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Tag: death

Death Put Under the Authority of God —Resurrection — in Order
For God has put everything under his feet.
1 Corinthians 15:27a CSB

How can this include DEATH?

Is death not the antithesis of LIFE —decay into deep darkness the defeat of created man?

How can the resurrection of the dead — even those martyred in Christ — take place?

The Apostle Paul continues to address the concerns of the Corinthian church putting all things in order and now addressing THE END.

The Order of Resurrection

The apostle to the gentiles (Hellenists, that is, Greeks including Corinthians) began his logical argument with
The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection and logically continued to connect those facts.

And Now the News – Resurrection of the Dead

LAST TIME, we ended with Paul’s astounding opening statement about death and resurrection about an ORDER of the Resurrection:

Then comes the end…

1 Corinthians 15:24a CSB

I stumbled over it. Do you?

THE END…

Isn’t DEATH, after all, the end?

And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love
You make…

“1,2,3,4,5,6,7,
All good children go to heaven…
Everybody’s laughing
Everybody’s happy
Here come the Sun King…

Of course, we all have much anti-Christ philosophy replaying in the mortal minds of our imaginings (it isn’t hard to do..).

The cultural challenges of the resurrection were no less for Paul and the Corinthians than the Promethean philosophical objections of the 20th century and this Common Era.
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AGAIN, as we first addressed in the Facts: 
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Cultural ‘science‘ of Promethean Logic

Prometheus, in Greek religion, one of the Titans, the supreme trickster, and a god of fire. His intellectual side was emphasized by the apparent meaning of his name, Forethinker. In common belief he developed into a master craftsman, and in this connection he was associated with fire and the creation of mortals.

Source: Britannica

Perhaps they also hope against hope that these things aren’t really so..

in a self-deceived way..

the problem here is not merely cognitive..

but.. Promethean…

from WARRANTED CHRISTIAN BELIEF PP290-294

NO – Death is NOT ‘The End.’

The Apostle Paul will address this — DEATH and its threats did not phase him and should not prevent those possibly facing martyrdom for claiming Jesus Christ and the resurrection to the crowds of Corinth.

What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?

If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

1 Corinthians 15:32 ESV

Paul has emphasized order in worship and now, the Apostle even presents an order in the resurrection of the dead, rather than random godless chaos without form.

1 Corinthians 15:
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King James Version 
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For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

1 Cor 15:3-4 KJV

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

v. 20

AND what were the instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Twelve sent to some with the Gospel?

The Fruit of Faith (an illustration from a parable of Jesus)

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

from Gospel of Luke 12:19-20 KJV

And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear:

Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Gospel of Luke 12:4-5 KJV – Jesus on death and judgment
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Some foreboding in our Lord's call to stand up to death — is there not?
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Saul of Tarsus & the fearless witness of Paul

When Paul had met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Christ’s new apostle to the gentiles came to understand the reality of WHY those Saul had previously persecuted and killed had not changed their testimony — even as these saints of Ephesus or Corinth faced mortal death.

(And remember Stephen as he was stoned to death in Jerusalem?)

Just three or four years after he writes to the Corinthians, Paul also will witness the resurrection to King Herod Agrippa II, hearing his case brought by the Jews until Paul appeals to Caesar.

Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come— that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

Acts of the Apostles 26:22-23 NKJV

Christ the firstfruits of Resurrection

For as in Adam all die, even so

in Christ shall all be made alive.

But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

1 Corinthians 15:22-23 KJV

WHAT AN ILLUSTRATON! — āḏām [man – אָדָם] — made in the image of God — now mortal and re-destined to dust — in Christ (and Christ alone) redeemed and revived from DEATH — death, common to every creature made alive for a time by God.

Let me explain the REIGN of Christ, Paul reasons:
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Once again, in the more AUTHORITIVE-sounding King James Version, let's examine Paul's text in words provoking push-back from Christians unaccustomed to such absolute authority of a most-powerful King. 
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Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;

when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

1 Corinthians 15:24-25 KJV
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IS this the JESUS we know?
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Afterward —The Whole Harvest

At the same time the wicked shall rise also. But they are not taken here into the account.

v. 23

Then — After the resurrection and the general judgment. Cometh the end — Of the world..

When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father, and he (the Father) shall have abolished all adverse rule, authority and power — Not that the Father will then begin to reign without the Son, nor will the Son then cease to reign…

But this is spoken of the Son’s mediatorial kingdom.. which will then commence.

John Wesley; Parallel Commentary on the NEW TESTAMENT, p.580

John Wesley provides explanation and delineation of the roles of the Father and of the Son — in the time between the resurrection of ALL the dead and prior to the Judgment — and until the end.
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The King James Bible Commentary provides additional insight into Paul's explanation to the Corinthians of the end time.
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” The logic is inescapable.

KJB Commentary on 1 COR 15:14 , p.1496

If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain.

The proclamation of the Gospel (vs.1-11) is hollow. Not only that, but your faith is .. ‘groundless.’

Faith in a dead saviour is both preposterous and pathetic.

ibid.
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Much in the way Wesley's explanation of 'Who does what?' helps us, the KJB commentary also guides our understanding of the order of THE END [vs.23-26]. 
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The end refers to he end of the kingdom of God. At that time he will have put down all rule.

27-28 .. However two facts must be accounted for here:
- First, when Paul say s that the Son is subject to the Father he is not speaking of the Son in terms of his essence, but in terms of his function, or ministry, as the incarnate Son.
- Second.. At this present time the administration of the messianic kingdom is given to the Son.
  
  However, at the conclusion of the messianic kingdom this function will be returned to the triune God that God may be all in all.
ibid.
WE don’t trust God, because of many who have claimed God — or Christ Jesus — in ways worthy of our suspicion.

Roger@TalkofJesus.com

The Apostle Paul is trying to show the Corinthians (and us) something about the order of God we do not understand, as well as the Authority all flesh tends to resist.

ὑποτάσσω – ‘Put under’ (in order)

Believe only Scripture and an order of the resurrection makes sense in the redemptive providential plan of God.

Misapply portions of the Gospel or add an oversimplified imagined LIFE after death without consequence for opposing God and your gospel claims will prove false — Promethean in the sense that you know that it can NOT be true (but you continue to hope that it is).

Take a look at the Biblical use of the word — hypotassō — primarily a military term that Paul uses NINE TIMES here IN TWO VERSES:

1 Corinthians 15:25-28 — For He must reign…

v.26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

For he hath put^G5293 all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under^G5293 him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put^G5293 all things under^G5293 him.

And when all things shall be subdued^G5293 unto him, then shall^G5293 the Son also himself be subject^G5293 unto him that put^G5293 all things under^G5293 him, that God may be all in all.

1 Corinthians 15:27-28 KJV — Lexicon :: Strong’s G5293 – hypotassō

How does New Testament Scripture use this term [ὑποτάσσω]?
- to arrange under, to subordinate
- to subject, put in subjection
- to subject one’s self, obey
- to submit to one’s control
- to yield to one’s admonition or advice
- to obey, be subject
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Personally, most of us (including Christians) do not like any part of this kind of order. 
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Let every soul be subject G5293 unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Romans 13:1 KJV
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How are YOU, dear saint of Christ, doing with that?
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YES, the Apostle Paul — put under Christ — obediently presents the resurrection of the body in order.

NEXT, he will talk about the resurrection body. And shortly Paul will urge the saints of Corinth to submit to those who have labored with the Apostle bringing forth the firstfruits of Achaia [16:15-16].

What do you think?

(logically and Biblically, of course) about the order of DEATH and the Resurrection?

Are you prepared to die daily (along with Paul) for the Lord Christ Jesus?

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
May 27, 2025
And Now the News – Resurrection of the Dead
Paul first establishes the indisputable facts of the Resurrection of Christ supported by evidence.

And Now the News – Just the Facts

the Logic of Christ’s Resurrection

The FACTS established, now the Apostle to the Gentiles must convince believing Corinthians influenced by cultural ‘scientists of Promethean logic‘ about the truth of the nature of the resurrection of the dead.
- How can worshippers of myths — a myriad of made-up gods and goddesses — purport LOGIC as truth?
- How can we present the resurrection of the dead as truth rather than myth (upon which Greek religion tenuously stands)?
This is Paul’s cultural challenge — and ours.

Resurrection is Key to the Gospel

Even Jerusalem’s Sadducees denied the truth and evidence of the resurrection.

Certainly many Greek worshippers of pagan gods held philosophies allowing the evil of the body to coexistence with a soul (hopefully) worthy of heaven.

Paul had encountered such opposition in Athens just before he arrived in Corinth to preach.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked...

Acts of the Apostles 17:32a

Note that this mocking at mention of the resurrection is similar to that in Jerusalem at the time many Jews received the Holy Spirit.

They believe these things, but hate them; and they also hate God.

WARRANTED CHRISTIAN BELIEF P.291

Is it not so? Hasn’t this hatred of God also been your experience simply at the mention of Jesus Christ?

Pagan ridicule of the resurrection provides false evidence to their Promethean proofs justifying the sins their flesh-indulged minds.

This was the challenge of the Apostle Paul in A.D. 55, as it is ours in this Common Era of indulgent inclusion.

IF Christ is risen..

Paul has established the indisputable facts of the bodily death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now he continues in his key logic of the gospel of resurrection of the body and spirit.

1 Corinthians 15: –

“.. this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

1 COR 15:11b BSB

: RESURRECTION IS: CERTAIN (15:1-34)

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,

how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

1 Cor 15:12 ESV

Paul now addresses those believing doubters of the resurrection influenced by the surrounding pagan culture.

The Apostle follows a step-by-step logical argument:

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

1 Cor 15:13 ESV

These logical Greek Corinthians hear the argument of the Pharisee (Saul of Tarsus) refuting the unbelieving Sadducees.

— AND Paul has just presented the FACTS and evidence that Christ was raised from the grave after His crucifixion.

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

1 Cor 15:14 ESV

SO — You are a follower of The Way – a saint of your local church…

WHY THEN did we preach Christ to you and your fellow saints?

Is your faith in a myth just vanity?
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And Paul continues rhetorically challenging the veracity of his own preaching of the Christ and Jesus' resurrection from DEATH on a Roman cross in Judea.

The apostle of this gospel self-convicts in this alternative scenario concluding: 
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We are even found to be misrepresenting God,

because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.

1 Cor 15:15 ESV

Heresy!

What is the Apostle’s proposition?

YOU — Corinthians — (and YOU, Common Era questioners) — must judge the TRUTH of the RESURRECTION of the dead based on the FACTS & EVIDENCE that the Lord Jesus Christ was the first man raised from death for your sins.
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Why do I make the bold point that this  would be HERESY? 

Other translations provide a more pointed translation of the Greek that may help us understand the seriousness of Paul's alternative false proposition. 
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εὑρισκόμεθα δὲ καὶ ψευδομάρτυρες

v.15a Moreover we are even found [in a legal sense] to be false witnesses [pseudomartys] of God..

[This would be false testimony against Almighty God, certainly punishable by death of the mortal body and punishment of their immortal soul.]

HERESY – αἵρεσις – hairesis

But the Corinthian saints know that Paul has NOT chosen himself over GOD [Theos].

The Apostle, however, continues down this logical path of its false-reasoning conclusion.

Now to the Apostle’s logical connection:

For if the dead are not raised,
not even Christ has been raised.
1 Cor 15:16 ESV
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(Paul has already opened his argument to the court of logic with Christ's resurrection.)
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Then those also who have fallen asleep [koimaō – a metaphor for death] in Christ have perished [ἀπόλλυμι – .apollymi].

1 Cor 15:18

The Perishing Promethean Heretics

Paul, in providing a clear choice to those who trust in the Way and Truth and Life of Christ, offers a clear logical choice.

The Apostle had opened his Epistle to the Corinthians clearly stating:

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing^G622,

but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I WILL DESTROY^G622 THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,

AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.”

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 LSB – Paul, citing Old Testament Scripture

“Where is the one who is wise?

Paul had rhetorically asked in the opening of this epistle [1 Cor 1:20].

νυνί – now, at this very moment

NOW Paul continues in the only logical conclusion: :

But now [at this very moment] is Christ risen from the dead
1 Corinthians 15:20a – KJV [def. Gk. νυνί]

The Apostle here is emphatic in his belief proclaimed in his closing.

“But in fact..,” “At this very moment..,” “And now..,

Christ hath risen out of the dead,” read just a few English translations of Paul’s logical Greek argument.

Then Paul proclaims the benefits of Christ’s resurrection applied to the death of those in Christ.

Christ’s resurrection + the firstfruits

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…

.. Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

1 Cor 15:20,23b ESV

Between Paul’s representation of the resurrection of Christ and resurrections of ‘those who belong to Christ’ — (faithful saints of the Church redeemed in Him) — the Apostle points back once more to original sin and the source of death replacing eternal life with God.

IN THE BEGINNING…

For as in Adam all die…

Paul proclaims:

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die,

even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Cor 15:20-22 KJV

IN THE BEGINNING God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void…

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed… But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:

for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 1-2 KJV excerpts

IN ADAM… ALL DIE.

IN ABRAHAM & JACOB.. ALL DIE.

IN MOSES ALL DIE

and IN DAVID… ALL DIE!

in Christ all will be made alive.
For just as in Adam all die,
so also in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in his own order:
Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming,
those who belong to Christ.

Then comes the end…

1 Corinthians 15:22-24a CSB
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Good NEWS of the Resurrection of the DEAD - To be continued... 
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May 19, 2025
and fear fell upon them all – Phobias from the enemy
FEAR descends upon us without warning when we least expect it. This is what has just happened in places distant from our secure homes and times more near these last days.

Acts of the Apostles 19:
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TODAY we return to Ephesus in the first century of our Lord and then quickly jump forward to fearful times ahead and even now in this 21st century of the Common Era.

IF you missed the account of Paul's previous preaching of Jesus Christ you might want to look back first.
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Evil spirits, exorcism, possession of Power

What do we fear?

Disgrace, as these men ran away from a situation over which they claimed to have power?

DEATH perhaps, IF the enemy should prevail?

The Apostle Paul [Saul of Tarsus] was a RELIGIOUS man once feared by Christians as he pursued the unrighteousness of men and women turned from Almighty God.

But a more powerful JESUS and the Holy Spirit had intervened most unexpectedly. NOW Paul in Christ demonstrates God’s POWER!

ACTS 19 – Believe in JESUS!

6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them..

.. some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude..

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul..and the evil spirits went out of them.

16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them..
Acts of the Apostles 19:16a NKJV

PAUL HAD POWER! Unseen power. The Jewish priests observed reactions of people who had witnessed this mysterious unseen power and sought such control of the crowds as well.

18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
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We may safely suppose that their confessions included the ordinary sins of every man and woman and their deeds being the evil against God and others so common in our everyday lives.
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19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

Fear of the unseen enemy

The LORD GOD is your enemy when YOU SIN against HIM!

Satan and unseen spirits in which many of you do not believe are ENEMIES of the LORD GOD and His only SON JESUS CHRIST sent to SAVE you from the Judgment of your SIN.

This CHOSEN NATION of GOD had sinned and fallen many times.

AND they continued to deny Christ’s grace and power over sin demonstrated in JESUS.

Priests and preachers had sinned against the SON of GOD sent to HIS OWN for forgiveness of SINS.

The King of the Jews was sacrificed on a Roman Cross in Jerusalem.

Paul who by now has confessed Christ witnesses to the gentiles of first century Roman Asia Minor. The Apostle once again demonstrates the power of Jesus Christ OVER sin.

AND as always, there arose a great commotion about the Way. [v.23b]

מָשִׁיחַ מָשִׁיחַ
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PHOTO above from the 3-part Gospel Series: 12 Men Texting as their Messiah approaches
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a Common Era parable – phobomai
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We interrupt these ACTS of the first century for 
BREAKING NEWS from Israel in this 21st century of the Common Era
and a parable of current events.
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A man with seven sons and seven daughters whom he had set over an inheritance of great wealth and influence sent them out to build new settlements for his grandchildren. One day his oldest son gathered all of their brothers and sisters for a great music festival of songs celebrating the culture of their fathers.

So as a trumpet sounded from the besieged holy hill beyond the locked gate they departed toward this rave for the ages led by local guides into the valley of the shadow near the salt sea.

To be continued…
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In the diaspora, the first day is known by its biblical name, Shemini Atzeret. We still dwell in the sukkah, but without a blessing. Yizkor, the memorial for the departed, is also said on this day.

The second day is known as Simchat Torah, during which we complete and immediately begin the annual Torah reading cycle. - source: Chabad.org
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7 October, 2023 of the Common Era

At the RAVE of the enemy in the valley of the shadow many fall victim.

It was NOT a festival to the LORD God and the enemy provokes the spirit of evil in any who seek pleasure in sin and death.

May God have mercy on their lost souls.

FEAR

φόβος – phobos – From a primary phebomai (to be put in fear)
- Fear, dread, terror
- that which strikes terror
And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. And fear [G5401 – phobos] gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying,

“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”
Gospel of Luke 7:15-16 Legacy Standard Bible

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars,
and on the earth anguish among nations,
in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
men fainting from fear [G5401 – phobos]
and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world;
for the POWERS OF THE HEAVENS will be shaken…
Gospel of Luke 21:25-26 LSB
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We return now from the 21st c. C.E. to a FEAR in those witnessing GOOD in the Name of JESUS in the first century of the Lord in Ephesus recalling:
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And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear G5401 fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.
Acts of the Apostles 19-17 LSB

Reaction against the Power of God

IT ALWAYS HAPPENS THAT WHEN GOD WORKS MIGHTY ACTS OF POWER THAT UNGODLY MEN WILL DO EVIL AGAINST THE WITNESSES OF GOD AND CHRIST JESUS.

ACTS 19:23 NKJV

And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said:

“Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

Some men FEAR disgrace, most men and women FEAR death, yet many cling to tradition forged into idols of culture condoning our sin and denying our mortality.

These would lead the leaven of life into a pit of eternal punishment.

“THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
Paul later writes to the ROMANS, quoting PSALM 36

Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying,

“Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.

The Apostle Paul’s ACTS in Ephesus – To Be Continued, God-willing…

Acts 19, death, fear, God, holy spirit, israel, Luke, paul, phobia, romans, war
October 14, 2023