very similar to samaria because in samaria you had simon the sorcerer Who was known as god people even worshipped him as god Because of his supernatural powers and similarly Seems like Ephesus also was awake to the the spiritual Realms and so there are some exhausts Okay exhausts are people who cast out demons Jewish exhausts And it also seems like you know, they they were kind of professional in doing this doing this work now They really cast out demons. We know that That is not possible without the spirit of god because Jesus when he did it He said that I'm doing this by the spirit of god. So maybe they could have just you know, uh, uh Done the whole You know when when the exorcism is going on people do these things right like what is your name? Uh, where are you from so people people feel that oh, okay You know, this person is able to cast the demon out But whether the demon has gone out or not, you know, how would people know? So exhausts would engage in things like that But we know that it's only by the power of god that demons can actually be cast out But they might have observed the work of paul and wanted to copy it So what did they do? No, they noticed that uh paul was casting out demons in the name of jesus. So They tried doing it themselves Okay, they tried casting out the demons and They knew that there was something about the name of jesus. So, um How did they how did they speak to the demons? You know, they said something like we uh exercise you by the jesus whom paul preaches Okay, were they correct in in saying that yes technically correct. They are they know the Uh The steps of casting out a demon in the name of jesus a demon must be cast out But what really happens, you know when they do it this way? There were seven sons of skeeva, okay Who who did this they were the sons of the jewish chief priest But when they tried exercising by using the technique that paul was using which is in the name of jesus You know the demon spirits they actually responded and they said that jesus i know and paul i know but who are you Okay, that's amazing because it it tells us that in the kingdom Uh, uh, you know in the spiritual realm Even the demonic spirits recognize those who have a relationship with god So these seven sons of skeeva They obviously were not born again And they were trying to use the technique of the using the name of jesus, but the demons did not listen to them So demons recognize people with authority Okay, people from the kingdom of god with authority. So that is our observation here The demon said jesus we know paul we know But who are you Okay, but who are you so That is uh, how Marvelously paul's ministry happened in emphasis that the professional exorcists were trying to copy The work which he was doing. Okay, let's continue to see the impact, you know great impact in teaching Great impact in manifestation of the works of the spirit because even unusual miracles. What are usual miracles? You know some healings and um deliverance is that is usual now when the scripture says unusual It does not even give us what explanation when we read of some of the uh, the miracles that elijah elijah They did that was so unusual. Isn't it like acts floating and all now, baby Some similar things have happened in the ministry of paul, but we don't have an explanation over here The powerful teaching powerful demonstration of the spirit to the extent that those who were Interested in the spiritual realm those who are professionally engaging, you know in the dark powers. They were trying to copy paul So did paul have a successful ministry in uh, uh, emphasis. Yes, we could say that. Okay, we could definitely This uh come to that conclusion. Now. Let's move forward these evil spirits They recognized uh, jesus and paul, but they did not recognize these people because they were not part of the kingdom of Light, okay, or they were not born again the seven sons of skeeva. So how did they? Uh, uh, respond to the seven sons of skeeva. We are told that the evil spirit, you know overpowered them And you know it really beat them up made them even Naked and wounded and this became known throughout emphasis. Okay, and It brought a lot of fear in the hearts of the people. So it's likely that there were Many who were happy about the Spiritual powers which they were experiencing till that time which we already obviously know The source is not god. Okay from satan and the demons. They were exercising some amount of spiritual powers Now when they saw How the demons spoke to the sons of skeeva and said that we know paul We know jesus who are you and then the demons beat them up So they understood that this man paul, you know, he really belongs to superior kingdom He belongs to uh, whatever he's speaking about jesus is real Okay, uh and the authority which uh, he carries the authority in the name of jesus is real So they realized that they were going wrong In the pursuit of the spiritual or the supernatural So what happens the moment they hear of this thing? Oh the sons of skeeva The sons of the high priest got beaten up. That means that all along What we've been doing, you know, that is not Part of god's kingdom So fear fell on them and we read that the name of the lord jesus was magnified in that city And many started confessing they started telling their deeds. They started believing in jesus. So, um, this victory this victory You know, it it was it was really a victory of the gospel where people's hearts were being changed and Transformed similar to what happened to simon the sorcerer. He also accepted christ, right? He responded to the gospel. So a lot of people who were practicing, you know, these spiritual matters They started following christ and uh, uh, you know many of them a lot of people believed among whom where these these uh, uh people who practiced black magic Now, what did these people who practice black magic to they brought their books together and they burnt it in the site of everybody So it's a it's a very visible sign of repentance in the city Okay, and when you count up the value of everything, we are told that up to 50 000 pieces of silver, which was big money. Okay, very very big money that much That was the value of what was being burned In the city of Ephesus. So you see how wonderfully God has worked there was If you want to sum it up and just put one line to it, there was true repentance Okay, that was demonstrated that was seen In the city of Ephesus. How was it possible? because God's word went out powerfully. God's power went out powerfully in the city of Ephesus. So Successful ministry powerful ministry lives being changed transformation. You know, we talk about city transformation Has there been city transformation? Yes Because people's hearts have been changed city transformation is transformation of people and you see them, you know, believing Confessing repenting telling their deeds. Wow They have truly encountered God in the city of Ephesus So on one hand all this amazing work is going on now. Let's see what happens in the same city When these things were being accomplished. We are told that uh, uh, you know Paul He he kind of you know, he already had in his heart that I must continue this journey I must go past, you know, Macedonia, Achaia those regions as well And go to Jerusalem and after that, you know, I must also see Rome So he was making his plans led by the Holy Spirit at that time And you know, he had two people who ministered With him Go out into Macedonia. Okay, so who are these people he? He sent into Macedonia two people Timothy and Erastus, but he's himself continued in his mind. He wanted to go but not right now So he sent out Timothy and Erastus and he continued in Ephesus and at this time On the one hand ministry is going on very well Look at what else happens in the same city At verse 23 we see that there was a great confusion that arose in the city of Ephesus Okay, there was a man by the name of Demetrius. He was a silversmith and uh, he was uh, you know, one of those people who made Silver shrines of diner remember I told you that uh, uh, people worship this goddess. There was there was um The worship of this goddess Um, if you go into the details of it, you know, the background is something like some black meteorite stone k You know that it was there and then they carved out an image out of that stone and a god of fertility Okay, the god of fertility. Um is the one that they worship So they would make idols of of this this fertility goddess in other words and they would worship So, uh, there was a lot of business of making these idols So Demetrius was a silversmith. He worked with silver and he made shrines of diner over there And you can imagine, you know, if you make an idol out of silver and you sell it You will have so much of money. So when people started believing, uh, in Jesus A lot of them went away from worship of diner. So the business got affected You you can imagine it must have really been affected deeply no wonder they were undergoing a loss So Demetrius, you know, he gets upset That, uh, uh, his business is going down. So what he does is he calls people together Similar workers in the same profession of making idols and then, you know, he says he tells them men You know that we have our prosperity by this trade. What is that trade making idols? Moreover, you see and hear that Not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all asia This paul has persuaded and turned away many people saying that they are not gods, which are made with hands So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute But also the temple of the great goddess Diana Maybe despised and her magnificence destroyed whom all asia and the world worship. So, you know, there is a very, um real threat to the business Of making idols of diner and also to the very worship of diner And that is also the result of the ministry of paul So on the one hand work is going on. Well, on the other hand opposition is rising similar to corinth You know, you see it very clearly here when the people heard this Okay, uh, they they were they were Filled with anger or wrath and you see them screaming out, you know, great is diana of the efficiency because there was a threat Right, there was a threat to uh, their their original if you if you may call it goddess of worship over there and you know this really uh affected the Uh ministry and the decision that that paul is going to take about staying back in Ephesus so opposition is rising and the city is filled with so much of confusion That people they rushed into the theater And they could not beat up paul. So they they caught hold of the companions of paul. We are told Gays are stakers. They were Macedonian companions of paul They were beaten up. They they were brought in. They were seized. Okay. Were they beaten up? Let me be clear about that. No, no, we don't we don't really read that they were seized. Okay, I correct myself they were seized they were seized and uh, uh, there's all this this, uh Mob sort of a mentality which earlier we've seen in every city the people who Disliked paul and his ministry. They created a mob and they threw him out of the city So it's going on those same lines where they're trying to create, you know A hue and cry and have him thrown out of the city. So When uh, the companions of paul where where seized even paul wanted to go. Okay, and he wanted to Give a defense for himself But some of the other disciples did not let him go because they saw you know, what a what a crazy situation it had Become and uh, some people among the officials also who knew paul and they were happy about his teaching They pleaded with him because they understood that if he continues over here Or if he goes in to explain, you know in this in this kind of a situation You know something worse will happen. So they told him, okay paul We know you want to go in there you want to give an explanation and defend yourself your people But please don't go in there. So all this is going on at that time there was A person by the name of Alexander Okay whom The crowds drew and uh The jews put him forward and alexander You know, he tried to stop This this cry which was rising up but people were actually not listening and the commotion continued where people were screaming You know their their uh, uh praises to the goddess dina. So this is set in our minds. Okay, but the Uh, ministry went on well and now there is opposition rising against paul. Okay, so just keep that in your mind We'll just come back and wrap it up the city of emphasis and then we will see, you know How he proceeds further to many other places. Uh, we're actually out of time So let's stop at this point and we will be back after 10 minutes. Yeah, thank you