In the last three Q&As, we covered Paul’s first and parts of his second missionary journeys. We discussed his experiences in Athens where most rejected his teachings. He then departed from there and went to Corinth. He arrived there about 50 AD.

Corinth was an extremely evil city, filled with temple prostitutes who “served” during the day in the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of “love,” and would come down in the evening for their sexual activities. Some of those problems of the Corinthians were carried into the church which Paul would establish (see 1 Corinthians 5:1-2), and Paul later wrote two letters to the Corinthian church, while he was in Ephesus, correcting illicit behavior. He also pointed out that some of the brethren had been fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals and sodomites, but upon baptism, they had been washed, sanctified and justified (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

While in Corinth, he found a Jewish couple with the names of Aquila and Priscilla, who had fled from Italy because of Emperor Claudius who had compelled all Jews to depart from Rome (Acts 18:2). Verse 3 says: “So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.” Actually, the meaning is that he was a “leather-worker.” Some have claimed that this passage shows that a minister must not draw a salary. This is false. Note what it says, for example, in 2 Corinthians 11:7-9:

“Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself.”

Paul did not draw a “salary” or take the tithe or wages from the Corinthians because, as commentaries have stated, some in Corinth still viewed him somewhat with suspicion.

Soon, Silas and Timothy joined him. Paul reasoned every Sabbath with Jews and Greeks, and persuaded them that Jesus was the Messiah. When the Jews rejected him and blasphemed, Paul announced: “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6).

This did not make the Jews very happy, but Christ comforted Paul in the night by a vision: “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city” (verses 9-10). And so, Paul remained in Corinth for 1 year and 6 months, teaching the word of God (verse 11), but hostile and envious Jews tried to instigate another uproar against Paul, but failed, because Roman proconsul Gallio refused to hear their accusations.

Gallio was known as a kind man, as testified by his brother Seneca, and he was an impartial Roman officer. Also, Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, is mentioned who was severely mistreated by the Jews (verse 17). He is later referred to in 1 Corinthians 1:1 as “our brother.”

Paul still remained “a good while” in Corinth (verse 18), until he left with Aquila and Priscilla for Cenchrea. We read that “he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow” (verse 18). Many commentaries feel that this was a Nazarite vow (Numbers 6:1-21). During the time of the vow, no wine or other drinks made from wine could be consumed, and no grapes were to be eaten. Also, the hair was not to be cut during this time, and no dead person was to be touched. Samson was under a Nazarite vow, but he violated his vow on numerous occasions. Presumably, Elijah and John the Baptist were under the vow as well. Jesus was not, as He drank wine and touched dead people! At the end of the vow, the head was shorn. Today, the Nazarite vow has no more meaning for true Christians.

There are good reasons to deny that this was a Nazarite vow. At the end of the vow, offerings would be given at the Temple, but Paul and his companions were not any where near the Temple in Jerusalem (compare Acts 21:23-26). Also, it is not clear who took the vow. Even though many feel that Paul made this vow, others claim that it was actually Aquila who took the vow, as the passage in verse 18 reads, in full: “So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.” It is claimed that the reference to “he” who had cut off his hair and who had taken a vow does not refer to Paul, but to Aquila.

Paul departed from Cenchrea and came to Ephesus where he stayed for a short while and reasoned with the Jews. He then decided to leave Ephesus for Jerusalem, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing” (verse 21). This could be a reference to the Feast of Tabernacles. In any event, it is clear that Paul did not only continue to keep the weekly Sabbath, but also God’s annual Holy Days.

Verse 22 concludes Paul’s second journey. We read, after he had left Ephesus: “And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.” Antioch, as we recall, was the city where his second journey started. Commentaries tell us that Paul travelled about 3,085 miles on his second journey, 1,800 miles of which were travelled by land, and that this second journey took place from AD 49 to AD 52.

His third journey began in Acts 18:23, where we read:

“After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.”

The account about Paul continues in Acts 19:1 where Paul is described as being again in Ephesus, where he stayed for nearly 3 years. Ephesus has been named the city of criminals, where the temple of Diana and the area around the temple granted them the right of asylum [not unlike today’s “sanctuary cities” in the USA]. Ephesus was also the city of superstition, charms and spells. People would buy those magic parchments which they wore as amulets. [Not unlike today].

The temple of Diana, also known as the temple of Artemis, was one of the “seven wonders” of the ancient world. Diana or Artemis, daughter of Zeus (Jupiter in Roman), was the “virgin goddess of the hunt.” One of her main symbols included the moon.

In Acts 19:1-7, an interesting episode is described:

“… Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples, he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all.”

Unbelievable as it may seem to us today, these followers of God did not know anything about the Holy Spirit. They had only been baptized “into John’s baptism,” who had baptized for repentance. But John had said that after him, another would come (Jesus Christ) who would baptize “with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11). When the disciples who were met by Paul heard this, they were baptized in the name of Jesus. Note, they were not baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as referred to in Matthew 28:19. It is obvious that the wording in this passage is not a “magical formula,” which must be repeated at baptism. Nowhere in the Bible do we find that people were baptized in this triune name. In addition, there is great suspicion that the passage in Matthew 28:19 regarding baptism was later added by the Catholic church to support the wrong teaching of the Trinity.

Note, too, that Paul laid hands on the disciples, and THEN the Holy Spirit was given. A baptism even by ordained ministers of God without the laying on of hands is incomplete. Upon the receipt of the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues; that is, in foreign languages (compare Acts 2:6-11). There are only three recorded events when, upon receipt of the Holy Spirit, people spoke in “tongues” to confirm that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed on them in unusual ways (note again Acts 2 and Acts 19; also note Acts 10: 44-48).

Acts 19:8-12 continues the narrative as follows:

“And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.”

We should take note of several things here. First, Paul spoke about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3; 14:22; 28:23)—that is, the government of God and also the Family of God. God is a ruling Family (consisting of the Father and the Son), in which we can be born. As correctly baptized disciples, we are BEGOTTEN children of God, but when Christ returns, we will be changed to immortality–BORN children of God, ruling with and under Christ in the Kingdom of God which will be established here on earth. We will be God beings as God is God, equal with the glorified Jesus Christ, but always under the Father and Christ in authority.

We also note that Christianity is described as “the Way.” This is not only a theoretical understanding of doctrines, but it is a practical Way of Life which must be lived (see Acts 9:2; 18:26; 19:23; 24:14).

We find that when unbelieving, hardened and evil-speaking people opposed the Way before the multitudes, Paul departed and withdrew the disciples. Sometimes, it is necessary to just withdraw from an evil environment rather than staying there and perhaps thinking one can have a positive impact on those who oppose and blaspheme God.

Finally, we read that God healed people when they received aprons or handkerchiefs upon which Paul had placed his hands (“unusual miracles by the hands of Paul”). Based on this and other passages (compare Matthew 9:20-22; 14:34-36), the Church of God sends an anointed cloth to a sick individual if a minister cannot visit him or her personally. Please note that when the people received the aprons from Paul, they were healed from their physical afflictions AND from evil spirits which had plagued or even possessed them. The next biblical passage shows a shocking contrast to what Paul had done.

Continuing with Acts 19:13-20:

“Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”

This passage makes clear that anyone not authorized by God to cast out demons had better not try it. Apart from the fact that it is useless, it can severely backfire. Christ spoke of people who would claim that they had cast out demons in Christ’s name, but Christ will answer them that He had never known them, and to depart from Him as they had practiced lawlessness or the transgression of God’s Law (Matthew 7:22). To just use Christ’s name as a “magical formula” is not a method honored by God.

It is also interesting to note that many who had practiced magic did not only cease from doing so, but that they burned their expensive magical books [their value is estimated as 50,000 silver coins] which instructed them in the practice of magic, so they would not be tempted again to return to this occult and demonic practice.

(To be continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

In the first two parts of this new series, we discussed the apostle Paul’s first missionary journey which is described in Acts 13 and Acts 14. We also started discussing Paul’s second missionary journey, beginning in Acts 15. We addressed his and the other disciples’ experiences in Philippi and their departure from that unfriendly and hostile city.

From Philippi, they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1). That city was about 100 miles away from Philippi. The city of Thessalonica was Greek, but Romans and Jews lived there as well. We read that “as his custom was,” he went to a Jewish synagogue and “for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (verse 2).

Paul made it clear again that he kept the Sabbath, as he had always done. In this, he followed the example of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). After all, Christ, “as His custom was,” “went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16). As true Christians and followers of Christ, we must keep the Sabbath day as well, on which we study the Scriptures and worship God.

When Paul explained that the Old Testament Scriptures showed that the Savior or Messiah had to suffer and to be raised again from the dead, and when he showed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, some Jews were persuaded, and a “great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas” (verse 4).

But as it had happened before, the Jews who did not believe instigated an uproar by using evil men, and they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, claiming that Jason had harbored Paul and his companions. Their accusation was telling: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (verse 6). It shows that Paul and his companions had already made quite an impact on the “civilized” world.

We read in verse 10:

“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.”

Berea was 60 miles west of Thessalonica. One sentence about the people of Berea stands out: “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (verse 11).

They had a finer character than the hostile people of Thessalonica; they received Paul’s teaching with all readiness or eagerness; and they examined the Scriptures daily to see whether Paul’s teaching was true.

They did not believe Paul blindly, but they did not reject him, as the people of Thessalonica had done; rather, they looked for proof in the Bible. They did not have the attitude that so many have today, to disprove what the Bible and God’s ministers say, but they wanted to confirm Paul’s message, based on proof. As Mr. Armstrong has declared so many times. “Don’t believe me, believe the Bible.”

Note what happened as a consequence: “Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men” (verse 12). Because of their fair-mindedness, they believed. Their heart was open to the Truth, because God, willing to call them, had given them a receptive heart.

The envious and evil-minded Jews from Thessalonica heard about what was happening in Berea; so they went there to stir up the crowds against Paul and his companions (verse 13). Immediately, the brethren sent Paul away to travel by sea to protect him, while Silas and Timothy remained there, but Paul commanded them to come to him with all speed (verses 14-15).

It is not wrong to flee from danger. Christ escaped the crowds on several occasions (John 8:59; 12:36). We need to behave in the same way when this is called for (Proverbs 22:3). But neither Christ nor Paul ever thought of giving up, even though the constant opposition would ultimately lead to the end of their lives, as both well knew. We must have the same attitude.

Paul arrived in Athens (verse 15) which was full of idols (verse 16). We read that Paul’s spirit “was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (verse 16). He was outraged. We are told that 600 years ago, pestilence had struck the city. Black and white sheep had been set free, and each sheep which settled near an idolatrous statue of a god was sacrificed to that god. It has been said that there were more statues of gods in the city of Athens than in all the rest of Greece put together.

Verses 17-21 inform us:

“Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,’ because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.’ For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.”

The Epicureans believed in time and chance; they did not believe in life after death. The Stoics believed that everything was God and that His Spirit was in everything. They also believed that everything was the Will of God.

They brought Paul to the Areopagus— the Hill of Ares of the Acropolis [also called Mars Hill]. The Greek council met there, having charge of religious and educational matters. Paul responded to the challenge and gave one of the most extraordinary and timeless messages. We read verses 22-31:

“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious [or superstitious]; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.” Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.’”

Inasmuch as some had wondered whether Paul was proclaiming foreign gods, Paul indeed addressed this question by saying that he was proclaiming the “unknown God”—unknown to them and frankly, to almost everyone in the world today. Most in Athens had never heard of the true God before Paul spoke to them in the marketplace (see again verse 17). Most “Christians” don’t know the real Jesus either, believing instead in “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4) who had come to do away with the commandments of His Father—a blatantly blasphemous idea.

Paul continued that the people were worshipping this true God without knowing it. He was thereby referring to the fact that they had erected an altar to “the unknown God.” They must have thought that there could be a God whom they did not know, so they dedicated an altar to Him, just in case.

Paul proceeded to tell them more about the “unknown God,” stating that He was Creator and Sustainer of all, but that He was not living in a temple or to be worshipped “with hands” or as “a carved image of gold or silver or stone” (compare Exodus 20:4-5). He made clear that this “unknown God” was the only God (compare Exodus 20:2-3: “I am the LORD your God… You shall have no other gods before [or beside] Me”).

Paul explained that this “unknown” God had made man, and that all human beings descended from the first human. He also stated that God had determined the preappointed times and the boundaries of the dwellings of the nations. This is a remarkable revelation. It is God who determines where and how long a particular nation would live and exist. This had been preordained.

For instance, God had told Abraham that his descendants would not possess Canaan for four generations (approx. 400 years) because the iniquity of the Amorites was “not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). We also read in Deuteronomy 32:8: “When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel.”

Paul also said that people could find Him to a certain extent (not for the purpose of obtaining salvation, as this is dependent on God’s preordination of those whom He would call), in order to have a physical relationship with Him, as the nation of Israel had with God. Still, man has a desire for eternity or everlasting life which God “has put in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

As this was so, Paul explained that we are all the “offspring of God.” The Neue Lutherbibel 2009 translates: “We are of the kind of God.” This is interesting, as Mr. Armstrong taught us tirelessly that God made animals after the animal kind, like cattle after the cattle kind, but that He made man after the God kind, with the potential of BECOMING God in the resurrection.

Paul continued that God had overlooked the time of ignorance, but commanded man now to repent. This reflects the fulfillment of Christ’s command in Luke 24:46-47: “Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’”

Paul also made clear why repentance was necessary: God’s judgment would be coming, and God would judge the world by a Man who was ordained for this purpose—a Man who had been resurrected from the dead. He repeated what Christ Himself had said, in John 5:22, 27:

“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son… [The Father] has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”

That was too much for the leaders of Athens to swallow. We read in verses 32 and 33:

“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, ‘We will hear you again [or: “some other time”] on this matter.’ So Paul departed from among them.”

Some, though, joined him and believed, but short of that, there was nothing more for Paul to do in Athens, and so “he departed from Athens and went to Corinth” (Acts 18:1).

(To be continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

In the first part of this new series, we discussed the apostle Paul’s first missionary journey which is described in Acts 13 and Acts 14. We saw that he was accompanied, at times, by John Mark and Barnabas. They traveled to Syria, Cyprus and Southern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Their return to Antioch was described in Acts 14:26-28:

In this second part, we will begin to discuss Paul’s second missionary journey which would last for about three years. The preparation for this trip is reported in Acts 15:36-41.

“Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.’ Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

As we saw in the first part of this new series, John Mark had departed from them to go back to Jerusalem where his mother lived; the exact reason for his return is not revealed. As Paul and Barnabas could not agree on their course of action regarding Mark, they separated. From then on, we do not find anything further in the Bible about Barnabas.

After spending some time in Syria and Cilicia with the brethren, Paul and Silas went on to Derbe and Lystra (Acts 16:1). There they found a young man with the name of Timothy, “the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek” (Acts 16:1-3).

Paul’s conduct in circumcising Timothy may sound rather strange, as decrees had just been made in Jerusalem finding that circumcision was no longer necessary. In fact, Paul and Silas even delivered these decrees to the people (Acts 16:4: “And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.”) Some say that the decrees only determined that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised, but Jews still had to be, and so Timothy was circumcised because he was a half-Jew. This conclusion is false. There is neither Jew nor Greek nor Gentile (Galatians 3:28-29), and God would not demand of Jews to do something that Gentiles would not have to do.

On the other hand, the Bible does not prohibit physical circumcision, and Paul chose to circumcise Timothy because he wanted him to be used in God’s service, and the fact that he was not circumcised would have been a hindrance in reaching Jews. By circumcising Timothy, he became accepted as a Jew, and avoided unnecessary disputes. Paul did not want Timothy to become a stumbling block to the Jews. The circumcision of Timothy was an action performed to prevent unnecessary conflict.

On another occasion, Paul refused to circumcise the Gentile Titus as that would have given a wrong signal, since some Jews believed that physical circumcision was necessary for salvation—a concept strongly opposed by Paul (Galatians 2:3-5).

Paul and Silas stayed in the cities for a while, and “the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily” (Acts 16:5).

They then wanted to go to Asia and Bithynia, but at that time, they were prevented by God from going there.  We read in Acts 16:6-8:

“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.”

Jesus Christ, through His Spirit, may inspire us to make certain decisions. Here, it was clearly Christ who did not want Paul and Silas to go to those places at that time to preach the gospel there (At other times, Satan prevented Paul to go somewhere, and God permitted Satan to hinder him, compare 1 Thessalonians 2:18). We don’t know the reason why they were not permitted to go to Asia and Bithynia, nor do we know HOW exactly God’s Will had been made manifest to them. The point being, Christ leads His Church, and we must respond to that lead and follow wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4).

In Acts 16:9-12, a remarkable episode is described:

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.”

The report states that “we” went on to Philippi. Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, had joined Paul and included himself now in the narrative.

Philippi was a Roman colony. It was the first European city visited by Paul who arrived there about 50 AD.

Acts 16:13 continues that “on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.” Apparently, there was no synagogue in Philippi, but certain places for prayers had been chosen.

The Sabbath day mentioned above was apparently an annual Holy Day—the Feast of Pentecost, which always falls on a Sunday. In the Greek, it says, “on the day of the Sabbaths,” referencing the weekly Sabbath and the following Holy Day of Pentecost. Something similar is described in Acts 13:14 where Paul went into the synagogue “on the Sabbath day” or better, “on the day of the Sabbaths.” In all likelihood, that was Pentecost as well; it could also have been a Holy Day which fell on the weekly Sabbath. 

Acts 16:14-15 introduces us to a wealthy woman in Philippi with the name of Lydia who listened to Paul and his helpers and became converted and was baptized with her household–the first recorded conversion in Philippi. It is noteworthy how this conversion began. She “worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14), leading to her baptism. God had to open her heart AFTER she listened to Paul and accepted his teaching.

Another chain of events follows, beginning in verse 16. A possessed girl followed Paul and his helpers, so that Paul, greatly annoyed, commanded the demon to leave the girl which occurred “that very hour”—not necessarily immediately. The possessed girl had brought her masters much profit by “fortune-telling” (verse 16), so when the demon left her and “her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas” and “brought them to the magistrates” (verses 19-20). The spineless and hypocritical magistrates, siding with the accusers, had Paul and his companions severely beaten and subsequently  imprisoned. They were put into the inner prison and their feet were fastened in the stocks.

But at midnight, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do yourself no harm, for we are all here’” (Acts 16:26-28).

The keeper of the prison was responsible for his prisoners. If they escaped, he could be executed. Paul, knowing this, did not flee, sensing a deeper purpose in all of this. The keeper was overwhelmed, sensing a deeper purpose in all of this as well, and after Paul taught him and his family, they were baptized. Their repentance, belief in God the Father and Jesus Christ and their obedience had become obvious to Paul (note verses 29-34).

It is true that Paul answered the keeper’s question regarding salvation with the words, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). But he spoke of “obedient” faith. Paul did not tell the Philippian jailor that all he had to do was just to believe in Jesus Christ. James tells us that even the demons believe in God (James 2:19). Rather, Paul was teaching that we need to OBEY God, once we come to believe in Him.

We read Paul’s words in Romans 1:5: “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship FOR OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH.” He also stated in Romans 16:26: “… [the mystery] has been made manifest… according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH.” We read in John 3:36 (correctly translated from the Greek, compare the Revised Standard Version): “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does NOT OBEY the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.”

With the exorcism of the demon-possessed girl, this described chain of events started, culminating in the baptism of more believers.

The next day, the magistrates wanted Paul and his companions to leave secretly, but Paul demanded an open recognition of their wrongdoing and that he and Silas had been innocent, being “uncondemned Romans,” which included Silas as well, as he was also a Roman citizen (verse 37). Under Roman law, scourging a Roman citizen was prohibited. Acts 22:18 confirmed Paul’s citizenship as a Roman; he was born as a Roman, since his parents had apparently acquired Roman citizenship before Paul was born. The magistrates were afraid when they heard that they had mistreated Roman citizens and asked them to leave the city.

Acts 16:40 concludes this episode:

“So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.”

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link