The First Ephesian Party
Acts 19:18-20
18 And many that believed came,
and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which
used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men:
and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of
silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Introduction:
The passage that we considered last week, Acts 19:13-17
involved an attempt on the part of unbelievers to use the Name of the Lord as a
magical incantation, or “power word.” That episode of “reverse exorcism” must
be seen as connected directly to this one, and indeed setting the stage for
this next event as Ephesus. And, in turn, the event which we now draw our
attention to will lay the groundwork for the city-wide riot to follow. There is
an interesting cause and effect relationship between these events, but a
surface analysis may miss the real “cause” or controlling factor.
Outline:
I. The General Effects of the Failed Exorcism on
Believers (19:18)
II. The Specific Evidence of the Repentance of Believers (19:19)
III. The Summary Explanation for these Evidences (19:20)
Transition: Let us now consider the
“Ephesian Example” of how to repent of syncretism.
I. The General Effects of the Failed Exorcism on
Believers (19:18)
And many that believed came, and confessed,
and shewed their deeds.
The key word for
what is going on here may be Repentance.
Mt. 3:6 - And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing
their sins.
Mk. 1:5 - And there went out unto him all the land of
Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of
Jordan, confessing their sins.
Rom. 14:11 - For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God.
Jas. 5:16 - Confess your faults one to another,
and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much.
Lk. 15:8-10 -
8 Either what
woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a
candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it,
she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice
with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there
is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Definitions
of “repentance”:
“...a change of
mind, taking a wiser view of the past....a regret for the ill done in that
past, and out of all this a change of life for the better...”[1]
"...that mighty change in mind, heart, and life
wrought by the Spirit of God (‘such a virtuous alteration of the mind and
purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice,’ Kettlewell)…”[2]
Westminster Shorter
Catechism, Q87: What is repentance unto life?[3]
A87: Repentance
unto life is a saving grace,[1] whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his
sin,[2] and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ,[3] doth, with grief and
hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God,[4] with full purpose of, and
endeavour after, new obedience.[5] [4]
“1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said
"Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of
repentance.
2. The word cannot be properly understood as referring to
the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by
the clergy.
3. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in
one's heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in
various mortifications of the flesh.”[5]
2 Cor. 7:7-11 - 7 And
not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in
you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind
toward me; so that I rejoiced the more. 8 For though I made you sorry with a
letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same
epistle hath made you sorry, though it
were but for a season. 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made
sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly
manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For
godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the
sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing,
that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what
zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be
clear in this matter.
It is important to notice from this passage:
1) There are two kinds of sorrow, godly and worldly, one that brings salvation and an end to sorrow, while the second brings death and eternal sorrow. (vv. 9-10)
2) True, evangelical repentance is produced only by godly sorrow. (vs. 10)
1) There are two kinds of sorrow, godly and worldly, one that brings salvation and an end to sorrow, while the second brings death and eternal sorrow. (vv. 9-10)
2) True, evangelical repentance is produced only by godly sorrow. (vs. 10)
3) True, evangelical repentance involves the following
seven ingredients (vs. 11):
(1) carefulness
(2) clearing of yourselves
(3) indignation
(4) fear
(5) vehement desire
(6) zeal
(7) revenge
4) True, evangelical repentance results in a righting of wrongs that is here referred to as "approving yourselves to be clear in this matter". (vs. 11)
(1) carefulness
(2) clearing of yourselves
(3) indignation
(4) fear
(5) vehement desire
(6) zeal
(7) revenge
4) True, evangelical repentance results in a righting of wrongs that is here referred to as "approving yourselves to be clear in this matter". (vs. 11)
The Opposition to the Preaching of Repentance
There is a great deal of opposition to the preaching of repentance, along with a serious lack of teaching concerning repentance, in our day involving a theological position that has been characterized as "anti-Lordship". This is a very serious error that divorces faith from life, and belief from behavior. Such a severing of faith from repentance would have been unthinkable in the first century A.D. The basis of the contemporary opposition to this doctrine comes from what I can only characterize as simplistic etymological nonsense that flies directly in the face of the fine teaching from Scripture of others like Trench above. An unrepentant easy-believism has no warrant in God’s Word!
Consider the teaching elsewhere in the New Testament on this subject:
Luke 15:7 - I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Mark 2:17 - When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Notice that the only ones who may claim "exemption" from God’s command to repent, are those who don’t see themselves as sinners! There is joy in heaven when there is repentance!
Acts 17:30 - And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Notice that in reality no one is exempt from God’s command to repent! He commands all men everywhere to repent! Any preachers who do not preach repentance as part of the Gospel, are failing to preach the Gospel according to the Word of God! This is no light matter! All men! Everywhere! No exceptions!
There is a great deal of opposition to the preaching of repentance, along with a serious lack of teaching concerning repentance, in our day involving a theological position that has been characterized as "anti-Lordship". This is a very serious error that divorces faith from life, and belief from behavior. Such a severing of faith from repentance would have been unthinkable in the first century A.D. The basis of the contemporary opposition to this doctrine comes from what I can only characterize as simplistic etymological nonsense that flies directly in the face of the fine teaching from Scripture of others like Trench above. An unrepentant easy-believism has no warrant in God’s Word!
Consider the teaching elsewhere in the New Testament on this subject:
Luke 15:7 - I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Mark 2:17 - When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Notice that the only ones who may claim "exemption" from God’s command to repent, are those who don’t see themselves as sinners! There is joy in heaven when there is repentance!
Acts 17:30 - And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Notice that in reality no one is exempt from God’s command to repent! He commands all men everywhere to repent! Any preachers who do not preach repentance as part of the Gospel, are failing to preach the Gospel according to the Word of God! This is no light matter! All men! Everywhere! No exceptions!
Repentance is not just about cleaning your own house.
Repentance also involves taking into consideration what is best for others.
Notice that what
was done included a public display.
II. The Specific Evidence of the Repentance of
Believers (19:19)
Many of them also which used curious[6] arts
brought their books[7]
together,
and burned[8] them
before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand
pieces of silver.[9]
“Or “fifty thousand silver drachmas” (about
$10,000 US dollars). BDAG 128 s.v. ἀργύριον 2.c states, “ἀργυρίου μυριάδας πέντε 50,000 (Attic silver) drachmas Ac 19:19.” Another way to express the
value would be in sheep: One drachma could buy one sheep. So this many drachmas
could purchase a huge flock of sheep. A drachma also equals a denarius, or a
day’s wage for the average worker. So this amount would be equal to 50,000 work
days or in excess of 8,300 weeks of labor (the weeks are calculated at six
working days because of the Jewish cultural context). The impact of
Christianity on the Ephesian economy was considerable (note in regard to this
the concerns expressed in 19:26-27).”[10]
“The Ephesian abandonment of magic was not without some
personal sacrifice. Their magical books must have been much like the papyrus
collections that have been unearthed and are now on display in museums in
Paris, Berlin, Rome, and London. All ancient books were expensive, but magical
collections brought a considerable premium. Luke estimated the value of those
burned in Ephesus at 50,000 pieces of silver. If the piece of silver concerned
is the drachma, the most common Greek silver coin, that would come to about $35,000
in current silver value.26 Translated into terms of living
standards, however, the sum was greater still, since the drachma was an average
day’s wage.”[11]
“The Attic drachma contained 67.5 grains of silver, or
approximately 14 percent of a troy ounce. With silver at $5 a troy ounce, the
drachma would contain about 70 cents in silver value.”[12]
Schnabel’s remark
on Polhill’s estimate (above): “In September 2009, a troy ounce of silver sold at
$14, which translates into $98,000 for the value of the magical texts - an example
for the notorious unreliability of the computation of biblical currency figures.”[13]
On the basis of Polhill’s data above, and estimating the
current value of silver (see below) at $16.14 per troy ounce the drachma would
be worth $2.2596. Therefore, the current value of 50,000 drachmas would be
$112,980.00. This is a significant increase over the $35,000.00 estimate
Polhill published in 1992. It may be a more realistic estimate than that found
in the ESV Study Bible note[14]
which calculates the drachma as an average laborer’s days wage as $15.00 per
hour, or $120.00 per day, resulting in 50,000 drachmas being the modern
equivalent of $6,000,000.00.
Current value
of silver
Metals
New York Mercantile |
Last
|
Change
|
% Change
|
52-week price range
|
Last
Update
|
|
Silver
Dec. 2014 contract $ / troy ounce |
Floor
|
16.40
|
+0.12
|
+0.74%
|
15.41 TODAY
22.05
|
Nov 21
|
Electronic
|
16.42
|
-0.269
|
-1.65%
|
15.04 TODAY 22.18
|
||
Source: CNN Money
at http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/ [accessed 21 NOV 2014].
Silver Spot Price & Charts - Silver Prices Per Ounce,
Gram & Kilo
Below are live silver spot prices per troy ounce, gram,
and kilogram.
New York Silver
Spot Price (24hrs) Nov 21, 2014
Silver Price Per Ounce
|
$ 16.49
|
Silver Price Per Gram
|
$ 0.53
|
Silver Price Per Kilo
|
$ 530.17
|
Source: JM Bullion
at http://www.jmbullion.com/charts/silver-prices/
[accessed 21 NOV 2014].
Why not sell the books on eBay, Amazon or Craigslist, and
donate the funds to the Lord’s work? Isn’t that what many if not most
Christians today would either do or suggest?
Syncretism: “the combining
of different, often seemingly contradictory beliefs, while melding practices of
various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merger and analogizing of several originally discrete traditions,
especially in the theology andmythology of religion, thus
asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths.”[15]
The key word for
what is going on here may be Mortification.
Dt.
18:10-14 - 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an
enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or
a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and
because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before
thee. 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the
LORD thy God. 14 For these
nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto
diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
Dt. 7:25-26 - 25 The graven images of their
gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or
gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared
therein: for it is an abomination to
the LORD thy God. 26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house,
lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but
thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
Josh. 7:15, 25 - And it
shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with
fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the
covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel…. And Joshua
said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel
stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them
with stones.
Num. 33:52 - Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from
before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten
images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
Is. 30:22 - Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver,
and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a
menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
Dt. 12:1-3 - 1 These are the statutes and judgments, which ye
shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee
to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. 2 Ye
shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall
possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and
under every green tree: 3 And ye shall overthrow their altars,
and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down
the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that
place.
Repentance is not just about cleaning your own house.
Repentance also involves taking into consideration what is best for others.
Notice that what
was done involved a permanent purging.
III. The Summary Explanation for these Evidences (19:20)
So mightily grew the word of God[16] and
prevailed.
Notice that what
was done indicated a powerful effect.[17]
This does not work with the Word of God! Jer. 36! Many
have tried to burn the Word of God out of existence, but it defeats every
effort, continues to grow mightily, and ultimately prevails in every case.
Compare the usage of the verb “prevailed” in 19:16 as an obvious
emphasis for what is going on in these episodes at Ephesus.
The key word for what is going on here may be
Reputation.
Acts 6:7 - And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples
multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were
obedient to the faith.
Acts 9:31 - Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and
Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
Acts 11:21 - And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number
believed, and turned unto the Lord.
Acts 12:24 - But the word of God grew and multiplied.
Acts 14:1 - And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into
the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the
Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Acts 16:5 - And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased
in number daily.
Acts 19:10 - And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they
which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
Conclusion:
We read Psalm 32 for our “Call to Worship,” and Joshua 7
for our “Scripture Reading.” Now let us turn to Psalm 51, and read the words of
one who came confessing his sin in repentance before God.
Complete outline:
I. The General Effects of the Failed Exorcism on
Believers (19:18)
II. The Specific Evidence of the Repentance of Believers (19:19)
III. The Summary Explanation for these Evidences (19:20)
[Sermon preached 23
NOV 2014 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown,
PA.]
Resources on Acts:
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of
the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.
Paul Barnett, The
Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years, After Jesus, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 2005).
Darrell L. Bock, Acts,
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2007).
F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text
with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).
Dennis E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the History of
Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997).
I. Howard Marshall, Acts:
An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).
David G. Peterson, The
Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar
New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).
John B. Polhill, Acts,
Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary,
gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers,
1992).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts,
Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical
Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2012).
W. C. van Unnik, “The ‘Book of Acts’ the Confirmation of
the Gospel,” in Novum Testamentum 4:1
(OCT 1960), pp. 26-59; reprinted in The
Composition of Luke’s Gospel: Selected Studies from Novum Testamentum,
compiled by David E. Orton, Vol. 1 of Brill’s
Readers in Biblical Studies (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 184-218.
William H. Willimon, Acts,
in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for
Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed.
Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).
Resources on Paul:
Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural
Studies in 1 Corinthians (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011).
F. F. Bruce, Paul:
Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1977).
D. A. Carson, The
Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1996), pp. 496-501.
W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged
American ed. (New York: E. B. Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Adolf Deissmann, Paul:
A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson
(New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.).
F. W. Farrar, The Life
and Work of St. Paul (New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=RB2KeCSM6KsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul: Life and
Letters”, in The Face of New Testament
Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R.
Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.
Richard B.Gaffin, Jr.,
"Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center
on Westminster Theological Seminary
at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].
Frank J. Goodwin, A
Harmony of the Life of the St. Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and
the Pauline Epistles (New York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Richard N. Longenecker, The
Ministry And Message Of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).
Richard N. Longenecker, Paul,
Apostle Of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).
Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus : The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life,
Thought, And Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
Richard N. Longenecker, Studies
In Paul, Exegetical And Theological (Sheffield : Sheffield Phoenix Press,
2004).
J. Gresham Machen, The
Origin of Paul's Religion: The James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union
Theological Seminary in Virginia (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1925).
Leon Morris, The
Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1955).
John Pollock, The
Apostle: A Life of Paul, 3rd ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969,
2012); also published as The Man Who
Shook the World (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1972; originally The Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York:
Doubleday, 1969).
Stanley E. Porter, Paul
in Acts, in Library of Pauline
Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,
Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of
Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen
Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen).
W. M. Ramsay, The
Cities of St. Paul: Their Influence on his Life and Thought (New York: A.
C. Armstrong and Son; London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1908); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=JryEbmKool0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, Pauline
and Other Studies in Early Christian History (New York: A. C. Armstrong and
Son, 1906); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=-1ZJAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul
the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, 10th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1907); on Christian Classics Ethereal
Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, The
Teaching of Paul in terms of The Present Day: The Deems Lectures in New York
University (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914); on Internet Archive at http://ia600404.us.archive.org/2/items/teachingofpaulin00rams/teachingofpaulin00rams.pdf
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
A. T. Robertson, Epochs
in the Life of Paul: A Study of Development in Paul's Character (Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul The Missionary: Realities, Strategies
And Methods (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,
2008).
Udo Schnelle, Apostle
Paul: His Life and Theology, trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben
und Denken, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).
Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul,
Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL:
IVP Academic, 2001).
James Stalker, The
Life of St. Paul, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1885; rev. ed. 2010 by
Kessinger Publishing from 1912 ed.); on Google
Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=vT0HAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 7 FEB 2013].
James Ironside Still, St.
Paul on Trial (London: Student Christian Movement, 1923).
End Notes:
[1] Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., n.d.; reprint of 9th ed., London, 1880), pg. 259.
[2] Ibid., pg. 260. John
Kettlewell was an English author who died in 1695.
[3] See also Westminster
Larger Catechism, Q. 75-76; London
Baptist Confession (1689), Ch. XV; Second
Helvetic Confession, Ch. XIV.
[4] 1. Acts 11:18. 2.
Acts 2:37. 3. Joel 2:13. 4. Jer. 31:18-19. 5. Psa. 119:59
[5] Martin Luther, 95
Theses; on Phil Johnson’s Hall of
Church History at http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm
[accessed 1 NOV 2014].
[6] G. Adolf Deissmann, Bible Studies: Contributions Chiefly from
Papyri and Inscriptions to the History of the Language, the Literature, and the
Religion of Hellenistic Judaism and Primitive Christianity, trans.
Alexander Grieve (Winona Lake, IN: Alpha Publications, n.d.; 1979 ed., reprint
of Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1923, combining both Bibelstudien and Neue
Bibelstudien), pg. 323, note 5 on “the expression τὰ περίεργα” as “a terminus technicus for magic.”
[7] On the “ancient papyrus books of magic” see
especially:
Adolf Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East: The New
Testament Illustrated by Recently Discovered Texts of the Graeco-Roman World,
4th rev. ed. of Licht vom Osten
(Tübingen, 1909, 1923), trans. Lionel R. M. Strachan (Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, n.d.; 1978 ed.), pp. 254-264. Note:
The page numbering is different in the Hodder & Stoughton ed.
(London, 1910) cited below. Adolf Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East: The New Testament Illustrated by Recently
Discovered Texts of the Graeco-Roman World, 4th rev. ed. of Licht vom Osten
(Tübingen, 1909, 1923), trans. Lionel R. M. Strachan (London: Hodder &
Stoughton, 1910), pp. 249-261.
[8] On this compound verb see especially A. T. Robertson,
A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in
the Light of Historical Research, 4th ed. (Nashville: Broadman Press,
1934), pp. 826-828, s.v. “10. The Effect of
Prepositions on the Verb.”
“
This is another aspect of Aktionsart.
This subject has already been briefly discussed from the standpoint of the
prepositions. Delbrück has worked the matter out with thoroughness and he is
followed by Brugmann. Moulton has applied the principle to N. T. verbs.
The point is that often where the simple verb is durative it is rendered
“perfective” by the preposition in composition.” Op. cit., pg. 826.
“The
“imperfective” simplex becomes “perfective” in the compound.” Ibid.
“It
is unfortunate that the term “perfective” is used for this idea, since it
inevitably suggests the perfect tense. Some writers use “perfective” also for
the aorist or punctiliar action, a means of still further confusion.” Op. cit.,
pg. 817.
“The
point of the preposition here is best seen in the prepositions ἀπο-, δια-, κατα-, συν-. But even in these the actual
majority of examples preserve the original local meaning and so are not
perfective.” Ibid.
“In
Heb. 6:18, οἱ καταφυγόντες, the
perfective sense of κατά coincides with
the effective aorist. So even when the tense is durative, the notion of
completion is expressed in the preposition as contemplated or certain.” Ibid.
“…it
remains true that the Aktionsart of
the verb-root is often modified by the preposition in composition.” Op. cit.,
pg. 828.
“In
some verbs the preposition has so far lost its original force that the
“perfective” idea is the only one that survives.” Ibid.
[9] “Sometimes with numerals
the substantive for money is not expressed.” A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the
Light of Historical Research, 4th ed. (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1934),
pg. 674; and
Deissmann, Bible Studies, op. cit., pp. 323-324.
[10] NET Notes on Lumina at https://lumina.bible.org/bible/Acts+19
[accessed 20 NOV 2014]. See also https://bible.org/netbible/
[accessed 20 NOV 2014].
[11] John B. Polhill, Acts,
Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary,
gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers,
1992), pp. 405-406.
[12] Polhill, op. cit., pg.
406, footnote 26.
[13] Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan
Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), pg. 799, note 77.
[14] ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), pg. 2127, note.
[15] “Syncretism,” on Wikipedia
at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism
[accessed 24 NOV 2014]. On the issue of “dual loyalties” being publicly repudiated
in a proof of repentance see especially Dennis
E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the
History of Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997), pp. 181-192;
and Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical
Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H.
Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 604-605.
[16] On the textual criticism issue involving the readings
τοῦ κυρίου ὁ λόγος vs.
ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου:
“A majority of the
Committee preferred the Alexandrian reading (א* A B), on the consideration that
it is more likely that the less usual order was altered into the characteristic
order, than vice versa.” B. M. Metzger, & United Bible
Societies, A Textual Commentary on the
Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. (London; New York: United Bible Societies,
1994), pp. 418–419. In the face of overwhelming external witnesses
demonstrating antiquity, variety and multiplicity the editors of the
Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies Greek New Testaments have demonstrated
once again, along with Westcott, Hort Tregelles, and others, their prejudice for the
highly subjective internal “probabilities.” Indeed, the editors of the United
Bible Societies text even indicated an increased level of certainty from a {C}
in their 3rd ed. (“difficulty in deciding”), to a {B} in their 4th ed. (“almost
certain”). Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland,
Matthew Black, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger,
Allen Wikgren, eds., The Greek New
Testament, Fourth Revised Edition 4th. rev. ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1993, 1994), pg. 3. The only manuscripts that contain the
reading found in these Greek New Testaments are: א*, B, A. The
editorial committee’s prejudice in favor of these uncials is patent here as
elsewhere. The external witnesses against this reading are as follows: p74,
א2, (E,
Ψ), 33, 36, 181, 307, 453, 610, 614, 945, 1175, 1409,
1678, 1739, 1891, 2344, m/Byz, [L, P], Ɩ156,
Ɩ165, Ɩ170, Ɩ617, Ɩ1178, lat, itdem, vgmss,
syrh, cop(sa), bo, geo, slav, Chrysostom, Jerome. Novum
Testamentum Graece, eds. Eberhard and
Erwin Nestle, 27th ed., eds. Barbara and Kurt Aland, Johannes
Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger (Stuttgart: Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1898, 1993), pg. 380; Barbara Aland, et al., op. cit., pg. 484. See also the New Testament
Transcripts Prototype maintained by
the University of Munster Institute for
New Testament Textual Research at http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv
[accessed 24 NOV 2014].
On
the exceptional nature of the “less usual order” see the following:
Nigel Turner, Syntax, Vol. III in James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, 4
vols. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963), pg. 350.
C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek,
2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953, 1959), pg. 169.
[17] Johnson, op. cit., pp. 181-182;
Bock, op. cit., pg. 605.
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