Bible Study on Acts 16, verses 6 to 15, Lydia of Thyatira

 

Acts 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, 7  After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. 8  And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. 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. 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. 11  Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; 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. 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. 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. 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.

 

The Holy Spirit guides Paul and company not to proceed any further into the province of Asia, our Asia Minor and Turkey today. They got as far as central Turkey today, Galatia, but were forbidden to go northward into Bithynia. They passed by Mysia and entered Troas, the far western part of the Asian mainland. So, they went east, tried to go north, were stopped, and turned back westward.

 

What does it mean that the Spirit suffered them not? Perhaps they all, through prayer, had the same sense that they were not to go further. Many of us Christians, though, have had experiences where we intended to do something, good or bad, and were prevented by a force that could only be accounted for by the Holy Spirit.

 

It is here that a vision appeared to Paul of a man from Macedonia pleading with him to come to preach the gospel to them in Macedonia, a Roman province that included Alexander the Great’s old kingdom of Macedonia and neighboring regions. It is not the same area as the country of Macedonia today exactly.

 

Here we have mentioned a great woman of God named Lydia, a businessperson who engaged in the selling of purple. Clothing colored that way was so expensive that it came to signify royalty. The Roman soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus to mock Him as the king of the Jews.

Mark 15:17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18  And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19  And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

The wealthy man in the story of Lazarus and the rich man wore purple.

Luke 16:19 ¶  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

Purple was worn by Roman magistrates and it became the imperial color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and later by Roman Catholic bishops. Also, in Japan, the color is traditionally associated with the Emperor and the nobility.

Purple was made from a sea snail, traditionally by the seafarers of Tyre. It was known as Tyrian Purple in that context. The process of killing thousands of sea snails and making the dye was long and expensive, requiring a great deal of precision to get it right.

Lydia, as a purveyor of a luxury item, a businesswoman, was probably fairly successful and offered her home as place for Paul and company to stay after she became a Christian. Lydia came from a Greek city in Asia called Thyatira. It doesn’t say she was a Jew so she may have been a convert to Judaism. It is interesting to note that scholars believe that the name of the city is from an old language called Lydian spoken in the ancient kingdom of Lydia and thereabouts. Lydia was probably a fairly common girl’s name in Thyatira, I am thinking. But, we are in Macedonia now in the European mainland north of Greece.

Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 18 to 26, part two, hearing from God

 

Now that we have the complete revelation of God we do not expect God to speak to us audibly nor do we accept that He has spoken voice-to-ear to some great religious leader. Whenever some religious celebrity declares that God appeared to him in his living room or some such nonsense we often laugh or shake our heads. But, we have a more sure word of prophecy in the Bible that is more certain even than a voice we think is from heaven.

2Peter 1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

    19 ¶  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Finally, the people did not want God to speak to them in verse 19. They wanted Moses to speak to them. Human nature is to follow a man; whether it be the toughest, luckiest, altogether pagan Viking or a charismatic pastor in a Fundamentalist church. They don’t want to hear from God directly. They aren’t willing to let God speak to them through His words in His book. They want everything spoon-fed to them. This allows for better control, certainly. The Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of our Colonial Era would say that God only speaks to His people through the sermon on Sundays. They denied Martin Luther’s insistence that the Holy Spirit would speak to each sincere believer through God’s own words in His book. Bible studies in people’s homes were typically outlawed. Thus, Ann Hutchinson’s famous Bible study was condemned and lies were spread about what she was teaching.

People are not comfortable with God speaking to them through His word. Just tell me what to think they would say, what to believe, for it is too terrible and disturbing to simply believe what God has preserved for me. They wanted Moses to be their mediator and their instructor and did not want to hear directly from God. So, it is today with most Christians, whether Protestant Fundamentalists or Roman Catholic.

Each of us, though, have this privilege, immense and grand in its proper application. That not only should we hear a man of God expound and exhort on what God has laid on his heart for us to hear but to let God speak to us through His own words in His own book, not just on Sunday but every day and many times a day if we are drawn to it or have memorized passages to contemplate and meditate on.

Psalm 119:15  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

Joshua 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Bible Study on Acts 16, verses 1 to 5, Paul takes Timothy with him

 

Acts 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: 2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 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. 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. 5  And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

 

Here Paul meets Timothy from the Greek Timotheus. His immediate lineage is further named elsewhere.

 

2Timothy 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

 

Paul wrote later;

 

Galatians 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

 

Paul’s behavior is a little contradictory. He will say that he is no longer going to the Jews in Acts 18:6 and yet will continue to try to preach to them, which will cause him no end of trouble. Notice that Peter also declares his mission to the Gentiles in Acts 15:7 which Paul claims in Romans 15:16 and Galatians 2:8 and other places.

 

God did ordain Paul to minister, teach, and preach.

 

Acts 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:

 

For examples, Paul preaches to the non-Jewish crowd who worship Greek gods at Lystra in Acts 14:8-18, then to a king in Acts 26, and several times he attempts to preach to the Jews who are either hostile or clueless as in the final chapter of Acts. Finally, he declares in his writing in Romans 11:13 that he is the minister to the Gentiles.

 

Paul is a complicated man, a leader like Moses, driven by his zeal for God and his own will, prejudices, and stubbornness. He will do things that he is called to do but will also do things at cross-purposes to his mission. But, still we must admire him for his determination to be a messenger, an ambassador for God who made him sit probably in chains to Roman guards to write his incredible letters.

Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 18 to 26, an altar of stone

 

Exodus 20:18 ¶  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20  And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. 21  And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 20:22 ¶  And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23  Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. 24  An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 25  And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. 26  Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Apart what is obvious in this passage, God wanting to impress upon the people just what and who they were dealing with, there is an important point to be made about avoiding the paganized Christianity of historical church organizations of either Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or Protestant faith traditions. God did not want the Israelites to mingle worship of gods and devils with His worship in any way.

Deuteronomy 32:17  They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

How do you know if you are a pagan Christian? Well, if your faith tradition or church or yourself holds on to a certain wording in a prayer that you repeat constantly like the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples as some kind of amulet to ward off trouble as those in former times thought it should ward off evil spirits you are paganized.

This is a model prayer for the disciples not a mantra you just repeat over and over again for good luck or to command God like some pagan magician.

Matthew 6:9 ¶  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11  Give us this day our daily bread. 12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

There are elements in this prayer that should be included in our prayers as well; honoring God, seeking His will, asking for what we need, pleading for mercy in the measure in which we grant it to others, deliverance from sin and calamity, and an acknowledgment of His power and sovereignty over all things. We need this more than He does. Prayer lines up our thinking with the reality of God if we follow Christ’s instruction and places us positionally in truth.

Long-winded prayers for show, not talking to God but talking to the people that hear you, and vain repetitions, almost as if you were chanting, are also symptoms of paganism.

Matthew 6:5 ¶  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

If you believe that God has to bless you, has no choice, for any reason you are a pagan Christian. If you believe that your service to God, your faithfulness in church attendance, or your righteous convictions and moral standard; the way you live, the political candidates you vote for, and how respectable you appear in your community are things you can do to ward off evil and prevent misfortune because you know you will have God’s protection from all trouble and difficulty, family problems, disease, etc. then you are paganized. As I said previously, you do not do business with God. You do not command Him and this life, He tells us and our own experience shows, is so fragile and our situation here so precarious and temporary and all is under judgment from mankind’s sin nature that we have no guarantee of never having to face disaster, pain, or grief while we are in this body.

The Jew and the pagan brought their animal sacrifices to a temple. They formulated complex rituals and ceremonies to get their gods’ attention, rituals and ceremonies that God never commanded. They developed these formulas to obtain their gods’ approval over long periods of time, making it up as they went along.

We all carry pagan ideas into our worship from our past as we came out of various faith traditions; Catholic, Lutheran, Charismatic, Southern Baptist, etc. etc. that had allowed these pagan ideas to enter in and we must fight to remove those pagan ideas from our worship. God does not want our worship to be corrupted with the leaven of the Pharisees or of Baal.

John 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God did not want altars of hewn stone like the pagans made. Verse 26 will be important later in clearing up something that some get wrong, perhaps, because of a lack of reading comprehension, but we’ll save that for when it comes up again.

Verse 22 shows a direct link through this thundering and smoke to heaven itself. In this regard, heaven came down to the Hebrews. Note the following as ways God communicated with someone He chose before the Bible was complete and the entire revelation of His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself was available to us in book form around 150AD or even before.

 Genesis 22:11 ¶  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

Acts 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

God also speaks through man’s spirit imparting understanding and wisdom to Him.

Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

2Peter 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;

2Peter 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Bible Study on Acts 15, verses 22 to 41, telling them to avoid the pollution of the pagan world

 

Acts 15:22 ¶  Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: 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: 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: 25  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27  We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. 28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 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. 30  So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: 31  Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. 32  And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. 33  And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. 34  Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still. 35  Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

 

The elders and the church are pleased and send letters by Paul, Barnabas, and Silas and Judas Barsabas to the churches in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. The burden is simple, to avoid the pollution that comes from worshipping the pagan gods of Greece, Rome, and the rest of the ancient world. Abstaining from food offered to idols, from blood, things strangled, and from the ritual fornication commonplace as explained previously. These tokens of worship in the Graeco-Roman world were to be avoided and, as I said, Paul will go in to much detail about why they should not do these things in the letters to the Corinthians.

 

Acts 15:36 ¶  And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. 37  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. 38  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. 39  And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; 40  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. 41  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

 

With these clarified directives from the apostles and elders at Jerusalem Paul wants Barnabas to go with him to revisit the churches they had established in every city to see the state of their affairs. One thing that struck me here is that we should not leave our children in the street. Christianity is not a hit-and-run effort. When you witness to someone and they have trusted in Christ you should have their name and a way to communicate with them. Discipling them is your responsibility or should be a consideration. Others might do the work as God often uses multiple people to work on one person’s salvation and sanctification you have not “done your job” by praying a prayer with someone and then leaving them to Satan’s devices. It is a good lesson for us.

 

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark but Paul would not have that due to John Mark leaving their journeys back in 13:13. This point of contention between the two pioneers of the gospel was very sharp as it says, so they split up. Paul took Silas and Barnabas took Mark. Paul the authoritarian and Barnabas, the son of consolation, reveal their character in this incident.

Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 12 to 17, to want something that is not yours

 

Coveting something that belongs to someone else is the foundation of stealing. Coveting is also a type of idolatry.

Colossians 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

We have built a very successful culture in America based on coveting. We are never to be satisfied with what we have but to always want more. It is not surprising that the “more” that people of weak or bad character want belongs to someone else. Paul warns us of the dangers.

1Timothy 6:6 ¶  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

This links these commandments together in many ways. Coveting and stealing of the affections of another person’s spouse is theft. In this verse defraud is to rob in context when an employer doesn’t pay you that day for the work you did that day.

Leviticus 19:13  Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

And here, in the following passage, it refers to adultery and fornication in defrauding someone.

1Thessalonians 4:1 ¶  Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5  Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6  That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

Ethics are the standards we ascribe to if we are civilized and morals are our real and everyday actions. If our ethics are no higher than our morals we are a pretty sad lot. These commandments are God’s ethical standard for the Hebrew society, the culture, to live by. They are as true or even more true than any so-called laws of physics. The violation of these commandments almost invariably causes awful consequences. As if you deny that gravity applies to you may result in your breaking a leg of worse if you jump off the roof so stealing, lying, and sexual immorality lead to certain dismal consequences almost all of the time. Someone not being hurt jumping out of a tree does not make gravity a lie any more than someone committing adultery and no one finding out except God makes the commandment false. The damage done sometimes takes years to bear fruit. But you can be certain it will. As preachers say, sin will take you further than you want to go, make you stay longer than you want to stay, and make you pay more than you want to pay. And, to violate one of these commandments is to violate all of them.

James 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

The Ten Commandments are vitally important to understanding the history of Christian nations and terribly important for you to regard in your life. Of course, our inability to keep God’s law is one of the reasons we need Christ so badly and to depend on His righteousness and not our own. If you depended on your righteousness to gain eternal life with God you would be sorely disappointed in your failure.

Bible Study on Acts 15, verses 6 to 21, rules for the Gentile believers, part 2

 

Unlike modern fundamentalist preachers and the replacement theology of the Catholic and Protestant and Orthodox churches we Gentiles did not have many restrictions placed on us. What is given to the Gentile believers in this passage would probably be appalling to the modern preacher who likes to place burden after burden on the Christian to prove his or her spiritual state.

 

First, Gentile Christians were to avoid pollutions from idols. This is explained in the next passage as regarding eating things offered to idols. Paul goes into great detail about this in the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 8. In the context we are talking about physical, literal idols. Although a modern preacher might talk about our idols as referring to our job, entertainment, or other things this is not about that. This is about the idols found in temples and a Christian mingling worship of God with worship of idols. I will go into more detail in my comments on the letters to the Corinthians.

 

Fornication here is not merely being sexually constant with a spouse although it does contain that meaning. There is the fornication that can occur with adultery and the fornication that can happen with temple prostitutes as in the temple of Aphrodite or Venus in Corinth. First, what is fornication. From the Greek word which gives us the English word pornography, fornication is linked synonymously with adultery.

 

Matthew 19:9  And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

 

1Corinthians 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.

 

1Corinthians 7:1 ¶  Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2  Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3  Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4  The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 5  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

 

This sexual sin extends to religious practices in the ancient world. This was a grave danger to Christians in the pagan world as I will discuss my comments on the Corinthian letters. Rising above Corinth was Acrocorinth, or Upper Corinth. It is the acropolis of ancient Corinth, a monolithic rock rising above.

 

Now the city of Corinth was known not only for the most expensive and skilled prostitutes in the Greek world but also the temple prostitution, common throughout the ancient world, of the cult of Aphrodite in her temple on Acrocorinth. Aphrodite, who was also Venus, Astarte, and Ishtar or the many other names listed in the Bible for her had, it is said, a thousand temple prostitutes with short hair or shaved heads servicing the devoutly religious pagan men of the city and pious visitors. We’ve already discussed how prevalent ritual prostitution, both hetero and homosexual, was in the ancient world. This is often disputed in scholarly circles with some saying that temple prostitution has been overemphasized. However, we have the context from the Old Testament of how prevalent the practice of ritual prostitution was.

 

Fornication, having sexual intercourse with someone who is not your lawful spouse in the eyes of the God of the Bible, is condemned by Him.

 

Aphrodite had her temple. I’ve read that the second most exalted temple in ancient Babylon to Ishtar, goddess of immigrants and prostitutes and freedom, who sits in New York Harbor under the guise of Lady Liberty, a statue patterned after one to the Egyptian version of Ishtar, Isis, was called the “White House” or “Shining House”.

 

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. Pollution from 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.

 

Matthew Henry wrote that verse 21 suggests that they would not try change the Jews who heard the Law read often and were used to its observance. There was liberty shown to the Gentiles and there was moderation in dealing with the observances of the Jews in honoring God.