Study #43: The Golden Ratio design of Acts Chapter 2.1

Acts, Chapter 2.1: The Jews of Asia Minor violently opposed the church-planting efforts of Paul and Barnabas among them (12:25 - 15:35)

§Complement Introduction: The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to plant churches among the Gentiles, and they began on Cyprus (12:25 - 13:12)

¶Opposite The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to work in the mission field (12:25 - 13:5)

¶Opposite Paul destroyed the spiritual influence of a false prophet on the leader of Cyprus (13:6 - 12)

§Complement Body: The hostility of the Jews in Asia Minor moved the missionary efforts of Paul and Barnabas toward the Gentiles (13:13 - 14:28)

¶Opposite Paul and Barnabas traveled to Antioch in Pisidia of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel in the synagogue of the Jews (13:13 - 25)

¶Opposite Paul boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Risen Messiah of Israel to them (13:26 - 43)

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia encouraged Paul and Barnabas to reach out to the Gentiles with the Gospel instead (13:44 - 52)

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Iconium eventually forced Paul and Barnabas to flee for their lives to Lystra and Derbe (14:1 - 7)

¶Unique After spending time with the new churches they had planted, Paul and Barnabas returned home to the church in Antioch (14:8 - 28)

§Unique Conclusion: The Apostles and elders held a council at Jerusalem to determine whether Gentile Christians should be circumcised (15:1 - 35)

¶Complement The church leadership debated whether Gentile Christians should be forced to follow the Law of Moses (15:1 - 12)

¶Complement The church at Antioch rejoiced to hear that Gentile Christians would not be forced to follow the Law of Moses (15:13 - 35)

All Bible quotations and the arrangement are found exclusively in the Kingdom Study Bible version, published by Jehovah Has Spoken Publishing Ministries.

It is published for free online at https://www.phibible.org

We begin our study of Acts Chapter 2.1 with an overview of the Golden Ratio design of the entire Chapter.

Remember that the main character of Chapter 1.5 was Peter; the main characters of Chapter 2.1 are Paul and Barnabas; and the main characters of Chapter 2.2 are Paul and Silas. Clearly, these are units of thought that must be arranged according to the contents of the text, not according to arbitrary divisions, such as found in the traditional “chapters” and “verses” arrangement found in all other Bible versions. Only the Kingdom Study Bible with the Golden Ratio design has the correct arrangement.

The Chapter can be summarized like this, using only the themes of the Sections:

Complement The Introduction: The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to plant churches among the Gentiles, and they began on Cyprus (12:25 - 13:12)

Complement The Body: The hostility of the Jews in Asia Minor moved the missionary efforts of Paul and Barnabas toward the Gentiles (13:13 - 14:28)

Unique The Conclusion: The Apostles and elders held a council at Jerusalem (15:1 - 35)

The Conclusion Section is Unique compared to the Introduction and Conclusion, because the text is about the council at Jerusalem; whereas the first two Sections are about Paul and his missionary journey to Asia Minor (today’s Turkey).

So the Golden Ratio design is clearly based upon the actual content of the Bible text; it is not a gimmick or a trick. God built the Golden Ratio design of “UCC-OO” or “OO-CCU” into the Bible text as it was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles of Jesus Christ and the Prophets of Jehovah God under the Old Covenant.

Now let’s look at the Golden Ratio design of Chapter 2.1 in more detail, but still at a high level:

§Complement Introduction: The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to plant churches among the Gentiles, and they began on Cyprus (12:25 - 13:12)

¶Opposite The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to work in the mission field (12:25 - 13:5)

¶Opposite Paul destroyed the spiritual influence of a false prophet on the leader of Cyprus (13:6 - 12)

In the Introduction Section, we read about the events that occurred as Paul and Barnabas began their ministry on the island of Cyprus.

In paragraph 1, the Holy Spirit called Saul and Barnabas to work for Him as missionaries:

“Now there were in the Assembly at Antioch certain Prophets and teachers: as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them.” Acts 13:1-2

In paragraph 2, Paul and Barnabas encountered a Jewish false prophet, who tried to keep the Roman deputy ruler of Cyprus from hearing the Gospel of Christ:

“Then Saul (who also is called Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him, and said, “O full of all subtlety and all mischief, you son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness: will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell on him; and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.” Acts 13:9-11

These events in the Introduction make this text a clear unit of thought, separate from the Body Section, because that text is about Paul and Barnabas in Asia Minor, not in Cyprus.

The themes of each paragraph oppose each other in their content. This is the same design in the Introduction all through most Books in the Bible, with certain exceptions (e.g. Psalms, Proverbs, and very small Chapters like Jude).

Remember from previous studies that the Golden Ratio paragraph pattern for the Chapters in every Book in the Body Section goes like this:

Chapter 1.1: UCC-OO

Chapter 1.2: OO-CCU

Chapter 1.3: UCC-OO

Chapter 1.4: OO-CCU

Chapter 1.5: UCC-OO

Chapter 2.1: OO-CCU

Chapter 2.2: UCC-OO

Chapter 2.3: OO-CCU

Chapter 2.4: UCC-OO

Chapter 2.5: OO-CCU

This is Chapter 2.1, so the paragraph pattern is “OO-CCU” for the Body Section, which we will see is exactly the case.

§Complement Body: The hostility of the Jews in Asia Minor moved the missionary efforts of Paul and Barnabas toward the Gentiles (13:13 - 14:28)

¶Opposite Paul and Barnabas traveled to Antioch in Pisidia of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel in the synagogue of the Jews (13:13 - 25)

¶Opposite Paul boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Risen Messiah of Israel to them (13:26 - 43)

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia encouraged Paul and Barnabas to reach out to the Gentiles with the Gospel instead (13:44 - 52)

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Iconium eventually forced Paul and Barnabas to flee for their lives to Lystra and Derbe (14:1 - 7)

¶Unique After spending time with the new churches they had planted, Paul and Barnabas returned home to the church in Antioch (14:8 - 28)

The paragraph marks on the left side with “U”, “C”, or “O” indicate the Golden Ratio design: one Unique, two Complements, and two Opposite.

As you can see from the alternating design next to each Chapter above, it is the reverse design from Chapter 1.5; and Chapter 2.2 will reverse the design again, and so on. This would be impossible, if the Bible was only written by men. The Golden Ratio design of the Bible is proof of its Divine Authorship and its Divine Authority.

The main theme of the Chapter is always found in the UCC or CCU part of the Body Section. In this Chapter, the last three paragraphs are the main theme. The first two paragraphs (which have two opposing themes) set the stage for the remainder of the Body Section, and are related to it, but are quite different. This is always the way the Golden Ratio design manifests itself in the Bible.

In the first and second paragraphs, Paul and Barnabas traveled to Antioch of Pisida in Asia Minor, and went into a synagogue of the Jews and preached the Gospel of Christ to them.

§Complement Body: The hostility of the Jews in Asia Minor moved the missionary efforts of Paul and Barnabas toward the Gentiles (13:13 - 14:28)

¶Opposite Paul and Barnabas traveled to Antioch in Pisidia of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel in the synagogue of the Jews (13:13 - 25)

“Now when Paul and his group set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia (but John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem). But when they left Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.” Acts 13:13-14

¶Opposite Paul boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Risen Messiah of Israel to them (13:26 - 43)

“Men, brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you fears God, to you is the Word of this salvation sent:...” Acts 13:26

“Therefore be it known to you, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all sins, from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39

Comment: The last three paragraphs in the Body Section are the main theme of this Chapter, where (after Paul preached the Gospel in the synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia) Paul and Barnabas then began to focus their Gospel preaching toward the Gentiles instead of the Jews. During this period, Paul and Barnabas planted a number of new Asssemblies/churches among the Gentiles in Asia Minor.

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia encouraged Paul and Barnabas to reach out to the Gentiles with the Gospel instead (13:44 - 52)

“Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold, and said, “It was necessary that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of Everlasting Life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles: for so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light of the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.’” Acts 13:46-47

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Iconium eventually forced Paul and Barnabas to flee for their lives to Lystra and Derbe (14:1 - 7)

“And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them spitefully, and to stone them, they were aware of it, and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the region that lies round about; and there they preached the Gospel.” Acts 14:5-7

¶Unique After spending time with the new churches they had planted, Paul and Barnabas returned home to the church in Antioch (14:8 - 28)

“And when they had ordained them elders in every Assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.” Acts 14:23

“And from there, they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.” Acts 14:26

Do you see how, in the “CCU” portion, that the Unique text is closely related to the two Complements texts, but there is some separation between them? The two Complements are a pair, like two sides of the same coin; whereas the Unique is alone, but again, closely linked to the two Complements themes.

§Unique Conclusion: The Apostles and elders held a council at Jerusalem (15:1 - 35)

¶Complement The church leadership debated whether Gentile Christians should be forced to follow the Law of Moses (15:1 - 12)

¶Complement The church at Antioch rejoiced to hear that Gentile Christians would not be forced to follow the Law of Moses (15:13 - 35)

Now in the Conclusion Section, we read about a doctrinal controversy among Jewish Christians, whether Gentile Christians should be forced to be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses, like the Jewish Christians were doing. This occurred after Paul and Barnabas had returned to Antioch, so this Section is unique compared to the Introduction and Conclusion.

“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying that it was necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses. And the Apostles and elders came together to consider of this matter.” Acts 15:5-6

“And they wrote a letter by them after this manner: “The Apostles and elders and brethren sends greeting to the brethren that are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, ‘You must be circumcised, and keep the Law’ (to whom we gave no such command): it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth: for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: to abstain from food offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if you keep yourselves, you shall do well. Farewell.” Acts 15:23-29

These two paragraphs complement each other in their themes. The main characters in both are the Apostles and the Jewish Christians in the Assembly at Jerusalem. They debated the two sides of the controversy, and then James (the pastor of the church) made a decision not to require Gentiles to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses.

So the themes of the two paragraphs are like two sides of the same coin.

I invite you to look at Acts Chapter 2.1 on my website in the Kingdom Study Bible Version, so that you can see the Golden Ratio design for yourself. At the top of the page, you can find links to view other parts of the Kingdom Study Bible Version as well.

https://www.phibible.org/Bible_Pages/Volume4/Acts6Eng.html

What is the significance of the Golden Ratio design of the Bible?

The Golden Ratio design of the Bible is proof that God is the true Author of the Holy Scriptures, because the Apostles and Prophets who recorded the words in the Bible over a period of about 1,600 years were definitely not aware of the Golden Ratio design in their writings.

But since we can clearly see this design all through the Bible from Genesis to the Psalms (see the entire Golden Ratio design at https://www.phibible.org), and since this design would be clearly be impossible without Divine Inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21), therefore the Holy Bible must be from the one true God.

So, the Golden Ratio design of the Bible is visual proof that the Holy Bible (not including the Apocrypha or the pseudepigrapha) originated from God Almighty, and not from any imagination or device of man.

On the other hand, this also means that the other religious books in the world today are not of God, because they do not have the Golden Ratio design in any way, shape, or form: the Quran of Islam, the bhagavad gita of Hinduism, the “books” of Mormon, the writings of Ellen G. White (Seventh Day Adventists), and many others. These other religions are preaching messages that cannot save anyone or anything.

Only the Holy Bible proclaims the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only true Way of Salvation, and the one true God; therefore, Jesus Christ is exactly what the Bible says that He is: crucified and risen Redeemer, Savior, King of kings, Lord of lords, and Messiah of the Jewish people (and many other Divine titles).

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” John 14:6.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

“Tell, and bring them near; moreover, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient times? Who has told it from that time? Have not I Jehovah? And there is no God other than me, a just God and a Savior; there is no God other than me.

Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am the true God; and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:21-22

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This [Jesus] is the true God, and Eternal Life.” 1 John 5:20-21

The Gospel is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day. If you repent of your sins and believe on Jesus Christ, asking Him to come into your heart to save you, because He paid for all of your sins on the cross of Calvary, then you will be saved and go to Heaven when you die!

I urge you to trust in Jesus Christ right now! Here is a prayer that you can use to repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior right now, because you may not live to get saved tomorrow:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.