Insights into Acts Chapters 21-23 Between newsletters showing the prophetic significance of current events and other Biblical perspectives of interest, we proceed through the scriptures, a book at a time. We learned from the first Insights on Acts that the book of Acts starts off where the book of Luke ended and covers approximately 30 years of the early church. The book of Acts is also a model for us today. It lays out general patterns, principles, and precepts for us to follow to spread the Gospel and is divided into two sections: - Chapters 1-12 shows the works of the Holy Spirit through Peter to the Jews.
- Chapters 13-28 shows the works of the Holy Spirit through Paul to the Gentiles.
As we continue through the book of Acts, please reference those chapters in your Bible covered as this email will not repeat the text but add the context and historical setting, and other significant meanings of the passages outlining key points. It is recommended that you follow along with the most accurate Greek to English extraction today, The Pure Word, but please feel free to use your preferred version of the Scriptures as well. We have recently finished the books of Matthew, James, and the three epistles of John. If you missed them, send us an email at update@onepathpublishing.com, and we'll be happy to send the insight outlines to you via email attachments. Our response time is usually under 8 hours. Acts Chapter 21 v. 1-14: After leaving the elders of Ephesus who walked 30 miles to meet Paul at Miletus, Paul and company set sail to Coos, then Rhodes, then Patara, then Phoenicia, then Syria, and landed at Tyre for the ship to unload their cargo. While at Tyre, they searched for disciples and found them and stayed there seven days. The brethren, with their wives and children, saw them off on the shore and prayed, and they sailed to Ptolemais and greeted the brethren there and stayed with them one day. Paul’s companions set sail for Caesarea and came to Philip’s house (he was one of the seven deacons chosen to wait on tables), who had four daughters who prophesied. Paul’s visit to Philip occurred approximately 20 yrs after Philip fled from Jerusalem due to the intense persecution of the church brought about because of Paul. Previously called Saul before his conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul is accepted as a brother in Christ by Philip, even though it was because of Paul that Philip had to flee 20 years prior. Agabus, the prophet, came down from Judea (this was the same prophet who prophesied of the great famine that came) and prophesied that Paul would be bound and delivered into the hands of the gentiles in Jerusalem. v. 15-25: When Paul reached Jerusalem and met with James and the elders, Paul was informed that there were many non-believing Jews in Jerusalem who were zealous for the “law”, and Paul’s presence caused controversy because he was bringing salvation to the gentiles. They therefore wanted Paul to take four men and perform the Nasserite vow of purification to show the non-believing Jews that he was not opposed to the Jewish customs and also would perform them himself. The process takes a week, and Paul was also requested that he pay for the supplies for the four men. Paul, trying to be all things to all people, complied with their request. [One of the great difficulties of the church is in trying to adapt itself to the world so we can live in peace with it. This creates a weakened state and, as history has shown, creates serious future problems within it.] v. 26-36: After the days of purification, Paul would offer offerings such as the burnt offering (offering of consecration) and the meal offerings (peace offerings & communion). Paul did not provide the sin offering because he knew that it was paid once and for all through Christ Jesus. The Jews from Asia saw Paul in the temple and accused him of defiling it by bringing gentiles into the temple (which he didn’t) so the Jews seized him, dragging him out of the temple, shutting the doors, and started beating him. Before they killed him, the Roman soldiers arrested Paul and carried by the soldiers to the Antonia Fortress barracks (NW corner of the temple mount) because the beatings were so severe he couldn’t walk. v. 37-40: Even in his beaten state, he asked (in Greek) the commander to talk to the people. Motioning with his hand to the people, and when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in Hebrew. Acts Chapter 22 v. 1-23: Paul addresses them as “brethren” and “fathers” and asks them to hear his defense (Apologia in Greek: where we get our word apologetics). Paul probably felt sure he could convince the Jews of the truth of Jesus Christ. Paul’s “pride” might be the reason Paul is here, and that all the warnings of the Holy Spirit (as told by the brethren along the way) to not go to Jerusalem might have been accurate; and yet, Paul might have ignored them. It’s difficult to know if Paul being there at that time was the will of God or not, based on the scriptures. Paul explains his past, his upbringing, early training, and his zeal towards God as they were today (the Jews he was talking to). He told them how he even persecuted those of “the Way” to their death. He explains how Christ met him on the way to Damascus, and was told that he would be a witness to all men of what he had seen and heard. We are often led by God one step at a time. When Paul told them that he was led by God to be sent to the gentiles, the mob cried out that he wasn’t fit to live. v. 24-30: When the crowd started rioting, the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks and examined under scourging. While they were binding him to be scourged, Paul asked them if it was legal for them to scourge an uncondemned Roman citizen. It was not even legal to bind him if he was a Roman citizen, and Paul was born a Roman citizen. Wanting to know what Paul was being accused of, the commander brought the chief priests and their council before Paul. Acts Chapter 23 v. 1-10: Speaking before the council, Paul tells them that he had lived before God in all good conscience, and then Ananias, the high priest, commanded those who stood by Paul to strike him. Paul rebuked the high priest (not knowing he was the high priest), saying, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall (whitewashed sepulchers) for you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?” [Ananias was assassinated within two years of this time. Additionally, at this time, it was considered a sin to verbally attack the high priest, which Paul just did, so Paul would most likely didn’t know it was the high priest, which tells me that his beating was so severe he probably couldn’t see well either.] When Paul realized that part of the group were Sadducees (didn’t believe in the resurrection, angels, or spirits) and the other part were Pharisees (believed in the resurrection, angels, and spirits), he said “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged”. [A Pharisee didn’t believe in the resurrection, but Paul said he did and was being judged for it. Paul was either trying to get the two groups divided against each other or wanted to preach the resurrection to the Pharisees.] The two groups were now fighting among themselves, so the Roman commander took Paul by force and brought him back into the barracks. v. 11-23: The following night, the angel of the Lord stood by Paul and told him that he would bear witness of Jesus in Rome. A band of 40 Jews bound themselves under an oath to kill Paul. Paul’s nephew hears of the plan and tells Paul, and then the commander. [This type of ‘oath’ made by the 40 Jews was of a nature that required them to sacrifice their lives for this outcome and would never stop until their oath was successful. Since it was not successful, it’s assumed that they were all killed trying.] The commander moved Paul in the middle of the night (3 am) to Caesarea, accompanied by 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen, and brought him safely to Felix, the governor. The first 40 miles of the 60-mile trip were through a mountainous area where it would be easy to have been ambushed. When Paul arrived in Caesarea, Felix said he would hear the matter when his accusers had come, and kept him in Herod’s Praetorium. [Felix’s brother Pallus was one of Nero’s favorite persons. Because of Pallus's continued intervention, Nero not only freed Felix from slavery but made him a governor.] Felix was the first slave to become a governor, and he was a very crude person; and history records that he governed ‘like a slave’ (with tyranny). At this point, he was governor for five years, and in two years, he would be deposed and banished because of his corruption. Paul would still be there awaiting trial. Do you Want to Know God More? We Must Read His Word. I would strongly suggest that every Christian obtain a copy of The Pure Word and use it alongside their favorite Bible version to see the original meanings and open their eyes like never before. It is not a translation but a Pure extraction or substitution from Greek into English, using the original meaning of each root word as closely as possible, as it existed at the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles Watch the official intro video to see how The Pure Word is an invaluable resource that should be used by every Christian, pastor, and Bible study group. Experience the gospel as they did in the first century, during the time of Christ, the Apostles, and the birth of the Church! Click Here for just a few of the thousands of reviews of The Pure Word. Revealing the Original Depth of Meaning as Written by the Apostles Over 1,900 Years Ago! |
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