Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-09-01

encampeth round about them that
fear Him, and delivereth them"
: Psa 34:7.
We learned last week that the con-
version of the demoniac slave girl
was the occasion for the arrest
of Paul and Silas, and for the sub
sequent conversion of the jailer and
his family. Why Timothy and Luke
were not arrested also is not known,
except that they were probably not
with Paul and Silas at the time the
slave girl was delivered. Philippi,
we have seen, was probably Luke's
home, so that may have had some
influence in keeping him free. The
accuracy Of Luke as an historian is
seen here, as many places elsewhere,
for he uses the terms ''praeters' and
"lictors" here for the officials, which
were the terms used at Phil1ppl and
not in any other Macedonian city at
that time.
Paul and Silas seem to have sub
Elections without remonstrance; but
next morning, when the praetors
sent to set them free, they were in
another mood. The earthquake the
night before, probably the news of
what had happened at the Jail, and
thought certainly gave them, made
them realize that they had been
bit hasty in their treatment of these
two preachers. So they sent word
to the jailer to bring that message
to his benefactors.?- And can you
fused to go? And can you imagine
the horror which took hold upon the
praetors and the lictors when they
learned that they had beaten Roman
citizens without even the pretense OF
a trial? For they knew that such
a+ ho emf meant
not only their jobs but their heads
as well, if it ever became known at
headquarters.
Now, it was not on his own &C
count that Paul insisted on being
brought out by the praetors person.
ally. for if SO he would have claimed
Roman citizenship privileges before
he was beaten. But it was to pro-
tect the other brethren at Ph1l1ppl,
and to be sure that they would be
given fair treatment In case OIL per-
secution after he left: so
The cringing attitude of the prae--
tors as they came into the prison ana
begged Paul and Silas to leave town
was vastly different from what II
had been less than twenty-four hours
before. 1t is wonderful, " Wh9 II q
brief time. But it was not greater
than the difference that characterlzeetd1
the iailer's conduct; only 1T was laltn
instead of fear that had wrought
the transformation here. e.,
Leaving prison, Paul ,o ana 0a and
STAYED in Philippi long, enough to see
the brethren, of whom there hao
come to be a considerable numper
now and comforted them; and then
departed.
The Eenatian road ran through
Amn ne and Appollonia on to
Thessalonica. 1t seems to have been
Pa111's policy to preach in the. stra,
tegic points. Not that ne conslue!Leu
the smaller cities and towns unln,
portant, but that he expecteo .I ~
10 be reached by believers, from the
larger centers. He himself was pet
ter fitted for city work, having oeen
city-born and bred; and so ne ala hoe
ston at these two points except ~
spend the night, but pushed on 10 eilt
inonortant city of Macedonia, com
mercially. 1t was an Important porl.
# also was on the Egnat1an way
west and north and south, it's franc
spread by land, and eastward by sea,
PauPs wisdom in coming on mere was Mas
shown later. for IN Wrt ~ e. ~ +hat
church later he spoke of the fact tha1
from them the gospel had so 9nateo
ont. not only in all Of Macedonia
but throughout Achia as we'll. It'd
He and his companions REL remai1 We
at Thesssalonicao some eii in which
they preached in the, synagogues'
hit their stay was much longer tnan
This. long enough for che PhlilpPidn9
to make several trips over the nunr
bred miles between in order 10 prIn5
him supplies. For PAU n mac i Inst
at that time there was a hnancla ca
manic and prices went sky h1gn.
Wheat sold for six times it's regular
prices. and had it not been for the
generosity of the Philippians PAU
and his friends would p$Se Deen l."
Ther~ were two truths which he
preached at hessalonica--the nrst
and second oomings of Jesus the
Christ. Here in Acts IL we nave IN! tne
SYNOPSIS of his sermons there-he
reasoned with them out OF the sc[ ~
Messiah must needs have suffered
and risen from the dead. and that
this Jesus is the Christie 1t was
horrifying to a Jew to think of the
Messiah, for whom they had long
looked to suffer and ole. Yet faul
showed them from their own Scrip
lures that just this was what the
prophets had foretold concerning, the
Messiah. He undoubtedly READ to
them Isa. SO, showing the need for
the Messiah to nave SuIIGTeu dS q
sacrifice in expatiation of the sins
of His people, but who should after
ward see of the travail of His soul
and be satisfied-how else than by
His resurrection from the dead? And
then He proceeded to show that IN
the life, death and resurrection OF
Jesus of Nazareth all the prophecies
Of the Old Testament concerning the
Messiah were fulfilled. Some OF the
Jews believed, but the larger num-
Der came from among the Gentiles.
The other truth which Paul
preached at Thessalonica was the
second coming of Jesus the Christ,
as the King Of Israel. .(Acts 17:7)
So much emphasis was placed on TINS
that the Jews used it as whip with
which<'to drive him out of town, of
course, preventing his meaning. In
his first letter to them he closes ev-
cry chapter with some reference to
it, showing what large place it had
in his teaching; and his second let
ter was written with the avowed
purpose of correcting some impress
sions they had gotten about it which
he had not intended. 9
Certainly it was due in large meas
ure to this faithful presentation of
Jesus as the suffering servant of
jehovah, the Lamb of God; the
Prophet like unto Moses; the present
High Priest, and the Coming King
all based on careful exposition of the