Study #70: A Survey of Acts, Chapter 2.5

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/

All Bible quotations and the arrangement are found exclusively in the Kingdom Study Bible (KSB) version, published by Jehovah Has Spoken Publishing Ministries. Currently, the KSB is being prepared for a new edition release in free PDF, and will not be available for download until it is ready.

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

Currently, the KSB is being prepared for a new edition release in free PDF, and will not be available for download until it is ready.

Acts, Chapter 2.5: Paul the prisoner witnessed to the Gentile Roman government in Caesarea before traveling to Rome (23:12 - 28:31)

§Complement Introduction: Paul’s nephew helped Paul to escape a Jewish conspiracy to kill him (23:12 - 35)

¶Opposite Paul’s nephew reported the conspiracy to kill Paul to the Roman tribune (23:12 - 22)

¶Opposite The Roman tribune sent Paul to Caesarea under heavy guard (23:23 - 35) ==

§Complement Body: Paul defended himself before the Roman governors and king Agrippa, who sent him to Rome (24:1 - 27:44)

¶Opposite Paul defended himself before Felix against false accusations from a lawyer hired by the Jews (24:1 - 23)

¶Opposite For two years, Felix tried to persuade Paul to bribe him for freedom, but failed (24:24 - 27)

¶Complement Paul appealed to Caesar to prevent his assassination by Jews on the road to Jerusalem (25:1 - 22)

¶Complement Paul appealed to Christ as the reason for all that he did in his life (25:23 - 26:32)

¶Unique Paul was transported under guard by a ship from Asia Minor, which crashed on the island of Malta (27:1 - 44) ==

§Unique Conclusion: Paul was transported to Rome by ship, where he explained the Kingdom of God to the Jews of Rome (28:1 - 31)

¶Complement Paul was transported to Rome from Malta on a ship of Alexandria, Egypt (28:1 - 16)

¶Complement Paul explained the Kingdom of God to the Jews of Rome (28:17 - 31)

Comments: First, this study will look at the overall content of Chapter 2.5 in the Book of Acts, using the Golden Ratio design of the Bible, which is found exclusively in the Kingdom Study Bible, published by this ministry. Then, we will look at some advanced topics in the Golden Ratio design.

Acts, Chapter 2.5: Paul the prisoner witnessed to the Gentile Roman government in Caesarea before traveling to Rome (23:12 - 28:31)

§Complement Introduction: Paul’s nephew helped Paul to escape a Jewish conspiracy to kill him (23:12 - 35)

¶Opposite Paul’s nephew reported the conspiracy to kill Paul to the Roman tribune (23:12 - 22)

Acts 23:18: “So he took him, and brought him to the tribune, and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him, and asked me to bring this young man to you, who has something to say to you.”

¶Opposite The Roman tribune sent Paul to Caesarea under heavy guard (23:23 - 35)

Acts 23:31-33: “Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the next day they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle; who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul also before him.”

§Complement Body: Paul defended himself before the Roman governors and king Agrippa, who sent him to Rome (24:1 - 27:44)

¶Opposite Paul defended himself before Felix against false accusations from a lawyer hired by the Jews (24:1 - 23)

Acts 24:10-11: “Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned to him to speak, answered, “Forasmuch as I know that you have been a judge to this nation for many years, I do even more cheerfully answer for myself, because you may understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.”

¶Opposite For two years, Felix tried to persuade Paul to bribe him for freedom, but failed (24:24 - 27)

Acts 24:26-27: “He hoped also that money would be given him by Paul, so that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him frequently, and communed with him. But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’s office; and Felix, willing to show the Jews favor, left Paul bound.”

¶Complement Paul appealed to Caesar to prevent his assassination by Jews on the road to Jerusalem (25:1 - 22)

Acts 25:10-11: “Then Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you know very well: for if I am an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there are none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¶Complement Paul appealed to Christ as the reason for all that he did in his life (25:23 - 26:32)

Acts 26:19-20: “Therefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; but I showed first to them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works demonstrating their repentance.”

¶Unique Paul was transported under guard by a ship from Asia Minor, which crashed on the island of Malta (27:1 - 44)

Acts 27:1-2: “And when it was determined that we would sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band. And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we set sail, intending to sail by the coasts of Asia...”

§Unique Conclusion: Paul was transported to Rome by ship, where he explained the Kingdom of God to the Jews of Rome (28:1 - 31)

¶Complement Paul was transported to Rome from Malta on a ship of Alexandria, Egypt (28:1 - 16)

Acts 28:11: “And after three months we left in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the island, whose ensign was Castor and Pollux.”

¶Complement Paul explained the Kingdom of God to the Jews of Rome (28:17 - 31)

Acts 28:23: ‘And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging: to whom he explained and testified the Kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the Prophets, from morning until evening.”

In this study, I will cover more advanced topics, which will be difficult for young believers, but I have simplified the discussion to make it understandable for most. Consider it a free course in Bible college! You should read this study at least twice, because it will challenge your thinking on many levels.

If you read my study last week, you know that the Golden Ratio design of the Bible is based on literal interpretation. In other words, the themes of each text division of the outline above is drawn directly from the content of the Bible text.

This is in direct contrast to the traditional arrangement of Old Testament and New Testament; which reminds me of the card game of “52 pick up”: you throw a pack of cards in the air, and they land on the floor in a completely random manner. Then the other person picks them up. So, it’s 52 pick up!

In the same way, the Old Testament and New Testament arrangement makes very little sense; it has two divisions that are based on a false concept (there are no “testaments” in the Bible, only Covenants; and the Bible itself does not support an arrangement of the Bible based on Covenants).

King James Version, 2 Corinthians 3:14-15: “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in THE READING OF THE OLD TESTAMENT; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, WHEN MOSES IS READ, the vail is upon their heart.”

This passage proves that Paul was referring only to the Law of Moses and not to the entire Hebrew Bible. Look at every reference to “Testament” in your Bible version, and you will find that in every case except this one, the reference is to a Covenant itself, and not to a group of Bible documents. Therefore there is no scriptural evidence to support a Bible arrangement of Old Testament and New Testament. The word “Testament” should be translated as “Covenant” in all cases. See for yourself:

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?search=Testament&version=KJV&searchtype=all

There are three basic methods of Bible interpretation:

1) Covenant Theology (Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations): Creates a spiritualized interpretation of the Bible and forces the Bible to conform to it; relies on the confusing Old Testament/New Testament arrangement. The confusion works in favor of Covenant Theology, because Christians give up trying to understand the Bible and trust the Covenant Theologians in their church to tell them what the Bible means. This is what the Popes and the Protestants want: they want you to trust them to tell you the meaning of the Bible. Because if you did your own study, you would realize that they are preaching doctrines that are not Biblical; and then you would leave their churches!

2) Dispensationalism (Evangelical and Baptist churches): Creates a literal interpretation of the Bible that is forced to rely on the confusing Old Testament/New Testament arrangement, because there was no alternative (until now). The Bible is still difficult to understand; however, Dispensationalism is helpful in many ways to understand the Bible, even with the confusing Old and New Testament arrangement. Baptists believe in the liberty of the individual believer to read the Bible and understand it for yourself. Protestants and Roman Catholilcs do not like this.

3) The Golden Ratio design: Create a literal interpretation of the Bible that relies on the correct Golden Ratio arrangement. This makes the Bible much easier to comprehend as a whole; and the themes of each text and book division make it much easier to understand the Bible on the text level as well. This method takes Dispensationalism to the next level of literal interpretation.

The arrangement based on the Golden Ratio design proves that the main theme of the Bible is the Kingdom: it was lost in the Garden of Eden, restarted in the promises of God to Abraham, made real in the nation of Israel, lost again with the destruction of Israel by Babylon. It was refused by Israel when it was offered by the Lord Jesus, but will be restored again on the entire world by force at his Second Coming. And finally, the Kingdom of Israel will become one with the Kingdom of God in the Eternal State. In other words, the Kingdom of God controlled the entire Universe at the beginning with Adam as its king, but was lost by his sin. At the end of the Bible, the Kingdom of God is restored, this time forever and ever. So, the theme of the Bible is the Kingdom, not the covenants, nor the various phases postulated by Dispensationalism, which contain some truth, but can be misleading.

Think about it: which one would you rather have? An interpretation of the Bible that was based on the thinking of man? Or an interpretation of the Bible that was based on the Bible (in other words, God)? It seems obvious that an interpretation of the Bible that is based on the Word of God itself is superior by nature to anything that man can produce! I can always trust the Lord to tell me the truth; but I have to check everything that comes from man, because man is not totally trustworthy! Amen.

The Golden Ratio design of the Bible proves that when the Scripture is allowed to organize itself around common themes (drawn directly from the books and text themselves), the Golden Ratio arrangement is clearly seen; and the themes of each group (or Volume) of Books progress from the Law to the Prophets to the History of Israel to the History of Jesus to the Saints of the New Covenant in Division One; and you have a similar progression in Division Two, which is the Psalms, except the progression is in reverse.

See it here: https://https://www.phibible.org/

While the Dispensational eras of Paradise, Noah, Abraham, Israel, Gentiles, the Spirit, and the Millennium do not exist in the Bible AS TRUE DIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE TEXT, there are truths in each of these “eras” that are useful in understanding the Scriptures; however, no one should think that these divisions can possibly serve as ideas that you can use to organize the Bible. Only the arrangement of the Golden Ratio design works in this regard.

These things are difficult to understand without a formal education in the Bible; however, all believers in Christ need to try to understand this information, so that they might choose the best church to attend. I only support and recommend Independent, Fundamental, Baptist churches, because these kind of churches will usually teach Dispensational theology, which is not perfect, but it is pretty good overall. It is much better than the alternative, which is false man-made theology from the Protestant or Roman Catholic religions.

Evangelical churches are weak in many areas of theology, so I cannot recommend them at all, even if they teach Dispensationalism.

At this time, there are no churches using the Golden Ratio design of the Bible, so your best alternative is an Independent, Fundamental Baptist church, if you can find one in your area. If you cannot find one, message me on Facebook and let me know, and I will find an Independent Baptist missionary in your area to assist you.

If you have never been born again, or do not understand what that means in the Bible, this is for you:

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

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.”

You cannot be a child of God until you have been born again; and you cannot be born again until you have repented of your sins and asked Jesus Christ to come into your life to become your Savior. This is done by your prayer of faith in the Finished Work of Christ on the cross, and not by the water of baptism or by church membership or by your good works.

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been permanently saved through faith; and that faith is not out of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of our own works, lest any man should boast”

Romans 10:8-13: “But what does it say? “The Word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart”; that is to say, the Word of faith (which we preach), that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes into righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made into salvation: for the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for [it is written], “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you want to be saved, and become free sin and Satan; and have a future in Heaven, here is how you do it: if you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He died on the cross for your sins, and that He rose from the dead on the third day, you may pray this prayer to receive Him as your Savior and be saved:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! You are my only hope for salvation! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, you were buried, and you 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.