Law of Moses Versus the Law of the Spirit – Part 18

[Posted July 2009]

Updated March 23, 2034

Adam, along with all his descendants, was created so spiritually blind that he did not even realize that he was created naked and in need of clothing to cover his spiritual nakedness.

Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [realized that I] was naked; and I hid myself.

2Co 5:3  If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

That clothing for Adam and Eve was provided by God in the form of a sacrifice. Christ shed the blood of animals to use their skins to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve, signifying His own death when “the fulness of the time [came] to redeem them that were under the law.”

Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Christ’s blood is the only clothing for our sins, our nakedness, with which we are born. Nakedness, from the very beginning, signifies sin, and sin is defined as transgressing the law:

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Our nakedness is most pronounced in our own self-righteousness. It is when we think that by keeping the law that we are coving our nakedness that we are the most exposed before God and man:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

This is the lesson of the book of Job.  Job thought of himself as a perfect man who feared God and eschewed evil:

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

There is no doubt that Job did indeed fear God, and there is no doubt that he did eschew evil. There was no doubt in his own mind that he was indeed a good man of great integrity. He certainly thought of himself as such which he vehemently expressed before his “miserable comforters”:

Job 27:5  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7  Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
Job 27:8  For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

There is one transgression which is so insidious that no man can see it of himself. We can all see it in others, but without the very mind of Christ, we cannot detect this most insidious transgression within ourselves. It is “the pride of life”, the last and most insidious of the three categories which encompass “all that is in the world”:

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the [1] lust of the flesh, and [2] the lust of the eyes, and [3] the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

The law of Moses is a carnal commandment and is nothing more than “the Gentiles [which] are a law unto themselves”:

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Job was a self-righteous Pharisee before there were any self-righteous Pharisees. As is always the case with every man, Job could not see that he was ascribing the work of the Lord to himself. When we take the credit that is due to the Lord, we become guilty before God of the most insidious of all sins. It is the sin of iniquity, and ‘iniquity’ is defined as “trusting in [our] own righteousness”:

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

If we agree with Paul that “we are no longer under the schoolmaster …after faith is come (Gal 3:22-25), and that we are “not under the law but under grace” (Rom 6:14-15), are we encouraging disobedience to God? Are we saying, “Let us sin that grace may abound” (Rom 6:1)? Does the doctrine that we are coming out from under the “schoolmaster” suggest that we can now sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? “God forbid.” Does coming of age and leaving home and leaving behind parental authority necessitate becoming a lawless criminal? No! Of course it does not! When Paul says, “We are no longer under the schoolmaster… after that faith is come”, he and we are pointing out that Adam’s earthy composition and naked condition from the hand of the creator necessitated “a schoolmaster… a carnal commandment [to govern us] until faith should come”.

Gal 3:22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

It is “the faith of Jesus Christ” which justifies us, not “the works of… a carnal commandment.”

Gal 2:16  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Leaving our parents and becoming a contributing member of society, leaving the schoolmaster behind signifies “the faith of Jesus Christ” as we mature spiritually and grow into “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2).

No longer being under a schoolmaster simply signifies a work in progress:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. [“Christ in you” (Col 1:27)]
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

“The Time of Reformation”

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [G1945: epikeimai, laid upon, pressed upon] on them [only] until the time of reformation.

The Greek verb G1945, epikeimai, which is translated “imposed” in the KJV, is in the present tense because we are all “under the law” in every generation until “the faith of Jesus” come to each of us. That is why Paul tells us:

1Co 9:19  For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
1Co 9:20  And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
1Co 9:21  To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

Paul says he is “not without law to God, but under the law to Christ.” Being “under the law to Christ” is what made it possible to minister “to them that are without law.” Paul was certainly not under the law of Moses or he would have encouraged circumcision, and he would have kept “all things written in the book of the law.” So what law was he “under…to Christ?” He was under the “new commandment” (Joh 13:34); he was under “the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).

None of this was immediately understood by any of the 120 Jewish disciples on the day of Pentecost when the gift of the holy spirit was first given to mankind. Not one single person who was there when the gift of the holy spirit was poured out on those 120 people had so much as a hint that Christ intended to give His spirit to the Gentiles. The gift of the holy spirit does not bequeath instant spiritual maturity. What the gift of the holy spirit does do is to give us the ability to begin to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.

The apostle Paul was the only Jewish apostle who was called into the ministry outside the physical nation of Israel. His calling began just outside the city of Damascus, in Syria.

Here is what Christ told ‘Saul of Tarsus’, who would later become ‘Paul the apostle’, when He first struck him down on the road to Damascus:

Act 9:9  And he [Saul of Tarsus, Paul] was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
Act 9:10  And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Act 9:12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Act 9:13  Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Act 9:14  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Christ told Ananias that He would send Saul, who later was renamed Paul, to the Gentiles, but that was not where Saul of Tarsus went to begin with.

Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Saul began his ministry immediately, but he went to the Jews first:

Act 9:19  And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the [Jewish] disciples which were at Damascus.
Act 9:20  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

Saul spent three years preaching to Jewish Christians in Damascus. Then he returned to Jerusalem for “fifteen days” before leaving for his hometown of Tarsus in Cilicia:

Gal 1:18  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
Gal 1:20  Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
Gal 1:21  Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

About the time Paul left Jerusalem for Tarsus, the holy spirit gave the apostle Peter the distinction of being the first person to take the gospel to the Gentiles. This was well over three years after the day of Pentecost, and not one apostle had taken the gospel to a single Gentile. Demonstrating how attached the apostles and the entire early church were to being physically descended from Abraham, Peter was forced to defend the fact that he had   preached the gospel to the Gentiles in Caesarea:

Act 11:1  And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
Act 11:2  And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
Act 11:3  Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

“They that were of the circumcision” included the apostles themselves. Peter’s experience while in the home of Simon the tanner left no room to doubt that his actions were a work of the holy spirit telling Conelius in Caesarea to send for a man named Peter 30 miles south of Caesarea in Joppa. Then, just as the three messengers from Cornelius arrived in Joppa the holy spirit, three times Peter was told that he was to call no man common or unclean.

Act 11:2  And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
Act 11:3  Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
Act 11:4  But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
Act 11:5  I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
Act 11:6  Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Act 11:7  And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
Act 11:8  But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
Act 11:9  But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
Act 11:10  And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.
Act 11:11  And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.
Act 11:12  And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:
Act 11:13  And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
Act 11:14  Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
Act 11:15  And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Act 11:16  Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Act 11:17  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

This was three or four years after the holy spirit was first given on the day of Pentecost.

Immediately after Peter had defended his actions in the house of the Gentile Roman centurion these are the very next words we read:

Act 11:19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

Leaving the schoolmaster was not an easy thing for the early Jewish Christians to do. This is what the apostle Peter tells us about how difficult it was for the early Jewish Christians, and the Gentile proselytes, to understand the principle of coming out from under “the schoolmaster” of the law of Moses:

2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Even after Paul’s first missionary journey with Barnabas, the law of Moses still had such a hold on the early Christians that there was almost a split in the church over the question of whether physical circumcision was required for the salvation of the Gentile converts. The question was resolved by seeking a multitude of counselors from all “the apostles and elders” at Jerusalem:

Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them [Gentile converts] to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

The holy spirit told the apostles Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, that it was not yet time for the Jews to come out from under the law of Moses:

Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

It was the holy spirit setting the schedule for spiritual growth of the church, and the holy spirit declared that the Jewish church was not yet ready to come out from under the schoolmaster, the law of Moses:

Act 15:23  And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Many years later we find the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem still under the schoolmaster, the law of Moses. It is in Acts 21 that James erases any doubt that the Jewish Christians were still under the law of Moses, even to the extent of still offering blood animal sacrifices as if the death of our Lord were not sufficient to atone for our sins. Paul had been living by the decrees of the apostles and elders to the extent that he had circumcised Timothy and had been keeping the sabbath and holy days. Nevertheless, he was falsely accused of teaching the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake the law of Moses:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law [“the schoolmaster”]:
Act 21:21  And they are [falsely] informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

James and the apostles and elders at Jerusalem had already conceived a plan to attempt to prove that Paul himself was keeping the law of Moses:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Paul spent another two years as a prisoner in Caesarea under the charge of the governors Felix and Festus before being sent to Rome. It was only after Paul was a prisoner at Rome that the Lord finally opened the eyes and ears of the rest of the apostles to accept the “some things hard to be understood …” which were even then considered to be scripture:

2Pe  3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Not one Christian in a thousand realizes that all the apostles were living under the law of Moses until Paul was sent to Rome as a prisoner, where the Lord finally gave him this revelation in his epistle to the church at Ephesus:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Even though most people do not realize it, this whole story of the early church struggling to come out from under the law of Moses, signifies each of us today as we struggle to come out from under the doctrines of Babylon with all its widely accepted traditions. This whole story signifies the necessity of a period of transition in the life of every man called “the time of reformation” (Heb 9:10). Christ made it clear to us that there were “many things” even his closest associates could not “bear…now” – could not at first receive:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (Joh 16:12). This is a principle that applies to each believer individually. “Peter…and the other Jews dissembled (and) Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation” (Gal 2:11-13) simply because in their own “time of reformation”, that time of transition from the old to the new covenant, they were still “not able to bear” some of the truths of the new covenant even at this late date. When Paul said: “I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem” (Act 18:21), he said that because he had agreed with the apostles in Acts 15, that the holy spirit had decided that the Jewish Christians were not yet able to receive the Truth of the words of our Lord. Jesus had said that the time would come when ‘Neither in Samaria, nor in Jerusalem, would men worship God.’  Peter, Paul and Barnabas were submitting to the consensus of the counsel of the elders in Acts 15. The Jerusalem conference was held many years after the death and resurrection of Christ, and it would be many more years before the truths of Ephesians 2:11-22 would be made known by the holy spirit. At the time of the Jerusalem conference, the Jewish Christians, including most of the apostles, were still unable to accept or “bear” the Truth Christ Himself had declared to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob:

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

There is now no difference between a Jew and a Gentile before God. The Jewish tradition of esteeming one day above another, of “observing days, months, times and years” enumerated in Leviticus 23 and 25 and in Numbers 28 and 29 was one of the hardest things for the early Christian church to relinquish. Immediately after chastising the Galatians for observing days, months times and years, Paul says “tell me you that desire to be under the law…” (Gal 4:21). Obviously, the days, months, times and years were the Sabbaths, holy days, new moons, land rest and jubilee years cited by Moses in the scriptures in Leviticus and Numbers given above. There are no days, months, times, or years to be observed under the new “law of faith” (Rom 3:27).

Modern day Christians have this very same struggle as they are being dragged by the Lord out from under the law in which they have been brought up as their “schoolmaster… the law of the Gentiles” which is the same as the law of Moses:

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Acts 28:1-31  Paul Thanked God and Took Courage

[Study Aired October 29, 2023]

Act 28:1  And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.
Act 28:2  And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
Act 28:3  And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Act 28:4  And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
Act 28:5  And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
Act 28:6  Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
Act 28:7  In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
Act 28:8  And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
Act 28:9  So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
Act 28:10  Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
Act 28:11  And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
Act 28:12  And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
Act 28:13  And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:
Act 28:14  Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
Act 28:15  And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
Act 28:16  And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
Act 28:17  And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
Act 28:18  Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.
Act 28:19  But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.
Act 28:20  For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
Act 28:21  And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.
Act 28:22  But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Act 28:23  And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
Act 28:24  And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
Act 28:25  And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Act 28:26  Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Act 28:27  For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Act 28:28  Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
Act 28:29  And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
Act 28:30  And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
Act 28:31  Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Our study today is the 28^th chapter, the last chapter of the book of Acts. There is an easily discernable spurious 29^th chapter of Acts which would have us believe that Paul left Rome and went to Spain and then to Britain where the Druids convinced Paul that they were the descendants of the northern ten tribes of Israel. From Britain this spurious 29^th chapter of acts has Paul traveling through France to the Belgae (Belbium) preaching the gospel to Roman garrisons and to the people. From Belgium this spurious 29^th chapter of Acts affirms that Paul went to Switzerland, called Helvetia, where he come to “Mount Pontius Pilate” where we are told in this spurious work that Pilate had cast himself down headlong and had perished, but immediately water had gushed out of the mountain and washed Pilate’s dead body into a lake of which lake we are told:

“Verse 20. And Paul stretched forth his hands upon the water and prayed unto the Lord, saying, O Lord God, give a sign unto all nations that here Pontius Pilate, which condemned thine only-begotten Son, plunged down headlong into the pit.
Verse 21. And while Paul was yet speaking, behold there came a great earthquake, and the face of the waters was changed, and the form of the lake like unto the Son of Man hanging in an agony upon the cross.
Verse 22. And a voice came out of heaven saying, Even Pilate hath escaped the wrath to come, for he washed his hands before the multitude at the blood-shedding of the Lord Jesus.” (End Quote)

Contrast all this heresy with these true words of our Lord:

Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Mar 8:12  And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

So much for the heresies of the 29^th chapter of Acts. It is really nothing more than an attempt by the adversary to legitimize the false doctrine of British Israelism, and the desires of Catholicism to see signs as proof of their legitimacy as the one true church.

Coming back to The Truth:

Act 28:1  And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. [Modern day Malta]
Act 28:2  And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.

This gracious reception by these ‘Barbarous people’ signifies how the Gentiles were prophesied to receive the gospel after it was rejected by the Lord’s own people, the Jews:

Mat 13:57  And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

The people on the island of Malta graciously received and ministered to those who the Lord has saved from the tempestuous sea.

Act 28:3  And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

The Lord’s apostle was not above pitching in and doing manual labor to get the job done and to help minister to those needing help. Luke earlier had used the pronoun ‘we’ when speaking of work done on the ship to help save the lives of all:

Act 27:19  And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.

Contrary to the lies of Babylon of a pitchfork-wielding devil stoking the fires of hell, the truth is that the adversary (“that old serpent the devil and Satan”) cannot stand the fiery Truths of the Word of God, and he flees from that heat, attempting to poison and destroy the Lord’s elect in doing so. However, the Lord’s elect simply shake off that lying serpent into the Truths of the Lord’s words and are not at all hurt by the serpent’s futile attempt to destroy the manchild of the woman.

This is the only example of anyone in all the New Testament literally taking up a serpent and not being hurt by doing so. Paul did not go out looking for rattlesnakes to bring into the church and tempt the Lord for the sake of the attention and the entertainment of others. Paul’s example is how we handle serpents without suffering any harm:

Mat 4:6  And [the devil] saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Mar 16:18  They shall [inadvertently] take up serpents; and if they [inadvertently] drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Act 28:4  And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
Act 28:5  And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

Paul was the Lord’s messenger. He had no interest in putting on an unscriptural show for the people of the island. He was not deliberately taking up a serpent to entertain men. The only time he deliberately ‘took up serpents’ was each time he entered a synagogue, knowing from experience that those who were of their father, the devil, would be right there to withstand his gospel message. There were 275 others on that ship, plus all the natives of Malita who were right there and could have been attacked by that serpent, but the Lord caused it to attack Paul, who signifies each of us, the Lord’s messengers in this dark and barbarous world.

Act 28:6  Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

The carnal mind, without the direction of the Lord’s Word, is so easily led to worship the messenger. That is true even for the Lord’s elect as the apostle John twice demonstrates for us:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Act 28:7  In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.

Lodging 276 people for three days was no small task, but it certainly paid off well for Publius who was “entertaining angels unawares”:

Heb 13:1  Let brotherly love continue.
Heb 13:2  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Luke, Aristarchus and Paul were all angels of the Lord, carrying the gospel of the Lord, being ‘lodged courteously’ by Publius, the chief man of the island of Malita. It turned out to be a great blessing to Publius and to his family, as is always the case when we show any kindness to the least of the Lord’s children:

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Being totally unaware of the spiritual status of some of his guests, Publius was showing kindness to no less than Jesus Christ Himself, and he was about to reap the blessings of doing so:

Act 28:8  And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
Act 28:9  So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
Act 28:10  Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.

Paul himself healed no one by his own power. He was the Lord’s agency for healing the father of Publius of his “bloody flux”, and that was just the beginning, as others also, who had diseases in the island came and were healed. That is the Lord’s method of operation. What we give in this life will redound a hundredfold to the glory of God:

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Act 28:11  And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.

Three months of adverse winter weather had constrained Julius to wait until Spring to continue on toward Rome in another ‘ship of Alexandria’ which had also “wintered in the isle” waiting for milder weather. The harsh winter months, notorious for bad sailing conditions, were now past, and Julius was ready to continue his trip to Rome to deliver his prisoners to Caesar. Castor and Pollux were the mythical twin sons of the head Roman God, Jupiter. They supposedly had the power of saving men in danger at sea. The fact Luke takes time to mention them as the sign under which this ship was sailing indicates that someone in the group thought it was good to have the Roman Gods on their side as they approached Rome. That ‘someone’ certainly was not Paul, Aristarchus, or Luke who all knew there was but one God, the Father:

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and [besides this “one God, the Father” there is also] one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. [Paul here totally ignores ‘the third person of the godhead’ because there is no such ‘person’]

Act 28:12  And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.

No reason is given for this three-day layover in Syracuse, therefore I will not speculate, but I will say that the spiritual significance of the number ‘three’ indicates that a process is taking place, and that process is judging us and bring us to maturity if we are ‘in Christ’.

Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Act 28:13  And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:
Act 28:14  Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.

Julius apparently granted Paul and his traveling companions to spend seven days to visit with Christian brothers in the city of Puteoli. It is a work of the Lord that Julius the centurion was given to honor his prisoner, Paul, at every opportunity. He knew Paul had been prominent in the Jewish religion before being blinded for three days by Christ. Julius knew all about Paul’s experience with the Lord, and he had witnessed in the most severe fashion the fallacy of ignoring Paul as the Lord’s spokesperson. Paul was never once treated as a mere prisoner, not even by King Agrippa, and Julius was more than willing to accommodate Paul and his Christian friends whenever possible.

What happens next reveals how well-known Paul had become even in Rome:

Act 28:15  And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

Appii forum is, according to Gill’s Commentary, 51 miles south of Rome and The three taverns is 33 miles south of Rome.

The gospel had first come to Rome via the pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost:

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Act 2:9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

About three years earlier, near the end of his third missionary journey, Paul had written his most profound epistle to these Romans, expounding on the reformation of Jesus and what that entailed. These Roman Christians were coming out to meet the author of that incredible epistle and the man who had once persecuted Christians before being blinded by Christ on the road to Damascus. It was common to travel a long distance to meet an emperor, or a high government official, and escort him back into the city. Paul was being given an emperor’s welcome by the church at Rome, and it had the affect of causing him to “thank God and take courage.”

Paul’s special treatment continued while being kept as a prisoner in Rome:

Act 28:16  And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.

The Roman government saw fit to let Paul rent his own home, and they provided a personal security guard for the apostle Paul. Why the Roman system did this is not explained, but anyone who knows that God is working all things after the counsel of his own will knows that it was all, in the final analysis, a work of the Lord for His own purposes:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The Roman Governor, Festus, had asked King Agrippa to help him formulate a letter to Augustus concerning why Paul was being sent to Rome:

Act 25:24  And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.
Act 25:25  But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.
Act 25:26  Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.
Act 25:27  For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.

Paul’s testimony before the king of his zeal for the traditions of his fathers, and his subsequent conversion to becoming a servant of Christ, was so persuasive that Agrippa confessed to almost becoming a Christian convert:

Act 26:26  For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things [Christ’s ministry, death and resurrection, and Paul’s efforts to extinguish Christ’s followers before becoming a convert to Christ] are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.
Act 26:27  King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
Act 26:28  Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

King Agrippa was not much help in finding a reason to send Paul to Augustus as he told the governor, Festus:

Act 26:30  And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
Act 26:31  And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
Act 26:32  Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

It is not adding to the scriptures at all to say that Festus realized that if Paul had not appealed to Caesar, he “might have been set a liberty”, therefore it logically follows that any letter to Augustus sent from Festus by Julius the centurion would not have condemned Paul. That helps to explain why Paul was never treated as a common criminal because everyone knew he was innocent and undeserving of being treated as a criminal.

Now Paul is ready to be a witness of the gospel of Christ in Rome, first to the Jews, but also to anyone who wants to come and hear what he has to say. As he had said in the beginning of his epistle to the Romans, which was penned over three years before his arrival in Rome:

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

Judaism was the established church of Paul’s day. The application today is ‘to the established Christian first and also to the rest of mankind.’ Paul wasted no time taking the gospel to the Jew first. We are not given the particulars of how he did it, but considering the favor he was being shown by the Roman authorities it is obvious that he had no problem calling “the chief of the Jews together” and first assuring them that he was not teaching the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses. Nevertheless, the Jews in Jerusalem had falsely accused him of doing just that, and they had also falsely accused him of defiling the temple by taking a Gentile into it.

Act 28:17  And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
Act 28:18  Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.
Act 28:19  But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.
Act 28:20  For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

It was indeed “for the hope of Israel” and for the hope of all men that Paul was “bound with this chain”, but he had never taught the Jews to forsake Moses.

Paul had agreed with the consensus of the elders which stipulated that the Jews must continue to keep the customs of Moses while the Gentiles need to do “no such thing.” Paul and Silas had shared with all the churches these “decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.”

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Act 15:30  So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
Act 15:31  Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
Act 16:5  And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Years later James repeats the words of that epistle to the Gentiles in:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are [falsely] informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Paul had no compunctions about doing what was requested of him by James because that was what he had been doing all along. When he went to the temple of purify himself with the four men who had a vow, the Jews of Asia who had been persecuting him there in Asia continued their false accusations here in Jerusalem:

Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

How much of this Paul shared with “the chief men of the Jews” in Rome is not known. We do know that when he told them…

Act 28:17  And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

…he was telling the Truth.

The holy spirit had kept any words against Paul from getting to the chief men of the Jews at Rome and they had to confess that they had heard nothing at all against Paul personally, but they did tell Paul that the message of the gospel was spoken against by the Jews “everywhere”:

Act 28:21  And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.
Act 28:22  But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Act 28:23  And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

The holy spirit has now made good on the promise twice made to Paul, first in Jerusalem right after witnessing to the Sanhedrin…

Act 23:10  And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
Act 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

…Also, at sea when all hope of being saved was taken away in the midst of a two weeklong storm that hid the sun by day and the stars by night:

Act 27:20  And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
Act 27:21  But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
Act 27:22  And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
Act 27:23  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
Act 27:24  Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

We will not read of Paul being brought before Caesar, but we do read of Paul’s witness in Rome to “the chief men of the Jews”, and as always his message is rejected by most of the Jews, but there was always a remnant who believed.

Act 28:24  And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

Paul quoted the same verses Christ quoted when His words were rejected by all but a remnant of the Jews. It is the same words we witness to the leaders of apostate Christianity until this very day:

Act 28:25  And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Act 28:26  Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Act 28:27  For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Compare these words to Christ’s words of Matthew 13:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you [the remnant] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them [signifying the masses of Christianity] it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Act 28:28  Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

Then they, too, will apostatize and become “the multitudes” to whom “it is not given… to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”.

“The last days [and] the ends of the world [ages]” have been with us since the death and resurrection of Christ:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come [aorist tense].

Act 28:29  And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
Act 28:30  And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
Act 28:31  Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Paul had “his own hired house.” It is obvious that the church in Rome was supporting him while he was there in prison. He “received all that came in unto him” as he ministered to the church in Rome. They were the first church to read the epistle to the Romans which He had penned near the end of his third missionary journey three years before he arrived in Rome as a prisoner.

Act 19:21  After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

Rom 15:24  Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

Rom 15:28  When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.

‘When… I… have sealed to them this fruit’ refers to the gift he had gathered from the Gentile churches “for the poor saints at Jerusalem” (Rom 5:16) on his third journey, which dates the timing of the epistle to the Romans to be near the end of that third journey.

If Paul’s experience signifies our experience, and indeed it does, then we need to be aware that our lives in every generation witness for Christ, both within His body and to the leaders of this world. Paul witnessed to the entire Sanhedrin, Lysias, the chief captain in Jerusalem, Felix, and Festus, the governors of Judea, King Agrippa in Casarea, and Julius the centurion who accompanied Paul through all the trials of the entire trip to Rome, and Publius, the chief man of the island of Malta. This is how we will conclude our studies in this book of the Acts of the Apostles:

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Acts 26:1-32 Almost Thou Persuadest Me to Become a Christian

[Study Aired October 8, 2023]

Act 26:1  Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:
Act 26:2  I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:
Act 26:3  Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
Act 26:4  My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
Act 26:5  Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
Act 26:6  And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:
Act 26:7  Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
Act 26:8  Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
Act 26:9  I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Act 26:10  Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
Act 26:11  And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
Act 26:12  Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
Act 26:13  At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
Act 26:14  And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 26:15  And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Act 26:17  Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Act 26:19  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
Act 26:20  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Act 26:21  For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.
Act 26:22  Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
Act 26:23  That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
Act 26:24  And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
Act 26:25  But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.
Act 26:26  For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.
Act 26:27  King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
Act 26:28  Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Act 26:29  And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
Act 26:30  And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
Act 26:31  And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
Act 26:32  Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

In our last study, King Agrippa and Bernice had come down to Caesarea to congratulate Festus on his replacing Felix as governor of Judea. Agrippa is the son of Herod who killed James the brother of John. After a few days of visiting, Festus told King Agrippa about his prisoner, Paul, and how Paul was so hated by the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem.

Here is where we left off in our last study:

Act 25:22  Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. To morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.
Act 25:23  And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus’ commandment Paul was brought forth.
Act 25:24  And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.
Act 25:25  But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.
Act 25:26  Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.
Act 25:27  For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.

Paul has spent his entire life, since his conversion, preaching in the synagogues to both the Jews and the Gentiles. He was rejected by the Jews in every city. However, there was always a remnant who were given to  accept the gospel, and Paul was always ready to move on to the next city when he was forced to do so, just as the Lord had instructed:

Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Paul is now a Roman prisoner. He can no longer “flee… into another… city”. Now the holy spirit has arranged for him to witness to the political leaders of this age. In a relatively short period of time, he has been given the privilege of witnessing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jewish Sanhedrin twice. He has witnessed to Felix and then to Felix and his wife Drucilla. Then he was able witness to Festus when the high priest and the elders of Jerusalem falsely accused him again. In this 26^th chapter, he is given the blessing of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the story of how he was dragged to Christ with King Agrippa and Bernice, as well as all the leaders of the city of Caesarea.

Here is how the Lord set King Agrippa and Bernice up to hear Paul’s witness for Christ:

Act 25:13  And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.
Act 25:14  And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul’s cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix:
Act 25:15  About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him.
Act 25:16  To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.
Act 25:17  Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth.
Act 25:18  Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:
Act 25:19  But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.
Act 25:20  And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.
Act 25:21  But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar.
Act 25:22  Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. To morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.
Act 25:23  And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus’ commandment Paul was brought forth.
Act 25:24  And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.
Act 25:25  But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.
Act 25:26  Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.
Act 25:27  For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.

When Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, Festus brings Paul in and introduces him to King Agrippa and Bernice and all the principal men of Caesarea. Festus acknowledges that Paul has done nothing worthy of death, and he is hoping King Agrippa, being a Jew, can help him explain to Augustus Caesar why Paul is being sent to him. Paul is excited and happy to share the gospel with King Agrippa and Bernice in the presence of the governor of Judea, Festus, and all the principal men of Caesarea, the Roman capital of the province of Judea.

Act 26:1  Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:
Act 26:2  I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:
Act 26:3  Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
Act 26:4  My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;

Paul was born in Tarsus, the capital of the province of Cilicia, but he tells us here that “from [his] youth, which was… at Jerusalem.” This is what he told the multitude which was trying to kill him when he was first rescued by Lysias the chief captain in Jerusalem:

Act 22:3  I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Gamaliel is the highly respected Rabbi who counseled the Sanhedrin against doing any harm to the apostles who had just healed all the sick who came to them just before they were cast into prison by the high priest and the Sadducees, but were delivered by an angel that very night and were found teaching in the temple. Gamaliel was given to acknowledge that what the apostles were doing was an apparent work of God, and if it were not, it would come to nothing of itself. Paul tells us he was brought up at this rabbi’s feet, but as ‘Saul of Tarsus’ he witnessed the growth of the Christian church and hated being accused of killing the Son of God.

Act 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Act 5:30  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Act 5:31  Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Act 5:32  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Act 5:33  When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

Stephen made the same accusations, and they stoned him under the supervision of Saul of Tarsus:

Act 7:51  Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Act 7:52  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Act 7:53  Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Act 7:54  When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

Saul of Tarsus went on from the stoning of Stephen to become the most vicious opponent of Christ with the blessing of the chief priest and elders at Jerusalem. Then suddenly, literally “out of the blue” their most ardent soldier and opponent of Christianity is now with equal ardor proclaiming that this Jesus whom the apostles claimed was risen from the dead had indeed appeared to him while on the road to Damascus, a city outside of Israel. Saul was traveling to Damascus for the purpose of bringing anyone who believed in Jesus back to Jerusalem to be punished for their heresy. Christ had appeared as brighter than the sun and had blinded him for three days, after which he was commissioned to witness for Christ to both the Jews and the Gentiles.

This chapter of Acts is the account of how the Lord has privileged His apostle to witness to the leaders of the world about how Saul of Tarsus has been dragged to Israel’s Messiah and given a commission which he must fulfill to take the message of Jesus to both the Jews and the Gentiles. Just as the Lord has revealed Himself to each of us, the Lord has worked everything in a way that, as Paul tells King Agrippa, if the leaders of the church would be honest with themselves, they would have to admit their own culpability in the rejection of the Lord and His doctrines:

Act 26:5  Which [vs 4: “all the leading Jews” at Jerusalem] knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
Act 26:6  And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:
Act 26:7  Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.

Because there is a wide spread doctrine which teaches that the ten northern tribes of Israel were “lost” and ended up in western Europe and the United states, Canada and Australia, we need to take note that Paul says to King Agrippa… “our twelve tribes…” The book of James is also addressed to “the twelve tribes scattered abroad”.

Jas 1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

There is no denying the Jews were “scattered abroad”, but they certainly were not “lost”, and they certainly are not ethnic Europeans as that widely believed false doctrine affirms!

Act 26:8  Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
Act 26:9  I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Act 26:10  Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
Act 26:11  And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

Paul just told us that he had imprisoned and had “many of the saints” imprisoned and killed in Jerusalem before he went to Damascus.

The Greek word translated as ‘strange’ in verse 11 is the word ‘exo.’  It means ‘out of.’ It is the root of our English word ‘exit’ and our English word ‘exodus’, the title of the second book of the Bible relating the events surrounding Israel coming ‘out of’ Egypt. What Paul is telling King Agrippa is that he was so zealous for the law of Moses, including the commandment to ‘hate thine enemies’, that he was going ‘out of’ Israel in pursuit of the Christians whom he considered to be heretics and thereby his enemies. Then suddenly he was stopped in his tracks just before he arrived at Damascus:

Act 26:12  Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
Act 26:13  At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
Act 26:14  And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

For anyone who would say that what Paul tells us here contradicts what he told the people at the palace when he was taken captive, we need to remember that unless something is qualified, there is no contradiction.  Let’s look at the two times Paul gave his account of meeting Christ on the road to Damascus before speaking to the people here at the judgment hall in Caesarea.

Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

Act 22:6  And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

As always, we must never be guilty of limiting the Word of God unless the scriptures themselves qualify or limit what is being said. Neither in Acts 9:3 nor in Acts 22:6 is it stated that this light from heaven shined ‘round about him only.’ There is also no such qualification in Acts 22:6 saying it was ‘round about me only.’ Therefore, when Paul includes “and them which journeyed with me”, the addition of that detail in no way contradicts the fact that the light did indeed shine about Paul also.

When there are words which do qualify what is said, words like ‘before… afterward… and only’ then we had better pay close attention to what the Lord has said. We were “called in Christ before the world began” (2Ti 1:9; Tit 1:2). All in Adam will be made alive, but Christ is first, and “afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming” (1Co 15:23); God gave “His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Joh 3:16).

Act 26:15  And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

“Those things in the which I will appear unto you” is another way of saying:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Of course, “the things in which I will appear unto you” includes all the trials and persecutions which necessitated the Lord’s appearance to strengthen Paul to endure to the end. The Lord appeared to Paul when he was first taken captive and just after the chief captain had put Paul before the Sanhedrin, who again demanded his death:

Act 23:10  And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
Act 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

This visit from the Lord took place the night before Paul’s sister’s son had overheard “above forty men” who had conspired to kill Paul and had taken an oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

The Lord appeared to Paul again when he was in an equally bleak and hopeless situation:

Act 27:20  And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
Act 27:21  But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
Act 27:22  And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
Act 27:23  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
Act 27:24  Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

This second appearing simply confirmed the words of the first, and both came in a very timely manner when it appeared that “all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.”

Act 26:17  Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Act 26:19  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
Act 26:20  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Paul just told us that he preached the gospel “throughout all the coast of Judea” before he went to the Gentiles. That is apparently what he was doing for many years from his home base of Tarsus, before Barnabas went to Tarsus to recruit Paul to help with the growth in the church at Antioch in Syria.

All we are specifically told here in the book of Acts is that Paul was sent to Tarsus from Jerusalem when the Lord revealed to him that the Jews of Jerusalem would reject his words and were plotting to kill him.

Act 9:26  And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
Act 9:27  But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
Act 9:28  And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.
Act 9:29  And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.
Act 9:30  Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.

In the first chapter of Galatians Paul informs us the time he spent in Jerusalem was a mere “fifteen days” and that he met none of the apostles other than Peter and James the Lord’s brother.

Gal 1:18  Then after three years [at Damascus] I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

In Acts 22 Paul lets us know exactly what caused him to flee from Jerusalem when he first went there from Damascus:

Act 22:17  And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
Act 22:18  And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

So  it is only here in this 20^th verse that Paul tells us he did indeed preach the gospel “throughout all the coasts of Judaea, [“to the Jew first” (Rom 1:16, Rom 2:10)] then to the Gentiles” (Act 26:20).

Act 26:21  For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.
Act 26:22  Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
Act 26:23  That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people [Jews], and to the Gentiles.
Act 26:24  And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

Festus is a Roman, and as such was not impressed with Paul’s experience or his message which didn’t even mention Caesar or the Roman Empire. The doctrine of a resurrection from the dead and a man who had actually conquered death did not impress Festus. Now he is hearing the Truth for the first time, and it is overwhelming to him. Paul reassures him that he is sane and of a sound mind, and to prove it he puts the Jewish King Agrippa on the spot knowing that it was King Agrippa’s father who had also engaged in fighting against Christ just as Paul had when he was still known as Saul of Tarsus. Paul realizes that it was only the sovereign hand of God that kept him from being eaten of worms like King Agrippa’s father, King Herod. It was about 17 years after Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus that Paul and Barnabas had been sent to Jerusalem with a gift from the Gentiles in Antioch, when Agrippa’s father, King Herod had killed James, the brother of John, and had taken Peter also, intending to kill him after the Passover. Peter was miraculously delivered from a guard of “four quaternions of soldiers.” The holy spirit put the whole prison to sleep while an angel woke Peter out of “sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept the prison.” This all took place while Paul and Barnabas were right there in Jerusalem, which Paul tells us was 14 years after he had returned to Jerusalem from his conversion at Damascus where he had spent the first three years of his ministry preaching the gospel in the synagogues of Damascus immediately following his conversion. After witnessing the death of James and the deliverance of Peter, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch and were shortly sent out together to spread the gospel on Paul’s first missionary journey, during which his name was changed from Saul to Paul.

Paul knows that King Agrippa is very aware of the veracity of everything Paul is saying, and Paul’s answer to Festus is to appeal to King Agrippa’s integrity and the fact that the whole of Jerusalem was aware that Peter had miraculously been delivered out of his father’s Herod’s prison and then shortly afterwards had been “eat of worms” right here in Caesarea:

Act 12:18  Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
Act 12:19  And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
Act 12:20  And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country.
Act 12:21  And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
Act 12:22  And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
Act 12:23  And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

Act 26:25  But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.
Act 26:26  For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

Indeed King Agrippa “knew of these things” and indeed everyone at Jerusalem had heard how Peter was miraculously delivered out of Herod’s prison. There was a lot of weight to Paul’s statement… “For this thing was not done in a corner”, and there was no way King Agrippa could deny it.

Act 26:27  King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
Act 26:28  Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Act 26:29  And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
Act 26:30  And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
Act 26:31  And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
Act 26:32  Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

Everything that happened to Agrippa’s father, King Herod the fourth, happened at the Passover, and it was known to all the Jews in Jerusalem that King Herod had killed James the brother of John. Everyone also knew that King Herod had imprisoned Peter, and Peter had been delivered from King Herod’s prison with no one even accusing anyone of an insurrection or a jailbreak. It was all very humiliating for King Herod, and then shortly thereafter he was eaten by worms and died. King Agrippa could not deny anything Paul had said. The truth is its own defense.

Next week, we will follow Paul on his long and very trying journey to Rome. There will be many lessons for us along the way.

Audio Download

Acts 23:19-35  I Came With an Army and Rescued Him

[Study Aired September 17, 2023]

Act 23:19  Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?
Act 23:20  And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.
Act 23:21  But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
Act 23:22  So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.
Act 23:23  And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;
Act 23:24  And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
Act 23:25  And he wrote a letter after this manner:
Act 23:26  Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.
Act 23:27  This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.
Act 23:28  And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:
Act 23:29  Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
Act 23:30  And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
Act 23:31  Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.
Act 23:32  On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:
Act 23:33  Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
Act 23:34  And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;
Act 23:35  I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

In our last study we read how Paul’s sister’s son heard “above forty men” who were conspiring to kill Paul the next day after he had given witness to the Jerusalem Sanhedrin. Here is what they said to “the chief priests and the elders:

Act 23:14  And they [the “above forty” conspirators] came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
Act 23:15  Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring [Paul] down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
Act 23:16  And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.
Act 23:17  Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
Act 23:18  So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.

In this study we will witness just how important we are to our Lord and how He spares no expense to keep us safe as we serve Him. It was the Lord Himself who gave Paul’s nephew the opportunity to overhear this conspiracy of “over forty men” who wanted to murder his uncle Paul, and the Lord is the person who gave this young man the desire to help ‘uncle Paul’ and save his life from those murderers. It appears outwardly that the chief captain, Claudius Lysias, was also given a fondness for the apostle Paul, but the Truth once again is that it was Christ who considered the apostle Paul to be the apple of His eye. Any fondness or sympathy the chief captain may have had for Paul was also a work of the Lord who ‘rules in the kingdoms of men’ and who is ‘working all things after the counsel of His own will’:

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Act 23:19  Then the chief captain took [Paul’s nephew] by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?
Act 23:20  And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.
Act 23:21  But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
Act 23:22  So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.

Here now is a story which reveals how very much the Lord spares no expense in providing for the safety and protection of those whom He loves:

Act 23:23  And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;
Act 23:24  And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.

“Bring him safe unto Felix the Governor” by 200 footmen, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen! That is a total of 470 men to deliver the apple of the Lord’s eye safely to Felix the governor. The Lord uses the ‘ten horns on the beast’, signifying the secular powers of this earth, to protect His people from the religious powers of Babylon who want to destroy anyone who tells the Truth about all their false doctrines. The scriptures reveal that any time the great harlot comes into a conflict with the secular powers of the state, in the end the harlot will always come out on the short end of the stick and will at the appointed time be destroyed by the secular powers of the beast:

Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast [signifying the secular political leaders of this world].
Rev 17:13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

This story of a conspiracy by more than forty men, who signify the great harlot, to destroy and kill the Lord’s elect, but being saved from physical death is an example of the hatred the beast has towards the great harlot who rules over the kings of this world.

Act 23:25  And he wrote a letter after this manner:
Act 23:26  Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.
Act 23:27  This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.

While it is true that the chief captain, Claudius Lysias, was made aware of Paul’s Roman citizenship, it was only after he first rescued Paul that he was made aware of that fact. Claudias Lysias was given the commission to keep the peace in Jerusalem, and he welcomed the opportunity to exercise his power over the Jews, just as the “ten horns” welcome the opportunity to hate the whore and make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her with fire:

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Here is a link which demonstrates the Biblical and spiritual significance of the number ‘ten’:

Spiritual Significance of the Number Ten

Here are just a few of the verses in scripture which demonstrate that the word ‘horn’ or ‘horns’ signifies power and strength – 1Sa 2:10, 2Sa 22:3, Lam 2:3, Psa 18:2.

Claudius Lysias glosses over the fact that when he first rescued Paul, he had no idea Paul was a Roman citizen and was preparing to “examine him by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him” (Act 22:14). Claudius Lysias had no intention of incriminating himself in binding a Roman citizen before giving him a trial.

Act 23:28  And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:
Act 23:29  Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
Act 23:30  And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
Act 23:31  Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.

Here is what John Gill tells us about the distance from Jerusalem to Antipatris:

“and brought him by night to Antipatris: they set out from Jerusalem at the third hour, or about nine o’clock at night, and travelled all night, and by break of day came to Antipatris; a city which lay in the road from Jerusalem to Caesarea… It was forty two miles from Jerusalem.” (End Quote)

Act 23:32  On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:

The two hundred soldiers and the two hundred spearmen, who were all on foot, went back to Jerusalem after bringing Paul two-thirds of the way to Caesarea. There was no longer any danger from the Jews in Jerusalem at that point. Nevertheless, the seventy horsemen still accompanied Paul to Caesarea to be delivered safely to the governor, Felix.

Act 23:33  Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.

The Lord provided 470 men to escort the apple of His eye for two-thirds of the journey to Caesarea, which is 42 miles from Jerusalem to Antipatris. According to Gill, here is what was involved in traveling all the way from Jerusalem to Caesarea, north west of Jerusalem on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea:

“the way from Jerusalem to Caesarea lay through Nicopolis, Lydda, Antipatris, and Betthar; from Jerusalem to Nicopolis, according to the old Jerusalem Itinerary, were twenty two miles; from thence to Lydda, ten miles; and from Lydda to Antipatris ten more (which make forty two miles, as before observed); and from Antipatris to Betthar ten miles, and from thence to Caesarea, sixteen more: so that when the apostle was at Antipatris, he had twenty six miles more to go to Caesarea; and hence it appears, that the length of the journey from Jerusalem to Caesarea was sixty-eight miles;” (End Quote)

Act 23:34  And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;
Act 23:35  I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

As we will see in the next chapter of Acts, Paul had great liberty within ‘Herod’s judgment hall.’ The centurion who was guarding Paul was ordered to permit any of his acquaintances to minister to and come visit him:

Act 24:22  And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter.
Act 24:23  And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him.

The Lord always provides protection for His elect. They may indeed be required to go into the dungeons of Egypt, go through the Red Sea, the fiery furnace, the lion’s den, and through the burden of carrying the cross of Christ, but He never has, and He never will forsake His elect:

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

There is one requirement for having this protection, and that requirement is to be willing to forfeit this life rather than to disobey the Lord. If we are given the grace to put obedience to the words of Christ above saving our physical life, then the Lord will protect us in this age and give us spiritual life in the age to come. Christ Himself gives us this promise:

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Peter wanted to know what kind of deal he was making with Christ by ‘forsaking all to follow Him.’ Here is Mark’s account of Christ’s response to Peter’s question:

Mar 10:28  Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
Mar 10:29  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
Mar 10:30  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world [Greek: ‘aion’, age] to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31  But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Christ was very clear about just how dedicated we must be in His service:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

God is not mocked by half-hearted worship. If our worship is “with [our] whole heart” His provision and protection is abundant, as this story of Paul’s protection against the church of his day demonstrates. If we are ‘wholehearted’, then that is a work He is doing in us, but that work is accomplished only through many admonitions, tribulations and chastening. The Lord’s protection and blessing always has this one caveat:

Deu 11:13  And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deu 11:14  That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Deu 15:5  Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.
Deu 15:6  For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.

Deu 28:1  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
Deu 28:2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

2Ch 6:38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:

Psa 119:2  Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

Paul’s service to the Lord was “with the whole heart”, and the Lord made even his enemies to be at peace with him:

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Paul had spent “many days” at the home of Philip in Caesarea just before going up to Jerusalem:

Act 21:8  And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

“Certain disciples of Caesarea” went up to Jerusalem with Paul:

Act 21:16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.
Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

Without a doubt there were many members of the church at Caesarea who ministered to Paul’s needs, and comforted and encouraged him while he was “kept in Herod’s judgment hall” for over two years.

Act 24:23  And he [Felix the governor] commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him.
Act 24:27  But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.

The Lord has given Paul a two-year rest from the traveling and preaching, and from the accompanying persecutions, beatings and “much tribulation” he had constantly endured from the beginning of his ministry at Damascus. The Lord gave Paul favor in the eyes of every Roman ruler under whose custody he was placed by the Lord. The chief captain, Claudius Lysias, the governor of Judea; Felix, who will be replaced by Festus; and even King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, are all made to treat Paul very well. Not only does Paul get to continue to meet with his friends and acquaintances, but he also is given the privilege and the opportunity to witness to his Roman custodians.

Shortly after he was apprehended by the Jews who ‘went about to kill him’, Paul had been told by the Lord that he would witness for Christ in Rome also, just as he had done in Jerusalem:

Act 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

That promise was no doubt of great comfort to Paul as he waited to see how the Lord would make that happen. In chapter 24 we will see Paul defend himself once again before Ananias the high priest with the elders who travel all the way down to Caesarea to once again falsely accuse Paul of the same blatant lie saying Paul was guilty of “profaning the temple”. This time it will be before Felix, the Roman governor of Judea.

We are witnessing the Lord “coming with an army and rescuing [us]”, His ambassadors to this earth. It is all intended to give each of us hope of His faithful loving guidance and protection over our own lives as ‘sheep among wolves’ in this dark world.

Luk 21:11  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Luk 21:12  But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
Luk 21:13  And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
Luk 21:14  Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
Luk 21:15  For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

When we acknowledge our transgressions and serve the Lord humbly with our whole heart, the Lord is well pleased with us, and He will protect us and prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies (Psa 23:5), as Paul’s experience demonstrates for us.

Acts 23:1-18  We Will Eat Nothing Until We Have Slain Paul

[Study Aired September 10, 2023]

Act 23:1  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Act 23:2  And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
Act 23:3  Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
Act 23:4  And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?
Act 23:5  Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
Act 23:6  But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
Act 23:7  And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
Act 23:8  For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
Act 23:9  And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
Act 23:10  And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
Act 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
Act 23:12  And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Act 23:13  And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.
Act 23:14  And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
Act 23:15  Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
Act 23:16  And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.
Act 23:17  Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
Act 23:18  So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.

Our study today begins with Paul being brought before the Sanhedrin after being saved from the blood-thirsty Jewish mob, which had been stirred up by false accusations from “Jews which were of Asia”, a province in which Paul spent much of the time of his ministry. The chief captain had permitted Paul to address the mob, but when Paul told the mob that the Lord had warned him that the people of Jerusalem would reject his testimony, and that the Lord had told Paul “I will send you hence to the Gentiles”, at that word ‘Gentiles’ the mob began once again demanding Paul’s death. At that point the chief captain told the soldiers to take Paul into the castle to be interrogated by a beating. As the soldiers were binding Paul in preparation of his beating, Paul called the centurion in charge and pointed out to him that they were in the process of beating a Roman citizen who had not yet been condemned. The centurion informed the chief captain that Paul was a Roman citizen, and the chief captain immediately stopped the preparations for the scourging and decided instead to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin to determine what laws Paul had broken:

Act 23:1  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council [G4892: ‘sunedrion’ the Sanhedrin] said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

“Paul earnestly beholding the council” means that he was looking everyone in the eye, just as everyone looked upon Peter and John when they healed the man who was born lame and had been begging for decades at the gate of the temple. The Greek word for the two English words, “earnestly beholding” is G816, ‘atenizo’. The ‘z’ always has an ‘idz’ sound when being pronounced in Greek, and it would be pronounced at-en-id’-zo. It means that you give something or someone your undivided attention.

Act 3:11  And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Act 3:12  And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

All four English words “look ye so earnestly” are properly translated from the single Greek word, ‘atenizo’. Peter and John had the undivided attention of the multitude, and they took advantage of that ‘attention’, that ‘atenizo’, to witness for Christ, just as Paul is taking advantage of the attention being placed upon him by the members of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin. Paul knew this Sanhedrin whole-heartedly agreed with the mob which had “[gone] about to kill him” the previous day. The high priest made his own sentiments concerning the apostle Paul perfectly clear, just as the religious leaders of this day feel about those who proclaim the doctrines of Jesus Christ:

Act 23:2  And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.

Paul is Christ’s ambassador:

2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Make no mistake about it. If you or I, as ambassadors for Christ, make the statement that we are not to become entangled in the affairs of this age, or that we are not to take up arms against our enemies, the religious leaders of the churches of this day we live in would think nothing of “smiting (us) in the mouth.”

Act 23:3  Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?

Notice how quickly our own flesh, when breaking the law, thinks nothing of appealing to the law when it serves the interests of the desires of our flesh as those who wanted to smite Paul did:

Act 23:4  And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?
Act 23:5  Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

Paul would not have rebuked the high priest if he had known the man was the high priest. Paul had rebuked the high priest not knowing he was the high priest. However, he could not deny the truth of the words he had spoken. He might well have thought that because Ananias had acted so unlawfully, he was not behaving as a high priest.

Here now we have another example of what Christ meant when He admonished us all to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Mat 10:16):

Act 23:6  But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

We are made aware of this difference between Pharisees and Sadducees in all three of the synoptic gospels:

Mat 22:23  The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

Mar 12:18  Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

Luk 20:27  Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

The priests were almost all Sadducees, demonstrating that the highest-ranking religious leaders have always been the most corrupt and the most ignorant of the Truth of God’s Word.

Act 23:7  And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

Paul had been told by the holy spirit that his testimony would not be received by the Jews at Jerusalem.

Act 22:17  And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, [from Damascus] even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
Act 22:18  And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

Paul is relating what the holy spirit told him two decades earlier, but nothing has changed, and the Jews at Jerusalem are still rejecting ‘the testimony of Jesus Christ’. Both the Jews and the Christians, “the seven churches of Asia” reject “the testimony of Jesus Christ” until this very day. That fact is signified by placing the apostle John “in the isle that is called Patmos”:

Rev 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Paul had given his testimony, and it had been overwhelmingly rejected by the religious leaders and by the people of the city of Jerusalem as a whole. He was now being tried by the very same people who so hated him, and it appeared there was no way out. The holy spirit made the apostle Paul to be “wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove” and provided a strategy for saving Paul’s life and snatching him “out of the mouth of the lion” (2Ti 4:17):

Act 23:8  For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
Act 23:9  And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
Act 23:10  And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
Act 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

“The night following” is that very night after the “great dissension” between the Pharisees and the Sadducees over whether there is a resurrection. These words of the Lord… “Be of good cheer, Paul: As you have testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome”… were of great comfort to the apostle Paul as they should be also to us. This promise of the Lord’s providence over our lives will see us through the storms of life, signified by Paul’s stormy journey to Rome to appear before Caesar. The venom of serpents which Paul will face on this journey to Rome signifies the serpents we handle and cast into the flames of the Lord’s fiery words, as we make our own journey in this life.

Mar 16:17  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Notice that it does not say, “They shall deliberately take up serpents” or “intentionally drink any deadly thing.” Such foolishness would be “tempting the Lord thy God” which Christ expressly told us not to do:

Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Mat 4:6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again [“the sum of Thy Word” (Psa 119:160 ASV)], Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Jerusalem, where Paul was apprehended by the Jews, signifies the religious world which passionately despises the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rome signifies the secular world, which also hates the doctrines of Christ, but not to the point of wanting to kill Him:

Act 3:13  The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

The Lord is telling Paul, in type, that he will judge this world and will then go on to judge angels in the lake of fire.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

The Lord is telling Paul, and through Paul, He is telling us, that we are in His hands even in the midst of our severest trials. This is what the Lord is reassuring Paul:

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We cannot see how our trials are working anything good while we are enduring the pain they bring us.

Joseph lived for 13 years from the age of 17 when his brothers sold him into Egyptian slavery until he ascended the throne of Egypt at the age of 30. During all that 13 years he outwardly appeared to be going steadily downhill. First, he was betrayed and sold into Egypt by his own physical brothers. Then he was sold as a slave to Potiphar, and from Potiphar’s house he was sent to Pharaoh’s prison. That is 13 years of fiery trials of Joseph’s faith in the Lord’s promise to make him a ruler and to make his brothers bow down to him.

It is the same with the apostle Paul, and it is the same with us. The enemies of the gospel are fervently determined to destroy Christ and His kingdom within us:

Act 23:12  And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Act 23:13  And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.

The fact we are told… “And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy” and the meaning of the number four (the whole of what is under consideration), being multiplied by ten, (the perfection of corruptible flesh), simply confirms these words of Christ:

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Conspiring with others to destroy the Lord’s chosen few comes as naturally to our flesh as breathing. All of Babylon has conspired to reject the Words of Truth throughout scripture. The scriptures teach “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Eze 18:4 and 20). The great harlot and her daughters have conspired to teach the false doctrine of eternal torment in literal flames of fire. The scriptures teach “it is not of him that willeth” (Rom 9:16). The churches conspire together to teach the false doctrine of ‘free moral agency.’ The scriptures teach that the fire of the Lord’s words will save all men (1Co 3:15). The churches of Babylon teach that the ‘fire’ will torment most of mankind for all eternity. The scriptures teach that the Godhead is understood by the relationship of a man with His wife (Rom 1:20, 1Co 11:3). The scriptures plainly state, “There is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and [besides this ‘one God’ there is also] one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things” (1Co 8:6). The great harlot and her daughters have all agreed to teach the false doctrine of a triune God head.

The Great harlot conspired to slay the apostle Paul, but once again the Lord delivered His elect ‘out of the mouth of the lion’:

2Ti 4:17  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

Act 23:14  And they [the “above forty” conspirators] came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

This situation was first prophesied in the book of Genesis where the Lord cursed the serpent in the garden:

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Act 23:15  Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.

“Above forty men” had conspired to kill the apostle Paul.

In 1972 I was working on ‘the mail analysis team’ at the headquarters of the World-Wide Church of God. In the span of five workdays, we received 25 paperback copies of a book entitled “None Dare Call It Conspiracy” by a man named Gary Allen. It was a book which documented the establishment of the unconstitutional and therefore unlawful, and purposely mislabeled Federal Reserve System. At that time, I was the most unpolitical person in the world. I despised the fact that the news headlines would interrupt my country music on the radio every hour on the hour. I was a member of the only true church, and I was convinced that by virtue of being a member of that church I was going to be carried to a “place of safety” which we had been told would be the city of Petra in Jordan. Our doctrine forbade us from taking any part in the affairs of this world, and that was fine with me. Therefore, I had no interest whatsoever in politics. Nevertheless, it was my job to ‘ analyze’ any trends in the mail we received, and those 25 paperbacks were definitely a trend. We were also receiving many other letters asking about what was in that book.

So, I took the book home and read it and began to have my eyes opened to whom the Lord is using to control all the nations on the earth. The scriptures reveal who that is in this verse:

Pro 22:7  The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

As it turns out the Federal Reserve Bank is neither ‘Federal’ nor does it have the ‘reserves’ it is supposed to keep on hand to avoid a depression. Back in the 70’s we had something called ‘telephone books.’ Some of you will remember that. In all those phone books there was a section called the blue pages which had the phone numbers of all agencies connected to federal, state, and local governments. The ‘Federal Reserve’ was nowhere to be found in the blue pages for the simple reason that it is not connected to nor subservient to the U.S. government, even though it is indeed a quasi-governmental organization, but with absolutely no ability to be audited by the federal government until this very day.

The Federal Reserve Bank is a privately owned bank, and it was to be found in the white pages right next to ‘Federal Express’, the privately owned package delivery service here is the United States. It is no more ‘federal’ than any local bank yet it wields incredible power because the nation is in debt to the Federal Reserve Bank to the tune of trillions of dollars which cannot possibly ever be paid back. Every dollar is a “Federal Reserve Note”, and it is plainly labeled as such. What that means is that it must be repaid, and it must be repaid with interest. The payments on the debt are fast approaching the point of this nation not even being able to pay the interest on its debt.

The Lord was not lying when He told us:

Pro 22:7  The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

That book documented how the Federal Reserve Act was passed through Congress just before Christmas day in 1913, after all the patriotic congressmen were home with their families. It ignored Article One section 8 of the constitution which demands that “Congress shall… coin money and regulate the value thereof”, and it gave the right to print paper money from thin air to a group of already very wealthy men, with very little accountability to the federal government. The independence of the federal reserve is acknowledged until this very day.

I am relating all this just to tell you that when I read that book entitled ‘None Dare Call It Conspiracy’ which documented how this cabal of wealthy men conspired to become the owners of all the money in the nation, I went to the most highly regarded historian in the World-Wide Church of God. It was a minister and professor named Dr. Herman Hoeh. With my newfound knowledge of the history of the creation of the Federal Reserve Act, I asked him, “Dr. Hoeh, what does the Bible have to say about conspiracies? Is there anything in scripture about a conspiracy to rule the world through the banking system?” Dr Hoeh brushed me off with an emphatic, “No, there in nothing in the scriptures about conspiracies. If there were, Mr. Armstrong would have written something by now.” He then turned to a fellow German and said, “Hello, Herr Haupt, how are you today?” There would be no discussion of what I had learned with Dr. Herman Hoeh.

The fact is that the scriptures are full of accounts of conspiracies being carried out against those who were sent by the Lord to speak for Him. Beginning with Joseph’s brothers conspiring to destroy him, to Absolom and Ahithophel and many other conspirators who were determined to dethrone and kill King David:

2Sa 15:12  And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, [also Bathsheba’s grandfather (2Sa 11:3, 2Sa 23:34)] from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.

The most famous of all conspiracies was that of the chief priests with Judas who betrayed our Lord into their murderous hands.

Mat 26:14  Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
Mat 26:15  And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted [conspired] with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 26:16  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

The holy spirit saw to it that Christ was always made aware of those who conspired to kill Him until His time to be betrayed arrived. Then Christ went up to Jerusalem knowing He was going there to be killed. Notice the difference between these two sections of scripture:

Joh 7:1  After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
Joh 7:2  Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. [Notice how John distances himself from ‘the Jews’]
Joh 7:3  His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
Joh 7:4  For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
Joh 7:5  For neither did his brethren believe in him.
Joh 7:6  Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
Joh 7:7  The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Joh 7:8  Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.

Twice Christ told His own unbelieving brothers, “My time is not yet come… My time is not yet full come”, and then later, when He knew His time had “full come” this is what He told His disciples:

Mat 20:17  And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
Mat 20:18  Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
Mat 20:19  And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

When Christ returned to the area of Jerusalem to raise Lazarus from the dead, His apostles somehow knew that the Jews wanted to kill their Lord:

Joh 11:1  Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Joh 11:2  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
Joh 11:3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
Joh 11:4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Joh 11:5  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
Joh 11:6  When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
Joh 11:7  Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
Joh 11:8  His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

The point to be made is that the holy spirit looks well to the Lord’s flock and warns those who would do harm to His prophets:

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Isa 1:22  Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Isa 1:23  Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
Isa 1:24  Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
Isa 1:25  And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

Obviously Paul’s time was “not yet full come” because the Lord had “Paul’s sister’s son” strategically placed to hear and warn Paul about the conspiracy among “above forty men” to kill Paul:

Act 23:16  And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.

The Lord has people who are strategically placed in our lives to be in the position to help “the apple of His eye” when the need arises. Jonathan, the son of David’s arch enemy, King Saul, was just such a person. The Lord placed Jonathan in Saul’s household for David’s sake. This is a true statement:

Zec 2:8  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

The scriptures do not tell us whether any of those 40 men starved to death, but it does tell us that Paul was still alive for several more years.

Act 23:17  Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
Act 23:18  So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.

The whole world hates the Lord and His Christ. Nevertheless the Lord also gives us favor in the eyes of those who are of this world when we need it most. This ‘chief captain’ was just such a person. He was a Roman whom the Jews hated, but Paul’s ways apparently pleased the Lord because we are told:

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Next week we will see how the Lord takes care of the apple of His eye, both then and now.

[Study Aired August 27, 2023]

Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Act 21:30  And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.
Act 21:31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
Act 21:32  Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.
Act 21:33  Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
Act 21:34  And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.
Act 21:35  And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
Act 21:36  For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.
Act 21:37  And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?
Act 21:38  Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?
Act 21:39  But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.
Act 21:40  And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

We will begin this study with the last three verses from our last study to give us some context:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, [from Caesarea] the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

When James tells Paul, “The multitude must needs come together; for they will hear that you are come” it is obvious that James is not speaking of unbelieving Jews “coming together” with believing Jews. James is speaking here of the “Many thousands of Jews which believe, and they are all zealous of the law.” It was the believing Jews who had been the victims of all the lies being told by other believing Jews against Paul. Their zeal for the law of Moses made them willing to consider those lies which included the lie that Paul was not walking orderly himself, and that he was teaching the Jews who were among the Gentiles to forsake the law of Moses. It was all a lie, but it was Paul’s own ‘zeal for the law’ of Moses which led him to persecute the church. He understands this, and as we will see, he acknowledges this to his accusers:

Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Being zealous for the law of Moses is the negative application of the word ‘zeal’, and even the Jewish Christians are still hearing Moses in the synagogues every sabbath day:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence [G2919: ‘krino’, judgment] is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day [for the Jewish believers in Christ].

A reformation is under way. We have all experienced “the time of reformation” when the Lord begins to drag us out of the churches of Babylon.

Heb 9:10  Which [symbolism of the law of Moses] stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

We each live that experience as we are dragged out of the doctrines and customs of Babylon. Every reformation takes time, and the time required to “take down the middle wall of partition between” the Jews and the Gentiles has not yet arrived when Paul went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea here in Acts 21. The ‘taking down’ of that ‘wall of partition’ between the Jewish and Gentile believers will later be proclaimed in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, but it will require the destruction of the temple to make it stick with many Jewish believers.

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was [G2192: ‘echo’, has] yet standing:

Every verb in those two verses of Ephesians two is in the aorist tense except for the “so making peace”, which is the present tense. Taking down the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles typifies the wall of partition between the Lord’s elect and the churches of Babylon while they and their doctrines still ‘have standing’ in our lives with all their “carnal commandments [and] traditions of men.” It is very instructive that the Greek word translated as ‘was’ in Hebrews 9:8 is in the present tense, and is the word ‘echo’, which is most often translated as ‘have’ or ‘has’. The way into the holiest of all is not made known while the doctrines of “the synagogue of Satan”, the doctrines of “Babylon the great” still ‘have standing’ within our hearts and minds. Taking that wall down is a process which takes place in each individual life of the Lord’s elect in every generation of mankind since Christ. The Lord is ‘making both one.’ He is ‘breaking down the middle wall of partition between us, and He is abolishing in His flesh the enmity’ and He is making in Himself of twain one new man…” “The time of reformation” is a process we must all experience in every generation of those who come to know the Lord in ‘this present time’ (Rom 8:18).

That “wall of separation” was still firmly in place for even the believing Jews in Acts 21, including Paul, who must demonstrate that those accusing him of not “walking orderly and keeping the law” are liars, and James wants Paul to do just that in this way:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also [as a Jewish believer] walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Paul had no problem with this because that was what he had been doing all along. This “wall of partition” was “the decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” we read of in Acts 15. They were also the decrees of the holy ghost (Act 15:28). Those decrees agreed that the Jews were still under the law of Moses, and the Gentile churches gladly accepted the fact that it was so and that “they observe no such thing” (Act 21:25).

Paul had circumcised Timothy soon after the Jerusalem conference, and “as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep that were ordained of the apostles and elders” who had decreed that the Jews were still under the law even while also decreeing that the Gentiles were not under the law.

Act 16:1  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
Act 16:2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Act 16:3  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

At that time there was no question whether the Jews were expected to be circumcised and keep the law. The trial at that time was whether the Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. The law of Moses had decreed that anyone seeking to attach himself to the promises made to Abraham had to be physically circumcised.

The decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem changed and reformed that law by decreeing that the Gentiles need not be circumcised or keep the law of Moses. Those decrees united the Jews with the Gentiles at that moment in time as the very next verse indicates:

Act 16:5  And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Paul himself took a vow and shaved his own head just before going up to Jerusalem to “keep the feast” near the end of His second missionary journey:

Act 18:18  And Paul after this [the insurrection made by the Jews against Paul in Corinth, Act 18:12] tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
Act 18:19  And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
Act 18:20  When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;
Act 18:21  But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

The Jewish apostles were keeping the law even as they delivered the decrees of the apostles and elders which stated that the Gentiles “observe no such thing” (Act 21:25).

Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Paul did not hesitate to prove that he was ‘walking orderly and keeping the law.’ It is at this point that the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem apprehend Paul with every intention of killing him.

Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

None of these accusations were true. Trophimus is one of the seven men who traveled back to Jerusalem with Paul and Luke, but Paul would never have taken a Gentile into the temple:

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

This is the fellow laborer whom Paul had “left sick at Miletum”, indicating that the Lord was cutting back on the many miracles, signs, and wonders which accompanied the establishment of the early church. Contrast this verse about Paul leaving Trophimus sick at Miletum, with all the verses which follow it concerning all the miracles, and signs and wonders and healings which had taken place in Christ’s ministry and in the early ministries of the apostles:

2Ti 4:20  Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

Joh 2:23  Now when he [Christ] was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

Joh 7:31  And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

Joh 11:47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

Mat 8:16  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

Mar 3:10  For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

Act 2:43  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

Act 5:12  And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

Act 6:8  And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

Act 21:30  And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.

“All the city” means that these are mostly unbelieving Jews who have never believed in Christ and who have never believed that the holy spirit sent Peter to the home of a Gentile Roman centurion to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. These Jews did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth struck Saul of Tarsus down and blinded him on the road to Damascus converting him to become a follower of Christ. All these Jews think they know is what the “Jews of Asia” have told them, and what those liars have told them are the lies of verses 27-29:

Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

Paul would not have even thought about bringing an uncircumcised Gentile into the temple. Paul was living by the decrees of the apostles and elders agreed to by those apostles and elders and the holy ghost in Acts 15:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my [James] sentence [Greek: ‘krino’, judgment] is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day [To the Jewish believers in Christ].

Act 15:24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

When James says, “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him”, he is referring to the ministry to Jewish Christians. At this stage, the Jewish synagogues were not yet seen as ‘synagogues of Satan’ – the great harlot of Isaiah 1:21 and Revelation 17-18.

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

It is the very Jews to whom James referred as “of old time… in every city… in the synagogues… every sabbath day” who wanted the apostle Paul dead:

We now have a situation which demonstrates that even wicked men are “ordained of God [as] the minister of God to [us] for good…”

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation [Greek: ‘krino’, judgment].
Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Act 21:31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
Act 21:32  Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.
Act 21:33  Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
Act 21:34  And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.
Act 21:35  And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
Act 21:36  For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.

“Away with him” had a certain finality to it for those who were “going about to kill him.” The use of the phrase “the multitude” indicates that these were, for the most part, unbelieving Jews. Still the apostle Paul asks the chief captain permission to speak to the multitude who want him dead:

Act 21:37  And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?
Act 21:38  Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?

Any thinking person would notice that this chief captain’s mistaking Paul for an Egyptian demonstrates that the ethnic Jews of that day were outwardly indistinguishable from Egyptians. It can be conceded that the chief captain was referring to an Egyptian Jew, but the outward appearance of both native Jews and Egyptians is indistinguishable. Both are dark-complected middle easterners.

Act 21:39  But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

Paul spoke to the chief captain in a very respectful and humble spirit, and the chief captain was persuaded to do as he asked.

Act 21:40  And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

This concludes the 21^st chapter of Acts. We will wait until next Sunday to hear Paul’s witness for Christ to the Jews who want to kill him. It is very instructive for us that Paul very much wants to witness for Christ, even to those who want him dead. Paul has learned from decades of experience that most of the Jews in every city he ever visited were not receptive of the gospel. Twice he resolved to “turn to the Gentiles”, first in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch and later in Corinth:

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you [Jews]: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Act 18:6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

Just as Peter preached to the Samaritans, whom Christ had originally told the apostles to avoid, Paul also continued to witness to his own people because he loved his own:

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

Act 8:25  And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

Acts 21:10-19  The Will of the Lord is Being Done

[Study Aired August 20, 2023]

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
Act 21:11  And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Act 21:12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 21:14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
Act 21:15  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.
Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

In our last study Paul had just arrived in Caesarea in the house of Philip the deacon/evangelist.

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Paul is now in Caesarea in the home of Philip, the deacon turned evangelist. He had bypassed Ephesus because he was determined to be in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, already having been told by the holy spirit that “bonds and afflictions” were waiting for him at Jerusalem:

Act 20:16  For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

Act 20:22  And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Act 20:23  Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

The word ‘Pentecost’ means ‘count fifty’ or ‘fifty count’ because it was fifty days from the days of unleavened bread, which feast we are told Paul spent at Philippi:

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
Act 20:5  These going before tarried for us at Troas.
Act 20:6  And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

These seven men, plus Luke, are Paul’s traveling companions. Luke is the eighth man traveling with Paul to carry a gift from all the Gentile churches up to “the poor saints… at Jerusalem”:

Rom 15:26  For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

After the days of unleavened bread, Paul and his traveling companions spent five days traveling from Philippi to Troas, and they spent another seven days in Troas. That is twelve of the fifty days Paul needed to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost. It took another day for Paul to walk the 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Troas to Assos:

Act 20:13  And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
Act 20:14  And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.

That day of walking and then sailing to Mitylene was the thirteenth day since leaving Philippi after the days of unleavened bread.

Mitylene is a city on the island of Lesbos, which is visible from Assos. “We took him in and came to Mitylene” presents that part of his journey as taking place on that same day.

Act 20:15  And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.

It took another day to get to the island of Chios. That would be the fourteenth day, then another day to get to Samos, on the fifteenth day after leaving Philippi. Paul and his traveling companions would have arrived at Miletus on the sixteenth day.

I wondered why Trogyllium did not appear on the maps of Paul’s journeys, and I discovered that:

“Trogillium is on the cape where the Turkish mainland comes within a kilometer of the Greek island of Samos.” (https://www.ephesustoursguide.com/must-see-places-in-turkey/trogyllium.html)

It was here in Miletus, 30 miles south of Ephesus, that Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus:

Act 20:16  For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
Act 20:17  And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

If it took Paul a whole day to walk across the 25 miles of the peninsula from Troas to Assos then it would have taken a man at least a day to go to Ephesus and at least another day for the elders of Ephesus to go the thirty miles south to Miletus. That is assuming they all Immediately dropped what they were doing and came just as soon as Paul sent word.

We are up to at least eighteen days having passed since the days of unleavened bread and the elders of Ephesus are just arriving in Miletus. Paul speaks to the elders of Ephesus on the nineteenth day and warns them that some of them will become grievous wolves, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. He also tells them on that day that “ye… shall see my face no more”.

On that day, the nineteenth since the days of unleavened bread, Paul told the Ephesian elders:

Act 20:25  And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

After leaving the Ephesian elders in Miletus, Paul and his traveling companions go to the island of Coos. That would be day twenty, “and the day following unto [the island of] Rhodes [day 21] and from thence to Patara [day 22]. At least three weeks and one day, twenty-two days, have passed since Paul and his companions kept the “the days of unleavened bread” in Philippi. Now Paul and company begin the longest leg of their journey, sailing from Patara to Tyre:

Act 21:1  And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them [the Ephesian elders in Miletus], and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:
Act 21:2  And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.
Act 21:3  Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.

Here is the map we have been using to follow Paul and his “traveling companions”:

https://www.conformingtojesus.com/images/webpages/pauls_third_missionary_journey1.jpeg

The wording leads us to believe that they did not stop on the island of Cyprus and went straight to Tyre from Patara. That being so, they no doubt got to Tyre much quicker than if they had been disembarking and having to “find [another] ship” going their way, as has been related to us up to this time. I Googled the question, “How many days did Paul spend sailing from Patara to Tyre?” This is what I got:

“The second ship sailed directly from Patara to Tyre. Since it didn’t make overnight stops at ports, it would have easily averaged 67 miles (108 kilometers) per day to cover the 400 miles in 6 days.” (End Quote)

Here is our breakdown of the number of days that have passed by the time Paul reaches Tyre after leaving Philippi:

5 days from Philippi to Troas
7 days in Troas (Acts 20:6)
1 day (25 miles; 40 kilometers) from Troas to Assos (Acts 20:13) and then sail
to Mitylene which can be seen from Assos (Acts 20:14)
1 day from Mitylene to Chios (Acts 20:15)
1 day from Chios to Samos/Trogyllium (Acts 20:15)
1 day from Samos/Trogyllium to Miletus (Acts 20:15)
1 day for a messenger to travel from Miletus to Ephesus (Acts 20:17)
1 day for the elders to travel from Ephesus to Miletus (Acts 20:18)
1 day (estimated) spent with the Ephesian elders in Miletus (Acts 20:18-38)
1 day from Miletus to Cos (Acts 21:1)
1 day from Cos to Rhodes (Acts 21:1)
1 day from Rhodes to Patara (Acts 21:1)
6 days (400 miles sailing 67 miles per day) from Patara to Tyre (Acts 21:2-3)
28 days total

Paul would have arrived in Tyre on the 28^th day since the days of unleavened bread. There are twenty-two days more until Pentecost when he and his traveling companions arrive in Tyre, and we are told:

Act 21:4  And finding disciples, we tarried there [in Tyre] seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:5  And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.
Act 21:6  And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.

Twenty-eight plus seven equals thirty-five. There are now just 15 days until Pentecost, and Paul and his company are leaving Tyre for Ptolemais:

Act 21:7  And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.

If it took a day to get to Ptolemais, and they spent a day with the brothers there, we are now up to day thirty-seven since leaving Philippi. There are now only thirteen days left before Pentecost.

Act 21:8  And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

If it took another day to travel to Caesarea from Ptolemais, Paul would have arrived at Philip’s house in Caesarea on the thirty-eighth day with twelve more days to Pentecost:

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Tyre, Ptolemais, and Caesarea were all Jewish churches which were establish upon the persecution which arose about Stephen, and yet they are all very fond of the apostle Paul.

Act 11:19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

This is the same Agabus who had come from Jerusalem to Syrian Antioch way back before Paul and Barnabas had made their first missionary journey. When Agabus had come down to Antioch, he prophesied of a drought which prompted the church at Antioch to send aid to the saints in Judea, and they sent it by Paul and Barnabas:

Act 11:25  Then [soon after the stoning of Stephen] departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Act 11:27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Act 11:28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Act 11:29  Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Act 11:30  Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Act 21:11  And when he [Agabus, a certified prophet of God] was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

This is the positive application of being “bound hand and foot”. It is the futile attempt of the adversary to stop the work of the Lord’s anointed, stopping them physically from either walking or working with their hands in the Lord’s service. Yet it is an evident and manifested fact that the epistles Paul wrote from his prison house in Rome have never ceased to be used by God to spread His gospel throughout all the world in every generation. Being “bound hand and foot” by this evil world and being “dead in the streets of Babylon the great serves only to magnify the gospel of the kingdom of God within the heavens of His disciples.

Php 1:12  But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
Php 1:13  So that my bonds [“bind hand and foot” (Act 21:11)] in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
Php 1:14  And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Here is the negative application of being bound ‘hand and foot’:

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Act 21:12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

“We” are Luke and Paul’s other traveling companions who mistook the work of the holy spirit to prepare Paul’s heart for the trials that were just around the corner… they mistook this preparation for an admonition to avoid Jerusalem.

“They of that place” were those in Philip’s house and the church at Caesarea. They, too, thought that a prophecy of coming events was an admonition to avoid those impending events. Paul was mature enough to know that it is only “through much tribulation that we must enter the kingdom of heaven”, and that it is only “if we suffer with Him, we will be also glorified together with Him.” Their comments were in the same vein as Peter’s when he rebuked Jesus for saying He would be killed.

Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Act 21:13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

As Paul later tells us up front:

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

That is the exact opposite of “the voice of a stranger” which will always “speak unto us smooth things”:

Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

The Lord’s sheep know His voice, and they also recognize the words of a stranger who is ‘speaking smooth things and prophesying deceits’:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

This next verse reveals that even Paul’s traveling companions and “they of that place” knew that whatever took place happened only by “the will of the Lord”:

Act 21:14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

“The will of the Lord [is] being done… in “all things” because that is exactly what the Lord tells us is the case:

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The sovereignty of God extends to even the worst sin ever committed, and the Lord makes that very clear:

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Act 21:15  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.

“Those days” were the “many days” mentioned in verse ten which Paul and his traveling companions spent in the house of Philip there in Caesarea:

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

We have accounted for the passage of thirty-eight days since Paul and his traveling companions left Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, with the intent of being in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost.  When Paul arrived at Philip’s house there were only 12 days left before Pentecost.

Caesarea is a two-day journey to Jerusalem. Paul could conceivably have spent ten days with Philip in Caesarea and still have time to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost.

The “we” of verse 15 would have been Paul, and Luke and the seven men traveling with him to bring the gift of their Gentile congregations up to the suffering saints in Judea and Jerusalem to be distributed by the Jerusalem elders.

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Act 21:16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Mnason of Cyprus apparently also had a house in Jerusalem at which it had been arranged for Paul and his company to lodge. The body of Christ provides for its own in every city, and it does so with cheerfulness:

2Co 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Paul Visits James for the Last Time

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

The decrees of the elders of Acts 15 had been being shared by Paul with all the churches he established, and while there were false prophets accusing Paul of teaching the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, James and all the elders who knew Paul knew that was a lie being told by false brothers. Therefore “When we were come to Jerusalem the [true] brethren received us gladly.”

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

This particular ‘James’ is not the “James, the brother of John” who was killed by Herod at the time Barnabas and Saul had taken a gift from the church at Syrian Antioch up to Jerusalem during the days of unleavened bread shortly before their first missionary journey. This ‘James’ is the brother of Christ and the author of the book of James.

Act 12:1  Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
Act 12:2  And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Act 12:3  And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

We know this is the Lord’s brother because Paul mentions “James, the Lord’s brother” as the apostle who was at Jerusalem when he first came back to Jerusalem from Damascus, three years after his conversion on the road just outside of Damascus:

Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

Paul informs us that Christ had appeared to His brother James alone after His resurrection. Notice the order of these various appearances after His resurrection:

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
1Co 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Here in 1 Corinthians 15:5 and Luke 24:34 are the only two scriptures which tell us that Peter was the first apostle to see the Lord after His resurrection. Paul also says “He was [later] seen of James; then of all the apostles” at his ascension for the last time.

Here Paul tells us that “[Christ] was seen of James”, and then he informs us that “James the Lord’s brother” was made one of the apostles (Gal 1:19) by the time Paul returned to Jerusalem after his first three years of his ministry in Damascus. This demonstrates the high regard Paul gave to “James the brother of the Lord” as the leader of the church in Jerusalem:

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

It had been agreed many years earlier that Paul and Barnabas would concentrate their efforts on “going to the Gentiles” while Peter and the other Jewish apostles would go to the Jews first:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Paul and Silas shared these “decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” with all the churches “as they went” on their journeys.

Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

Those decrees expected the Jews to continue observing the law of Moses while the Gentiles were to do “no such thing” as we will see in our next study:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

This is a temporary agreement which lasted until the temple was destroyed. It initiated a period called “the time of reformation” which we all live as we come out from under the burdens of Babylon and into the freedom from all the traditions of men and all the ‘bondage under the elements of this world’ (Gal 4:1-10, Col 1:8-20).

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

The Lord has ordained that a reformation requires a certain amount of time in the lives of every man.

The point we need to understand is that there was no doctrine of ‘two administrations’ which was intended by the holy spirit to keep the Jews separated from the Gentiles in perpetuity.

Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the [singular] gospel;

Rom 3:30  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Eph 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Lest there be any question of whether the Jews were intended to remain under the law of Moses, Paul makes clear that “wall of partition between us [is being] broken down”:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [“The decrees of the elders… and the holy ghost” stating that the Jews much continue to keep the law of Moses]
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

What a wonderful message! Why would anyone want to return to a burden “which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

It is the churches of the great harlot system, with all their laws and traditions, which are the modern ‘schoolmaster’ from whom we are being delivered.

In our next study we will see that even Paul was still “under a schoolmaster” at this time in his life.

Acts 19:21-41  Our Craft is in Danger to be Set at Nought

[Study Aired July 15, 2023]

Act 19:21  After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
Act 19:22  So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
Act 19:23  And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
Act 19:24  For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
Act 19:25  Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
Act 19:26  Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
Act 19:27  So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
Act 19:28  And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Act 19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
Act 19:30  And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
Act 19:31  And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.
Act 19:32  Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
Act 19:33  And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.
Act 19:34  But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Act 19:35  And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
Act 19:36  Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
Act 19:37  For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
Act 19:38  Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
Act 19:39  But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
Act 19:40  For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
Act 19:41  And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

Act 19:21  After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

“After these things” means after the twelve men had received the holy spirit and had been given the gift of speaking in other languages, “for a sign… to them that believe not” (1Co14:22), and after the evil spirit had acknowledged Jesus and Paul but did not acknowledge the seven sons of Sceva as having any authority over that spirit. These two events were such a powerful witness to the Truth of the gospel that our last study ended with these words:

Act 19:17  And this [demonic spirit overpowering the seven sons of Sceva] was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Act 19:18  And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
Act 19:19  Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. [Five and a half million dollars]
Act 19:20  So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

It was after these two powerful witnesses and after spending three years in Ephesus on this third journey that Paul “purposed in spirit” to go back to Macedonia and Achaia before returning to Jerusalem, and then he wanted to “see Rome.”

Act 19:22  So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
Act 19:23  And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.

Christ is “that way.” He is the only way to know God and the only way to obtain life eternal:

Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Contrary to the ‘New Age’ doctrine Christ did not say ‘I know the way’. He rather asserted “I AM the way”.

Thomas was just being honest. He was not yet converted, and he knew that of himself he had no idea what Christ was saying about where He was going or the way to get there. Nevertheless, it all happened for our sakes so Christ could let us know that He is the way, the Truth, and the life, and that no one would ever know God without first accepting Christ as the Father’s sacrificial exemplary propitiatory Lamb, to atone for the sins of all men of all time.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

The gospel made Christ and His Father known to the Ephesians, and it makes Christ and His Father known to us.

Act 19:24  For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
Act 19:25  Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

The idol making industry, just like its antithesis, the ‘body’ and ‘household’ of Christ, is a multifaceted body with many members each contributing to the health and success of that industry. There are men who make the molten images. Others are carvers of wooden images which are then covered with gold and silver. Others are polishers of the idols, and yet many others built shrines in which the idols are housed. There is a lot at stake if the Truth “that they be no gods, which are made with hands [and] God dwells not in temples made with hands” became too acceptable to the people of “Ephesus [and] throughout all Asia”:

Act 7:48  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

Act 17:24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

Act 19:26  Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
Act 19:27  So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

All physical idols spiritually signify “idols of the heart”, which are false doctrines of men which twist and “wrest… the… scriptures… unto their own destruction”:

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them [those leaders who teach false doctrines], and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity [self-righteousness (Eze 33:13)] before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Eze 14:7  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself [according to the idols of his heart]:

We all by nature identify with our own mind and our own thoughts. When those thoughts and doctrines conflict with the doctrines of Christ they constitute an “idol of the heart”, which is nothing more or less than an evil spirit from the Lord placing lies within our hearts.

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him [King Ahab].
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

Here are two examples of how the Lord answers us “according to the idols of [our] heart.” The first is right here in this same chapter of 1 Kings 22:

1Ki 22:15  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

Of course, Ahab died at Ramothgilead as Micaiah went on to foretell, after he first answered him according to the idol of his heart.

Here is another example of where the Lord answers us ‘according to the idols of our heart’.

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

The Lord had ‘sown’ a talent, a year’s wages, with this man, yet he answered him “according to the idol of his heart.”

Demetrius and all his companions in the idol-making industry had lived for many outwardly-prosperous years with their idols of Diana. Through the preaching of Paul, the hedge around that industry was beginning to come down just as our own idols of our hearts feel so very threatened when we first begin to hear the Truth of the words of Christ:

2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

“All Asia” of Acts 19:26 signifies ‘all the earth’ (Psa 83:18, Rev 18:23). “All nations… and the merchants of the earth” are made rich by the multitude of the idols of the heart of the churches of Babylon:

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies [Her false idols of the heart (Eze 14:1-9)].

The day is coming when all the lying false doctrines and “idols of the heart” of all the religions of all mankind will be judged, and they will indeed all “be set at nought… at the appearing of… The Lord and His Christ” to rule over the kingdoms of this world. The scriptures foretell that day when they reveal the fate of all our false doctrines and of all who, like Demitrius, fabricate those false idols and false doctrines:

Jer 25:34  Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
Jer 25:35  And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
Jer 25:36  A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Just as each of us have had to endure the humiliation of acknowledging that we had been deceived by all the lies of all the false prophets of Babylon, those false prophets themselves will come to that same point by the Words of the Lord and those Words in the mouths of “His Christ”:

Eze 34:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 34:2  Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Eze 34:3  Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
Eze 34:4  The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
Eze 34:5  And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
Eze 34:6  My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Eze 34:7  Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:8  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Eze 34:9  Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:10  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

That day is not yet here, and in the meantime, those who “love His appearing” are nothing less than “sheep among wolves” and must be “wise as serpents and [at the same time] harmless as doves”:

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them [church leaders] and the Gentiles.

2Ti 4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Here in Ephesus, Paul’s faith is being tried as the holy spirit guides him and helps him to be “wise as a serpent but as harmless as a dove.” His message of the loving gospel of Christ is cutting into the profits of the idol-worshipping Ephesians, and the idol worshipers understand that when the people have their eyes opened to see that “they be no gods which are made with hands” their means of staying physically wealthy will vanish:

Act 19:28  And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Act 19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

Luke makes Paul the center of attention in telling of his travels and all the holy spirit does through this apostle. However, from time to time it is revealed by the use of pronouns like ‘we’ and ‘us’ and in a few cases the names of “Paul’s companions in travel” that Paul had an entourage who traveled with him much of the time and who were under his direction and supervision. Silas and Timothy see what the Lord has done in Paul’s life, and they are more than willing to go where Paul feels they are needed to feed the Lord’s sheep and to oversee their continued welfare and to prepare for Paul’s arrival.

In this incident it is “Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia” who are revealed to be there in Ephesus as Paul’s “companions in travel.” In our next chapter we will learn from exactly which city in Macedonia some of these men originate. We were just told there was a ‘Gaius… of Macedonia’:

Act 19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

In our next study, we will learn that Aristarchus was of Thessalonica, and we will be introduced to another “Gaius of Derbe”:

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

There is also a third ‘Gaius’ of Corinth:

1Co 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you [Corinthians], but Crispus and Gaius;

The men apprehended by this mob were “Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel”. Paul, by the Lord’s provision is out of the reach of this angry mob so they catch Gaius and Aristarchus, and the mob drags them into the theatre.

Act 19:30  And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
Act 19:31  And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.

Paul was led of the holy spirit to be persuaded by “his friends… of the chief of Asia” not to attempt to reason with a mob, and the Lord worked “all things after the counsel of His own will… for good to them who love Him and are the called according to His purpose” (Eph 1:11, Rom 8:28) as He is always doing in “all things”:

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Act 19:32  Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

Verse 32 is the perfect description of most of us when we were still in the churches of Babylon. We have no idea why we believe as we do, but we nevertheless loudly proclaim the doctrines we are familiar and comfortable with.

Act 19:33  And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.

This ‘Alexander’ may well be “Alexander the coppersmith”, who later did Paul “much evil.” Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus when he went into Macedonia, and this is the last we hear of Alexander until Paul mentions him again to Timothy:

1Ti 1:3  As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

It is in his second epistle to Timothy from his prison house in Rome that we learn that “Alexander the coppersmith did [Paul] much evil” and withstood Paul’s doctrines:

2Ti 4:14  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16  At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Ti 4:17  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

This Alexander was apparently a Jewish convert to Christianity. The phrase ‘a Jew’ or ‘the Jews’ in the New Testament, spiritually signifies the Christians of today who claim God’s name but “do not the things [He] sayeth” (Luk 6:46). Alexander may have been a Christian, but he was also a Jew, and the one thing Jews and Christians had in common at that time was that they both agreed that physical idol worship was a sin. When the Ephesian idol worshippers learned that Alexander was a Jew, they were enraged:

Act 19:34  But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

The Jews looked down on idol worshippers because they could not see the spiritual idols of their own hearts. We have all had idols of our own hearts because we all at one time believed the many false doctrines of the churches of Babylon the great. The fact is that ‘the Jews’ with idols of the heart are just as culpable before the Lord, or more so, as the pagan idol worshippers who do not claim to know the God of the scriptures. The Lord used “the powers that be”, the government of Rome, to step in and “appease the people” with the reminder that the proper way to handle the situation at hand was through the court system:

Act 19:35  And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
Act 19:36  Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.

Notice the truth of what this ‘townclerk’ [G1122: ‘grammateus’, scribe] told this mob, and let it be a lesson for each of us:

Act 19:37  For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.

I wondered whether the word translated as ‘churches’ here was the Greek plural of ecclesia. It is not. The Greek word here is hierosulos. Thayer defines this word as “guilty of sacrilege’, and Strong’s defines it as “a temple despoiler.”

G2417-  Hierosulos
– Phonetic: hee-er-os’-oo-los
– Definition: guilty of sacrilege
– Origin: from G2411 and G4813
– TDNT entry: 07:16,3
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine

– Strong’s: From G2411 and G4813; a temple despoiler: – robber of churches.
Total KJV Occurrences: 1

churches, 1
Act_19:37

The “townclerk” spoke the truth. Neither in Athens, where Paul preached Christ to the pagans on Mars Hill, nor here in the pagan city of Ephesus, does Paul directly attack the religion of his audience. Rather, he gently reasons with them and persuades them to consider that they themselves are the source and the creators of their gods, and therefore it is obvious that “they be no gods which are made with hands”, and ‘God does not dwell in temples made with hands.’ Then the town clerk appeals to the legal ramifications of “this… uproar” and this demonstration against the Truth of the gospel:

Act 19:38  Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
Act 19:39  But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
Act 19:40  For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
Act 19:41  And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

Matters of offense within the body of Christ should be settled within the body of Christ and not before judges of this world:

1Co 6:1  Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

“Any of you”, according to the previous chapter, refers to “any man who is called a brother [in Christ]”:

1Co 5:11  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

That is the “any of you” referred to here in this sixth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and we are specifically admonished against “going to law with [“any man that is called a brother”] before the unjust”.

When we are forced into going to law with those who are not “called a brother”, then we can rejoice in the provision the Lord has made for our own good and our own safety as is demonstrated in this story of this uproar against the apostle Paul by the idol worshippers of Ephesus. “Wicked… men which are your hand” are often used of the Lord as His sword both to judge and to be deliverers of the Lord’s elect:

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
Psa 17:14  From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

I had a brother ask me what he should do about his children being bullied at school. I told him to go to the principal and tell the principal what was happening to his children. He did just that and the bullying stopped. That is how the Lord’s elect deal with the wickedness of this world:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Rom 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Rom 13:6  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Rom 13:7  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

“It shall be determined in a lawful assembly” is the Biblical formula for how “any man who is called a brother” deals with those who are not called a brother and who withstand the Lord and His Christ. It was the threat of ‘a lawful assembly’ that delivered Paul and his companions in travel in Ephesus. It was also Paul’s appeal to Caesar that kept him from being tried by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.

Act 25:11  For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.
Act 28:19  But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.

Mat 5:25  Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Mat 5:26  Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Christ is not telling anyone to agree with a liar. What He is telling us is to confess to our sins before those sins are proven in “a lawful assembly”, which is “ordained of God” to settle disputes with those who are not called brothers.

Act 18:1-13 Henceforth I Will Go To The Gentiles

[Study Aired June 25, 2023]

Act 18:1  After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
Act 18:2  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
Act 18:3  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
Act 18:4  And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
Act 18:5  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
Act 18:6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
Act 18:7  And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
Act 18:8  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
Act 18:9  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
Act 18:10  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Act 18:11  And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Act 18:12  And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
Act 18:13  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

This is Paul’s second missionary journey. At the end of his first journey with Barnabas, he and Barnabas returned to Antioch in Syria “And there they abode long time with the disciples”:

Act 14:26  And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
Act 14:27  And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
Act 14:28  And there they abode long time with the disciples.

It was at this time that Peter came to Antioch and was there with Paul and Barnabas when some men “came from James” in Jerusalem and began teaching that the Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, or they cannot be saved:

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Act 15:2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

In Galatians Paul adds more detail to what went down in the church at Antioch at the time that he and Barnabas and Peter were all there eating with the Gentiles, at the conclusion of Paul’s and Barnabas’ first journey:

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch [at the end of Paul’s first journey], I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

This is the “time of reformation” and the revealing of “many things [which] you cannot bear… now”:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances [circumcision and the law of Moses], imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Circumcision and all the laws of Moses were imposed on Israel “until the time of reformation.” Christ is that Great Reformer, and every time He said “Ye have heard that it has been said by them of old… but I say unto you…” He was in the process of ‘reforming the law of Moses’:

Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Such changes as Christ made here in Matthew 5 took many years to implement upon the society of His day. Later in this 18^th chapter we will see that Paul himself took a Nazarite vow despite Christ’s teaching to “swear not at all.” Replacing all the “carnal ordinances” with spiritual realities requires the mighty hand of God, as it was displayed in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus into Paul the apostle (Act 9:1-18), and the conversion of Peter into a Jew who did not consider Gentiles to be “common or unclean” (Act 10:1-28).

Both conversions were a work in progress in “the time of reformation”.

Even Peter, the person chosen by the holy spirit to miraculously come to see that Gentiles are not to be called ‘common or unclean’ and was given the honor of being the first Jew to take the gospel to the Gentiles, and Barnabas who was intimately acquainted with the miraculous circumstances which brought about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, struggled to accept this revolutionary reformation which was taking place in the heavens of all the Jews and even many Gentile proselytes at the beginning of “the time of reformation.” Let’s consider once again the stakes in this heavenly battle:

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch [at the end of Paul’s first journey], I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

After leaving Damascus and spending “fifteen days” with Peter in Jerusalem, Paul was forced by the unbelieving Jews to flee Jerusalem for his home town of Tarsus from whence Barnabas brought him to Syrian Antioch to assist with the growth of the churches in that city. From Antioch, Paul, still known as Saul, went back to Jerusalem for the first time in fourteen years to take a gift to the saints of Jerusalem who were suffering under a severe drought. While Paul, who was at this time still called Saul, and Barnabas were there in Jerusalem, James was martyred by Herod, and Peter was placed in prison and was miraculously delivered from prison. Before Saul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, the Lord slew Herod by causing him to be eaten with worms right after giving a stirring oration. When Paul (Saul) and Barnabas went back to Antioch, they took John Mark with them, and he went with them on their first journey as far as Perga in Pamphylia. At this point, John departed from them and went back to Jerusalem.

Paul and Barnabas continued their journey and established churches in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe before returning to Syrian Antioch, where they met Peter, and Paul was forced to confront both Peter and Barnabas for their hypocrisy in eating with the Gentiles until certain men came down from James. When men came to Antioch “from James” Peter and all the other Jews of Antioch suddenly and hypocritically separated themselves from the Gentiles they had just been eating with. Even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy and separated himself from the Gentiles. Then those ‘men from James’ began teaching that Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. This was a crisis situation within the church. If it had not been handled according to the Lord’s commandment, it would have divided the church at its very birth just as the church continues to be divided today because it will not submit to the Lord’s words in Matthew 18:

Mat 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Mat 18:18  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye [the church] shall bind on earth shall be [Greek, ‘shall have been] bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye [the church] shall loose on earth shall be [Greek: ‘shall have been] loosed in heaven.

It was this confrontation at Antioch which occasioned Paul and Barnabas going back up to Jerusalem to seek the consensus of the apostles and elders concerning the question of whether the Gentiles were required to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.

What transpired at that Jerusalem conference was that Peter, Paul and Barnabas made known to the elders that they did not believe that there was any difference whatever, in Christ, between being a natural Jew and a Gentile. Peter went as far as to say, “Neither we nor our fathers were able to keep the  laws of Moses.” Furthermore, he labeled the law of Moses “a yoke”, and he declared that the Jews would be saved “even as they”, meaning in the same manner the Gentiles were being saved which was “purifying their hearts by faith.”

Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.[the Gentiles]

The holy spirit had made clear to both Peter, at the house of Cornelius, and to Paul, while still being called ‘Saul’, that in time He would “put no difference between [the Jews and the Gentiles] purifying their hearts by faith”. However, at this conference it was made clear by “the holy spirit” that it was not yet time for that doctrine to be proclaimed. For the time being, the holy spirit decreed that all Jews, including Peter, Paul, and Barnabas were required to remain under the law of Moses for a few more years, as the letter to the Gentile converts at Antioch proclaimed:

Act 15:25  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27  We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Act 15:30  So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
Act 15:31  Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
Act 15:32  And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them [confirmed the decrees of the epistle].

Having this question settled by the holy spirit and the apostles and elders, Paul and Barnabas decided to go back and visit all the churches they had established and tell them all this good news and see how they were faring. Barnabas wanted to give his nephew, John Mark, another chance to work with him and Paul. Paul disagreed with Barnabas so strongly that they decided not to work together in their travels in the Lord’s service. Barnabas took John Mark and sailed back to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, who had remained in Antioch after having been sent there to confirm the letter which the elders in Jerusalem had sent out to all the believing Gentiles. That letter decreed that though the Gentiles need not be circumcised nor keep the law of Moses, such was not at all the case for the Jews who were still required to keep the law. That message is not made clear in Acts 15. All that is said in Acts 15 is that ‘Moses is read in the synagogue every sabbath day’:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

Acts 21, which chronicles the events in Jerusalem at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, clarifies what was meant by the statement, “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” Here is what that meant to the believing Jews:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law [the law of Moses]:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themelves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Paul, Barnabas, and Silas had been “walking orderly and keeping the law of Moses” even as they were telling the Gentiles that they should “observe no such thing.” That was the decrees of the apostles and elders which came out of that Jerusalem conference, and all the Jewish apostles lived by that decree throughout the entire book of Acts. “[Paul and Silas] delivered them the decrees for to keep… as they went through the cities” in which they had evangelized and where Paul and Barnabas had established churches:

Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

No one disagreed with those decrees, and everyone, Jews and Gentiles, accepted the fact that the Jews were expected to continue to keep the law of Moses, which included Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and Peter. They were all preaching and teaching those decrees.

If we do not believe that Paul “[him]self also [was] walking orderly and keeping the law” of Moses throughout all three of his journeys, then we do not know or understand the dynamics operating in the church throughout the book of Acts and in all of Paul’s epistles, until the writing of the epistle to the church at Ephesus. Paul was keeping the law of Moses, not out of “condescension to their weakness” as Gill states in his commentary on Act 21:21, but out of “the fear of the Lord” and out of obedience to the decrees of the holy spirit and the apostles and elders at Jerusalem as we are informed in Acts 15, which I repeat:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

It is the apostle Paul who tells us that ‘the manifold wisdom of God is made known only by the church’:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

It was “the manifold wisdom of God… [made] known by the church” which decided at the Jerusalem conference that it was not yet time to “break down the middle wall of partition… [the] commandments contained in ordinances]” which distinguished a physical believing Jew from a believing Gentile. Paul being a physical Jew was walking orderly according to the law of Moses, not out of condescension, but out of a desire to remain faithful and obedient to the words of the Lord for that time.

It was also “the manifold wisdom of God [to make] known by the church” when the time came to break down that middle wall of partition and declare that the Lord puts “no difference” between the Jews and the Gentiles. There is a time to keep the law of Moses, and there is a time to refrain from keeping commandments contained in ordinances.

With this understanding that Paul agreed with the decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, we will continue our study of this second missionary journey:

Act 18:1  After these things [Paul’s preaching to the Jews in the synagogue and to the Greeks at the Areopagus court in Athens] Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
Act 18:2  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
Act 18:3  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

Working with Aquila and Priscilla, Paul met his own expenses and the expenses of those who were with him in Corinth:

1Co 4:11  Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
1Co 4:12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

Paul repeats this fact when speaking to the elders of Ephesus:

Act 20:34  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

The fact that Paul worked with his hands to minister to his necessities and the necessities of those with him is not meant to lead us to believe that it would be wrong for him to accept help from those to whom he ministered. Paul makes clear that he did just that and even thanked those who did so while admonishing the Corinthians for believing the lies of others who were telling the Corinthians that Paul was preaching the gospel just for personal profit.

2Co 11:7  Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
2Co 11:8  I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
2Co 11:9  And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

The Macedonians’ generosity in ministering to Paul’s needs was also commended by Paul in his epistle to the Philippians:

Php 4:15  Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
Php 4:16  For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
Php 4:17  Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

Paul and Silas had been unlawfully beaten and jailed by the authorities at Philippi and had been asked to leave the city. When they left Philippi, they went to Thessalonica where they spent some time until the unbelieving Jews forced them to leave for Berea. While in Thessalonica, the church which had been established in Philippi was led by the Lord to send some form of support to Paul and those who accompanied him, and Paul was very grateful for that support.

The Lord blesses a “cheerful giver” much more than a begrudging tithepayer. Even those who tithe with a willing heart will be blessed because the Lord knows their heart, and they, too, will reap what they sow.

2Co 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Gal 6:6  Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. [“communicate… with [his] necessities” (Php 4:15-16)]
Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Act 18:4  And he reasoned in the synagogue [at Corinth] every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

The Greek word for ‘reasoned’ is G1256, ‘dialegomai’ and it means to have a dialogue with someone aiming to persuade them, which is what Paul did with both the Jews and the Greeks.

Paul told the Thessalonians that he had sent both Timothy and Silas from Athens to return to minister to the churches in Macedonia including the church at Thessalonica:

1Th 3:1  Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
1Th 3:2  And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:

Sometime after leaving Athens and spending time establishing a church in Corinth, Paul sends again for Silas and Timothy. It is here in Acts 18 we learn that when he sent Timothy to care for and minister to the Thessalonians, he had also sent Silas back to minister to the churches of Macedonia where both Thessalonica and Philippi were located.

Act 18:5  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
Act 18:6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

This is the second time Paul has made this resolution, because he had said the same thing when the Jews in Pisidian Antioch had refused the gospel “and expelled them from their coasts”:

Act 13:45  But when the Jews [of Pisidian Antioch] saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

What Paul meant by “we turn to the Gentiles” was the Gentile proselytes who were in the synagogues to whom the Lord gave a more receptive spirit toward the gospel. Paul did not leave Corinth when the Jews “opposed themselves and blasphemed” against the gospel. He simply moved his work into a house which “joined hard to the synagogue” and continued to preach the gospel to all who were given ears to hear and eyes to see The Truth.

Act 18:7  And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

Paul’s efforts were so persuasive that “the chief ruler of the synagogue believed on the Lord with all his house” as well as many other of the Corinthians.

Act 18:8  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

This is the ‘Crispus’ Paul later refers to in his first epistle to the Corinthians when he was admonishing them to be of one mind and have no divisions among themselves based upon which one of the apostles had baptized them:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1Co 1:15  Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
1Co 1:16  And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
1Co 1:17  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Baptisms and sprinkling were an integral part of the law of Moses. Christ Himself was baptized by John, and He commissioned His disciples to baptize others, though He Himself baptized no one:

Joh 4:1  When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
Joh 4:2  (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
Joh 4:3  He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Christ baptized with the holy spirit and with fire.

Luk 3:16  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but there cometh he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire: (ASV)

Water baptism was left to Christ’s disciples, who were yet unable to bear the loss of that part of the law of Moses.

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [Things like “the washing of the water by the Word” (Eph 5:26)]

Indeed, the apostles and elders at Jerusalem continued the practice of water baptism throughout the history of the book of Acts. It is in the same prison epistle of Paul, the epistle to the Ephesians where Paul reveals that the ‘wall of partition’ (meaning the necessity that the Jews must keep the law of Moses) was being torn down by the Lord, who is now in the process of “making of twain one new man” and washing us with the water of His word:

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye [Gentile Ephesians] who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [The decree of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem requiring the Jews to keep the laws and ordinances of Moses, in Acts 15]
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Act 18:9  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
Act 18:10  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Act 18:11  And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

The words “no man shall set on thee to hurt thee” proved to be true, but that was by no means a promise that Paul and the gospel would not face much opposition here in Corinth as it did in every city. No man in Corinth beat Paul, stoned him, or put him in jail, but that was not because some did not want to do just that:

Act 18:12  And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
Act 18:13  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is always resisted by the secular and religious establishment because it is completely contrary in spirit of both. Paul’s perseverance in the face of such constant opposition is an example for us to never become weary in well doing as Paul twice admonishes us all:

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

2Th 3:13  But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

Any time a statement is repeated in scripture, it is because it needs to be repeated. It is because we all do become weary in well doing, and the holy spirit has seen fit to warn us against giving in to the desire to avoid the trials we are promised are a part of our calling if we aspire to be in ‘the kingdom of heaven’ at that ‘blessed and holy first resurrection’.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

We are not told exactly how long Paul spent in each of the cities he visited on this second journey, but we are told that he visited and ministered to Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens before coming to Corinth. That is seven cities. If he spent just one month in each of those seven cities, this second evangelistic journey would have lasted well over two years, because he spent a year and six months here in Corinth alone.

In our next study we will learn how Paul was kept safe through this “insurrection”, and we will see that he “shaved his head in Cenchrea; for he had a vow”, demonstrating beyond any doubt that he was actively remaining faithful to “the decrees from the holy spirit and the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” not out of any sense of “condescension.” He was rather keeping those decrees out of the fear of the Lord and a deep desire to please Him and be obedient to His decrees, the decrees of “the holy spirit and the apostles and elders.” Paul would never have encouraged any of his Gentile converts to take a vow or shave their head. It was understood and accepted that keeping the law of Moses was only expected of the Jews, and not of the Gentiles:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; (ASV)

The day will come when the spirit will decree that “the middle wall of partition” between the Jews and the Gentiles will be “broken down” (Eph 2:14), but that time is not yet, and that day will not be realized at any time throughout this book of Acts. It will be proclaimed only when Paul is taken to Rome as a prisoner in the epistle to the Ephesians. Throughout the book of Acts, all the apostles are living under the law of Moses, and they are all teaching that the Gentiles “observe no such thing” as James told Paul:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Act 17:1-17 These Have Turned the World Upside Down

[Study Aired June 11, 2023]

Act 17:1  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
Act 17:2  And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
Act 17:3  Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
Act 17:4  And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
Act 17:5  But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
Act 17:6  And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
Act 17:7  Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
Act 17:8  And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
Act 17:9  And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
Act 17:10  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Act 17:12  Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
Act 17:13  But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
Act 17:14  And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
Act 17:15  And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Act 17:16  Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Act 17:17  Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

In our last study, Paul and Silas had insisted that the hypocritical magistrates of Philippi, who had commanded that Paul and Silas be beaten without a trial, not knowing they were both Roman citizens with the right to a trial, must come themselves to the prison and lead them out of their city. Those magistrates, upon learning that they had broken Roman law, were humbled enough to come to the prison and “beg” Paul and Silas to leave the city:

In this study we will first review our last study to demonstrate the pattern of being rejected which developed in Paul’s life.

Act 16:37  But Paul said to them, Having beaten us publicly, being Romans and uncondemned men, they threw us into prison. And now do they throw us out secretly? No, indeed! But coming themselves, let them bring us out.
Act 16:38  And the floggers reported these words to the magistrates. And hearing that they were Romans, they were afraid.
Act 16:39  And coming, they begged them. And bringing them out, they asked them to go out of the city.
Act 16:40  And going out from the prison, they went into the house of Lydia. And seeing the brothers, they exhorted them, and went out. (LITV)

Paul and Silas accommodated their persecutors because that is what the Lord had instructed them:

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

This is a pattern which was established on Paul’s first missionary journey with Barnabas. He was cast out of Pisidian Antioch and fled to Iconium. In Iconium he became aware of a plot to stone him, and he and Barnabas fled to Lystra where Paul was stoned and left for dead. The Lord raised him up, and he and Barnabas fled to Derbe.

On this second missionary journey, Paul travels from Syrian Antioch through his hometown of Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, where he had spent well over a decade after fleeing Jerusalem for his life. He then visits all the churches he and Barnabas had established in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. Then being forbidden by the spirit to preach the gospel in Asia at this time, and being forbidden to preach the gospel in Bithynia, Paul is directed by the Lord in “a vision… in the night” to go into Macedonia and preach the gospel:

Act 16:6  Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
Act 16:7  After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
Act 16:8  And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
Act 16:9  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
Act 16:10  And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

It was at the Lord’s direction that Paul and Silas ended up in “Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia.”

Act 16:11  Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;
Act 16:12  And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.

Philippi is a Roman colony, and there is no mention of a synagogue in Philippi. Instead, we are told that Paul and Silas met on the sabbath day with the women of the city who prayed by a river. This is where Paul and Silas met with and converted a woman named Lydia, who insisted they stay at her home.

Act 16:13  And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
Act 16:14  And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Act 16:15  And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

It is here in Philippi that “a certain damsel” follows Paul and Barnabas “many days” proclaiming them as men of God who “show us the way of salvation.”

While the young lady’s message was true, she was doing exactly what the scriptures tell us will place us under a curse:

Pro 27:14  He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

Constantly singing the praises of any man, as opposed to constantly affirming the praises of Christ, places us in the unenviable position of placing a man above our Lord, and that is exactly what this young lady was doing.

Paul was given to discern an evil spirit which was directing this young lady, and he ordered it to come out of her, and it did:

Act 16:16  And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
Act 16:17  The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
Act 16:18  And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

That spirit of divination came out of the young lady, and she was no longer able to “bring her masters much gain.” So, her masters caught [Paul and Silas], and dragged them to the magistrates of Philippi and accused Paul and Silas of “teaching customs which are not lawful for us to receive… being Romans.” The multitudes and the magistrates “rose up together against them” [Paul and Silas], beat them mercilessly with “many stripes”, and then cast them into prison.

Act 16:19  And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
Act 16:20  And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
Act 16:21  And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
Act 16:22  And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
Act 16:23  And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

While in the stocks in this Philippian jail, at midnight Paul and Silas were praying out loud and singing praises to the Lord when ‘suddenly there was an earthquake’ so [powerful] that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and all the prisoners were set free of their bonds:

Act 16:25  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Act 16:26  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

The jailer wakes to see the doors of the prison open and immediately assumes that all the prisoners had already fled, but miraculously none of them had fled. Not knowing this, the jailer proceeds to commit suicide because he is well aware of the Roman law that if a prisoner escapes, the person who was in charge of that prisoner must die for being negligent.

Act 16:28  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

This entire miraculous series of events, along with the witness of Paul and Silas, led to the conversion of the Roman jailer and all his house:

Act 16:30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Act 16:32  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
Act 16:33  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
Act 16:34  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

The next morning the magistrates sent word to secretly let Paul and Silas go free, but Paul insisted that since they had beaten and imprisoned them publicly, Paul and Silas, both being Roman citizens with all the rights to a trial of a Roman citizen, insisted that these hypocritical magistrates must come publicly to the jail and lead them out of the city themselves. Upon learning what they had illegally done to two Roman citizens, they were more than happy to comply with Paul’s demands, and they came and begged them to leave their city, which they did:

Act 16:39  And coming, they begged them. And bringing them out, they asked them to go out of the city.
Act 16:40  And going out from the prison, they went into the house of Lydia. And seeing the brothers, they exhorted them, and went out. (LITV)

This all brings us to the verses of our study today where the same scenario of being rejected by the Jews is about to be repeated in a Greek city named Thessalonica, which had a Jewish synagogue and was south of Philippi some 100 miles, or 161 kilometers.

Act 17:1  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
Act 17:2  And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
Act 17:3  Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

As was always the case, the spirit had prepared the hearts of many to receive Paul’s words and given them eyes to see and ears to hear the words of the witness of Paul:

Act 17:4  And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to appeal to those who are not part of nor accepted by the established religions and their leaders in every generation. In Thessalonica Paul’s preaching at first appealed to “a great multitude…  of the devout Greeks… and of the chief women not few”, but once again the established church became envious of the appeal the gospel was having.

Act 17:5  But the Jews which believed not [the established church of that day], moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them [Paul and Silas] out to the people.

As we just read “the Jews that believed not” were not only envious of the multitudes to whom the gospel appealed, but they also “believed not” the doctrines of the gospel of Christ, and once again they stirred up the people and would have assaulted Paul and Silas if they had found them:

Act 17:6  And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

The leaders of the established church, and the people of Paul’s day, signifying the religious leaders and people of our day, had lived their lives in a world that was upside down. Being upside down is the human condition in which we all just naturally worship and serve the creature, meaning ourselves, rather than the Creator. This rebellious, “marred…upside down” condition of mankind is referred to in Romans 1 as “the unrighteousness of men” (Rom1:18):

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

It is mankind’s marred composition which makes him “to err from [the Lord’s] ways and hardens [our] hearts against [His] ways.” That is how we are all first “made”:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

‘The creature’ (mankind) is at first ‘marred’ and unrighteous by God’s design. Our naturally marred and unrighteous condition places all mankind under the Lord’s wrath:

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature [our own fleshly desires] more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

We all as carnal-minded mankind just naturally tend to please our own flesh instead of striving to put Christ and His Father first in our lives. That is why the doctrine of Christ, which teaches us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek and resist not evil, appears as an upside-down world to our natural man. A doctrine which teaches that we should seek first the spiritual kingdom of God and His righteousness, and afterward all the necessities of this physical realm, seems very much upside down and backwards to our natural man.

Act 17:7  Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

Christ’s kingdom is a spiritual kingdom which is no threat to civil governments of this age. The truth is that the gospel and doctrines of Christ produce the very best citizens in this present time because true Christians are obedient to these words which are inspired by the holy spirit:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation [G2917: ‘krima’ judgment].
Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4  For he [civil government, “the powers that be”] is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute [God’s] wrath upon him that doeth evil [against others, including God’s elect].
Rom 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for [the execution of] wrath, but also for conscience sake. [For the sake of being obedient to the Lord]

These words make for the most honest and peaceful and productive citizens of any country. These words are not the sum of the Lord’s instructions to us, but they are only part of the Lord’s words on this subject. There is a time when we are forced to resist the powers that be, as Peter demonstrated when responding to “the powers that be” when they ordered him and all the apostles to refrain from preaching the gospel to the people:

Act 5:27  And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
Act 5:28  Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
Act 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

This is a Biblically qualified exception to being obedient to the powers that be. Therefore, any time the powers that be command us to disobey our Lord, we must refuse to do so.

Act 17:8  And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

This other king other than Caesar, is the same ingenuous, hypocritical canard which the chief priest and the Pharisees had placed upon Christ, acting as if they themselves were loyal to Caesar:

Luk 23:2  And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.

Joh 19:12  And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

They were lying, and they knew they were lying. Christ never once forbade anyone to give tribute to Caesar. This is His doctrine concerning paying taxes:

Luk 20:22  Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?

Luk 20:24  Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.
Luk 20:25  And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.

Rom 13:7  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

The gospel of the kingdom of God in this age is a spiritual kingdom within us. That gospel proclaims a time when “the kingdoms of this world [will] become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.” However, when that day would arrive, it will not arrive because those who proclaim the gospel have inspired a physical insurrection against the civil governments of this age. When the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, it will be a supernatural work of God which will be beyond the ability of mere flesh and blood to resist:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Act 17:9  And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
Act 17:10  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

It was on the first journey that Paul and Barnabas declared that since the Jews always rejected the gospel and ‘counted themselves unworthy of salvation, we turn to the Gentiles.’

Here is what Paul declared to the rebellious Jews in Pisidian Antioch during his first missionary journey:

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

Where does the Lord command Paul and Barnabas to go to the Gentiles? These are the verses Paul references as a commandment for him to take the gospel to the Gentiles:

Isa 49:1  Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isa 49:2  And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isa 49:3  And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Isa 49:4  Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
Isa 49:5  And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
Isa 49:6  And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Even after proclaiming that his ministry was ‘turning to the Gentiles, Paul continued to also go into the local synagogues:

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Act 17:12  Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

The pronouns, ‘these were more noble’ and ‘many of them believed’ are referring to the Jews of Berea mentioned in the previous verse:

Act 17:10  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Act 17:13  But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
Act 17:14  And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.

The apostles typify the Lord’s elect, who are indeed “hated of all men” as the Lord told us we would be:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

When we are persecuted, we are instructed to flee to another city, and that is the pattern of all of Paul’s efforts to share the gospel with both the Jews and the Gentiles to whom the Lord has sent him. We do not attempt to make people see the truth who are not given eyes to see the truth.

Act 17:15  And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

We are not told who ‘they’ are, but we know ‘they’ were not Silas and Timothy because we are told that they remained in Berea for a time before being instructed to later join Paul in Athens.

Act 17:16  Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Act 17:17  Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

Once again, we see Paul first going into the synagogue in Athens. He always does so, because the gospel was intended to be preached to those who already had a relationship with God before being preached to others:

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

That is what the holy spirit had originally told Saul of Tarsus by the agency of Ananias of Damascus:

Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Immediately, Saul of Tarsus, the man who three days earlier had been seeking to kill all who followed Christ, was now in Christ’s employ and is proclaiming Him in the synagogues of Damascus:

Act 9:19  And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Act 9:20  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

As we will see in our next study, Paul had little impact upon this great Gentile city of Athens even though he was invited to speak in the Areopagus by “certain philosophers of the Epicureans” (Act 17:18).

Athens is the one city which did not persecute Paul before he left. He was not threatened there in Athens as he had been in every other city in which he had spent time preaching the gospel. Judging from ‘that which is written’ he spent more time speaking to the Gentiles at the Areopagus than the Jews in the synagogue. He did however speak to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles.

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

Christ Himself came to His own first, and other than healing the Roman centurion’s servant (Mat 8:8), granting the Syrophoenician woman her request (after calling her a ‘dog’ to her face [Mar 7:24-30]), Christ never once went to a Gentile. They always came to Him because, as He told that woman:

Mar 7:27  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

This is the principle which rules the thoughts of all the apostles throughout the book of Acts.

In our next study we will see that the Gentiles also rejected the gospel of the resurrection of the dead. As always there was and there is a remnant who are given to receive our Lord and His Word.