Acts, chapters 18 & 19
Note that the Greek is referred to occasionally.
Throughout the O.T. & Gospels all words highlighted:
- in medium blue were said by GOD the FATHER;
- in apricot were from GOD the Son (Jesus Christ);
- in light purple were from GOD the Holy Spirit.
Also you will see words scripted in blue; this also is a carry-over from the O.T.-- throughout this work all words scripted in blue are words either in prayer or addressing the Godhead.
And all enlarged words are prophecies from the O.T.- The symbol {
I #.} after a word/phrase means that word/phrase is given in Greek on page I (Acts)-- scroll down (if necessary) to that #; - the symbol
means the Greek is the same as for the same word recently covered; - the symbol
means the word does not exist in Greek.
Ref. the Locations in the Bible cited below-- as in PerspectiveA A.2., indicated by an asterisk (e.g., Galatia*) are those regions/provinces that were part of the Roman Empire, as of 14 A.D. (the next major change was in 117 A.D.; the N.T. books was written in 49-95 A.D.).
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Chapter 18
1. Locations of Paul, Silas & Timothy cited in the Bible (provinces are larger/defined areas, regions are general areas, districts are smaller/defined areas):
- Athens of Achaia* was a city directly ~185 mi. SSE of Berea of Macedonia*; Paul had gone there alone;
- Corinth was a city ~30 mi. W of Athens; Paul (from Athens), Silas & Timothy (from Macedonia) went there;
2. Locations of Paul (only) cited in the Bible:
- Cenchrea of Achaia* was a city near/SE of Corinth of Achia*;
- Ephesus of Lydia* was a city directly ~220 m. ENE of Cenchrea of Achaia*; Paul went there indirectly;
- Caesarea of Judea* was a city directly ~570 mi. SE of Ephesus; Paul went there indirectly;
- Some maps have him then going SSE to Jerusalem before heading N through Judea* & Syria*;
- Antioch of Syria* was a city directly ~260 mi. N of Caesarea; Paul went there indirectly & began his 3rd Missionary Trip;
- Cilicia* was a region NW of Syria*;
- Galatia* was a region WNW of Cilicia*;
- Phrygia* was a region WSW of Galatia*.
3. Locations of Apollos cited in the Bible:
- Ephesus of Lydia* was a city; Apollos went there & left (for Achaia*) before Paul arrived there (see Acts 18:24,27; 19:1)-- & then left for Caesarea of Judea*-- probably closer to when Paul began his 3rd Missionary trip in Antioch;
- Achaia* was a region W across the Aegean Sea from Lydia*.
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Paul continued His 2nd Missionary Trip (soon accompanied by Silas & Timothy again)
After this, Paul left Athens & went to Corinth. There He met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, a co-region with Bithynia (together a province), between the southcentral coast of the Black Sea & the region Galatia, who had recently come from Italy with His wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see Him, because He was a tentmaker as They were. Every Sabbath He reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jews & Greeks. But when Silas & Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted Himself exclusively to preaching, testifying only to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul & became abusive, He shook out His clothes in protest & said to Them, Your blood be on Your own heads! I am clear of My responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles-- this was only temporary, as we shall soon see. Then Paul left the synagogue & went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a Worshiper of GOD. Crispus, the Roman synagogue ruler, & His entire household believed in the LORD; & many of the Corinthians who heard Him believed & were baptized.
End of the temporary: 1 night the LORD spoke to Paul in a vision: Do not be afraid: keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with You, & no 1 is going to attack & harm You, because I have many people in this city. So Paul stayed for 1.5 years, teaching Them the Word of GOD. While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul & brought Him into court. 'This man,' They charged, 'is persuading the people to worship GOD in ways contrary to the (our) law.' Just as Paul was about to speak, assuming he had need of defending himself, Gallio said to the Jews, 'If You Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to You. But since it involves questions about words & names & Your own Law-- settle the matter yourselves. He seemed-to-be so much wiser than Pilate, who washed his hands, gave in to the releasing of Barabbas & handed Him over, enabling Jesus to be crucified (see PerMtMkLk25 D.35. & PerJohn8 D.3.). But then Gallio evidently listened to Jesus himself! Whereas Pilate was unknowingly a pawn in Jesus being slain from the foundation of the world. I will not be a judge of such things.' So he had Them ejected from the court. Then They all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler & beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatsoever.
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After going to Caesarea, in Antioch Paul began his 3rd Missionary Trip
Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then He left the brothers & sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla & Aquila-- that naming the wife before the husband: that's the 1st time I've seen it in the entire bible! Before He sailed, He had His hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow He had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla & Aquila. He Himself went into the synagogue & reasoned with the Jews. When They asked Him to spend more time with Them, He declined. But as He left, He promised, I will come back if it is GOD's Will. Then He set sail from Ephesus. When He landed at Caesarea, He went & greeted the Church (this is where some maps have him going SE uphill to Jerusalem, before going north through the hills) & then went downhill to Antioch-- this is when his 3rd Missionary Trip began. After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there & traveled from place to place throughout the regions of Galatia & Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
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Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria (a city on the southeastern coast of the Great/Mediterranean Sea, in Egypt*), came to Epheses of Lydia*. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the LORD, & He spoke with great fervor & taught about Jesus accurately, though He only knew the baptism of John-- as pointed out above, the Holy Spirit baptism gives power for evangelism while dealing with persecution. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla & Aquila, also Jews, heard Him, They invited Him to Their home & explained to Him the Way of GOD more adequately. When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged Him & wrote to the disciples there to welcome Him. On arriving, He was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For He vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ-- likely preparing some for a later Holy Spirit touch through Paul. As introduced above:
- Useless today (as far as eliciting eternal life), was John the Baptist's water baptism for repentance/forgiveness of sins;
- Vital for salvation today is belief in the name of Jesus. Said belief may occur before/at the time of water baptism; if belief takes place before water baptism, the water baptism serves to identify with other believers; if it occurs at the time of water baptism, the water symbolizes the baptism that now saves, the pledge of a clear conscience toward GOD (1stPet 3:21);
- Not vital for salvation (but extremely beneficial for power) is the baptism/gift of the Holy Spirit-- which gift may precede/follow water baptism. Recall Acts 10:47-48 about those who had received the gift prior to baptism: 'No 1 can stand in the way of Their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as We have.' He ordered that They be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Chapter 19
1. Location of Apollos cited in the Bible (provinces are larger/defined areas, regions are general areas, districts are smaller/defined areas):
- Chorinth of the region Achaia* was a city ~220 mi. W of Ephesus.
2. Locations of Paul cited in the Bible (provinces are larger/defined areas, regions are general areas, districts are smaller/defined areas):
- Ephesus of the region Lydia* of the province Asia* was a city W of Phrygia*; Paul went there while Apollos was at Corinth;
- Macedonia* was a region NW of Lydia*, across the Aegean Sea; Paul stayed a little longer in Ephesus while Timothy & Erastus went to Macedonia*, but then went there himself (which is not obvious until 20:1).
3. Location of Timothy & Erastus cited in the Bible (provinces are larger/defined areas, regions are general areas, districts are smaller/defined areas):
- Macedonia* was a region NW of Lydia*, across the Aegean Sea.
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Paul continued His 3rd Missionary Trip
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior of Asia & arrived at Ephesus. There He found some disciples & asked Them, Did You receive the Holy Spirit when You believed? They answered, 'No, We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' So Paul asked, Then what baptism did You receive? 'John's baptism,' They replied. Paul said, John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the 1 coming after Him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, They were baptized into the Name of the LORD. When Paul placed His hands on Them, the Holy Spirit came on Them, & They spoke in other tongues & prophesied (in Acts 2:4,11 we have: All began to speak in other tongues, we hear Them in our own tongues). There were about 12 men in all.
Paul entered the synagogue & spoke boldly there for 3 months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of GOD. But some of Them became obstinate; They refused to believe & publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left Them. He took the disciples with Him & had discussions daily in the lecture hall Tyrannus. This went on for 2 yrs., so that all the Jews & Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the Word if the LORD. GOD did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs & aprons that had touched Him were taken to the sick, & their illnesses were cured & the evil spirits left them. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the Name of the LORD Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say,'In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.' 7 sons of Sceva, a Jewish Chief Priest, were doing this. 1 day the evil spirit answered Them, 'Jesus I know, & I know about Paul, but who are You?' Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on Them & overpowered Them all. He gave Them such a beating that They ran out of the house naked & bleeding.
When this became known to all the Jews & Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, & the Name of the LORD was held in high honor. Many of Those who believed came & openly confessed Their evil deeds. A # who had practiced sorcery brought Their scrolls together & burned them publicly. When They calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to 50,000 drachmas (silver coins-- each worth about a day's wages). In this way the Word of the LORD spread widely & grew in power. After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia & Achaia. After I have been there, He said, I must visit Rome also. This was a referral to the future, his trip to Rome after his trip to Jerusalem; is not covered until beginning in ch. 23. He sent 2 of His helpers, Timothy & Erastus, to Macedonia (a region NW of the region Lydia* of the province Asia*, across the Aegean Sea), while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
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About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way-- this time not spurred by the Jews. A silversmith name Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, & said: 'Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see & hear how this fellow Paul has convinced & led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus & in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that the man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, & the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia & the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.'
When they heard this, they were furious & began shouting: 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!' Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius & Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, & rushed as 1 man into the theater. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let Him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent Him a message begging Him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting 1 thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. The Jews pushed Alexander, the (former?) high priest from Cyrene*, whose father carried Jesus' cross (see Mark 15:21 & Acts 4:6), to the front, & some of the crowd shouted instructions to Him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when the people realized He was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for ~2 hrs.: 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'
The city clerk quieted the crowd & said: 'Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis & of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet & not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though They have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius & his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open & there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.' After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. To which I say, 'Isn't God wise to have steered the apostles 1st in that direction?'
