Video first posted: October 31, 2026
Below is a machine-generated transcript of the Song of songs 3 v6-11 (Part 96) BitChute video, with a few minor manual edits. At the bottom, after the transcript, is a machine-generated summary of the transcript.
| Hello, in this video, we're going to continue meditating on how the spirit of Solomon began to get in the way of Paul's ministry and Paul's calling. We've been in Acts chapter 21, and we've been reading through the passages that describe Paul's determination to go to Jerusalem. | |
| And I believe we had left off around verse 6 of Acts 21. And we're going to continue from there. But before we continue, we'd like to revisit a few things, a couple of things that we shared in the previous video. And one of them would be | |
| If we go back to verse 4, it says here, And we shared in the previous video that I did not have much understanding on the seven days, why God is so specific about that. | |
| that he wanted us to understand that it was seven days, not six, not five, not eight, not 11, seven days. And I still don't have much understanding on that. But there's a little bit of a thought that I believe the Lord deposited in my heart regarding the number seven. And it kind of becomes clear when you read the next verse. | |
| or the verses that follow. But before we say the one thing about the seven days, I felt prompted of the Lord to look at this word, the word tarry. You know, you just read it and you say, okay, they stayed there for seven days and you kind of take that message and keep going. But it's as if the Lord... | |
| was saying, if you want to understand the seven days, you have to understand the word tarried and what I'm saying there. So because of that, I then went to see the original Greek word for tarried in that verse. And the word, as you can see here, is Greek strong number 1961, and it's epimeno. And epi, | |
| as we have shared before, is this prefix that has the connotation of something that's high or above, like the gathering above in the air. So that clearly has this connotation of something that's high or above. And the word meno, I've seen that kind of Greek verb, | |
| or word before, and it usually has this connotation of something that stays, like permanence or remaining or abiding in something. So that's what this word kind of says right off the bat when you see it. Epi, high or above, and meno, which comes from something, I think the original verb is mene or something like that, and that means to remain or abide. | |
| So it's remaining or abiding, but it's at a higher level. So if we click here to see the usages of this word epimeno in scripture, we find some interesting things. The first time that it supposedly appears is supposedly in John chapter eight, verse seven. It says, so when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. | |
| And as we've shared, and we're not going to go into the details of that, as we've shared before, there's a posting on the Shammah Elam website about that that explains that John, I believe it's from chapter 7, verse 52, all the way to John chapter 8, verse 11, are verses that were added to the original text. They were not | |
| in the original words that John wrote. They were added later and there's clear evidence that it's artificially inserted. AI, so this is an example of AI, artificial insertion of scripture. And we have shared in that article on the Shamael Elam website, I believe it's a question and answer posting. | |
| And we share there how the principles that are, quote, laid out in that verse, in that passage are contrary to the rest of scripture. So because of that, then we can kind of discard this verse. This is not a real result because this is not a real verse of scripture. The whole story of the adulterous woman is a fantasy added by the spirit of Solomon, the patriarchal system. | |
| to help turn Jesus, the Lord Jesus, into a pastoral figure that he was not. So an anti-judgment pastoral figure that he was not. But it's interesting that this is the first time, supposedly, that this epimeno word appears. It's almost as if God is saying something artificial is going on. | |
| something is being inserted artificially in Acts 21. By Paul going to Jerusalem, he was artificially imposing on himself something that God had not asked him to do. And that's the sense that I get in my being. Excuse me. | |
| About that. So. So now. Let's go to the first real appearance. Of Epimeno. And that would be in Acts chapter 10. Verse 48. Here it says. And he commanded them to be baptized. In the name of the Lord. Then prayed. Then. Sorry. Then prayed they. Him. To tarry. Certain days. And. If we go. Look at this. Verse. In its context. So. I did | |
| the control click trick that I use here in Windows to open a new tab and leave this tab open here. So if we go to Acts 10:48 in the other tab that was just opened, we can see that this is in the context of Peter after having visited Cornelius. When he went to Cornelius' house, forced by God to go to the Gentiles. We all know the story that Peter didn't want to go | |
| And God forced him to go. And he went and he preached to them. And this is interestingly. The first time that Epimeno appears. When they asked him. Please stay with us. To tarry with them. Several days. So notice how God. Is using Epimeno. In the context of. Someone being asked. To please stay with the Gentiles. Someone who was reluctant. To go to the Gentiles. And then once he went. | |
| being told to epimeno with the Gentiles it's like God saying that's what I was asking Paul to do but Paul felt into the peter syndrome the same syndrome of feeling that uh he was somehow putting uh the Gentiles above the Jews when God was saying to him forget the Jews forget them uh go to the Gentiles and stay with them but he didn't understand so um | |
| If we go back here to the usages of Epimeno, the second time that Epimeno appears in scriptures in Acts 12:16. And notice again in the context of Peter, it says, but Peter continued Epimeno or, you know, tarried knocking. And when they had opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. And this was after Peter had been imprisoned by Herod and he was put in prison. | |
| And he was guarded by all these soldiers. And somehow he got away from prison. An angel came and got him out of prison. And he went to this house where Mary was, the house of Mary, a certain woman named Mary. And they were gathered together there praying for Peter to be helped by God. And Peter showed up and arrived at the house and started knocking. | |
| And no one would open because inside there was disbelief. There was only one young lady that heard the knock and recognized it was Peter and forgot to open the door for Peter and went back to everybody to say, Peter is outside at the door. And no one believed her, even though they were all there praying for Peter to be rescued by God. | |
| But it's ironic, they were praying for something and when God fulfilled it, they wouldn't believe it. | |
| And I believe that this is what God is emphasizing here. The unbelief of the Jews. The Jews were asking for the Messiah. The Messiah came, he knocked, and they didn't believe it was him. Or it was he, some would say. And I think that's the right way to say it. But the thing is that it's like God pointing to that. | |
| that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah that the Jews had been asking for and waiting for, was there, was knocking and saying, let me in, believe in me. And they said, no, no, we don't believe in him. And they left him outside. That's what God is pointing to. I know that eventually Peter was let in, but I believe that God is emphasizing the unbelief | |
| And the Jews leaving Peter outside, because if we finish reading verse 16, all we know is that Peter's still outside. We have to continue reading to know that that he was eventually let in and not because of the of the belief. It's not like the crowd suddenly believed it was the only reason why he was let in is because of this young lady that. That did believe that recognized it was Peter. | |
| She was of a different spirit from the rest of the people there. And she's the one who opened the door. And Peter came in and told them how God had rescued him. Okay, so then the third time that Epimeno appears is in Acts 13:43, as you can see here. And it says, now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who was speaking to them. | |
| persuaded them to continue, to epimeno, to tarry or continue or remain in the grace of God. So let's go here for context. I'm gonna do the control click trick to open a new tab here in Windows. And this is a Windows browser, so I'm sure the trick is different in other types of computers. But okay, so in Acts 13:43, | |
| We just read is talking about some Jews and religious proselytes who are following Paul and Barnabas. And it's saying that Paul and Barnabas, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And let's read verse 42 here. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, so they had to leave the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Isn't that interesting? | |
| And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue. The Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. So they wanted to hear more. And then verse 43. Now when the congregation was broken up. Many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas. Who speaking to them persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. So Paul and Barnabas were trying to persuade the Jews to remain in the grace of God. The ones who did believe. | |
| who kind of separated themselves from the rest of the Jews and who kind of embraced the interest that the Gentiles had for the words that Paul and Barnabas were saying. But notice the very first, notice how even the section here, this is not in the text of scripture. These are, you know, section titles that are added by the translators. But notice the section title that was added here. | |
| Paul turns to the Gentiles. So verse 44, and the next Sabbath day came also the whole city together to hear the word of God. Verse 45, but when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then verse 46, a verse we've mentioned so many times, Acts 13:46, then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, | |
| and said it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you. But seeing ye put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. And this is the first time that in the anointing of the Spirit, Paul recognizes that his job is to go to the Gentiles. Yes, there was an obligation to go to the Jews first, just as he's saying by the Spirit here. | |
| But yeah, okay, the obligation was fulfilled. The legal requirement of speaking to the Jews first was done. Now God had fulfilled that obligation. And he said, okay, now I will go to the Gentiles because you clearly don't want to hear the truth. So notice the context in which Epimeno appears here. Again, it's like God tried to remind, it's like, | |
| In that word, epimeno, it's like God was encapsulating all these things. All these things were going on. It's like God put all this into the atmosphere of the place where Paul was. And I think he was, was he in, and I'm ashamed to say, I don't remember. Where was he? Was he in, was he in Tyre or, I apologize. Let me just go back here. | |
| Yes, yes, he was entire where he was supposed to unload the burden he was carrying as we were sharing before so. So he was entire in that in those seven days, God put all these things into the atmosphere. First, as we saw here. In actual Acts 10:48, it's the Gentiles are asking you to stay Paul. | |
| Acts 10:48, the Gentiles are asking you to stay to Epimeno with them. Then Acts 12:16, I already knocked on the Jews' doors, the unbelieving Jews who were asking for me, and they did not open the door for me. | |
| And then Acts 13:43. And remember when you declared to the Jews that you were going to leave them and go to the Gentiles because you recognized that you had already fulfilled the obligation of preaching to them first. And they didn't believe. And remember how they blasphemed and contradicted you. And they determined in their hearts to oppose the kingdom of God. | |
| That's all these things that are being said by God in that epimeno works like the atmosphere of Tyre was filled with those reminders from God to Paul. But Paul, like the Jews, would not listen because he had already been contaminated by the spirit of Solomon. And you can say, well, and we'll see how the spirit of Solomon appears more overtly later on in the chapter, because some might say, well, | |
| oh, why are you attributing all of this to the spirit of Solomon? If you've been following everything we've been looking at, you'll see it's evident that God is the one saying, this is the spirit of Solomon operating through this whole situation. But it will become a little clearer in the rest of Acts 21 when we continue reading, Lord willing. So the thing is that the next time, we're looking here at the appearances of Epimeno. So we've seen Acts 10:48, | |
| which is when the Gentiles, Cornelius and his family and friends were asking Peter to stay with them several days. Acts 12:16, when Peter was knocking on the door and no one would open because there was unbelief inside. And Acts 13:43, when Paul was on the verge of admitting for the first time | |
| the Jews were not going to hear and that he had to go to the Gentiles by orders of God himself. And then Acts 15:34 is the, would be the fourth time that Epimeno appears. It says, notwithstanding it, pleased Silas to abide there still. But this one is a little bit interesting. I did not realize that until today. I'll be very frank. I did not know something about this verse. | |
| And to kind of see what's behind that verse, we'll have to go through the control click trick to go to the surrounding verses. So I was reading this, and I'll be very frank, when I read it, it just didn't make sense. I don't know why. It's in plain English, well, plain, you know, 15th or 16th century English. But for some reason, it just... | |
| did not make sense. So I had to that. So I had to kind of reread the surrounding verses to get a sense. And I still was not too clear. So let's read the verses surrounding verses a bit. And it's in Acts 15. And as you may recall, we went through this chapter in a previous video in this series. And this is the chapter where they had the Council of Jerusalem and where there was this big debate of whether or not the Gentiles were supposed to follow the Mosaic law. That was what that | |
| quote, worthless counsel was about. And if you were watching the previous videos when we were going through Acts 15, you will understand why I'm saying the word worthless and I'm saying | |
| in the spirit because there was a lot of evil going on there. And that evil is going to surface its ugly head later in Acts 21. But the thing is that the council of Jerusalem had ended and it says here in verse 32. Okay, well, let's read verse 29, verse 30. | |
| So when they were dismissed. So the council ended. They came to Antioch. And when they had gathered the multitude together. They delivered the epistle. So the decree of Pope James. And then verse 31 says. Which when they read. They rejoiced for the consolation. Like a sigh of relief. We don't have to follow the Mosaic law. And then verse 32. And Judas and Silas. | |
| being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words and confirmed them. Then verse 33, and after they had tarried, and interesting, it says tarried here, but it's not the tarried that we've been looking at, epimeno. I'm just curious now, what word is here? Instead of epimeno for the word tarry, where is it? Oh, poieo. Poieo. | |
| Sorry, I'm having trouble reading that one. Yeah, this is put into practice. I've seen this word before. This is put into practice. Well, yeah, to make. Well, poeio might be different from the word that I've seen before, but it looks very familiar, very similar, but it means to make. | |
| to prepare okay so doesn't seem to mean tarried not sure why they uh they made a space or made time yeah that's what it's saying here and they made time because space is really chronos which means time um okay but regardless uh and after they had made time they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles and then | |
| And then, verse 34, notwithstanding, it pleased Silas to epimeno, to tarry, or to abide there still. And then, verse 35, Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. So it's saying, okay, so they went to Antioch, gave the news, the decree of Pope James, and | |
| James, the fool. And then in verse 32, it says, OK, Judas and Silas exhorted the brethren being prophets. So God calls them prophets and they do their prophetic work. And then verse 33. And after they after they made time, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. So it's like going back to the apostles in Jerusalem and then | |
| It says that Silas decided to stay. He didn't want to go back to the apostles, according to verse 34. And then it says Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch. So Paul and Barnabas didn't go back to the apostles in Jerusalem. So they stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. But the thing is, it just seemed a little bit out of place, verse 34, because it's saying Silas stayed. And then it says Paul and Barnabas stayed. | |
| But why did God, would God separate Silas in verse 34 and say he stayed and then Paul and Barnabas stayed? Why not say the three of them stayed? So I said, I have to understand this. Maybe it's the English, the old English. So I clicked on the ESV button here in the Blue Letter Bible just to see what it looked like, the verse 34 in modern English. | |
| And then lo and behold, I was surprised to see this. And as you can see here, it says, see footnote. And I said, what? So if you hover over the footnote word, I hope you can see this in the video. It says, some Greek manuscripts exclude this verse. The ESV-related footnote for 15:33 states, some manuscripts insert verse 34, but it seemed good to Silas to remain there. | |
| But it's so creepy when it says some Greek manuscripts exclude this verse. And if I go here to verse 33, and as you can see here, there's an FN in superscript here at the end of the verse. And FN means footnotes. If I hover over it, then it says what the other footnote said. It says some manuscripts insert verse 34, but it seemed good to Silas to remain there. In other words, the English Standard Version does not have a verse 34. | |
| It takes it out. Why? Because it says some manuscripts insert verse 34. And this is interesting. This is the second time that Epimeno is appearing in the context of an inserted passage. And I just realized that I know it sounds obvious, but I just realized that now, as you can see here, John 8:7 supposedly has Epimeno, but it's the story of the adulterous woman that is not in scripture. | |
| not in what John wrote, at least in scripture. And I wouldn't be surprised, I think I've shared before, that I wouldn't be surprised if there was an incident related to some adulterous woman. Now I'm wondering, but even if something similar happened at some point, the way it happened is very different from what is described in that apocryphal passage. | |
| that apocryphal passage has been used by the by the spirit of Solomon the pastors the elite pastors who ruled the church of God in earthly speaking in earthly terms used by them to promote their false Yeshua their false Jesus their false matriarchal god and I say "god" | |
| with lowercase "g" um so uh so this is where we see epimeno used in an apocryphal passage and then we suddenly see it again in Acts 15:34 and what I would dare say is an apocryphal verse because uh just the fact that it says some manuscripts insert it means that this verse is really not in most of the manuscripts otherwise it would have said most manuscripts insert | |
| So I get the impression from that footnote, and I get that. I believe it's confirmed by the Spirit that that verse was added for some reason. And I wonder if it was added because somebody wanted to, in a sense, explain what happened, why Paul and Silas ended up together instead of Paul and Barnabas. Because if we keep reading, | |
| Notice what happens immediately after verse 34. Okay, verse 35. But Paul Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. And then the section Paul and Barnabas separate. And we've read the story. This is when they had the conflict about whether or not to stay with John Mark. And again, it's like, even when it's in the context of a verse that doesn't exist, | |
| Epimeno is pointing yet again to soulish ties. Like God, as we saw with Cyprus being mentioned in Acts 21, God was trying to remind Paul of what had happened with Barnabas. And Barnabas lost his calling because he allowed soul ties to be more important than what God was calling him to do. | |
| Exactly what was happening to Paul. Paul was allowing his soul ties to the Jewish people to get in the way of God's calling for him. So I find it very interesting. But the thing is, I believe that whoever added the people who added that verse were thinking, OK, how do we explain that after Barnabas left Paul? | |
| that Silas showed up, because here in verse 40 it says, but Paul chose Silas and departed. So it's like saying, how do we explain that Silas was there to be chosen by Paul if everybody had left, according to verse 33. I hope that makes sense. It's like somebody trying to give an explanation of what happened. And the fact that it kind of fits into the message of what God is saying to Paul in Acts 21 is, | |
| kind of makes me wonder, maybe the verse was real and it was somehow dropped from many manuscripts, but I don't think so. But I hope that you see the message that is embedded in that word epimeno, even when it's not there. Okay. But the fact that it's, | |
| it's appearing in the context of two verses that should not be in scripture it's almost like God saying Paul is trying to insert something into his journey that he was not supposed to insert he's inserting that he's convinced as we have been seeing as we're reading he was convinced that it was of God for him to go to Jerusalem that he was | |
| Yes, he was going to suffer, but it was he was following and obeying God and was willing to suffer for his for his sake. So he was in. But the reality is like God is saying the reality is. He was the one who inserted this into my plans for him. And I was and then he forced me to adjust to that and make the most of what I could with | |
| from with Paul's life in the context of him not letting go of this it's like I'm working I'm doing the best that I can do with Paul given that he's not letting go of this of this beam in his eye um | |
| I felt. As I was saying beam. And I felt the Lord say. Say I. The beam in his eye. Because I was seeing this post. A wooden post. But I was seeing like a vertical wooden post being planted. Like this thick. Like very thick. Wooden post. Like the. | |
| like the trunk of a very very big tree and I was seeing this post being planted and I was seeing this like wooden house or something and somebody planting this this big big and thick wooden um uh pole into the ground but vertically um and uh so I was referring to that beam and then the Lord said that's the beam in his eye and then when I realized that wow he had | |
| uh as many believe an eye condition um you know the that that thorn in the flesh that just would not go away and I'm wondering and now I believe that's a big part of why he had that eye condition because there was a beam in his eye that he would not let go of um okay um okay so then um | |
| And then the next appearance of Epimeno is Acts 21:4. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days who said to Paul through the spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem. That's the verse where we started. But I just find it interesting, I didn't realize it, that Epimeno appears again in Acts 21, verse 10, and we'll get to it later. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus. | |
| interesting. So this word tarry appears twice in Acts 21. It's like God emphasizing the relevance of that word in the context of what was going on in Paul's life at that moment. And I think it's and then it appears twice in Acts 28 and this is in the context of Paul later on after his trip | |
| his journey to Jerusalem and after the consequences of having embarked on that trip. So it's like God saying epimeno is very relevant to Paul's journey to Jerusalem to the point that the only two chapters in all of scripture that have epimeno twice are related to that journey. And even the ones before that all point to the journey. | |
| In some way, it's very interesting, I believe. Oh, well, actually, Romans 11 also has it twice. And Romans 11 is about the Jews not believing. I would bet a nickel. Let's see here. If we go to the section title, Israel is not cast away. Look at that. See, um. | |
| So Paul was convinced Israel is not cast away. And yes, in the wide scheme of things, Israel is not cast away. It was cast away for a season. But this was not the season. If that makes sense. The rescuing of the Israelites was for some time much, much later. After God had finished dealing with their stubbornness. But he could not deal with their stubbornness. | |
| by acting towards them as if they didn't have it. If that makes sense. To get them to the point where they would be brought back in, they had to go through a process where their stubbornness was shoved in their face over and over and over again until they got the point. I hope you see what we're saying. So by Paul pretending like the stubbornness was not there, he was actually getting in the way of Israel being restored. | |
| I hope I'm making sense. Well, interesting. Tarry or Epimeno also used twice in 1 Corinthians 16. Very interesting. And it says, for I will not see you now by the way, but I trust to tarry a while with you if the Lord permit. And then verse eight of, but I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. And I think, and I wonder, | |
| What Paul was doing when he was writing these words. This is at the end of the first epistle to the Corinthians. And I don't know too clearly where he was. Let me see if I can find a tab here where I was kind of looking into when the books were written. The epistles that Paul wrote were written. I thought I had it. Oh, here we go. | |
| What epistles did Paul write after he finished his third missionary journey? And they have a list here. Letters written during the third journey for context. It says 1 Corinthians was written from Ephesus. So this means that he was on his way to Jerusalem when he wrote those words. | |
| So notice how all these appearances of Epimeno are in this interesting context of his trip to Jerusalem. So it was during the third journey, and he was on his way back to Jerusalem, I believe, by the time he was writing 1 Corinthians. And he used the word Epimeno twice. Okay. All right, so... | |
| Okay, so, and I think there's more here, but I believe we must move on. I believe we, I just have to mention this one. I felt prompted. I pray it's of the Lord. It says Galatians 1:18. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode Epimeno with him 15 days. So he went up to Jerusalem. Interesting. Again, he went to Jerusalem. This is obviously not, | |
| In the time of Acts 21, this was before he started kind of his full blown public ministry. And so he was in Arabia for 14 years in the desert. And then he came back and after three years, three more years, he went up to Jerusalem or something to that effect. Well, the thing is, after three years, he went up to Jerusalem. | |
| After having been converted, he went there to see Peter and Epimeno within 15 days. The same Peter that is appearing up here in Acts 10. Now notice how it's all tied together in Acts 10 and Acts 12. The first two times that Epimeno are used is in the context of Peter. So he went to talk to Peter, the guy who was reluctant, whom God was using to tell the church, | |
| You need to go to the Gentiles. And get out of Jerusalem. And this is when. I don't know if you see. How everything is tied together. And in Galatians. If you keep reading. You will see how in this chapter. Paul is calling out. Peter and James and the others. For their hypocrisy. In trying to. Please the Jews. Ironically. Um. | |
| So it's like God just emphasizing that there was an irony in all of this. The very man who had called everybody else out for their hypocrisy in staying with the Jews was now embracing that hypocrisy and mistakenly thinking he was doing it for God's sake. OK, so that's all we had to say. It took much longer than I expect. | |
| but I believe it was of the Lord so we looked at the appearances of Epimeno the word that is in Acts 21:4 when it says we tarried there seven days and now again I still don't have understanding on the seven days but let me see if I can find it where was it in verse 7 it says and when we had finished our course from Tyre we came to Ptolemaeus and saluted | |
| the brethren and abode with them one day. So in the word abode, now I'm wondering, is it related to epimeno? It's definitely not epimeno. Otherwise we would have seen it in the appearances of epimeno in that listing. It's just meno, not epimeno, but just meno. That is so interesting. This is so interesting. | |
| So it's, see, Meno is just abide. Epimeno is abiding at a higher level. Um, and this is what I'm getting in my heart. Um, and, and, and you may want to confirm this with the Lord, but this is what I'm, I'm feeling. And maybe I'm, I'm getting it, but just a little kind of like, uh, in reverse, maybe I'm getting it in the wrong order, but this is what I'm getting in my heart. Um, | |
| The seven days represent the seven spirits of God. And it represents God completing his work in his people. Because God's intention is for us to manifest the seven spirits of God in us. The spirit of judgments, wisdom and judgments. The spirit of prophecy, of being a visionary. The spirit of conquest and head authority. The spirit of service. | |
| The spirit of perfection and organizing, and the spirit of dreams and visions, and then the spirit of prosperity, the sort of the seven spirits of God. And God wants us to manifest all seven aspects of his nature in us. And it's like God was saying, | |
| to Paul, I want you to stay with the Gentiles until you see that manifested in them. I want you to act as if that's your goal in life, to see my seven spirits manifested in the Gentiles, in their plenitude, in their fullness. And obviously it would not have been something he could have fulfilled in his lifetime, but that's what he was supposed to aim for, if that makes sense. Sometimes God tells you, aim for this, even though | |
| You may not complete it, but you work towards that. If that makes sense that like this is what you're aiming for and everything you do is aimed is directed at this and achieving this. So even if you don't achieve it, you will be your job is to take us to or to take and lead others to towards that. Result, if that makes sense. | |
| So that's what God was telling him to do. And then it says, when we had finished our course from Tyre, which is where they were abiding, or Epimeno, seven days, then they came to Ptolemaeus. I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing this right. Ptolemaeus. Ptolemaeus. Yeah, maybe that's how you say it. Ptolemaeus. P-T-O-L-E-M-A-I-S. So Ptolemaeus, | |
| What does that mean? If you click here to see the meaning of the word, of the name, it says warlike. And so what does that mean? And this is what I get, what I was getting in my heart, a praise of the Lord. Epimeno, seven days. So you stay up high being trained in the seven spirits of God. | |
| be receiving the impartation of the seven spirits of God. You're up there receiving the impartation. And then you come down to fight like a warrior to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. And why come down? Because the word abode for one day here is meno, not epimeno. Where was it? Did I just go past it? | |
| See, it says, when we had finished our course from Tyre. And I know this is just a coincidence, but I don't think that's what the word course here is intended to mean. But if you take it like a course, like university course, you go up to university to get your courses on the seven spirits of God to manifest the seven spirits of God. You get your training up there at the university up in the sky. | |
| And we're talking figuratively speaking. So you go up there. And once you finish. You graduate. Then you meno. Instead of epi meno. Staying above. You meno. You come down. You don't. You know. In other words. You take out the epi part. Here. Meno. So you come down to earth. And to do what? To fight. You know. Fight. Fight. Fight. But Ptolemaeus. You come as a warrior. | |
| And what are you fighting for? Well, the answer is in the fact that it's one day that it says here. You say, what do you mean? Well, if you have seven days of training and then you come down for one day, how many days is that in total? That's eight. Seven plus one is eight. And what is eight? Eight is number of regeneration. So God is saying, once I've trained you, you will come down in the earthly realm to fight. | |
| to bring about the regeneration of the earth, the eighth of the earth unto God. I hope you see what we're saying here. It's like that's the whole intent. God wants his kingdom tangibly manifested on earth. It's not the kingdom of God is not intended to be this ethereal abstract concept up there. It's supposed to be something real and tangible on earth | |
| the real manifestation of God's kingship on earth. So God, He imparts, you know, while we're, whilst we're growing in the Lord, he gives us the impartation of his seven spirits and is to train us up to be warriors to fight and bring about the regeneration of the earth unto God. It's like God was saying to Paul, this is what I wanted you to do with the Gentiles. But God, but, but Paul did not understand it. Um, | |
| That's what I get in my heart. And you may want to confirm with the Lord about that. Now, the other thing that I find interesting here in verse seven. So now we're basically continuing with Acts 21. We had left off in verse six before. So now we're continuing here. The thing that draws my attention about verse seven is the word saluted the brethren. | |
| And why? Because, see, there's a contrast here. And I pray you see it in the spirit. I pray this is of the Lord as well. But Ptolemaeus, the word here is a word of conflict, war and conflict. And it's right next to something that's the opposite of war and conflict, saluting the brethren. | |
| And what God is saying, when it was time for you to train my people in being warriors, you went pastoral and started imparting pastoral communion amongst the brethren. That's why when Paul was warning the Ephesian elders about the wolves, the grievous wolves that were going to come to the church, what did he do? He started... | |
| talking to them like the church was a whole bunch of sheep and a whole bunch of sheep will never defeat will never have the warrior nature to fight against the grievous wolves a lamb would but not a sheep as we described in the previous video so the thing is that Paul was supposed to be imparting war nature to God's people | |
| as God's people were trained and imparted the God's seven spirits but instead of that he started imparting uh salutations in other words um what is what is what does salute convey it's soul communion uh and as we've shared before soul communion is not wrong in and of itself uh obviously it's not wrong inherently wrong | |
| But when it becomes the focus, then it is wrong. And who promotes soul communion pastors? They love that the sheep all get along, that we all love each other at the soul level and are happy with each other. Let's not judge one another because judging creates conflict in the congregation and we want | |
| All the sheep to be bleeding with joy and happiness. Eating their grass and just existing until the Lord takes us home. Because the earth is not our home. And that is just a horrible, horrible thing that the spirit of Solomon has breathed into the church. This idea that heaven is our home. No, heaven is not our home. Earth is our home. Earth is our home. God created us to be on earth. | |
| And yes, we may have to exit temporarily, but the whole intent is to come back and rule the earth in the anointing of God and establish the kingship of God. That has always been the goal. And all of our lives are geared towards that. Yeah. | |
| Some people will have to temporarily depart because time ran out. But it's not because they are going to their real home. No, it's because they're going to a holding place in paradise. They've all been going to a holding place. And in Hebrews 11, it says they're watching us and they know that their mission is not complete without us. In other words, without the ones who remain on earth. So going to heaven is | |
| is not about going home. It's about going to a holding place as we wait for things to finally be completed on earth. And then they all will come back and we'll all manifest the kingship of God on earth. But it's the battle that's going on here on earth to achieve the kingship of God. So the thing is that... | |
| The matriarchal spirit, the spirit of Solomon, has taught us to be these passive sheep that are here for soul communion to salute one another instead of being here for warfare. Imagine a whole bunch of soldiers gathering together. What is the first thing you think of when you see a whole bunch of soldiers gathering together for warfare? Is it saluting one another? Do you think that's what they do? Oh, hey, what's up? Let's have a party. No. | |
| If they're all gathered together, it's like, where are we going? How are we going to defeat the enemy? What is the plan? It's not about saluting one another. Soldiers are not in the army to have sole communion. They're there to defeat the enemy. I pray that makes sense. So it's like God showing the contrast of what happened when Paul allowed this obsession with the Jews to infect him. | |
| It disabled something in him and prevented him enabling God's people to be warriors. And instead of warriors, they became saluters. Which is a figure of soul communion. So let's go see the word salute here. It's the word aspatsomai. So if we go see the appearances of aspatsomai, it's kind of interesting. | |
| First time it's used, Matthew 5:47. And if you salute aspatsomai, your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the publicans sow. So God is saying even the publicans salute their brethren. It's almost like saying there's nothing that valuable about them. And notice God is contrasting saluting your brethren with loving them and loving your enemies. | |
| But loving those who are opposed. In other words, loving your enemies means being willing to make a sacrifice in order to restore them. That's love. It's not like, oh, I'm going to be kind and nice and not judged. That's not what loving your enemy is about. But, okay, so the next time that aspatsomai is used is Matthew 10:12. And when you come into a house, salute it. | |
| And it says if they don't receive the salute, then, you know, wipe your dust, shake off the dust off your feet and curse the place. So it's a salute with a very strong condition. Like, are you embracing? It's a military invasion into that house. The salute is not so that, oh, hey, how you doing? | |
| Not for soul communion. It's like, okay, let's see, are you simpatico with the Spirit of God? Is your soul willing to embrace the kingship of the Spirit? And if the answer is no, boom, the salute will come back to you. Let your peace return to you. It says here in Matthew 10:13. And then in 10:14, whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. | |
| Verse 15, verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. So it's a salute with judgment behind it if the salute is not received. So it's very different from a matriarchal thing. When God is doing it, then Mark 9:15, and straightaway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed and running to him, saluted him, aspatsomai-ed him. | |
| this is the people uh embracing the Lord Jesus uh I think if I'm not mistaken being amazed at what he was doing um and saluting him and then mark 15:18 they began to salute him hail king of the Jews uh and they began to salute him so this these are the soldiers who were torturing the Lord Jesus and saluting him and what God is saying is you may think | |
| That by being all friendly and having this kind of sedated smile in church with everybody and acting like you're all smoking marijuana and getting along in this state of stupor, of spiritual stupor, that you think that you're pleasing me. And what God is saying here is, and they began to salute him, hello, King of the Jews. | |
| You are you're with your words and your super surf superficial actions You seem to be pleasing me and honoring me and calling me king of the Jews But in reality you are dishonoring me and you're fighting against me And I see it as an affront instead of a blessing Um, and then Luke 1:40 it says and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth and I believe um | |
| This is Mary entering the house of Zechariah. I'm sorry, no, this must be an angel. Yeah, it was Mary, sorry. Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah and entered into the house of Zechariah and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. So in other words, | |
| She saluted, and there was an embracing of that salute, like saying, I embrace the kingship of the spirit, the King Jesus, who represents the spirit ruling over the soul. And it was embraced. And then there was a blessing that came out of Mary because of that embracing of her salute. And then, okay, so... | |
| Luke 10:4 let's see here carry neither purse nor strip nor shoes and salute no man by the way When the Lord sent the disciples in twos he said don't go saluting people around on the road In other words, don't you're not there for soul communion. You're there to conquer That's what why he was telling them to basically be rude don't salute anyone just keep going because | |
| soul communion opens doors for spiritual contamination when you're not guarded in the spirit. And they were there for warfare, not for soul communion. And if they had engaged in soul communion, by the way, on the road to wherever they were going, they were subjecting themselves to whatever spiritual contamination was in that person. So notice how it's the opposite of | |
| Sometimes when you go into saluting mode, aspatsomai mode, you make yourself susceptible to doing the opposite of what God is calling you to do, which is to conquer the earth unto God. And then Acts 18:22, and when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. I don't remember. I think, let's see. Yes, this is when... | |
| This is one other time that Paul was doing something he was not supposed to do. I think he was on his way to Jerusalem once again to fulfill some, pardon my expression, but to fulfill some stupid vow. Let me just look up the word vow here. Yes, Acts 18:18. Having shorn his head in St. Korea, for he had a vow and he had to go to Jerusalem. And we went through this passage and we saw how God was so, so, | |
| Disappointed or upset with this journey this trip to Jerusalem that Paul made that he doesn't even provide any details of what happened. It's like Paul | |
| had a vow. God doesn't even describe the vow. He doesn't say anything about it. And boom, in a few verses, Paul is in Jerusalem and out of there. And then it's like God says, okay, he got that out of his system. Let's keep going. But it was really not out of his system. It was this thing, this | |
| horrible thing that was still inside of him and we'll see a vow later on in Acts 21 which is interesting and he went to salute the church and went down to Antioch so it's after he went to fulfill this stupid vow that he had in Jerusalem that he saluted the church and it's like God saying because of his connection to the Jews then they are pasteurizing him not pasteurizing like milk pasteurizing | |
| Uh, so, uh, in other words, Paul was becoming influenced by the pastoral spirit. So instead of equipping the church for warfare, he was engaging in soul communion with it and teaching its soul communion, uh, aspatsomai, uh, he was aspatsomai-sing himself and the church because of that connection to the Jews that he would not let go of. Um, okay. Um, | |
| Okay, so then let's just very quickly see how a spots of mine is used here in Romans 16. It's used over and over again as salutations at the end. And this is significant because it's like God saying the salutations are at the end, not at the beginning. | |
| Once you've dealt with what needs to be dealt with, then you enter into soul communion. I pray that makes sense. You don't enter into soul communion from the get-go. You do it at the end of the process with people. Once you've dealt with the things that need to be dealt with, then you enter into soul communion. And we'll see that principle revealed later on. But as you can see here in Romans 16, Aspatsomai appears. | |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. In 18 verses, I'm sorry, I went too over. In 16 verses, I think, of Romans 16. In 16 of the verses of the whole chapter, um, um, | |
| aspatsomai appears and some of the verses as you may have noticed uh have aspatsomai more than once so I can only wonder how many times it's in romans 16 in total I think we can see it up here um 21 that's the count I believe of appearances of the word not verses so um 21 times in at the end of romans 16 uh | |
| And that's by far the densest usage of Aspatsomai in all of scriptures you can see in the accounts here. Like Matthew only has it twice. The entire gospel of Matthew uses Aspatsomai twice. The entire gospel of Mark twice. The entire gospel of Luke twice. John doesn't even bother to use Aspatsomai. Acts uses it six times. Then Romans 21 times, but only at the very end. | |
| And then 1 Corinthians four times, 2 Corinthians twice, Philippians three times, Colossians four times. You can see it's very, very few times. And Romans uses it 21 times, but all in the final chapter, in chapter 16. And it's like God, again, saying, you do the aspatsomai, the soul communion at the end, after you have dealt with stuff first. | |
| And by the way, that means that, how can I say that when you're dealing with people, it's like you enter into some form of soul communion after you've dealt with other things spiritually with them. And this happens like in a very dynamic way when you're interacting, let's say, with coworkers or friends and stuff. There is something going on for you. You are spiritually dealing with them. | |
| And once everything has been dealt with, and once you have established the levels at which the other person is willing to respond to God, then you engage in soul communion, but based on the results of the process. If they're only willing to engage with God to a certain level, then your soul communion will be according to that, if that makes sense. If they're barely... | |
| they receive some things of God but not others, then your soul communion is within the limitations of that. But you have already established the parameters. You don't just engage in full-blown friendship with them from the get-go, just opening the doors and letting all their spirits come in. You deal with stuff because you want them conquered unto the kingdom of God. | |
| And we're talking about true conquest, not just them believing and reciting the salvation prayer. We can be talking about a fellow, quote, Christian who's not living under the kingship of God because they're under the queenship of the soul, not the kingship of the spirit. So you're dealing with them, dealing with them, and you go, okay, they'll take this, they'll not take this, they'll take this, they'll not take this, and then suddenly that | |
| calibrates the level of soul communion you will have. If you're in the spirit, God will kind of let you know, you know, how much to engage with them, how much not to, where to engage, where not to engage. Um, and, uh, it's always, and, and, and, and we have to keep in mind, the Lord Jesus would go and, and quote, eat with, with, uh, prostitutes and, and, uh, and, and, and publicans, you know, quote, unquote, and I'm saying this in big quotes. | |
| In other words, just because the person is not fully, completely under the kingship of God doesn't mean that you, you know, you will never engage with them. It's like God will send you to them and if they embrace what's in you of the spirit, then you continue in that soul community at that level. And then maybe they grow more under the kingship of God, then your soul community with them will also increase by the same measure. | |
| And if they start rejecting, then your soul communion with them starts going down as well. But you're always like calibrating in the spirit. You're led. But the thing is, the soul communion comes after the process. And the results of the process determine the level of soul communion you'll have, the person. I hope that's making sense. Okay. And all of that's embedded in that. | |
| that's saluted uh that we were where we started here in Acts 21:7. okay so he saluted the brethren in a boat with them one day and we uh already saw what that one day represents um so he instead of training them in warfare was engaging in soul communion with them that one day that one important day that was that that was the eighth day you know spiritually speaking you know seven days entire and then | |
| are mentioned in verse four. And then verse seven mentions this one day, this is the eighth day, spiritually speaking. And then that eighth day, when he was supposed to teach them about regenerating the earth, he was engaging in soul communion. Why? Because he was too busy going back to Jerusalem. Okay, so then verse eight, speaking of regeneration, eight again here. And the next day, | |
| we that were of Paul's company departed and came unto Caesarea and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven and abode with him. Notice again, like God is putting all these, like weaving all these threads together. He mentioned seven again. And we saw the seven of seven days up here. And this is in verse eight, which correlates with the eighth day mentioned in verse seven. I hope you see this like, | |
| This is created by the divine being, the divine mind of the spirit of God. All these words, there's just too much interweaving going on here for this to be something natural or something made up by man. I hope you see everything is just so. | |
| And why an evangelist is suddenly being mentioned. Why God emphasizes that Philip was the evangelist. Not brother Philip. Not Philip the deacon Philip. It's Philip the evangelist. Which was one of the seven. And this is in verse 8. It's like God saying. What is an evangelist? An evangelist is a conqueror. A warrior. Ptolemaeus. Warlike. | |
| So someone who goes into war mode to conquer the earth unto God. So God is emphasizing, that's what I wanted Paul to be imparting to the people. | |
| while he was in Tyre on that eighth day. But he wasn't doing that. He was saluting. He was in soul communion. That's why God put this Philip the Evangelist, which was one of the seven. In other words, after the seven days of receiving the impartation of the seven spirits of God, people have to rise up like a Philip, the Evangelist, to conquer the earth unto God, unto him. | |
| So that's part of what is here. And it's interesting, Philip the Evangelist, and I'll be very frank, it took me a long, long time to kind of put two and two together in my head that this Philip is the same Philip of Acts chapter 8. And let's see if I, because I had to ask, and so I went online and asked the question, who is this Philip? | |
| Because there are several Philips in scripture, you know, Philip the apostle, and then Philip, the guy of Acts 8. He's the guy whom God sent to the desert to go run down a chariot. And in the chariot was this Ethiopian eunuch who was reading Isaiah 53. And we all, most of us have heard or read the story about | |
| the conversion of this Ethiopian eunuch who, and by the way, he was a eunuch from Ethiopia. And obviously that means he was a black man, but he's not treated as the first official Gentile convert because for all intents and purposes, he was a Jew, even though he was black. God saw him as a Jew, but the other Jewish people | |
| And Jerusalem saw him as a Jew. But it's interesting that for him to be converted, he had to go out outside of Jerusalem and into the wilderness for God to hunt him down and get him into the kingdom of God. God could not do that in Jerusalem. He had to wait for him to come out of Jerusalem. And then God sent Philip into the wilderness to run down the chariot and speak to him. | |
| uh and it's like God saying this was a man that externally did not look like a jew but he was one of my people that's how God saw him he was one of my people and Philip saw him as one of my people it's like God saying that by the same token these Gentiles on the outside these Greeks these Corinthians and Thessalonians and all these uh they look on the outside like they're not Jews but | |
| They are Jews in my heart now. They are the Jews now. Paul, these are the Jews. These are my beloved ones. Not those who have Jewish surnames and who live in Jerusalem and who speak Hebrew or Aramaic. Those are not my Jews. My Jews are these. And I just feel so much sorrow when I'm saying this. These are my Jews. | |
| This is what God was saying to Paul. These are my Jews, not those. Okay, but the thing is, who was this Philip? And I just wanted to, I needed to confirm in my heart, okay, is this the same Philip or not? And I do have a tab here, one of these tabs, where I did a search a long, long time ago. Oh, here we go. Here it is. | |
| I wrote, is the Philip of Acts 21:8 the same Philip who spoke to the Ethiopian eunuch? And then the AI overview answered, yes, the Philip in Acts 21:8 is the same person as the Philip who spoke to and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. Acts presents Philip as one of the seven deacons chosen in Acts 6 verses 1 through 6 to serve the Jerusalem church, later described as the evangelist in Acts 21:8. The narrative in Acts 8:26-40 says, | |
| 8:26 through 40 shows him being directed by the spirit to meet the Ethiopian eunuch on the road from Gaza to Jerusalem explaining Isaiah 53 and baptizing him now the interesting thing is okay so and I think I might have at some point thought in my heart that this Philip of Acts 21:8 was the same was one of the seven | |
| one of the seven deacons. And why? Because obviously Acts 21:8 clearly says that he was one of the seven. Seven who? Well, by context, you have to conclude it's one of the seven deacons of Acts 6. But I didn't realize, it took me a long time to realize that that Philip, who was one of the seven chosen deacons in Acts 6, was the same Philip who spoke to | |
| the Ethiopian it took me a long time to figure that one out um but the thing is okay so he so this we are seeing this Philip that represents two things first the man who spoke to this black man who was a jew in God's eyes um and then second we're talking about a Philip who was one of the seven deacons | |
| And we have to go back to what seven deacons is. What was that all about? So let's go there. Acts chapter 6. Let's go back in time. We've gone through this before. But here it is in Acts 6 verse 5. And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen. Stephen. Oh. Interesting. Stephen, the man through whom Paul was converted. Notice how everything is just tied together in this one big knot. | |
| one big circle. So Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. And then the second person that God mentions is Philip, right after Stephen. This is the Philip that eventually appears in Acts 21:8. Philip is like the next remaining of the seven. Stephen died so that Paul would be converted. And then Philip appears as if God is saying, remember Stephen and the price I paid. And why did Stephen die? | |
| Because Stephen spoke to the Jews and the Jews murdered him. It's like God tried to remind him of all of that. But the other thing is, why did this whole thing about picking seven deacons showed up? Oh, and we could read the other five names. Let's read them quickly. Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch. So, um. | |
| As I always say lots of baby names to choose from here and so these are the seven and But why were these seven deacons chosen? Well, let's read the whole thing again. We've gone through this several times But it's worth rereading very quickly and in those days verse one When the number of the disciples was multiplied there arose a murmuring of the Grecians, of the Greeks, against the Hebrews and | |
| Because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then verse 2. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them. And said it is not reason that we should leave the word of God. And serve tables. The twelve. God doesn't even call them apostles. Just the twelve. Because they were not acting as apostles. At that moment. They were acting as pastors. The way pastors behave today. Yeah we don't do. | |
| mundane stuff we are the spiritual ones so you see the spirit of this is the spirit of Solomon the spirit of ministerial elitism that there are some a little better than the rest there's so there's a Solomon that's carried on that um uh oh my goodness I forget the name of it uh palanquin uh that that palanquin thing that's described by God in song of songs chapter 3 verses 6 through 11 | |
| the starting point of this whole series um there's a Solomon that is carrying this palanquin because he's too hot too important to be on the ground and he has to be carried by 60 uh and carried and protected by 60 uh soldiers uh warriors who instead of fighting the enemy are there to serve this Solomon uh and carry him around uh | |
| Like a lazy bastard and I am using the word bastard in the spirit as per Hebrews 12 That's what Solomon became a lazy bastard And that's what every all the all these pastors who embrace the spirit of Solomon turn into lazy bastards who want to be carried around By the by the people of God | |
| And who think that the people of God are there to elevate them above the ground. And carry them on this palanquin. As they are ministering to God. And then coming and sharing with the rest of the class. What God told them. But in an arrogant spirit. It's not receiving and imparting. So that you will be equipped to be just like them or better. It's not because. So that you can also have direct communion with him. | |
| No, no, no, no. You don't have communion with him. I have communion with him. | |
| You carry me around on the palanquin, and I'll tell you what God wants you to know. And you just live your natural little lives like nice little sheep, and I'll tell you the spiritual stuff you need. Just enough, just that you will feel that you're right with God. But you can continue with your soulish life, lifestyle. So the thing is, there's that spirit of elitism. We're more important than all y'all in verse 2. | |
| And then verse 3, wherefore, brethren, look ye among you, seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Verse 4, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. The satanic, these are words from Satan spoken through the mouths of the apostles. And then verse 5, and then that's when they chose the seven. | |
| we have explained how this shows not only the spirit of elitism that was in the um the disciples the apostles and if we go back one chapter just to emphasize why we keep saying Solomon well uh let's see if it's here um here it is verse 12 and by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portion the apostles | |
| Would gather under Solomon's porch. And then verse 13. And the rest. No man joined himself to them. But the people magnified them. Magnified them. Oh you are above us. And we can't be near you. Because you are so. And I know this is going to sound like. I'm being earthly. And of the flesh. But I'm saying this in the spirit. Because you're so damned special. And damned is cursed. It's a special. Specialness. | |
| that brings a curse to them and to everybody else. That's how damn special they were. And it was in Solomon's porch that they began to embrace that. Oh yes, we are better than everybody else because the spirit of Solomon was getting into them. That's why God mentions that place by name. And before that, when Solomon's porch was mentioned earlier, God says, | |
| I forget, maybe it was in the book of John, when God says the porch, that it was known as Solomon's porch. Because God is saying, yes, that's how people knew that place. But at that moment, when God was saying that, he was saying, I am changing this porch. And the spirit of Solomon was evicted from that porch by the Lord Jesus when he went to that place. | |
| But God does not call it Solomon's porch. He called it the porch that was known as Solomon's porch, known by people. I just want you to know that I want you to identify the physical place. But here, God calls it Solomon's porch, as if to say the spirit of Solomon is here. It was led in by the apostles. Jesus in John 10, I think it was, he evicted that spirit, but it was brought back by the apostles. | |
| And they got into this spirit of, of elitism. Like we're a little better than all y'all. And because of that, the seven, uh, they then that's the seven deacons appeared. But the problem in, in the midst of all of this was that what was the issue that there was discrimination, that, that, that, that those who were Greeks, uh, Jewish Greeks, Greek Jews, um, you know, people who are Greek technically Jews, but, but had a lot of, um, | |
| Greek influence, maybe because they spoke mostly Greek and so forth. They were being discriminated against by the Hebrews, by the ones who were like the real Jews. And instead of addressing that as apostles, an apostle is an endowment of judgments, wisdom and judgments. Notice how they say, look for men of wisdom. In other words, they were delegating the apostolic to someone else. Like, no, we're too... | |
| Too busy being pastors to be apostles. So look for other men who will have apostolic wisdom. We're not going to exercise apostolic wisdom. They should have been exercising apostolic wisdom and judgments to judge the situation and say, how dare you discriminate against those who are Greeks? When God has opened the path for both Jews and Greeks now, but they wouldn't go there. | |
| So this is all that's why God brought up Philip the evangelist next 21 to remind us of all of this. OK, so let's go back to Acts 21. And I know this is a side note, but. This thing and I know that I'm sorry for harping on this, but I feel I have to emphasize it over and over again. That as we know, there are five in that minute | |
| you know, let's call them ministerial endowments for a second, apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, according to Ephesians 4:11. And as I always say, and I'll, sorry for boring you with this, but I always feel prompted to ask, or even in my mind, it's like when I have mental debates with matriarchals, | |
| I start asking, okay, name me an apostle in the New Testament. Someone that is referred to as an apostle. And obviously people would say Paul or Peter or whoever. And then I say, name me a prophet. Name me a prophet. And some people might struggle with that. Like a prophet in the so-called New Testament. Someone called a prophet. Explicitly called that they are a prophet. | |
| And some might struggle, but those who have read a lot of scripture might remember, oh, Agabus. And here he is two verses later, Acts 21:10. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus. So God names a prophet, the prophet Agabus, Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, and many apostles. And then I say, okay, we've been able to name an apostle. | |
| Name a prophet in the New Testament. Explicitly named an apostle or prophet in the New Testament. Can you tell me the name of an evangelist? By name. In the New Testament. And here we have him. Philip the Evangelist. Okay. And then we have pastor and teacher. And then I get to pastor. And I ask. Name me a pastor. Tell me someone whom God. In the New Testament. | |
| Refer to as pastor so and so. And I know. And that's when they go silent. Because there's absolutely not a single person. Recognized as a pastor. Well there was Timothy as well. No yeah yeah. No no. You have made him a pastor in your head. But I want you to show me by scripture. That God called Timothy a pastor. Pastor Timothy. Apostle Paul. | |
| prophet Agabus Philip the evangelist do the same with pastor and the answer is there is no one no one is ever named as a pastor no one is mentioned by name as a pastor not a single one and again I'm not being I'm not using flesh language here I'm using language of the spirit how the hell is it that pastor so-and-so is the predominant | |
| a title in the matriarchal church. How the hell did we arrive there? And I say hell because hell is Sheol. Sheol is purposelessness. When emptiness and purposelessness isn't a place, that place is hell. So the church has turned into a hellish place where we have exalted the title of pastor above all the other ministries, all the other endowments. And that's the one that gets name and recognition. | |
| How the hell did we arrive. At that because of the spirit of Solomon. Because the spirit of Solomon. Requires pastors to be in charge. In order to operate. And do its damage. And sabotage the callings of God's people. And cripple them. And take their legs. And do the mafia thing. Of. I forget the name. The expression. When they go for the knees. Kneecapping believers. | |
| And crippling them. And that's what the spirit of Solomon. Goes around doing all day. Grabbing a baseball bat. Beating the legs. And the knees. Of believers. Kneecapping them. And leaving them. All mutilated. And mangled. And unable to walk in the spirit. And the spirit of Solomon. Requires pastors to be in charge. In order to be able to do that. | |
| just like that woman, the woman who was taking care of Mephibosheth, when she heard that David had won and was coming, she didn't understand David spiritually, and she thought David wanted to kill Mephibosheth because he was a descendant, he was the son of Jonathan, in other words, a descendant of the family line of Saul, and Saul was the deposed king, and this woman | |
| thought that oh David is coming to kill him because you know in those days it was common for the someone when they took over the throne to kill the family of the old king of the previous king to kind of eliminate competition and she thought David was coming to kill Mephibosheth and she ran and she fell and I don't know how it happened but she fell on top of the kid in such a way she smothered him literally | |
| Um, and, and, and when she fell, uh, and, and I'm sure she fell with the whole, her whole weight, her grievous wolf weight on her, boom. And she, she cracked the, the poor kid's, um, bones, uh, leg bones and, and Mephibosheth was left crippled for the rest of his life. And that was when he was five years old, five number of five ministries, um, five endowments, um, | |
| And, uh, and that's what the spirit of Solomon is doing, crippling God's people, turning them into pathetic Mephibosheth. Uh, and at least the Mephibosheth of, uh, of scripture, um, he was eventually restored and put in a high place. But I'm talking, when I say pathetic Mephibosheth, I'm referring to people who are crippled, who never get out of that crippled state. And some love it. Some love being crippled because it just makes their life easier. Um, | |
| So the thing is, that's the spirit that's in the church. And just the fact that this reference to Philip the Evangelist is, again, that thing about how of all the five endowments, the only one that doesn't get named explicitly is pastor. And the other one that would be left would be teacher. And that one's a little bit iffy because I've never seen a verse that says teacher so-and-so. | |
| But I do, like, for example, here, it's very clear. Prophet named Agabus. Prophet and a name. Philip the Evangelist. You know, name and the endowment. Like, tied together. With teachers, there's no, it's also, just like with pastor, there's no one, there's never a reference to teacher so-and-so. Because to God, pastor and teacher had to be | |
| secondary endowments that are female and are submitted to the other three or submit or recognize the preeminence of the other three because the other three are male. So that's why God never exalts those two, never says pastor so-and-so or teacher so-and-so the way he does with apostles, prophets, or evangelists. | |
| But I have seen verses where it is shown, oh, this is a teacher. In fact, I can, God said, no, don't do it. So you can look it up if you want. If you look up the word teacher or teachers, you might find verses where it says, it's referring to teachers and it's implicit that, | |
| A person who was just named by name earlier is a teacher. I think Paul calls himself a teacher at some point. But he's never referred to as teacher Paul. And I think Timothy is also a teacher. And it's referred to as such. But never as teacher Timothy. If that makes sense. Teacher is never a title. I hope that I'm making sense. | |
| or never used as anything close to a title the way like this is almost like a title Philip the evangelist um the prophet Agabus apostle Paul and so on but with teachers never like that but with teachers interesting I can say there are people that I can I know by scripture | |
| The God explicitly, uh, or implicitly refers to as teachers like Timothy, like Paul, and I forget there, there are others. Um, so, so the thing is that the only one of all the endowments where you cannot name a single person who had that endowment in the new Testament explicit, you know, mentioned, uh, implicitly or explicitly is the pastoral endowment, not a single. | |
| verse God never bothered you know who's who was the only one who is referred to as pastor or shepherd which is the same in Greek it's Jesus, Jesus is the only one who's named as a pastor the only one no one else no one else but I'm so when I asked the question I obviously referred to like from the start of the church you know from Pentecost onwards name anyone who's | |
| ever referred to in scripture as pastor no one not even implicitly the way it is with teachers but uh I digress um so I digress and I don't digress but um this is so God when God puts this Philip the evangelist here he's saying all these things Paul this is the spirit you're letting in this is the spirit you're letting in | |
| Because you've embraced the spirit of Solomon, the spirit that's going to exalt the pastoral endowment. And then and it's interesting because. We have a boatload. Of pastors in the matriarchal system. But. | |
| And every and now in modern times, you know, people have begun to recognize the apostolic ministry once again. And you can hear every now and then apostles so and so apostles also. But even when you hear apostles so and so, what comes into your mind? And I would challenge, you know, a matriarchal believer and even a non-matriarchal believer, to be frank about it. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear apostles so and so? You go, oh. | |
| How he thinks he's all that. That's the first thing that comes to your mind. And we've been trained to think that way. Because pastor is the only real ministry. And all the other ones who try to resurrect the other ministries. That have been put by the wayside. They are self-proclaimed fools. Who want to exalt themselves. And give themselves a title that no longer belongs to anyone. Apostles so and so. | |
| How dare he use that term. And those worthless bastards. In the matriarchal church. Like that man. I see his face every time. I don't know his name. I don't want to know his name. Worthless little bastard boy. Who on YouTube mocks people. Who in his mind. Claimed to have the prophetic. Anointing. The prophetic calling. All these people. Who arrogantly claim. That God did away with the prophets. | |
| Where is it in Scripture? I don't know. They pulled it out of their butt after going to the bathroom once or twice. And something came out and they go, oh, here it is. Here's the proof that prophets don't exist anymore because it's not in Scripture. They pull it out of their butts. And I know this is very crass language. It doesn't sound like the language of a Christian, but this is how God refers to these people, how God speaks about them. | |
| Because they defile the word of God. They claim to defend the word of God. And they're the ones defiling it. And smearing it. And corrupting it. Cursed are they. So okay. So now verse 9. Acts 21:9. It says. And the same man had four daughters. In other words. Brother Philip. | |
| virgins which did prophesy and this is interesting again um yeah it's not said as a title but it's obviously uh clear here that um the four daughters were prophets of the evangelist daughters of the evangelist isn't that interesting the two great ministries of prophet and evangelist being put together | |
| Now, I don't know how this fits into the context of Paul's journey and everything else. I'll be very frank. I don't know what these four daughters who prophesied, how that fits in. But I feel like God is saying, this is all you're letting go of. The outflow of the grace of God, of my grace amongst my people is going to be stunted because you are participating in enabling the spirit of Solomon in the church. | |
| And even for, and they were women. But I think, I believe in my heart that when God puts the word virgin here, and I think virgin, we tend to associate it with something else, but I believe that in scripture, even in the Greek text, the word virgin is more like a young maiden kind of thing. And it has the, and maybe it is in terms of, | |
| it's the word virgin like we would understand it but I believe that when God uses the word virgin here it's like this this connotation of a soul that is pure because the daughters they're women obviously and the soul is female so they are women their souls but their souls are pure and that means that they are souls that are submitted to God to the spirit | |
| um so God is saying souls even though they are feminine they will submit to the spirit and manifest my prophetic anointing and do it in righteousness and that's what we all missed out on and now the other thing that I wonder about is you know Philip the evangelist he was in um | |
| uh if we if you go read Acts 8 let's go there very quickly before coming back Acts 8 uh when he has the encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch um at the end of it after they part ways it says in verse 40 but Philip was found at Azotus and passing through it's like he was teleported to Azotus it's almost like he was physically like you know the beam me up Scottie thing, he was | |
| tele-transported from where he was to Azotus. Okay. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea. So he went on an evangelistic journey here. And by the way, his contact with the Ethiopian eunuch was more than just, you know, a pastoral thing where, you know, come to Jesus, receive the Lord Jesus. | |
| It was more than that. The impact of that encounter with that one man was so deep that birthed the church in Ethiopia that is alive even to this day and that has a lot of spiritual impartation. Maybe muted because of many other things, but | |
| But the impact was so great that an entire nation was turned towards Christ because of this encounter with one man. That's how powerful the evangelistic anointing on Philip was. The conquest of an entire nation through the encounter with one man. And I think Azotus means fortress or something, or stronghold, because the evangelist is the one who establishes the strongholds of God and tears down strongholds of the enemies. | |
| and he's passing through, preaching all the cities. So he was doing all the evangelistic work of conquest, and then he arrived in Caesarea. And I don't want to misspeak, but I do wonder, isn't it interesting that we don't hear about Philip again after Acts 8:40? So he arrived in Caesarea, and it's almost like his ministry ended there. | |
| Because you don't hear about him up until you come to Acts 21. And where is he when we find him in Acts 21? He's still in Caesarea. It's almost like he got stuck there. And I do wonder if something stagnated him. I don't know. I don't know. But. | |
| Because this was a powerful man of God. And why don't we hear about him again? I don't know. I really don't know. But, oh, I feel this is of the Lord. Yes, I feel this is of the Lord. Isn't it interesting that verse 9 and verse 10 talk about prophets? Both, like back to back. | |
| In verse 9, it's referring to four daughters of Philip who prophesied. But who was the one who gave the word of prophecy to Paul from God about going to Jerusalem? Someone who came from Judea. Someone who came all the way from Judea to prophesy to Paul. But he was there in the house of Philip with the four daughters who prophesied. And it's interesting that none of them | |
| prophesied to him about going to Jerusalem and you know why and I feel bad about making these accusations because I know the Lord is listening so I'm accountable for every word I know Paul's listening not been uh quote vilifying him all this time and all these videos um and now I'm about to quote vilify brother Philip but I just I feel in my heart that Philip | |
| Had more to do in the kingdom. And he got stuck in Caesarea. And because of that. That stunted. What the daughters could do. With their prophetic gift. If that makes sense. Philip. And the daughters. Were supposed to give this word. Severe word to Paul. To warn him. Of what he was about to do. By going back to Jerusalem. But they didn't. | |
| because Philip himself had gotten stuck. And again, I say this with lots of fear, but I do believe, it just hit me, this awareness that the daughters prophesied, but none of them told them what Agabus did. God had to bring someone all the way from Judea. And why from Judea? Because it's like someone who was in the heart of where the spirit of Solomon | |
| was operating and it's like coming to say you want to come here you want to come to this place that is dominated by the spirit of Solomon well I'll tell you what's awaiting you um and that's why God had to send someone all the way from Judaea to go tell Paul this and it says here and as we tear it there many days so for many days the four daughters and Philip had the chance to turn Paul around or at least confront him I think he was hell-bent on going to and I mean that | |
| figuratively and spiritually he was hell-bent on going to Jerusalem so no one would have stopped him but Philip and the four daughters had the responsibility to say something to him and they didn't and who knows maybe with Philip and the four daughters saying something maybe that would have changed something I don't know but at least they would have been clean of any responsibility in the matter but the thing is that God brought this man Agabus to | |
| And I feel prompted to look up the meaning of the name. I've looked it up before. For some reason, it never sticks in my head. Agabus means locust. Oh, interesting. So Brother Locust showed up and he prophesied after Paul and everybody else who was with him had been in Philip's house for many days. | |
| um and then um oh and the word eight and the word abode here was the word epimeno that we had been looking at the beginning of this video if I'm not mistaken abode oh I'm sorry meno it's just meno I apologize uh I think epimeno appears two verses later uh yeah so he was staying there but at the ground level shall we say um okay | |
| Epimeno is like staying at the high, at the spiritual level, quote unquote. And meno would be, in this context of this passage, meno would be staying at the ground level. Okay, so Brother Locus showed up. And then verse 11, And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, | |
| so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And I feel that this is the key to the whole thing. Deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. It's like Paul did not want to let go of the Jews, but God still had some work to do through him. In other words, Paul was not completely lost. There was something that God could still do through him, but he couldn't do it as long as he held on to the Jews. | |
| So God said okay, you're so hell-bent on sticking with them I will let I will send you I will enable you to go to Jerusalem So a whole bunch of bad stuff will happen to you And a lot and the kingdom my kingdom is going to suffer a great deal Because there's so many things I could have done through you And they're all going to be thrown away And as I said that I have the television on mute and there was this woman | |
| who was throwing a gun out her car, a red car, and then moving on. She's hiding evidence or something. But I just felt that that correlated with what was happening spiritually, that Paul was throwing away the weapon, the power to defeat the enemy. | |
| Like the church was losing that ability. That weapon. That gun. Against the enemy. They were throwing it away. Because of all that was happening. So God was allowing. All of that to happen. But at least. He was going to redeem something. From Paul's life. And to do that. He had to force the Jews to give him up. I hope I'm making sense. It's like. Imagine. | |
| this is a very bad example, but imagine you have a daughter who is infatuated with some guy. And you're telling your daughter, hey, he's no good. He's no good. You know, baby, he's no good. He's no good for you. He's a loser and he's an abuser and this and that and the other. But your daughter is just | |
| completely infatuated with him and will not let him go. And even when she gets beaten up by him, and I'm referring to Paul. This is Paul. Paul with the Jews. So she's getting beat up by him all the time, but she still loves him and thinks that he will come around and things will change somehow if she makes enough sacrifices. And it gets to the point where | |
| You know that if she stays with him, he's going to kill her, literally. And then you start praying, well, she's not going to give him up. Well, the only hope is for him to give her up. And then you start praying and praying and praying so that the day will come, the secrets of events will happen, where he will be the one to tell her to hit the road. | |
| And leave him alone. And physically forces her, like, you know, puts a restraining order on her and says, I don't want anything to do with you anymore. And that's the only way that young lady is going to understand, I'm not going to be with him anymore. That's what God did here. | |
| He's put into effect a sequence of events so that the Jews would say to Paul, get the hell out of our presence. And I know this does not sound like Christian language, but that's what hell means, Sheol, purposelessness. It's like sending you to an empty place. Because see, to Paul, ministering to the Gentiles only was hell, was emptiness, like purposelessness. | |
| My life is not complete unless I'm preaching to the Jews also. So being told, no, you're going to preach to the Gentiles only was like sending Paul to hell. That's why he would say, I'd rather be accursed by Christ himself. So if that's enough for my brethren to be redeemed, my brethren, the Jews. | |
| So the thing is, God's put into sequence a whole series of events where he would force the Jews to tell Paul, get the hell out of our presence. And that's when Paul lived out the rest of his days. And as much as God could do through him, he was forced to dedicate himself to the Gentiles and leave the Jews alone. | |
| That's what God did. So he forced the Jews to deliver him over to the Gentiles because the Jews were powerless. They were not like this abusive husband or boyfriend that had total control over the situation. He himself was under a curse and a bondage. That's why the Jews, you know, they didn't have autonomy. They were under the boot of the Romans and they had been under the boots of foreigners for 400 years. | |
| Because of their rebellion against God. For 100 or more years. Of being under the control of a foreigner. So that's why God's. I'm going to use that. To force them to give him up. Because they don't have authority to kill Paul. But I will put into. Well they didn't have authority. Unless Paul gave it to them. That's the thing. Unless Paul gave it to them. | |
| So God said, okay, I'll have to work a way around this whole thing so that despite Paul's stupidity, I will get the Jews to deliver him to the Gentiles. Like saying, no, no, you belong to them. Because as we've said before, in God's eyes, Paul was a Gentile. In a righteous way, in a good way. He was no longer a Jew because the Jews were cursed of God. | |
| Okay. And then verse 12. And when we heard these things. Very interesting. And I wish there was more time to say more things. But we're running out of time. We'll say the things we wanted to share. Lord willing in the next video. So verse 12. When we heard these things. You know what Agabus said. Both we. And they of that place. But sought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Both we. | |
| And this was, I don't think it hit me until today when I was rereading this. When I read the word we, that's Luke. You know, Luke is the one, Brother Luke is the one writing all these things, you know, in the spirit. And this is the first time or one of the few times that Brother Luke interjects himself into the narration. And he says, I, even I was begging him, don't go to Jerusalem. And notice who else was begging him. | |
| They of that place what place well the house of Philip, Philip the evangelist the daughters the four daughters who prophesied so it's like when Agabus showed up it triggered the awareness in them that Paul was doing something wrong so even though Philip was stuck and he in a certain way inadvertently also stuck his daughters you know stuck them spiritually | |
| When Agabus came, it's like that was the push that enabled Philip and enabled the four daughters to respond and say, oh, God is saying to Paul, don't go to Jerusalem. We have to stop him. So Philip, the four daughters, and even Luke himself, who's writing all these things, became aware that it was a bad, bad idea for Paul to go to Jerusalem, that it was not of God. | |
| But then Paul answered, what mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And you may say, oh, how dare you speak these words in a mocking tone? Well, because that's what he was doing. He was speaking pastorally. He interpreted everything from a pastoral standpoint. From that moment on, he was just thinking like a pastor. | |
| So he was thinking that these people were saying all these things because they loved him and they didn't want him to suffer. And why do you break my heart? Oh, you're breaking my heart. Oh, my emotions. Oh, you're breaking my heart. But he didn't understand. It was God telling him, don't go to the Jews because I've called you to the Gentiles. And I know we have no time left, but I'll go very quickly. | |
| To this and we may revisit this later. I don't remember what chapter it is. So we have so little time right now Let me see if I can find it here. It's when One of the first yeah, it's around the very beginning of Paul's conversion Paul converted his narration the narration of his conversion is in Acts 9 and he's still called Saul | |
| And he's preaching to the Jews. He was full-blown going at it. And then he escapes. Let's see if I can find it here. Let's see. I'm running out of time. It's not here. | |
| Yes, I think it might be Acts 13, could it be? Let's see if I can find it here. I apologize, I should have, I wasn't planning to, I thought we'd be talking about so many other things that there'd be no time for this. Oh, here it is. So it was an Acts 11, okay. | |
| No, sorry, this is not it. There is a verse, and we'll get to it if the Lord allows it in the next video. It's very early on that God tells Paul, I have sent you to the Gentiles. And he was about to be killed by the Jews. They were persecuting him. And he talks to God and says, I want to speak to the Jews. And God says, don't speak to the Jews anymore. I'm sending you to the Gentiles. That was God's will for him. | |
| That's what God was emphasizing when Philip, the four daughters and Agabus and even Luke were all telling him, don't go to Jerusalem. But he saw it from an emotional standpoint. |
In this continuation of our study, we return to Acts chapter 21, where we have been reading through the passages describing Paul's determination to travel to Jerusalem. We left off around verse 6, and before continuing, we revisit a few points from the previous video. Chief among them is the significance of the seven days mentioned in verse 4. Earlier, there was little understanding of why God specified seven days rather than six, five, eight, or eleven. A thought has since been deposited in the heart concerning the number seven, one that becomes clearer as the following verses are read.
Before examining the number seven, attention turns to the word "tarry." At first reading, it seems a simple statement that they stayed for seven days. Yet the sense arises that to understand the seven days, one must understand the word itself. The original Greek word for "tarried" in verse 4 is epimeno (Strong's 1961). The prefix epi carries the connotation of something high or above, such as the gathering in the air. The root meno generally conveys staying, remaining, permanence, or abiding. Together, epimeno suggests remaining or abiding, but at a higher level.
Tracing the usages of epimeno in Scripture reveals notable patterns. The supposed first appearance is John 8:7, the story of the woman taken in adultery. As has been shared elsewhere, John 7:52 through 8:11 consists of verses added to the original text, with clear evidence of artificial insertion. The principles contained in that passage contradict the rest of Scripture, so it cannot be treated as a genuine record. It is seen as a fabrication introduced by the spirit of Solomon, the patriarchal system, to recast the Lord Jesus into a pastoral figure he was not, one who is anti-judgment. Yet it is striking that this artificial passage contains the first appearance of the word, as if God were signaling that something artificial was taking place in Acts 21, where Paul imposed on himself a journey God had not asked of him.
The first genuine appearance is Acts 10:48. Peter, having visited Cornelius, had been compelled by God to go to the Gentiles, reluctantly. After Cornelius's household was baptized, they asked him to stay several days. God uses epimeno in the context of someone asked to remain with the Gentiles, someone reluctant to go to them. This suggests that God was in effect saying, this is what I was asking Paul to do, yet Paul fell into the same syndrome as Peter: the sense that Gentiles were being placed above Jews, when God was instructing him to forget the Jews and go to the Gentiles.
The second appearance is Acts 12:16, in the context of Peter imprisoned by Herod and miraculously freed by an angel. Peter went to the house of Mary, where believers were gathered praying for his deliverance. When Peter knocked, no one would open, because inside was disbelief. A young servant girl, Rhoda, recognized his voice, but no one believed her even though they had been praying for exactly this outcome. The irony is pointed: they prayed for something, and when God answered, they would not believe it. This is seen as a picture of the unbelief of the Jews, who had asked for the Messiah, and when he came and knocked, they did not believe it was him, leaving him outside. Peter was eventually admitted, but not because of the crowd's belief. It was the one young woman of a different spirit who opened the door.
The third appearance is Acts 13:43. After the Jews had left the synagogue, the Gentiles begged to hear more the following Sabbath. Many Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. The surrounding verses show the Jews contradicting and blaspheming, and Paul and Barnabas declaring, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles." This is the first time Paul, anointed by the Spirit, recognizes his commission to the Gentiles. The obligation to speak to the Jews first had been fulfilled. Here epimeno appears in a context where God has gathered many reminders into the atmosphere around Paul: the Gentiles asking him to stay, the Jews who rejected him, and the declaration that he would turn to the Gentiles. Yet Paul, already contaminated by the spirit of Solomon, would not listen.
The fourth appearance is Acts 15:34, which reads that it pleased Silas to abide there still. This verse is more troubling. In the English Standard Version, the verse is omitted, with a footnote stating that some manuscripts insert it. The Council of Jerusalem has just concluded, and the decree was delivered at Antioch. Judas and Silas, being prophets, exhorted the brethren, and after they made time, they were let go in peace. Then the verse claims Silas chose to stay, and Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch. The separation of Silas from the others, in what seems to be a clumsy transition, suggests the verse was added later to explain how Silas was present for Paul to choose in verse 40. The fact that the disputed verse contains epimeno again connects the word to soul ties. Just as Barnabas lost his calling by allowing soul ties to take precedence over God's calling, so Paul was allowing his ties to the Jewish people to obstruct God's purpose for him.
The exploration then turns to Paul's eye condition, often associated with his thorn in the flesh. As the word "beam" came to mind, the image arose of a thick vertical wooden post being planted, like the trunk of a great tree. The Lord indicated this was the beam in his eye, a reference to the Matthew teaching about removing the beam from one's own eye. It is suggested that Paul's eye condition was partly due to a beam he would not let go of, namely his attachment to the Jews.
Returning to Acts 21:4, where "finding disciples, we tarried there seven days," the seven days are considered in relation to the seven spirits of God. These are understood as the spirit of judgment and wisdom, the spirit of prophecy and visionary sight, the spirit of conquest and headship, the spirit of service, the spirit of perfection and organization, the spirit of dreams and visions, and the spirit of prosperity. God intends His people to manifest all seven aspects of His nature. The seven days represent a period of impartation and training in these spirits. God was saying to Paul that He wanted him to remain with the Gentiles until these spirits were manifested in them, aiming at the fullness of God's seven spirits, even if he could not complete it in his lifetime.
Verse 7 states that when they had finished their course from Tyre, they came to Ptolemais and abode with the brethren one day. The Greek word for "abode" here is meno, not epimeno. The distinction is significant: epimeno is abiding at a higher level, while meno is abiding at ground level. The journey is likened to a course of spiritual training. One receives impartation at a high level for seven days, then comes down to fight. Ptolemais means "warlike." Seven days of training followed by one day of action yields eight, the number of regeneration. The intent is that after impartation, one descends to the earthly realm to fight and bring about the regeneration of the earth unto God. The kingdom of God is meant to be tangibly manifested on earth, not an ethereal abstraction.
A contrast emerges in verse 7 between the warlike name of Ptolemais and the act of saluting the brethren. Where warfare is the expected posture, Paul instead engaged in salutations, which signify soul communion. Soul communion is not wrong in itself, but becomes wrong when it becomes the focus. Pastors, it is argued, prize soul communion, keeping sheep content and avoiding conflict, while the earth is treated as a temporary place rather than the intended home of God's rule. Those who depart are seen as going to a holding place, not their true home, awaiting completion of the work on earth. Just as soldiers do not gather to exchange greetings but to plan the defeat of the enemy, God's people are called to warfare rather than mere fellowship.
The Greek word for salute, aspazomai, is examined across its usages. In Matthew 5:47, salutation of brethren alone is contrasted with loving enemies, which means being willing to sacrifice in order to restore them. In Matthew 10:12-15, salutation carries a condition: if it is not received, the peace returns and judgment falls. It is thus not a casual greeting but a spiritual engagement. In Mark 9:15, the people embraced the Lord. In Mark 15:18, the soldiers mocked him with "Hail, King of the Jews," which is a sobering example of superficial honor concealing dishonor. In Luke 1:40, Mary's salutation of Elizabeth is embraced and produces blessing. In Luke 10:4, the disciples are told to salute no man on the road, since they are there for conquest, and soul communion opens doors for contamination. In Acts 18:22, after Paul's unexplained vow in Jerusalem, he saluted the church, an act consistent with his drift toward soul communion.
Romans 16 contains a dense concentration of aspazomai, appearing some twenty-one times, all at the very end of the epistle. This is taken to signify that soul communion comes after spiritual work has been done. One does not begin with full friendship; one deals first with what must be dealt with, then establishes the level at which the other person responds to God, and salutation is calibrated accordingly. The Lord Jesus, though he ate with publicans and sinners, always did so according to the Spirit's leading, and soul communion rises and falls in proportion to a person's response to God.
Acts 21:8 introduces Philip the evangelist, one of the seven. Verse 8 mentions seven again, correlating with the eighth day of verse 7. The weaving of these numbers is seen as evidence of divine composition. Philip is identified as the same Philip chosen in Acts 6 as one of the seven deacons, and also as the Philip who evangelized the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. Stephen, the first chosen, was murdered by the Jews, which led to Paul's conversion. Philip appears next, as if God were reminding Paul of the price paid for his conversion.
The seven deacons were chosen because of a murmuring between Greek-speaking and Hebrew-speaking widows. The twelve apostles declined to address the matter themselves, saying it was not reason that they should leave the word of God to serve tables. This is seen as the spirit of elitism, the spirit of Solomon, in which a select group considers itself above the rest. Solomon's porch, where the apostles gathered, becomes the symbol of this spirit, and the people magnified them, placing them above the rest, a dangerous honor.
Ephesians 4:11 names five ministries: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. Scripture names apostles such as Paul and Peter, names prophets such as Agabus, and names an evangelist, Philip. Yet no one in the New Testament is explicitly named as a pastor, and the pastoral title, which dominates the modern church, appears nowhere as the name of an individual. Teacher is referenced in a few places but never functions as a title. This absence is interpreted as meaningful: the pastoral and teaching endowments were treated as secondary, submitted to the others, while the spirit of Solomon exalts the pastor as the predominant office, crippling God's people in the manner of Mephibosheth, whose nurse crippled him by a fall in fear.
Acts 8 recounts Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, whom God regarded as a Jew even though he was an outsider in appearance. The Lord brought him out of Jerusalem and into the wilderness to be converted. The encounter birthed a church in Ethiopia that has endured. Philip was then transported to Azotus, a word associated with a fortress or stronghold, and preached through the cities until Caesarea. Yet after Acts 8:40, Philip is not mentioned again until Acts 21, and there he is still in Caesarea. His ministry appears to have stagnated there, a point of sorrow in the study.
In Acts 21:9, Philip's four virgin daughters are described as prophesying. Yet none of them warned Paul against going to Jerusalem. Instead, God brought Agabus from Judea, the locus of the spirit of Solomon, to deliver the warning. Agabus means "locust." The four daughters and Philip had many days to turn Paul around, and their failure to speak left God to act through an outsider. The virgins, understood as souls that are pure and submitted to the Spirit, are seen as the channel through which the prophetic outflow of grace should have operated, but was stunted because of the compromise.
Agabus binds his own hands and feet with Paul's girdle, declaring, "So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles" (21:11). This is seen as the key to the whole account. Paul had not let go of the Jews, yet God still had work to accomplish through him. Since Paul would not release them, God would arrange events so that the Jews would hand him over to the Gentiles. The analogy offered is of a daughter infatuated with an abusive partner, whom no one can persuade to leave until the relationship is forcibly ended. The Jews, under Roman domination and lacking authority to execute Paul, were ultimately moved to say, in effect, "get out of our presence." To Paul, being restricted to the Gentiles felt like hell, a state of emptiness, yet God had determined his course.
When Philip's household, the four daughters, and Luke himself heard Agabus's words, they pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Paul answered, "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (21:13). He interpreted their pleading pastorally, as an emotional expression of love, rather than as the voice of God calling him to the Gentiles. The reminder is given that when Paul first received his calling in Acts 9 and Acts 22, God told him to leave Jerusalem and go to the Gentiles, a command that was the very will of God for him. The study concludes that this is what God was emphasizing through all the warnings, and that Paul saw it through an emotional lens rather than a spiritual one.