Thematic Bible: Persecuted


Thematic Bible



There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them,

But at that time, King Rezin of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, completely removing the Judeans from Elath. Then the Arameans returned to Elath and have remained there to this day.

Letters were sent by couriers to all of the king's provinces to annihilate, to kill, and to destroy all the Jewish people, both young and old, women and children, and to confiscate their goods on a single day the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar.

They say to themselves, "We'll crush them completely;" They burned down all the meeting places of God in the land.

They say, "Let us go and erase them as a nation so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore."

Just then, certain influential Chaldeans took this opportunity to come forward and denounce the Jews.

They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They are Jews


Our pursuers breathe down our necks; we are weary, but there is no rest for us.

Judah has gone into exile to escape affliction and servitude. She that sat among the nations, has found no rest. All her pursuers overtook her amid narrow passes.


While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jewish leaders gathered together, attacked Paul, and brought him before the judge's seat. They said, "This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the Law." Paul was about to speak when Gallio admonished the Jewish leaders, "If there were some misdemeanor or crime involved, it would be reasonable to put up with you Jews. read more.
But since it is a question about words, names, and your own Law, you will have to take care of that yourselves. I refuse to be a judge in these matters." So he drove them away from the judge's seat. Then all of them took Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and began beating him in front of the judge's seat. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this. After staying there for quite a while longer, Paul said goodbye to the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut in Cenchrea, since he was under a vow.


When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities who met together in the public square. They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They are Jews and are advocating customs that we're not allowed to accept or practice as Romans." read more.
The crowd joined in the attack against them. Then the magistrates had Paul and Silas stripped of their clothes and ordered them beaten with rods. After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailer to keep them under tight security. Having received these orders, he put them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in leg irons. Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken. All the doors immediately flew open, and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Don't hurt yourself, because we are all here!" The jailer asked for torches and rushed inside. Trembling as he knelt in front of Paul and Silas, he took them outside and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and everyone in his home. At that hour of the night, he took them and washed their wounds. Then he and his entire family were baptized immediately. He brought Paul and Silas upstairs into his house and set food before them. He was thrilled, as was his household, to believe in God.


In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. They stayed there a considerable time and continued to speak boldly for the Lord, who kept affirming his word of grace and granting signs and wonders to be done by them. read more.
But the people of the city were divided. Some were with the Jews, while others were with the apostles. Now when an attempt was made by both gentiles and Jews, along with their authorities, to mistreat and stone them, Paul and Barnabas found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding territory.


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