2026 Bible Study Thread

[Northumber]

I understand this part is about the movement away from Judaiasm into a world religion including gentiles.

I've recently been thinking there basically have been all groups of people thinking different things through all times. You know, nothing new under the sun. So, I bet some default positions were ok with uncircumcised too.

 

[Tippy]

Acts 12


Herod arrests Peter after killing James the Apostle. Peter is then saved by an angel of God. It is interesting how one man's holy man is another man's criminal. The paradox of the holy man and the criminal is central to Biblical Christianity. Jesus was treated as the worst criminal of all. Now in this passage, notice Peter's connection with John Mark. This is the Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark. Matthew and John were two Apostles, Mark and Luke were not, but they had Apostolic sponsorship through Peter and Paul.


Being a security guard then was a tough job. If someone got out, you would be killed for it. It was the ultimate "you had one job." This gives some context for a similar episode later in Acts.


This Herod was not the same Herod that persecuted Christ in His infancy, nevertheless he was still a persecutor of Christ and His people. The irony of Herod is that you would expect the king of the Jews to act like the archetypal hero of the Jews, Moses. Yet that king of the Jews was more like Pharaoh by persecuting the true King of the Jews, who is the true and better Moses.

Acts 12:

There are two big miracles in Acts 12 and more to come later in Acts. Here they are:

'Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.'

” 23;Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

This begs the question to me as why aren't angels appearing anymore? And why isn't the Lord striking down people anymore? What made God decide to remove his influence to this degree?

I have read some argue that anytime someone turns to Christanity it's a miracle but this isn't quite the same as an angel prison break scenario.

I suppose I just have to say 'God works in mysterious ways' but they were not so mysterious in Acts 12.

I guess a divine creator isn't someone I can attach a human thought process to. We don't really know how important intervention is to him compared and what his plans are. Still is frustrating. Father well he seems like an absent father.

It's curious to me why James is allowed to be executed here but again I guess we say God has different plans.

I sometimes wonder if I'd ever be able to accept that if I was to die early or have to live knowing I had not so much time left. Would I trust that God wanted this for me? The horrifying idea that I might suddenly not have time enough left to fully understand the word of God or repent for my sins. It's one of the scariest things for me to have a fixed end point but even more terrifying might be a sudden unexpected death where I have to face the consequences of my sin without any sort of effort to get things right.

I suppose this is why every day we need to do all we can to be the best verions of ourselves and to make decisions aligned with God's plan for us.

But what is it? And what if we get it wrong?

 

[Tippy]

Acts 13


Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark went out on missionary trips to preach the Gospel. Paul curses a Jewish magician with temporary blindness. The magician was trying to poison the proconsul against Paul's missionary efforts. Think of the scene in Lord of the Rings 2 when Gandalf straightens out Wormtongue. After this mission to Cyprus, John Mark left Paul and Barnabas and returned to Jerusalem, much to Paul's chagrin.


Paul and Barnabas go to Pisidian Antioch, a distinct city from Antioch though they share the same name. This wasn't so uncommon. Another example would be the two cities named Thebes, one in Egypt and the other in Greece (from Oedipus Rex fame). Paul preaches the Gospel in the synagogues and initially has a warm reception. Eventually, the Jews poisoned the town authorities against him but the Gentile citizens believed. Now Paul commentates on David. As great as David was, he was the archetypal hero-king of the Jews, the prototype of the Messiah, he fell asleep. But great David's greater Son died once, and rose to life, never to die again. The Jews may say that they don't need Jesus, that they're happy with Moses and David, but even Moses and David longed to see the days of Jesus, knowing that He would accomplish everything that they could not.

Acts 13:

';Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10;“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11;Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Pretty interesting that Saul/Paul had the abilitiy to take out those tricking others with blindness here.

'44;On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45;When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.'

The J's certainly come across as the villains in this part of the Bible and really most of the NT. How do modern followers of Judaism even reconcile this?

I find myself a bit confused as it does appear like Judaism was the og version of Christanity and then with the NT it separated from that religion. I mean, even Peter and Paul were J's themselves as well as Jesus.

It sometimes makes me feel a bit down as a gentile myself how much controversy there is about gentiles being accepted and it does make me think modern J's perhaps maintain this early biblical dislike for gentiles.

 

[Northumber]

Acts 12:

There are two big miracles in Acts 12 and more to come later in Acts. Here they are:

'Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.'

” 23;Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

This begs the question to me as why aren't angels appearing anymore? And why isn't the Lord striking down people anymore? What made God decide to remove his influence to this degree?

Probably happens all the time and we are just in the group of people that can't see it. I don't think we moderns have a good lens. Essentially, once you attach meaning to anything happening it becomes a miracle. Otherwise, you can always explain anything away. You know, the "it's just..." phrase. We always do that, especially with our "science" type thinking.

I have read some argue that anytime someone turns to Christanity it's a miracle but this isn't quite the same as an angel prison break scenario.

I'm sure some of the people who witnessed (or were around) the jailbreak scenario could explain it away too. You can do that with anything.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Acts 13

[48] And when the Gentiles heard it, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as were ordained unto eternal life, believed.

Some people think that if you believe strongly in predestination, that it defeats the point of evangelizing. This text shows that is a false dichotomy. If that were logically necessary, then Calvinists would not be some of the biggest missionaries out there. Rather, I say that if you have a weak, sub-biblical concept of Election and predestination, your evangelizing will be weaker, since you lack any divine foundation and you must rely on your own wit and skill to convince men of the Gospel. You must become something of a salesman. But what you win them with is what you win them to. The biblical Gospel has the power to convert the heart of all whom God has ordained for eternal life.

Acts 14

[11] Then when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. [12] And they called Barnabas, Zeus; and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

This shows you that the Gentiles would worship anything. They weren't picky. What's another god to add to the pantheon? This is very much the spirit of our age, though they do not call them gods, there are many idols that capture the hearts and minds of the people in our day. Gone is the concept of covenant fidelity to one God and to Him alone.

[16] Who in times past suffered all the Gentiles to walk in their own ways. [17] Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food, and gladness. [18] And speaking these things, scarce restrained they the multitude, that they had not sacrificed unto them.

This is God's common grace. His salvific grace comes only through Jesus Christ covenantally but His common grace goes to all men. Salvation is certainly not deserved but neither is common grace, yet God gives it according to His good pleasure.

[21] And after they had preached the Gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch, [22] Confirming the disciples’ hearts, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, affirming that we must through many afflictions enter into the kingdom of God. [23] And when they had ordained them Elders by election in every Church, and prayed, and fasted, they commended them to the Lord in whom they believed.

Paul and Barnabas plant churches and appoint elders, that is presbyters or bishops in the churches to oversee them. More will be said on this later in Acts.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Does this mean that baptism with water isn't actually needed?

The real distinction is made between the baptism of John the Baptist and Christian Baptism. As for the necessity of baptism with water, it is not necessary in the sense that you'll go to hell if you don't receive it. However, it is an ordinance of God and should be sought for by any true believer. God's salvation does not depend on the ordinances, though they are a means of grace.

This begs the question to me as why aren't angels appearing anymore? And why isn't the Lord striking down people anymore? What made God decide to remove his influence to this degree?

I believe God does still strike people down, but we view things in such a naturalistic mindset that we don't see it that way. Same goes for other activities of God. You may look at the sun moving in its orbit and think "that's just natural, that's just the way it is, gravity" yet God is the one who causes creation to operate according to His will. It's both/and.

I guess a divine creator isn't someone I can attach a human thought process to. We don't really know how important intervention is to him compared and what his plans are. Still is frustrating. Father well he seems like an absent father.

That's the thing. God is no absent Father at all. Without Him, we would no longer exist even for one moment. Even if you can't see Him, all of this is His handiwork. It's perspective, but it goes deeper than perspective.

It sometimes makes me feel a bit down as a gentile myself how much controversy there is about gentiles being accepted and it does make me think modern J's perhaps maintain this early biblical dislike for gentiles.

They do. Very much so. In fact, they dislike Gentiles more than the Bible portrays them since their post-Biblical tradition teaches them to be that way. I recommend that you do not repay hatred for hatred but repay evil with good as the Apostle Paul says: "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."

 

[Tippy]

Acts 13


Some people think that if you believe strongly in predestination, that it defeats the point of evangelizing. This text shows that is a false dichotomy. If that were logically necessary, then Calvinists would not be some of the biggest missionaries out there. Rather, I say that if you have a weak, sub-biblical concept of Election and predestination, your evangelizing will be weaker, since you lack any divine foundation and you must rely on your own wit and skill to convince men of the Gospel. You must become something of a salesman. But what you win them with is what you win them to. The biblical Gospel has the power to convert the heart of all whom God has ordained for eternal life.

Acts 14


This shows you that the Gentiles would worship anything. They weren't picky. What's another god to add to the pantheon? This is very much the spirit of our age, though they do not call them gods, there are many idols that capture the hearts and minds of the people in our day. Gone is the concept of covenant fidelity to one God and to Him alone.


This is God's common grace. His salvific grace comes only through Jesus Christ covenantally but His common grace goes to all men. Salvation is certainly not deserved but neither is common grace, yet God gives it according to His good pleasure.


Paul and Barnabas plant churches and appoint elders, that is presbyters or bishops in the churches to oversee them. More will be said on this later in Acts.

Acts 13:
Gonna be honest, I don't see any references to predestination here. I did a bit more of a deeper dive and found this:

'When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.'

The use of the term 'appointed' suggests some are chosen and some are not.

This part is intriguing:

'46;Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47;For this is what the Lord has commanded us:'

It almost feels like Paul is saying 'we're only preaching to the gentiles since you guys weren't listening!' when actually it was cos of a dream of animals coming down to the earth on a sheet from the rock!

Acts 14:

What with making people blind and yelling at people to walk and making it possible, it seems Paul is almost Christ like in his powers at this moment.

'11;When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12;Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.'

This seems somewhat understandable since Paul is basically working miracles.

@GodfatherPartTwo - What makes you say they are worshipping anything in this passage? They appear pretty focused on Paul and Barnabas.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Acts 15

[1] Then came down certain from Judea, and taught the brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Here began the Judaizing heresy. The Judaizing heresy in it's spirit is much broader and more encompassing than how it manifested here. At the heart of the Judaizing heresy is the idea that you are saved by works, the Law, rituals, legalism. In the Apostle's time, it took the form of the necessity of circumcision. Not circumcision only, but the covenant that circumcision signified, that is the Mosaic Covenant. The spirit of the Judaizing heresy is still alive and well today, though not under the form of circumcision, but always when men go beyond what is written and captivate men's consciences with what they deem necessary for salvation.

[11] But we believe, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, even as they do.

Much of Paul's ministry was spent against the Judaizers. Romans and Galatians especially. Whenever Paul preaches the grace of God, it is in opposition to human works. We are not saved by working for our salvation, we are saved by God giving us salvation for free. This wasn't just Paul's theology. All of the Apostles teach this, these are Peter's own words. If anyone would've been saved by works it would've been the Apostles, yet they were saved by grace.

[28] For it seemed good to the holy Ghost, and to us, to lay no more burden upon you, than these necessary things, [29] That is, that ye abstain from things offered to idols, and blood, and that which is strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

To compare this council to the Ecumenical councils would be like comparing apples to oranges. Unlike the Ecumenical councils, this was an Apostolic council. It is binding and was inscripturated and convened by the Apostles themselves. The Emperor of the Roman Empire was the one who started calling the Ecumenical councils when they began 300 years later. As such, you would do well to recognize the social-political context of those councils and not anachronistically equate them to this Apostolic council.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Acts 15

[36] But after certain days, Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us return and visit our brethren in every city, where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. [37] And Barnabas counseled to take with them John, called Mark. [38] But Paul thought it not meet to take him unto their company, which departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. [39] Then were they so stirred, that they departed asunder one from the other, so that Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus. [40] And Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended of the brethren unto the grace of God. [41] And he went through Syria and Cilicia, establishing the Churches.

Paul was a good leader. He didn't just plant churches but he wanted to keep maintenance on them, quality control. Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark but Paul didn't want him since he had left them earlier. Paul was a real ride or die kind of guy.

Acts 16

[1] Then came he to Derbe and to Lystra; and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, a woman’s son, which was a Jewess and believed, but his father was a Grecian, [2] Of whom the brethren which were at Lystra and Iconium, reported well. [3] Therefore Paul would that he should go forth with him, and took and circumcised him, because of the Jews, which were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was a Grecian.

This is where Paul meets Timothy. He circumcised him not as a ploy to earn salvation but because he wanted Timothy to be "presentable" to the Jews that they would be evangelizing to. As Paul says, he became all things to all men to win them to Christ.

[14] And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of the Thyatirians, which worshipped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things, which Paul spake. [15] And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

This section is interesting because the author, Luke, cuts to a first person perspective whereas he had been writing the narrative in the third person up till now. This woman Lydia was a seller of purple fabrics, that is to say she was a wealthy woman. God can use wealthy people for His kingdom too, only don't let it become a snare. Notice how her "heart was opened" by God. God takes the active role in converting people, He's not a bystander.

[16] And it came to pass that as we went to prayer, a certain maid having a spirit of divination, met us, which got her masters much advantage with divining. [17] She followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto you the way of salvation. [18] And this did she many days. But Paul being annoyed, turned about, and said to the spirit, I command thee in the Name of Jesus Christ, that thou come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Paul and his crew get heckled by a woman with a python spirit, a demonic spirit, so Paul casts the demon out of her. Many ancient religions were about seeking to be indwelt by spirits. Christianity is not much different in that you are seeking to have a spirit dwell in you, but the Holy Spirit of God Himself. As for the heathen, the serpent was almost universally recognized as a symbol of divine wisdom, and no wonder, for Satan is the mastermind behind all idolatry. You've heard of kundalini rising, chakras and such, this is a demonic python spirit. Plato wrote about Socrates having a daemon. These things were done in the open back then, they are more veiled now mainly because of the prevalence of Christianity. This woman had her own handlers who used to profit off her, so they had Paul and Silas thrown into jail.

[26] And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison was shaken; and by and by all the doors opened, and every man’s bands were loosed. [27] Then the keeper of the prison waked out of his sleep, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing the prisoners had been fled. [30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? [31] And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy household. [32] And they preached unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in the house. [33] Afterward he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized with all that belonged unto him, straightway.

Paul and Silas were singing in the midnight jail and then God caused an earthquake to set them free. The jailer attempts to kill himself because letting a prisoner escape was a death sentence. But Paul preaches the Gospel to him and saves his life. People who believe in infant baptism usually point to these "household" baptisms in Acts as biblical proof for infant baptism. I don't find that argument convincing since no infants are ever explicitly mentioned in the text, a "household" could mean many things, it doesn't always mean our nuclear family conception of a household.

[36] Then the keeper of the prison told these words unto Paul, saying, The governors have sent to loose you. Now therefore get you hence, and go in peace. [37] Then said Paul unto them, After that they have beaten us openly uncondemned, which are Romans, they have cast us into prison, and now would they put us out privily? Nay verily; but let them come and bring us out. [38] And the sergeants told these words unto the governors, who feared when they heard that they were Romans. [39] Then came they and prayed them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.

Paul had a sense of humor. The town arrested him in basically a fit of mob justice, ignorant of the fact that he was a Roman citizen and was entitled to a fair trial. Paul basically says that they should send him away with the same amount of publicity as when he was arrested. In Godfather 2, Michael Corleone says almost the exact same thing when he is accused by the Senate committee of being a mob boss.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Acts 17

[10] And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, which when they were come thither, entered into the Synagogue of the Jews. [11] These were also more noble men than they which were at Thessalonica, which received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. [12] Therefore many of them believed, and of honest women, which were Grecians, and men not a few.

Paul and Silas had a good run in Thessalonica but were chased out eventually. When they came to Berea, these Jews accepted Paul's Gospel because it accorded with the Scriptures, the Old Testament. Be good Bereans and check your Scriptures, don't just believe any old wind that blows.

[16] Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city subject to idolatry. [17] Therefore he disputed in the Synagogue with the Jews, and with them that were religious, and in the market daily with whomsoever he met. [18] Then certain Philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, disputed with him, and some said, What will this babbler say? Others said, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods (because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.) [19] And they took him, and brought him into Mars Hill, saying, May we not know, what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? [20] For thou bringest certain strange things unto our ears; we would know therefore, what these things mean. [21] For all the Athenians and strangers which dwelt there, gave themselves to nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some news.

Paul is taken to Athens and then to the Areopagus, Mars Hill. The Areopagus was where the Athenian elders would meet to govern the city. They believed their goddess Athena presided over the hill. In the great Theban plays, Oedipus' final resting place was near Mars Hill. If you know the history of the philosophical movement, from the pre-Socratics through Aristotle, you'll understand verse 21; every philosopher would come along and advance his new thesis, only for the next one to come along and "refute" the previous one, it was a never-ending cycle of new ideas, not unlike what you see in liberal academic circles these days.

[29] Forasmuch then, as we are the generation of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone graven by art and the invention of man. [30] And the time of this ignorance God regarded not, but now he admonisheth all men everywhere to repent, [31] Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath appointed, whereof he hath given an assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Paul was provoked in his heart by their idolatry and one of the prominent themes of his preaching was to correct them of it. Away with the images. Second, notice Paul's proof for the judgment; it is the resurrection. Many people in our day ask what is the proof for the resurrection. This is all wrong. The resurrection is the proof. To them I say, show me the proof that Jesus is still in the grave.

[32] Now when they had heard of the resurrection from the dead, some mocked, and others said, We will hear thee again of this thing.

Even though Paul went after their icons, the Greeks mainly had a problem with the concept of the resurrection. This is because a harsh dualism between the physical and the spiritual was a common theme in all Greek philosophy, which would carry over to the Gnostic sects. To them, the body was something to be escaped from, only the spirit counted. But the Apostles, and indeed the Prophets before them, taught both a physical and spiritual resurrection.

[34] Howbeit certain men clave unto Paul, and believed, among whom was also Dionysius Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

A few centuries after the New Testament, a spurious work came into prominence. It was alleged to have been written by Dyonysius the Areopagite. It is now known that this is a pseudepigraphical work called Pseudo-Dionysius. It was almost impossible to detect this kind of thing in the early church, unfortunately so, since this work became fairly influential and influenced Christian doctrine, and not for the better, into a solidly Neo-Platonic direction. One of the benefits of Sola Scriptura is that you don't have to believe in fraudulent documents just because they're considered as "tradition." It is very easy these days to look back and see what was pseudepigraphical and what was the genuine article.