<p>19:28 <i>And when they heard this, they were filled with anger and cried out, saying: Great is Diana of Ephesus<em>- </em></i>Because Paul's preaching 'despised' the goddess Diana, her worshippers perceived that she and they were somehow thereby shamed; and so they were angry. It's perhaps possible to understand the wrath of God in this way, too. For His wrath is upon those who break His commands; and by breaking them we<em> shame</em> God (Rom. 2:23); we <em>despise</em> his desire for our repentance (Rom. 2:4). We note how pagan gods were local in worship and supposed sphere of influence- Diana was &ldquo;of Ephesus&rdquo;, and the Jews considered Yahweh the God of Israel alone, and the likes of Jonah even thought that His presence was limited outside the land of Israel. The Christian message of a loving Father involved with &ldquo;all men&rdquo; as their saviour was therefore radical in its huge, global scope.</p><p>Their anger was related to shame that their god had been exposed as a fake. There's a definite link between shame and anger. Take a man whose mother yelled at him because as a toddler he ran out onto the balcony naked, and shamed him by her words. Years later on a hot Summer evening the man as an adult walks out on a balcony with just his underpants on. An old woman yells at him from the yard below that he should be ashamed of himself. And he's furiously angry with her- because of the shame given him by his mother in that incident 20 years ago. Shame and anger are clearly understood by God as being related, because His word several times connects them: &quot;A fool's <em>anger </em>is immediately known; but a prudent man covers his <em>shame</em>&quot; (Prov. 12:16); A king's <em>anger</em> is against a man who <em>shames</em> him (Prov. 14:35). Or consider 1 Sam. 20:34: &quot;So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce <em>anger</em>, and did eat no meat the second day of the month... because his father had done him <em>shame</em>&quot;. Job's<em> anger</em> was related to the fact that he felt that ten times the friends had <em>shamed</em> him in their speeches (Job 19:3). Frequently the rejected are threatened with both shame and anger / gnashing of teeth; shame and anger are going to be connected in that awful experience. They will &quot;curse in anger... and be ashamed&quot; (Ps. 109:28). The final shame of the rejected is going to be so great that &quot;they shall be greatly ashamed... their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten&quot; (Jer. 20:11). Seeing they will be long dead and gone, it is us, the accepted, who by God's grace will recall the terrible shame of the rejected throughout our eternity. Their shame will be so terrible; and hence their anger will likewise be.</p>