I Appeal To Caesar!

A Small Mystery: The Timing. “Acts 9:19-25, which describes Paul’s ministry at Damascus after his conversion, presents a small problem. At some point during that time, Paul went into Arabia for a while. But Acts makes no reference at all to that sojourn , so we cannot be absolutely sure just where to fit it in. Some put it between the two sentences of verse 19, some between verses 21 and 22, and some between verses 22 and 23 (emphasis added).” Robert E. Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, p. 52. Picirilli makes a significant point : “What matters is that Paul was at Damascus, then Arabia, and then back at Damascus (emphasis. added),” p. 52. He comments also that “Galatians 1:15-17 sounds like Paul went to Arabia fairly soon after his conversion,” p. 53. Endnotes for Chapter 8, Arabian Hideout P. 4. The Subject of Women in Ministry. Saul later in Galatians 3:28 makes this amazing statement: “… there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In Romans 16, Paul mentions Phoebe our sister is “a servant” of the church (v. 1); also, Mary who “labored much” (v. 6); Andronicus and Junia “my kinsman and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles ” (v. 7, emphasis added). Paul taught in Ephesians about husbands and wives (vv. 22-32); also, gave teaching in 1 Corinthians. Note 1 Corinthians 11:5 where it says, “But every woman who prays or prophesies ….” The amount of participation of women in ministry is a debated subject, but Paul’s writings indicate an openness to women not found in Judaism, or the general society of that time or even today. P. 7 Speaking in Tongues. Later in his ministry the Apostle Paul made the manifestations of the Holy Spirit a very important part of the congregational life of the churches he started. When he discusses the subject in his first letter to the Corinthian Church (1 Cor. 12-13-14) he explains that this type of praying is like praying directly to God.

P. 5 The Healing of Fever. Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, Matt 8:14-15.

P. 6 Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh.” 2 Corinthians 12:7: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”