Atos 17
Bob Utley · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 17
Utley - The Bible is divine revelation, not human discovery. Spiritual truth is a gift from God to blinded, sinful humanity. Thomas
Atos 17
Utley - The stumbling block of the gospel for the Jews was “a suffering Messiah” and for the Greeks it was “the resurrection” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18–25). A personal, bodily afterlife did not fit into the Greek understanding of the gods or mankind. They asserted a divine spark in every person, trapped or imprisoned by a physical body. Salvation was deliverance from the physical and reabsorption into an impersonal or semi-personal deity. Strange (3581)(xenos) primarily means a foreigner and thus describes that when is unfamiliar because it is unknown (e.g., strange doctrine, Heb 13:9, in our present passage "strange deities"). Xenos can mean strange in the sense of unheard of or surprising (1 Pe 4:12+). Xenos also referred to Gentiles who were unacquainted with God as strangers or estranged or without interest in God ("strangers to the covenants of promise" = Ep 2:12+). Deities (1140)(daimonion from daímon = demon) most often describes demons or evil spirits who have supernatural powers and are neither human nor divine (Mt 7:22). Acts 17:18 refers specifically to to heathen gods. In the context of a Jewish use it more often refers to a demon, evil spirit, devil, or one who is subject to Satan. Daimonion was used in pagan Greek writings to refer to an inferior race of divine beings, lower than the Greek gods, but more powerful than men. Vine - not a diminutive of daimon, but the neuter of the adjective daimonios, pertaining to a demon, is also mistranslated "devil," "devils." In Acts 17:18 , it denotes an inferior pagan deity. "Demons" are the spiritual agents acting in all idolatry. The idol itself is nothing, but every idol has a "demon" associated with it who induces idolatry, with its worship and sacrifices, 1Corinthians 10:20,21 ; Revelation 9:20 ; cp. Deuteronomy 32:17 ; Isaiah 13:21 ; 34:14 ; 65:3,11 . They disseminate errors among men, and seek to seduce believers, 1Ti 4:1 . As seducing spirits they deceive men into the supposition that through mediums (those who have "familiar spirits," Leviticus 20:6,27 , e.g.) they can converse with deceased human beings. Hence the destructive deception of spiritism, forbidden in Scripture, Leviticus 19:31 ; Deuteronomy 18:11 ; Isaiah 8:19 . "Demons" tremble before God, James 2:19 ; they recognized Christ as Lord and as their future Judge, Matthew 8:29 ; Luke 4:41 . Christ cast them out of human beings by His own power. His disciples did so in His name, and by exercising faith, e.g., Matthew 17:20. Acting under Satan (cp. Revelation 16:13,14 ), "demons" are permitted to afflict with bodily disease, Luke 13:16 . Being unclean they tempt human beings with unclean thoughts, Matthew 10:1 ; Mark 5:2 ; 7:25 ; Luke 8:27-29 ; Revelation 16:13 ; 18:2 , e.g. They differ in degrees of wickedness, Matthew 12:45 . They will instigate the rulers of the nations at the end of this age to make war against God and His Christ, Revelation 16:14 . (Demon, Demoniac - Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words) NIDNTT - (In classic literature) daimōn is derived from daiomai, divide, apportion. It may be connected with the idea of the god of the dead as the divider of corpses. It denotes superhuman power, god, goddess, destiny, and demon. In Gk. popular belief the world was full of demons, beings between gods and men which could be appeased or controlled by magic, spells and incantations. They were first of all spirits of the dead, especially the unburied (an animistic concept), then ghosts which could appear in varying forms especially at night. There is no essential difference between → gods and demons. The latter lived in the air near the earth. The work of demons could be seen in the disasters and miseries of human fate. Through natural catastrophes they shook the cosmos. Above all they made men sick or mad. Gk. philosophy was not able to free itself completely from this belief. The world was not a system of abstract forces, but was filled with demons. Offensive myths about the gods were explained away or opposed by using the idea of demon. The problem of divine providence was also approached from this standpoint. In Homer’s Il., daimōn is still sometimes used for the gods, but in the Od., this was avoided so as not to place them on the same level as lower spirits. In Hesiod during the golden age men became demons after death. As Zeus’ representatives they watched over human behaviour, apportioning rewards and punishments at his command. For Empedocles the daimōn was a separate spiritual being, not the psychē which accompanied a man from birth. Socrates’ daimonion, his “good spirit”, had the same characteristics. It dissuaded, but never advised him (Plato, Apology, 31c, 8 ff.). daimōn was even equated with the hēgemonikon (the authoritative part of the soul, the reason) of the Stoics. In later systems (Neoplatonism, Porphyry) whole hierarchies and courses of demons were drawn up. The demons were mediators between gods and men. Sometimes they supervised men. They could also be considered as one of the stages leading from deity to matter. daimonion is the adj. of daimōn, and is used as a noun as the “divine”. It expresses that which lies outside “human capacity and is thus to be attributed to the intervention of higher powers” (W. Foerster, TDNT II 8). In popular belief daimonion was used as a diminutive of daimōn. Philo and Josephus stood entirely in the Gk. tradition. Philo considered that → angels and demons were of the same nature, but angels kept their distance from the earth and were used by God as messengers. Josephus used daimonia especially for evil spirits. (New international dictionary of New Testament theology) Nineteen times (only in the synoptic Gospels, but not in John) daimonion is combined with ekballo = cast out demons. See Dictionary Articles: Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible (DDD) - 950 pages (1995) Read some of the 65 ratings (4.8/5 Stars). A definitive in depth resource on this subject. Very expensive to purchase. Demon - ISBE Demon - Baker's Evangelical Demon Possession - Holman Demon - Wikipedia Demon - Multiple Questions about Angels and Demons Thayer (summary) - 1. the divine Power, deity, divinity; so sometimes in secular authors as Josephus, Acts 17:18 2. a spirit, a being inferior to God, superior to men (Lk 4:33) to have a demon, be possessed by a demon, is said of those who either suffer from some exceptionally severe disease, Luke 4:33; 8:27 or act and speak as though they were mad, Matt. 11:18; Luke 7:33; Jn 7:20; 8:48-49,52; 10:20. According to a Jewish opinion which passed over to the Christians, the demons are the "gods" of the Gentiles and the authors of idolatry (Ps. 96:5, and Dt. 32:17; Ps 106:37) , the prince of the demons, or the devil: Matt. 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; they are said to enter into (the body of) one to vex him with diseases: Luke 8:30,32f; when they are forced to come out of one to restore him to health: Mt. 9:33; 17:18; Mark 7:29, 30; Lk 4:35,41; 8:2,33,35. to have a demon, be possessed by a demon, is said of those who either suffer from some exceptionally severe disease, Luke 4:33; 8:27; or act and speak as though they were mad, Mt. 11:18; Lk 7:33; Jn 7:20; 8:48f,52; 10:20. The apostle Paul, though teaching that the gods of the Gentiles are a fiction (1Cor. 8:4; 10:19), thinks that the conception of them has been put into the minds of men by demons, who appropriate to their own use and honor the sacrifices offered to idols. 1Cor 10:20 (from the Septuagint of Deut. 32:17, cf. Baruch 4:7), and those who frequent the sacrificial feasts of the Gentiles come into fellowship with demons, 1Cor 10:20f. Pernicious errors are disseminated by demons even among Christians, seducing them from the truth, 1Ti 4:1. Josephus, also makes mention of daimonia taking possession of men, Antiquities 6, 11, 2f; 6, 8, 2; 8, 2, 5; but he sees in them, not as the NT writers do, bad angels, but the spirits of wicked men deceased. Daimonion - 63x in 55v - Usage: deities(1), demon(19), demons(43). Matthew 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' Matthew 9:33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." 34 But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." Matthew 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Matthew 11:18 "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!' Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons." 27 "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Matthew 17:18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. Mark 1:34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. 39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons. Mark 3:15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." Mark 6:13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. Mark 7:26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 29 And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter." 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left. Mark 9:38 John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." Mark 16:9 Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 17 "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; Luke 4:33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. Luke 7:33 "For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' Luke 8:2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 27 And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. 30 And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. 33 And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 35 The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. 38 But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, Luke 9:1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 42 While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 49 John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us." Luke 10:17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." Luke 11:14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons." 18 "If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 "And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. 20 "But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Luke 13:32 And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.' John 7:20 The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?" John 8:48 The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" 49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 52 The Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.' John 10:20 Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?" 21 Others were saying, "These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?" Acts 17:18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"-- because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 10:20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; Revelation 16:14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. Revelation 18:2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. There are only 7 uses of daimonion in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Dt 32:17; Ps 91:6; 96:5; 106:37; Isa 13:21; 34:14; 65:3 Deuteronomy 32:17 "They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread. Psalm 91:6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction (Lxx = daimonion) that lays waste at noon. Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols (Lxx = daimonion), But the LORD made the heavens. Psalm 106:37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, Isaiah 13:21 But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. Isaiah 34:14 The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Yes, the night monster will settle there And will find herself a resting place. Isaiah 65:3 A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks; C H Spurgeon once preached a sermon in which he alluded to the inherent problem of philosophy as opposed to theology... It has been said by someone that "the proper study of mankind is man." I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God's elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father...Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. (The Immutability of God) Foreign Worship Read: Acts 17:16-31 “[Paul] seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus. —Acts 17:18 During a trip to the Far East, I visited an unusual shrine made up of hundreds of statues. According to our guide, worshipers would pick the statue that looked the most like an ancestor and pray to it. A few years ago, I read about a student named Le Thai. An ancestor worshiper, he found great comfort in praying to his deceased grandmother. Because he was praying to someone he knew and loved, he found this to be personal and intimate. But when he came from Vietnam to the US to study, Le Thai was introduced to Christianity. It sounded like a fairy tale based on American thinking. To him, it was the worship of a foreign God (see Acts 17:18). Then a Christian friend invited him to visit his home on Christmas. He saw a Christian family in action and heard again the story of Jesus. Le Thai listened. He read John 3 about being “born again” and asked questions. He began to feel the pull of the Holy Spirit. Finally, he realized that Christianity was true. He trusted Jesus as his personal Savior. Man gropes his way through life’s dark maze, To gods unknown he often prays, Until one day he meets God’s Son— At last he’s found the Living One! —D. De Haan God is the only true God. Acts 17:19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? Areopagus or, Mars'-hill. Acts 17:22; "It was the highest court in Athens." May Acts 17:20; 24:24; 25:22; 26:1; Matthew 10:18 new Mark 1:27; John 13:34; 1John 2:7,8 Acts 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Acts 17:16-34 God's Man Confronts Satan's City - John MacArthur Acts 17:16-34 The God of Resurrection - John MacArthur Raphael's Painting of Paul's Aeropagus Sermon And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus - Clearly Paul's words had stirred up the "intelligentsia!" They refers to those who grabbed Paul and brought him to the venerable council (or court) that had charge of religious and educational matters in Athens in Paul's time and it had considerable power in Roman times, recalling that Athens was a free city in the Roman Empire and thus had the privilege to exercise self-governance. The council/court possibly met on the Hill of Ares West of the Acropolis (picture of Acropolis), the hill also being known as the Areopagus, though some think it met in a building in the agora (marketplace). Took (1949)(epilambano) means to lay hold of, get a good grip on, take possession of. All NT uses are in the middle voice which speaks of their personal involvement. Resources on Evangelistic Approach of Paul: John Appleby, "Paul on Mars Hill: our role model for evangelising people around us today? E M Blaiklock - The Areopagus Address They took hold of him - "to lay hold of, but with no necessary sense of violence (Acts 9:27; Acts 23:27; Mk 8:23), unless the idea is that Paul was to be tried before the Court of Areopagus for the crime of bringing in strange gods. But the day for that had passed in Athens. Even so it is not clear whether “unto the Areopagus (epi ton Areion Pagon ”) means the Hill of Mars (Areopagus = Romanized to “Mars’ hill") (west of the Acropolis, north of the agora and reached by a flight of steps in the rock) or the court itself which met elsewhere as well as on the hills, usually in fact in the Stoa Basilica opening on the agora and near to the place where the dispute had gone on. Raphael‘s painting with Paul standing on Mars Hill has made us all familiar with the common view, but it is quite uncertain if it is true. There was not room on the summit for a large gathering. If Paul was brought before the Court of Areopagus (commonly called the Areopagus as here), it was not for trial as a criminal, but simply for examination concerning his new teaching in this university city whether it was strictly legal or not. Paul was really engaged in proselytism to turn the Athenians away from their old gods to Jesus Christ. But “the court of refined and polished Athenians was very different from the rough provincial magistrates of Philippi, and the philosophers who presented Paul to their cognizance very different from the mob of Thessalonians” (Rackham). It was all very polite." (Acts 17 - Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament )