Bible Study on Acts 21, verses 15 to 26, Paul receives instructions from the elders

 

Acts 21:15 ¶  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. 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. 17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. 19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. 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: 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. 22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. 23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; 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. 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. 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.

 

We see here again that the Jewish converts are still being told that they must obey the Law of Moses. In verse 20 it is said that the thousands of Jews that believe are also zealous of the Law. Later we will see Paul’s argument against such teaching.

 

Galatians 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? 2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

 

Paul is accused of telling the Jewish Christians not to obey Moses or have their children circumcised. He doesn’t exactly say that. He says we are not justified by the Law and for an adult Christian to be circumcised for religious reasons is bending to the Law and not to Christ.

 

Galatians 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

 

Galatians 5:1 ¶  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2  Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be

circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3  For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4  Christ is become of no effect unto you,

whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5  For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision

availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 8  This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. 9  A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

 

But Paul did surrender to this notion for the Jews’ sake with regard to Timothy in Acts 16, which goes against what he himself will believe is right.

 

The elders at Jerusalem appear to accept a division between Jew and Gentile Christian, with the Jew obeying the law and the Gentile not having much required of them. But, the Holy Spirit through Paul will show us all that there is Jew and Gentile and then there is the Church composed of both Jew and Gentile believers in one faith not two separate religions.

 

Ephesians 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 [Jews who practice circumcision]; 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: 13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

 

    14 ¶  For he is our peace, who hath made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us [Jew and Gentile}; 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; 16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18  For through him we both [Jew and Gentile] have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

 

Perhaps it took chaining Paul to a Roman soldier in a rented house in Rome to straighten out his doctrine. Here, James and the elders instruct him to take four men, presumably Jewish Christians, to the temple to take a vow and show obedience to the Law of Moses perhaps as a Pharisaic extension of regulations in Numbers 6 and other Old Testament places. At the same time they reinforce what few things are expected of the Gentile Christians.

 

I noted previously that animals which were strangled would not have the blood properly removed from them, which is the interpretation used by most commentators. But consider the context. Things offered to idols, eating things offered to idols, is the first proscription. So, now we are in the realm of heathen worship. Then comes mention of fornication, which we do note as practiced in rites of certain goddesses. Keeping in the context of pagan worship we have things strangled and from writers like the Greek historian, Herodotus, we know that certain tribes practiced ritual strangulation in some of their ceremonies. We then come to the forbidding of eating blood which is banned before the Law;

 

Genesis 9:4  But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

 

Under the Law given to Moses;

 

Deuteronomy 12:23  Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.

 

And, of course, here. Drinking blood was commonplace among many religions of the ancient world including Egypt just as it is a practice in witchcraft.

 

Psalm 16:4  Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

 

So, taking these admonitions to the Gentiles in context it is at least arguable that they were from more a desire to keep Gentile Christians from the pollution of pagan worship than from a desire to make them a little Jewish. These forbidden practices defined ancient religion in its expression. Paul will go into more detail in Corinthians.

 

This confusion in the early church must be straightened out. As we saw earlier, first God had to motivate them to get out of Jerusalem and fulfill His commissions for them.

 

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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.

 

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

He will plant Paul in bondage in Rome to have him give us the beautiful doctrine of his letters which must be very, very important to God.

Bible Study on Exodus 24, verses 1 to 8, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do

 

Exodus 24:1 ¶  And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. 2  And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. 3  And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. 4  And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5  And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. 6  And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7  And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. 8  And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

This passage brings to mind a key difference between the Hebrew religion based on the commandments given to Moses by God for the children of Israel and the religion of the Christian after Christ’s Resurrection.

There are no rituals laid out in the New Testament teachings for the Christian. When something like Baptism is mentioned we aren’t given strict instructions on how it is to be carried out or of a ceremony to be performed. It is simple, straightforward, and direct. There isn’t even an outline of a wedding ceremony. This was the nature of the Hebrew character, the need for a physical event as a vital part of their religious expression, a ritual, a ceremony, etc.

1Corinthians 1:22  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks [Gentiles, non-Jews] seek after wisdom…

There are no sacred spaces in Christianity outside of the human heart where the Spirit of God dwells. There are no God-ordained rituals or ceremonies, or even formula prayers where we conjure God up. Bible-believing Christians don’t ask for God to come down and “walk among the pews” as He is already here, in each of us, if you truly belong to Him.

Luke 17:20 ¶  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

John 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Galatians 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

We seek to be filled with His Spirit, much like a little water in a glass when heated up fills the glass with water vapor.

Ephesians 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

God created the Hebrew people for Himself with signs and wonders and required memorials and rituals for them to remember what had been done for them and their place in His scheme of things. These were tokens for proof of His providence and His actions in the world. The Christian has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as his or her deposit, a type of earnest money, on eternal life. We should experience God through His words in His Bible and see His hand in all reality. If we believe the Bible we see God working in our lives and in the lives of others every day. We don’t need a ritual and we don’t need a ceremony to remember what we experience each day of our lives.

Ephesians 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

As David said, in Psalm 19;

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

The evidence of a Hebrew’s position was his obedience to commandments and ritual observances. They justified him legally, in a sense, before God. The evidence of a Christian’s position is what the Holy Spirit produces in him or her that comes out, not faked, forced, or strained.

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Just as the Hebrew could comply with the commandments and have no love of God in his heart, though, the Christian can miss the boat, as well. If your love for others consists only of telling them how wicked they are and how they are going to Hell then you are a sorry Christian indeed. If your peace with God consists of only a smug self-righteousness as you dislocate your arm trying to pat yourself on the back you are missing the point entirely. If your longsuffering consists only of an “I suffer fools gladly” expression on your face then you need to repent and turn to God. The Hebrew’s disobedience, if there was not heart commitment to obey, was inevitable and the Christian can very easily descend into a parody, a satire of a Christian if his or her heart is not right as well.

We have the first mention of a book in Genesis 5 and then in Exodus 17. Here, Moses wrote all the words of the Lord and Moses reads the book of the covenant with God as he performs this ritual and the people promise to obey. Traditionally, conservative Christians believed that during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness Moses wrote almost all of the first five books of the Bible under the inspiration of God with Joshua perhaps finishing up after Moses died.

A covenant is a pledge, an alliance of friendship and obedience to principles agreed upon, between God and man in this case. Notice that the Hebrews repeatedly affirm that they will obey God.

Bible Study on Acts 21, verses 8 to 14, Paul is warned by Agabus

 

Acts 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. 9  And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. 10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 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. 12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. 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. 14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

 

Cornelius, the centurion in Acts 10 was from Caesarea. Caesarea Martima was built by Herod the Great to be a major port. It was the administrative center of the Roman Empire’s province of Judea. It is on the coast of the Mediterranean south of Haifa in present-day Israel. Caesarea is often called Caesarea Martima or Caesarea Palastinae to differentiate it from Caesarea Philippi on the Jordan River.

 

Philip the evangelist, it is said, was one of the seven, referring to the chosen deacons.

 

Acts 6:5  And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

 

He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. This represents a perplexing conundrum for Fundament Baptists who think women are warranted in the Bible only to walk behind men, keep their heads down, and shut up. There are prominent women in the Bible who perform God’s ordained assignments that would surprise some and dismay some others.

 

Here is Deborah in Judges.

 

Judges 4:4  And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

 

You should read the rest of Judges, chapter 4.

 

Consider Huldah the prophetess in 2Kings 22:14 and 2Chronicles 34:22 and her short sermon to the king’s men.

 

Perhaps we can consider Phebe, the servant from the Greek word from which we get the word Deacon in English, whom Paul says should be obeyed. Tradition says and the postscript to older versions of the King James Bible says that she delivered the letter to the Romans.

 

Romans 16:1 ¶  I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: 2  That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

 

There were deaconesses in the early church of the first and second century.

 

As for evidence Pliny the Younger was the governor Bithynia in what we know today as Turkey, geographically Asia Minor. He wrote a letter about Christians to the Emperor Trajan around 115AD. Here is the content of what we have today. Paul could not go to Bithynia but Peter may have gone there.

Acts 16:7  After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

1Peter 1:1  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Here is one translation from the Latin between the two men.

“Pliny the Younger to the Emperor Trajan

It is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.

Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.

Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.

They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.

I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.

Trajan to Pliny the Younger

You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.”[1]

Female deacons were also present in the early Baptist churches of the seventeenth century as it was thought unseemly for a man to minister to a single woman or widow.[2]

 

This brings us to verses that seem to contradict these historical and Biblical facts. For instance, Paul wrote to the Corinthians;

 

1Corinthians 14:34 ¶  Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

 

What is the context of that command?

 

  1Corinthians 14:26 ¶  How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 27  If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. 28  But if there be no interpreter, let

him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. 29  Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. 30  If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. 31  For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. 32  And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33  For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

 

    34 ¶  Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 35  And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

 

  36 ¶  What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? 37  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write

unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 38  But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. 39  Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. 40  Let all things be done decently and in order.

 

The context is asking what was said in an unknown tongue during the church meeting. Notice in verse 28 that if there is no interpreter the man speaking should remain silent and speak to himself and to God but not the congregation.

 

However, women were not to teach men as that abrogated the spiritual responsibility a man has for the spiritual leadership of his family and in the Christian community. This should never be changed because of the psychology of men who will surrender their responsibility to their wives if given half the chance. That started with Adam.

 

1Timothy 2:11  Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

 

But, the value of women as co-heirs in the grace of life is not diminished by the separate spheres of responsibility men and women are given.

 

1Peter 3:7  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

 

Galatians 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

And if you object to a woman voting in a church meeting then note that voting isn’t mandated in the New Testament letters of Paul as I can’t find a verse that says, “when the church votes…” So, we have liberty to do some things that fit our culture and time unless you feel we should meet before dawn on Sunday morning and then go to our jobs afterwards like the early Christians or that you should send your young man out to find a wife and tell him to marry the girl who offers to water his camels.

 

Back to the text, disciples, as noted in verse 4, warned Paul by the Spirit of God not to go to Jerusalem. Here Agabus of Judea who is mentioned in Acts 11:27 and 28 warning of a coming famine. Now, he is warning Paul, who is bound to push God’s permissive will rather than satisfy His perfect will. A stubborn man, that Paul, wouldn’t you say? Luke and the disciples at Caesarea plead with Paul but to no avail. They give up and simply ask that God’s will be done.

 

---

[1] http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/pliny.html. (accessed 3.28.2018).

[2] McBeth, H. Leon. The Baptist Heritage (Kindle Location 780). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

 

Bible Study on Exodus 23, verses 20 to 33, part 4, America is being judged

 

World War One, the Jazz Age, the automobile, the sexual revolt of the 1920s, the triumph of evolution in science, the growing importance of the Entertainment industry all figured in to God’s judgment on the nation for its idolatry. As an example, where women who wore makeup were derided as ‘painted city women’ before the war, with strong suggestions of immorality, the demands by boys returning home that their women look like French girls has resulted in the fact that Christian women wouldn’t dare leave home without makeup on today. In addition, the lax morals produced by boys and girls being able to go off alone in a car and listening to Ragtime and Jazz watching Hollywood movies glorifying decadence was a chilling reminder that something was very wrong in America. We had the Great Depression, remember? Then, another devastating war and a so-called Cold War for 50 years pounded away at our families and our institutions. Look at today. Do you not doubt we are under God’s judgment? Look at Israel in Kings and Chronicles. Don’t you see America in every page? Ancient Israelites, like Americans, believed that they were special and by virtue of their exceptional place in God’s ordained world they deserved peace and prosperity, both of which were taken away over time for their idolatry.

Fundamentalism came about in the early 1900s because America, under God’s judgment, appeared to be descending into chaos and darkness. The King James-only movement came about in 1964 because fundamentalism had gone crazy with regard to its denial of the Bible we had in front of us. The problem, fundamentalists wrongly assumed, was non-Christians polluting God’s country. The actual problem was Christian idolatry and not venerating God’s word above our ambitions. This is how idolatry, in this case, worship of one’s country as a god on earth, can do horrible damage.

We are held to the same standard as everyone else and we have been found wanting. I refer you to the passage I quoted earlier from Romans, chapter one, again to find out why things are the way they are.

But, it must be said, unlike the Hebrews assuming control over an area of land the promise to Christians is an eternal inheritance. We don’t get a utopia here, a millennium without Christ’s physical presence, but we can get an awful mess.

It is interesting in Verse 28 how God promises to use creatures to drive out the inhabitants of the land He has promised to the Hebrews slowly. God has used many naturally occurring events as weapons. Remember the plagues of Egypt?

Compare what ancient Israel was to be with what America was to be to see a difference dispensationally. Israel was not to permit idolatry in its borders and was to drive out the idol-worshippers lest they pollute the Hebrew religion, which their existence did, as we can see by reading the Bible. America is a pluralistic nation with many different religious traditions or no religion at all. We cannot remove everyone from the land who does not believe exactly what we believe or how we believe, no matter how much you would like to do that. The Hebrews didn’t do that either, but it was their apostasy that garnered them God’s wrath.

I think it is important to realize that every Christian now is a type of the nation of Israel then, as the children of Israel then were a type of every Christian today. Our land is a spiritual land and our Canaanites are our sins. God promises us that He will drive out our sins if we obey Him as He promised the Hebrews He would drive out the wicked, child-sacrificing, bestiality practicing, temple-prostitute patronizing Canaanites if the Hebrews obeyed.

But, having said all that, I would go on to say that if Christians themselves would repent and turn from their sins and obey God in the best way they know how, believing His word, they would not be deceived by lying, gutless, and corrupt politicians and their land would not be given over to the perversion, violence, and decay that is so prevalent. God honors obedience, not obedience as defined by some fundamentalist whack-job preacher or evangelist who just wants to control them but obedience and righteousness as defined by the Bible. The problem with America is not homosexuals, left-wing demagogues, drug-dealers, or liberal judges. The problem with America is the faithlessness of Christians who regard the Bible as a type of Emily Post’s book on etiquette to be observed if convenient and who regard God as more of a concept or idea than a real, living entity who controls every aspect of reality from their living room to the edges of the universe.

Bible Study on Acts 21, verses 1 to 7, Paul is warned not to go to Jerusalem

 

Acts 21:1 ¶  And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2  And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. 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. 4  And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. 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. 6  And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again. 7  And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.

 

Coos is a long and narrow island close to Asia Minor, known as the home of Hippocrates the physician. You have heard of the Hippocratic Oath I am sure. It is a code of ethics traditionally regarded as important by physicians. Coos is the second largest island in a chain called the Dodecanese with Rhodes as the largest.

 

Speaking of Rhodes I am sure you have read about the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Patara was an important sea-going and commercial city on the coast of today’s Turkey. Moving southward Phenicia was a coastal part of the province of Syria that corresponded to modern-day Lebanon.  I’m sure you know about the island of Cyprus and opposite of that the company landed at Tyre, once the capital of the ancient merchant kingdom of Phoenicia. Ancient Tyre hundreds of years before figured in prophecy with a proud king likened to Satan in Ezekiel 28 and a message about its fate in Ezekiel 26.

 

Ezekiel 26:14  And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

 

The golden age of Tyre or Tyrus in the Old Testament was a thousand years before Christ and it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and by Alexander the Great who obliterated it’s island fortress. The Tyre of Paul’s time had been rebuilt by Rome.

 

Most importantly in this passage in verse 4 it is clear that the Holy Spirit speaking through disciples ordered Paul NOT to go to Jerusalem.

 

Ptolemais was an important coastal city at the time and is associated with ancient Phoenicia before this.

 

Finally, the word discovered being used in verse 3 shows that in early modern English to discover something did not necessarily mean to find something no one else knew about. So, when someone would say Columbus discovered America it is buffoonery to mockingly say, “oh, like it was lost or no one lived there.” Cyprus was seen, was made apparent, was viewed and then they kept it on the left and sailed to Syria just like America was known not only by the people who lived there but by fisherman and explorers and adventurers before Columbus.

 

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 79, verses 6 to 13, tender mercies

 

Psalm 79:6 ¶  Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. 7  For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. 8  O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low. 9  Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake. 10  Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. 11  Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die; 12  And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. 13  So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

 

Psalm 69:24  Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

 

Jeremiah 10:25  Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

 

The Psalmist cries out for God’s vengeance on the heathen in the time of the destruction he is prophesying about. He pleads for God’s tender mercies on the Israelites, God’s tender mercies being the subject of songs and even a 1983 movie starring Robert Duvall.

 

God will indeed purge away the sins of many in Christ.

 

Isaiah 43:25  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

 

Psalm 65:3  Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.

 

Hebrews 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

 

Hebrews 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

 

The time that the Psalmist is speaking of is a very low point and there are many of us who can remember such low points in our own lives when we cried out for help from our Creator. I can also see this as a plea made by the tormented Jews in the Tribulation at the end of human history as they face the wrath of the Beast. See Revelation, chapter 12.

 

So in conclusion, this Psalm as a prayer for us in our lowest times can be a template we might use making it apply to us.

Bible Study on Acts 20, verses 17 to 37, part 2, a warning from Paul

 

Verse 29 is a warning and a prophecy combined. Jesus would warn about this same thing.

 

Matthew 7:15 ¶  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

 

Paul will have something to say of this in Romans.

 

Romans 16:17 ¶  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

 

And Peter and Jude will warn…

 

2Peter 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

 

Jude 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Notice from verse 30 some of Paul’s words to Timothy.

 

1Timothy 1:18 ¶  This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck;

20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

 

2Timothy 2:14 ¶  Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15  Study to

shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

 

2Timothy 4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

 

And John also gave warnings.

 

1John 2:18 ¶  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

 

Paul stresses his own faithfulness to the gospel in this passage and how he took nothing from them but supported himself.

 

Acts 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. 3  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

 

And his declarations of his own standards and admonitions regarding laboring.

 

1Corinthians 9:6  Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? 7  Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? 8  Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? 9  For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? 10  Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11  If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? 12  If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. 13  Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? 14  Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. 15 ¶  But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.

 

2Thessalonians 3:10  For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

 

See his urging these Christians to support, as he has done with his own hands as he has supported those workers with him, the infirm, weak of body and, perhaps, by extrapolation the poor among them who were truly poor as opposed to citizens of semi-socialist democracies today. These poor were more like what you would find in Africa, Asia, and South America today where the social safety net is either non-existent or weak to say the least. There is no Medicare in these places as there was none then, no Medicaid, or Social Security, or unemployment benefits, and if your family couldn’t help you if a sickness kept you from supporting yourself or circumstances were hard then you were likely to starve to death or die from an opportunistic disease that took advantage of your weakened condition.

 

Acts 20:36 ¶  And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. 37  And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, 38  Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.

 

This is truly a sad parting for the elders of the Ephesian church, and an ominous one.