Thursday, December 6, 2012

The conclusion of Acts (Acts 28)


Malta
Paul spends three months in Malta.  

On arrival, a venomous snake bites his hand but he has no ill effects.  Two things come to my mind about this.

First, the snake appears to be indigenous as the locals expect Paul to die.  However, there are no known poisonous snakes indigenous to Malta today.  That said, people kill highly venomous snakes so it is possible that the snake species was eradicated in the last 2,000 years.

Second, Jesus mentioned this while discussing the miraculous aspects of the Great Commission.  Followers of Jesus will be bitten by snakes, but not hurt.  Here is the only example in the entire Bible of something similar happening.  In this example, Paul did not seek this snake out, but rather it just bit him because he thought it was a log.  Paul's response is to kill the snake as he throws it back into the fire.

This example is important because some people use snake handling to demonstrate that God is with them.  Since the only example of it is this occurrence with Paul, we should not intentionally seek out poisonous snakes to handle.

The effect of this incident shows what Christ was talking about.  The people on Malta bring to Paul all their sick people for healing and Paul plants the Gospel on Malta.


Rome
Eventually, Paul makes it to Rome where he lives under house arrest.  The local Jewish leaders have not heard of Paul, but are eager to hear to his story.  He convinces some to follow Jesus and others do not.

The final verses of the book state that Paul preached in Rome for two years.  The story then ends abruptly, implying that Paul was eventually killed in Rome.  The circumstances of which are not detailed herein.  

Non-canonical sources and historical tradition suggest that he was beheaded during the reign of Nero around 67 AD.

Also, Acts 22:3 states that Paul (as Saul) was a disciple under Gemalial.

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