(Suggested Reading: Chapter 15:41; Chapter 16)
The second mission’s purpose, in Paul’s view, is expressed in his words to Barnabas— “let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the Word of the Lord, and see how they are” —15:36. Paul visualized it not so much as an evangelizing effort as one to strengthen those already evangelized. This was commendable, for newborn souls need spiritual food. Paul starts the second mission this way, and later the third also. He built solidly, consolidating his work with the new converts, establishing them in “the present truth” —2 Pet. 1:1212Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. (2 Peter 1:12). He knew the danger of leaving the Lord’s sheep without food to build them up and the importance of sound doctrine. But at this time, this excellent purpose falls short of God’s thought, which is for a vast extension of the gospel into the continent of Europe, where souls are perishing. However, there is no way Paul can know this just then. He has to find out the Lord’s will experimentally, just as we mostly all have to do.
The Mission of Confirmation
The start of the second mission, then, finds Paul and Silas going through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. The confirming teaching must have been especially directed to the doctrine of grace, and justification by faith. It is suggested this is so because the Judaizing teachers did not merely subvert the souls of those at Antioch in Syria, but also all Syria and Cilicia. Otherwise the letters from Jerusalem would not have been so addressed, nor would Paul and Silas have started out at these places. The letters contained a most embarrassing clause “it seemed good to us... to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul.” When these letters were read aloud would not the hearers think “Paul is here, but where is Barnabas, whom Jerusalem has also commended?” But it is at this very juncture that Paul is encouraged. The Lord provides Timothy for him to replace John Mark. It seems clear that Paul needed the services of a younger man in his arduous travels. As we read of the places he visited we can picture the perils he faced to get there—long marches by foot, often over rugged mountainous terrain, bad food and drink, marshes infested with malaria carrying mosquitoes, sea voyages in days when a compass was unknown and the mariners steered by the stars or hugged the coastline, gales, and shipwrecks. To these must be added the persecutions of the Jews, stripes, bonds, and imprisonments. And Paul is by now a middle-aged man. As the sixteenth chapter opens Paul comes to Lystra. Luke groups Derbe with Lystra in the Acts because together they constitute a Roman political division known as a Region. But it is Lystra he visits.
Paul now enquires of the brethren at Lystra and Iconium, his early converts on his first mission, no doubt, and chooses Timothy as a godly and suitable young man. Thus Silas and Timothy replace Barnabas and Mark, and the apostolic band is up to strength again. How feeble the numbers, considering the greatness of the task, but “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul wisely circumcises Timothy. This is not a concession to Judaism but a necessity, if Paul is to continue to preach Christ in the synagogues. Timothy’s father was a Greek but his mother a Jewess. Intermarriage with Gentiles was permitted to Jews of the dispersion; prohibited to Jews in the land. To be accepted as a Jew Timothy must be circumcised. Otherwise the Jews would conclude that Paul was waging war on the ancient religion by choosing as his travelling companion a profane, uncircumcised man. Paul knew that the rite had no meaning now but used it to keep the door open for the preaching in the synagogues. Timothy came from godly stock on his maternal side—his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. From a child he had known the Holy Scriptures, which were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Having a Greek father, too, would make Timothy more acceptable to the Greeks in the new harvest fields about to open up.
Timothy received a gift by the laying on of the elders’ hands “be not negligent of the gift that is in you, which has been given to you through prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the elderhood” —1 Tim. 4:1414Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. (1 Timothy 4:14). Then in the second epistle Timothy is told to “rekindle the gift of God which is in you by the putting on of my hands” —2 Tim. 1:66Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. (2 Timothy 1:6). We are not told when these events transpired, but it seems probable that at least the Apostle laid his hands on Timothy at Iconium about the time he chose and circumcised him.
Unsuccessful Attempts at Evangelization
With his work of establishing the assemblies over, and a replacement for John Mark having been found, Paul reaches out for new fields in which to preach. The Lord guides him in three ways—twice he is stopped from his own plans; once he is told where to go. He sets out from Cilicia to the Roman province of Asia, which today is part of Turkey. Providential guidance forces him to take the overland route through this province to the sea. The Spirit forbids him to preach in Asia at all. This is a temporary prohibition for Asia is later to be the scene of Paul’s greatest triumphs and John refers to “the seven churches which are in Asia” in the Revelation. Paul continues on until he comes to Mysia, which is still in Asia. At this point he has enough of Asia where he cannot preach and tries to go into the neighboring province of Bithynia, where again we find believers at a later date—1 Pet. 1:11Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1). The Spirit does not permit him to do this. So he is forced to go through Asia with his mouth shut.
This is negative guidance—preventing us from going ahead with our own plans and directing us into the current of God’s mind. God wanted Paul to open up the Continent of Europe for the gospel—a major assignment. Geographically Bithynia was in the wrong direction—a detour at best. And the reason Paul was not to preach in Asia was to spur him on to travel through it quickly. So Paul must march on until he reaches the sea, where his travels end with no fruit for them. This he does, finally arriving at Troas—the famed Troy of the Trojan wars—a seaport which linked Asia and Macedonia. Paul’s travels, as we shall see later, are often connected with departures from harbors, and sea voyages. Paul was always departing somewhere on the work of the Lord, finding no rest here except in his Master’s service. The beloved Apostle even borrows seafaring language in referring to his end— “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” —2 Tim. 4:66For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. (2 Timothy 4:6).
Paul’s First Night Vision
The Lord’s mind is now given to Paul in a night vision. Up to this point the visions had all been in the daytime, for the Lord had been working with the Jews, who had been brought into the light of God the privileged position of the Jew—or Jewish proselytes, like Cornelius.
Here a man of Macedonia appears to him in the night; later at Corinth the Lord appears to him in the night. The vision is given in the night to symbolize the darkened moral state of the Grecian pagans in contrast to the Jews. At Troas the vision is given to evangelize; at Corinth there is another night vision, not only to speak unceasingly but to assure Paul that the Lord had many people in the city. The moral debauchery which characterized the people of Corinth partly lingered on in the Church and produced the Corinthian epistles to correct it. And so the visions concerning the Grecian pagans were night visions. They were under Satan’s power.
The “man of Macedonia” who appeared to Paul cannot be identified. Indeed, there is nothing to think that Paul viewed him as anything but emblematic of a need in that part of the world, for after the vision the record is silent. Yet the figure speaks loudly enough. Macedonia was the Northern part of Greece, out of which the world conqueror Alexander the Great arose. This man’s conquests were providentially ordered by God. The Greek language followed his victorious armies throughout the world and took firm root. Despite the later rise of Rome, the Greek language never lost its pre-eminence. Indeed, the Romans cultivated it too until it became the language of general use throughout the Roman Empire. Men in those days were divided into two classes those who spoke Greek and “barbarians” those who didn’t as in 28:2. For this reason the New Testament was written in Greek not Latin even the Epistle to the Romans. The Macedonians under Alexander the Great thus unwittingly paved the way for the universal message of the gospel, which commenced with them in Europe too.
The Westward March of Christianity
So at last Paul has direct divine guidance as to the direction the gospel is to take. It is to go westward. Let us pause and see why, for an understanding of this exposes as untrue the claim that Christianity is a Western religion. First of all, directions have to be based on some pivotal point or they are meaningless. Now God’s center is Jerusalem. As you go through your Bible, for example, you will come across such terms as “the King of the North” and “the King of the South.” What do they mean? Why simply the nation North or South of God’s earthly center Jerusalem. Very well, the first direction the gospel took was South of His earthly center not West at all. The Ethiopian Eunuch was the representative of the Queen of the South. The next general direction is West, and specifically in the West to Philippi, a Roman colony in Greece. The reason for this is the Lord’s prayer on the cross “Father forgive them.” Forgive whom? Why in a broad sense all men, but in a specific sense those who crucified Him and put a title over His cross in Hebrew, Greek and Latin (the latter the language of the Romans). The gospel had gone and was still going to the Hebrews. Now it must go to the other two classes the Greeks and the Romans. So the message of forgiveness is first preached to His enemies before it goes to the other nations of the earth. The grace of our God is an amazing thing.
The Roman Colony at Philippi
Philippi was named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. Even in Philip’s time it was a military outpost. He rebuilt it and fortified it against the warlike Thracians. Here too was fought the great battle between the Romans who sought to prolong the Republic and those emerging imperial forces which were to overthrow it. The triumphant Emperor Augustus established a colony here, settling it with war veterans. This is what is referred to in v. 12. A Roman colony was a miniature of Rome itself with Roman law, the Latin language spoken, etc. But a colony was primarily a military outpost, designed, like the interlocking system of roads throughout the Roman Empire, to enforce the “Pax Romana.” The Roman citizens of the colony and the residents were separate and distinct from each other.
The colony had its own magistrates, whose decrees were enforced by lictors (scourgers). These men carried a bundle of rods and an ax as the evidence of judicial power. The rods were for corrective punishment; the ax for capital punishment. Their beatings were brutal and merciless, with no limit on the number of blows, unlike the Jews who were under a divine restriction Deut. 25:33Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee. (Deuteronomy 25:3). They flayed or skinned their victims and bloodied them. Roman prisons followed the same merciless pattern. The stocks which held the prisoners were designed to torture them by spreading their limbs. The jailers were personally responsible for their prisoners. Under Roman law a jailer had to suffer the same punishment which would have been meted out to the prisoners whom he failed to detain by his negligence. To a pagan jailer therefore, death would be preferable to letting his prisoners escape. This is illustrated in the case of the Philippian jailer in our chapter who was going to commit suicide when he thought this had happened. Roman prisons, however, were designed for maximum security. They were generally constructed by excavating into the rock of a hill if the surrounding terrain lent itself to this.
This would explain why the earthquake at Philippi did not level the prison. The tremor would pass through the rock. Of course, both the earthquake and its effects of freeing the prisoners, were divine.
One more remark of interest should be added before we proceed with the chapter before us, and this is the great value attached to Roman citizenship in Paul’s times. It must not be thought of in terms of modern citizenship, either as to its possession or the privileges that went with it. In the time of the Republic, for example, the population of Italy was divided into three broad classes Roman citizens, and inhabitants of municipia, and Socii. Under the emperors, the general policy was to extend the Roman citizenship to others, but this liberalizing trend was accompanied by a lessening of its privileges. In general Roman citizens consisted of the citizens of the Roman tribes within specified geographical areas of Italy, the citizens of Roman colonies (as here at Philippi) and certain citizens of cities upon whom the Roman franchise was conferred (as Paul and Silas).1 Roman citizens were protected throughout the Empire from corporal punishment and imprisonment except after a legal trial. If found guilty of death it must be the honorable death of beheading, they were not to be thrown to lions, etc. This knowledge is necessary to understand the magistrates’ reaction when Paul claimed that his rights as a Roman citizen had been violated. In his orations Cicero stated that to accuse a Roman citizen falsely was a crime, to strike a Roman citizen was a felony, and to bind a Roman citizen was to be guilty of death. And behind this policy stood the naked power of Rome, represented by her dread, invincible legions.
The Work Begins in Europe
After Paul’s vision Luke is directly involved. Previous to that what he has been relating in the Acts must have been obtained verbally from Paul or others in private conversations. But starting from v. 10, Luke is a direct participant. These are the “we” sections of Acts. A commentator writes “we must add that the precise point at which the first-personal form of narrative begins is also intentional; for, if Luke changes here at random from third to first person, it would be absurd to look for purpose in anything he says. The first person, when used in the narrative of 16, 20, 21, 27, 28, marks the companionship of Luke and Paul; and, when we carry out this principle of interpretation consistently and minutely, it will prove an instructive guide. This is the nearest approach to personal reference that Luke permits himself; and he makes it subservient to his historical purpose by using it as a criterion of personal witness. Luke, therefore, entered into the drama of the Acts at Troas.”2 Surely Luke is introduced here to show us that he was an actual eyewitness to the beginning of evangelization of the European continent—an event of great importance in the history of the world. The historian must see what he is writing about at first hand.
The work opens quietly. There are only a few Jews at Philippi, because this garrison town provides no outlet for their commercial instincts. There are not enough to build a synagogue, but a few women meet together regularly to pray beside the river. Seeing them the apostolic party sits down and speaks to them.
The Lord opens the heart of one of them, Lydia, a Jewish proselyte. But why Lydia? Surely it was because He had temporarily stopped Paul from preaching in Asia, and he obeyed. To reward his obedience the Lord gives him a man and a woman from that Province— “Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the firstfruits of Asia for Christ” Rom. 16:55Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. (Romans 16:5)—and here Lydia, a woman from a city in Asia called Thyatira. Lydia was converted at the place where the women prayed together. Up to this point we do not read of prayer in the second mission, although the first mission started with prayer. As soon as we get prayer we get blessing. Lydia is baptized and her household. She invites the apostolic party to come into her house. Her large heart later opened her house to the assembly that was soon gathered in Philippi and which was such a cheer to Paul later. The meetings of the early Christians were often in houses—the only practical places to congregate safely. The Lord provided commodious houses for the purpose—the house of John Mark’s mother in Jerusalem where the prayer meeting was held is an example.3 Here in Europe Lydia is a prosperous business-woman and, we may be sure, with an equally commodious house. Even in such details the Lord takes care of His servants.
The Spirit of Python
The power of God in the first preaching in Europe would not appear to be much in man’s eyes. But Satan was more observant. Two unseen spiritual influences are now in conflict. These are the power of Satan in the damsel indwelt by the spirit of divination, and the power of prayer. The work of the second mission had opened with prayer, and it continues that way . . . “and it came to pass, as we were going to prayer, that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying. She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, these men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you the way of salvation. And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour” —16:16-19.
Out of this story emerges one of the great truths of Acts—that the Lord, through the members of His body, the Church—Eph. 1:22-2322And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:22‑23)—is continuing the work He did while He was on earth. In Israel He had cast out demons; here in a Gentile land His members do the same. His purpose was to relieve man from the oppression of the devil, and that purpose is unchanged here. It is the spirit Paul addresses—not the girl. She was under the spirit’s control, who, unable to stop the gospel, tried to corrupt it by an unholy alliance—that is by the devil testifying to God’s power. The expression “the Most High God” would fit almost anything—Jew or Gentile—for both confessed that much. Paul was a bondman of Jesus Christ—Rom. 1:11Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Romans 1:1), and it is in His Name he casts out the spirit. This grieves her masters. They had bought her as a piece of merchandise. They had formed a business partnership to profit by her distress. With the spirit gone, so were their future gains.
Persecution for the Gospel of Christ
Enraged, the masters of the poor girl single Paul and Silas out of the company and bring them to the magistrates and people assembled at the town marketplace. Playing upon the growing Roman dislike of the Jews4 they accuse them of being Jews who are subverting Roman customs in a Roman colony. They carefully conceal what really happened by appealing to the Roman prohibition of unauthorized conversions—and especially by detestable Jews. The people are immediately inflamed. It is possible the magistrates were not so sure and would have welcomed an opportunity to investigate the charges. But they yield to expediency. They issue the routine command in such cases— “go, lictors, strip off their garments, let them be scourged.” How Paul endured such savage beatings with the lictors’ rods three times—2 Cor. 11:2525Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; (2 Corinthians 11:25)—is hard to understand.
Then they are cast into the inner prison, and their feet are locked in the stocks. The jailer is not harsher than he would have been to other prisoners under similar circumstances. As a soldier he simply obeys orders. He could not know who was really behind those orders— “the devil shall cast some of you into prison” —Rev. 2:1010Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10). But now the devil has done his worst.
The Great Earthquake in the Prison
The setting of the prison scene which follows is really the interrupted prayer meeting. The spirit of divination harassed the Apostles “many days” as they went to prayer. Now the Apostles are arrested, and the prayer meeting broken up! Not at all. All Satan has done is transfer it to the prison where, added to the songs of Paul and Silas, the prisoners can hear them. “From heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those who are appointed to death” —Ps. 102:19, 20. No wonder there is a sudden great earthquake, the doors are opened, and everyone’s bands loosed. God shakes the earth because of the prayer meeting in this Gentile city, just as He did in 4:31— “when they had prayed the place was shaken.” This is what the gospel does to the chains and shackles Satan has forged for man. No wonder this chapter gives us the liberating power of the gospel on the whole Adam race—man, woman, and child. For here three persons who were converted at different times are mentioned a man (the Philippian jailer)—a woman (Lydia)—and a childhood conversion (Timothy)—2 Tim. 3:1515And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15).
The jailer instantly responds to the earthquake. First, he would kill himself with the sword, thinking only of the wrath of his superiors, for he feels certain the prisoners are gone. Assured they are not, his thoughts turn to the wrath of God. He had feared those who killed the body and after that had nothing more that they could do. Now a new fear grips him—fear for his soul. He cries out “sirs, what must I do to be saved?” It is lovely to see that God’s salvation meets all our needs body and soul. We are given eternal life for the soul now, and the promise of an incorruptible body later. Like the jailer the natural man would try to do something to be saved. Impossible. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” —Ti. 3:5. Man can do nothing for his salvation because Christ has done it all. So the Apostles reply “believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved and thy house” —16:31. Joyous news! The blessing at the beginning in Europe flows out to whole households who believe and are baptized—Lydia at the beginning of the work in Philippi—the jailer at the end. This characteristic of Christianity—bringing our families into the sphere of blessing—is a great mercy of the Lord. The jailer makes it dear that he really has been saved by washing the wounds of Paul and Silas, and feeding them in his own house.
The Apostle Asserts His Roman Citizenship
It is dear that both Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. Why then did they not claim the immunity to scourging this afforded them at the beginning, and why did Paul assert his citizenship when, we might say, its practical value was past? Clearly the tumult must have been such that any protests uttered would be drowned out by the mob. No magistrates in their right mind would knowingly have beaten Roman citizens. Paul did not assert his Roman citizenship at the end to humble the magistrates at Philippi, but to shelter the fledgling company of believers in that town by demonstrating his innocence. For they were connected with Paul in the public eye.
The magistrates have to confess that they have improperly scourged and imprisoned Roman citizens. They will be most careful in the future. Paul obeys their request to depart out of the city. But he does not depart a convicted criminal but a fully exonerated man, who has been publicly ill-treated and his rights violated. Also, he goes to the house of Lydia and encourages the brethren before departing. Thus, he does not leave precipitately, in haste, but in order. It is not he, but the magistrates, who fear. The brethren in Philippi are in less danger of being molested now. Luke stays behind, no doubt to encourage them. We know this because the 17th Chapter commences with “they” once more. We find him in Philippi in 20:5 when the next “we” division of the book recommences. What a self-effacing servant of Christ Luke was, to introduce and drop himself by such subtle means, which a careless reading of the text might not even notice.
The Four Prisons in Acts
The prison is the symbol of Satan’s power in the earth—now as then. In the fifth chapter of Acts there are six references to the apostles being put in prison. In the twelfth chapter there are five references to Peter in prison. Here in the sixteenth chapter there are seven references to Paul and Silas in prison. Imprisonment was the common lot of the church’s leadership. It was the penalty for preaching the gospel, to the Jew or to the Gentile.
There is a difference, though, in the prison experiences of the Apostle to the Jews—Peter, and the Apostle to the Gentiles—Paul corresponding to the moral distinction between Jew and Gentile. Peter is delivered by an angel—characteristically a Jewish deliverance 7:53. Paul, whose principle is faith, is delivered by the Lord. The door opens by itself in Peter’s prison; in Paul’s prison all the doors were immediately opened, and the bonds of all loosed—this by a great earthquake which shook the foundations of the prison. This is the power of the gospel in contrast to the law. There is a light in Peter’s prison; it is midnight in Paul’s and the jailer calls for a light. He gets the light of the glorious gospel in his darkened soul. There is doubtless more, but we will close this line of meditation by a sad observation. The Apostles in Chapter 5 went in and out of prison; Peter in Acts 12 went in and out of prison, but those whom Saul of Tarsus committed to prison are not recorded as leaving it—8:3; 26:10. That is one of the reasons Paul called himself “the chief of sinners” —1 Ti. 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15), and “less than the least of all saints” —Eph. 3:88Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; (Ephesians 3:8). This is how he rated himself in the eyes of both classes of men who comprise the world—saints and sinners. The contrast between his past life and the glorified Savior he saw on the road to Damascus who forgave him, made him the willing servant of Jesus Christ. No man ever served Christ so faithfully.
The Penetration of the Gospel in Europe
the Historical Imagery
The events which we have just considered had very far reaching historical consequences—far beyond what the modest account of them in Scripture would lead us to believe. For they shaped the course of the history of Europe for nearly two thousand years. Out of them flowed the clash between Christianity and the Roman Empire, the persecutions, and the corruption of the truth which ended in Roman Catholicism. Let us now review these events phase by phase and note the remarkable similarity between the flow of events in Acts and the historical reality.
. . . The Primitive Church—Here we see things in the state of first love. The Lord opens Lydia’s heart to receive the things spoken by Paul. In return she opens her house to receive the apostolic band. It becomes their meeting place. Prayer characterizes the day—not wooden sectarian prayers either. The assembly grows. Paul entreats them before departing Philippi. Luke is left behind to minister to their spiritual needs. They grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Later they minister to the Apostle’s temporal needs and he writes them a letter. This well-known epistle to the Philippians tells us how believers are to pass through a hostile world; it is the epistle of the desert journey.
This first phase of things represents the days of first love. The Church of God is a united whole, with no divisions. It presents a united front to the world. Better still, the hearts of the saints are right with God. Conversions out of paganism grow apace. But this leads to the next phase of things . . . the open conflict with paganism.
. . . The Conflict with paganism—The continent of Europe was thoroughly under the grip of Satan at the time of the introduction of the gospel. The female slave was indwelt by the spirit of Python. In Greek mythology this was the name of a serpent who guarded an oracle but was slain by Apollo. A graphic account of the domination of the ancient world by the devil is afforded us in Bury’s History of Greece “there is no more striking proof of the political importance of the oracle of Delphi... than the golden offerings dedicated by Croesus, offerings richer than even the priestly avarice of the Delphians could have dared to hope for. Wealthy though the Lord of Lydia was, genuine as was his faith in the inspiration of the oracle, he might hardly have sent such gifts if he had not wished to secure the political support of Apollo and believed that Apollo’s support was worth securing. His object was to naturalize himself as a member of the Greek world; to appear, not as an outsider, but as an adopted son of Hellas, ruling over the Greeks whom he had subdued and those whom he still hoped to subdue. Nothing would be more helpful than the good word of the Delphic oracle to compass such a reputation. Moreover, if one of the Asiatic cities contemplated rebellion, a discouraging reply from the oracle, which would assuredly be consulted, might stand the despot in good stead.”5
In addition to the oracles were the huge temples of the gods whose pillars in many cases can still be seen by tourists. The life of the ancient world revolved around these shrines and its wealth and talent were poured into them. All they represented was the deification of human lusts and the worship of demons. Christianity offered man a living hope beyond the tomb. Its rapid spread emptied the temples and enraged the priests. This is the figure given to us by Paul casting out the spirit of Python. The “female slave” could no longer bring profit to her masters, being free herself. When we look at the remains of these huge edifices in which “the spirit of Python” dwelt, we can but marvel at how Paul overthrew such a system with his few helpers. But this was the might of the same God who strengthened Samson to bow the pillars of the temple. The pagan priests, however, did not give up without a struggle. An intimation of their future actions is given us in the historical imagery of Acts. The masters of the female slave brought Paul and Silas before the Roman magistrates. The populace too rose against them. Scourging, bonds, and imprisonment followed. These actions had their historical counterpart in the persecution of Christianity under the Emperors. This was anticipated in Rev. 2:1010Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10) “ye shall have tribulation ten days.” This was so cruel that it can hardly be imagined. Nero put pitch on the bodies of Christians, lifted them on stakes, and set them on fire at night as human torches. Other Emperors displayed as much or more cruelty. They were thrown to lions, burned alive, molten lead poured down their throats, and in the late persecutions their remains denied burial. The test of a Christian was whether he would burn incense to the Emperor’s image. When he refused this divine worship he was led away to unspeakable horrors. Unquestionably these early martyrs were divinely strengthened to undergo such ordeals. Neither beauty nor age were spared. Polycarp, the aged bishop of Smyrna, who had known the Apostle John personally, was burned alive at the age of 90.
... Victory over Paganism: Emergence of Roman Catholicism—In the Acts Paul is released honorably from prison, claiming his Roman citizenship. He then goes to the house of Lydia, exhorts the brethren, and departs. This is a foreshadowing of the honorable status attained by Christianity following the persecutions. The Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity and it became the great public religion throughout the Empire from that period forward. But during the period of the persecutions there was a gradual departure from the primitive Christianity practiced in the house of Lydia. Ecclesiastical offices multiplied beyond reason and superstition flourished. Christianity was made popular with the masses by retaining pagan feasts and customs and giving them Christian names. The adoration of the saints replaced the worship of the gods. At the same time internal corruption turned the Lord’s supper into the mass etc. The reader who wants more details is referred to “The Two Babylons.”6 Withrow, too, writes “the rapid extension of Christianity in the metropolis of the Empire enhanced the influence and dignity of the Roman bishops. With the increase of wealth and decay of piety these dignitaries became ambitious and worldly, arrogant and aspiring, and laid the foundations of that vast system of spiritual despotism which for centuries crushed the civil and religious liberties of Europe.” And again... “the word ‘papa’ or pope, does not occur in the Catacombs till at least the latter part of the fourth century.”7
In the foreshadowing of this Paul leaves the prison and encourages the brethren in Lydia’s house. The house in Scripture is frequently a figure of the house of God. Thus Paul’s testimony remained. But the character of things had changed (we speak figuratively here not the actual house of Lydia). So Paul departed. This may be a hint of that purging action represented by the break with Rome at the time of the Reformation. It is encouraging to see in all this that God knew the heart of man from the beginning, and how he would first persecute, and then corrupt the truth. “I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done” Isa. 46:9, 109Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (Isaiah 46:9‑10).
What sustained the early Christians in these perplexing conditions and ever changing times was the same truth which strengthens us. It is contained in the Scripture “Thou remainest” Heb. 1:1111They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; (Hebrews 1:11). They were upheld by the love of “Jesus Christ the Same, yesterday and today and forever” Heb. 13:88Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8). Yea, Lord, truly, “Thou remainest.”
“Yes, ‘Thou remainest,’ sea and land
E’en heaven shall pass, but Thou shalt stand:
Undimmed Thy radiancy appears,
Changeless through all the changing years”8