Study #47: The hostility of the Jews in Iconium eventually forced Paul and Barnabas to flee for their lives to Lystra and Derbe (14:1

Study #47: The hostility of the Jews in Iconium eventually forced Paul and Barnabas to flee for their lives to Lystra and Derbe (14:1 - 7)

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://https://www.phibible.org/

We continue our study of Acts Chapter 2.1 with the fourth paragraph of the Body Section.

The Bible text arranged according to the Golden Ratio design of “UCC-OO”: one Unique, two Complements, and two Opposites:

¶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 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they both went together into the synagogue of the Jews; and so spoke, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

Complement But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren; therefore they stayed a long time speaking boldly in the Lord, who gave testimony to the Word of his grace; and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

Complement But the multitude of the city was divided; and part held with the Jews, and part with the Apostles.

Opposite And when an attempt was made by both by both the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, to mistreat 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.

Opposite And there they preached the Gospel.

Comments: Paul and Barnabas faced hostility in Asia Minor (today it is the nation of Turkey) everywhere that they went. Not from Muslims, because Islam did not exist until over 600 years later when Mohammad began preaching his false gospel in Arabia. In fact, Islam did not exist in Asia Minor (or Turkey) until the 11th century.

No, Asia Minor in the first century was inhabited by polytheistic Greeks; and it was controlled by the polytheistic Roman empire. The Jews also had many synagogues in the cities.

Paul and Barnabas went into a synagogue in Iconium and preached the Gospel to the Jews, in spite of the fact that in the previous Chapter, they had decided to refocus their missionary ministry toward the Gentiles, because of the hostile reception they had received from the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia.

The result of their preaching in the synagogue was that many Jews and Gentiles believed the Gospel, and were saved. But some Jews took it upon themselves to attempt to poison the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. Over time, the entire city of Iconium was divided over the Gospel of Christ: many believed, but many did not.

Finally, the Jews and Gentiles that opposed the Gospel conspired together to stone Paul and Barnabas; and they fled to Lystra and Derbe to escape.

Now, I want you to notice something very important in this text: “therefore they stayed a long time speaking boldly in the Lord, who gave testimony to the Word of his grace; and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”

God granted to Paul and Barnabas the gifts of performing signs and wonders by their hands. What were these signs and wonders?

1) Divine healing of sickness and disease

2) Raising the dead (we aren’t told this in our text; but we might assume that it happened, since Peter raised a woman, Dorcus, from the dead a few years eariler in Acts 9:39-41)

3) Casting out demons

These are the same signs and wonders that the Lord Jesus Christ did during his earthly ministry.

“Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and show John again those things which you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” Matthew 11:4-5

Now why did the Lord do this through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas?

Remember that the first century was a time of transition, from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The letters of Paul and the other Apostles (John, Peter, etc) had not yet been written; even the Gospels had probably not yet been recorded at the time of our text in Acts.

So Paul and Barnabas were traveling through Asia, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, using only the Hebrew Bible! They could not say, “Turn to Ephesians 2:8-9; or John 3:16, or Matthew 4:1”, because those documents probably did not exist yet!

So, it was necessary for the Lord to assist the preaching of the Gospel of Christ with signs and wonders, so that the message of Paul and Barnabas would have added credibility and power.

Mark 16:20: “And they went forth, and preached the Gospel everywhere: the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following.”

This was the same reason that the Lord Jesus used signs and wonders in his ministry, because the only Bible that He had available was the Hebrew Bible; so the signs and wonders were need to AUTHENTICATE his ministry.

In other words, the miracles of healing, raising the dead, and casting out demons (signs and wonders) were obviously from God; therefore, the people knew that Jesus was sent from God also. (Jesus was also God; and the way that Jesus raised the dead was different than his Apostles, because He could simply command the dead to rise, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43). Whereas, the Prophets and the Apostles had to pray and seek the Lord first.)

But today, we have the COMPLETE Holy Bible! We have all of the letters of Paul, Peter, John, Jude, James; and the five Gospels: Matthew, Luke, John, Mark, and the Acts. Anyone can say, “Open your Bible and read John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life’”.

Today, we do not need signs and wonders to confirm or authenticate the Word of God, because we already have the COMPLETE HOLY BIBLE in our hands! The complete Word of God is all of the authentication that Christians need today. The completed Word of God is the “full Gospel”. Signs and wonders are unnecessary for this Age; we do not need them!

1 Corinthians 13:8 - 10: “Selfless love never ceases; but whether there are prophecies, they shall come to an end; whether there are gifts of foreign languages, they shall cease of their own accord; whether there is knowledge, it shall also come to an end. For we know in part; and we prophesy in part. But when that which is complete has come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”

The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth, that the most important spiritual gift is SELFLESS LOVE, because this gift will continue through all Ages and will never end; but some of the other spiritual gifts (e.g. speaking in tongues) were temporary, and served a purpose only for the time that Paul lived in and was writing to them in (i.e. the first century).

The church at Corinth was carnal and worldly; and they were abusing the gift of tongues by making it a major part of their church services. In fact, it seems that they were speaking in foreign languages, believing that this was the same thing as the spiritual gift of speaking a foreign language without training.

Paul corrected them, and said that it was most important to preach the Word of God (or to prophesy) in the language of the people in the congregation who were listening, so that they could understand what was being said. Otherwise, the preacher who was preaching in English (for example) to a congregation of Greeks or Jews or Asians would be preaching into the air, because no one could understand him!

“Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with foreign languages what good shall I do you, unless I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by teaching? And even lifeless things which make a sound, whether pipe or harp, unless they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For you shall speak into the air.” 1 Corinthians 14:6 - 9

Paul did not forbid to speak in foreign languages (or tongues), because the end of the transitional period of the first century was not complete yet, and the Bible had not yet been complete!

The goal of preaching the Word of God in every service of the church should be to EDIFY (or build up or strengthen spiritually) the Christians in the service. The only way you can do that, Paul said, is to preach the Bible in the language of the people in attendence, unless you have an interpreter. For example, if everyone in the audience only speaks English, don’t speak in Chinese!

“What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Otherwise when you shall give thanks with the spirit, how shall he that occupies the room of the uneducated say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, seeing he does not understand what you say? For you truly give thanks well, but the other is not strengthened spiritually.” I Corinthians 14:15 - 17

If there is no interpreter, Paul said to sit down and be quiet!

I Corinthians 14:28: “But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silence in the Assembly; and let him speak to himself, and to God.”

But this is not what we see in churches today that call themselves “Pentecostal” or “Charismatic”, is it? No, we see total chaos in these churches, with a lot of incoherent babbling!

“Honda bow tie, honda bow tie, seem sala beam” is not a language: it is pure gibberish, and it is not of God!

Paul even commanded women to be silent in the church, referring to preaching to a congregation of men; but in modern churches of the charismatic movement, women not only preach to men, but they are pastors; which is a clear violation of I Timothy 3:1ff.

Secondly, the signs and wonders that were performed by Christ and his Apostles are not the same “signs and wonders” that modern charismatic preachers are doing today!

Instead of casting out demons, healing disease and raising the dead, modern charismatic preachers are doing these things:

1) They claim to heal disease, but never go to the hospitals to help people there; instead, they hold big meetings and collect lots of money from weak and gullible people who are desperate for help, no matter who is offering it. Every TV preacher who claims to heal disease is a fraud and a false prophet. You can always detect them, because they like to smile real big! Any preacher who smiles too much should be suspicious to you; it is a sign that they only want to get rich at your expense.

2) They cannot raise the dead! Any claim that they have raised someone from the dead is a lie. There is no evidence to support such claims.

3) They claim to cast out demons, but what they are doing is actually infecting people with new demons! Case in point is false prophet Benny Hinn: have you seen him wave his jacket at a crowd, and then watch them fall over like a wind hit them? Jesus and his Apostles NEVER did any such thing! This is demonic and it is not of God.

4) “Slaying in the spirit”: there is not a single example in the Bible of a person that was “slain in the spirit”. This is demonic and is not of God.

5) “Holy laughter”: I am all in favor of good, clean jokes that make me laugh; but there is not a single example in the Bible where the Holy Spirit made someone laugh hysterically and uncontrollably for ten or fifteen minutes or even longer. Many charismatic meetings have people rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically, supposedly because God has touched them and made them do it.

But the Bible lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and hysterical, uncontrolled laughter, “slaying in the spirit”, waving your coat at people and watching them fall over are not listed there.

“But the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and SELF-CONTROL: against such there is no Law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:22-24

“SELF-CONTROL” is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, not LOSS OF CONTROL.

“Let two or three of the prophets speak; and let the others judge. If anything is revealed to another that sits by, let the first hold his peace: for you may all prophesy one at a time, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets: for GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION, but of peace, as in all Assemblies of the saints.” 1 Corinthians 14:29-33

False teaching that is against the Bible is always the fruit of a demonic spirit; true teaching is always a fruit of the Holy Spirit! When you see a church that openly disobeys the Bible, and is even proud of it, you know that that church is not of God. Stay away from churches like that!

If you want to find a church that is faithful to the Word of God, you need to find an Independent, Fundamental, Baptist church. The best churches are the ones that say “Independent”, “Fundamental”, and “Baptist” in their names. If you need assistance to find a church like that, email me at editor@phibible.org; or, message me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Spanishphibible, and I will find a good church in your area or a missionary that you can talk to.

Finally, Christians today (any born-again Christian, not just preachers) can cast out demons and pray for God to heal (either themselves or others). These are not signs and wonders, but simply the authority that we have been given as the children of God. We can command demons to leave in the Name of Jesus Christ; and we can pray for God to heal. The demons must leave, because of the Name of Jesus; but God will not always heal in response to our prayers (2 Timothy 4:20).

Sinner friend, have you repented of YOUR SINS and received Jesus Christ as YOUR personal Savior?

You can do it right now, and be saved eternally, if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died on the cross for YOUR SINS, and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Use this prayer as a model for your own:

“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.