Both Jews and Gentiles were
responding to Paul's message
00:01:37.15\00:01:40.56
that Jesus was the Christ,
00:01:40.59\00:01:42.70
Jesus was the Messiah in Berea.
00:01:42.73\00:01:45.43
Then the troublemakers
arrived from Thessalonica
00:01:45.47\00:01:48.26
stirring up the crowds.
00:01:48.30\00:01:50.47
Immediately Paul had to be
taken to the coast and sail
00:01:50.50\00:01:54.20
for Athens, we read
about it in Acts 17:13.
00:01:54.24\00:01:59.77
When they rounded Cape
Su Yon at the tip of Attica,
00:02:25.13\00:02:28.17
Paul would have looked up
to see the great Temples of
00:02:28.21\00:02:31.22
Poseidon, then they
would have sailed north to
00:02:31.25\00:02:33.92
the great Port of Piraeus.
00:02:33.95\00:02:36.16
He would see the Acropolis
off in the distance with a
00:02:36.19\00:02:39.48
stunning white marble of
the Temple reflecting the rays
00:02:39.51\00:02:43.11
of the Sun, it was even
more spectacular sight for Paul
00:02:43.14\00:02:46.56
then it is for us, for
the buildings would have been
00:02:46.59\00:02:49.98
crowned with their lovely roofs.
00:02:50.01\00:02:52.23
As Paul walked up from the
Port of Piraeus to the great
00:02:52.27\00:02:55.64
classical city, his eye
would have been focused upon
00:02:55.67\00:02:58.99
the Acropolis, his eye
would've been focused upon the
00:02:59.02\00:03:02.30
great Parthenon that
had been built by Pericles
00:03:02.33\00:03:06.33
500 years earlier.
00:03:06.36\00:03:08.71
I am sure as he walked up
from the coast there must have
00:03:08.74\00:03:11.61
been a sense of excitement,
a sense of wonder as he was
00:03:11.64\00:03:14.48
coming into this
great classical city.
00:03:14.51\00:03:17.40
The building was
known as Athena Parthenon's,
00:03:18.83\00:03:21.87
or Athena the Virgin.
00:03:21.91\00:03:23.60
She was a patron goddess
of the city and Phidias had
00:03:23.64\00:03:27.67
carved a fantastic statue
of her nearly 40 feet tall.
00:03:27.70\00:03:31.68
She was decorated with
gold and silver and ivory.
00:03:31.72\00:03:35.67
Paul had to be struck
with wonder as he entered the
00:03:38.45\00:03:41.63
classical city that was
an open air museum at its
00:03:41.67\00:03:44.78
height, over 250,000 people
lived around in Acropolis.
00:03:44.82\00:03:49.76
When Paul entered the
city, there were barely
00:03:49.80\00:03:53.16
10,000 people living here.
00:03:53.20\00:03:55.40
Although it was not as great
as during the classical age,
00:03:55.44\00:03:59.73
it was still an intellectual
center of the Western world.
00:03:59.76\00:04:04.02
People still came from
far and near to learn in this
00:04:04.06\00:04:08.19
city, to explore ideas, to
share philosophies, and to sit
00:04:08.22\00:04:12.48
at the feet of the
world's greatest teachers.
00:04:12.51\00:04:15.22
As an old proverb said,
Athens is to the world as spring
00:04:15.26\00:04:21.58
is to the earth, and
stars to the heavens.
00:04:21.62\00:04:25.17
Athens had a great history
of democracy, art, painting,
00:04:25.21\00:04:30.56
and sculpture, and
was the philosophical
00:04:30.60\00:04:33.51
center of the world.
00:04:33.55\00:04:35.10
It was an open air
museum as it still is today.
00:04:35.14\00:04:38.94
This was a university
town of the Roman world.
00:04:38.98\00:04:42.71
This is where Rome sent
its finest and brightest minds
00:04:42.74\00:04:46.94
to finish their education.
00:04:46.98\00:04:49.07
When the escort, who had
accompanied Paul from Berea,
00:04:49.10\00:04:52.35
accomplish their task,
they returned up the coast to
00:04:52.39\00:04:56.73
Berea with instructions
for Silas and Timothy to join
00:04:56.76\00:05:01.07
Paul as soon as possible.
00:05:01.10\00:05:03.46
Apparently Paul was waiting
for his colleagues before
00:05:03.50\00:05:07.27
going down to the great
metropolitan city of Corinth.
00:05:07.31\00:05:10.99
That was the capital of
the Roman province of Aecia.
00:05:11.02\00:05:14.90
Paul wanted to go to
Corinth, that great port city,
00:05:14.93\00:05:18.77
to plant a church,
establish the gospel there.
00:05:18.81\00:05:22.53
So he waited here
in this city alone.
00:05:22.57\00:05:26.74
While he waited for them
he wandered through the city.
00:05:28.67\00:05:31.71
He would've seen the octagonal
wind tower with its relief
00:05:31.74\00:05:34.74
sculptures of the
eight gods of the winds.
00:05:34.78\00:05:37.64
The huge theater of
Dionysus had seating for 17,000
00:05:37.67\00:05:41.89
spectators and 64 rows of seats.
00:05:41.93\00:05:45.39
The Odeon of Herod
would not be built for another
00:05:45.42\00:05:47.74
century, but the huge temple
to Olympic Zeus would have
00:05:47.77\00:05:51.70
been a spectacular sight.
00:05:51.74\00:05:53.91
Yes this was a fantastic
city with a splendid past.
00:05:53.94\00:05:57.89
It is such a wonder to walk
around these monuments today
00:05:57.92\00:06:01.91
and to realize that
democracy was initiated here.
00:06:01.95\00:06:05.83
Doubtless Paul would
have come up the pantheonic
00:06:08.73\00:06:10.65
way to visit the Acropolis.
00:06:10.68\00:06:13.72
He would have come up to
see the Parthenon designed
00:06:13.75\00:06:17.78
by Pericles and
constructed in the
00:06:17.82\00:06:20.13
middle of the fifth century.
00:06:20.17\00:06:22.03
This fabulous Temple was
built as a place for Athena
00:06:22.06\00:06:27.61
Parthenon's, or
Athena the maiden.
00:06:27.65\00:06:30.19
The idea was created
by Pericles in the middle
00:06:30.23\00:06:33.39
of the fifth century.
00:06:33.42\00:06:34.55
It was constructed
between 448 and 437 BC.
00:06:34.59\00:06:39.68
And it housed a fantastic
statue sculpted by Phidias
00:06:39.72\00:06:44.78
himself and was
covered with gold and ivory.
00:06:44.81\00:06:48.12
It stood 40 feet
tall and it dominated the
00:06:48.15\00:06:51.43
entire site of the Acropolis.
00:06:51.46\00:06:53.70
Yes this was Athena
Parthenon's, Athena the maiden,
00:06:53.74\00:06:57.60
patron goddess of
the city of Athens.
00:06:57.63\00:07:00.44
Pericles had design that
this would sit Athens apart from
00:07:00.48\00:07:04.64
all the other Greek cities
states, and indeed it did.
00:07:04.68\00:07:08.81
As you would sail
into the harbor of Piraeus,
00:07:08.85\00:07:11.42
you would see the
Acropolis in the distance.
00:07:11.45\00:07:13.96
There on the top you
would see the Parthenon standing
00:07:13.99\00:07:18.41
tall, and standing right.
00:07:18.44\00:07:20.91
But to Paul this was not the
fruit of man's soaring genius,
00:07:20.95\00:07:25.81
but these were
shrines to false gods.
00:07:25.84\00:07:29.57
To Paul's mind, this
would have been the embodiment
00:07:29.61\00:07:33.63
of evil, this would be a
center of false teachings.
00:07:33.67\00:07:37.66
We see his reaction.
00:07:37.69\00:07:39.64
While Paul was waiting for
Timothy and Silas, his heart
00:07:57.37\00:08:00.66
was stirred, he saw
a city full of idols.
00:08:00.69\00:08:04.76
From the great statue of
Athena in the Parthenon, to the
00:08:04.80\00:08:08.28
modern statues
throughout the city, Paul was
00:08:08.32\00:08:11.70
distressed by what he saw.
00:08:11.74\00:08:14.03
It was once said that it
is easier to find and idol in
00:08:15.41\00:08:18.43
this city, then to find a man.
00:08:18.47\00:08:20.51
Apparently there was a
small Jewish synagogue and Paul
00:08:20.55\00:08:25.16
went into the synagogue
and reasoned with the Jews and
00:08:25.19\00:08:29.46
the God-fearing Greeks
seeking to share with them that
00:08:29.50\00:08:33.73
Jesus was the Christ,
or Jesus was the Messiah.
00:08:33.76\00:08:38.02
In addition he went into
the marketplace, the Greek Agora
00:08:38.06\00:08:41.64
was the commercial and
civic center of the city.
00:08:41.67\00:08:44.53
The Romans extended the Agora
by adding their Latin forum.
00:08:44.56\00:08:49.44
This was not only the
place for selling or fruits and
00:08:49.48\00:08:52.86
vegetables and sewing of
sandals, this was primarily the
00:08:52.89\00:08:56.24
place for the decisions
of commerce to be made.
00:08:56.28\00:08:59.30
This was the place for
the records of the city to be
00:08:59.33\00:09:01.85
housed, it was also
the great gathering place.
00:09:01.89\00:09:05.24
Because of the moderate
climate, Athenians spent much
00:09:05.27\00:09:08.93
of their time outdoors.
00:09:08.97\00:09:10.75
They intended to
spend it in the Agora.
00:09:10.79\00:09:14.05
Today it is a giant museum,
a wonderful place to walk
00:09:14.09\00:09:19.07
and ponder and
think about the past.
00:09:19.11\00:09:22.07
But when Paul came, this
was the place where people
00:09:22.11\00:09:25.14
gathered to
discuss the latest ideas.
00:09:25.17\00:09:27.83
This was a place where
they came to discuss politics
00:09:27.86\00:09:31.29
and share those ideas.
00:09:31.33\00:09:34.19
This attitude was reflected
by one of their great orators
00:09:34.23\00:09:38.28
Demosthenes when he said,
you go about the marketplace
00:09:38.32\00:09:42.33
asking, is there any news?
00:09:42.37\00:09:44.65
It seems that the pure
atmosphere, the open air life,
00:09:44.69\00:09:49.01
the liberal institutions
of this great city provided a
00:09:49.05\00:09:53.34
context for
liveliness of thought, for a
00:09:53.37\00:09:56.24
free exchange of ideas.
00:09:56.27\00:09:58.44
Yes Paul found people here
in this marketplace who were
00:09:58.47\00:10:02.32
open to listening to new ideas.
00:10:02.35\00:10:04.75
He shares with them the
news about Jesus and His
00:10:04.79\00:10:08.47
resurrection from the dead.
00:10:08.50\00:10:10.48
Luke describes it in Acts 17:17.
00:10:10.51\00:10:14.92
Paul came to the marketplace,
or the Agora, and mingled
00:10:46.60\00:10:49.74
with those who were there
to discuss the latest ideas.
00:10:49.77\00:10:52.88
Here are the tremendous
buildings, including the
00:10:52.91\00:10:56.20
Stoa of Attalos,
the King of Pergamum.
00:10:56.24\00:10:59.46
The Phocion, the Odeon, the
Temple of the Heroes, it was
00:10:59.49\00:11:04.69
a fantastic place filled
with legislators, philosophers,
00:11:04.72\00:11:09.89
artist, and merchants.
00:11:09.92\00:11:12.73
When Paul got the opportunity,
he began to share with the
00:11:12.76\00:11:16.98
philosophers here in the Agora.
00:11:17.01\00:11:19.23
He shared with the Epicurean
and Stoic philosophers.
00:11:19.27\00:11:22.75
It is very interesting
that these were two of the major
00:11:22.78\00:11:26.23
dominant
philosophical schools in the
00:11:26.26\00:11:29.90
city of Athens at this time.
00:11:29.93\00:11:32.13
One group believed that
while there was a God, he had
00:11:32.16\00:11:35.63
little interest in the
affairs of human beings.
00:11:35.67\00:11:38.94
He did not intervene
or take an active role.
00:11:38.98\00:11:42.18
In the other group
believed that there was a God,
00:11:42.22\00:11:45.83
and that God was
the soul of all men.
00:11:45.86\00:11:48.99
They believe that everything
happened, happened by the
00:11:49.02\00:11:52.61
will of God, and so
these two philosophical schools
00:11:52.64\00:11:56.19
of thought, covered
the entire spectrum.
00:11:56.23\00:11:59.17
From a God not being
involved, or intervening,
00:11:59.20\00:12:02.08
or participating in the
affairs of human beings,
00:12:02.12\00:12:04.95
to the other side of the
spectrum where everything
00:12:04.98\00:12:07.78
that happened,
happened by the will of God.
00:12:07.81\00:12:10.68
Paul entered into the
lively discussion, into a debate
00:12:10.72\00:12:14.83
with the Epicureans
and the Stoic philosophers.
00:12:14.87\00:12:18.52
The Epicurean school of thought
was founded by a Epicurus,
00:12:18.55\00:12:22.63
who taught that
pleasure was the chief end
00:12:22.66\00:12:25.68
of life, he talked that the
most important thing in life
00:12:25.72\00:12:29.71
was to be free of
pain, and to pursue pleasure.
00:12:29.74\00:12:33.38
They were not to worry
about the future, they were
00:12:33.41\00:12:37.01
not to worry about death.
00:12:37.04\00:12:38.74
Horace, one of his
disciples summarized their
00:12:38.77\00:12:42.36
teachings in this way.
00:12:42.40\00:12:44.34
Live for today, seize
the moment, this is the time,
00:13:02.33\00:13:06.24
their philosophy
sounds strangely familiar to
00:13:06.27\00:13:10.27
our ears, doesn't it?
00:13:10.30\00:13:11.87
Yes, it's your thing, do
what you want to do, pursue
00:13:11.91\00:13:16.12
pleasure, pursue
happiness above all things.
00:13:16.15\00:13:19.72
This was the
teaching of the Epicureans.
00:13:19.76\00:13:23.25
But there was another
teacher in the city that had
00:13:23.29\00:13:26.26
tremendous influence, Zeno
was too poor to rent a public
00:13:26.29\00:13:31.08
Hall so he taught his
pupils while he strolled through
00:13:31.12\00:13:35.87
the Stolla, or the
columns in the public
00:13:35.91\00:13:38.79
buildings of the Agora.
00:13:38.82\00:13:41.08
Zeno taught that God
was a great soul of all men.
00:13:41.11\00:13:45.85
That meant that God
was in everyone, therefore
00:13:45.88\00:13:50.58
all men were brothers.
00:13:50.62\00:13:52.91
The Stoics tended to
live a high moral life.
00:13:52.95\00:13:57.69
They tended to be
good upright people.
00:13:57.73\00:14:01.11
They listened with Epicureans
to what Paul was saying.
00:14:01.14\00:14:05.67
They responded by saying,
what is this babbler saying
00:14:05.71\00:14:10.20
advocating foreign gods?
00:14:10.23\00:14:13.14
This were babbler
is very interesting.
00:14:13.18\00:14:15.48
It means seed picker,
and it referred to those who
00:14:15.52\00:14:19.45
will go through the marketplace
looking for undigested
00:14:19.49\00:14:23.31
seeds, and in this context
it meant looking for those
00:14:23.34\00:14:27.22
who were looking for
undigested parcels of knowledge
00:14:27.25\00:14:31.09
in the marketplace.
00:14:31.12\00:14:33.35
This could be a serious
charge, advocating strange gods.
00:14:33.39\00:14:38.82
For it was in the same
marketplace, the same Agora that
00:14:38.86\00:14:43.95
Socrates was condemned
for teaching strange gods and
00:14:43.99\00:14:49.05
corrupting the youth.
00:14:49.08\00:14:51.22
He was condemned to drink a
cup of poison hemlock, which he
00:14:51.25\00:14:55.49
willingly drank and his
life was ended and he was buried
00:14:55.52\00:14:59.72
here in this
great city of Athens.
00:14:59.75\00:15:03.12
Times have changed, for
philosophers seemed interested
00:15:03.15\00:15:06.67
in what Paul was teaching,
so they asked him to continue
00:15:06.71\00:15:10.19
on, they listened inquisitively.
00:15:10.22\00:15:13.23
Paul then told them about
Jesus and the resurrection.
00:15:13.27\00:15:18.26
This surprised his audience.
00:15:18.29\00:15:21.35
You see Socrates and Plato
taught that we have an immortal
00:15:21.39\00:15:27.22
soul and that at
death our soul was released
00:15:27.26\00:15:30.50
from the prison house
of the body to go on to
00:15:30.54\00:15:33.75
a higher, purer existence.
00:15:33.79\00:15:36.45
So when Paul talked about
the resurrection, he lost his
00:15:36.48\00:15:39.96
audience, they didn't
understand the resurrection,
00:15:40.00\00:15:44.22
it wasn't in their vocabulary.
00:15:44.25\00:15:46.39
It's very interesting because
they said he's advocating
00:15:46.43\00:15:49.63
strange gods, yes God's, plural.
00:15:49.66\00:15:53.54
I thought Paul was a monotheist?
00:15:53.58\00:15:57.39
Of course he's a monotheist,
he was only advocating
00:15:57.42\00:16:01.18
Jesus and His
resurrection from the dead.
00:16:01.22\00:16:04.45
But to the Greek ear, the
word Anastasias sounded like a
00:16:04.48\00:16:09.45
second God,
perhaps a female god.
00:16:09.49\00:16:12.69
They thought that was Jesus
and a cohort, that is Jesus
00:16:12.72\00:16:16.99
and another god
named Anastasias.
00:16:17.03\00:16:20.07
The people were very
tolerant of new ideas.
00:16:20.10\00:16:24.50
Times had changed since
the times of Socrates, but this
00:16:24.54\00:16:29.32
attitude of tolerance and
open-mindedness also meant that
00:16:29.35\00:16:34.10
they were willing to
listen to new ideas, but not
00:16:34.14\00:16:38.26
necessarily accept them.
00:16:38.30\00:16:40.25
They brought Paul before
the Areopagus, or the assembly
00:17:05.05\00:17:08.66
of the people, typically
this Council was made up of no
00:17:08.69\00:17:12.27
more than 30 men.
00:17:12.30\00:17:14.24
And for normal business
they would meet on the Hill of
00:17:14.27\00:17:17.18
the Appenix, but there
was a question of passing
00:17:17.22\00:17:20.96
judgment upon a criminal,
they prefer to meet here on
00:17:21.00\00:17:24.71
this rocky outcropping.
00:17:24.75\00:17:27.23
This piece of rock below
the Acropolis, and above the
00:17:27.26\00:17:31.89
Agora, it was known in Paul's
day as the Areopagus, also
00:17:31.93\00:17:36.52
known as Mars Hill today.
00:17:36.56\00:17:39.31
This was the place where
the supreme Council would pass
00:17:39.34\00:17:43.48
judgment, the word Areopagus
come down as the word for
00:17:43.52\00:17:47.62
the modern Supreme
Court of the nation of Greece.
00:17:47.65\00:17:51.64
Yes Paul was brought
before this agust assembly and
00:17:51.68\00:17:55.63
there he
witnessed for his faith.
00:17:55.66\00:17:58.76
He shared his ideas of
Jesus and His resurrection from
00:17:58.79\00:18:03.07
the dead, Paul was
alone here in the city.
00:18:03.10\00:18:06.23
Yet he came before the greatest
intellectual thinkers of
00:18:06.26\00:18:10.32
the day and shared
his faith in Jesus and the
00:18:10.36\00:18:14.03
resurrection of the dead.
00:18:14.07\00:18:16.04
We see Paul's teachings
have been inscribed in this
00:18:16.08\00:18:20.56
bronze plaque at the base
the Areopagus, or Mars Hill.
00:18:20.59\00:18:25.03
It is said that there were
more statues of gods in Athens
00:18:47.50\00:18:50.96
then all the rest
of Greece put together.
00:18:50.99\00:18:53.91
It was said it was easier
to find a statue of a God in
00:18:53.95\00:18:58.32
Athens that was to find a man.
00:18:58.36\00:19:01.05
One ancient witness
said there were over 3000
00:19:01.09\00:19:04.31
statues in the city.
00:19:04.35\00:19:05.72
Paul said as I walked through
the city, it has been very
00:19:05.76\00:19:09.56
evident that you are very
religious people, I have seen
00:19:09.59\00:19:13.23
subscriptions to all kinds
of gods throughout the city.
00:19:13.26\00:19:16.87
I even saw and
inscription and an altar
00:19:16.90\00:19:21.01
to the unknown God.
00:19:21.05\00:19:23.38
Now this may indeed sounds
strange to our ears, why would
00:19:23.41\00:19:27.06
you have an altar
to an unknown God?
00:19:27.10\00:19:30.28
Well the story goes that a
plague went out through the
00:19:30.31\00:19:33.73
city of Athens, that they
sacrificed goats and sheep to
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the various gods of the
city, but the plague continued.
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Finally someone said,
it must be a God we are not
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aware of, so they
sacrificed to the unknown God
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and the plague stopped.
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Paul comes in and he says
to the people on that great
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assembly of Areopagus that
this unknown God you worship
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is a God that I have
come to proclaim in the city.
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Acts 17:24.
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Paul says that this unknown
God is the Creator of the world.
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He says that this
Creator God does not dwell in
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a temple made with hands.
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The Athenians prided
themselves on Athena Parthenos,
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Athena the Virgin and that
great building constructed by
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Pericles and Paul said the
great God, the Creator of the
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world does not dwell in
buildings made with human hands.
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Even Yahweh, the God of
the Jews is not limited to
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dwelling in the
Temple in Jerusalem.
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He dwells in the highest heaven.
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Yes Paul said this unknown
God that you worship is the
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Creator of the world
and I have come here to
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proclaim Him unto you.
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Paul draws on their own
sources and he quotes one
00:21:45.18\00:21:50.03
of their poets, a
Cilician poet, Aratus who said,
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"we are His offspring. "
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Paul takes this line and
develops the concept of a single
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indivisible deity who is
the Creator of the world.
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Since we are God's offspring,
we should not think about
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this God as a God who
could be carved from marble and
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covered with gold
and silver and ivory.
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No, this God is the
Creator of the world.
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Paul says, this God has over
looked our times of ignorance
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in times past, that He
has winked at our times of
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ignorance, but now He
commands all people everywhere
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to repent because there
is a time coming when He will
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judge the world through
the man Jesus Christ whom
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He had raised from the dead.
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They listened carefully to
what Paul said, but when he
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began to talk about
repentance and a time of
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judgment, they did not
quite follow what he meant.
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You see they didn't really
have a word for repentance.
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They believe that if you
offended God that you changed
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your behavior, what
did it mean to repent?
00:23:39.76\00:23:43.78
When Paul began to use
the resurrection of Jesus as a
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proof that's He will be the
One to judge the world, they
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became even more confused.
00:23:53.53\00:23:55.52
Yes Socrates and Plato taught
that when you die your soul
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is released from the
prison house of the body.
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To go on to a
higher and purer state.
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What did this mean, a
resurrection from the dead?
00:24:07.59\00:24:11.28
Paul said that this was
the proof that Jesus will
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come to judge the world.
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Some sneered at Paul's
teaching about the resurrection.
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This obviously
would've been Epicureans whose
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founder Epicurus had said.
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Because of this, his
disciples did not need to hear
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anymore of Paul's teachings,
but the Stoics were not as
00:24:55.94\00:24:59.87
offended as Epicureans
by what Paul had taught.
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They said we would like to
hear you again on this matter.
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It almost seems as if
Paul was trying to reach
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out to the Stoics.
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What a tremendous response
to Paul's teaching before the
00:25:31.29\00:25:35.13
Areopagus, while there
were not tremendous crowds
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stepping forward to believe
in Jesus, it is amazing to me
00:25:39.85\00:25:43.66
that the Gospel penetrated
the highest Council of Athens.
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Dionysius became a believer
in Jesus, local tradition
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says that he became the
Bishop of the Church here in
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Athens and that he built
his first Church here at the
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foot of the Areopagus.
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Indeed you can see the
foundation of the church that is
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clearly laid out and
clearly marked by these stones
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below the current Mars Hill.
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Today he is the patron
saint of Athens and Luke also
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mentions Damaris a woman
who was also converted when
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Paul witnessed before the
supreme Council, or the supreme
00:26:25.73\00:26:30.09
Court here in Athens.
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We do not know who she was
exactly, he doesn't use the
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word prominent woman like
he used to describe the women
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in Berea and Thessalonica,
but she must have been very
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special to have been at
attendance at the special
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meeting of the Areopagus.
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Paul would leave
the city without seeing
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the church established.
00:26:53.54\00:26:55.41
He saw several believers
who came to have faith in Jesus,
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but he would leave that and
establish one of the churches
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to Dionysius, Damaris
and the other believers.
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Paul would leave and journey
down to the great city of
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Corinth, that twin Harbored
city that at this time was
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25 times more populated
than the city of Athens.
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That is where we are
going in the next chapter of
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this series, but now
I invite you to join me
00:27:23.40\00:27:27.06
as we pray together.
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Eternal God we thank you
so much for the story of the
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apostle Paul who came here
to the great city of Athens.
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How he witnessed in the
marketplace, how he shared about
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Jesus with the greatest teachers
and thinkers of his age.
00:27:40.99\00:27:45.14
Lord I thank you how this
message penetrated the highest
00:27:45.17\00:27:49.30
Council of the day and how
Dionysius responded and how
00:27:49.34\00:27:53.31
Damaris responded and how
they became the nucleus of the
00:27:53.35\00:27:57.28
church here in this city.
00:27:57.32\00:27:59.57
I thank you for your
power to reach all levels of
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society, even today, but
most of all Lord Jesus, I thank
00:28:02.38\00:28:06.28
you for Your power where it
has reached someone like me.
00:28:06.31\00:28:10.18
I thank you for Your power
reach each of us individually
00:28:10.21\00:28:14.00
and we rejoice in that this
day from the city of Athens,
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we pray in Jesus name Amen!
00:28:17.82\00:28:20.76
Yes what a privilege it
has been to be here in the city
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of Athens where Paul came
to preach before the greatest
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Council of the land.
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In our next chapter we are
journeying down to the city
00:28:28.60\00:28:31.72
of Corinth, join us for
that special teaching from the
00:28:31.75\00:28:34.84
twin Harbored city of Corinth.
00:28:34.88\00:28:38.17