Bible Study on Acts 14, verses 1 to 18, And they called Paul, Mercurius

 

Acts 14:1 ¶  And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. 2  But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. 3  Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4  But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles. 5  And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, 6  They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about: 7  And there they preached the gospel.

 

Lystra and Derbe are referred to as cities of Lycaonia, a large region in the central part of what we call today, Asia Minor, the country of Turkey. Lycaonia was bordered by Galatia on the north, Cappadocia on the east, and the west by Phyrgia and Pisida with the Taurus mountains on the south. From ancient times Greek mercenaries and merchants had spread out on the Asian mainland as we saw before in our study of the Bible in the Old Testament. Greek speaking and culture permeated the cities of western Asia Minor, Turkey today.

 

There is no small ruckus caused by Paul and company’s preaching in Iconium so they flee to these cities to preach the gospel.

 

Acts 14:8 ¶  And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: 9  The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10  Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. 11  And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. 12  And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. 13  Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people. 14  Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, 15  And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: 16  Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. 17  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. 18  And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

 

Here is a man who never walked in his entire life who is healed through Paul. The response of this in this city of Greek culture and religion was to proclaim Paul and Barnabas as gods.  

 

Jupiter also known as Jove, was the king of the gods whom the Romans recognized as their version of the Greek Zeus. This will be important later when Paul is witnessing to the Greeks in Athens. It is interesting that Barnabas gets that title. Paul, doing most of the talking is called Mercurius, also known as Mercury. Mercury was also a major god in the Graeco-Roman religion, a god of, among other things, eloquence, messages, and divination. His Greek counterpart was Hermes. He was a son of Jupiter/Zeus.

 

Paul and Barnabas, of course, reject this worship and a sermon is preached on God’s nature and the need to turn from pagan gods to Him. A very important point is made in this short passage. God has a witness of Himself, not just in prophets and evangelists. He has a witness in nature and although this is lost on modernist Christians today, nature is, next to the Bible and the hearts and minds of Christians, His greatest witness. Nature reveals God, not blind forces.

 

God’s bounty is a witness to all mankind of His mercy and goodness.

 

Matthew 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

 

Luke 6:35  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

 

Paul will make a similar argument when talking to the Greeks in Athens as he does here in verse 16 with suffered meaning tolerated, allowed, or permitted as in the English phrase “I suffer fools gladly.”

 

Acts 17:30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Bible Study on Exodus 19, verses 16 to 25, the LORD descends on Mount Sinai in fire

 

Exodus 19:16 ¶  And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. 17  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18  And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19  And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20  And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. 21  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 22  And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. 23  And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. 24  And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them. 25  So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.

A powerful, frightening event takes place that causes the people to tremble. Moses, the mediator, brings the people to meet God and this mass of humanity stands at the base of this mountain. It must have been an awesome sight to behold. Smoke, thunder, lightning, the sound of a loud trumpet, exceeding loud and growing louder and louder. Moses speaks and God answers him. God called Moses to come to the top of the mountain and Moses obeys. God wants Moses to warn the people from their curiosity. God suggests the priests might come near and Moses recalls that God said no one could come up but Moses. God refines His order so that Moses and Aaron can come up. Moses then warns the people.

Bible Study on Acts 13, verses 42 to 52, filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost

 

Acts 13:42 ¶  And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. 43  Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 44  And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 45  But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 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. 47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. 48  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. 49  And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. 50  But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. 51  But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. 52  And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

 

The Gentiles here that Paul encounters are hungry for his preaching again. There seems to be a stark division here between the Jews who leave and the Gentiles who stay and beseech them for more preaching the following Sabbath. But, even many Jews and new converts to Judaism want Paul and Barnabas to continue to preach as well. Proselytes of the Jews came in two divisions, noted Strong, those who committed to keep the whole Law and those who lived among the Jews and followed certain general precepts of the Bible only.

 

On the next Sabbath day unbelieving Jews argued against their speech. The messengers then give a bold sermon against the Jews which results in the powerful people of the city running Paul and Barnabas out of town. They shook the dust of their feet against them.

 

As Jesus gave instruction;

 

Matthew 10:14  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

 

John Gill noted in his commentary that certain Jewish authors had declared even the dust of Gentile lands to be polluted so this could be reflective of a very Jewish tradition of condemning infidels.

 

Paul and Barnabas announce that because of Jewish resistance to Christ they will go to the Gentiles. It has already been noted that the idea of the Gentiles being included in salvation from God was shocking as I noted in my comments on Acts, chapter 11, with Peter’s experience.

 

Paul will even declare that his ministry was to the Gentiles…

 

Romans 15:16  That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

 

…something Peter also will declare in Acts 15, coming up. But, Paul will insist on preaching to the Jews and this will cause him no little difficulty.

 

Iconium in the Roman province of Asia is now Konya, the seventh most populous city in Turkey. It is located in Southwest Turkey.

 

Paul refers to these events;

 

2Timothy 3:11  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Bible Study on Exodus 19, verses 9 to 15, God gives a warning to Moses

 

Exodus 19:9 ¶  And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. 10  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11  And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. 12  And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: 13  There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. 14  And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. 15  And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

Jehovah God is going to display some of His majesty in how He appears to the people so as to impress them to whom they are promising obedience. He is going to come down on Mount Sinai in His appearance from the thick cloud.

2Chronicles 6:1  Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

Psalm 18:11  He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

No one was to touch the mount of God as Paul reminds us later when he compares the mount of God to the New Jerusalem.

Hebrews 12:20  (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: 21  And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) 22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24a  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant…

A trumpet blast plays an important role at the end of history.

1Corinthians 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The third day is also very significant throughout the Bible representing to us the resurrection of Christ after three days.

Luke 24:46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

This resurrection is a theme mentioned in several places in prophetic verses in the Old Testament. Here in Exodus it has to do with God calling the people to come near to Him.

Hosea 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

They are to prepare themselves for this appointment with God. Here, it is interesting that Moses added that they were to deny the pleasure of physical union with their wives in that preparation. Here is something that was a gift to man and woman from God from the very beginning. Part of their preparation was to deny themselves that very blessing bestowed uniquely on man and wife.

Genesis 2:24  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Christians are not told to do this except under one very special circumstance. In fact, they are warned against it. While Paul extolls the virtue of being celibate like he apparently was (although he seems to suggest that he would be willing to have a wife in 1Corinthians 9:5) he gives this admonition as part of his opinion.

1Corinthians 7:4  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.

So, denying your spouse sexual relations is considered as defrauding them, except for a specific purpose for both parties during a specific time by mutual consent.

Moses is acting as the mediator between the people and God. Christians have God Himself in the form of the Word, capital W, of God, the second part of the three parts of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him only, as the mediator between us and God the Father.

1Timothy 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Hebrews 9:15 ¶  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

As the mediator between God and mankind, only God Himself could be the propitiation for sin, only God Himself could pay the ransom to Himself for our souls, and only God Himself could raise His own body from the grave for our justification and the promise of eternal life. You are as helpless to do these things as these Hebrews were helpless in the wilderness.

Bible Study on Acts 13, verses 14 to 41, a sermon by Paul, part 2

 

Notice how in verse 33 Paul links the resurrection with the verse in Psalm 2. As an eternal being Christ represents all of us who will be raised incorruptible, the children of God.

 

Romans 8:17 ¶  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered

from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

 

In Hebrews 1:5 Paul connects it to Christ’s birth and the relationship between a Father and a Son. By the time we get to verse 8 in Hebrews 1 we are back at Christ’s rule and authority, the basis of Psalm 2.

 

Hebrews 1:4 ¶  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art

my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6  And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

 

Notice in verse 8 of Hebrews 1 the reference is made to Psalm 45:6. Here is the original reference in Psalm 2 marking out Christ’s physical reign on earth to come.

 

Psalm 2:1 ¶  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his

anointed, saying, 3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

 

    7 ¶  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and

the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

 

    10 ¶  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish

from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

 

In verse 34 in Acts 13 here he makes mention of the sure mercies of David.

 

Isaiah 55:3  Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

 

Following this is a reference to David’s prophecy of Christ’s resurrection a thousand years previously.

 

Psalm 16:10  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

 

Peter uses this verse in his sermon noted in Acts 2:27. Here is the entire passage in Psalm 16.

 

Psalm 16:8 ¶  I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in

hope. 10  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

 

Note the argument that Paul makes here that David could not have been talking about himself as he did see corruption and knew that he would die eventually. Only Enoch, Elijah, and Christ saw no corruption.

 

See in verse 36 how if you are doing God’s work you serve in a generation and then you are gone from the world and others take your place. In modern evangelical terms we can get caught up in the broad sweep of events over history rather than placing ourselves in the context of our generation.

 

In 41 Paul issues a warning based on;

 

Habbakuk 1:5 ¶  Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 78, verses 1 to 8, not hide them from their children

 

Psalm 78:1 ¶  «Maschil of Asaph.» Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3  Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4  We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 5  For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 6  That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7  That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8  And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

 

A Maschil is an instructive or doctrinal Psalm as per John Gill. See Psalm 32:1. Asaph is listed as the author of some Psalms. He is listed as a seer, which is a prophet.

 

2Chronicles 29:30  Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.

 

In this regard he represents Christ, who spoke in parables.

 

Matthew 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

 

Asaph gives a brief religious discourse on Israel’s past admonishing the present generation not to do as they had done and ignore God’s commandments. Dark sayings would be sayings that had not been understood fully or at all.

 

Clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ, including His death, burial, and resurrection were not understood as I have stated repeatedly in my comments on the gospels that the Jews did not understand that He was to die and to rise again. They were looking for a conqueror, not a suffering God in the flesh.

 

Jesus’ Jewish followers literally had no clue what He was talking about when He referred to His impending agony on the Cross or understood anything about His Resurrection.

Matthew 16:21 ¶  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

 

Mark 9:9  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean…31  For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. 32 

But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

 

Luke 18:31 ¶  Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33  And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. 34  And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

 

John 20:9  For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

 

I read in a book entitled A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel from the First through the Seventeenth Centuries by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver that there was an expectation of two messiahs at times, one; Messiah ben Joseph and, two; Messiah ben David. One is a conqueror and one suffers for the people of Israel and dies fighting the enemies of God and Israel. Jewish tradition also refers to, “The Four Craftsmen,”  a subject more for a study of Daniel or Revelation than here.

 

Acts 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

 

Asaph’s Psalm is a warning and a plea to the people of Israel.

Bible Study on Acts 13, verses 14 to 41, a sermon by Paul, part 1

 

Acts 13:14 ¶  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. 15  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. 16  Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. 17  The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. 18  And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. 19  And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. 20  And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. 21  And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. 22  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23  Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: 24  When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. 26  Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. 27  For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. 28  And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. 29  And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. 30  But God raised him from the dead: 31  And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. 32  And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34  And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. 35  Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 36  For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: 37  But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. 38  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40  Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; 41  Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

 

Perga was in Pamphylia. There were several places named Antioch in the Greek-speaking world. Pisidian Antioch is near Perga on the map. Both would be in what is present-day Turkey. This Antioch is not the Antioch called the “cradle of Christianity”. So, it is not the same town as where the Christians were first called as such near the modern-day city of Antakya, Turkey in extreme Southern Turkey. Pisidian Antioch is near the present-day Isparta Province in Turkey.

 

Here Paul gives a sermon in a synagogue. As they are Jews his sermon is filled with Old Testament references. Notice in verse 19 Chanaan, spelled with a Ch rather than just a C, gives us a clue as to the way to pronounce the Ch in words, like a K. Again, remember my remarks about variations in spelling.

 

In my comments on Genesis 15:12-16 I noted;

“God tells Abram that his seed will be servants in a foreign land, which we know to be Egypt. They will be afflicted for four hundred years and will serve the people of that land. This is an about, not an exact 400 years, ten months, 23 days, and two hours type of statement.

Exodus 12:40  Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

And then, Luke recounting what Stephen said, alluding to what Moses had written from God’s words;

Acts 7:6  And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

If I wrote you a lesson that said, ‘in the thousand years since the Norman invasion of England,’ and then, in the lesson later wrote, ‘in the nine hundred and fifty eight years since 1066, when William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at Hastings,’ would that be a contradiction or would you understand what I said as meaning the same thing?

Here is Paul referring to this bondage bracketed between the covenant and the giving of the Law.

Galatians 3:17  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Rabbis have written that the affliction begins when Ishmael, the offspring of Abram and Hagar, an Egyptian, begins to persecute Isaac, the son of the promise. They regarded the four hundred years to start from that point.

God also tells Abram that four generations will come into being in Egypt before returning to the land that is promised, The Promised Land of Canaan. For instance, Levi, Jacob’s son, and his son, Kohath, and his son, Amram, and his son, Moses. These were four generations that sojourned in Egypt. It is then important to see that God is talking about two different things; four hundred years of affliction and four generations in a foreign land. As the Bible clearly states in Exodus the Hebrews come out of Egypt with a great deal of wealth given to them freely by the Egyptians.”

Notice verse 20 says about the space of four hundred and fifty years. Using the typical fallacious modernist mindset of reading the Bible like an instruction manual for your lawn mower I have been amazed at how many Christian commentators argue about how this figure of four hundred and fifty can be reconciled by adding this or subtracting that trying to fit it into the timelines one derives by adding up reigns and rules. This is nonsense. You dare deny the Holy Spirit the very same figures of speech you use yourselves? The very same general statements that are approximations or even hyperbole?

In verse 21 the Hebrew name Kish from 1Samuel 9:1 is translated from a Greek derivation as Cis in English. Note also how Elijah of the Old Testament verses like Malachi 4:5 is translated from the Greek as Elias in New Testament verses like Matthew 11:14.