Two of John’s disciples began following Jesus, just as he turned to return to Galilee. This was the second day since Jesus’ baptism (John 1:35-37), and after he and the two men following him arrived at the place Jesus was staying (perhaps an inn), the two were invited to stay with Jesus, because it was late in the day. One of the two was called Andrew, and he had a brother, named Simon. He went and fetched his brother (among others who were traveling to Galilee from Bethabara, where John baptized. Andrew told Peter he had found the Messiah. When Jesus saw Simon, he told him that he would be called Peter, and the three stayed with Jesus that night (John 1:40-42). Read the rest of this entry »
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For some time now, I have been studying about the nature of the Kingdom of God. While some futurists (premillennialists, postmillennialists and amillennialists) may agree that the Kingdom of God, as it exists today, is a spiritual Kingdom, they would also tell us that it will morph into a physical Kingdom, when Jesus returns in a physical body to reign on a physical throne in physical Jerusalem. They might put it in different words, but in essence that is what their claims are. There are indeed subsets of those groups that would deny the above, saying Jesus simply returns and destroys the heavens and the earth—all of creation and takes his own to be with him, but the majority of those groups in essence teach something similar to the above. Read the rest of this entry »
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Luke begins his record of the public ministry of Jesus by introducing him through John, the Baptist. We know from the infancy narratives that John was about 6 months older than Jesus and that he was born into a family of priests. John was a son of Aaron, but instead of ministering in the Temple, where all priests are called to minister (including his father, Zacharias), we find John in the desert. Instead of wearing fine linen (the normal attire of a priest – see Exodus 28), John wore camel’s hair (Matthew 3:4), implying rugged living (cf. Luke 7:25). Something is going on beneath the surface, things are not really as they appear, but what is Luke veiling, and can we know? Read the rest of this entry »
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Many scholars have used the length of the reigns of Herod’s sons, which information can be found in Josephus’ histories, to configure Herod’s death to March 13, 4 BC. However, since the eclipse that occurred at the Feast of Purim in 4 BC cannot be used to point to Herod’s death, due to the impossible time restraints involved between it and the Passover (28 to 29 days),[1] we must rethink why the reigns of Herod’s sons point to the year 4 BC, because, as I have said several times in this series, once “you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”[2]Read the rest of this entry »
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Luke concludes Acts 9:31 with the words: “…[the churches throughout all Judea, Samaria and Galilee], walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied.” Months ago I had shared what I believed to be the manner in which Luke had written Acts. I believe he wrote Acts in 6 submissions, which can be categorized into three themes of two parts each. Read the rest of this entry »
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Luke has Philip joining an Ethiopian on a road near Gaza, south of Jerusalem. The man was returning from worshiping at Jerusalem, probably after one of its Holy Day seasons, which, in this case, would probably be Passover of 35 CE. (accounting for a six-month ministry for Philip in Samaria). Read the rest of this entry »
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Philip in the Samaritan village as he was ending his ministry there and told him to go south toward Gaza (Acts 8:26). The Apostles had returned to Jerusalem, but Philip was a hunted man, perhaps not by name but because of his faith and how he interpreted that faith. He was more liberal in his faith than the Apostles, who had adopted a more conservative stance of preaching the Gospel. Both expressions of the Messianic faith were used by Jesus to spread the Gospel. Philip could no longer preach openly in Jerusalem during the Holy Days when pilgrims from all over the Empire visited Jerusalem, but the Apostles were still able to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
When Philip preached in Samaria the people listened, believed the Gospel and were baptized (Acts 8:5-7, 12). However, Luke tells us that, when Peter and John learned of the Samaritan’s repentance and came to the Samaritan village where Philip was preaching (Acts 8:14), they found the new believers had not received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:16)! Why would this be so? Was anything lacking in Philip’s preaching? Read the rest of this entry »
While Philip preached the Gospel in a Samaritan village, a man named Simon is said to have believed and was baptized (Acts 8:13). What is interesting is that Philip’s works among the believing Samaritans is contrasted with this man’s works before Philip arrived. Philip did miracles, drove out evil spirits and healed the people (Acts 8:6-7), while Simon used sorcery and bewitched the people (Acts 8:9). Philip preached Christ, but Simon preached himself as a great one. The Greek word megas (G3173) means great one and is the root from which the 2nd century church fathers derived Simon’s other name, Magus. Read the rest of this entry »
At long last the word of God is going out to the nations as promised by Jesus in Acts 1:8, but probably not as originally expected by the Apostles. Instead, the Gospel explodes outwardly in the form of evangelism brought on by persecution. It wasn’t planned—at least not by the Church. Nevertheless, the prophecy was fulfilled as the King of the Kingdom of God reached out to embrace the uttermost parts of the earth, beginning with Samaria and bringing all under his authority. Read the rest of this entry »
For about three and one-half years the disciples had been witnesses at Jerusalem, the capital of Judaism. Miracles were done in the name of Jesus and the Gospel was preached and believed in power. Thousands were baptized into the Kingdom of God and most of these traveled home to various parts of the Empire taking the Gospel with them. Nevertheless, the power behind the Gospel seemed to build up pressure at the capital like waters behind a damn of clay. Something had to occur sooner or later, and finally it did. Read the rest of this entry »
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Philip in the Samaritan village as he was ending his ministry there and told him to go south toward Gaza (Acts 8:26). The Apostles had returned to Jerusalem, but Philip was a hunted man, perhaps not by name but because of his faith and how he interpreted that faith. He was more liberal in his faith than the Apostles, who had adopted a more conservative stance of preaching the Gospel. Both expressions of the Messianic faith were used by Jesus to spread the Gospel. Philip could no longer preach openly in Jerusalem during the Holy Days when pilgrims from all over the Empire visited Jerusalem, but the Apostles were still able to do so. 
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