Paul forced out of the Temple of God and arrested.

Acts 21:27-36

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• Masses of people are stirred up against God’s people for being in the Temple of God.
• God’s people thrown out of the Temple, the doors Shut, and violence begins.
• Roman soldiers assigned to keep peace in the community.
• The one responsible for stirring up the community is put in chains.

Masses of people are stirred up against God’s people for being in the Temple of God.
“Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”  (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)” Acts 21:27-29

The “seven days” refer to Paul’s days of purification that he put himself through, as described in Acts 21:17-25. When the Jewish people saw him in the temple, they cried out against him. That describes the reaction of today’s culture against those who live for God as the temple of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. Today’s culture lives for the entity that has claimed the temple of God, our body, as its domain. This is the entity that has power over physiology to live within the thoughts, feelings, words and behaviors of people everywhere. This is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 The “he” in this verse is the “man of sin”. Click here for a post on the “man of sin”. With that, those of today’s culture dominate the congregation of the churches and do not want true believers to be there. The churches have “humanitarian” ways of ensuring that the followers of Christ do not feel at home in the churches.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19

The Jewish people stirred up the masses of people against Paul by saying he was teaching against the people, law, and the temple. As followers of Jesus Christ, we do teach His Gospel and share our born-again experience. We want people to know our body is made to be the temple of the Holy Spirit and not the temple of the atheistic entity that intertwines itself within human physiology. Christ’s teaching opposes atheism which permeates today’s culture, opposes standards of law based on atheism, and opposes claiming the temple of God as their own. As a result, the masses of people around the world are stirred up against Christianity, as quoted, “Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb…” Revelation 13:6-8 The “he” in this verse is the beast of the image and mark of the beast.

The Jewish people also moved against Paul by claiming he was defiling the temple of God by bringing Gentiles into there. In those days, the Jewish people claimed an exclusive right to God, and everyone else were called Gentiles and not permitted to enter the inner temple. As followers of Jesus Christ, we want to bring other people to God to make their body the home of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus. However, today’s culture brings the end to the spread of the testimony of Jesus. They claim the Gospel defiles the temple where the entity sets within the body through the thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors of people. This is easily seen in that the churches no longer preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Government lawmakers no longer integrate the values of the Bible into laws and policies. The educational system does not allow the teaching of the Bible into classrooms. And open Christianity is not welcomed in any sector of society.

God’s people thrown out of the Temple, the doors Shut, and violence begins.
“And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut” Acts 21:30

The whole city, consisting of the Jewish people, were riled to see Paul in the temple [Acts 21:27-29]. They all ran together and dragged Paul out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. That is exactly what is happening in today’s culture against those who believe in God through Jesus Christ. Anyone who is critical of the culture living for the entity that gives them what to speak, do, think, and feel are shunned by the community. The intent is to force people out of the presence of the Holy Spirit that lives within our heart, mind, and soul.

Our body is the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and today’s culture drags people out of the temple of God. We are dragged out from the presence of the Holy Spirit by negative feedback, social disapproval, antagonism, personal attacks, and unwanted physical experiences. Anything related to the natural senses is polluted; the things we see are contrary to the Holy Spirit, what we smell, taste, feel, and hear is designed to chase us from the presence of the Holy Spirit. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 They want the temple, our body, to be the home of the atheistic entity that speaks and lives through people everywhere.

As a result of people being dragged from the temple of God [our body as the home of the Holy Spirit], the door to the temple is shut, and the Holy Spirit is shut out from today’s culture, which is global. They seek the death of Christianity. The Holy Spirit restrains lawlessness, and as He is taken out of the way, lawlessness is unleashed, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed…” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 Click here for a post on the “lawless one”.

Roman soldiers assigned to keep peace in the community.
“Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.” Acts 21:31-32

The Romans were very much against any type of uproar within the Roman Empire, so the mobs of people trying to kill Paul caught the notice of a Roman police commander [military commander]. The commander took over 100 Roman soldiers to the scene of the attack, which caused the Jewish people to stop beating Paul. The leaders of today’s culture are very much against any type of uproar or disturbance caused in their community. That is why the extinction of Christianity, as described in revelation 12, is carried out in “humanitarian” ways.  “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.’” Revelation 12:17 Nowadays, violence is not publicly supported against Christians, and public leaders do not announce the public persecution of the followers of Jesus Christ. Open violence against Christians is not yet upon us and not tolerated by law enforcement.

While public violence is not tolerated, those punished for any uproar in the community are those who are not supportive of today’s atheistic culture. This is the same as Paul being arrested for no other reason than that the whole community was riled up upon seeing Paul and knowing he spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere. As a Chrisitan, it is best not to be around them, not to criticize them, nor try to tell them they need to be born-again through Jesus Christ. It’s something like when you point one finger at them, three are pointing back at you. As our Lord Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5 Also, we are told to come apart from them, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.” Revelation 18:4-6

The one responsible for stirring up the community is put in chains.
“Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”.” Acts 21:33-36

The commander put Paul under arrest and bound him with two chains. This is the moment that the missionary journeys of Paul came to an end, and his freedom was taken away. The rest of the seven chapters of Acts talks about his trials, appeals, two imprisonments [two years in Judea, Acts 23:23-24 and Acts 24:27], four-month transfer to Rome as a prisoner [Acts 27], and two years in Rome [Acts 28:30-31]. The Jewish people would not give Paul a rest until he was arrested and executed, they cried out to the commander, “Away with him!”. Today, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is bound in chains, and our born-again experience is His Gospel written on our heart. Today’s culture is crying out to the governing leaders concerning Jesus Christ, “Away with Him!”.

The society that we live in today has no use for the truth. By the dominance of their numbers and collective force they demand action to be taken in their favor. As quoted, “Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.” Daniel 8:12 Click here for a post on Daniel 8. The “army” is the global culture that is given over to the “horn”, which is the entity with power over physiology to give people what to think, feel, say, and do. Because of the rejection of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the “army” is given over to the “horn”. These are those who oppose the daily sacrifices that represent our devotion to God through Jesus Christ.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11