Today Gary teaches on Ephesus and Paul’s missionary work there.
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00:00Welcome to Studies with Stearman. Join us as we look deeper into the Bible.
00:10Strengthen your faith with us, even as we see the day approaching.
00:15And now, here's Gary.
00:18The reason we're going through Acts this time is to document the nature,
00:24behavior, and characteristics of the Holy Spirit.
00:27Because, in a very special way, Acts is the history of the Holy Spirit.
00:34Last week, we were looking at the situation in Corinth.
00:39When Paul was baptizing believers, he got into some trouble locally, which he did everywhere he went.
00:47If you remember the secular magistrate, Galio, when charges were brought against Paul,
00:53he essentially kicked him out of court and said,
00:56you guys go do your thing because the Roman court has nothing to do with religion.
01:00And this is a fascinating note.
01:02This is in Acts 18-17 because it shows that historically,
01:08even though the Roman Empire later came down very, very hard on Christianity,
01:12at this point in time, Roman law actually aided the spread of Christianity
01:18because every time Hellenistic Jews and or Hellenistic philosophers raised up against Christianity,
01:26the Roman courts would say, wait a minute, they're as free as you are to talk about what they believe.
01:34It's not a legal matter for the Roman Empire.
01:37The Roman Empire essentially washed their hands of the whole thing.
01:40They didn't want to have much to do with it.
01:42Acts 18-18-22, which is where we concluded last week, talks about Paul's return to Antioch.
01:50He came down, sailing from Ephesus, by the way, in verse 21, back to Caesarea.
01:58He went up to Jerusalem.
02:00He kept a vow that he had made, and we don't know what the vow is,
02:04but he kept that vow at a particular feast, and we don't know what the feast is either.
02:09And that's where we ended last week.
02:12Verse 22,
02:13And when he had landed at Caesarea, which was a big seaport on the coast of Israel,
02:18a Roman seaport, by the way, built entirely by the Romans,
02:23and the concrete docks are still there underwater to this very day,
02:28even though a great windstorm and an earthquake blew away the top side of the old Roman port,
02:33the underwater portion of it is still there today.
02:36So Paul landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem, he greeted the church,
02:41and then he went to Antioch of Syria.
02:45And after he had spent some time there, he departed and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order.
02:53Now this is fascinating to me, and I want to repeat what I said last week,
02:57because I'm always blown away by the fact that when you really closely examine what the Bible says,
03:04it says a lot more than you think it says.
03:07Going over Galatia and Phrygia in order and strengthening all the disciples is a huge trip.
03:16Coming up north out of Antioch, you go on the Tarsian route.
03:23The Tarsian route goes from basically sea level up to what's called Ankira,
03:30which is about 6,500 feet in elevation.
03:34That's today's Ankara, Turkey.
03:37But in those days it was called Ankira.
03:39Ankira, there's a main route that goes from Antioch through Tarsus through Ankira up to Byzantium,
03:46encompassing the territories of Cilicia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, and Bithynia.
03:52If you look at a map and you look at where Paul walked in verse 23,
03:58where it says he went all over the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening the disciples.
04:03If he took the upper route, which he did, through Ankira,
04:08I'm not sure he went as far as Byzantium, we don't know, but he could have.
04:11And then he went back south to Phrygia,
04:14and Phrygia is the location of Ephesus, the seven churches of Asia Minor.
04:19This would have been a trip, and I mentioned this last week,
04:22I don't want to let this idea drop.
04:25This would have been a trip of over 500 miles, perhaps about 600 miles,
04:29ranging from sea level to as high as 9,000 feet in places,
04:35back down to 2,000 or 3,000 feet,
04:38and then back up to about 6,000 to 9,000 feet,
04:41and then back down to about 2,000 feet above sea level,
04:45over a course of 500 to 600 miles.
04:49And that's in verse 23.
04:50Now, they did that on foot, or on a donkey.
04:55It just blows your mind.
04:57Think about driving to Denver.
04:58You know, your family car and all the luggage in the back
05:02and gas stations and the restrooms,
05:04and you can just go from here to Denver in about 10 hours.
05:07Big deal.
05:09But Paul, the work that he did is just astonishing to me.
05:17He went on this journey, as it says, strengthening the disciples.
05:21That's really what he wanted to do.
05:23He had made converts on his second missionary journey,
05:29and now we are beginning the third missionary journey.
05:32Verse 24.
05:34And a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria,
05:37an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures,
05:40came to Ephesus.
05:42Apollos.
05:43He was named for the god Apollo, by the way.
05:46And to be named for the god Apollo means that this guy had a Greco-Roman history.
05:51He was born in Alexandria.
05:54Alexandria, Egypt, was considered to be the cultural and educational capital of the Roman Empire.
06:02Alexandria was the greatest seaport on the Mediterranean.
06:07It was the site of the great library, all the great educational institutions.
06:12You were said to be nothing if you could not hold forth in Alexandria.
06:18And here Apollos is called an eloquent man.
06:20He's a Jew, an Alexandrian by birth,
06:24which means that he's very familiar with Roman culture,
06:28with Greek culture, with Greek education, Greek philosophy,
06:32but he's also a believer.
06:34The fact that he's an eloquent man means that he can speak in perfect,
06:40not only Koine Greek, but also in Attic Greek.
06:45He is a wonderful speaker, a gifted expositor.
06:51Now, to be a wonderful speaker is a gift from God.
06:54To be an eloquent man.
06:56There are pulpiteers.
06:58Of course, you think of Billy Graham, Billy Sunday.
07:00You think of all the great pulpiteers,
07:02people who are gifted to be able to speak in such a way that it just arrests people.
07:07It stops them in their tracks, and they listen to whatever is said.
07:10Well, this guy, Apollos, the Alexandrian,
07:14is no doubt a Hellenistic Jew up to this point in time.
07:18He's mighty in the Scriptures.
07:20And that means that he has read the Septuagint
07:23and probably carries Septuagint scrolls with him wherever he goes.
07:28This is the Old Testament written in Koine Greek.
07:31And much of the preaching in those days throughout the Roman Empire
07:34was done in Koine Greek.
07:36It was not done in Latin.
07:38Absolutely, certainly was not done in Latin,
07:41even though Latin was the language of the empire.
07:45Koine Greek was the lingua franca.
07:47It was the street language of that day.
07:49A couple centuries prior to this,
07:52the Septuagint Bible had translated the Old Testament into Koine.
07:56The Septuagint Bible is, you might be interested in knowing this,
08:01when you see an Old Testament quote in the New Testament.
08:06When somebody like Paul or Luke quotes Old Testament Scripture,
08:12they're almost always quoting not from the Torah or the prophets or the writings.
08:17They are almost always quoting from the Septuagint.
08:22Read the book of Hebrews,
08:23and look at all the Old Testament quotes in the Hebrews.
08:26Every one of them comes out of the Septuagint Bible.
08:29Why?
08:30Because the epistle to the Hebrews is written to the Hebrews.
08:33And what did the Hebrews read?
08:34They read the Septuagint Bible in Koine Greek.
08:37And this is not generally known.
08:39That is to say, usually you think of Hebrews as talking Hebrew or maybe Aramaic.
08:46But in fact, they spoke Koine Greek.
08:49Everybody spoke Koine Greek.
08:52And Koine Greek was considered to be, in a way,
08:56in the second and third century, the language of God.
08:59Because when you came out of the first century
09:01and into the second, third, and fourth centuries,
09:04everything that was done scripturally was done in Koine Greek.
09:07And so here's Apollos, born at Alexandria,
09:11an eloquent man, mighty in the Scriptures.
09:14He came to Ephesus.
09:16Now, Ephesus is a seaport city on the Aegean Sea.
09:21Today, Ephesus is seven miles from the sea
09:24because the great harbor at Ephesus has silted up
09:29and it's become dry land.
09:30So if you're in Ephesus today,
09:32you're seven miles inland from the Aegean Sea.
09:35But back in the days of Paul, there was a great harbor.
09:39It was one of the most beautiful harbors you can possibly imagine,
09:42protected from storms because it was a wide and a deep harbor.
09:46And it was sort of a cut inlet,
09:49which afforded a lot of docking room.
09:53And so you had Ephesus,
09:55which was referred to by the Greeks and the Romans as the landing place.
10:00That was the common name for Ephesus.
10:02It was called the landing place.
10:03In other words, when you brought your wares,
10:07your trade, your money, whatever it happened to be,
10:10you came to Ephesus,
10:12which was off the Via Eganesia,
10:14to the great harbor called the landing place.
10:17And so Ephesus was a very central,
10:20very busy location back in those days.
10:23These days, it's a ruin out in the middle of nowhere.
10:25And you think,
10:26how in the world could this place have ever been a busy city?
10:29But it was.
10:31So, Apollos comes to Ephesus.
10:34This man was instructed in the way of the Lord,
10:36and being fervent in the Spirit,
10:38he spake and taught diligently of the things of the Lord,
10:41knowing only the baptism of John.
10:44Now, again, Acts is the history of the Holy Spirit.
10:49Well, let me go back to another question.
10:51Why do we study the Bible?
10:53Why do Christians study the Bible?
10:55Chiefly, we study the Bible to find out who we are in Christ.
11:03You want to know who you are?
11:04Read the Bible.
11:06That's what it's all about.
11:07If you don't read the Bible,
11:08you really won't have a firm handle on your identity as a Christian.
11:13You have to see the history,
11:16the prophecy,
11:17you have to see the exposition,
11:19you have to see the lives of the apostles.
11:21But in the book of Acts,
11:24you get the coming of the Holy Spirit.
11:26By the way, there is so much misunderstanding
11:29about the giving of the Holy Spirit.
11:32I mean, it's one of the most misunderstood subjects
11:35on planet Earth to this very day.
11:37And the Holy Spirit has become
11:39the giant theological ping-pong ball of the church,
11:42back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth.
11:45Some people believe this,
11:46some people believe that,
11:48and there are the sprinklers,
11:49the dunkers, the dippers.
11:52There are all kinds of things going on
11:54about the Holy Spirit.
11:57And yet, when I read the Bible,
12:00I see episodes like we're going to look at right now,
12:03and I see an entirely different view of the Holy Spirit.
12:08So you have Apollos, an eloquent man,
12:12and what's he teaching?
12:14He comes up from Alexandria,
12:16and by the way, Alexandria would have been the first place
12:20that the news about John the Baptist
12:22would have taken root and spread,
12:24because all the things that happened in Israel
12:27were quickly transmitted down to Alexandria.
12:32But it says he understands
12:34only the baptism of John.
12:38Verse 25, verse 26,
12:39He began to speak boldly in the synagogue,
12:42whom when Aquila and Priscilla heard,
12:44they took him unto them,
12:45and expounded unto him the way of God
12:47more perfectly or more accurately,
12:50to use the Greek word that's used here.
12:54And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia,
12:57the brethren wrote,
12:58according to the disciples,
13:00to receive him,
13:01who, when he was come,
13:03helped them much,
13:05which had believed through grace.
13:07For he mightily convinced the Jews,
13:10and that publicly,
13:12showing by the Scriptures
13:14that Jesus was Christ.
13:18This is fascinating,
13:19because Apollos is going through
13:21an evolution in his teaching,
13:24teaching at first the baptism of John.
13:28Imagine this,
13:29a preacher standing up with the good news,
13:33but essentially knowing only the Old Testament.
13:35And when Aquila and Priscilla heard him,
13:38they realized this man has not yet come
13:41to that place of understanding.
13:45Now, we're just early in Paul's third missionary journey
13:49at this point.
13:51Chapter 19,
13:52Came to pass,
13:53while Apollos was at Corinth,
13:55Paul, having passed through the upper coasts,
13:57came to Ephesus,
13:58finding certain disciples.
14:00He said unto them,
14:02Have you received the Holy Ghost
14:04since you believe?
14:05And they said unto him,
14:06We have not so much as heard
14:07whether there be any Holy Ghost.
14:09We don't even,
14:10What do you mean Holy Ghost?
14:13Now, the fascinating thing to me about this
14:15is this is about A.D. 56,
14:19when this is happening.
14:21This is 25 years,
14:23quarter of a century,
14:24after Pentecost.
14:27Do you get the historical emphasis here?
14:29It's 25 years after Pentecost.
14:35And there are still questions.
14:37We haven't even heard whether there is such a thing as a Holy Ghost.
14:40What do you mean Holy Ghost?
14:4125 years earlier,
14:43it was Pentecost.
14:44And we tend to jam all these events together in our minds
14:48so that like Pentecost happens one day,
14:50and Paul's missionary journey happens the next day,
14:52and his third missionary journey happens the day after that,
14:55and then there is Pentecost,
14:57and then along comes this guy named Apollos,
14:59and he receives the Holy Spirit,
15:00and that's got to be like maybe a year or two later.
15:03And we tend to compress all these biblical events together.
15:08And they are not compressed together.
15:10They take lots and lots of time
15:11and development and interaction,
15:14persecution.
15:15We've gone now through Caligula,
15:19Claudius.
15:21We are heading toward Nero.
15:23Nero, the Roman Empire at this point in time
15:26is more or less favorable to the Christian religion.
15:30Claudius had a problem with the Jews,
15:33chased them out of Rome,
15:34but that's as far as it went.
15:36And when this new sect came along called Christianity,
15:39the Romans didn't think badly of it at first.
15:43It was only until Nero was in his fourth or fifth year
15:47that Rome began to come down hard on the Christians.
15:50But at this point in time,
15:52you could still get out and proselytize
15:54and preach to the Jews
15:56and do street preaching to the Romans,
15:58and there wouldn't be much of a problem.
16:00You would just be considered
16:02one of those crazy religious people.
16:05It came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth,
16:09Paul, having passed through the upper coasts,
16:12came to Ephesus.
16:13Now, this is what we were talking about a minute ago.
16:17He went up through the regions of Moesia.
16:22He went up through Lydia,
16:24and he didn't go as far as Illyricum yet.
16:27Later on, he went even farther north.
16:29And then he came back down south to Ephesus.
16:34And finding certain disciples,
16:36he said unto them,
16:37Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
16:39They said unto him,
16:42We've not so much heard what it would be any Holy Ghost.
16:45And he said unto them,
16:47Unto what then were you baptized?
16:52Now, that's a really interesting question.
16:56Unto what were you baptized?
16:59You mean it's possible to be baptized
17:01to something other than Jesus?
17:04Well, yes, the Jews were a baptizing bunch of people.
17:07I mean, they baptized like you can't believe.
17:10They got a prayer for the washing of hands.
17:12They've got a prayer for this and a prayer for that.
17:14And you can't walk half a block down the street
17:16without passing a sacred mikvah
17:19for some form of baptism or other.
17:22And religious Jews regularly were baptized
17:25for this occasion, that occasion, the other occasion.
17:28They baptized all the time.
17:29And so to ask someone,
17:33What were you baptized into?
17:36Was a perfectly normal question
17:37to ask a culture that was given
17:39too much baptism.
17:42Water baptism, by the way.
17:45To this day, the Orthodox
17:46baptize themselves all the time.
17:49I went to lunch this week
17:50with a Jew who baptized his hands
17:52before lunch.
17:53A ritual baptism.
17:55You wash your hands,
17:56Baruch atah Adonai, Olehem,
17:57and so forth and so on
17:59with the baptism of the washing of hands.
18:02So when Paul asked this question,
18:05What were you baptized unto?
18:07And it's unto John's baptism.
18:09Well, that would have been a Jewish baptism.
18:12Because John was a Jew.
18:14You'll come on.
18:16Then said Paul,
18:18John,
18:19verily baptized with the baptism
18:21of repentance,
18:22saying unto the people
18:25that they should believe on him
18:26which should come after him.
18:29That is, on Christ Jesus,
18:31Yeshua HaMashiach,
18:33Jesus the Messiah.
18:35And when they heard this,
18:36they were baptized in the name of Jesus
18:39or into the name of Jesus,
18:41as it says in the Greek text.
18:43And when Paul laid his hands upon them,
18:46the Holy Ghost came on them
18:48and they spake tongues and prophesied.
18:50Now, this is in Ephesus.
18:55And it's very important to understand verse 6,
18:59which says
19:01that they began to speak with tongues
19:05and they began to prophesy.
19:09Where were they?
19:10They were in the landing place.
19:12They were in Ephesus.
19:14Ephesus was a market center.
19:17It was a center of money and banking.
19:20And it was also the site
19:22of one of the seven wonders
19:23of the ancient world,
19:25the Temple of Diana of the Ephesians,
19:27which, by the way,
19:28was an archaeological,
19:30is an archaeological wonder to this day.
19:33It's flat on the ground now.
19:35It was brought down by an earthquake.
19:37But it took a huge earthquake to do it.
19:39It survived several,
19:41eight to nine scale earthquakes.
19:44And then there was a very, very big earthquake
19:47about the ninth or early 10th century.
19:50Historians examining that earthquake
19:52have said that it had to be
19:54just an extreme rarity,
19:56like a nine or a ten on the Richter scale
19:59or the MMI scale.
20:01It flattened the Temple of Diana of the Ephesians,
20:05which was thought to be earthquake-proof.
20:08And it's fascinating the way the Greeks built it
20:10to be earthquake-proof,
20:12which is another story.
20:14But it was one of the seven wonders
20:16of the ancient world.
20:17Absolute gorgeous place.
20:19But it was also a center of money
20:20and banking and the cult of Diana.
20:24And we'll talk about that
20:25a little bit more later.
20:27But it's important as Christians
20:29that we understand what was going on here.
20:32So Paul laid hands on these people.
20:37They began to speak with tongues
20:38and prophesy.
20:40These men, and by the way,
20:42notice that there are 12 of them.
20:43That's kind of fascinating.
20:45Verse 7, all the men were about 12.
20:48I don't know what that means,
20:50but it's in the Bible.
20:52And 12 is God's number
20:54of governmental perfection.
20:56The number 12 is said to indicate
20:58governmental perfection.
20:59So, these men could now speak the gospel
21:04in other languages.
21:06Ephesus being the polyglot city
21:09of the Roman Empire.
21:11The trading harbor.
21:13Many languages,
21:14there were basically two harbors,
21:16one up at Philippi
21:17and the one down here at Ephesus.
21:19But the Ephesian harbor
21:21was much more important.
21:23East and West met there.
21:25You could find people,
21:26silk traders from China and India,
21:29you could find olive traders
21:32from Tortosa,
21:34which is in Spain.
21:36You could find tin traders
21:37from England in Ephesus.
21:40You could find people
21:41from all over the empire.
21:44There must have been
21:44a hundred languages spoken there.
21:47And now,
21:48these men receive the Holy Spirit
21:49and they are able
21:50to preach the gospel
21:51in who knows how many languages.
21:54And thus began here
21:58the Ephesian ministry.
22:00Ephesus became
22:02the Christian center
22:04of the first century.
22:06It lasted all the way
22:07to the end of the first century
22:08until the death
22:09of the Apostle John,
22:10who was the bishop
22:11of Ephesus
22:12when he died.
22:14And Paul had his greatest
22:15ministry in Ephesus.
22:18You remember,
22:18there were three decades
22:19between Paul
22:20and John.
22:21Paul was executed
22:23probably about the age of 50.
22:26John lived on
22:28into his 90s,
22:29probably 96, 97,
22:32maybe close to 100.
22:34There was about
22:34a 30-year separation
22:36between Paul's influence
22:38and John's influence,
22:39but it was all at Ephesus.
22:41So Ephesus becomes
22:42an amazingly important location.
22:45Paul established a school there
22:50and he did it
22:51by apparently contracting
22:53with someone called Tyrannus.
22:55So we don't know anything
22:56about the guy,
22:57but apparently he had
22:59some kind of an open
23:00public school
23:02or university.
23:04Verse 8,
23:05and he went into the synagogue
23:06and spake boldly
23:08for about space
23:09of three months,
23:10disputing and persuading
23:11the things concerning
23:12the kingdom of God.
23:13But when divers
23:15were hardened
23:16and believed not,
23:17in other words,
23:18a lot of different people
23:19became hardened
23:20to Christianity
23:21and believed not,
23:24but spake evil of that way
23:25before the multitude,
23:27he departed from them
23:28and separated the disciples,
23:30disputing daily
23:31in the school
23:32of one Tyrannus.
23:34And this continued
23:35by the space
23:36of two years,
23:37so that all they
23:38which dwelt in Asia
23:39heard the word
23:40of the Lord Jesus,
23:41both Jews and Greeks.
23:42Now you notice
23:43that the Holy Spirit
23:45came to Ephesus
23:46in much the way
23:47that it came
23:48to Jerusalem.
23:50That there was
23:51a move of the Holy Spirit
23:53and men began
23:54to perform miracles
23:55and speak in tongues.
23:58Now a lot can be said
23:59pro and con
24:01tongues speaking.
24:02It's not my purpose
24:03to talk about tongues
24:04this morning
24:05except to say
24:06that it was certainly
24:08God's way
24:09of getting out
24:10His word
24:11when it would
24:12have been impossible
24:12had the people
24:14speaking under
24:15the influence
24:15of the Holy Spirit
24:16not had access
24:17to all these
24:18foreign languages
24:19that were present
24:20in the port
24:22of Ephesus.
24:24And notice too
24:25that Paul
24:26taught for two years
24:28at the school
24:29of Tyrannus.
24:31Now this was
24:32on the main street.
24:33Apparently
24:34archaeologists
24:35have figured out
24:36the rough location
24:37of the school
24:37of Tyrannus
24:38and there's
24:39this main street
24:40in Ephesus
24:40where there was
24:42a lot of traffic
24:43and so apparently
24:44Paul became
24:45quite a well-known
24:46figure and you'll
24:46notice that for
24:47two years
24:48he was not
24:49persecuted.
24:50He was free
24:50to preach.
24:52He was free
24:52to teach.
24:53No problem.
24:54Usually when you
24:55think of Paul
24:56the first thing
24:57that hits you
24:58is that well
24:58Paul goes into
24:59the city
24:59and begins to
25:00preach
25:00and the next
25:01day he's stoned
25:02or whatever
25:02and he has
25:03all this problem.
25:04But here
25:05he's able
25:06to preach
25:06in Ephesus
25:07for two
25:08full years
25:09and it says
25:10and all they
25:12which dwelt
25:13in Asia
25:14heard the word
25:15of the Lord
25:15Jesus.
25:17Wow.
25:18That's something
25:19and no trouble.
25:21That is he's
25:22not persecuted
25:22he's not chased
25:24away
25:24he doesn't come
25:25under the inspection
25:26of the public
25:26officials
25:27just teaching.
25:30And God
25:31wrought special
25:32miracles by the
25:33hands of Paul
25:34so that from
25:34his body
25:35were brought
25:36unto the sick
25:37handkerchiefs
25:38or aprons
25:40and the diseases
25:41departed from them
25:43and the evil
25:45spirits
25:46went out
25:47of them.
25:48Well this
25:49tells you
25:49two things.
25:51While Paul
25:52was teaching
25:52in the school
25:53of Tyrannus
25:53he was also
25:54making tents
25:55because that
25:57was his occupation
25:58and we learned
25:58that in several
25:59different
26:00New Testament
26:01passages.
26:03And here
26:04we know
26:05that he's
26:05making tents
26:06by inference
26:07because
26:08from his
26:09body
26:10were brought
26:10unto the sick
26:11handkerchiefs
26:13sudarioi
26:14a sudarian
26:16is a sweat
26:17cloth
26:18or you know
26:19how sometimes
26:20you'll take
26:20a handkerchief
26:21by the corners
26:22and sort of
26:23fling it
26:24until it becomes
26:24a little rope
26:25and you tie it
26:26around your
26:26forehead
26:27to keep the
26:28sweat from
26:28coming down
26:29into your
26:29eyes
26:30that's a
26:30sudarion
26:31which is
26:33the word
26:33used here
26:34for
26:34handkerchief
26:35a sudarion
26:37is purposely
26:38put there
26:38to absorb
26:39sweat
26:40and then
26:41at the end
26:41of the day
26:42or several
26:42times during
26:43the day
26:43you'll take
26:43your sudarion
26:44and wipe
26:45your brow
26:45wipe your
26:46hands
26:46whatever
26:46and it
26:47becomes
26:48really
26:48really
26:48grubby
26:49likewise
26:50the apron
26:52that's mentioned
26:53here
26:53is called
26:55a simakintion
26:56in Greek
26:57and a simakintion
26:58is a narrow
26:59linen
27:00apron
27:01that would
27:03have a neck
27:04strap
27:04and a strap
27:05that goes
27:05around your
27:06back like
27:06this
27:07and it
27:08would just
27:08cover your
27:09front
27:10to keep you
27:11from getting
27:11really dirty
27:12when you were
27:13working on
27:13something
27:13and so
27:14your simakintion
27:15gets all
27:16dirty
27:16have you ever
27:18seen a simakintion
27:19of course
27:19have you ever
27:20been to an
27:20old grocery
27:21store
27:21and seen
27:22a guy
27:22running an
27:23old grocery
27:23store
27:24wearing one
27:24of those
27:24aprons
27:25or a carpenter
27:27wearing an
27:27apron
27:28that has
27:28nail pockets
27:29in the
27:29front
27:30that's a
27:31simakintion
27:32that's what
27:33Paul wore
27:34you can see
27:36Paul with
27:36his sudarion
27:37around his
27:38forehead
27:38and his
27:39simakintion
27:39around the
27:40front
27:40and his
27:41grubby hands
27:42and this is
27:42the great
27:43apostle by the
27:44way
27:44the most
27:45ingenious
27:46and fertile
27:47mind
27:48in western
27:49civilization
27:50smarter than
27:52einstein
27:53wearing a
27:54dirty linen
27:55apron
27:55a sweat
27:55cloth
27:56renting a
27:57school from
27:58tyrannis
27:58making tents
28:00so that he
28:01would have
28:01money to
28:02continue his
28:03work
28:03it's just
28:05mind boggling
28:06when you
28:06really stop
28:07and think
28:07about this
28:08and then
28:10a direct
28:11slap in the
28:12face
28:12of the
28:13mystery
28:13religions
28:14because he's
28:15also in
28:16the heart
28:16of the
28:17religious
28:18cult
28:18known
28:19as the
28:20cult
28:20of
28:20diana
28:21of the
28:21ephesians
28:22and the
28:23cult of
28:24diana
28:24of the
28:25ephesians
28:25was very
28:26interesting
28:27there was an
28:29ancient
28:29figure of
28:30worship
28:31a false
28:31god
28:32named
28:32mithra
28:33who was
28:34supposed to
28:35be the
28:35god
28:35of
28:36renewal
28:37and
28:38restoration
28:38and mithra
28:40arose from
28:41tammuz
28:42well
28:44diana
28:45arose
28:46from
28:46semiramis
28:47who was
28:47the
28:48wife
28:48of
28:49tammuz
28:50and so
28:51diana
28:52worship
28:52is exactly
28:53like the
28:53ancient
28:54cult
28:54babylonian
28:55cults
28:56of
28:57semiramis
28:57or the
28:58israelite
28:59cult
29:00of
29:00ishtar
29:01or
29:02starte
29:02the
29:03canaanite
29:04ashtaref
29:05but among
29:06the greeks
29:07she was
29:07known as
29:08diana
29:08and she
29:09was the
29:10prototypical
29:10fertility
29:11goddess
29:12she was
29:13also the
29:14goddess
29:14of power
29:15that is to
29:16say
29:17if you
29:18followed
29:18the goddess
29:19and if you
29:20paid homage
29:20to the
29:21goddess
29:22diana
29:22you were
29:25bringing
29:25power
29:26into your
29:27life
29:27power
29:27to make
29:28yourself
29:29wealthy
29:30healthy
29:31strong
29:32your cattle
29:34would be
29:34blessed
29:34your crops
29:35would grow
29:36and yield
29:37all you
29:37had to do
29:38was stay
29:38faithful
29:39to diana
29:40the great
29:41fertility
29:42goddess
29:42so she
29:44was two
29:45things
29:45the goddess
29:46of fertility
29:46and the goddess
29:47of power
29:48she was
29:50called the
29:50mother
29:51of gods
29:52the sister
29:54of apollo
29:55she was
29:57she was
29:57also the
29:58goddess
29:58of banking
29:59i wish
30:02i had time
30:03to go into
30:04this because
30:04when you
30:05begin to
30:05talk about
30:06banking
30:06you can't
30:07separate that
30:08from the
30:08idea of
30:09the ancient
30:10greek and
30:11roman gods
30:12but suffice
30:13it to
30:14say this
30:14the temple
30:16of diana
30:17was also
30:18a money
30:18and banking
30:19and financial
30:20exchange
30:21center
30:21and there
30:22was a
30:23coin
30:23minted in
30:24those days
30:25a silver
30:26coin called
30:26the tetra
30:27trachma
30:28of
30:29ephesus
30:29on its
30:32reverse side
30:33it had a
30:33figure of a
30:34honeybee
30:34honeybee
30:36was the
30:36symbol
30:37of diana
30:38when you
30:40really get
30:40into the
30:41symbol of
30:41the honeybee
30:42it also
30:43becomes the
30:43symbol of
30:44global
30:45financial
30:46exchange
30:47the other
30:49thing is
30:50that paul
30:50is sending
30:51out dirty
30:52clothes
30:52linen apron
30:54that's dirty
30:54handkerchiefs
30:56that's dirty
30:56and people
30:57are getting
30:57healed
30:58this is a
30:59slap in the
31:00face
31:01to the
31:03people
31:03who worship
31:04at the
31:05worship centers
31:06of ephesus
31:07because they
31:08valued
31:09sparkling
31:10white
31:11clothing
31:11as a
31:12symbol
31:13of
31:13religious
31:13power
31:14in other
31:15words
31:15the cleaner
31:15you were
31:16and the
31:17whiter
31:17your
31:18garments
31:18particularly
31:19white
31:19linen
31:20among the
31:21ephesians
31:22of diana
31:23was considered
31:25to be a
31:25mark of
31:26great
31:26religious
31:27power
31:27and guess
31:28what
31:29here's a
31:29guy
31:29sending out
31:30dirty
31:31clothes
31:31and people
31:32are getting
31:32healed
31:33by his
31:33dirty
31:34clothes
31:34what a
31:35slap in
31:35the face
31:36to the
31:38worshipers
31:39of diana
31:39it's amazing
31:40verse 13
31:42then certain
31:44of the
31:44vagabond
31:45jews
31:46exorcists
31:47took upon
31:47them to
31:48call over
31:49them
31:49which had
31:49evil
31:50spirits
31:50the name
31:51of the
31:51lord
31:51jesus
31:52saying
31:52we
31:52adjure
31:53you
31:53by
31:54jesus
31:54whom
31:54paul
31:55preaches
31:55and stop
31:57right there
31:57now the
31:59opposition
31:59begins to
32:00express
32:00itself
32:00where does
32:01it come
32:01from
32:01it comes
32:02from
32:02demonic
32:03spirits
32:04and there
32:06are jewish
32:07travelers
32:07here
32:08who call
32:09themselves
32:10exorcists
32:11now particularly
32:14in the middle
32:14eastern culture
32:15even to this
32:16very day
32:16exorcism is a
32:17very big
32:18deal
32:19in the
32:20cultures
32:20going all
32:21the way
32:21over to
32:22asia
32:22through china
32:23exorcism
32:24is a big
32:24deal
32:25people are
32:25very demon
32:26conscious
32:26and well
32:29they should
32:29be
32:29because in
32:31places where
32:31christianity
32:32is not the
32:33proliferating
32:34thing that it
32:34is in the
32:35united states
32:35demon spirits
32:37become very
32:37powerful
32:38now you
32:40can make
32:41money
32:41in exorcism
32:43it's a good
32:44trade
32:44be a traveling
32:45exorcist
32:46casting demons
32:47out of people
32:48and we have
32:49these jews
32:50who had
32:51the power
32:52apparently
32:53or at least
32:53to convince
32:54people
32:54that they
32:56were able
32:57to chase
32:57out the
32:58demons
32:58and there
32:59were seven
33:00sons of
33:01one
33:01Sceva
33:01a jew
33:02and chief
33:04of the
33:05priests
33:05which did
33:06so
33:07hmm
33:08Sceva
33:11a jew
33:12kind of
33:14fascinating
33:14that his
33:15name is
33:15Sceva
33:15because it
33:17comes from
33:17the greek
33:18Sceos
33:19which means
33:20a centurion
33:21well here's
33:22a jew
33:22who's called
33:23a chief
33:24of the
33:24priests
33:25who has
33:25the name
33:26centurion
33:27although
33:28the name
33:29Sceva
33:29can also
33:30refer to
33:31equipment
33:32of any
33:32sort
33:33material
33:34object
33:34that's
33:35used
33:35like a
33:36big tool
33:36of some
33:37kind
33:37or even
33:37a sword
33:38but
33:39essentially
33:40it's kind
33:41of a
33:41power word
33:42if you
33:42called
33:42yourself
33:43Sceva
33:43or Sceos
33:44it means
33:45I've got
33:46the power
33:46to get
33:46things done
33:47and furthermore
33:49I'm a son
33:50of the
33:50priesthood
33:51and so
33:52this was
33:53the way
33:53he made
33:54his living
33:55and verse
33:5515 says
33:56and the
33:57evil spirit
33:57answered
33:58and said
33:58Jesus
33:58I know
33:59and Paul
34:00I know
34:01but who
34:01are you
34:02or who
34:03are you
34:04all
34:04is what
34:05the spirit
34:05is saying
34:06it addresses
34:07the seven
34:08sons
34:08of Sceva
34:09collectively
34:10and says
34:11who are
34:11you all
34:12and the
34:13man in
34:13whom the
34:14evil spirit
34:14was leaped
34:15on them
34:15overcame
34:16them
34:16prevailed
34:16against them
34:17so that
34:17they fled
34:17out of
34:18that house
34:18naked
34:18and wounded
34:19they ran
34:20into a
34:20very
34:21very
34:21powerful
34:22demonic
34:22spirit
34:23indeed
34:23and this
34:26was known
34:27to all
34:27the Jews
34:28and Greeks
34:28dwelling at
34:29Ephesus
34:29it was the
34:30talk of the
34:31town
34:31and fear
34:32fell on
34:33them
34:33and the
34:34name of
34:34the Lord
34:35Jesus
34:35was magnified
34:36and many
34:38that believed
34:39came
34:40and confessed
34:41and showed
34:41their deeds
34:42many of
34:42them
34:43also
34:44which used
34:44curious
34:45arts
34:46brought
34:47their
34:48books
34:48together
34:50where it
34:51says in
34:52the King
34:52James
34:52many of
34:53them
34:53also
34:54which
34:54used
34:54curious
34:55arts
34:56in the
34:57Greek
34:58that means
34:58investigating
35:00occultic
35:01practices
35:02and there
35:04are thousands
35:05of occultic
35:05practices
35:06you know
35:06there are
35:07divinations
35:08and spells
35:09and charms
35:10and all
35:12kinds of
35:12things you
35:13can do
35:13supposedly
35:14to gain
35:14power
35:15and this
35:16was very
35:17common
35:17in the
35:18old world
35:18by the way
35:19it's becoming
35:20very common
35:20today
35:21once again
35:22there are a lot
35:23of people
35:23who go for it
35:24you know
35:24it begins
35:24with a
35:25horoscope
35:25in the
35:25newspaper
35:26and it
35:26goes to
35:27the next
35:27step
35:27from the
35:28Ouija board
35:28to who
35:29knows where
35:29spells
35:31notions
35:32lotions
35:32potions
35:33and nostrums
35:34all kinds
35:34of things
35:35that people
35:35do
35:36that supposedly
35:37give them
35:38strength
35:38spiritual
35:39strength
35:40and these
35:41are called
35:41curious
35:42arts
35:42in verse
35:4319
35:43many of them
35:44also
35:44which use
35:45curious
35:45arts
35:46brought
35:46their
35:46books
35:47together
35:47I can
35:48think of
35:49a book
35:49that's
35:49popular
35:50today
35:50the
35:50sanctum
35:51sanctorum
35:52which a lot
35:52of people
35:53buy copies
35:54of
35:54it's a book
35:55of chance
35:56and charms
35:56supposed to
35:57give you
35:57power
35:58by the way
35:59that's not
36:00the correct
36:00word for
36:00that book
36:01nor will
36:03I give
36:04the correct
36:04name for
36:05that book
36:05I don't
36:08believe that
36:08name should
36:09be repeated
36:09but you get
36:10the idea
36:11they brought
36:12all their
36:13books together
36:13burned them
36:14before all
36:14men and
36:15they counted
36:15the price
36:16of them
36:16and found
36:17it 50,000
36:18pieces of
36:19silver
36:19now it's
36:21fascinating
36:21I'm thinking
36:22of the
36:22tetradrachma
36:23of Diana
36:24that was
36:24minted in
36:25that city
36:26and I'm
36:28just in my
36:28own mind
36:29although it
36:29doesn't say
36:30it in
36:30scripture
36:30I'm thinking
36:31people must
36:32have thrown
36:32a lot of
36:33tetradrachmas
36:34into the
36:35community pot
36:36here
36:36this is what
36:38you call
36:38revival
36:39this is the
36:40moving of
36:40the Holy
36:41Spirit
36:41the Holy
36:43Spirit moved
36:44not in
36:45vain
36:46but men
36:47were enabled
36:48to speak
36:48in other
36:49languages
36:49so that they
36:50could actually
36:51give the
36:51gospel
36:52in this huge
36:53trade center
36:54they were able
36:55to prophesy
36:56why?
36:57because they
36:57didn't have a
36:58Bible
36:58there was no
37:00New Testament
37:01you and I
37:02can go out
37:03and preach
37:03out of the
37:04New Testament
37:04and bring
37:05somebody to
37:06Christ
37:06they couldn't
37:08they had no
37:09New Testament
37:09they had to
37:10prophesy
37:10by the
37:11power of the
37:12Holy Spirit
37:12in other
37:13languages
37:14now
37:15certainly
37:16tongues
37:17is the
37:18gift of
37:18being able
37:19to speak
37:19in a
37:19language
37:20that you
37:20haven't
37:20practiced
37:21but that's
37:22not my
37:23definitive
37:23statement
37:24on tongues
37:24I just
37:25want to
37:25make sure
37:26that everybody
37:26knows that
37:27that's not
37:28all the
37:29gift of
37:30tongues
37:30is
37:30how much
37:32money was
37:33this?
37:34some people
37:34have estimated
37:35that this
37:37was about
37:37six and a half
37:38million dollars
37:39the estimate
37:40that I read
37:41was made
37:42about 40
37:42years ago
37:43in current
37:45dollars it
37:46might be
37:46closer to
37:47ten million
37:47dollars
37:48that's a lot
37:50of money
37:50now the
37:52reason the
37:53book of Acts
37:54spends so
37:55much time
37:55and so much
37:56energy
37:57and the
37:58reason Luke
37:59I think
37:59wrote this
38:00the way he
38:00did is
38:01because
38:01this incident
38:03shows us
38:05how Christianity
38:05advances
38:06how does
38:07Christianity
38:07advance
38:08through
38:10opposition
38:11read the
38:12book of
38:12Acts
38:13I can
38:14make that
38:14case
38:15time and
38:16time and
38:17time and
38:17time again
38:18how does
38:19Christianity
38:20advance
38:21through
38:22opposition
38:23is there
38:24opposition to
38:25Christianity
38:25today
38:26is there
38:28growing
38:29opposition
38:30to
38:30Christianity
38:31today
38:31praise
38:33the
38:33Lord
38:34this is
38:37God's
38:37way of
38:37advancing
38:38Christianity
38:39I kid
38:39you not
38:40it's all
38:42through the
38:42Bible
38:42because when
38:44the Holy
38:45Spirit of
38:46God meets
38:47the spirit
38:48of this
38:48world
38:49head on
38:49there will
38:50always be
38:51an explosion
38:52and out of
38:54that will
38:54come the
38:56seeds of
38:56new and
38:57revived
38:58Christianity
38:59you can
38:59see it
39:00over and
39:00over and
39:01over again
39:02historically
39:03this is a
39:04great episode
39:05let's leave
39:08it here
39:08verse 31
39:09and next
39:10week I
39:11really want
39:11to develop
39:12this because
39:13we're out of
39:13time today
39:14verse 31
39:15one says
39:16and certain
39:16of the
39:17chief
39:17of Asia
39:18which were
39:20his friends
39:21sent to
39:22him
39:22in the
39:23Greek
39:24these people
39:24are called
39:25Asiarchs
39:26Asiarch
39:27Asiarchos
39:28in the
39:29Greek
39:29what would
39:30an Asiarcho
39:31be
39:32he would
39:34be a
39:35powerful
39:36official
39:36a regional
39:38official
39:39who are
39:40some of
39:40our powerful
39:41officials
39:42today
39:42maybe
39:43over here
39:44at the
39:44capital
39:45the
39:46speaker
39:46of the
39:46house
39:47maybe
39:47or
39:48the
39:49governor
39:49or maybe
39:51the
39:51congressman
39:52from the
39:52fifth
39:53district
39:53these
39:54are the
39:55people
39:55right here
39:56in verse
39:5731
39:57that have
39:58come to
39:58Paul
39:58and said
39:59to Paul
40:00listen
40:00stay away
40:01from that
40:02crowd
40:02you could
40:03get killed
40:03this alone
40:05this verse
40:0531
40:06alone
40:06tells us
40:07the extent
40:09to which
40:09Paul's
40:10message
40:10had reached
40:11out
40:11through
40:12Asia
40:12Minor
40:12because he
40:14had reached
40:14important
40:15people
40:16with the
40:16gospel
40:16presumably
40:17these
40:18Asiarchs
40:19that is
40:19these
40:19Asian
40:20leaders
40:20were
40:21Christians
40:21they
40:23wouldn't
40:23have warned
40:23him
40:24otherwise
40:24and so
40:25this
40:25tells us
40:26right here
40:27how high
40:28the gospel
40:29had reached
40:29in Paul's
40:30day
40:30it's just
40:32one of those
40:32things that
40:33you just
40:33tend to
40:34read past
40:35but we're
40:36not reading
40:36past
40:37we're looking
40:38at these
40:38things
40:39right here
40:40in Ephesus
40:41in the
40:42landing
40:42place
40:43at the
40:43temple
40:43of Diana
40:44at the
40:44temple
40:45of the
40:45fertility
40:45goddess
40:46at the
40:46crossroads
40:47the trade
40:48centers
40:48the banking
40:49centers
40:49the Roman
40:50empire
40:51there is
40:52this
40:53collision
40:53God
40:55ordained
40:56that collision
40:56this is
40:57something that
40:57was ordained
40:58of God
40:59and the
40:59result was
41:00the spread
41:01of Christianity
41:02of God
41:14of God
41:14and the
41:14future
41:14of God
41:15of God
41:16and the
41:16future
41:16of God
41:17and the
41:17future
41:18of God
41:18and the
41:19there is
41:20the
41:20earthly