1The church at Antioch had several prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon, also called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who was Herod's close friend, and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and going without eating, the Holy Spirit told them, "Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have chosen them." 3Everyone prayed and went without eating for a while longer. Next, they placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul to show that they had been appointed to do this work. Then everyone sent them on their way.
First...a brief history lesson from Wikipedia :
Herod the Great was elected King of the Jews by the Roman Senate and ruled Israel until 4 BCE; at his death his kingdom was divided among his three sons.
Herod Archelaus, was given the main part of the kingdom: Judea, Edom and Samaria. He ruled for ten years until 6 CE when he was "banished".
Herod II (Philip I), was given jurisdiction over the northeast part of his father's kingdom; he ruled there until his death in 34.
Herod Antipas, was made ruler of the Galilee and Perea; he ruled there until he was exiled to Spain by emperor Caligula in 39. Herod Antipas is also the person who played a role in the death of John the Baptist and the trial of Jesus.
Agrippa I , the grandson of Herod, was appointed as ruler of the territories of Herod II after his death in 34, and in 39 he was given the territories of Herod Antipas. In 41 emperor Claudius added to his territory the parts of Judea province that previously belonged to Herod Archelaus. Thus Agrippa re-united his grandfather's kingdom under his rule. He died in 44.
Agrippa is the King referred to in Acts 12...so what has taken a dozen chapters in the Book of Acts accounts for about 14 calendar years. It is now 44AD.
And...in those years, the Body of Christ had infiltrated the highest reaches of power. I find this pretty amazing. Manaen (in today's account), identified as a close friend of Herod, was actually Herod Antipas' foster brother. A brother of the pagan king...was a prophet and teacher in the church at Antioch!
Amazing...those Christians are everywhere! The White House. the Pentagon, just name it. There are Christians wherever we go...if we just inquire. I'm sorry to say I've worked with many people for years before I knew they were believers.
I'll bet our lives would be far more comfortable and joyful if we knew exactly how many friends we were dealing with daily. Maybe we should ask around a bit.
Live boldly out there today...
No comments:
Post a Comment