1. ACTS 22Acts chapter 22, Is God still speaking, doesGod still speak, Gamaliel, Jesus of Nazareth,voice or sound, hear or understand, tranceekstasis, scourging, centurion andcommander

2. Turbulent TimesAhead For Paul 3. ACTS 22Were Getting Close To The EndSad, because this is the lasthistorical narrative (story) inScripture, and we like stories. 4. BIBLE IN FIVEPastor Dave KooyersValley Bible FellowshipBox 433Boonville CA 95415http://www.slideshare.net/dkooyerswww.ValleyBibleFellowship.org(707) 895-2325These Microsoft PowerPointpresentations are provided "for theequipping of the saints for thework of service, to the building upof the body of Christ" (Ephesians4:12-15). To help Christians to "togrow up in all aspects into Himwho is the head, even Christ." Sothat "we are no longer...tossedhere and there...by every wind ofdoctrine." They may bedownloaded and modified free ofcharge.God bless you as you examine His Word,Your servant in Christ, 2Cor. 4:5,Dave Matthew 10:8 Freelyyou received, freely give. 5. Last Time Acts 21:27-40Paul Was Rescued inJerusalem from theViolent Multitude 6. Acts 22:1, Brethren And Fathers NAU Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear mydefense which I now offer to you. NAU Acts 21:30 Then all the city was provoked,and the people rushed together, and taking holdof Paul they dragged him out of the temple, andimmediately the doors were shut. 31 While theywere seeking to kill himall Jerusalem was inconfusion. 32they stopped beating Paul. Do you think that if a gang was beating you andseeking to kill you, you would be this gracious? 7. Acts 22:1, Hear My Defense NAU Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear mydefense which I now offer to you. From here to the end (6 chapters), Paul isgoing to offer his defense six times. Paul uses every opportunity to give histestimony and the gospel. Be like Paul whenever you open you mouth,speak Christ. 8. Acts 22:2,Brethren And Fathers In Hebrew NAU Acts 22:2 And when they heard that he wasaddressing them in the Hebrew dialect, theybecame even more quiet; and he said, NAU Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns awaywrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledgeacceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly. Paul could easily spoken with anger, sarcasm,rebuke, or self righteousness, but no. 9. Acts 22:2, In The Hebrew Language NAU Acts 22:2 And when they heard that he was addressingthem in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet;and he said, NIV NET in Aramaic KJV NAU CSB ESV NAS NKJ Hebrew Strongs, 1446 Hebrais {heb-rah-is'} Meaning: 1) Hebrew, the Hebrew language, not thathowever in which the OT was written but the Chaldee,which at the time of Jesus and the apostles had longsuperseded it in Palestine NET Bible Notes, 163 tn Grk "in the Hebrew dialect, saying." Thisrefers to the Aramaic spoken in Palestine in the 1st century(BDAG 270 s.v. ). Kinda like Castilian Spanish, or KJV English 10. Acts 22:3, Gamaliel Acts 22:2-3Then Paul said: 3 "I am a Jew, bornin Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city.Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in thelaw of our fathers and was just as zealous for Godas any of you are today. Acts 5:34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, ateacher of the law, who was honored by all thepeople, stood up in the Sanhedrin and orderedthat the men be put outside for a little while. 11. Acts 5:34, Gamaliel Adam Clarke's Commentary says, [A Pharisee,named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law] "This,"says Dr. Lightfoot, "was Rabban Gamaliel thefirst; commonly, by way of distinction, calledRabban Gamaliel the elder. He was presidentof the council after the death of his ownfather, Rabban Simeon, who was the son ofHillel. He was Paul's master, and the receiverof the traditions, and on this account mightnot be improperly termed nomodidaskalos, 12. Acts 5:34, Gamaliel a doctor of the law, because he was one thatkept and handed down the Cabala receivedfrom Mount Sinai. He died eighteen yearsbefore the destruction of Jerusalem, his sonSimeon succeeding him in the chair, whoperished in the ruins of the city." Thoughprobably no favourer of Christianity, yet, for aPharisee, he seems to have possessed a moreliberal mind than most of his brethren; thefollowing advice was at once humane,sensible, candid, and enlightened. 13. Acts 22:6, Paul Shares His Testimony NAU Acts 22:6 "But it happened that as I was onmy way, approaching Damascus about noontime,a very bright light suddenly flashed from heavenall around me, Here, Paul shares his testimony, in the heat ofbattle, Paul could have made a defense, put up anargument, lied, accused, got angry, or lots ofother things, but instead he gives his testimony. Would you give your testimony after a beating? 14. Acts 22:7, Who Did Paul Persecute? Acts 22:7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say tome, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' Who Did Paul Persecute? 1 Cor 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and eachone of you is a part of it. NAU Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, justas also you were called in one hope of your calling; NAU 1 Peter 3:15always being ready to make a defenseto everyone who asks you to give an account for thehope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 15. Acts 22:8, Jesus of Nazareth? NAU Acts 22:8 "And I answered, 'Who are You,Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus theNazarene, whom you are persecuting. Mic 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,though you are small among the clans ofJudah Matt 2:15the Lord had said through theprophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son. Bethlehem, Nazareth, Egypt 16. Acts 22:8, Jesus of Nazareth? Matt 2:19-23the Lord appeared in a dream to Josephin Egypt 20 and said, "Get up, take the child and hismother and go to the land of Israel, for those whowere trying to take the child's life are dead." 21 So hegot up, took the child and his mother and went to theland of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelauswas reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, hewas afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream,he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he wentand lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilledwhat was said through the prophets: "He will be calleda Nazarene. 17. Acts 22:8, Jesus of Nazareth? Mark 14:67"You also were with thatNazarene, Jesus," she said Mark 16:6"You are looking for Jesus theNazarene Acts 24:5he is a ringleader of the Nazarenesect 18. Acts 22:8, Jesus of Nazareth? Matt 21:11This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth inGalilee. Jesus is identified with Nazareth about 20 Xs in the NIV John 1:46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come fromthere?" Nathanael asked Duhhhh! NAU Matthew 4:13 Capernaum, which is by the sea, inthe region of Zebulun and Naphtali. < < 05151 Nachum )637b ,(Meaning: an Isr.Prophet, Origin: from 5162, Usage: Nahum(1). 19. Acts 22:9, Did They Hear, Or Not? Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed thelight, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice ofhim that spake to me. KJV Acts 9:7 The men traveling with Saul stood therespeechless; they heard [akouo] the sound but did notsee anyone. NIV NAU ESV NAS NET did not understand NKJ KJV CSB did not hear the voice Literal Grk.= voice/sound not hear Acts 22:9 My companions saw the light, but they didnot understand the voice of him who was speaking tome. NIV 20. Acts 22:9, The Voice/Sound Acts 22:9 the voice Acts 9:7the sound ... Grk.= voice/sound 5456 phone {fo-nay'} Meaning: 1) a sound, a tone 1a) of inanimatethings, as musical instruments 2) a voice 2a) ofthe sound of uttered words 3) speech 3a) of alanguage, tongue Usage: AV - voice 131, sound 8,noise 1; 141 21. Acts 22:9, Hear/Understand 191 akouo {ak-oo'-o} Meaning: 1) to be endowed with the facultyof hearing, not deaf 2) to hear 2b) to attendto, consider what is or has been said 2c) tounderstand, perceive the sense of what is said3) to hear something 3f) to comprehend, tounderstand 22. Acts 22:10, Assigned To Do Acts 22:10 "'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked.'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus.There you will be told all that you have beenassigned to do. Appointed, assigned, designated 23. Acts 22:17, I Returned To Jerusalem Acts 22:17 "When I returned to Jerusalemand was praying at the temple, I fell into atrance Gal 1:17-18 nor did I go up to Jerusalem tosee those who were apostles before I was, butI went immediately into Arabia and laterreturned to Damascus. 18 Then after threeyears, I went up to Jerusalem 24. Acts 22:17, Trance Acts 22:17 "When I returned to Jerusalemand was praying at the temple, I fell into atrance 1611 ekstasis {ek'-stas-is} Paul had an out of body experience. 25. Acts 22:21, Does God still speak?blogos.org, By S. Michael Houdmann, Got Questions Ministries "God told me to tell you" "I have a word from the Lord for you." "I am a prophetof God." "I know what the Bible says, but God spoke to me and"The above sayings are increasingly common these days. Sadly, most people whosay them do not understand how dangerous they are. Claiming direct revelationfrom God is essentially putting yourself in a place of equal authority with the Wordof God. If God speaks, it is always going to be 100% inerrant, authoritative, true,holy, and perfect. If God truly told you to tell me something, I better listen or I amin direct rebellion against God.The problem with this idea that God is directly speaking to people, and throughpeople, today, is the fact that the messages attributed to Him are anything butinerrant, authoritative, and true. They are almost always a jumbled mess ofconfusion, inconsistencies, and outright contradictions of the Word of God. Far toooften, "God told me" is in reality, "I thinkand I think God would agree withmetherefore, I am going to tell you that God told me"In response to this, many argue that God no longer speaks outside of 26. Acts 22:21, Does God still speak?blogos.org, By S. Michael Houdmann, Got Questions MinistriesHis Word. Period. Never. The Bible is the complete and sufficient Word of God thatgives us everything we need to be saved and walk with God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, there is no need for any further revelation fromGod. God does not speak. Rather, God has spoken.This is the viewpoint I was taught in Bible College and Seminary. This is still theviewpoint that I strongly lean towards. Admittedly, it is a very comforting position.It means I can ignore all the claimed messages from God. It frees me from havingto use biblically informed discernment in separating truth from error in supposedmessages from God. The problem for me is I do not see solid biblical evidence onwhich to claim God NEVER speaks today.Interestingly, even those who hold the "God never speaks" position seem to allowfor exceptions to the rule. For example, stories of people in closed countrieshaving dreams/visions that result in them coming to faith in Christ seem to beaccepted, even rejoiced over. Accounts of people in third world countries beingtold to go to such and such a place at such and such a time to speak with God'smessenger, only to bump into a missionary at the exact place and time, areaccepted as amazing miracles of God. The justification for the exception is usuallysomething along the lines of, "Well, God only does stuff like that in places where 27. Acts 22:21, Does God still speak?blogos.org, By S. Michael Houdmann, Got Questions Ministries they don't have access to the Bible."Hmm. Where does the Bible say that God works differently based on whether aperson has access to the Bible? And, the fact that the United States has tens ofmillions more Bibles than Yemen does not mean the average American issignificantly more biblically literate than the average Yemeni. One could argue thatwith the massive amount of false doctrine being propagated in the United Statesthat the United States is more in need of corrective direct revelation from Godthan most third world countries. I just don't see a solid biblical or reasonable basisfor the "God only does stuff like that over there" argument.So, where does that leave us? To be honest, I am not completely sure.I firmly believe that the Bible is the perfect and complete Word of God. It containseverything we need to know to follow God's will for our lives. While it does notgive specific instructions related to the personal situations and decisions we face,it does provide all the wisdom we need to be able to make right judgments inthose situations and decisions.With that in mind, I do 28. Acts 22:21, Does God still speak?blogos.org, By S. Michael Houdmann, Got Questions Ministries not see any reason for God to "supplement" His Word with additional revelation.But, at the same time, there is nothing in the Bible that indicatesGod NEVER speaks today. I do not know the mind of God, and therefore I do notclaim to know every reason why God might say something to someone (Isaiah55:8-9; Romans 11:34).What I do know is this: if God were to speak today, what He said would be inperfect agreement with His Word. God does not contradict Himself. God does notchange His mind. Compare any supposed message from God with God's Word, andif the message in any way is in contradiction or disharmony with God's Word,reject the message. If you think God has spoken to you, but are unsure about it,ask Him for confirmation (Judges 6:36-40; 1 Samuel 3:1-10). Seek wise counselfrom men and women of God whom you respect and trust (Proverbs11:14; 15:22).Above all, understand that God speaking is a miracle, not a normal. Even in theBible, God speaking directly to people, whether through an audible voice or a "stillsmall voice" is rare. We would all benefit from spending far more time on whatGod has said instead of on what God might be saying. 29. Acts 22:24, Flogged And Questioned NAU Acts 22:24 the commander ordered him tobe brought into the barracks, stating that heshould be examined by scourging so that hemight find out the reason why they wereshouting against him that way. This aint waterboarding 30. ISBE, 7643, scourgingin Acts 22:25 Grk: mastizo, in Mk 15:15 parallel Mt 27:26Grk: phragelloo): A Roman implement for severe bodilypunishment. Horace calls it horribile flagellum. It consistedof a handle, to which several cords or leather thongs wereaffixed, which were weighted with jagged pieces of bone ormetal, to make the blow more painful and effective. It iscomparable, in its horrid effects, only with the Russianknout. The victim was tied to a post (Acts 22:25) and theblows were applied to the back and loins, sometimes even,in the wanton cruelty of the executioner, to the face and thebowels. In the tense position of the body, the effect caneasily be imagined. So hideous was the punishment that thevictim usually fainted and not rarely died under it. Eusebiusdraws a horribly realistic picture of the torture of scourging(Historia Ecclesiastica, IV, 15). By its application secrets andconfessions were wrung from the victim (Acts 22:24) 31. ACTS22:25 Isit lawfulfor youtoscourgea man 32. acts 22:26, centurion and commander NAU Acts 22:26 When the centurion [a captain of onehundred men] heard this, he went to thecommander [a chiliarch, a commander of a thousand] andtold him, saying, "What are you about to do?For this man is a Roman. More than not politically correct, this isillegal. 33. In Closing John 3:16, For God so loved the world God loves everyone, butprobably prefers 'fruits of the spirit' over'religious nuts!' 34. Keep Looking For TheBlessed Hope 35. Acts 22:21, Does God still speak?blogos.org, By S. Michael Houdmann, Got Questions Ministries "God told me to tell you" "I have a word from the Lord for you." "I am a prophet of God." "I know what the Bible says, but God spoke to me and"The above sayings are increasingly common these days. Sadly, most people who say them do not understand how dangerous they are. Claiming direct revelation from God is essentiallyputting yourself in a place of equal authority with the Word of God. If God speaks, it is always going to be 100% inerrant, authoritative, true, holy, and perfect. If God truly told you to tellme something, I better listen or I am in direct rebellion against God.The problem with this idea that God is directly speaking to people, and through people, today, is the fact that the messages attributed to Him are anything but inerrant, authoritative, andtrue. They are almost always a jumbled mess of confusion, inconsistencies, and outright contradictions of the Word of God. Far too often, "God told me" is in reality, "I thinkand I thinkGod would agree with metherefore, I am going to tell you that God told me"In response to this, many argue that God no longer speaks outside of His Word. Period. Never. The Bible is the complete and sufficient Word of God that gives us everything we need tobe saved and walk with God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, there is no need for any further revelation from God. God does not speak. Rather, God has spoken.This is the viewpoint I was taught in Bible College and Seminary. This is still the viewpoint that I strongly lean towards. Admittedly, it is a very comforting position. It means I can ignore allthe claimed messages from God. It frees me from having to use biblically informed discernment in separating truth from error in supposed messages from God. The problem for me is Ido not see solid biblical evidence on which to claim God NEVER speaks today.Interestingly, even those who hold the "God never speaks" position seem to allow for exceptions to the rule. For example, stories of people in closed countries having dreams/visions thatresult in them coming to faith in Christ seem to be accepted, even rejoiced over. Accounts of people in third world countries being told to go to such and such a place at such and such atime to speak with God's messenger, only to bump into a missionary at the exact place and time, are accepted as amazing miracles of God. The justification for the exception is usuallysomething along the lines of, "Well, God only does stuff like that in places where they don't have access to the Bible."Hmm. Where does the Bible say that God works differently based on whether a person has access to the Bible? And, the fact that the United States has tens of millions more Bibles thanYemen does not mean the average American is significantly more biblically literate than the average Yemeni. One could argue that with the massive amount of false doctrine beingpropagated in the United States that the United States is more in need of corrective direct revelation from God than most third world countries. I just don't see a solid biblical orreasonable basis for the "God only does stuff like that over there" argument.So, where does that leave us? To be honest, I am not completely sure.I firmly believe that the Bible is the perfect and complete Word of God. It contains everything we need to know to follow God's will for our lives. While it does not give specificinstructions related to the personal situations and decisions we face, it does provide all the wisdom we need to be able to make right judgments in those situations and decisions.With that in mind, I do not see any reason for God to "supplement" His Word with additional revelation. But, at the same time, there is nothing in the Bible that indicatesGod NEVER speaks today. I do not know the mind of God, and therefore I do not claim to know every reason why God might say something to someone (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:34).What I do know is this: if God were to speak today, what He said would be in perfect agreement with His Word. God does not contradict Himself. God does not change His mind. Compareany supposed message from God with God's Word, and if the message in any way is in contradiction or disharmony with God's Word, reject the message. If you think God has spoken toyou, but are unsure about it, ask Him for confirmation (Judges 6:36-40; 1 Samuel 3:1-10). Seek wise counsel from men and women of God whom you respect and trust (Proverbs11:14; 15:22).Above all, understand that God speaking is a miracle, not a normal. Even in the Bible, God speaking directly to people, whether through an audible voice or a "still small voice" is rare. Wewould all benefit from spending far more time on what God has said instead of on what God might be saying.