Translation | Verse | Text |
King James | Ac 21:30 | And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
CITY | The towns and cities of Palestine were commonly built on heights, for better security against robbers or invaders. These heights, surrounded by walls, sometimes formed the entire city. In other cases, the citadel alone crowned the hill, around and at the base of which the town was built; and in time of danger the surrounding population all took refuge in the fortified place. Larger towns and cities were often not only defended by strong outer walls, with towers and gates, but by a citadel or castle within these limits-a last resort when the rest of the city was taken, Jud 9:46,51. The "fenced cities" of the Jews, De 3:5, were of various sizes and degrees of strength; some being surrounded by high and thick stone walls, and others by feebler ramparts, often of clay or sun-dried bricks, and sometimes combustible, Isa 9:10 Am 1:7-14. They were also provided with watchmen, Ps 127:1 So 5:7. The streets of ancient towns were usually narrow, and often unpaved. Some cities were adorned with vast parks and gardens; this was the case with Babylon, which embraced an immense at this day to form any reliable estimate of the population of the cities of Judea. Jerusalem is said by Josephus to have had 150,000 inhabitants, and to have contained, at the time of its siege by the Romans, more than a million of persons crowded in its circuit of four miles of wall. See GATE, REFUGE, CITIES OF, WATCHMEN. CITY OF DAVID, usually denotes mount Zion, the southwest section of Jerusalem, which David took from the Jebusites, and occupied by a palace and city called by his name. In Lu 2:11, Bethlehem his native city is meant. CITY OF GOD, De 12:5 Ps 46:4, and the HOLY, HOLINESS CITY, Ne 11:1, names of Jerusalem. Its modern name is El-Kuds, the Holy. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
CITY | The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain (Gen. 4:17). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12). Next, we have a record of the cities of the Canaanites, Sidon, Gaza, Sodom, etc. (10:12, 19; 11:3, 9; 36:31-39). The earliest description of a city is that of Sodom (19:1-22). Damascus is said to be the oldest existing city in the world. Before the time of Abraham there were cities in Egypt (Num. 13:22). The Israelites in Egypt were employed in building the "treasure cities" of Pithom and Raamses (Ex. 1:11); but it does not seem that they had any cities of their own in Goshen (Gen. 46:34; 47:1-11). In the kingdom of Og in Bashan there were sixty "great cities with walls," and twenty-three cities in Gilead partly rebuilt by the tribes on the east of Jordan (Num. 21:21, 32, 33, 35; 32:1-3, 34-42; Deut. 3:4, 5, 14; 1 Kings 4:13). On the west of Jordan were thirty-one "royal cities" (Josh. 12), besides many others spoken of in the history of Israel. A fenced city was a city surrounded by fortifications and high walls, with watch-towers upon them (2 Chr. 11:11; Deut. 3:5). There was also within the city generally a tower to which the citizens might flee when danger threatened them (Judg. 9:46-52). A city with suburbs was a city surrounded with open pasture-grounds, such as the forty-eight cities which were given to the Levites (Num. 35:2-7). There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of Jordan, namely, Kadesh, Shechem, Hebron, on the west of Jordan; and on the east, Bezer, Ramoth-gilead, and Golan. The cities on each side of the river were nearly opposite each other. The regulations concerning these cities are given in Num. 35:9-34; Deut. 19:1-13; Ex. 21:12-14. When David reduced the fortress of the Jebusites which stood on Mount Zion, he built on the site of it a palace and a city, which he called by his own name (1 Chr. 11:5), the city of David. Bethlehem is also so called as being David's native town (Luke 2:4). Jerusalem is called the Holy City, the holiness of the temple being regarded as extending in some measure over the whole city (Neh. 11:1). Pithom and Raamses, built by the Israelites as "treasure cities," were not places where royal treasures were kept, but were fortified towns where merchants might store their goods and transact their business in safety, or cities in which munitions of war were stored. (See PITHOM.) |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
DOORS | moved on pivots of wood fastened in sockets above and below (Prov. 26:14). They were fastened by a lock (Judg. 3:23, 25; Cant. 5:5) or by a bar (Judg. 16:3; Job 38:10). In the interior of Oriental houses, curtains were frequently used instead of doors. The entrances of the tabernacle had curtains (Ex. 26:31-33, 36). The "valley of Achor" is called a "door of hope," because immediately after the execution of Achan the Lord said to Joshua, "Fear not," and from that time Joshua went forward in a career of uninterrupted conquest. Paul speaks of a "door opened" for the spread of the gospel (1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3). Our Lord says of himself, "I am the door" (John 10:9). John (Rev. 4:1) speaks of a "door opened in heaven." |
Word | King James Dictionary - Definition |
FORTHWITH | Immediately. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
PAUL | The distinguished "apostle of the Gentiles;" also called SAUL, a Hebrew name. He is first called Paul in Ac 13:12; and as some think, assumed this Roman name according to a common custom of Jews in foreign lands, or in honor of Sergius Paulus, Ac 13:7, his friend and an early convert. Both names however may have belonged to him in childhood. He was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and inherited from his father the privileges of a Roman citizen. His parents belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and brought up their son as "a Hebrew of the Hebrews," Php 3:5. Tarsus was highly distinguished for learning and culture, and the opportunities for improvement it afforded were no doubt diligently improved by Paul. At a suitable age he was sent to Jerusalem to complete his education in the school of Gamaliel, the most distinguished and right-minded of the Rabbis of that age. It does not appear that he was in Jerusalem during the ministry of Christ; and it was perhaps after his return to Tarsus that he learned the art of tent-making, in accordance with a general practice among the Jews, and their maxim, "He that does not teach his son a useful handicraft, teaches him to steal," Ac 18:3 20:34 2Th 3:8. We next find him at Jerusalem, apparently about thirty years of age, high in the confidence of the leading men of the nation. He had profited by the instructions of Gamaliel, and became learned in the law; yielding himself to the strictest discipline of the sect of the Pharisees, he had become a fierce defender of Judaism and a bitter enemy of Christianity, Ac 8:3 26:9-11. After his miraculous conversion, of which we have three accounts, Ac 9:22,26, Christ was all in all to him. It was Christ who revealed himself to his soul at Damascus, Ac 26:15 1Co 15:8; to Christ he gave his whole heart, and soul, mind, might, and strength; and thenceforth, living or dying, he was "the servant of Jesus Christ." He devoted all the powers of his ardent and energetic mind to the defense and propagation of the gospel of Christ, more particularly among the Gentiles. His views of the pure and lofty spirit of Christianity, in its worship and in its practical influence, appear to have been peculiarly clear and strong; and the opposition which he was thus led to make to the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish worship, exposed him everywhere to the hatred and malice of his countrymen. On their accusation, he was at length put in confinement by the Roman officers and after being detained for two years or more at Caesarea, he was sent to Rome for trial, having himself appealed to the emperor. There is less certainty in respect to the accounts, which are given of Paul afterwards by the early ecclesiastical writers. Still it was a very generally received opinion in the earlier centuries, that the apostle was acquitted and discharged from his imprisonment at the end of two years; and that he afterwards returned to Rome, where he was again imprisoned and put to death by Nero. Paul appears to have possessed all the learning which was then current among the Jews, and also to have been acquainted with Greek literature; as appears from his mastery of the Greek language, his frequent discussions with their philosophers, and his quotations from their poets-Aratus, Ac 17:28; Meander, 1Co 15:33; and Epimenides, Tit 1:12. Probably, however a learned Greek education cannot with propriety be ascribed to him. But the most striking trait in his character is his enlarged view of the universal design and the spiritual nature of the religion of Christ, and of its purifying and ennobling influence upon the heart and character of those who sincerely profess it. From the Savior himself he had caught the flame of universal love, and the idea of salvation for all mankind, Ga 1:12. Most of the other apostles and teachers appear to have clung to Judaism, to the rites, ceremonies, and dogmas of the religion in which they had been educated, and to have regarded Christianity as intended to be engrafted upon the ancient stock, which was yet to remain as the trunk to support the new branches. Paul seems to have been among the first to rise above this narrow view, and to regard Christianity in its light, as a universal religion. While others were for Judaizing all those who embraced the new religion by imposing on them the yoke of Mosaic observances, it was Paul's endeavor to break down the middle wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles, and show them that they were all "one in Christ." To this end all his labors tended; and, ardent in the pursuit of this great object, he did not hesitate to censure the time-serving Peter, and to expose his own life in resisting the prejudices of is countrymen. Indeed, his five years' imprisonment as Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Rome arose chiefly from this cause. These various journeys of St. Paul, many of them made on foot, should be studied through on a map; in connection with the inspired narrative, in Acts, and with his own pathetic description of his labors, 2Co 11:23-29, wherein nevertheless the half is not told. When we review the many regions he traversed and evangelized, the converts he gathered, and the churches he founded, the toils, perils, and trials he endured, the miracles he wrought, and the revelations he received, the discourses, orations, and letters in which he so ably defends and unfolds Christianity, the immeasurable good which God by him accomplished, his heroic life, and his martyr death, he appears to us the most extraordinary of men. The character of Paul is most fully portrayed in his epistles, by which, as Chrysostom says he, "still lives in the mouths of men throughout the whole world. By them, not only is own converts, but all the faithful even unto this day, yea, and all the saints who are yet to be born until Christ's coming again, both have been and shall be blessed." In them we observe the transforming and elevating power of grace in one originally turbulent and passionate-making him a model of many and Christian excellence; fearless and firm, yet considerate, courteous, and gentle; magnanimous, patriotic, and selfsacrificing; rich in all noble sentiments and affections. EPISTLES OF PAUL. -There are fourteen epistles in the New Testament usually ascribed to Paul, beginning with that to the Romans, and ending with that to the Hebrews. Of these the first thirteen have never been contested; as to the latter, many good men have doubted whether Paul was the author, although the current of criticism is in favor of this opinion. These epistles, in which the principles of Christianity are developed for all periods, characters, and circumstances, are among the most important of the primitive documents of the Christian religion, even apart from their inspired character; and although they seem to have been written without special premeditation, and have reference mostly to transient circumstances and temporary relations, yet they everywhere bear the stamp of the great and original mind of the apostle, as purified, elevated, and sustained by the influences of the Holy Spirit. It is worthy of mention here, that an expression of Peter respecting "our beloved brother Paul" is often a little misunderstood. The words "in which" in 2Pe 3:16, are erroneously applied to the "epistles" of Paul; and not to "these things" immediately preceding, that is, the subjects of which Peter was writing, as the Greek shows they should be. Peter finds no fault, either with Paul, or with the doctrines of revelation. The arrangement of Hug is somewhat different; and some critics who find evidence that Paul was released from his first imprisonment and lived until the spring of A. D. 68, assign the epistles Hebrews, 1Timothy, Titus, and 2Timothy to the last year of his life. See TIMOTHY. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
PAUL | =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He was a native of Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, a Roman province in the south-east of Asia Minor. That city stood on the banks of the river Cydnus, which was navigable thus far; hence it became a centre of extensive commercial traffic with many countries along the shores of the Mediterranean, as well as with the countries of central Asia Minor. It thus became a city distinguished for the wealth of its inhabitants. Tarsus was also the seat of a famous university, higher in reputation even than the universities of Athens and Alexandria, the only others that then existed. Here Saul was born, and here he spent his youth, doubtless enjoying the best education his native city could afford. His father was of the straitest sect of the Jews, a Pharisee, of the tribe of Benjamin, of pure and unmixed Jewish blood (Acts 23:6; Phil. 3:5). We learn nothing regarding his mother; but there is reason to conclude that she was a pious woman, and that, like-minded with her husband, she exercised all a mother influence in moulding the character of her son, so that he could afterwards speak of himself as being, from his youth up, "touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Phil. 3:6). We read of his sister and his sister's son (Acts 23:16), and of other relatives (Rom. 16:7, 11, 12). Though a Jew, his father was a Roman citizen. How he obtained this privilege we are not informed. "It might be bought, or won by distinguished service to the state, or acquired in several other ways; at all events, his son was freeborn. It was a valuable privilege, and one that was to prove of great use to Paul, although not in the way in which his father might have been expected to desire him to make use of it." Perhaps the most natural career for the youth to follow was that of a merchant. "But it was decided that...he should go to college and become a rabbi, that is, a minister, a teacher, and a lawyer all in one." According to Jewish custom, however, he learned a trade before entering on the more direct preparation for the sacred profession. The trade he acquired was the making of tents from goats' hair cloth, a trade which was one of the commonest in Tarsus. His preliminary education having been completed, Saul was sent, when about thirteen years of age probably, to the great Jewish school of sacred learning at Jerusalem as a student of the law. Here he became a pupil of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel, and here he spent many years in an elaborate study of the Scriptures and of the many questions concerning them with which the rabbis exercised themselves. During these years of diligent study he lived "in all good conscience," unstained by the vices of that great city. After the period of his student-life expired, he probably left Jerusalem for Tarsus, where he may have been engaged in connection with some synagogue for some years. But we find him back again at Jerusalem very soon after the death of our Lord. Here he now learned the particulars regarding the crucifixion, and the rise of the new sect of the "Nazarenes." For some two years after Pentecost, Christianity was quietly spreading its influence in Jerusalem. At length Stephen, one of the seven deacons, gave forth more public and aggressive testimony that Jesus was the Messiah, and this led to much excitement among the Jews and much disputation in their synagogues. Persecution arose against Stephen and the followers of Christ generally, in which Saul of Tarsus took a prominent part. He was at this time probably a member of the great Sanhedrin, and became the active leader in the furious persecution by which the rulers then sought to exterminate Christianity. But the object of this persecution also failed. "They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." The anger of the persecutor was thereby kindled into a fiercer flame. Hearing that fugitives had taken refuge in Damascus, he obtained from the chief priest letters authorizing him to proceed thither on his persecuting career. This was a long journey of about 130 miles, which would occupy perhaps six days, during which, with his few attendants, he steadily went onward, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter." But the crisis of his life was at hand. He had reached the last stage of his journey, and was within sight of Damascus. As he and his companions rode on, suddenly at mid-day a brilliant light shone round them, and Saul was laid prostrate in terror on the ground, a voice sounding in his ears, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" The risen Saviour was there, clothed in the vesture of his glorified humanity. In answer to the anxious inquiry of the stricken persecutor, "Who art thou, Lord?" he said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" (Acts 9:5; 22:8; 26:15). This was the moment of his conversion, the most solemn in all his life. Blinded by the dazzling light (Acts 9:8), his companions led him into the city, where, absorbed in deep thought for three days, he neither ate nor drank (9:11). Ananias, a disciple living in Damascus, was informed by a vision of the change that had happened to Saul, and was sent to him to open his eyes and admit him by baptism into the Christian church (9:11-16). The whole purpose of his life was now permanently changed. Immediately after his conversion he retired into the solitudes of Arabia (Gal. 1:17), perhaps of "Sinai in Arabia," for the purpose, probably, of devout study and meditation on the marvellous revelation that had been made to him. "A veil of thick darkness hangs over this visit to Arabia. Of the scenes among which he moved, of the thoughts and occupations which engaged him while there, of all the circumstances of a crisis which must have shaped the whole tenor of his after-life, absolutely nothing is known. 'Immediately,' says St. Paul, 'I went away into Arabia.' The historian passes over the incident [comp. Acts 9:23 and 1 Kings 11:38, 39]. It is a mysterious pause, a moment of suspense, in the apostle's history, a breathless calm, which ushers in the tumultuous storm of his active missionary life." Coming back, after three years, to Damascus, he began to preach the gospel "boldly in the name of Jesus" (Acts 9:27), but was soon obliged to flee (9:25; 2 Cor. 11:33) from the Jews and betake himself to Jerusalem. Here he tarried for three weeks, but was again forced to flee (Acts 9:28, 29) from persecution. He now returned to his native Tarsus (Gal. 1:21), where, for probably about three years, we lose sight of him. The time had not yet come for his entering on his great life-work of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. At length the city of Antioch, the capital of Syria, became the scene of great Christian activity. There the gospel gained a firm footing, and the cause of Christ prospered. Barnabas (q.v.), who had been sent from Jerusalem to superintend the work at Antioch, found it too much for him, and remembering Saul, he set out to Tarsus to seek for him. He readily responded to the call thus addressed to him, and came down to Antioch, which for "a whole year" became the scene of his labours, which were crowned with great success. The disciples now, for the first time, were called "Christians" (Acts 11:26). The church at Antioch now proposed to send out missionaries to the Gentiles, and Saul and Barnabas, with John Mark as their attendant, were chosen for this work. This was a great epoch in the history of the church. Now the disciples began to give effect to the Master's command: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." The three missionaries went forth on the first missionary tour. They sailed from Seleucia, the seaport of Antioch, across to Cyprus, some 80 miles to the south-west. Here at Paphos, Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul, was converted, and now Saul took the lead, and was ever afterwards called Paul. The missionaries now crossed to the mainland, and then proceeded 6 or 7 miles up the river Cestrus to Perga (Acts 13:13), where John Mark deserted the work and returned to Jerusalem. The two then proceeded about 100 miles inland, passing through Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The towns mentioned in this tour are the Pisidian Antioch, where Paul delivered his first address of which we have any record (13:16-51; comp. 10:30-43), Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. They returned by the same route to see and encourage the converts they had made, and ordain elders in every city to watch over the churches which had been gathered. From Perga they sailed direct for Antioch, from which they had set out. After remaining "a long time", probably till A.D. 50 or 51, in Antioch, a great controversy broke out in the church there regarding the relation of the Gentiles to the Mosaic law. For the purpose of obtaining a settlement of this question, Paul and Barnabas were sent as deputies to consult the church at Jerusalem. The council or synod which was there held (Acts 15) decided against the Judaizing party; and the deputies, accompanied by Judas and Silas, returned to Antioch, bringing with them the decree of the council. After a short rest at Antioch, Paul said to Barnabas: "Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do." Mark proposed again to accompany them; but Paul refused to allow him to go. Barnabas was resolved to take Mark, and thus he and Paul had a sharp contention. They separated, and never again met. Paul, however, afterwards speaks with honour of Barnabas, and sends for Mark to come to him at Rome (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11). Paul took with him Silas, instead of Barnabas, and began his second missionary journey about A.D. 51. This time he went by land, revisiting the churches he had already founded in Asia. But he longed to enter into "regions beyond," and still went forward through Phrygia and Galatia (16:6). Contrary to his intention, he was constrained to linger in Galatia (q.v.), on account of some bodily affliction (Gal. 4:13, 14). Bithynia, a populous province on the shore of the Black Sea, lay now before him, and he wished to enter it; but the way was shut, the Spirit in some manner guiding him in another direction, till he came down to the shores of the AEgean and arrived at Troas, on the north-western coast of Asia Minor (Acts 16:8). Of this long journey from Antioch to Troas we have no account except some references to it in his Epistle to the Galatians (4:13). As he waited at Troas for indications of the will of God as to his future movements, he saw, in the vision of the night, a man from the opposite shores of Macedonia standing before him, and heard him cry, "Come over, and help us" (Acts 16:9). Paul recognized in this vision a message from the Lord, and the very next day set sail across the Hellespont, which separated him from Europe, and carried the tidings of the gospel into the Western world. In Macedonia, churches were planted in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Leaving this province, Paul passed into Achaia, "the paradise of genius and renown." He reached Athens, but quitted it after, probably, a brief sojourn (17:17-31). The Athenians had received him with cold disdain, and he never visited that city again. He passed over to Corinth, the seat of the Roman government of Achaia, and remained there a year and a half, labouring with much success. While at Corinth, he wrote his two epistles to the church of Thessalonica, his earliest apostolic letters, and then sailed for Syria, that he might be in time to keep the feast of Pentecost at Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla, whom he left at Ephesus, at which he touched, after a voyage of thirteen or fifteen days. He landed at Caesarea, and went up to Jerusalem, and having "saluted the church" there, and kept the feast, he left for Antioch, where he abode "some time" (Acts 18:20-23). He then began his third missionary tour. He journeyed by land in the "upper coasts" (the more eastern parts) of Asia Minor, and at length made his way to Ephesus, where he tarried for no less than three years, engaged in ceaseless Christian labour. "This city was at the time the Liverpool of the Mediterranean. It possessed a splendid harbour, in which was concentrated the traffic of the sea which was then the highway of the nations; and as Liverpool has behind her the great towns of Lancashire, so had Ephesus behind and around her such cities as those mentioned along with her in the epistles to the churches in the book of Revelation, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. It was a city of vast wealth, and it was given over to every kind of pleasure, the fame of its theatres and race-course being world-wide" (Stalker's Life of St. Paul). Here a "great door and effectual" was opened to the apostle. His fellow-labourers aided him in his work, carrying the gospel to Colosse and Laodicea and other places which they could reach. Very shortly before his departure from Ephesus, the apostle wrote his First Epistle to the Corinthians (q.v.). The silversmiths, whose traffic in the little images which they made was in danger (see DEMETRIUS), organized a riot against Paul, and he left the city, and proceeded to Troas (2 Cor. 2:12), whence after some time he went to meet Titus in Macedonia. Here, in consequence of the report Titus brought from Corinth, he wrote his second epistle to that church. Having spent probably most of the summer and autumn in Macedonia, visiting the churches there, specially the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, probably penetrating into the interior, to the shores of the Adriatic (Rom. 15:19), he then came into Greece, where he abode three month, spending probably the greater part of this time in Corinth (Acts 20:2). During his stay in this city he wrote his Epistle to the Galatians, and also the great Epistle to the Romans. At the end of the three months he left Achaia for Macedonia, thence crossed into Asia Minor, and touching at Miletus, there addressed the Ephesian presbyters, whom he had sent for to meet him (Acts 20:17), and then sailed for Tyre, finally reaching Jerusalem, probably in the spring of A.D. 58. While at Jerusalem, at the feast of Pentecost, he was almost murdered by a Jewish mob in the temple. (See TEMPLE, HEROD'S .) Rescued from their violence by the Roman commandant, he was conveyed as a prisoner to Caesarea, where, from various causes, he was detained a prisoner for two years in Herod's praetorium (Acts 23:35). "Paul was not kept in close confinement; he had at least the range of the barracks in which he was detained. There we can imagine him pacing the ramparts on the edge of the Mediterranean, and gazing wistfully across the blue waters in the direction of Macedonia, Achaia, and Ephesus, where his spiritual children were pining for him, or perhaps encountering dangers in which they sorely needed his presence. It was a mysterious providence which thus arrested his energies and condemned the ardent worker to inactivity; yet we can now see the reason for it. Paul was needing rest. After twenty years of incessant evangelization, he required leisure to garner the harvest of experience...During these two years he wrote nothing; it was a time of internal mental activity and silent progress" (Stalker's Life of St. Paul). At the end of these two years Felix (q.v.) was succeeded in the governorship of Palestine by Porcius Festus, before whom the apostle was again heard. But judging it right at this crisis to claim the privilege of a Roman citizen, he appealed to the emperor (Acts 25:11). Such an appeal could not be disregarded, and Paul was at once sent on to Rome under the charge of one Julius, a centurion of the "Augustan cohort." After a long and perilous voyage, he at length reached the imperial city in the early spring, probably, of A.D. 61. Here he was permitted to occupy his own hired house, under constant military custody. This privilege was accorded to him, no doubt, because he was a Roman citizen, and as such could not be put into prison without a trial. The soldiers who kept guard over Paul were of course changed at frequent intervals, and thus he had the opportunity of preaching the gospel to many of them during these "two whole years," and with the blessed result of spreading among the imperial guards, and even in Caesar's household, an interest in the truth (Phil. 1:13). His rooms were resorted to by many anxious inquirers, both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 28:23, 30, 31), and thus his imprisonment "turned rather to the furtherance of the gospel," and his "hired house" became the centre of a gracious influence which spread over the whole city. According to a Jewish tradition, it was situated on the borders of the modern Ghetto, which has been the Jewish quarters in Rome from the time of Pompey to the present day. During this period the apostle wrote his epistles to the Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and to Philemon, and probably also to the Hebrews. This first imprisonment came at length to a close, Paul having been acquitted, probably because no witnesses appeared against him. Once more he set out on his missionary labours, probably visiting western and eastern Europe and Asia Minor. During this period of freedom he wrote his First Epistle to Timothy and his Epistle to Titus. The year of his release was signalized by the burning of Rome, which Nero saw fit to attribute to the Christians. A fierce persecution now broke out against the Christians. Paul was siezed, and once more conveyed to Rome a prisoner. During this imprisonment he probably wrote the Second Epistle to Timothy, the last he ever wrote. "There can be little doubt that he appered again at Nero's bar, and this time the charge did not break down. In all history there is not a more startling illustration of the irony of human life than this scene of Paul at the bar of Nero. On the judgment-seat, clad in the imperial purple, sat a man who, in a bad world, had attained the eminence of being the very worst and meanest being in it, a man stained with every crime, a man whose whole being was so steeped in every nameable and unnameable vice, that body and soul of him were, as some one said at the time, nothing but a compound of mud and blood; and in the prisoner's dock stood the best man the world possessed, his hair whitened with labours for the good of men and the glory of God. The trial ended: Paul was condemned, and delivered over to the executioner. He was led out of the city, with a crowd of the lowest rabble at his heels. The fatal spot was reached; he knelt beside the block; the headsman's axe gleamed in the sun and fell; and the head of the apostle of the world rolled down in the dust" (probably A.D. 66), four years before the fall of Jerusalem. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
TEMPLE | A building hallowed by the special presence of God, and consecrated to his worship. The distinctive idea of a temple, contrasted with all other buildings, is that it is the dwelling-place of a deity; and every heathen temple had its idol, but the true and living God dwelt "between the cherubim" in the Holy of Holies at Jerusalem. Hence, figuratively applied, a temple denotes the church of Christ, 2Th 2:4 Re 3:12; heaven, Ps 11:4 Re 7:15; and the soul of the believer, in which the Holy Spirit dwells, 1Co 3:16,17 6:19 2Co 6:16. After the Lord had instructed David that Jerusalem was the place he had chosen in which to fix his dwelling, that pious prince began to realize his design of preparing a temple for the Lord that might be something appropriate to His divine majesty. But the honor was reserved for Solomon his son and successor, who was to be a peaceful prince, and like David, who had shed much blood in war. David, however, applied himself to collect great quantities of gold, silver, brass, iron, and other materials for this undertaking, 2Sa 1:1-25 7:1-29 1Ch 22:1-19. The place chosen for erecting this magnificent structure was Mount Moriah, Ge 2:2,14 2Ch 3:1, the summit of which originally was unequal, and its sides irregular; but it was a favorite object of the Jews to level and extend it. The plan and the whole model of this structure was laid by the same divine architect as that of the tabernacle, namely, God himself; and it was built much in the same form as the tabernacle, but was of much larger dimensions. The utensils for the sacred service were also the same as those used in the tabernacle, only several of them were larger, in proportion to the more spacious edifice to which they belonged. The foundations of this magnificent edifice were laid by Solomon, in the year B. C. 1011, about four hundred and eighty years after the exodus and the building of the tabernacle; and it was finished B. C. 1004, having occupied seven years and six months in the building. It was dedicated with peculiar solemnity to the worship of Jehovah, who condescended to make it the place for the special manifestation of his glory, 2Ch 5:1-7:22. The front or entrance to the temple was on the eastern side, and consequently facing the Mount of Olives, which commanded a noble prospect of the building. The temple itself, strictly so called, which comprised the Porch, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies, formed only a small part of the sacred precincts, being surrounded by spacious courts, chambers, and other apartments, which were much more extensive than the temple itself. It should be observed that the word temple does not always denote the central edifice itself, but in many passages some of the outer courts are intended. From the descriptions which are handed down to us of the temple of Solomon, it is utterly impossible to obtain so accurate an idea of its relative parts and their respective proportions, as to furnish such an account as may be deemed satisfactory to the reader. Hence we find no two writers agreeing in their descriptions. The following account may give a general idea of the building. The Temple itself was seventy cubits long; the Porch being ten cubits, 1Ki 6:3, the Holy place forty cubits, 1Ki 6:17, and the Most Holy place, twenty cubits, 2Ch 3:8. The width of the Porch, Holy, and Most Holy places was thirty cubits, 1Ki 6:2; but the height of the porch was much greater, being no less than one hundred and twenty cubits, 2Ch 3:4, or four times the height of the rest of the building. The Most Holy place was separated from the Sanctuary by an impervious veil, Lu 23:45, and was perhaps wholly dark, 1Ki 8:12, but for the glory of the Lord which filled it. To the north and south sides, and the west end of the Holy and Most Holy places, or all around the edifice, from the back of the porch on one side, to the back of the porch on the other side, certain buildings were attached. These were called side chambers, and consisted of three stories, each five cubits high, 1Ki 6:10, and joined to the wall of the temple without. Thus the three stories of side chambers, when taken together, were fifteen cubits high, and consequently reached exactly to half the height of the side walls and end of the temple; so that there was abundance of space above these for the windows which gave light to the temple, 1Ki 6:4. Solomon's temple appears to have been surrounded by two main courts: the inner court, that "of the Priests," 1Ki 6:36 2Ch 4:9; and the outer court, that "of Israel;" these were separated by a "middle wall of partition," with lodges for priests and Levites, for wood, oil, etc., 1Ch 28:12. The ensuing description is applicable to the temple courts in the time of our Lord. The "court of the Gentiles" was so called because it might be entered by persons of all nations. The chief entrance to it was by the east or Shushan gate, which was the principal gate of the temple. It was the exterior court, and by far the largest of all the courts belonging to the temple, and is said to have covered a space of more than fourteen acres. It entirely surrounded the other courts and the temple itself; and in going up to the temple from its east or outer gate, one would cross first this court, then the court of the Women, then that of Israel, and lastly that of the Priests. This outmost court was separated from the court of the women by a wall three cubits high of lattice work, and having inscriptions on its pillars forbidding Gentiles and unclean persons to pass beyond it, on pain of death, Ac 21:28 Eph 2:13,14. From this court of the Gentiles our Savior drove the persons who had established a cattle-market in it, for the purpose of supplying those with sacrifices who came from a distance, Mt 21:12-13. We must not overlook the beautiful pavement of variegated marble, and the "porches" or covered walks, with columns supported magnificent galleries, with which this court was surrounded. Those on the east, west, and north sides were of the same dimensions; but that on the south was much larger. The porch called Solomon's Joh 10:23 Ac 3:11, was on the east side or front of this court, and was so called because it was built by this prince, upon a high wall rising from the alley of Kidron. The "court of the Women," called in Scripture the "new court," 2Ch 20:5, and the "outer court," Eze 46:21, separated the court of the Gentiles from the court of Israel, extending along the east side only of the latter. It was called the court of the women because it was their appointed place of worship, beyond which they might not go, unless when they brought a sacrifice, in which case they went forward to the court of Israel. The gate which led into this court from that of the Gentiles, was "the Beautiful gate" of the temple, mentioned in Ac 3:2,10; so called, because the folding doors, lintel, and side-posts were all overlaid with Corinthian brass. The worshipper ascended to its level by a broad flight of steps. It was in this court of the women, called the "treasury," that our Savior delivered his striking discourse to the Jews, related in Joh 8:1-20. It was into this court also that the Pharisee and the publican went to pray, Lu 18:10-13, and hither the lame man followed Peter and John, after he was cured- the court of the women being the ordinary place of worship for those who brought no sacrifice, Ac 3:8. From thence, after prayers, he went back with them, through the "Beautiful gate" of the temple, where he had been lying, and through the sacred fence, into the court of the Gentiles, where, under the eastern piazza, or Solomon's porch, Peter preached Christ crucified. It was in the same court of the women that the Jews laid hold of Paul, when they judged him a violator of the temple by taking Gentiles within the sacred fence, Ac 21:26-29. The "court of Israel" was separated from the court of the women by a wall thirty-two and a half cubits high on the outside, but on the inside only twenty-five. The reason of which difference was, that as the rock on which the temple stood became higher on advancing westward, the several courts naturally became elevated in proportion. The ascent into this court from the east was by a flight of fifteen steps, of a semicircular form, and the magnificent gate Nicanor. On these steps the Levites stood in singing the "songs of degrees." The whole length of the court from east to west was one hundred and eighty-seven cubits, and the breadth from north to south, one hundred and thirty-five cubits. In this court, and the piazza which surrounded it, the Israelites stood in solemn and reverent silence while their sacrifices were burning in the inner court, and while the services of the sanctuary were performed, Lu 1:8-11,21,22. Within this court, and surrounded by it, was the "court of the Priests;" one hundred and sixty-five cubits long and one hundred and nineteen cubits wide, and raised two and a half cubits above the surrounding court, from which it was separated by pillars and a railing. Within this court stood the brazen altar on which the sacrifices were consumed, the molten sea in which the priests washed, and the ten brazen lavers for washing the sacrifices; also the various utensils and instruments for sacrificing, which are enumerated in 2Ch 4:1-22. It is necessary to observe here, that although the court of the Priests was not accessible to all Israelites, as that of Israel was to all the priests, yet they might enter it for three several purposes: to lay their hands on the animals which they offered, or to kill them, or to wave some part of them. From the court of the Priests, the ascent to the temple was by a flight of twelve steps, each half a cubit in height, which led into the sacred porch. Of the dimensions of this in Solomon's temple, as also of the Sanctuary and Holy of Holies, we have already spoken. It was within the door of the porch, and in the sight of those who stood in the courts immediately before it, that the two pillars, Jachiin and Boaz, were placed, 2Ch 3:17 Eze 40:49. The temple of Solomon retained its pristine splendor but thirtythree years, when it was plundered by Shishak king of Egypt, 1Ki 14:25,26 2Ch 12:9. After this period it underwent sundry profanities and pillages from Hazael, Tiglath-pileser, Sennacherib, etc., 2Ki 12:1-21 16:1-20 18:1-37; and was at length utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, B. C. 588, after having stood according to Usher, four hundred and twenty-four years, three months, and eight days. After lying in ruins for fifty-two years, the foundations of the second temple were laid by Zerubbabel, and the Jews who had availed themselves of the privilege granted by Cyrus and returned to Jerusalem, Ezr 1:1-4 2:1 3:8-10. After various hindrances, it was finished and dedicated twenty-one years after it was begun, B. C. 515, Ezr 6:15-16. The dimensions of this temple in breadth and height were double those of Solomon's. The weeping of the people at the laying of the foundation, therefore, Ezr 3:12-13, and the disparaging manner in which they spoke of it, when compared with he first one, Hag 2:3, were occasioned by its inferiority not in size, but in glory. It wanted the five principal things which could invest it with this: namely, the ark and mercy seat, the divine presence or visible glory, the holy fire on the altar, the urim and thummin, and the Spirit of prophecy. In the year B. C. 163, this temple was plundered and profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes, who ordered the discontinuance of the daily sacrifice, offered swine's flesh upon the altar, and completely suspended the worship of Jehovah. Thus it continued for three years, when it was repaired and purified by Judas Maccabaeus, who restored the divine worship, and dedicated it anew. Herod, having slain all the Sanhedrim, except two, in the first year of his reign, B. C. 37, resolved to atone for it by rebuilding and beautifying the temple. This he was the more inclined to do, both from the peace which he enjoyed, and the decayed state of the edifice. After employing two years in preparing the materials for the work, the temple of Zerubbabel was pulled down, B. C. 17, and fortysix years before the first Passover of Christ's ministry. Although this temple was fit for divine service in nine years and a half, yet a great number of laborers and artificers were still employed in carrying on the outbuildings all the time of our Savior's abode on earth. His presence fulfilled the predictions in Hag 2:9 Mal 3:1. The temple of Herod was considerably larger than that of Zerubbabel, as that of Zerubbabel was larger than Solomon's. For whereas the second temple was seventy cubits long, sixty broad, and sixty high, this was one hundred cubits long, seventy broad, and one hundred high. The porch was raised to the height of one hundred cubits, and was extended fifteen cubits beyond each side of the rest of the building. All the Jewish writers praise this temple exceedingly for its beauty and the costliness of its workmanship. It was built of white marble, exquisitely wrought, and with stones of large dimensions, some of them twenty-five cubits long, eight cubits high, and twelve cubits thick. To these there is no doubt a reference in Mr 13:1 Lu 21:5: "And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here!" Luke says, "goodly stones." See a description of the ornaments of one of its gates under VINE. This splendid building, which rose like a mount of gold and of snow, and was once the admiration and envy of the world, has forever passed away. According to our blessed Lord's prediction, that "there should not be left one stone upon another that should not be thrown down," Mr 13:2, the whole structure above ground was completely demolished by the Roman soldiers, under Titus, A. D. 70. The temple area is now occupied by two Turkish mosques, into which, until recently, neither Jew nor Christian was permitted to enter. Beneath the vast area of El-Haram still exist immense arched ways and vaults of unknown date; also a large and deep well, and other indications that the temple always possessed a copious and perennial supply of water, derived perhaps in part from Gihon by Hezekiah's aqueduct, and in part from Solomon's pools, and flowing off through the fountain of the Virgin and the pool of Siloam. In the outer walls of the present area are seen at several places stones of vast size, evidently belonging to the ancient walls. Near the southwest corner certain huge stones mark the beginning of an arch, a part of the stately bridge which anciently connected the temple are with Mount Zion; and a little north of this spot is the celebrated wailing-place of the Jews. See WALL. In the time of the kings, a regular guard of Levites was always on duty at the temple, 1Ch 26:1-32 2Ch 23:19. During the supremacy of the Romans there was a Roman garrison in the strong tower of Antonia, which, with its various courts and fortifications, adjoined the temple area on the north, and was connected with it by passages both above and under ground, Joh 18:12 Ac 4:1 5:26 21:31-40. The utmost veneration and love were always cherished towards the temple by pious Jews, Ps 84:1-12. All the people also, from various motives, gloried in it, many with a bigoted and idolatrous regard. Hence the charge of blaspheming the temple, which was found the most effectual means of enraging the populace against Christ and his followers, Mt 26:61 27:40 Joh 2:19,20 Ac 6:13 21:27-30. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
TEMPLE | first used of the tabernacle, which is called "the temple of the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:9). In the New Testament the word is used figuratively of Christ's human body (John 2:19, 21). Believers are called "the temple of God" (1 Cor. 3:16, 17). The Church is designated "an holy temple in the Lord" (Eph. 2:21). Heaven is also called a temple (Rev. 7:5). We read also of the heathen "temple of the great goddess Diana" (Acts 19:27). This word is generally used in Scripture of the sacred house erected on the summit of Mount Moriah for the worship of God. It is called "the temple" (1 Kings 6:17); "the temple [R.V., 'house'] of the Lord" (2 Kings 11:10); "thy holy temple" (Ps. 79:1); "the house of the Lord" (2 Chr. 23:5, 12); "the house of the God of Jacob" (Isa. 2:3); "the house of my glory" (60:7); an "house of prayer" (56:7; Matt. 21:13); "an house of sacrifice" (2 Chr. 7:12); "the house of their sanctuary" (2 Chr. 36:17); "the mountain of the Lord's house" (Isa. 2:2); "our holy and our beautiful house" (64:11); "the holy mount" (27:13); "the palace for the Lord God" (1 Chr. 29:1); "the tabernacle of witness" (2 Chr. 24:6); "Zion" (Ps. 74:2; 84:7). Christ calls it "my Father's house" (John 2:16). |
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