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... em that they were to be told about the Gospel first, but since they rejected it when they were then he would now tell the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas were shortly run out of the city by the Jews. The next stop was east Iconium.
Then they went south to Lystra. This was one of the first widely known healing for Paul. In Lystra Paul healed a crippled man who had no use of his since birth. The people there began to worship Paul and Barnabas saying the gods are here with us. They named Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes." Paul and Barnabas got word of this though and tore their clothes. They spoke to the crowds and revealed where the healing was from and said we are mere mortals (Acts 14: 15).
The Jews from Antioch then arrived and stoned Paul and drug him out of the city 'supposing that he was dead' (Acts 14: 19). They then went on the Derbe before retracing their steps and sailing back to Antioch from Attalia. Back in Antioch some teachers arrived from Judea arguing the point of true salvation was dependent upon circumcision. The church of Antioch then decided to send the two back to Jerusalem for the famous Jerusalem Council with the other apostles. This meeting was attended by the Christian apostles and the leaders in Jerusalem (Acts 15: 1 - 35).
The apostles then debates and dug into the subject of circumcision in which Paul had a large part of course. He insisted that God had made no partiality between anyone so who were they to start. Paul's stand for the universal significance of the gospel message had been vindicated. After this they decided to embark on the second missionary journey.
This journey lasted from around AD 49 to AD 52 (Acts 15: 36 - 18: 22). This journey covered from Asia Minor into southeastern Europe as well. This began with the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas concerning John Mark. So the two separated. Paul took Silas north with him to Antioch in Syria, on to Tarsus and back through the recently founded churches in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium.
Barnabas and John Mark went on their way to Cyprus to continue work there. While is Lystra, Paul was introduced to a man who became one of his closest friends, Timothy. Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. So Paul, being concerned about the Jewish witness of Timothy, urged him to be circumcised. It was one thing for a Jew to be circumcised in order better to reach his own people with the gospel, but altogether another to enforce circumcision on Gentiles based on some false understanding that they needed to be 'Jews' in order to be proper Christians! The next part of the journey was into new territory.
They made an overland trip to Thomas (Acts 16: 7). This is where Paul had a vision of a man calling him to come and minister in Macedonia. So they moved on and crossed into the Greek province of Macedonia where they preached in Neapolis, Phillipi, Thessalonica and Berea. The time spent in Phillipi was where they met Lydia of Thyatira. She believed along with her household, down by the river, and Paul and Silas stayed in her home. The next day Paul cast a spirit out the young slave-girl and made the girls owners furious.
Paul and Silas were thrown in jail. That night while singing hymns, an earthquake shook the gates loose and released them. The guard was about to kill himself for letting them get away when Paul said 'here we are' and went back in. Paul told the guard how to be saved and he and his household were.
The next day they were released because of their Roman citizenship. From there they set sail south and preached in Athens and then to Corinth, where he stayed for 18 months, before crossing back to Ephesus in Asia Minor and on to Caesarea, Jerusalem and back to Antioch. This journey's highlights were numerous. The churches founded during the first journey were settling down well and more and more were added to their number (Acts 16 - 19). In Athens, Paul had seen at least a few conversions while debating with the greatest philosophers of the age.
Back in Corinth, Paul gained a close friendship with Priscilla and Aquilla (Acts 18: 1 - 3). They accompanied him from Corinth over to Ephesus where they helped Apollos understand more of the truth of the gospel. Paul meanwhile stopped just briefly in Ephesus before returning to Caesarea and Jerusalem where he greeted the church and then returned once more going to Antioch. Paul stayed a while in Antioch before leaving for his third missionary journey. This trip took place at some time around AD 53 through AD 57 (Acts 18: 23 - 21: 16). On this trip Paul once again traveled north and west overland revisiting the churches in Galatia and Phrygia (Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia).
He finally arrived in Ephesus and encountered some disciples. They had simply received the Baptism of John the Baptist, so Paul informed them of Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit, they were immediately baptized 'into the name of the Lord Jesus' and the spirit came upon them (Acts 19: 1 - 7). In Acts 19: 20 we find an accurate summarization of this ministry period. "In this way he word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. ' This was the period when the great riot occurred in Ephesus or the temple to Artemis (1 Cor. 15: 32; Rom. 16: 3 - 4; 2 Cor. 1: 8 - 11). Paul then sent Timothy and Erasmus on ahead to Macedonia. Paul soon after sailed over to Macedonia retracing his earlier ministry through Phillipi, Thessalonica and Berea. From there he set sail stopping a various ports on the way south including Miletus where he met the elders of the Ephesian church.
The last significant port on the journey was at Tyre. There the prophet Agabus warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem because his life would be in danger. The prophecy was to be fulfilled though. Paul went back to Jerusalem and just like the prophecy said he was arrested because of the antagonism of the Jews. This time was very hectic for Paul. He shuffled between meeting and testifying in front of the Saducees and the Pharisees, being taken to Caesarea to present the letter to the governor and give a defense before Felix, and then on to Rome when he would be tried before Caesar.
After the trial, Paul was placed on house arrest in Rome where it is believed he wrote most of the epistles. He lived there preaching until his release. Then he traveled to Spain for a short time. He was then rearrested and taken back to Rome. Tradition has it that Paul died in Rome a martyr at the hands of Nero around AD 67. Lastly, the writings of Paul carry on his great missionary life and journeys.
The order of these writings and the origin are some mysteries. The early and major epistles include Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Romans. The prison epistles include Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Then there are the pastoral epistles: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. Below is an outline of the order and dates I believe to be closest to the mark: Galatians - 48 AD (Written before Jerusalem Council because there is no mention of it in the book. ) Philippians - 60 - 62 AD (Rome imprisonment most accurate origin because of freedom to preach and spread the word. Paul's life is a very complex and interesting subject.
I have merely tried to cover a basic overview. This attempt is by no means a complete biography of Paul's life. This is simply a summary of the accomplishments and landmarks his mission left behind for all of us. Hawthorne, Gerald F. , Martin, Ralph P.
Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Intervarsity Press. Downers Grove, Illinois: 1993. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. New Revised Standard Version. Oxford The Nelson Study Bible.
New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Easton, G. M. A, D. D.
EASTONS BIBLE DICTIONARY. The Sage Digital Library. Countertop Software. Kirkland, WA: 1997. Smith, William. Smith's Bible Dictionary.
Logos Library System. Thomas Nelson Matthew Henry's Concise Whole Bible Commentary. The Sage Digital Library, Countertop Software. Kirkland, WA: 1997. Strong, James LL. D. , S.
T. D. The New Strong's Complete Dictionary of Bible Words. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nashville: 1996. Strong, James, LL.
D. , S. T. D. The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible... Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nashville: 1990.
Vine, W. E. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Nashville: 1996. Bibliography:
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