Surprises of the Day  

QUICK GEMS FROM ACTS 16-18 ~ 

• TROY
• THE WORLD
• MT. OLYMPUS
• NERO

Acts 16:8  –  Acts 17:7  –  Acts 17:10  –  Acts 18:17  –  Romans 1:8

Facts of the Day

> The city of Troas was next to the ruins of the classic walled city of Troy that Homer wrote about.

> Within 30 years of Jesus’ death, the gospel had been spread to the whole world (through “tongues”).

> Berea was at the foot of Mount Olympus where Jupiter and a lot of his “children” supposedly lived.  We wonder how many people climbed it in those days to check it out.

> Gallio was the brother of Seneca, the tutor of Nero.

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Oops of the Day   

A little boy – Paul’s nephew – warned Paul about a plot to kill him when he was arrested in Jerusalem at the end of his 3rd missionary trip.

Acts 23:16

Fact of the Day

No!  Paul was between 55 and 60 by now.  His sister would have been close to that age and her son grown. So Paul’s nephew was probably between 30 and 40 years of age.

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Oops of the Day  

When the ship Paul was on was caught in a storm, Paul calmly explained to the captain and everyone else that they should eat because none of them were going to drown.

Acts 27:21-38

Fact of the Day

No! They were probably in the middle of a cyclone (hurricane). They were undoubtedly below deck so they wouldn’t be swept away above board. Even below deck, they would have to hang on to something as the ship listed over onto one side in the waves, and then to the other side, and even possibly tied themselves to a post. That in itself would make communicating with someone else difficult. Plus, the noise of the creaking boards and the ferocious wind and waves would have required shouting to be heard.

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Oops of the Day  

You can be baptized as a testimony that you have been forgiven of all your sins in the past and therefore are saved.

Acts 2:38  – 22:16

Fact of the Day

No!  Only the sinless can enter heaven.  If one sin were there, it would not be heaven. The apostle Peter said your sins are all forgiven at baptism.  The apostle Paul said he was baptized to wash away his sins.  Were they wrong?  Were they right?

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Oops of the Day  

You can keep the Lord’s Supper whichever day of the week you want and as often as you want.

Acts 20:7&11  –  Exodus 20:8

Fact of the Day

No! When we look at the original Greek of the Bible, Paul and his associates MET (Greek for religious meeting) on THE first day of the week TO break (religiously) bread.

Later that night, they broke bread and “ate” (Greek word metabolized).

The Law of Moses said the Jews had to “remember THE Sabbath day to keep it holy.” They understood “the” to mean each and every.  So, when they met on THE first day of the week, which week would that be?

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Oops of the Day  

You can keep the Lord’s Supper whichever day of the week you want and as often as you want.

Acts 20:7&11  –  Exodus 20:8

Fact of the Day

No! When we look at the original Greek of the Bible, Paul and his associates MET (Greek for religious meeting) on THE first day of the week TO break (religiously) bread.

Later that night, they broke bread and “ate” (Greek word metabolized).

The Law of Moses said the Jews had to “remember THE Sabbath day to keep it holy.” They understood “the” to mean each and every.  So, when they met on THE first day of the week, which week would that be?

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Surprise of the Day  

How injured were the apostles when they preached after being beaten?

Acts 5:40-42  –  Deuteronomy 25:3

Fact of the Day

The apostles were flogged by the Sanhedrin with 39 lashes from a leather whip.  

The following is an eye-witness account of 40 whip lashings at https://bit.ly/452Ih32

• 14th stroke – Blood appeared
• 20th stroke – The red stripes could hardly be distinguished. The back was one red quivering mass.
• 29th stroke – The dark blood, which had made its appearance in small clots after the first few lashes, began to ooze from the lacerated flesh and trickle down his back
• 40th stroke – He was close to fainting, only capable of uttering quiet moans, and his limp body hung by his arms.

But, the next morning, the gutsy apostles struggled out of bed, walked bent over in excruciating fiery pain, showed up at the temple again, and resumed preaching “day after day”.

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Oops of the Day  

The apostles were ignorant and uneducated.

Acts 4:13  –  Luke 5:7-10  –  Matthew 9:9

Fact of the Day

No! That’s what their enemies called them. They were raised Jews, so went to the local synagogue school. At least four were business owners. One was a tax collector. Further, if they had been uneducated, how were they able to write such eloquent letters that became parts of the New Testament of the Bible?

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Surprise of the Day  

What was Solomon’s Porch

Acts 3:11

Fact of the Day

Solomon’s porch was 8-1/2 feet wide and ½ mile long. It was a colonnade – a walkway with numerous pillars and a roof over it.  It was all that was left of the original temple complex built by Solomon around 900 years before Jesus.

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Oops of the Day  

Only ordained ministers can baptize someone.

Acts 2:41  –  Acts 9:10-19

Fact of the Day

No! The 12 apostles would have had to baptize 250 people each on the Day of Pentecost to be done by dark.  At 20/hr (1 every 3 minutes), each would have had to baptize people without resting for 12.5 hours.  If they began at noon, the would have had to be baptizing people to or past midnight.  Surely some of those they baptized helped baptize others.  The 3000 were baptized “that day”. Further, the future apostle, Paul, was baptized only by “a certain disciple/follower”.

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