Atos 12

Atos 12

Wuest writes that "The word assembly is a good one-word translation of ekklesia." As with all Greek word studies, the meaning of the word in a specific passage is dependent upon the context. Smith's Bible Dictionary notes that "The day of Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian Church. Before they had been individual followers Jesus; now they became His mystical Body, animated by His Spirit." A key identifying characteristic of the Church is Holy Spirit baptism (1 Cor. 12:13) which is the event that forms the Body of Christ which is actually a better designation for the world-wide body of believers than the term 'church.' Toussaint points out that "This incident clearly indicates that the church was an identifiable group which had become hated and despised by the Jews." (SEE Bible Knowledge Commentary). Related Resources: What was the first / original church? Is the original / first church the true church? What is the church? What is the purpose of the church? When did the church begin/start? What should I be looking for in a church? Why do some churches thrive while others die? What does the Bible say about church growth? Are seeker sensitive churches biblical? - A "must read" article! Should churches be seeker-friendly? Jack Arnold has an interesting analysis of Acts 12 focusing on Supernaturalism and the Church - The concept of supernaturalism is rapidly disappearing in our modern, scientific and technological society. When the average person hears of miracles, or God working, he scoffs or secretly to himself says, “Those poor, ignorant people who believe in the supernatural are at least two hundred years behind time.” The whole spirit of our age is against any concept of the supernatural. If the supernatural gets any attention at all it is by those who are in the occult. The phenomenon of Satan worship, demonism and contacting the dead are dabbling in the supernatural, but these practices are evil and not from God. The tragedy is that the spirit of the Enlightenment, rationalism and humanism have deeply infiltrated the professing church of Jesus Christ, so much so, that to speak of a supernatural working God in the twentieth century brings a puzzled look by those who claim to be Christian. The church today is in deep trouble because it has lost the concept of a sovereign, supernatural working God. As long as people who claim to be Christian think that God cannot, or will not, work supernaturally and that God is dependent upon man’s schemes, intelligence, programs and ingenuity, then they will never see God work mightily. But when men stop depending upon themselves, and turn to God in simple faith, believing He is able to do the impossible, then they will begin to see and experience the mysterious workings of a sovereign God. The church today must develop a supernaturalistic mind and must resist and fight with all its might the anti-supernaturalistic spirit of this godless age. It was the concept of a supernatural working God that gave the first century church such confidence and power. They knew God through Christ and they lived like supernaturalists. In Acts 12, there are three major events, the murder of James, the deliverance of Peter and the destruction of Herod, which show us the sovereign and mystical workings of God. Just because we are two thousand years away from the first century does not mean that we, too, cannot also see the sovereign, mystical supernatural workings of God in our age. (Acts 12:1-25 Supernaturalism and the Church) Josephus 19:7.3 gives us background on Herod's desire to please the Jews... Now, this king was by nature very beneficent, and liberal in his gifts, and very ambitious to oblige people with such large donations; and he made himself very illustrious by the many chargeable presents he made them. He took delight in giving, and rejoiced in living with good reputation. He was not at all like that Herod who reigned before him; (329) for that Herod was ill-natured, and severe in his punishments, and had no mercy on them that he hated; and everyone perceived that he was more friendly to the Greeks than to the Jews; for he adorned foreign cities with large presents in money; with building them baths and theatres besides: nay, in some of those places, he erected temples, and porticoes in others; but he did not vouchsafe to raise one of the least edifices in any Jewish city, or make them any donation that was worth mentioning. (330) But Agrippa’s temper was mild, and equally liberal to all men. He was humane to foreigners, and made them sensible of his liberality. He was in like manner rather of a gentle and compassionate temper. (ED: BUT SEE LUKE'S DESCRIPTION OF HIS TEMPER IN Acts 12:19, 20) (331) Accordingly, he loved to live continually at Jerusalem, and was exactly careful in the observance of the laws of his country. He therefore kept himself entirely pure: nor did any day pass over his head without its appointed sacrifice. William