Hello and welcome to the Women’s Weekly Bible Challenge! I’m Lisa Ann Spencer.
This is part 3 of our series, When the Holy Spirit Speaks
to Women.
Let’s jump right into the book of Acts with a REVIEW of last
week.
We left off with the stoning of Stephen, which was a turning point in Israel’s history. Afterwards there was a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, so the disciples SCATTERED into the REGIONS of Samaria and Judaea, except for the 12 Apostles who remained in Jerusalem. Philip the evangelist went into Samaria preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Many Jewish men and women believed the message and were water baptized. We read in Acts11:19, that some of the disciples traveled as far as Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to Jews only. [See the previous blog for all the Scripture references to confirm these things for yourself.]
👉Note: There are 3 references to Phenice in Scripture: Acts
11:19, 15:3 and 27:12. By comparing
these, it would appear that there are two distinct locations. One is between Jerusalem and Antioch (Acts
15:3), and one is on the island of Crete (Acts 27:12). It is important to consider the context to
determine which location is correct.
ACTS – A TRANSITIONAL BOOK
REMINDER: This study
is titled, When the Holy Spirit Speaks to Women, but currently we are
laying down a foundation for the book of Acts.
We left our study of When Jesus Speaks to Women in the Four
Gospels, and this study will continue through the Apostle Paul’s epistles to
consider every occurrence of the Holy Spirit directly addressing women in the
scriptures. However, we must first consider
the book of Acts and note the major changes that took place, in order for us to
understand the context of Paul’s writings.
We pick up our study in Acts 8:25-26, when Peter and John
return to Jerusalem after laying hands on the Samaritan believers. Philip is told by the LORD to go toward the SOUTH
desert.
Acts 8:27, mentions a woman, which may seem insignificant at first
glance, but God does not waste words.
These are not just stories with flowery words to fill the pages of the
Bible, but the pure words of God, written and preserved for our learning.
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
What is the significance of the Ethiopian Eunuch?
Philip being sent to witness to the Ethiopian eunuch is
significant for FOUR reasons.
First, we know that
the Ethiopian is a Jew. We know this because the 12 Apostles do not acknowledge
that the Gentiles have received eternal life until ACTS 11:18. We are told in the very next verse, Acts 11:19
that those Jews who were scattered preached to none but Jews only! God is purposely witnessing to, saving and healing particular Jews under the gospel of the kingdom before the
transition to the Gentiles: an Ethiopian Eunuch, A Jew named Aeneas who had
kept his bed for 8 years (Acts 9:33) and a Jewish disciple named Tabitha (Acts9:36). These cases are unique and
significant, and I am still studying to discover the symbolic meaning behind
them.
👉NOTE: NO GENTILES are in view at this point in the book of
Acts, for a very important reason: According
to PROPHECY, Gentiles are blessed through the nation of Israel. When Israel’s kingdom is established in
Jerusalem, when the promises are fulfilled regarding their possession of the
Promised Land, and when the Messiah sits on the throne of David as King, then
the Gentiles would be blessed through blessing the nation of Israel (Genesis
12:3, Isaiah 60:1-5, Matthew 25:32,40). But the nation of Israel has rejected
their Messiah and King, and they have blasphemed the Holy Ghost by murdering
Stephen. We find ourselves in a
transition period in the book of Acts, between the fall of Israel and the call
of Saul. The historical account of the book of Acts is progressing toward the
conversion of Saul, which we will get to in next week’s study.
Second, verse 28 tells us that the Ethiopian
Eunuch was RETURNING to Ethiopia. This
helps us confirm a timeline.
Click here to read Deuteronomy 16:16.
Three times a year all Jewish males, including proselytes,
were required to come to present themselves in Jerusalem:
- The feast of unleavened bread – the Passover
- The feast of weeks - Pentecost
- The feast of tabernacles – After the fall harvest
We are not told which of the three feasts has just occurred,
but by comparing scripture with scripture, we can understand that 1 year has
passed since the outpouring of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.
Click here to read Luke 13:6-9. In THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE, we are given
a 1-year timeline for Israel as a nation to repent and bear fruit after the
outpouring of the Holy Ghost. In
addition, we are told in Matthew 3:10, And now also the Axe is laid unto the
root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is
hew down, and cast into the fire.
👉NOTE: The fig tree, representing Israel, should have been
cast into the fire after the stoning of Stephen. Instead, the WRATH of God against Israel was POSTPONED
to offer the Jews another chance at salvation (and also to save Gentiles
without them having to wait for the Israel’s Kingdom to be established on the
Earth). This plan was known only to God
and kept secret since the world began (Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7). This revelation of the Mystery was given to
the Apostle Paul to take to the predominantly Gentile world (Romans 16:25,
Ephesians 3:3). Again, we are looking
toward Saul’s conversion.
Third, the fact that the Ethiopian Jew was not
selling all his goods and joining the kingdom church in Jerusalem indicates a
change in the operation of the Kingdom Program.
Fourth, Philip afterward travels to Caesarea, and it
would appear that he never left Caesarea to evangelize again because we find
him still living there decades later in Acts 21:8. We do
not read about the twelve apostles fulfilling “the great commission”. It is not a coincidence that this account of
Philip’s permanent move to Caesarea and his diminishing ministry is recorded
for us just before Saul’s conversion.
We will pick up Part 4 of the study here next week with Saul’s
conversion and Peter’s diminishing ministry.
I would challenge you to read Acts chapter 9, and if you have time read
through to chapter 13, which marks the official sending out of Saul to the
Gentile world.
[Meanwhile, here is some more BONUS MATERIAL for you to
study:
Who is the Ethiopian Eunuch of Acts 8:27? We only know what is recorded in this
passage: he was a man of great authority under the Queen of Ethiopia and had
the charge of all her treasure. He had
come to Jerusalem to worship, and it appears he is now returning to
Ethiopia. It is interesting to consider whether
or not he was aware of the events of the past year? Was it possible for him to come to Jerusalem
to keep a feast in the Temple and not hear about Jesus, or about the murder of
Stephen? Perhaps the believing Jews were
all scattered and the Temple was left to unbelieving Israel. If that is the case, he could come and go
without having heard the truth. We are told
that he was reading an Isaiah scroll. He
was wealthy enough to own his own personal copy! It tells us the exact verse
that he was reading: Isaiah 53:7-8. Then
it says that Philip “BEGAN at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus”. I recommend that you begin at Isaiah 53 and
continue reading Isaiah until you come to chapter 56:1-5. There you will read about A EUNUCH that will
have an everlasting name. It is possible
that Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch read this promise from the Isaiah scroll. There is another famous Ethiopian Eunuch that
you can read about in Jeremiah chapters 38 and 39. Ebed-melech trusted in the God of Jeremiah,
and God blessed him for rescuing Jeremiah and trusting in Him.]
This material is covered on my YouTube channel:
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