Paul faced governors, military commanders, and prominent people at his trial.

Acts 25:23

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“So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.” Acts 25:23

For a description of who Agrippa and Bernice were, click here for a post on Acts 25:13. In short, Agrippa was an expert on Jewish affairs, the customs of the Jewish culture, and on the laws of Judaism. Bernice was the sister-in-law of Governor Festus. The next day after hearing about Paul’s case from Festus, they came to the state hearing room to hear from Paul himself. Agrippa was hoping that Paul would incriminate himself in order to find a crime, as quoted, Festus said, “I have nothing certain to write to my lord [Caesar] concerning [Paul]. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.” Acts 25:26-27

Agrippa and Bernice are described as coming into the hearing room with great pomp, accompanied by military commanders and prominent people of the community. Paul was being held as a suspect, or “person of interest”, and looked at as an enemy of the state to the Roman Empire, for allegedly inciting riots among the Jewish culture. In the process of looking for a crime within the words of Paul, they would use the expertise of military commanders and the prominent men of the community. In essence, they were looking for charges against Paul of terrorism, treason, etc. in order to have him executed. That would have been very pleasing to the Jewish culture, and to Nero. Nero was the Roman Emperor known for his brutality in his persecution and killing of Christians.

The pomp of gathering together experts, Governors, military leaders, and prominent people is something we see routinely today. This is seen constantly nowadays during televised news conferences to announce the detainment of a suspect or “person of interest”. This usually has to do with people who are or have been a threat to a local community or to a state or to national interests. The gathering includes prominent local law enforcement, lawyers, prominent community leaders, Department of Homeland Security, Department of War, Governors, experts, and always the presence of a prominent woman leader. They seek to root out crimes against today’s family culture.

How surprised we would be as Christians to be called into a hearing before a gathering like mentioned in the previous paragraph. Unfortunately, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is already considered a threat to today’s culture. That’s because we consider our body to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, but they claim ownership of the body as being the home of the atheistic entity that replaces the spirit while oppressing the presence of the Holy Spirit. The battleground is the soul. The atheistic entity gives people what to think, feel, say, and do. The spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a threat to the governing authority that governs through the thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors of people in every city across the globe. For a Chrisitan to cause an uproar in today’s culture would amount to treason, terrorism, and being an enemy of the state.

To understand how serious of a threat living for Jesus Christ is to the culture of today, which is global, know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being driven into extinction. The churches have abandoned the message of the Cross, and the testimony of Jesus is not found. The churches are aligned with the community agenda. Government lawmakers no longer integrate the values of the Bible into laws, polices, and executive orders. The educational system does not allow the teaching of the Bible in classrooms, and the Gospel of Christ is unwelcomed in all sectors of society. Today’s governing authorities and its culture are eliminating what they view as the Gospel threat. Click here for a post on the extinction of Christian births from Revelations 12.

The Jewish people, wanting Christ killed, tried to solicit words from Him that would incriminate Him against Caesar, as quoted, “Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Mark 12:13-17

The Holy Spirit says this to us, “…be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. Titus 3:1-2

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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, 3:1