In this week’s message Gary teaches on the travels of Paul and his sermon on Mars Hill.
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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. And now, here's Gary.
00:18We've been following the progress of the church from Pentecost on through the various missionary
00:23journeys, the Jerusalem Council, all the things that happened in Antioch, the splitting up of
00:29Paul and Barnabas, Paul's guidance by the Spirit across Asia Minor into Philippi and Macedonia
00:37on his second missionary journey. We've just been looking at this from the perspective of
00:43the leading of the Spirit. And the reason this is valuable to us, and it's valuable to me,
00:49is because it shows me how God works. If you can see how God worked in the lives of the apostles,
00:56you can see how He works today. And I think sometimes, and I know I'm guilty of this,
01:02sometimes we just overlook God. We tend to think He's not here. He's not watching. But He is.
01:12And learning how to be conscious of the leading of the Spirit is a very, very big part of being
01:17a Christian. You have in Acts 16.16, the story of the woman, the young woman, who was possessed with
01:27the spirit of divination. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with
01:32the spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters, much gained by soothsaying or fortune-telling.
01:38The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God,
01:45which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved,
01:52turned and said to the Spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And He
01:57came out the same hour. I wanted to talk a little bit about the spirit of divination,
02:03divination. And the way a spirit of divination works. You know, you drive down the street and
02:10you see a sign, maybe on a strip mall window, that says, Lady Divine, fortunes told, you know.
02:19And there's a picture of a crystal ball on the window, something like that. And people pay good
02:24money to go in and have their fortunes told. And very often, they get the feeling that there was a
02:29legitimate transaction there, that they actually had their fortune told. And in fact, they may have
02:35had their fortune told, because demonic powers do have certain limited abilities that will validate
02:42their presence. Now, in the case of this woman with the spirit of divination, she was operating
02:49in the spirit of Pytho, which is what it says, or Python, the great serpent. The original name,
02:57by the way, of Delphi, was the word Pytho or Python. There had been, according to the Greeks,
03:03a great battle in the heavens between Apollo and the spirit of Python, and the Python lost.
03:09And he was cast down into this little abyss by Mount Parnassus. And in those days, apparently,
03:20there were several rifts in the rock of Mount Parnassus that were venting gases of some sort.
03:26And you could go and get a whiff of that gas and sort of send you into another mindset,
03:32another mental state. And young women were regularly exposed to this gas in the vents at Mount
03:38Parnassus. And they would receive this spirit of Pytho. From that point on, they would go into a
03:46trance whenever requested, and they would have the ability then to prophesy. Well, if you read history,
03:52what was happening to those young women is that they were being possessed by evil spirits.
03:58In that day, since Greece was wholly given over to idolatry with no resistance, that is,
04:05there was no Holy Spirit of God to resist all this idolatry, then it became quite a permanent
04:10thing in their lives to be possessed of this spirit of Pytho. And then these young ladies had their
04:18handlers, their priests, and they would go forth and they would prophesy for money. Now, notice what
04:24this young woman is saying as she is prophesying in the spirit of Pytho. These men are servants of
04:32the Most High God, which show unto us, it says in the King James, the way of salvation. Now, somebody
04:39pointed out to me last week that they had heard that in the original Greek, it really doesn't say
04:45that exactly. That is, it doesn't say, which show unto us the way of salvation, but rather it says
04:54a way of salvation. And so I went back this week and did a very deep word study and a historical
05:02analysis of this phrase, and sure enough, it does not say exactly what the King James renders it as
05:10saying. This girl is saying, this girl is saying, these men are servants of the Most High. Well, it doesn't say
05:18that. You know what it really says? It says, these men are slaves of the God Most High. And it uses the word
05:29doulos or douloi, which means to be an indentured servant or a bond slave. Well, she is basically
05:39misstating the whole idea of salvation because salvation is not slavery. Salvation is liberation.
05:48But she was characterizing salvation as being enslaved or indentured to the Most High God.
05:55Now, the Most High God, from the Greek perspective, would be the God Apollo. This Most High God would not
06:04be Jehovah. So this young lady had it wrong in a lot of ways. These men are servants of Apollo,
06:15which show unto us a way of salvation. Well, that's not the correct way to talk about salvation.
06:23The correct way to talk about salvation is to say that only through the Lord Jesus Christ
06:28can we obtain salvation. There's only one way. There are not a number of ways that
06:34so she was really misrepresenting the gospel. Verse 18 says,
06:39And this she did many days, but Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit,
06:45he directed his words in the power of God's Holy Spirit against this Spirit. And he said,
06:52I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out of her that same hour.
06:57Now, this got Paul in a lot of trouble. He was drawn into the marketplace and accused of being
07:06a Jewish troublemaker. And verse 21 says they're teaching customs, which are not lawful for us to
07:14receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And so the charge against Paul and Silas and others
07:20made before the Roman magistrates is that these men are violating Roman law, that is the cult of the
07:27Caesars, by teaching a foreign god. The cult of the Caesars had originated under Caesar Augustus
07:36about 10 B.C. and was terminated in the reign of Theodosius I in 390, which means that there was
07:45about a 400-year period in the Roman Empire from 10 B.C. to 390 A.D. when Caesar was held up as God.
07:57And this is in that period. This is in the early part of that period. And so Paul and the others
08:03had violated the cult of the Caesars, broken Roman law. They were teaching customs, manners, morals,
08:13and laws, which is not lawful to observe. Verse 22 says the multitude rose up together against them
08:22and the magistrates tore off their clothes, commanded to beat them. And when they had laid
08:28many stripes upon them, they cast them in prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who,
08:33having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in stocks.
08:38And of course, of course, in the Philippian jailer, Paul's release from prison. The people who had
08:44imprisoned him, thinking that they had done a good thing, discovered that in fact they had ordered
08:51Roman citizens to be beaten without a charge, which was strictly against Roman law. Paul and the others
08:58could have brought charges against them. And what did Paul do? Well, he reminded them,
09:05we're Romans. What you did to us was not legal. Now, this whole series of events
09:13is a perfect example of life as a Christian. You're doing what God wants you to do. You're
09:22following the will of the Lord. And all of a sudden, along will come from left field, something
09:28comes along and crosses your path. In this case, it was the young lady with the spirit
09:34of Pytho, which raised a series of local concerns, which caused Paul, Silas, the others to be
09:42jailed, which caused the conversion of the Philippian jailer and Paul's release from prison
09:49and Paul's ability to stand up before the magistrates and say, hey, we're Roman citizens.
09:54And that whole episode was brought about by the spirit of God. Now, if you are not looking
10:01at this from the perspective of God's spirit operating, you would say Paul had to run a
10:05bad luck. It's really bad luck that he ran into this young lady preaching for the spirit
10:11of Pytho. It was bad luck that he got beaten in public and humiliated. It was bad luck that
10:18he got thrown in jail. It was not. It was the will of God operating through his spirit that
10:24brought about a series of events, which in and of themselves looked horrible, but in
10:30fact were planned to cause the gospel to go forth in a particular direction. And that's
10:35what the whole book of Acts is about. It's the history of the Holy Spirit, how the Holy
10:40Spirit guides people. We don't read it that way very often. We tend to read it from a purely
10:46historical perspective and not reading between the lines to see how God's spirit guides people.
10:53This is applicable to me, to my personal life, because things are constantly happening to
10:59me that I did not predict and that I think are troublesome, even worrisome and induce fear.
11:06And will I make it through this? And have I made the right decision here? And on and on and on.
11:11Sometimes you wish, I wish life were more predictable. I wish I could just set a course and have everything
11:16just work beautifully in the Lord and never have a moment's problem and never have these hard
11:21decisions to make and on and on and on. But if you read the Bible, all of God's people
11:27have these moments. Wham! You hit something head on and your first impression is, oh, bad luck.
11:36Well, if you're a Christian, there's no such thing as bad luck. I got to tell you. Because you're being
11:42guided by the Holy Spirit. And he is moving you through a series of events in your life,
11:48and if you will cooperate with him and seek his guidance, he will take you through to where you
11:55should be. And you'll look back and you'll say, wow, that was fantastic. But looking forward,
12:02you say, ooh, I dread this. You know? This is life. This is life. And so as we read Acts,
12:10now we come down to verse 40 of chapter 16, and they went out of prison and entered the house of
12:17Lydia. And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed. And so Paul and Silas
12:25now are heading southwest and south into Macedonia. And Christian tradition says that Dr. Luke,
12:33at this point, between Acts 16 and 17, goes in another direction. He heads north and then back to
12:42Antioch. But that's another story. We now follow Paul and Silas. Now when they had passed through
12:51Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his
12:59manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures.
13:05Now Paul does not observe Sabbaths. He does not observe the law anymore. As a new man in Christ
13:13Jesus, he's freed from the law, and he spends much of his life preaching that. But when he deals with
13:20the Jews, he goes in to the Jews on Sabbath day where they're meeting in the synagogue.
13:25Saul, Rabbi Saul of Tarsus, was one of the great rabbis in all of history. Studied under Gamaliel
13:32and was a brilliant, brilliant man. And don't you know that when he sat down on those three
13:37Sabbath days with those rabbis in Thessalonica, that they had never heard anything like this
13:45in their entire lives. Whoa! The way he's reading the scriptures. And notice what Paul is teaching
13:51here in verse 3. Opening and alleging, as his manner was. Opening and alleging. In other words,
14:03you raise a subject and you begin to defend a subject. Opening and alleging that Christ must
14:12needs have suffered and risen again from the dead. And that this Jesus, whom I preach to
14:19you, is Christ, is the Messiah. So he goes into the synagogue, and that verse 3 right there
14:26is one of the clearest statements of the core of the gospel that you'll ever find in scripture.
14:33Verse 3 says he's opening and alleging, that is proving. You make a conjecture or a contention,
14:39and then you prove your contention, which is what opening and alleging means, that Christ
14:47must, it was necessary for Christ to have suffered and risen again from the dead. This Jesus, whom
14:56I preach unto you, is Christ. Now think about what he's doing here. He's going into a synagogue.
15:02He's talking to Jews who are living in the expectation of the coming of the Messiah. And by the way,
15:08they were. Because during the reign of Caesar Augustus, the rabbis were teaching that the
15:15prophecies of particularly the minor prophets, and in particular, the prophecy of Malachi and the
15:23prophecy of Daniel were very close to fulfillment. So the rabbis in the days of the coming of Jesus
15:30were teaching that scripture was about to be fulfilled. And indeed, it was. But they missed it.
15:37That is, they missed the interpretation. So now Paul comes along, and he says, fellas,
15:43I want to tell you something. Here's the thing you missed about the Messiah. It was necessary
15:50for him to die, to suffer and to die for the sins of mankind, and then to rise from the dead.
15:59Now, where in Old Testament scripture do we read about this? Everywhere. The whole Old Testament
16:08is all about the coming of the Messiah. And it talks about his suffering. It talks about
16:13his dying. It talks about his rising again. Psalm 22 speaks about the crucifixion. I mean,
16:19you can just go on and on and on in the Old Testament and read about how it was necessary for Jesus
16:25to come and to suffer and to die. And this is what he went into these synagogues and preached
16:31everywhere he preached. Now, that's a revolutionary idea to a Jew. Go to any Jew today who is an
16:42Orthodox Jew and say, did you know that the Old Testament teaches that it's necessary for Messiah
16:49to suffer and to die and to rise again from the dead? Do you know that the Old Testament actually
16:54teaches that? And most of the time you'll get kicked in the shins, you know. They just don't
16:59want to hear that. And that's what Paul did all the time, day in, day out, particularly on these
17:07Sabbath days. Then concluding with this idea, and that this Jesus whom I preach to you is Christ.
17:15And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas. In other words, they joined together
17:22with Paul and Silas. And of the devout Greeks, that is, of the religious Greeks, a great multitude,
17:31and of the chief women, not a few. Luke wrote Acts, and he uses this inverse statement very often.
17:39When he says not a few, he means a whole bunch. But this is Luke's way of saying that a whole bunch
17:47of people in Thessalonica began to follow Paul and Silas. But the Jews, which believed not, moved with
17:54envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, which is one of the most interesting
18:02expressions, I think, in the New Testament, lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company
18:09and set all the city in an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out
18:14to the people. Once again, what do you do if somebody's giving you trouble? You raise a riot,
18:20you march in the street, you've got your placards or whatever, and you march back and forth and say,
18:26down with Paul, down with Paul, you know, corruptors of Judaism, corruptors of Judaism,
18:33string them up, or whatever you have written on your poster. In a pagan society, this practice
18:40becomes more and more and more prevalent. Well, the Grecian society was wholly given over to paganism,
18:47and anything that didn't agree with them in particular, they'd riot about it. Famous riots
18:52in Greek history. I mean, it's a very thick book, and there are historical compilations of such.
19:00So, these Jews who resisted Paul's preaching of the gospel, the Bible says they moved with envy,
19:09and they took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort. These were guys who hung out in the
19:18agora. Every city has an agora. That's the Greek word for marketplace. In our town, we have, for
19:26example, Penn Square Mall, which is an agora, or Quail Springs Mall, or we have open-air markets. All of
19:35these places would be places where people gather. They are agoras, and there are people who hang out
19:42in agoras. These are these lewd fellows of the baser sort. In the Greek, it's tonagorion,
19:48tinos andros paneros, which translates into English, as wicked men of the market loafers. Market loafers.
19:57Guys that hang around the agora with nothing to do all day. Does that sound familiar? Yeah, it does.
20:04You can find those people and whip them up into a frenzy. No problem at all. This is what Paul
20:12runs into again and again and again everywhere he goes. By the way, it is the thugs of Thessalonica.
20:23They're thugs, and they can be whipped up into a frenzy. No problem at all. They assaulted the house of
20:32Jason. Jason appears in Acts 17, 5, 6, 7, and 9, and then over in Romans 16, 21, Jason is mentioned.
20:43Jason is a Jewish Christian. He is a relative of Paul. Most history books say that he's a cousin
20:50of Paul, and he was very important in the ministry of Paul and Silas. And when they found them not,
20:58they drew Jason and certain brethren into the rulers of the city crying, these that have turned the world
21:06upside down are come hither also. They've caused trouble everywhere they've gone, and they're causing
21:13trouble now here, whom Jason has received. So Jason is acting as host for the group, and these all do
21:21contrary to the decrees of Caesar. In other words, these people are breaking the law of the cult of Caesar.
21:28Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. In other words, here's the charge under Roman law.
21:39If you teach that there is any other king besides Caesar, you're liable for charges.
21:47And they troubled the people. They disturbed the people and the rulers of the city when they heard
21:51these things. And when they had taken security of Jason and the other, they let him go.
21:57Interesting. Jason made bond, is what this says. They jailed him. They let him out on bond.
22:06They took security. They let them go. Jason was apparently very well known locally in Thessalonica,
22:13and now Jason becomes public enemy number one, because he's now joining with this preaching team.
22:21Again, I want you to look at this from the perspective of the leading of the Holy Spirit,
22:27because all of this
22:30is
22:33the way that the Spirit of God leads people where He wants them to go.
22:39by allowing certain things to happen, by causing certain things to happen that dictate the course
22:46of life. And I can't be too firm on this point.
22:56Man proposes, God disposes. You make plans, God may have other plans.
23:02Now, Berea is about 38 miles south and west of where they are,
23:20and
23:21who, coming thither, went into the synagogue of the Jews.
23:26These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,
23:28in that they received the word with all readiness of mind
23:32and searched the Scriptures daily,
23:34whether those things were so.
23:36So they took up Paul's challenge.
23:38When he opened and alleged
23:40that Christ must have died
23:42in order to fulfill the Scriptures,
23:45the Bereans here,
23:48instead of fighting him on the subject,
23:50they went back to Scripture
23:51and read it
23:52and proved to themselves
23:55whether he was right or wrong.
23:56And guess what?
23:58Everything Paul says is written in Scripture.
24:00And by the way, they had all the Old Testament,
24:02every one of them had Old Testament
24:04scrolls,
24:05because, as we mentioned last week,
24:07by that time,
24:08the Septuagint scrolls
24:10were readily available
24:12all over the empire.
24:13And it would be very easy
24:15for any of these Jews
24:17to read
24:18the Old Testament Scriptures
24:19in Koine Greek,
24:21which was their native language.
24:22And so when it says
24:24that they're opening
24:26the Scriptures,
24:28searching the Scriptures daily,
24:30whether those things were so,
24:32they are probably reading
24:33the Septuagint Bible.
24:36But it doesn't matter
24:36whether they read it
24:37in Hebrew or Greek.
24:39It says what it says.
24:41Therefore, many of them believed.
24:43They read it in the Scripture,
24:45and they said,
24:46ah, Paul is just exactly right
24:48in what he says.
24:50I guess he must be right.
24:52And they began to believe.
24:54Also of honorable women,
24:57which were Greeks,
24:59and of men,
25:00not a few.
25:02Which is, again,
25:03that's Luke's way.
25:05And why he uses that idiom,
25:07I don't know.
25:07You find it all the way
25:08through the Gospel of Luke,
25:10and you find his writing style
25:13all the way through Acts.
25:15It lets you know
25:16that Luke has a particular
25:18personal touch
25:19that he puts on this.
25:22Not a few.
25:23In other words,
25:23a whole bunch.
25:25And when the Jews
25:26of Thessalonica
25:27had knowledge
25:27that the Word of God
25:28was preached of Paul
25:30at Berea,
25:32uh-oh,
25:33they came thither also
25:34and stirred up the people.
25:36Once again,
25:37it's just like clockwork.
25:38Everywhere you go,
25:39you go in,
25:40you preach,
25:41you make converts,
25:42you make enemies.
25:44The enemies tell other enemies
25:45the Word gets back
25:47to Thessalonica.
25:50Hey, they're doing
25:51the same thing
25:51down at Berea.
25:52We need to go down there
25:53and mess up those people.
25:56Which is what happened.
25:58They sent mobs,
26:00basically.
26:02And verse 14 says,
26:03And then immediately
26:04the brethren sent away Paul
26:06to go, as it were,
26:07to the sea.
26:08But Silas and Timotheus
26:11abode there still.
26:13Now, this is fascinating to me.
26:15And again,
26:17it's exhibit A
26:18on how the Holy Spirit works.
26:21Because the game plan
26:24on the second missionary journey
26:26had been to go by land.
26:30And the plan had been
26:32to go to Philippi,
26:34Apollonia,
26:38Thessalonica,
26:39down to Berea,
26:40and south to Olympus,
26:44and south to Eganesia,
26:47and south to
26:48two or three other cities
26:51in central Macedonia.
26:54And I'm not saying
26:55that some of the other
26:56disciples didn't go that way,
26:59but Paul,
27:00because of this rioting
27:01and because they think
27:02it's not going to be safe
27:03for him to continue
27:04southward,
27:05goes to the sea,
27:06and he takes a boat
27:08and sails all the way down
27:11the east coast
27:13of the Aegean Sea
27:14to Athens,
27:16200 miles to the south.
27:18And the others
27:19stay up here
27:20in and around Berea,
27:23and then they also
27:24come by land
27:25southward,
27:26which takes them
27:27a lot longer.
27:27So essentially,
27:29Paul and the leadership,
27:31probably Silas at least,
27:33but it's uncertain
27:35at this point
27:36in history,
27:37now go to Athens.
27:39And so that's what
27:39you're reading here.
27:41And what causes this?
27:43Trouble.
27:43That's what causes
27:44the whole thing.
27:46And again,
27:47the Holy Spirit of God
27:48is allowing this
27:49to happen.
27:51So verse 10 says,
27:53And the brethren
27:54immediately sent away
27:55Paul and Silas
27:56by night
27:56unto Berea,
27:58who coming thither
27:59went into the synagogue
28:00of the Jews.
28:01These were more noble
28:02than those in Thessalonica
28:03in that they received
28:04the word with all
28:05readiness of mind,
28:06searched the Scriptures
28:07daily,
28:08whether those things
28:09were so.
28:10Therefore,
28:10many of them believed
28:11also of honorable men
28:13which were Greeks
28:14and of men,
28:16not of honorable women
28:17which were Greeks
28:17and of men,
28:18not of few.
28:19But when the Jews
28:20of Thessalonica
28:21had knowledge
28:22that the word of God
28:23was preached of Paul
28:24at Berea,
28:25they came thither also.
28:26And they that conducted
28:38Paul brought him
28:39unto Athens
28:40and receiving a commandment
28:43unto Silas
28:44and Timotheus
28:46for to come to him
28:47with all speed
28:48they departed.
28:50So they're now going
28:51their separate ways.
28:52This place is Paul
28:55in Athens.
28:57Essentially,
28:57he's a lone wolf.
28:59He's out here,
29:00uncharted territory.
29:03This journey started
29:04in Syria of Cilicia
29:07and went across
29:08Central Asia Minor.
29:10Remember God said,
29:11I don't want you
29:12to go north
29:12to Byzantium.
29:14I don't want you
29:16to go south
29:18into Asia Minor.
29:20I want you to go
29:21west
29:22into Macedonia.
29:24He sailed across
29:25the Aegean.
29:26He landed at Neapolis.
29:28He went to Philippi.
29:30And then from Philippi,
29:31he went down
29:31to Amphipolis,
29:33Apollonius,
29:34then down
29:35to
29:36Thessalonica,
29:39to Berea.
29:39He was going
29:41to go south,
29:42but trouble
29:43came,
29:44and he was forced
29:45to take a sea route.
29:46Now he goes south
29:47to
29:48Athens.
29:52And this is
29:53fortuitous.
29:55This section of Scripture
29:56is really amazing.
29:58Now while Paul
29:59waited for them
30:00at Athens,
30:01his spirit
30:01was stirred
30:02in him.
30:05When he saw
30:06the city
30:07wholly
30:08given
30:08to idolatry,
30:09now I've never
30:10been to Athens.
30:11A lot of people
30:11have,
30:12and they always
30:13talk about
30:14tours of the
30:16Acropolis,
30:17you know,
30:18and the
30:19old Agora,
30:20the marketplace,
30:21and the Parthenon,
30:22and all the things
30:23that you see.
30:25Well,
30:25all those tourist
30:26shots that you see
30:27of Athens
30:28are exactly
30:29where Paul
30:30was standing
30:30when he
30:31preached,
30:33as we're going
30:34to see this morning.
30:37But,
30:38before he goes
30:39to the
30:43Acropolis,
30:44he follows
30:45his usual
30:46pattern.
30:48Therefore,
30:50disputed he
30:53in the synagogue
30:53with the Jews
30:55and with the
30:56devout
30:56or religious
30:57persons
30:58and in the
30:59market daily
31:00with them
31:01that met him.
31:03Goes to the
31:04synagogue,
31:05makes his presence
31:06known with the
31:07Jewish population
31:08of Athens.
31:09Who would
31:10these people
31:10be?
31:13These people
31:14in the
31:16synagogues
31:16of Athens
31:17would be
31:19100%
31:20Hellenistic
31:21Jews.
31:23That is to say,
31:24they were
31:25Greek-speaking
31:25Jews who
31:27were Athenians
31:28first and Jews
31:29second.
31:29but they
31:32lived in the
31:33traditions
31:33of Judaism.
31:36However,
31:37their method
31:39of analyzing
31:40scripture
31:40was Gnostic.
31:42And that
31:43comes from the
31:44Greek word
31:44Gnosis,
31:45which means
31:46to know.
31:47And these
31:48people were
31:48called Gnostic
31:49Jews.
31:51Gnostics
31:52had a
31:53series of
31:53beliefs.
31:55And the
31:55series of
31:56beliefs that
31:56they had
31:57were based
31:58upon the
31:59idea,
32:00the central
32:01core idea,
32:03that God,
32:05whom they
32:06referred to
32:06as the
32:07prime mover,
32:09they didn't
32:09call him
32:10God.
32:11When they
32:11used the
32:12word
32:12theos,
32:13the Greek
32:14word for
32:14God,
32:15they were
32:15referring to
32:16what the
32:16philosophers
32:17called the
32:17prime mover.
32:20And the
32:20prime mover
32:21was a
32:22distant
32:23force or
32:25power that
32:26controlled
32:26everything.
32:28And this
32:30distant
32:30force or
32:31power
32:32would never,
32:37ever,
32:37ever make
32:38contact with
32:39earth or
32:40with human
32:40beings.
32:42Never.
32:43Because as
32:45the Greek
32:45philosophers all
32:46said,
32:48earth was
32:48a foul,
32:51soiled,
32:54miserable
32:55place,
32:57filled with
32:59stinking,
33:00miserable
33:00creatures,
33:02and wars,
33:04and
33:04disobedience,
33:05and sin.
33:06And therefore,
33:07said the
33:08Greeks,
33:09God would
33:09never touch
33:10this planet
33:11with a
33:11ten-foot pole.
33:12That's my
33:12addition,
33:13with a
33:13ten-foot pole.
33:14I'm sure
33:15they didn't
33:15say that,
33:16but that's
33:16what they
33:16meant.
33:18God would
33:19never touch
33:20earth,
33:21ever.
33:22So how
33:25did they
33:25explain then
33:26spirituality?
33:27Well,
33:27they explained
33:28spirituality
33:29through what
33:30are called
33:31demiurgoi,
33:32the demiurge,
33:34which are
33:35like forces
33:36that would
33:38radiate from
33:39the person
33:39of God,
33:40and they
33:41radiated
33:42outward like
33:43rings in
33:45a puddle
33:45or in
33:47a pond
33:47or like
33:49concentric
33:50spheres
33:51radiating
33:51out from
33:52an explosion.
33:53And eventually
33:54these radiations
33:56or demiurgies
33:57would touch
33:58the earth.
33:59And these
34:00demiurgies
34:01had personality.
34:02One of them
34:03was called
34:03Sophia,
34:04the goddess
34:04of wisdom,
34:05for example.
34:07But there
34:08were many
34:08demiurgoi
34:09that touched
34:11the earth
34:12spiritually,
34:14not physically,
34:15and this is
34:16very important.
34:17God would
34:18never make
34:19physical contact
34:20with this
34:20planet,
34:21only spiritual
34:22contact,
34:24and so
34:24that if a
34:26demiurge,
34:27for example,
34:28like a
34:28Sybil,
34:30or like
34:32an Apollo,
34:34was capable
34:35of manifesting
34:36itself in
34:37the form
34:38of a
34:39person,
34:40it was not
34:41really a
34:41person of
34:42flesh and
34:42blood,
34:43it was a
34:43spiritual
34:44person.
34:45So that
34:46anything of
34:47God that
34:47touched the
34:48earth was
34:48spiritual in
34:49nature and
34:49not physical
34:50in nature.
34:52That's what
34:53they believed.
34:54That's what
34:55Gnostics believed
34:56then,
34:57that's what
34:57Gnostics
34:57believe today,
34:59that when
35:01God touches
35:02the earth,
35:03he touches
35:04it spiritually,
35:05he does not
35:05touch it
35:06physically,
35:06because he
35:07would never
35:07bespoil
35:09himself,
35:10he would
35:10never soil
35:11himself by
35:12touching this
35:13planet.
35:14and these
35:18are the
35:18kind of
35:18people Paul
35:19is arguing
35:20with,
35:21and what's
35:21his argument?
35:22We know
35:22what his
35:23argument is,
35:23we read
35:24about it,
35:25verse 3 of
35:26chapter 17,
35:27opening and
35:28alleging that
35:29Christ must
35:30needs have
35:30suffered and
35:31risen again
35:31from the
35:32dead,
35:32this Jesus
35:33whom I
35:34preach unto
35:34you is
35:35Christ.
35:35In other
35:35words,
35:37a physical
35:38being,
35:38Jesus
35:40is the
35:42Messiah,
35:44and he
35:44could be
35:47touched
35:47physically,
35:48even to
35:49the point
35:49that he
35:49died,
35:51but he
35:51rose again
35:52as a
35:54physical
35:54being.
35:56This is
35:56the core
35:57of the
35:57gospel.
35:58The Gnostic
35:59gospels and
36:00the philosophical
36:01teachings of
36:03the Greeks,
36:04which come
36:04down through
36:05European society
36:06and Western
36:07civilization into
36:10the teachings
36:11of, for
36:11example,
36:12David Hume
36:12and other
36:13philosophers,
36:15the Gnostic
36:16philosophers have
36:18this central
36:19core idea
36:20that, yes,
36:20there was a
36:21Jesus, but
36:22he didn't
36:23come in a
36:23physical body,
36:24he came as
36:25a spirit
36:25being, and
36:26he lived
36:26on earth
36:27for 33
36:27years, and
36:29he went
36:29through the
36:29motions of
36:31everything that
36:32is said
36:33about him,
36:33and then at
36:34the end of
36:34that time,
36:35he went
36:35back up
36:37into the
36:38heavens again
36:38to rejoin
36:39his place
36:40with the
36:42prime mover,
36:43but he
36:44never physically
36:45touched the
36:46earth, Jesus
36:46was a spirit
36:48and not a
36:49physical body.
36:51That's the
36:51spirit of the
36:52Antichrist,
36:53according to
36:53Paul in
36:531 John, he
36:54says this is
36:55the spirit of
36:56the Antichrist,
36:57any who say
36:58that Jesus
36:59did not come
37:00to earth in
37:00the flesh are
37:01of the
37:02Antichrist.
37:03So the
37:04Antichrist is
37:04going to be
37:04a Gnostic
37:05who will
37:08not teach
37:09the personal
37:10physical presence
37:11of the
37:12Lord Jesus
37:12Christ, but
37:13rather that
37:14there is a
37:15Christ spirit
37:15which manifests
37:17itself from
37:18time to time
37:19to time down
37:19through history,
37:20and the
37:20Antichrist will
37:21say, I
37:22have the
37:23Christ spirit,
37:24it's the
37:24very same
37:24spirit that
37:25was in
37:25Jesus in
37:27the first
37:27century, and
37:28so he will
37:29present himself
37:30in that way.
37:31The Antichrist
37:32is a
37:32Gnostic.
37:34So, when
37:36Paul goes
37:36to Athens, he's
37:37right in the
37:38hotbed of
37:39Gnosticism, he's
37:40right in the
37:41heart of it, by
37:42himself, he
37:43took a boat
37:44down, sailed
37:45200 miles,
37:46meanwhile his
37:47brethren are up
37:48north, coming
37:49south by land
37:50from Berea, and
37:54while Paul is
37:56there, he's
37:59knowing the
38:01mind of Paul,
38:02he's working
38:02out a
38:03strategy, and
38:06he met with
38:07people, he's
38:08establishing a
38:09base of
38:10operations.
38:10Verse 18,
38:11then certain
38:12philosophers of
38:13the Epicureans
38:14and the
38:16Stoics
38:17encountered it.
38:20And of
38:21course in the
38:21marketplace you're
38:22going to run
38:23into the
38:26hoi polloi,
38:26the masses.
38:27And some
38:29said, what
38:31will this
38:31babbler say?
38:36Others
38:37said, he
38:38seems to be
38:39a setter
38:40forth of
38:41strange gods,
38:43because he
38:45preached unto
38:46them Jesus
38:47and the
38:48resurrection.
38:50And what that
38:51says in the
38:51Greek, in
38:52verse 18, it
38:54seems like he's
38:55preaching foreign
38:57demons, demons
39:00that we don't
39:00know anything
39:01about.
39:02Everybody knows
39:03there are demons
39:03here, demons
39:04there.
39:04In fact, the
39:05Greeks were big
39:06on demonology.
39:07In fact, the
39:08Greeks curried
39:10favor with the
39:11demons.
39:11They thought the
39:12way to get
39:12blessed was to
39:14make friends with
39:14a demon.
39:15How do you
39:15make friends
39:16with a demon?
39:16Well, you leave
39:17out food offerings,
39:18you go to a
39:19place where demons
39:20are known to
39:21dwell, for
39:21example, down by
39:22a little pond
39:23in the forest
39:24and so forth,
39:25and the little
39:26people dwell
39:27there, and if
39:28you go there
39:28you can get a
39:29certain spirit,
39:30and blah, blah,
39:30blah.
39:31The worship of
39:32demons go on
39:34and on about
39:34that, but the
39:36Greeks did.
39:37And according
39:38to a number
39:40of Greek
39:41philosophers,
39:42it was necessary
39:46to befriend
39:47certain demons
39:48in order to
39:49be blessed.
39:52And here
39:54comes Paul
39:55and they
39:56say about him
39:57he seems to
39:58be preaching
39:59about foreign
40:01demons.
40:03Demons we've
40:04never heard
40:04of.
40:05Because he
40:06preached unto
40:07them Jesus
40:08at the
40:08resurrection.
40:11And they
40:12in fact were
40:13interested in
40:14what he had
40:14to say
40:15because they
40:18took him,
40:19next verse
40:20says,
40:20and they
40:20took him
40:21and brought
40:21him unto
40:22the Areopagus,
40:23which is
40:25Mars Hill,
40:26which is the
40:27area of
40:29the
40:30Parthenon
40:33and the
40:33old Agora
40:34and the
40:35marketplace
40:35central Athens.
40:38They brought
40:39him unto
40:39the Areopagus
40:40saying,
40:42may we know
40:43what is this
40:44new doctrine?
40:44Whereof thou
40:45speakest what
40:45it is?
40:47May we know
40:48what this
40:48new doctrine
40:49is?
40:53Interesting.
40:56They've
40:56called him
40:57a babbler
40:57and the
41:01word babbler
41:02is a
41:02translation of
41:03spermolagos
41:03in Greek
41:05and that
41:06word spermolagos
41:07means someone
41:08who takes
41:09little ideas
41:12out of the
41:12air and
41:14tries to
41:15connect them
41:16to make
41:17a reasonable
41:19assertion.
41:20Pick an
41:20idea here,
41:21pick an
41:21idea,
41:21pick an
41:22idea,
41:23weld them
41:23together
41:24and make
41:26some kind
41:26of an
41:27assertion
41:27that will
41:28stick.
41:30Well,
41:30that's what
41:31they're calling
41:32him,
41:32a spermolagos.
41:33What will
41:33this babbler
41:34say?
41:37He seems
41:38to be talking
41:39about strange
41:40demons that
41:41we've never
41:41heard of.
41:42But it's
41:43interesting.
41:43And so
41:45at verse
41:4519 they
41:46take him
41:46down to
41:47the
41:47Areopagus
41:48which is
41:48the debate
41:49center near
41:50a marketplace,
41:51near a public
41:52gathering place
41:53in view of
41:54the Parthenon
41:55by the way
41:56which is up
41:56on the hill
41:57and essentially
41:58he's standing
41:59now in the
42:00cultural center
42:01of the world.
42:03The Parthenon
42:04was the temple
42:04of the virgins.
42:06It was devoted
42:07to Athena,
42:08the goddess
42:09Athena who is
42:10the patron
42:10goddess of
42:11Athens.
42:12But Athena
42:13is none
42:14other than
42:15the patron
42:16city goddess
42:17of every
42:19major city.
42:20She's been
42:21called
42:21Asenoth,
42:23been called
42:23Minerva,
42:24she's the
42:25goddess of
42:25London as
42:26Minerva for
42:27example.
42:29Athena,
42:30goddess of
42:31Athens.
42:32When you
42:33come across
42:34the Atlantic
42:34to Washington
42:36she's called
42:38Columbia.
42:39and guess
42:40who's on
42:41top of the
42:41Capitol
42:41Dome in
42:42our nation's
42:43capital.
42:44Right at
42:45top of the
42:45Capitol Dome
42:47is Columbia
42:47and all
42:49Columbia is
42:50is a new
42:50incarnation of
42:51Athena or
42:52Minerva.
42:54My question
42:55is what is
42:55she doing
42:56up there?
42:57Aren't we
42:57a Christian
42:58nation?
42:58Why do we
42:59have a patron
43:00goddess called
43:01Columbia?
43:04That's kind
43:05of strange
43:05isn't it?
43:06That's another
43:07story.
43:07But this
43:09is what
43:10Paul is
43:10doing.
43:11This is
43:11the world
43:12in which
43:12he is
43:13circulating.
43:15Verse 20
43:16For thou
43:16bringest
43:17certain
43:17strange
43:18things to
43:19our ears
43:20which we
43:20would like
43:22to know
43:22therefore
43:23what they
43:23say we
43:24would like
43:24to know
43:25we desire
43:25to know
43:26what these
43:26things mean
43:27for all
43:28the Athenians
43:29and strangers
43:30which were
43:31there spent
43:31their time
43:32in nothing
43:32else either
43:33to tell
43:33or to hear
43:34some new
43:35thing.
43:35So this
43:36is the
43:37Athenian
43:37answer to
43:38talk radio
43:39before talk
43:40radio was
43:41invented.
43:42This is
43:42basically you
43:44go down there
43:45to hear all
43:45the ideas
43:46that people
43:46have to say
43:47and a guy
43:48stands up
43:49on a pedestal
43:50and he says
43:50blah blah blah
43:51blah blah blah
43:52blah and
43:52somebody says
43:53that's not
43:53true.
43:54Well come up
43:55here and tell
43:56me what you
43:56think is true.
43:57So he goes
43:58up on the
43:58pedestal and
43:59he talks for
43:59a while.
44:01And this
44:01is a high
44:03sport in
44:05Athens.
44:07Mars Hill.
44:09Then Paul
44:10stood in the
44:11midst of
44:11Mars Hill.
44:12Mars the
44:13god of
44:13war and
44:14said ye
44:15men of
44:16Athens I
44:17perceive that
44:19in all
44:19things you're
44:21too superstitious.
44:24And when
44:25he says
44:26ye men of
44:27Athens
44:27he had
44:32their attention
44:32men.
44:34Because there
44:35are a number
44:36of great
44:36speeches in
44:37the Greek
44:38language and
44:38by the way
44:39the Greeks
44:39considered
44:40themselves to
44:41be the
44:41smartest people
44:42on earth,
44:44the most
44:44civilized,
44:46and the
44:47most articulate.
44:49They said
44:49if you can't
44:50speak Greek
44:51don't even
44:52open your
44:52mouth.
44:53Because Greek
44:54is the most
44:55beautiful language
44:56on earth.
44:56All the other
44:57languages are
44:57just like
44:58spitting
44:59garbage.
44:59And
45:02before you
45:05can get a
45:05Greek to
45:06listen to
45:06you've
45:07got to
45:07speak
45:07Greek.
45:08And so
45:09he stands
45:09up and
45:10he starts
45:10speaking in
45:11Greek.
45:12In a
45:12Greek
45:13oratorical
45:13style.
45:15Oh you
45:16men of
45:16Athens.
45:19And he
45:19grabs their
45:20attention.
45:22I perceive
45:23that in all
45:24things you're
45:24too religious
45:25he says.
45:27And Paul
45:28is actually
45:28now preaching
45:29against
45:30religion.
45:32By the
45:35way I
45:35like to
45:36preach
45:36against
45:36religion.
45:37Every chance
45:38I get.
45:39I'm not a
45:40religious person
45:41at all.
45:42I'm a
45:42follower of
45:43the Lord
45:43Jesus Christ.
45:45And that's
45:45about that.
45:47But he
45:47says men
45:48of Athens
45:49and I'm
45:49sure he's
45:50orating in
45:51beautiful
45:51oratorical
45:52probably
45:53attic by
45:54this time.
45:54He's not
45:55speaking
45:55koine.
45:56He's
45:56standing there
45:57and speaking
45:58attic Greek
45:59in a way
46:00that just
46:01absolutely
46:01gets their
46:02attention.
46:03Remember
46:03Paul grew
46:03up in
46:04Tarsus
46:05in high
46:06society
46:06in Greece
46:07and he
46:07speaks all
46:08dialects
46:09of Greek.
46:11He says
46:12I perceive
46:12that in
46:13all things
46:14you're
46:14too religious
46:15for as I
46:15passed by
46:16and beheld
46:16your devotions
46:17I found
46:18an altar
46:18with this
46:19inscription
46:20to the
46:21unknown
46:22God.
46:24Verse 23
46:25then is
46:25saying
46:26as I've
46:27been walking
46:27around your
46:28city
46:28I've
46:29been
46:30watching
46:30your
46:30devotions
46:31you're
46:32devoted
46:33to
46:33Apollo
46:33to
46:34Zeus
46:35to
46:36Diana
46:37to
46:37Athena
46:38and a
46:39hundred
46:39other
46:39gods
46:40and
46:40goddesses
46:41he says
46:41I've
46:42been
46:42watching
46:42and you
46:43know
46:43what
46:43I've
46:44concluded
46:44you guys
46:46are
46:46too
46:46religious
46:47for as I
46:49passed
46:49by
46:50and beheld
46:50your
46:50devotions
46:51I
46:51found
46:51an
46:51altar
46:52with
46:52this
46:52inscription
46:53to
46:54the
46:54unknown
46:55God
46:56now
46:56Paul
46:56knows
46:57very
46:57well
46:57that
46:58the
46:58unknown
46:59God
46:59is
47:00the
47:00prime
47:01mover
47:02that I
47:03talked
47:03about
47:03a minute
47:04ago
47:04the
47:06prime
47:06mover
47:06is
47:06that
47:07God
47:07who
47:07is
47:07so
47:08far
47:08removed
47:08from
47:08earth
47:09that
47:09he
47:09will
47:09never
47:10touch
47:10earth
47:10ever
47:11in
47:11any
47:12form
47:12and
47:14the
47:14Greeks
47:14called
47:15him
47:15on
47:16this
47:16particular
47:17altar
47:17and
47:19I
47:19can
47:19just
47:19see
47:19the
47:20altar
47:20you
47:20know
47:20emblazoned
47:21with
47:21this
47:21beautiful
47:22carving
47:22on
47:23the
47:23front
47:23that
47:24says
47:24to
47:24the
47:24unknown
47:25God
47:26but
47:27actually
47:28if you
47:28read
47:28the
47:28Greek
47:29text
47:29it
47:30doesn't
47:31say
47:31to
47:31the
47:31unknown
47:32God
47:32it
47:32says
47:33to
47:33the
47:34God
47:34unknowable
47:35it
47:37says
47:37agonosto
47:38theo
47:39which
47:39means
47:40to
47:40the
47:40God
47:41unknowable
47:42the
47:43God
47:44you
47:44can't
47:44know
47:45why
47:45can't
47:46you
47:46know
47:46him
47:46because
47:46he's
47:47so
47:47far
47:47above
47:47earth
47:48that
47:48he'll
47:48never
47:48touch
47:49the
47:49earth
47:49he's
47:50not
47:50accessible
47:50to
47:51you
47:51at
47:51all
47:52and
47:53the
47:53Greeks
47:54acknowledged
47:54his
47:55presence
47:55by
47:56saying
47:56he's
47:57an
47:57unknowable
47:57God
47:58and
47:59Paul
47:59says
48:00you know
48:01I've
48:01been
48:01watching
48:01you
48:02guys
48:02and
48:02the
48:02way
48:03you
48:03worship
48:03and
48:04he
48:04says
48:04you're
48:04too
48:04religious
48:05I
48:06saw
48:06I saw
48:06this
48:06altar
48:07out
48:07here
48:07that
48:07says
48:08to
48:08the
48:08unknowable
48:08God
48:09and yet
48:10you
48:10still
48:11worship
48:11this
48:11unknowable
48:12God
48:12and by
48:13the way
48:13they
48:13did
48:13they
48:14worshipped
48:15him
48:15as the
48:15prime
48:16mover
48:16but
48:17not
48:17as a
48:18person
48:18not
48:19as
48:19any
48:19kind
48:19of
48:19a
48:19God
48:20who
48:20could
48:20ever
48:20be
48:20touched
48:21in
48:21any
48:21way
48:22well
48:23we
48:24as
48:25Christians
48:25have
48:25the
48:26dimetric
48:26opposite
48:27belief
48:27the
48:28fundamental
48:28premise
48:29of
48:29our
48:30system
48:31is
48:31that
48:32God
48:32has
48:32touched
48:33us
48:33physically
48:34and
48:35we
48:35can
48:36touch
48:36him
48:36physically
48:38I
48:39don't
48:40think
48:40I'm
48:40stepping
48:40out of
48:41line
48:41to
48:41say
48:41that
48:42one
48:42of
48:42these
48:42days
48:42I
48:43expect
48:43to
48:43hug
48:44Jesus
48:44he's
48:46physical
48:47person
48:47how
48:48utterly
48:49removed
48:49all that
48:50is
48:50from
48:50the
48:51world
48:51system
48:52which
48:53places
48:53God
48:54on a
48:54pedestal
48:55but
48:55wouldn't
48:56know
48:56him
48:56if
48:56they
48:57saw
48:57him
48:57hey
48:59we
48:59believe
48:59in
48:59our
49:00God
49:00well
49:01I
49:02really
49:02believe
49:03in
49:03my
49:03God
49:04because
49:05he
49:05made
49:05himself
49:05known
49:06to
49:06me
49:06and
49:07he
49:07came
49:07and
49:07suffered
49:08physically
49:08he
49:10walked
49:10got
49:11his
49:11feet
49:11dirty
49:12stepped
49:12in
49:12things
49:13that
49:14I
49:14wouldn't
49:14want
49:14to
49:15step
49:15in
49:15I
49:16mean
49:16he
49:16got
49:17dirty
49:17he
49:18came
49:19all
49:19that
49:19way
49:19and
49:20got
49:21dirty
49:21and did
49:21all
49:21the
49:22stuff
49:22that
49:22he
49:22did
49:23for
49:23me
49:24and
49:25this
49:25is
49:25what
49:25Paul
49:25is
49:25trying
49:26to
49:26tell
49:26the
49:26Greeks
49:27that
49:27just
49:28forget
49:28about
49:28these
49:29gods
49:29and
49:29particularly
49:30about
49:30the
49:31unknowable
49:31prime mover
49:32he
49:34says
49:34whom
49:34therefore
49:35you
49:35ignorantly
49:36worship
49:36him
49:38declare
49:39I
49:39unto
49:40you
49:40I'm
49:40going
49:40to
49:40tell
49:40you
49:41who
49:41he
49:42is
49:42God
49:43that
49:44made
49:44the
49:44world
49:44and
49:45all
49:45things
49:45therein
49:46seeing
49:46that
49:46he
49:46is
49:46Lord
49:47of
49:47heaven
49:47and
49:47earth
49:47dwelleth
49:48not
49:48in
49:48temples
49:49made
49:49with
49:49hands
49:50neither
49:50is
49:50worship
49:51with
49:51men's
49:51hands
49:52as
49:53though
49:53he
49:53needed
49:53anything
49:54and
49:56by
49:56the
49:56way
49:56he's
49:56standing
49:57in
49:57the
49:57shadow
49:57of
49:57the
49:58Parthenon
49:58as
49:59he
49:59is
49:59delivering
49:59this
50:00message
50:00probably
50:01gesturing
50:02up the
50:02hill
50:03to
50:03a
50:03big
50:03temple
50:04seeing
50:05he
50:05giveth
50:06to
50:06all
50:06life
50:07and
50:08breath
50:08and
50:08all
50:08things
50:09and
50:09hath
50:10made
50:10of
50:10one
50:10blood
50:11all
50:12nations
50:12of
50:13men
50:13to
50:13dwell
50:13on
50:14the
50:14face
50:14of
50:14the
50:14earth
50:14and
50:15have
50:15determined
50:15the
50:15times
50:16before
50:16appointed
50:17and
50:17the
50:17bounds
50:17of
50:18their
50:18habitation
50:18that
50:19they
50:19should
50:20seek
50:20the
50:20Lord
50:20if
50:22happily
50:23perhaps
50:24they
50:25might
50:25feel
50:26after
50:26him
50:26and
50:27find
50:27him
50:27though
50:29he
50:29be
50:29not
50:30very
50:30far
50:30from
50:30every
50:31one
50:31of
50:31us
50:32and
50:33what
50:33in a
50:33nutshell
50:34Paul
50:34is
50:34saying
50:35here
50:35is
50:35that
50:36I
50:36agree
50:36with
50:37you
50:37he
50:37says
50:37God
50:38the
50:38prime
50:39mover
50:39made
50:39everything
50:40he's
50:42the
50:42Lord
50:42of
50:42heaven
50:43and
50:43he's
50:43the
50:43Lord
50:44of
50:44earth
50:44he
50:44doesn't
50:45dwell
50:45in
50:45any
50:45temple
50:46made
50:46with
50:46hands
50:47and
50:49in
50:49verse
50:4926
50:50where
50:50it
50:50says
50:51and
50:51hath
50:51made
50:52of
50:52one
50:52blood
50:53all
50:53nations
50:54of
50:54men
50:54the
50:56idea
50:56here
50:56is
50:57he
50:57has
50:57made
50:58from
50:59one
50:59every
51:01nation
51:01of
51:02mankind
51:02in
51:02other
51:02words
51:03all
51:03nations
51:03have
51:04a
51:04single
51:04source
51:04and
51:07have
51:07determined
51:08the
51:08times
51:09the
51:09seasons
51:10before
51:10appointed
51:11and
51:11the
51:12bounds
51:12that
51:12are
51:12habitation
51:13God
51:14is
51:14the
51:14God
51:14even
51:15of
51:15the
51:16future
51:16he
51:17says
51:17here
51:18that
51:20they
51:20should
51:20seek
51:20the
51:21Lord
51:21verse
51:2227
51:22if
51:23by
51:23some
51:23chance
51:24they
51:24might
51:25feel
51:25him
51:25and
51:26what
51:26it
51:26says
51:26is
51:27that
51:29they
51:29might
51:30grope
51:30for
51:31him
51:31as
51:31one
51:31gropes
51:32in
51:32the
51:32darkness
51:33that
51:35they
51:35should
51:35seek
51:35the
51:35Lord
51:36if
51:36by
51:36chance
51:37they
51:37might
51:37grope
51:37after
51:38him
51:38and
51:38find
51:38him
51:39though
51:40he
51:40be
51:41not
51:41far
51:41from
51:42every
51:42one
51:42of
51:42us
51:43Paul
51:43is
51:43characterizing
51:44man
51:44as
51:44blind
51:45groping
51:46for
51:47God
51:47it's
51:48just
51:48like
51:48feeling
51:48something
51:49in
51:49the
51:49dark
51:50and
51:50Paul
51:50is
51:50saying
51:50I
51:51am
51:51here
51:51with
51:52the
51:53light
51:53I'm
51:54going
51:54to
51:54declare
51:55the
51:55unknown
51:56God
51:56to
51:57you
51:57verse
52:0028
52:00which
52:01is a
52:01great
52:01memory
52:02verse
52:02by the
52:02way
52:03for
52:04in
52:04him
52:04we
52:04live
52:05and
52:05move
52:05and
52:06have
52:06our
52:06being
52:06as
52:07certain
52:08of
52:08your
52:08own
52:09poets
52:09have
52:09said
52:10for
52:10we
52:10are
52:10also
52:11his
52:12offspring
52:13and
52:15by the
52:16way
52:16there
52:16are
52:16a
52:16couple
52:16of
52:16Greek
52:17poets
52:17who
52:18said
52:19that
52:19Erastus
52:20writing
52:20in
52:21270
52:21BC
52:22who
52:23was
52:23a
52:23Stoic
52:23from
52:24Cilicia
52:24in
52:25his
52:26invocation
52:26to
52:27Zeus
52:27said
52:28we
52:28are
52:29his
52:29offspring
52:30the
52:30offspring
52:31of
52:31God
52:31Cleanthes
52:34300
52:35BC
52:35in
52:36his
52:37hymn
52:37to
52:37Zeus
52:37wrote
52:38we
52:38are
52:39the
52:39offspring
52:39of
52:40the
52:40great
52:40God
52:41and
52:42so
52:42Paul
52:42is
52:42quoting
52:43their
52:43own
52:44poets
52:44which
52:46is
52:46by the
52:46way
52:46good
52:47technique
52:47you
52:47go
52:48into
52:48a
52:48strange
52:48area
52:49what
52:49do
52:49you
52:49do
52:49to
52:50get
52:50people's
52:50attention
52:50you
52:51quote
52:52their
52:52own
52:52historical
52:53literary
52:53sources
52:54to
52:54prove
52:54to
52:55them
52:55that
52:55you're
52:55not
52:55an
52:55idiot
52:56hey
52:57your
52:57own
52:57people
52:57said
52:58we
52:59are
52:59his
52:59offspring
52:59for
53:01as much
53:01then as
53:01we are
53:02the
53:02offspring
53:02of
53:02God
53:03we
53:03ought
53:03not
53:03to
53:03think
53:04Godhead
53:04is
53:04like
53:05a
53:05gold
53:05or
53:05stone
53:06graven
53:07by
53:08art
53:08and
53:08man's
53:09device
53:09and
53:11in
53:11the
53:11times
53:12of
53:12this
53:12ignorance
53:12God
53:13winked
53:14at
53:14but
53:14now
53:15command
53:15all
53:16men
53:16everywhere
53:17to
53:18repent
53:18and
53:21the
53:21King
53:21James
53:21uses
53:22that
53:22phrase
53:22winked
53:23at
53:23and
53:23what
53:23it
53:23means
53:24is
53:24to
53:24overlook
53:25in
53:25times
53:25past
53:26says
53:26Paul
53:27God
53:28has
53:28sort
53:28of
53:28looked
53:29past
53:29or
53:29overlooked
53:30all
53:31of
53:32the
53:32foibles
53:32and
53:33idiocies
53:33of
53:34mankind
53:34but
53:35now
53:35says
53:35Paul
53:36the
53:37word
53:37is
53:37out
53:38it's
53:38time
53:38to
53:38repent
53:39verse
53:4131
53:41because
53:42he
53:42hath
53:42appointed
53:43a
53:43day
53:43in
53:44which
53:44he
53:44will
53:44judge
53:45the
53:45world
53:45in
53:46righteousness
53:46by
53:48that
53:48man
53:48whom
53:49he
53:49hath
53:49ordained
53:50that's
53:50Jesus
53:51whereof
53:53he
53:53hath
53:53given
53:54assurance
53:54unto
53:54all
53:55men
53:55in
53:56that
53:56he
53:56hath
53:56raised
53:57him
53:57from
53:57the
53:57dead
53:58so
53:59Paul
53:59in
53:59his
54:00sermon
54:00on
54:00Mars
54:01Hill
54:01invokes
54:03the
54:04name
54:04and
54:04person
54:04of
54:05Jesus
54:05and
54:06he
54:06invokes
54:07the
54:08day
54:08of
54:08the
54:09Lord
54:09that
54:09judgment
54:10day
54:10is
54:10coming
54:11he
54:11doesn't
54:12forget
54:12to
54:12say
54:12that
54:12in
54:13his
54:13sermon
54:13to
54:13the
54:14Greeks
54:14he
54:15hath
54:16appointed
54:16a
54:17day
54:17and
54:17he's
54:18already
54:18appointed
54:19a
54:19judge
54:19the
54:19Lord
54:20Jesus
54:20Christ
54:21and
54:24he's
54:24raised
54:24that
54:25man
54:25from
54:26the
54:26dead
54:26verse
54:2732
54:28when
54:28they
54:28had
54:28heard
54:28of
54:29the
54:29resurrection
54:29of
54:29the
54:29dead
54:30some
54:31mocked
54:32others
54:32said
54:32we'll
54:33hear
54:33again
54:33of
54:33this
54:33matter
54:34so
54:34Paul
54:34departed
54:35from
54:35among
54:35them
54:36how
54:37be it
54:37certain
54:38men
54:39clave
54:39unto
54:39him
54:40that
54:40is
54:40they
54:40joined
54:41him
54:41and
54:41believed
54:41among
54:42the
54:42which
54:42was
54:42Dionysius
54:43the
54:44Areopagite
54:44and
54:45a
54:45woman
54:45named
54:45Damaris
54:46and
54:47others
54:47with
54:48them
54:48what
54:50are
54:50we
54:50to
54:50take
54:50from
54:50the
54:51travels
54:51of
54:51Paul
54:52to
54:54me
54:54it's
54:54one
54:55of
54:55the
54:55great
54:55blessings
54:56that
54:56we
54:56have
54:57the
54:57history
54:57of
54:57the
54:57Holy
54:58Spirit
54:58beginning
54:59at
54:59Pentecost
55:00Jesus
55:01ascends
55:01to
55:02the
55:02heavens
55:02sends
55:04the
55:04Holy
55:04Spirit
55:05things
55:05begin
55:06to
55:06happen
55:06men
55:07are
55:07sent
55:07forth
55:08the
55:08Spirit
55:09guides
55:09men
55:10as
55:10they
55:10go
55:10about
55:10their
55:10various
55:11pathways
55:11with
55:12the
55:12gospel
55:12that
55:14comes
55:14right
55:14down
55:14to
55:15us
55:15today
55:15in
55:15an
55:15unbroken
55:16chain
55:17of
55:17activity
55:18and
55:19you
55:19and
55:19I
55:19are
55:19guided
55:20by
55:20the
55:20very
55:20same
55:21Holy
55:21Spirit
55:21that
55:22guided
55:22Paul
55:22by
55:22boat
55:23to
55:23Athens
55:24Paul's
55:25plan
55:26was
55:26to
55:27take
55:27a
55:27land
55:28route
55:28south
55:29out
55:29of
55:30Berea
55:30but
55:31it
55:32was
55:32not
55:32safe
55:32and
55:33so
55:33the
55:33people
55:33who
55:33loved
55:34him
55:34put
55:34him
55:34on
55:34a
55:34boat
55:35he
55:35sailed
55:35down
55:35to
55:36Athens
55:36he
55:37comes
55:37to
55:37Athens
55:37alone
55:38and
55:38what
55:39do
55:39we
55:39have
55:39we
55:39have
55:40Acts
55:4017
55:40one
55:41of
55:41the
55:41greatest
55:41sermons
55:42ever
55:42preached
55:42and
55:44when
55:44we
55:44meet
55:45again
55:45my
55:46plan
55:46is
55:46to
55:47go
55:47into
55:47his
55:47sermon
55:48to
55:48the
55:49unknown
55:49God
55:49in
55:50very
55:50great
55:51depth
55:51and
55:51detail
55:51which
55:52we
55:52didn't
55:52today
55:52we
55:53just
55:53kind
55:53of
55:53grazed
55:54across
55:54the
55:54top
55:55of
55:55it
55:55but
55:56there's
55:56so
55:56much
55:57in
55:57that
55:57sermon
55:58that
55:59we
55:59need
55:59to
55:59look
55:59at
56:00again