The End of the Apostolic Age

Most folks think of the Apostolic Age as a period between Pentecost, cir. 31 CE, and the death of the last of the original twelve Apostles. To a great degree this is true, but as far as the New Testament is concerned, the centrality of apostolic authority is a dwindling one and ended much earlier—at least as far as the Jerusalem church was concerned.

Who Were the Men from James?

At first when Paul tells us that men from James arrived in Antioch and drew Peter and Barnabas away from the table fellowship of Jewish and Gentile believers (Galatians 2:11-13), one thinks that James actually sent these men, but it is something he specifically denied in Acts 15. I think we should probably understand the phrase as being equal to “…men from the Jerusalem church.” James seems to have been the acknowledged head of the Jerusalem community of believers by this time, which was after the expulsion of the Apostles under the Agrippa persecution of the early 40s CE (Acts 12).

The Persecution Under Agrippa I

Luke tells us in Acts 12:3 that Herod (Agrippa I) executed James, the son of Zebedee, with a sword. The problem is Luke never tells us why. He simply records the event. So, what prompted Herod to lift up his hand against certain disciples? Can we know? I don’t think it is possible to know with certainty, but I do believe we can come close to the truth by interpreting wisely some of what we find in Luke’s record.
It seems obvious from the method of execution that James was slain for political purposes. We know this, because execution with the sword, beheading, was a more honorable death than stoning and other such methods, which were reserved for criminals. The Romans also differentiated between methods of execution. Crucifixion was never used against a Roman citizen unless his crime was particularly barbarous or as a traitor. Tradition tells us that Paul, a Roman citizen, was beheaded, while Peter was crucified during the Nero persecution of the 60s CE.

The Apostles Were Persecuted for Treason!

King Agrippa I was king over Judea for at least 3 years from January or February of 41 CE to 44 CE. It is possible that he reigned 3 ½ years, depending upon whether he died immediately after the summer games (Acts 12:19-23; see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews: 19.8.2), or approximately 6 months later. We know he died in 44 CE, but did he die in January (approximately 6 months after the summer games honoring Caesar in 43 CE) or immediately after the summer games in 44 CE? If his death was quick, then he reigned 3 ½ years. On the other hand, if his death followed a six month illness, he reigned only three years over Judea.

A Judas Contradiction?

How did Judas die, and who actually purchased the “field of blood” with the thirty pieces of silver that was paid to Judas for delivering Jesus into the hands of the Jewish authorities at Jerusalem? I have spoken with several people who believe there is a contradiction between Matthew’s account of Judas’ activities and Luke’s account of the same in the book of Acts. Notice how the Scriptures describe the account:

“Life is Queer with Its Twists and Turns…”

That’s a line from probably my favorite poem “Don’t Quit” written by one of my favorite authors—anonymous! It sort’a, kind’a fits Paul’s life in many ways at various times in his walk with Christ. However, through it all Paul didn’t quit, rather he committed his way to the Lord, and God made all things work together for his, that is, Paul’s own good as he, himself, testifies (Romans 8:28).

We were Called Christians First in Antioch!

Did you ever wonder how we got our name Christian? I have several nicknames and I know how I received each one. Some of the reasons are quite funny, while others are a bit embarrassing. Some were used for a short period of time, and others I am known by to this day. Nevertheless, all of them are mine, and I know the reason why and by whom I had been called by each name that was used to identify me. So, since we had begun to be known as followers of the Way or Nazarenes, how is it we finally became known as Christian? Who gave us this name and why, and can we know?

Caligula and Antiochus Epiphanes

I believe the reign of Caligula, emperor of Rome (37-41 CE), is underrated, as it pertains to the New Testament and the early Messianic movement in Judea. There was a lot happening during these few years in Jewish history that remind me of the period of Antiochus Epiphanes who desecrated the Temple, which gave rise to the revolt of the Maccabees, cir. 168 BCE.

Paul Moves to Antioch!

In an earlier blog I had suggested that Paul’s move to Tarsus had a prophetic implication. It is suggested in a book I have read: “Paul: Between Damascus and Antioch” by Martin Hengle and Anna Maria Schwemer, that Paul deliberately placed himself in the position to fulfill prophecy which he saw in Genesis in Noah’s prayer: “God enlarge Japhet, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem” (Genesis 9:27).

The Gospel Goes to the Gentiles!

Jesus told the Apostles that they would be his witnesses to all nations (Matthew 28:19-20), but he never told them how this would be done—only that they would be witnesses to all. Yet, years after his crucifixion and resurrection the apostles are still in Jerusalem. Why? Oh, tradition has it that they were each assigned regions of the world and went out to evangelize the world, but the Scriptures imply, at least for a large part of the first fifteen or so years of church history, the Apostles remained at Jerusalem. Didn’t they take the Lord’s word seriously?

A Chronology of Acts Eight Through Twelve

The eighth chapter of Acts begins with the persecution of the Church immediately following the death of Stephen in the fall of 34 CE. At this point in time, however, it would be wrong to assume the Church is an entity in itself in the same manner that it had become in the 2^nd century CE. Rather all Messianic Jews were considered a part of Judaism, a faith made up of all Jews, whether or not one believed in Jesus as the Messiah. It is precisely because Stephen and the group of Messianic believers who settled in Jerusalem from the Diaspora were Jews that the leaders in Jerusalem had the authority to pursue them and bring them to Jerusalem for trial.

The Nine Silent Years of Paul

Paul tells us that between the time of his life-changing vision of Jesus in chapter nine of Acts (35 CE) and the council at Jerusalem was fourteen years (49 CE). In Galatians he says he did not immediately go to Jerusalem after he saw Jesus, but did go three years later. However, he did not go to Jerusalem again to discuss theology until fourteen years after his vision of Jesus (Galatians 2:1). So, by the time Paul met with Peter and James the first time, it was three years after his vision, and between this time and when he and Barnabas left for Galatia on Paul’s supposed first missionary journey in 47 CE, there are about nine silent years. Technically, since not much is known of Paul’s first three years as a Messianic Jew, we could include his first three years and say there are virtually eleven silent years. However, for the purpose of this blog, I am concerned with the nine.

Why Did Paul Go to Tarsus?

When Paul attempted to reconnect with old friends in the Grecian synagogues at Jerusalem, it ended with his having to flee for his life. The brethren there took him as far as Caesarea, where Paul sailed to Tarsus. As one reads the account, it all seems to just naturally flow into the idea that Paul went home to reconnect with family and childhood friends, and thereby more or less nurse his wounded self-esteem. Up to this point Paul had probably preached in Arabia, Damascus and Jerusalem. The result was Aretas’ ethnarch sought to arrest him, the Jews in Damascus sought to kill him, and his old friends at Jerusalem also sought his life. What was he doing wrong?

What Did Peter and Paul Discuss at Jerusalem?

Paul told the Galatians that he had stayed with Peter at Jerusalem for fifteen days (Galatians 1:18), immediately following his escape from Damascus and the three years since his dramatic life-changing experience with Jesus. His point was, seeing that he spent three years in Arabia and Damascus before he sought out a meeting with Peter, how could the two weeks he spent with him be construed to mean he was dependent upon him or any of the original Twelve for his Gospel? If we can agree with this conclusion, we may then ask, what was discussed between these two men? I think we can be assured it wasn’t the weather.

Paul’s Visit with Peter

Paul’s activity after his heavenly vision seems to suggest an independence from the Apostles as far as authority is concerned. That is, he didn’t need their approval or authorization to preach the Gospel where and when he thought good. It was about three years after his transformation that he even attempted to see the Apostles, and even then his visit arose out of the circumstances at hand. That is, he was no longer able to stay in Damascus, so he was then ready to meet with the Twelve.

Paul’s Flight from Damascus

After Paul returned to Damascus from Arabia, he began to preach in the synagogues there. There were thousands of Jews and Jewish proselytes among the Damascenes for Josephus tells us that 10, 000 Jews were slain there during the Jewish revolt [Wars 2.20.2], and this appears to be men only, for in another place he says there were 18,000 slain and there included women and children [Wars 7.8.7], but this does not include Jewish sympathizers or God-fearers who worshiped among the Jews every Sabbath. So, evidently Paul had a great mission field here, near where he first came to know Jesus.

My Favorite Joke

I've been tagged by Bill Heroman to tell my favorite joke. Okay, here goes.
There were these two friends, a boy and a girl, about 9 or 10 years old. They were walking in a wooded area and came by a stream. The young boy suggested that they go swimming, because it was hot after all. The girl said she didn't bring her swimming suite, and the boy replied neither did he. Anyway they agreed and went into the bushes to remove their clothing. As chance would have it, they were both ready for the swim at the same time and jumped from the bushes together. The boy looked at his friend and she looked at him and there was a long pause as they continued to stare. The boy finally broke the silence and said...

Paul and the Doctrine of Circumcision

Did you ever wonder how Paul first began to understand the circumcision doctrine that so identified him and his ministry? Well, immediately following his heavenly vision, Paul went into Arabia. More than likely he spent some time in the synagogues in various cities he visited there. Paul already knew the Nabataeans were near relatives to the Jews, descending from Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar the slave. He would have found, if he didn’t know already, Nabataeans were more easily won over as proselytes to Judaism there than in other Gentile countries in the empire. Why was this so? No doubt it was because of the Nabataeans disposition toward the Jewish practice of circumcision. Being descended from Abraham, circumcision was not rejected, as it was in other Gentile countries. It was already practiced, but not under compulsory conditions as in Judea and Galilee. They were more or less indifferent toward the practice.

Stephen’s Death and Chronology in Acts

I recently commented on Bill Heroman’s blog New Testament/History. It was a rather lengthy comment, so I decided to place it here as well, because it adds information to a short series of blogs I did earlier involving Stephen’s death and the first few chapters of Acts. Below is my comment. Changes to the comment for clarity sake appear in brackets.

Who are the Children of Abraham?

“Who are the children of Abraham?” seems to have been a question under discussion in the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8), as well as that of Jesus (John 8:39), but although there are implications in the Gospels, Paul defines the doctrine more vividly than what is found in the Gospel accounts. For Paul, Abraham’s children are those who “believe God” just as Abraham believed God. They are not necessarily, in the spiritual sense, those who are physically descended from Abraham, although his physical descendants must ultimately be dealt with. The question is, however, where did Paul get this idea, since he was never one of John’s or Jesus’ disciples?