Bible Study on Acts 19, verses 1 to 7, at Ephesus

 

Acts 19:1 ¶  And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2  He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3  And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6  And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7  And all the men were about twelve.

 

Ephesus was a great city of Asia at the time devoted to the goddess Diana which was the Roman version of the Greek Artemis as Jupiter was the Roman version of the Greek Zeus. It was founded as a Greek colony a thousand years before this and became under Roman control a little over a century and a half before this. It was famous for its temple to Diana/Artemis which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Worship of Diana was a great moneymaker and very important to commerce for the city. Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Revelation and some believe John wrote his gospel from there. It was an important center of trade and business as well as religion and culture for the Greek speaking Roman world of Asia.

 

Again, more of those converts to John’s message of the coming Messiah who know only John’s baptism are found. This defines what John’s baptism actually was, not a public declaration of fellowship with the church in the name of Jesus Christ, but of national repentance to believe on the one who was to come. It is important to be able to distinguish what the different baptisms represented. One is like the Old Testament, an incomplete revelation, and one is like the New Testament, the Messiah declared and the Old Testament fulfilled in Him.

 

John’s baptism did result in the believer expectantly prepared and waiting of their Messiah to come but not receiving the Holy Ghost. But the believer’s baptism after Christ arose did result in that indwelling.

 

Bible Study on Exodus 22, verses 25 to 31, the first fruits

 

The Hebrews were to give the first of the produce of the land, the juice extracted from it, and to consecrate their firstborn to God. There will be more on this in Exodus but notice the following.

Deuteronomy 26: 1 ¶  And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. 3  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. 5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6  And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7  And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: 8  And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 9  And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10  And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: 11  And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

    12 ¶  When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13  Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: 14  I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. 15  Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

We saw in chapter 13 that the firstborn were to be sanctified.

Liquor simply means juice. The juice of a fruit is its liquor as defined in the Early Modern English of the King James Bible era. John Baret’s 1574 dictionary entitled An Alveary or Triple Dictionary, in English, Latin, and French has the following entry;

 “Juice – all kind of liquor whether it be wine or water, oile or other…”[1]

The offering of oxen and sheep was to take place after eight days with a beast’s mother. The eighth day is a significant time in Bible reckoning for sanctification and offering, setting something or someone apart for God. The Hebrew week was seven days, God’s number of completion after the seven days of creation.

Note the following verses;

Leviticus 9:1  And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel…12:3  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised…14:10  And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil…14:23  And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD…15:14  And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest…15:29  And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…22:27  When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD…23:36  Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein…23:39  Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

Numbers 6:10  And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…7:54  On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh…29:35  On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:

1Kings 8:66  On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

2Chronicles 7:9  And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days…29:17  Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

Nehemiah 8:18  Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Ezekiel 43:27  And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.

Luke 1:59  And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

Acts 7:8  And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

Philippians 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

The Hebrews were also not to be scavengers, eating the carcasses of animals, carrion, that had been killed by other beasts and left in the field. Dogs were to have that, not human beings, certainly not Hebrews.

Deuteronomy 14:21a  Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself…

Leviticus 17:15  And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.

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[1] Ian Lancashire, ed., Lexicons of Early Modern English (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017), http://leme.library.utoronto.ca/.

 

Bible Study on Acts 18, verses 18 to 28, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

 

Acts 18:18 ¶  And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 19  And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. 20  When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; 21  But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. 22  And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23  And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

 

Now notice that Paul said this back in Acts 13;

 

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

 

So, why does he keep arguing with the Jews? Why shave his head in a solemn vow and insist on keeping a feast in Jerusalem? Paul has a great burden on his heart for his people.

 

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

4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

 

Priscilla and Aquila, a husband and wife team, are called Paul’s helpers.

 

Romans 16: 3  Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 4  Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

 

Remember what Peter called a saved husband and wife.

 

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.

 

By the way, to any Fundamentalists out there the weaker vessel is a reference to the relative weakness physically of a woman. It is not saying that they are inferior morally or spiritually to a man. Our vessel is our body.

 

Romans 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

 

1Thessalonians 4:3  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;

 

It is in Cenchrea where Paul took his vow that Phebe worked for Christ and for the church.

 

Romans 16:1  I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:…27  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. «Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.»

 

Acts 18:24 ¶  And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25  This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26  And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27  And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28  For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

 

Here, the beautiful work that the husband and wife team of Priscilla and Aquila is manifested. They both took Apollos under their wing, so to speak, to teach him doctrine that he, at this point, did not have. He knew only John’s baptism that was to prepare the Jews to receive their Messiah. They told him about Christ and he became a believer and a powerful preacher.

 

Apollos is mentioned by Paul a half a dozen times in his first letter to the Corinthians church. He is mentioned also in the letter to Titus. Apollos became an important help to Paul.

 

Titus 3:13  Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.

Bible Study on Exodus 22, verses 25 to 31, part 1, usury

 

Exodus 22:25 ¶  If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26  If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27  For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. 28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. 29  Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. 30  Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. 31  And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

A usurer lends money at interest.

Leviticus 25:36  Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. 37  Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

This wasn’t our current understanding of usury of excessive interest but as it stood in pre-Capitalist Christian nations and in Islam the charging of any interest at all as a profit on money. The interest on money lent was a great source of social unrest in Ancient Rome as farmers would go further and further into debt to ease the burden of bad harvests until they lost their farms. In this way, and others, large landowners could accrue massive landholdings. Our modern banking and finance system would not exist without charging a profit or interest on money lent.

This is not like investing in a merchant’s trip to a foreign country and expecting a share of the profits but the bondage of being constantly in debt to interest charged. In America, during the colonial era before there were any commercial banks, most loans were private arrangements between individuals.

So, the difference is, if I invest in your farm or your business and expect to share in the profitability that is not usury. If I loan you money and expect a profit on the return of that money that would have been considered usury, for instance, as it was considered in England before Henry VIII’s rule in the 1500s. Economics, particularly finance, can be quite complex so I apologize for oversimplifying the subject.

Hebrews were forbidden to charge interest to each other. Imagine that. They could charge foreigners, though.

Deuteronomy 23:19  Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 20  Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

I’ve read that other ancient Near Eastern cultures permitted the charging of interest allowing for wealth to be consistently gathered into fewer and fewer hands. Here represents another distinct separation of the Hebrews from those around them.

The common person had few articles of clothing and would often have to sleep in the clothes they wore during the day. Keeping collateral on a loan, if it was a person’s only outer clothing they needed for warmth at night, was not permitted past sundown.

Verse 28 is very significant. It is quoted in the exchange between Paul and his accusers.

Acts 23:1 ¶  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2  And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. 3  Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? 4  And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? 5  Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

It is also important as it acknowledges that there are spiritual beings that exist and are allowed a certain power; like the gods of Egypt.

1Corinthians 8:4 ¶  As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

A Christian would do well not to curse or challenge Satan, the god of this world as per 2Corinthians 4:4. We are to resist him as per James 4:7. We would look well to the Biblical example of requesting God to rebuke him.

Jude 1:8 ¶  Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9  Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

We would do well not to curse or revile beings whom we do not know or understand. The preacher who openly challenges Satan virtually pleads for his congregation to be attacked by him. The Christian who pleads some power against Satan would do well to depend on and trust in God as we know from the book of Job that Satan can do nothing without God’s permission constrained by the limits set forth by God. Even if Satan were bound and inactive we would still have our flesh trying to dominate us. Satan is not the author of your sin. You are.

Bible Study on Acts 18, verses 1 to 16, Paul in Corinth

 

Acts 18:1 ¶  After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; 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. 4  And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. 5  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

 

I already spoke about Corinth’s predominant sexual sins in the worship of Aphrodite/Venus. Corinth had been an ancient city-state in Greece well-known in antiquity. Then, upon its conquest by the Romans in 146BC it was completely destroyed, the men killed and the women and children sold into slavery. It became a rebuilt colony of Rome in 44BC because of Julius Caesar and prospered as a trading and administrative center, becoming the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. It was mainly populated by Romans, Greeks, and Jews.

 

The expulsion of the Jews from Rome is also mentioned by the Roman historians Suetonius and Cassius Dio and a later Christian historian, Paulus Orosius. Jews had been expelled twice previous to this for their aggressive missionary efforts to gain proselytes among the pagans. However, it is clear that many returned each time. No expulsion efforts were ever watertight and foolproof.

 

Here is proof that Paul supported himself not by offerings, although he was allowed to and would insist on that point in 1Corinthians 9, but as a tentmaker, a skilled craftsman. He found kindred spirits in Aquila and Priscilla, a husband and wife team. Paul also admonished Christians to;

 

1Thessalonians 4:11  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12  That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

 

Paul again argues with the Jews on every sabbath gaining converts among Jew and Gentile but eventually the stubbornness of his people, the Jews, causes him to declare that from then on he will go to the Gentiles, implying that he is not going to preach to the Jews anymore. Of course, we know he does not follow this declaration to the letter as he has a great burden for the Jewish people.

 

Romans 9:1 ¶  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3  For I could wish

that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

 

Acts 18:7 ¶  And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. 8  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. 9  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. 11  And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

 

Here is the beginning of the Corinthian church to which two letters were written that are found in the New Testament with problems and issues that still face the church in America today. The Lord tells Paul that He has many people that will be saved in Corinth so for a year and a half Paul teaches and establishes the church in Corinth.

 

Acts 18:12 ¶  And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, 13  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14  And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: 15  But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. 16  And he drave them from the judgment seat. 17  Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

 

Remember, Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia. Gallio, according to sources, was the elder brother of the Roman philosopher, Seneca the Younger, who became the tutor of the future emperor, Nero, under whom Paul will be executed according to tradition. Gallio was born Lucius Annaetus Novatus but was later adopted by a Roman Senator named Junius Gallio as a protégé changing his name to Junius Gallio. He became deputy or proconsul of Achaia in AD51 according to these sources.

 

Gallio was apparently not a confrontationalist and did not want to get involved in this dispute between the Jews and Paul. John Gill noted in his commentary that Seneca said of his brother that, “he was a very modest man, of a sweet disposition, and greatly beloved.” Gill also quotes another Roman writer who called him, “mild and gentle in his speech.” Gill’s commentary is free online so you can verify my quotes if you like.

Bible Study on Exodus 22, verses 16 to 24, witchcraft and bestiality

 

Exodus 22:16 ¶  And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. 17  If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. 18  Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 19  Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. 20  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 21  Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22  Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; 24  And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

If you remember the fierce and treacherous vengeance enacted by the children of Jacob over Dinah’s rape we can see a modification which would prevent vendettas and blind retribution. Remember that custom dictated that such a crime was against the family, the tribe, and the idea of the rights of the woman were not necessarily part of it.

A man who seduced an unmarried woman was required to ‘make it right’ by marrying her. If her father refused the offer of marriage he had to pay a dowry. It appears from another context that the dowry was a price paid to the father.

1Samuel 18:25  And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

Verse 18 has to do with the treatment of witches. First, suffer in this context means to allow or permit. See an earlier example;

Exodus 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

A witch, in the Bible, is much more than a folk herbalist or some suburbanite American teen who plays with sticks and worships nature. A witch in the Bible was someone who communed with spirits, tried to speak to the dead, and did other idolatrous things that were in opposition to God’s will that He alone should be trusted and relied upon. Note here the context in the following verse as synonyms to witch are presented.

Deuteronomy 18:10  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11  Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

So, we see a witch is linked with those who offer human sacrifice, or read the guts of a dead animal to tell the future, a conjurer who looks for special times like when the stars are lined up or some type of combination of dates and portents in the sky making a desired thing propitious like today’s fortune-teller, someone who uses chants and spells to try to attain a desired end, or who tries to consult with spirits of ancestors dead or other spirits to learn information that is not available to others. God regards these occultic practices as opposed to our acceptance of His sovereignty alone.

Magicians and conjurers often believed they could control the gods with spells and chants. The magicians in Egypt claimed to be able to compel the highest gods to do their bidding and even threatened them with destruction if they didn’t comply. In India sorcerers were said to be able to command their trinity of Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu with their incantations. Of course, the God of the Bible would reject such nonsense even if some Christians today believe that things like the so-called Lord’s Prayer entitles them to something.

This can be extended to us today in regard to a Christian seeking special power of his own, trying to exercise a “gift” he or she pretends to, seeking power for themselves to glorify themselves. Beware of the Christian who emphasizes a special and powerful gift that is unique to them placing them on a higher level than others, which, while we all have our own special gifts, none of them make us more important than another. We are none of us shamans or wizards. See Romans 12. For instance, beware of the person who insists they can tell by a handshake if a person is saved or not or the one who just knows in their heart, they say, your spiritual condition just by meeting you without you saying a word or doing a thing. The witch or wizard seeks power, special spiritual power for themselves, apart from God even if they use God as an excuse to hide their wickedness behind.

God also likens disobedience to Him as witchcraft.

1Samuel 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Witchcraft is also linked by association, for Christians, for everything from rivalries based on envy, emulations, to a party person, or reveler. It is a work of the flesh, not appropriate for Christians although we aren’t called to kill anyone for such things.

Galatians 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Remember that what is shown here in Exodus is the civil Law and the ceremonial Law for the ancient Hebrews, not God’s commands for the Christian after Christ’s resurrection. No Christian is justified in killing a witch.

Verse 19 showed that bestiality was forbidden. This being stated reveals to us that it was practiced. Not only did ancient Canaanite religion promote heterosexual and homosexual temple prostitution apparently bestiality was not uncommon.

Leviticus 18:23  Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

Leviticus 20:15  And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.16  And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Deuteronomy 27:21  Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

There are Hindu depictions of bestiality, for instance, on the temple complex at Khajuraho in India, implying sex with gods who have taken on the form of animals although some Hindu scriptures forbid such practices.

Some authors have pointed out that cave drawings indicate that bestiality was not uncommon among primitive man. We who believe the Bible know that any cave dwellers were part of the dispersal of families around the world initiated by God at the attempted building of Babel.

Ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Rome all had proscriptions against it while, at the same, time regarding such practices in their mythologies and perhaps some religious practices. Ancient Greece did not have restrictions against it. Some Arab tribes practiced it as a cultural custom.

Verse 20 condemned idolatry. For the Christian, the Holy Spirit goes even further to say that covetousness in the context of sexuality is a form 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: 6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

So, you can see the link between covetousness, idolatry, adultery, and fornication as the dissatisfaction with one’s own mate is a sign of a wicked heart and even, if you will, false worship.

Mercy and acting charitably toward foreigners, widows, and orphans: the politically powerless, was an essential standard. So it is the basis of religious practice for the Christian as far as God is concerned.

James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

A stranger is a foreigner or alien.

Genesis 17:8  And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God…12  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

Genesis 23:4  I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Exodus 2:22  And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

Exodus 12:19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

You can see by God’s threat here that He is adamant that such people as these not be abused in any way lest His wrath be incurred on the abuser.

Bible Study on Acts 17, verses 32 to 34, some mocked

 

Acts 17:32 ¶  And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. 33  So Paul departed from among them. 34  Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

 

Resurrection from the dead was not unheard of in Greek mythology. In fact, there are many instances of heroes being resurrected from the dead and made immortal. There is no need to go into a list here. But, of course, the Epicureans would find such a belief to be pure fantasy but it would not be impossible for the Stoics to consider a proposition such as this that was not unheard of in Greek mythology. The only two converts here mentioned by name are a man and a woman as representative of those Greeks who came to believe on Christ and were saved.