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Texts -- Acts 9:1-14 (NET)
Pericope
NET
- Act 9:1-22 -- The Conversion of Saul
Bible Dictionary
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Damascus
[ebd] activity, the most ancient of Oriental cities; the capital of Syria (Isa. 7:8; 17:3); situated about 133 miles to the north of Jerusalem. Its modern name is Esh-Sham; i.e., "the East." The situation of this city is said to b...
[isbe] DAMASCUS - da-mas'-kus: 1. The Name 2. Situation and Natural Features 3. The City Itself 4. Its History (1) The Early Period (to circa 950 BC) (2) The Aramean Kingdom (circa 950-732 BC) (3) The Middle Period (732 BC-650 AD) ...
[smith] one of the most ancient and most important of the cities of Syria. It is situated 130 miles northeast of Jerusalem, in a plain of vast size and of extreme fertility, which lies east of the great chain of Anti-Libanus, on the ...
[nave] DAMASCUS An ancient city, Gen. 14:15; 15:2. Capital of Syria, 1 Kin. 20:34; Isa. 7:8; Jer. 49:23-29; Ezek. 47:16, 17. Laid under tribute to David, 2 Sam. 8:5, 6. Besieged by Rezon, 1 Kin. 11:23, 24. Recovered by Jeroboam...
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Paul
[ebd] =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He w...
[smith] (small, little). Nearly all the original materials for the life St. Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. (It is not improbable that he was bor...
[nave] PAUL Called also Saul, Acts 8:1; 9:1; 13:9. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5. Personal appearance of, 2 Cor. 10:1, 10; 11:6. Born in Tarsus, Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3. Educated at Jerusalem in the school of Ga...
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Persecution
[nave] PERSECUTION See also Intolerance; Bigotry. Of Jesus Gen. 3:15; Psa. 2:1-5; Psa. 22:1, 2, 6-8, 11-21; Psa. 69:7-9, 20, 21, 26 vs. 1-21.; Psa. 109:25; Isa. 49:7; Isa. 50:6; Isa. 52:14; Isa. 53:2-5, 7-10; Mic. 5:1; Matt. 2:13...
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Syria
[nave] SYRIA, highlands lying between the river Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea. Called Aram, from the son of Shem, Gen. 10:22, 23; Num. 23:7; 1 Chr. 1:17; 2:23. In the time of Abraham it seems to have embraced the region betwe...
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 1-7
[isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 1-7 - a-pos'-ls: I. TITLE II. TEXT III. UNITY OF THE BOOK IV. THE AUTHOR V. CANONICITY VI. DATE VII. SOURCES USED BY LUKE VIII. THE SPEECHES IN THE ACTS IX. RELATION OF ACTS TO THE EPISTLES X. CHRONOLOG...
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Heart
[nave] HEART, seat of the affections. Renewed Deut. 30:6; Psa. 51:10; Ezek. 11:19; 18:31; 36:26; Rom. 2:29; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10. Regenerated, John 3:3, 7. Graciously affected of God, 1 Sam. 10:26; 1 Chr. 29:18; Ezra 6:22; 7:27;...
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Conversion
[ebd] the turning of a sinner to God (Acts 15:3). In a general sense the heathen are said to be "converted" when they abandon heathenism and embrace the Christian faith; and in a more special sense men are converted when, by the i...
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 13-OUTLINE
[isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 13-OUTLINE - XIII. Analysis. 1. The connection between the work of the apostles and that of Jesus (Acts 1:1-11). 2. The equipment of the early disciples for their task (Acts 1:12 through 2:47). (a) The ...
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Jesus, The Christ
[nave] JESUS, THE CHRIST. Index of Sub-topics History of; Miscellaneous Facts Concerning; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Ascension of; Atonement by; Attributes of; Compassion of; Confessing; Creator; Death of; Design of His...
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Converts
[nave] CONVERTS "Wayside,'' Matt. 13:4, 19. "Stony ground.'' Matt. 13:5, 20, 21. "Choked,'' Matt. 13:7, 22. "Good ground,'' Matt. 13:8, 23; Luke 8:4-15. See: Backsliders; Proselytes; Revivals. Instances of Ruth, Ruth 1:16. N...
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Regeneration
[nave] REGENERATION (Under this topic are collected those scriptures that relate to the change of affections, commonly denominated "conversion,'' "a new creature,'' "a new birth,'' etc.) Deut. 30:6 Deut. 29:4. 1 Kin. 8:58; Psa. 36:...
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Apostle
[ebd] a person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as designating the body of disc...
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Ananias
[ebd] a common Jewish name, the same as Hananiah. (1.) One of the members of the church at Jerusalem, who conspired with his wife Sapphira to deceive the brethren, and who fell down and immediately expired after he had uttered the...
[smith] (whom Jehovah has graciously given) A high priest in (Acts 23:2-5; 24:1) He was the son of Nebedaeus. He was nominated to the office by Herod king of Chalcis in A.D. 48; was deposed shortly before Felix left the province and...
[nave] ANANIAS 1. High priest, before whom Paul was tried, Acts 23:2-5; 24:1; 25:2. 2. A greedy member of church at Jerusalem. Lies and death of, Acts 5:1-11. 3. A Christian in Damascus, Acts 9:10-18; 22:12-16.
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Conviction
[nave] CONVICTION. Of Sin Gen. 4:13; Deut. 28:65-67; Job 40:4, 5; Psa. 31:10; Psa. 38:1-22; Psa. 51:1-4, 7-17; Isa. 6:5; Lam. 1:20; Ezek. 7:16-18, 25, 26; Ezek. 33:10; Mic. 7:17; Luke 5:8; Acts 2:37; Acts 9:6; Acts 16:29, 30; Rom...
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Vision
[isbe] VISION - vizh'-un (chazon, chizzayon, mar'ah; horama, optasia): Psychologists find that man is prevailingly and persistently "eye-minded." That is, in his waking life he is likely to think, imagine and remember in terms of v...
[nave] VISION, a mode of revelation, Num. 12:6; 1 Sam. 3:1; 2 Chr. 26:5; Psa. 89:19; Prov. 29:18; Jer. 14:14; 23:16; Dan. 1:17; Hos. 12:10; Joel 2:28; Obad. 1; Hab. 2:2; Acts 2:17. Of Abraham, concerning his descendants, Gen. 15:1-...
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PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 4
[isbe] PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 4 - IV. His Equipment. Ramsay chooses as the title of chapter ii, in his Paul the Traveler, the words "The Origin of Paul." It is not possible to explain the work and teaching of Paul without a just concep...
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TRANCE
[isbe] TRANCE - trans (ekstasis): The condition expressed by this word is a mental state in which the person affected is partially or wholly unconscious of objective sensations, but intensely alive to subjective impressions which, ...
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Resurrection of Christ
[ebd] one of the cardinal facts and doctrines of the gospel. If Christ be not risen, our faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:14). The whole of the New Testament revelation rests on this as an historical fact. On the day of Pentecost Peter ar...
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ANANIAS (1)
[isbe] ANANIAS (1) - an-a-ni'-as (Ananias; Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Hananias; chananyah, "Yah has been gracious"): The name was common among the Jews. In its Hebrew form it is frequently found in the Old Testa...
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Bigotry
[nave] BIGOTRY. Isa. 65:5; Mark 2:16 Luke 15:2; Luke 9:49, 50; Luke 18:9-14; Acts 10:28, 45; Acts 18:12, 13 Paul's Argument against Rom. 3:1-23; Rom. 4:1-16, 23-25 Instances of Joshua, through envy seeking to suppress Eldad a...
Arts
Hymns
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Questions
- Curtis Mitchell's article in Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol 147 #588 Oct 1990 answers this question well. The Practice of Fasting in the New Testament Is religious fasting a legitimate practice for today? If it is, how and wh...
- The Bible does contain a number of apparent contradictions. Believing in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Word of God we know that all of these can be reconciled. It may be that a complete explanation will not come until ...
Sermon Illustrations
Resources/Books
Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)
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The Hebrew word used to describe Samuel in verse 1 (naar) elsewhere refers to a young teenager (cf. 17:33). Consequently we should probably think of a boy in his early teens as we read this section. At this time in Israel's h...
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3:22 While Ezekiel was among the exiles in Tel-abib, the Lord directed him to go out to the nearby plain where the Lord promised to speak with him (cf. ch. 1; Acts 9:6; Gal. 1:16-17).3:23 Ezekiel obeyed the Lord. While he was...
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10:4 Daniel had gone to the Tigris (Hiddekel, AV) River perhaps to pray for the exiles who had returned, and he had probably gone there with other godly Jews. Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread fell on the fourteenth ...
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2:6-7 The Lord called His people to flee from the land of the north (cf. Jer. 3:18; 16:15; 23:8; 31:8) where He had scattered them as the four winds (cf. Isa. 43:5-6; 49:12). Most of the Israelite exiles had gone into captivi...
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6:16 Fasting in Israel involved going without food to engage in a spiritual exercise, usually prayer, with greater concentration. Fasting fostered and indicated self-humiliation before God, and confession often accompanied it...
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16:18 "I say to you"(cf. 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 8:10) may imply that Jesus would continue the revelation the Father had begun. However the phrase occurs elsewhere where that contrast is not in view. Undoubtedly it ...
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This lamentation should help us realize that the judgment Jesus just announced in such strong language was not something that delighted Him. It broke His heart. This is also clear from His personalizing the people in Jerusale...
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There is great theological significance in this familiar passage. It comes through mainly in the angel's words and in the symbolism of what happened."In 2:8-14 we have a third annunciation scene, which follows the same patter...
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12:27 Anticipation of the death that had to precede the glory troubled Jesus deeply (Gr. tataraktai, cf. 11:33; 14:1; Mark 14:32-42). It troubled Him because His death would involve separation from His Father and bearing God'...
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Jesus introduced this teaching by explaining further why He was telling His disciples these things.16:1 The phrase "These things I have spoken to you"(Gr. tauta lelaleka hymin) brackets this subsection of the discourse and hi...
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Longenecker identified five phenomena about the structure of Acts that the reader needs to recognize to appreciate what Luke sought to communicate."1. It begins, like the [Third] Gospel, with an introductory section of distin...
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I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:461. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-52. The command to witness 1:6-83. The ascension of Jesus 1:9-114. Jesus' appointment of a twelfth apostle 1:1...
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The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
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In this next major section of Acts, Luke narrated three significant events in the life and ministry of the early church. These events were the martyrdom of Stephen, the ministry of Philip, and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus...
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This short section sets the stage for Philip's ministry by giving us its cause.8:1b Stephen's execution ignited the first popular persecution of Christian Jews.348Since Stephen was a Hellenistic Jew, the Hellenistic Jewish Ch...
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"No conversion has been more significant in the history of the Church . . ."389"In this passage we have the most famous conversion story in all history."390"The conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch was in a chariot; the convers...
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9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...
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Luke concluded each of his narratives of the Samaritans' conversion (8:4-25), Saul's conversion (9:1-31), and Cornelius' conversion (10:1-11:18) with references to the mother church in Jerusalem. He evidently wanted to stress...
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Notice that "church"is in the singular here. This is probably a reference to the Christians throughout Palestine--in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria--not just in one local congregation but in the body of Christ. Saul's departure ...
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Peter continued his itinerant ministry around Palestine (cf. 8:25).9:32 Lydda (modern Lod, the site of Israel's international airport) lay on the Mediterranean coastal plain about 10 miles from the sea. It was about 25 miles ...
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"Though Peter was not by training or inclination an overly scrupulous Jew, and though as a Christian his inherited prejudices were gradually wearing thin, he was not prepared to go so far as to minister directly to Gentiles. ...
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10:44 Peter did not need to call for his hearers to repent on this occasion. As soon as he gave them enough information to trust Jesus Christ, they did so. Immediately the Holy Spirit fell on them filling them (v. 47; 11:15; ...
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11:19 Luke's reference back to the persecution resulting from Stephen's martyrdom (7:60) is significant. It suggests that he was now beginning to record another mission of the Christians that ran parallel logically and chrono...
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"Peter's rescue from prison is an unusually vivid episode in Acts even when simply taken as a story about Peter. Because it is not connected with events in the chapters immediately before and after it, however, it may seem ra...
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Luke recorded these verses to set the stage for the account of Barnabas and Saul's first missionary journey that follows."The world ministry which thus began was destined to change the history of Europe and the world."51512:2...
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Luke recorded the events of Paul's first missionary journey to document the extension of the church into new territory and to illustrate the principles and methods by which the church grew. He also did so to show God's supern...
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Luke recorded Paul's vision of the Macedonian man to explain God's initiative in encouraging Paul and his companions to carry the gospel farther west into Europe.". . . this section [6:6-10] makes it overwhelmingly clear that...
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The purpose of this pericope (18:24-28) seems primarily to be to bring us up to date on what had transpired in Ephesus since Paul left that city.755Luke also introduced his readers to another important servant of the Lord to ...
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This incident reveals more about the effects of the gospel on Ephesian society and religion (cf. vv. 13-20)."Luke's purpose in presenting this vignette is clearly apologetic, in line with his argument for the religio licitast...
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Paul needed to defend himself against the charge that he had been disloyal to his people, the Mosaic Law, and the temple (cf. 21:28). His devout Jewish audience was especially skeptical of Paul since he was a Hellenistic Jew ...
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Paul was undoubtedly wondering how he would ever get out of the mess in which he found himself. At this critical moment, during the night of the next day (Gr. te epiouse nykti), the Lord appeared to him again (cf. 9:4-6; 16:9...
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Paul was not on trial here. When he had appealed to Caesar (25:11), he had guaranteed that his next trial would be before the emperor. This was just a hearing designed to acquaint Agrippa with Paul's case so Agrippa could giv...
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Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
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Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
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This is perhaps the strongest warning in the New Testament against taking the church lightly and destroying it with the world's wisdom and division.3:16 The Corinthian church was a temple that God's Spirit indwelt. Paul was n...
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Paul introduced the first of the two subjects he dealt with in this chapter, the Corinthian women's participation in church worship, with praise. He did not introduce the second subject this way (vv. 17, 22). As with the othe...
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3:1 The preceding verses could have drawn offense from the Corinthians because Paul told them things about himself that they already knew and should have remembered. He mentioned these things as though they were new. He expla...
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4:1 Paul now returned to the theme of being a minister of the New Covenant (3:6). Since we have a ministry in which the Spirit opens people's eyes and transforms their characters we can feel encouraged. Our job is not simply ...
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The New Testament reveals that Paul was actively collecting money for "the poor among the saints in Jerusalem"(Rom. 15:26) for about five years (52-57 A.D.). He solicited funds from the Christians in Galatia (Acts 18:23; 1 Co...
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To answer his critics and prove the extent of his own service and sufferings for Christ, Paul related many of his painful experiences as an apostle.11:16 Paul apologized again for having to resort to mentioning these experien...
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Paul had cited his freedom to minister without the Corinthians' financial support and his sufferings in ministry as grounds for boasting. He next mentioned the special visions and revelations that God had granted him. He refe...
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Paul clarified the source of his gospel message in this pericope to convince his readers that the gospel he had preached to them was the true gospel. What the false teachers were presenting was heresy. He began an autobiograp...
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Masters should seek to please the Lord in their dealings with their slaves even as slaves should try to please Christ as they serve their masters. They should not threaten because our heavenly Master does not threaten us. Thr...
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This verse is ". . . probably the most controversial in the letter."76It might have seemed ironical that Paul was in prison, in view of what he had just said about the success of the gospel. Therefore he quickly explained tha...
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Paul began this very personal letter with a customary salutation to set the tone for what followed. The salutation reveals that this was not just a personal letter, however, as was Paul's epistle to Philemon, but it was also ...
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Peter began this epistle in the manner that was customary in this day.9He introduced himself and his original readers, and he wished God's blessing on them to prepare them for what he had to say. He prepared them for dealing ...
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John's response to this revelation was similar to Daniel's response to the vision God gave him (cf. Dan. 10:7-9). Jesus then proceeded to give John more information about what He wanted him to do.1:17 This revelation of Jesus...
Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)
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And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2. And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they ...
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Any of this way.'--Acts 9:2.THE name of' Christian' was not applied to themselves by the followers of Jesus before the completion of the New Testament. There were other names in currency before that designation--which owed it...