Two roads led into Ephesus from the east, and Paul travelled the northern, more direct route (cf. Acts 18:23). [1] Ephesus, like Athens, had reached its heyday and was in decline when Paul visited it. Its claim to fame was twofold. Its location on the west coast of Asia Minor near the mouth of the Cayster River made it an important commercial center. As commerce declined due to the silting up of the port at Ephesus, its religious influence continued to draw worshippers to the Temple of Artemis (Greek) or Diana (Roman). This magnificent temple was four times the size of the Parthenon at Athens and was renowned as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Alexander the Great had contributed much money for its construction in the fourth century B.C, and it lasted until A.D263when the Goths destroyed it. [source][source][source]
"It was425 feet long by220 feet wide by60 feet high. There were127 pillars, each of them the gift of a king. They were all of glittering Parian marble and36 of them were marvelously gilt and inlaid. The great altar had been carved by Praxiteles, the greatest of all Greek sculptors. The image of Artemis was not beautiful. It was a black, squat, many-breasted figure, to signify fertility; it was so old that no one knew where it had come from or even of what material it was made. The story was that it had fallen from heaven. The greatest glory of Ephesus was that she was the guardian of the most famous pagan temple in the world." [2][source]
Emperor Justinian of Byzantium later used some of the pilars for the construction of the Hagia Sophia, where they still stand, in modern Istanbul. Ephesus was a hotbed of religious superstition and occult practices. [source][source][source]
"Ephesus, for all her past splendour, was a dying city, pre-occupied with parasite pursuits, living, like Athens, on a reputation, and a curious meeting-place of old and new religions, of superstition and philosophy, of East and West." [3][source]
It is difficult to determine whether the "disciples" whom Paul found in Ephesus were Christians or not. They seem quite similar to Apollos ( Acts 18:25-26), and some students of Acts believe they were either Old Testament saints or untaught Christians. [4] Another possibility is that they were not believers at all but only seekers after the truth. [5] The second alternative seems more probable to me. Elsewhere Luke used the word "disciple" to describe John"s followers ( Luke 5:33; Luke 7:18-19). Clearly these men were disciples of John the Baptist, not Jesus. This is the fifth reference in Acts to John the Baptist"s role as precursor of Jesus (cf. Acts 1:5; Acts 11:16; Acts 13:25; Acts 18:25). Clearly John"s influence had been far reaching. [source][source][source]
Paul asked these men about their possession of the Holy Spirit, probably because he saw some incongruity in their claim to be admirers of John and their evident lack of the Spirit. The correct translation is "when you believed" rather than "since you believed" (AV, cf. Acts 1:8). The Greek text implies no second work of grace. [6] Paul"s question assumed two things: they were genuine Christians, since they professed to believe John the Baptist, and everyone who believes in Jesus possesses the indwelling Holy Spirit (cf. Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13). [source][source][source]
John had predicted the baptism of the Holy Spirit ( Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; cf. John 1:32-33). Their response to Paul"s question probably indicates that they did not know that the Lord had given the Holy Spirit as John had predicted. This enabled Paul to see that his first assumption about these disciples was incorrect; they were probably not Christians. [source][source][source]