Studies

Acts 29 - Paul’s Latter Ministries and Journeys

Acts 29

This study looks at Paul’s latter ministries and journey(s) which would have occurred after the close of Acts and the writing of the last seven books Paul wrote before he was executed by Niro. The goal of this study is to find evidence of Paul's fourth and perhaps a fifth missionary journey and when The Mystery was revealed to him during his journeys. Why this study? We need answers to some important questions: When did the church which is his body begin? This is essentially the same as asking – when was the mystery of Eph 3:9 revealed? How many ministries can we find that are different and concurrent during Acts and after Acts? This will involve John’s gospel and letters – what was the “highways” ministry – when was it to begin? Any other ministries? How does Paul relate to these?What were Paul’s movements Acts 29? This study will endeavor to answer these questions.

Lessons

Paul and Timothy

Paul and Timothy

The lesson on March 11, 2018 was a message given studying Paul and Timothy. Wayne has yet to settle on the next study so in the meantime, we are looking at the Apostle Paul when he was first accused of the Jewish leadership in Acts 24 and how they hired a professional speaker to accuse Paul of being "a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:" We are looking at the whereabouts of Paul from Acts 24 to Ephesians 1 in the transition of Acts 28 until the revelation of the Mystery in Ephesians 3. We learned that Paul stood alone to defend himself and successfully apealed to Ceasar. We looked at the first defense in how that suggests a second defense but eventually Paul loses when we read in 2 Timothy 4:7 that he had faught a good fight and the time of his departure was at hand. How free was Paul to travel and preach during this time? In Acts 28:31 we learn that "Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him". The scripture reading was from Acts 24:1-6 KJV

Paul and Timothy

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Philemon

Philemon

The lesson on March 18, 2018 was a look into the letter of Philemon. This lesson looked at the Apostle PAul's movements after the close of Acts to determine his missionary journey to the Gentiles after his first defense with Ceaser. PAul often in his epistles gives a lengthy saluatation and Wayne is finding these are gold when trying to pin down his movements. We learn that Philemon was a Christian slave master and his slave Onesimus had escaped and found his way to Paul in Rome, where he was being of great to PAul and became saved himself. PAul sent Onesimus back to Philemon so he would welcome back a brother in Christ vs. a slave and get his blessing on allowing Onesimus to continue his assistance to PAul. This was a great example of forgivenes and being Christ like. The scripture reading was in Colossians 4:1-9 KJV

Philemon

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Acts 29 - Part 1

Acts 29 - Part 1

The lesson on March 25, 2018 was part 1 of a new study called "Acts 29 - Paul’s latter ministries and journey(s)". This study followed the Mid-Acts or Acts 28 study where it left us wanting to put a magnifying glass on the Acts 28 timeline because we learned that in Acts 28:30-31 that Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, 31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. When did the revelation of The Mystery occur? This first lesson sets the parameters of this study. Wayne explains how a spiritual model should be based on truth and he shared his Acts 28 model to be tested with this study. We also started answering the questions offered up that focused more on PAul's state of freedom or being a prisoner and who was with him and where. The scripture reading was from Acts 16:9-13 KJV

Acts 29 - Part 01

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Acts 29 - Part 2

Acts 29 - Part 2

The lesson on April 8, 2018 was part 2 of the "Acts 29" study. This week Wayne recaped the idea of studying Paul's movements after the close of Acts and in doing so following a model which may need to be updated if we find additional information to update our prior position. Wayne displayed his previous model focusing on Acts 28:28 and the revelation of The Mystery. In association with this belief was the term "the body of Christ" referred to us after Acts 28 and the mention of that in Corinthians was okay because they just got grafted in after Acts 28. Wayne declared that this prior belief is wrong and his new position is the revelation of The Mystery occurred some time after Acts 28 and this study is to pin down the movements of Paul to ascertain how calling revealed in Ephesians 3 impacted to previous callings that had now transitioned after Acts. Wayne starts to introduce us to the gap between Acts 28 and Ephesians 2. The scripture reading was from Isaiah 6:9-13 KJV

Acts 29 - Part 02

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Acts 29 - Part 3

Acts 29 - Part 3

The lesson on April 15, 2018 was part 3 of the"Acts 29" study. This week Wayne did a short review of last weeks lesson but eventually focused our attention on the codex, especially Papyrus 46. He is reading the notes around the writing and it is the oldest manuscript that confirms Paul's writings. Parts of the texts show Nomina sacra, which are special abbreviations which appear in New Testament texts. Unlike most abbreviations, which are meant to save time, nomina sacra are used to set certain, holy words apart from the rest of the text. This is clear from the fact that these words are abbreviated in their sacral usages but not in profane usages (e.g. ὑΐοϲ, 'son' is contracted to υϲ when it refers to Jesus, the Son of God, but the same word is not contracted in other usages). It is amazing in todays educational circles, we have access to these critical documents electronically. The evolution of how they have been preserved gives us quite the perspective. By using these notes, Wayne is trying to piece together the movement of Paul from Acts 28:29-31 and the Ephesians letter. We took time to look at events in Acts that give really good clues as to what may have happened at the end of those two years mentioned in Acts 28:31. By looking at these things closely, Paul was not given the revelation of The Mystery until after those two years. He was preaching the Kingdom of God and was a prisoner for Israel. The scripture reading was from Acts 28:29-31 KJV

Acts 29 - Part 03

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