READ Acts 21:8-14
Were
the prophesies of these prophetesses and prophets from God and did they have a
right to prophesy?
Yes – they were of God and were true.
Yes – they have the right to prophesy, as
it is a spiritual gift that Moses wished all people had (see Numbers 11:26-29).
They had the right to prophesy publicly,
because spiritual gifts are for the edification of the members of the church,
so that all can profit from another’s gifts (see D&C 46:10-12).
Why
did Paul rebuke his friends about going to Jerusalem?
He was not afraid to die for his
testimony of Christ.
They were keeping him back from doing
what he might need to do – i.e. put his life on the altar of sacrifice to the
Lord – by letting their personal feelings get in the way.
READ Acts 21:17-24
Does
Paul need to keep the Law of Moses still?
No.
It won’t save him anyway – it never was
going to be able to.
Christ came and fulfilled the Law and
restored the fullness of the gospel of Christ, which will save Paul.
Peter received the command from God to
take the gospel to the Gentiles and that they did not have to live the Law of
Moses to live the fullness of the gospel.
What
is happening here?
The Brethren
have taken a public opinion poll and are concerned about aligning with the will
of the people in the Church.
They want Paul to appear to be living the
Law of Moses so that the Jewish saints in Jerusalem won’t freak out – it’s a
public relations ploy (internal to the Church in Israel and external to the
rest of the Jews).
How
does the Lord deal with His Church in situations like this?
He honors their wishes/desires/opinions –
He will not take their agency away – they get what they want (e.g. Sidney
Rigdon and the Campbellite converts in Kirtland wanted a New Testament Church
instead of a “return to the Ancient Order of things”; Joseph Smith caving into
the pressure of his primary financial backer by allowing Martin Harris to have
the BoM manuscript which was subsequently lost or stolen).
Although He honors their agency He also condemns
them and they lose blessings and opportunities (see D&C 84:49-58 and
D&C 84:23-27), which is a just result for failing to obtain God’s will
and/or follow it.
Paul honors their request to purify
himself in line with the Law of Moses, but this leads directly to his being
caught by Jews in the Temple. They beat
him badly and the Romans are called down to deal with the trouble. He relates his conversion story to the Jews
present and they want to kill him. He
tells the Romans that he is a Roman citizen and gets some relief. He is taken to the Roman Governor and then is
asked to testify before King Agrippa.
READ Acts 26:13-19 and 22-23
What
was Paul’s mission from Christ?
To witness the reality of Christ’s
resurrection.
To witness the other things that the Lord
will show unto him (he sees a vision of heaven and learns many things there –
more than “5 minutes” worth of “gazing”).
To testify of the truth of these things,
he witnesses to the Gentiles to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness
to light through his words.
That THEY might choose to come unto
Christ and be forgiven and receive the inheritance promised to them (see v 6-7
and LoF 2:54-56).
READ Acts 26:24-29
Why
does Governor Festus accuse Paul of madness?
Because the world’s way of finding and
proving truth and God’s way are totally different; for example, they allow
different evidence to be introduced and legitimized.
Paul is talking “crazy talk” when viewed
from the perspective of the world: glorious personages from heaven,
resurrection of the dead, a Messiah to suffer for sins instead of winning a
political victory – none of this can be proven with the scientific method. Paul’s claim that “I saw God” sounds crazy to
an educated person. It is offensive to
their sensibilities – it seems irrational.
Is
science seeking to find God today?
No – not even those working on the Higgs Boson
“god particle” theory (an invisible energy field that fills the vacuum of space
that can be “seen” when some particles move through the field and feel
drag/gain weight, while light/photons feel no drag and remain “mass-less”) are actively
seeking to find God collectively.
Although it is interesting that science
like quantum physics does point to an “observer” who, through their focus and
consciousness, hold every single element in the entire universe in their
desired/intended places and prevent them from descending back in to
superposition “waves” or chaos – if that doesn’t sound like a godlike level of
capability and intelligence, I don’t know what does.
Where
will slavishly following science lead you?
Not back to God’s presence.
They do not know where He lives or how to
get there. And they couldn’t get there if
they knew (without becoming like Him) – at least by abiding by their
“scientific” constraints.
It may lead you to thinking someone like
Paul is “mad” or a liar or stupid.
Why
was King Agrippa “almost” persuaded to be a Christian?
While he believed the prophets in
scripture, he didn’t quite believe the prophet standing in front of him – it
was too “real” and too “mad” when viewed in the cold light of day.
Paul cannot “persuade” anyone to truly
become a Christian – it is a personal, inward journey facilitated by the Holy Spirit
– Agrippa must choose to go there himself – he must “desire” to believe and let
that desire work in him to bear fruit meet for repentance and covenant making
(see Alma 32:27-28).
It would be a shame for us to come so
close to the truth that we find ourselves “almost” persuaded of its
fullness. If we can set aside our pride
and be willing to accept the charge of “madness” being leveled against us, this
undertaking of finding Christ can bear fruit for us, too. Paul wishes, with his whole soul, that we
each know what he knew, and ultimately died for. But it is up to us to take his testimony and
find out what he knew for ourselves.
READ Acts 28:23-28
Why
did some people believe the things that were spoken and some did not?
Free agency.
Soft hearts and a childlike inclination
to be taught.
Attraction to the light.
Acting on the bare hints of the Spirit
and growing in light and grace.
They followed God’s process of obtaining
truth, not the world’s.
