Paul meets with fellow Christians who were forced out of Rome.

Acts 18:1-4

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

“After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.” Acts 18:1

“After these things” refers to after Paul spoke in Athens about God being the Creator of all and speaking of the resurrection [Acts 17:16-34]. Then he went to Corinth. Corinth is seen on the map below, west of Athens and a little bit south. Athens is about due north of Crete, and just a tiny bit west. Crete is seen at the bottom of the map towards the middle.

“And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.” Acts 18:2

As seen on the map below, Pontus is circled in purple near the top of the map, that is where Aquila and Priscilla were from. They moved to Rome, Italy [Italy is circled in purple towards the bottom and southwest of Pontus] where they were forced to leave by the Roman Emperor Claudius. From Rome, they went to Corinth, circled in purple [east of Italy]. That is where Paul encountered Aquila and his wife Priscilla.

Claudius wanted to keep Rome exclusively for Roman citizens and forced all Jewish people to leave. Those of today’s culture have removed Christianity from their community, relating to being out-of-sight and out-of-mind. Click here for a post on the extinction of Christian births from Revelation 12. Also, Christian families, and relationships with Jesus Christ as the head of the home, are being driven out of today’s culture and into extinction, as described in Daniel 7:5.

What is today’s culture trying to keep “pure” as a “family-centered” community? They serve the beast that replaces the conscience and spirit while oppressing the Holy Spirit. By doing that, people are willing to serve the beast that gives them what to think, feel, say, and do. They consider the followers of Jesus Christ to be destructive to their social structure because we serve Jesus Christ who makes our body the home of the Holy Spirit, who lives within our conscience and spirit. The beast they serve gives life to the image of the beast to speak and live through them, but we desire the image of Jesus Christ to speak and live through us. Today’s culture, which is global, is being groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do, but we are groomed to the image of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Today’s global culture serves 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 2:4 The “he” in this verse is the “man of sin”, the “son of perdition”, the “lawless one” Click here for a post on the “man of sin”.

So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.” Acts 18:3-4

Paul was a tentmaker by trade, and so was Aquila and his wife [Priscilla]. For that reason, they joined a partnership and lived together. There was something else that bonded them together; Aquila and Priscilla were followers of Jesus Christ. Paul brought both with him as far as Ephesus. In Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla helped to explain the way of Jesus Christ more clearly to a man who was fervent in preaching and teaching the message of John the Baptist. This is described in Acts 18:18-26. As followers of Jesus Christ, this is what God wants for us, to be connected with others through the Holy Spirit. The purpose for sharing the testimony of Jesus Christ is to bring another person into the fellowship of the Spirit of Christ. Conflict, debate, and arguments are not what God wants us to be engaged in.

While in Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, Paul went into the Jewish temple every sabbath to persuade Jews and Greeks about the resurrected Christ, the forgiveness of sin, and eternal life. When the word “persuaded” is used, it doesn’t necessarily mean he convinced any to become Christians at that moment, but he used persuasion to speak with them about the Gospel. When the Holy Spirit opens a door to reason with others, and to persuade them concerning the message of the Cross, this doesn’t mean we will see any fruit of repentance at that moment. We may never see any converts, but later on someone may come to God through Jesus Christ because of a word we had spoken. “So will My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me void, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

Whether for Salvation or for judgment, the word of the Lord is never of no effect.

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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