Chap 8_Acts

Chap 8-Acts

OOOOOOOOOOO Acts 8:1–3 (HCSB) 8 Saul agreed with putting him to death.

On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

Widespread persecution broke out against the believers in Jerusalem. It was so fierce and aggressive that they ran away to other places including Samaria. For a Jew- remember at this time the Christians were still a Jewish sect - they would still have some residual distaste for Samaria. The Jews had hated, despised the Samaritans since their demographic changes their deportation from the Assyrians in 722 b.c. At that time the conquerors expelled and drove out much of the Jewish population and imported gentiles. This created a mongrelized Judaism that revered not at the Holy mountain [Mt. Sinai - Northwestern Saudi Arabia], but Mt Gerizim[ supposedly where Abraham almost sacrificed his son and located in the West Bank of Israel]. They worshipped God according to their own Torah and they also worshipped foreign gods. The merged them together. The point is that even though they were part of the Northern Kingdom they were still considered as unfavorable and not true Jews. Jesus used the Samaritan in many of his actions and parables. The Good Samaritan and the woman at the well.

Saul was not just punishing followers, but he was out to destroy the movement.

For some reason, possibly they were so popular and considered to be holy men used by God, they were left in Jerusalem.

While they mourned Stephen, Saul was on a rampage. It wasn’t a steady, planned campaign, but set out to injure or destroy - it translates as create havoc. Note that he not only going after men, but even arresting women. This hurts the entire family - what about children. So with this degree of relentless punishment, Saul trying to spread fear among the population of Christians. Later on in Acts

OOOOOOOOOOO Acts 8:4–8 (HCSB)Philip in Samaria 4 So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the message of good news. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. 6 The crowds paid attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the signs he was performing. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. Phillip went down to

....5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. Samaria is North of Jerusalem. We think of going down means elevation or south. In those times Jerusalem was the most prominent, most esteemed city in Israel and all other cities were beneath her eminence. So travelers wherever they were going went down from Jerusalem.

Phillip was attracting crowds with his teaching and the healing miracles. Demon were being cast out and they were loud. So the city, not just a few, were joyful in witnessing the works of God.

OOOOOOOOOOO Acts 8:9–13 (HCSB) The Response of Simon 9 A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and astounded the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God!” 11 They were attentive to him because he had astounded them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he went around constantly with Philip and was astounded as he observed the signs and great miracles that were being performed.

Simon was a well known magician in the city. He said that he was “great” and the people said that he is called the Great Power of God. There were many magicians, soothsayers, etc. around, but Simon was so awesome that they said he was the Great Power of God. Legend has it that he could fly and eventually he fell to his death as he tried to fly from a tall tower.

As a magician he knew the tricks and about illusion, but clearly what Phillip was doing was beyond a magic act. Simon came to know about God and was baptized, but he didn’t really know God, nor submit to God. He wanted more power to add to his title of the Great Power of God. He tried to buy it. Like magicians today purchase a magic trick. He insulted and profaned God. He wanted to get God’s power without God’s requirements. He proclaimed God and was baptized, but he was still not receiving the HS .

Based on the his magical demonstrations, i Simon may have been more than a street magician, but also using demonic power. You can see the outcome of his later efforts.

He became a Phillip groupie but still didn’t have his power. .... 13 Then even Simon himself believed.... James 2:19 (HCSB) 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder. Belief can also mean know about.

OOOOOOOOOOO Acts 8:14–25 (HCSB) Simon’s Sin 14 When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed God’s message, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 After they went down there, they prayed for them, so the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power too, so that anyone I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought the gift of God could be obtained with money! 21 You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

24 “Please pray to the Lord for me,” Simon replied, “so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

25 Then, after they had testified and spoken the message of the Lord, they traveled back to Jerusalem, evangelizing many villages of the Samaritans.

There is a term “simony” which means the buying or selling of things considered religious, such as buying an ecclesiastical office. This word came about from Simon’s effort.

Peter and John, the 2 top dogs from the Jerusalem Christians, go into the previously despised Samaritans and deliver the HS to them. Such a change. The Jews are welcoming the Samaritans into the same belief.

The Christians are no longer a Jewish sect, but are now going out as prophesied and follow Jesus’s command to go out into all the world. The teachings begun with Simon affected the church negatively for the next 300 years. The problem today is not a lack of discernment in the body, but it is laziness and lack of discipline in taking the effort for discipleship.

Simon who knew about Jesus. Who could accept God in baptism looked upon God as his servant. Like being an insider within the king’s court - you are not greater than the king, but you can go in using his power and authority. Simon was called great. Legend said that his magic allowed him to fly and legend says that he was killed when he tried to fly from some tower.

So like today’s magicians, you buy some of the tricks, the allusions. Simon was not wanting to serve God or love other people. He wanted to use God and continue in his own “greatness” and become even more famous magician.

This man also known as Simon the Magician or “Magus”[Latin] or “Magi” was later known as the founder of Gnosticism. Others say that he was the founder of one of the Gnostic sects called Simonians. Gnosticism had many sects with different beliefs, even went so far that some accused other Gnostic sects of heresy.

This belief system, a different theology was gaining adherents as the new testament was still being written. It became a real challenge or distortion of Christianity mid 100’s and early 200’s. It started as a separate belief system and then was very pervasive and began to infect Christianity. Irenaeus, one of the church fathers wrote “Against Heresies” in 180. He was one of the first systematic theologians in the church.

Historians contemplate that the early church was so certain that the end times are near, that they more or less ignored other beliefs. They concentrated on the actual near history of Jesus and their teaching focused on Jesus and history. The boundaries about what was true and not in their beliefs was not strong nor universal. The early teachings of Gnosticism were thought ludicrous and grew unchallenged by the saints.

But Gnosticism not only persisted but became strong with developed theology and details. It was a very popular fad and had it’s own schools established. And different agnostic concepts began to be taken into Christianity. Christianity did not have all the books of the Bible together and lacked a formal belief system.

Gnosticism was based on special knowledge about God and Jesus and how reality was formed. Matter was evil and spirit was good. They had amoral, intellectual built beliefs. The elites were the ones who were knowledgeable. Gnostic doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme divine being. As the ripples of godliness went outward, these eaons went out to keep evil further away from debasing the supreme divine being. Jesus was far enough [social distancing] that he could take on evil flesh and not threaten the holiness of the divine being. People were further out but through special knowledge could advance and become minor deities. Gnosticism is the belief that human beings contain a piece of God (the highest good or a divine spark) within themselves, which has fallen from the immaterial world into the bodies of humans. All physical matter is subject to decay, rotting, and death Some gnostic thought are found in Christian Science and Mormonism.

Brother Azarias of the Brothers of the Christian Schools,New York, William H. Sadlier, 11 Barclay Street 1888: We know what havoc this Gnosticism played in the early Church. That the world was the work of a delirious God; that the body was evil in itself; that only an elect few were redeemed, only an elect few were predestined to salvation: such were some of its most pernicious doctrines, which were carried out to their full consequences in all the affairs of social and daily life, Loud and fierce did those winds blow; but the Church calmly abided her hour, and the truth prevailed.

Four types of tradition used in the second-century Gnostic systems were developed in this period.

1. First, there was a reinterpretation of Genesis that depicts the Jewish God as jealous and enslaving: freedom means escaping from bondage to that God.

2. Second, there arose a tradition of Jesus' sayings as esoteric wisdom.

3. Third, a soteriology of the soul's ascent to union with the divine from the popular forms of Platonism was adopted.

4. And fourth, possibly, there was a mythical story of the descent of a divine being from the heavenly world to reveal that world as the true home of the soul.

Much of this was absorbed by Greek thinking. Greek thinking permeated the cultures of that day. - Jesus is the Logos [ a reasoned structure of thought and being]. The Greeks worshipped at the altar of the human intellect and reasoning. The use of extensive allegories resulted from the attitude of man’s mental prowess interpreting scripture.

“it is not possible to be a Christian and an unqualified Platonist at one and the same time. The reason is simple: at key points, Christianity and Platonism clash. 1. First, Christians have an appreciation for the created order and for embodied life that is unmatched by the Platonic tradition. A Platonist might acknowledge that the demiurge has created a good world, but a Platonist would never acknowledge that God assumed a human body or that the body is meant for resurrection. Platonism has always balked at the incarnation and the resurrection of the body. In this regard, Platonism is indeed unbiblical.

Second, the hierarchical structure of Platonism places universal forms or ideas (such as goodness, truth, humanity, felinity, and so on) at a higher level than the gods themselves. This means that in a Platonic understanding, the gods were beings who were part of the cosmos and as such were supposed to act in line with higher eternal forms or ideas. Christians identified the world of the forms with the eternal Logos (or Word) of God. They turned to the eternal generation of the Son as the “place” where the forms (or logoi) of the created order can be found. The result of this Christian modification of Platonism is that for the Great Tradition (unlike for Platonism) God is not answerable to higher-up forms. Nor is God simply one among many beings of the universe. Instead, according to patristic and medieval tradition, God is Being itself—the form of forms—which renders him transcendent to the cosmos in a way that the Platonic demiurge could never be.

Finally, Christian theology is trinitarian. The Nicene (and biblical!) confession that God is Father, Son, and Spirit is unacceptable to the Platonic tradition—whether we have in mind Plato’s notion of a demiurge or Plotinus’s later idea of an eternal One (to hen). For the Platonic tradition, the Christian belief that God is both one and three is irrational and unacceptable. For the Christian tradition, by contrast, the mystery of the Trinity—God’s oneness of essence and Threeness of persons—is something to be adored and praised.

Gnostics also allegorized scripture. Rather than take as historical facts, they extended the concrete into the symbolic and this way of understanding became the norm in early 2-3 century.

Again there had not been any push back from the church. Jesus said go and make disciples, learners, but evidently the church discounted in-depth understanding of scripture.

Heresies arose from the complacency of the church. Allowed to fester without rebuttal, the existence of the Church was threatened. Other heresies sprang up because of the church weakness against the Gnosticism. A little later, the gnostic bibles came out and mislead people and are still doing so this day. These bibles contained numerous errors much like the ones in “The Da Vinci Code’” and some of the things written in the Koran.

An example of Greek thinking becoming merged into Christianity was seen in the case of Galileo. One of the main problems with Galileo was that he was against some of teachings of Aristotle about the universe. The Catholic church had already incorporated the thinking of Aristotle into their teachings. Galileo said that the earth rotated around the sun....Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) believed the universe is finite and spherical with a stationary Earth at its center. Enclosing the whole universe is the sphere of the Prime Motion turned by the First Unmoved Mover. Inside that were transparent spheres containing fixed and unchanging stars, planets, moon and sun.[1] Aristotle was also a renowned philosopher. “This allegorical interpretation gave birth to a new brand of Christianity. Augustine (354-430 A.D.), although not as extreme as Clement or Origen, accepted this new approach. Through Augustine the mixing of philosophy, culture, and theology became inter-twined. And, since Catholic theology recognizes the traditions of the Church as equal in authority with written scripture, changing this trend became impossible. Eventually, the roots planted in Augustine took full bloom in Thomas Aquinas" (1224-1274 A.D.).[3]

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642 A.D.) received a broad Renaissance education. Until 1610, when Galileo built his first telescope at age 46, he focused mainly on physics, not astronomy. He soon made discoveries which shook the foundations of the Aristotelian cosmos. He saw mountains, valleys and other features indicating change on the moon. He observed the motion of four of Jupiter's moons, now referred to as the Galilean moons. No longer could scientists say that heavenly bodies revolve exclusively around the Earth. He also observed the phases of Venus, the only explanation of which is that Venus moves around the sun and not the Earth.

the church was still attached to him Aristotle. It could not make a distinction between Aristotle and Christian teachings; and in that era, there was noindistinguishable or separation of science from philosophy. For the Church, if Aristotle was wrong, Christianity was wrong. The foundation of science was scripture.

The church ignored the warnings in scripture.... Romans 16:17–18 (HCSB) 17 Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause dissensions and obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have learned. Avoid them, 18 for such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.

The good thing is that heresies drove the church into the councils to define beliefs, and throw out heresies. I

It is important to make clear distinctions between one thing and another - between Christian and non-Christian. To allow error to fester in key issues is to encourage non-Christian growth.

Why is this important? Look at the situation - a great deal of allegory and nature is used to define religion. Look the sun- oh that is Ra the sun god. Pantheism where the universe is god. This becomes idolatry - it mixes up or combines the creation as the Creator. In Greek thinking man’s intellect [creation] is elevated as to be the creator.

It is paramount that the Creator is distinctively separate from the creator.

Irenaeus as a student of Polycarp, who was a direct disciple of the Apostle John, combatted against the gnostic philosophy, and defined orthodoxy.

Warnings in the Bible

Paul spoke about wrong teaching, e.g., that you could only eat kosher, or unclean foods, or that you should be circumcised, or time of creation, or about gifts. And false teaching which said that you must do such and such because false teaching about salvation by faith, resurrection, deity of Jesus leads to heresy. The destruction or wreaking of core doctrine. The false teachings usually addressed sexual immorality, key truths about Jesus, or justification by faith

The church must not be complacent with false teachings, when teachers contradict the Bible - they must be corrected.

2 John 7–9 (HCSB) 7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves so you don’t lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it, does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son....

1 Timothy 6:3–5 (NIV84)Love of Money3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

2 Timothy 4:2–4 (NIV84) 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

1 John 2:22 (NIV84) 22 Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.

1 Timothy 6:13–15 (HCSB)13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all, and of Christ Jesus,........ I charge you 14 to keep the command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in His own time. He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords,

Galatians 1:6–9 (NIV84) No Other Gospel 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Colossians 2:8–10 (HCSB) 8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

.................... John 2:23–25 (HCSB)23 While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many trusted in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.

Peter knew that Simon had a bad heart. When Peter confronted him and told him to repent. Simon was his own lord and rather than repent, he asked to be prayed for so trouble would not befall him. He did not want fellowship with God or in His kingdom, he wanted power for his own use and to avoid any consequences of his hypocrisy.

OOOOOOOOOOO Acts 8:26–40 (HCSB) The Conversion of the Ethiopian Official 26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.) 27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.

29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this:

He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb is silent before its shearer,

so He does not open His mouth.

33 In His humiliation justice was denied Him.

Who will describe His generation?

For His life is taken from the earth.

34 The eunuch replied to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or another person?” 35 So Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.

36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?” [37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip appeared in Azotus, and he was traveling and evangelizing all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

V27 There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury.

The Ethiopian history described in the Kebra Nagast relates that Ethiopians are descendants of Israelite tribes who came to Ethiopia with Menelik I, alleged to be the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (or Makeda, in the legend). This was after destruction of the temple 587 b.c. by Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylonia also deported Jews to Babylon.

Candace is not a who but a what. Kandake, kadake or kentake often Latinized as Candace......Candace (Ancient Greek: Kandakē), was for the sister of the king of Kush who, due to the matrilineal succession, would bear the next heir, making her a queen mother. African women of antiquity were legendary for their beauty and power. Especially great were the Queens of Ethiopia; Queen of Sheba (960 B.C.), ….1 Kings 10:1–2 (HCSB)The Queen of Sheba 10 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of Yahweh and came to test him with difficult questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind....10 Then she gave the king four and a half tons of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. V13 10 Then she gave the king four and a half tons of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Candace of Meroe and her defeat of Alexander the Great (332 B.C.) She made Alexander detour in his way to take Kush and so he proceeded to take the weaker Egypt

Bas-reliefs dated to about 170 B.C. reveal the kentake Shanakdakheto, dressed in armor and wielding a spear in battle. She did not rule as queen regent or queen mother, but as a fully independent ruler. Her husband was her consort. In bas-reliefs found in the ruins of building projects she commissioned, Shanakdakheto is portrayed both alone as well as with her husband and son, who would inherit the throne by her death. [The recent movie “Black Panther had these warrior Amazons who were the kings body guards and elite army. ]

There are at least ten regnant Meroitic queens during the 500 years between 260 BCE and 320 CE, and at least six during the 140 periods between 60 BC and 80 AD

Looking at some of the posters now show black women wearing armor with swords and spears beating the bad guys- Painted art and photos showing these warriors – proud, defiant, unbeatable

….2 Chronicles 9:13–14 (HCSB)Solomon’s Wealth 13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon annually was 25 tons [equivalent to $52,488,000/yr. before inflation , 14 besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

Ethiopia is a country in the Horn of Africa, is a rugged, landlocked country split by the Great Rift Valley.. It is 1600 miles from Jerusalem by plane.…

Was very wealthy and powerful… Jews have lived in Ethiopia for over 2000 years. it’s a place of ancient culture. , one-half of the population was Jewish before Christianity was proclaimed the official religion in the 4th century. eleven medieval monolithic churches were carved out of rock. Their building is attributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct in the 12th century a 'New Jerusalem', after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the holy Land. Among its important sites are Lalibela with its rock-cut Christian churches from the 12th–13th centuries. One archaeological photo shows a tall, 2-3 stories church of stone.

Pliny writes that the "Queen of the Ethiopians" bore the title Candace, and indicates that the Ethiopians had conquered ancient Syria and the Mediterranean.[14]

So about a generation before Christ, Ethiopia was a major country even though subdued by the Romans. In 25 BC the Kush kandake Amanirenas, as reported by Strabo,[Greek geographer and philosopher during the transition from the Roman republic to the Roman empire 31 BC] attacked the city of Syene, today's Aswan southern part of Egypt where Aswan dam is], in territory of the Roman Empire; Emperor Augustus destroyed the city of Napata in retaliation.

The point: This man the key treasurer of one of the world’s wealthy cities, a man of influence to the queen was a very important and from a very important country. This man listened, believed, was baptized and went off rejoicing. He was likely a evangelist deep into Africa, approximately 2100 miles from Egypt

…V29— the Spirit told Philip to go up and get and join that chariot. This was not a typical chariot. This man has a large chariot, he is most likely dressed and befitting his wealth and he may even have been accompanied by he servants for such a long, hard journey. Th

The point: Philip immediately obeys and approaches the obviously wealthy stranger. There is boldness and obedience seen in him.

The eunuch is reading Isaiah 53:7

. Phillip explains how Isaiah prophesied about the coming of Jesus the Christ...Romans 10:14

(HCSB) 14 But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?

Philip declaring God’s truth about the kingdom and Jesus is asked to ride along and then the treasurer asks to be baptised. This is no minor conversation with a new acquaintance. This single lesson could very well have been the spark that ignited the Ethiopian church.