Acts 21:1-17
Lesson 269
Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."
In this lesson:
The third missionary journey ends.
The three Missionary Journeys took about twelve years (AD 45-57) to complete.
In his travels, Paul planted a church in almost every city in Greece and Asia Minor.
Paul's final trip to Jerusalem.
Paul's final Missionary Journey.
Where was -
Co'os -
A small island in the Aegean Sea, northwest of Rhodes Island. Co'os was, and still is, famous for its wine vineyards. The island was the birthplace of the well-known physician Hippocrates (author of the Hippocratic oath). Paul spent one night here on his way to Jerusalem.
Rhodes -
Called the island of roses, Rhodes is located near Cyprus. The island is forty-six miles long and eighteen miles wide, making it the largest of the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. Rhodes was a commercial center known for its art and literature. The great Colossus (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), a towering brass statue representing the pagan god Apollo, stood astride its harbor. The statue was so tall that ships entered the port by sailing through Apollo's legs. Today, Rhodes is primarily a vacation resort with inviting beaches. There are many ancient ruins, including those left behind from the crusades. The population of Rhodes today is about 120,000 people.
Pat'ara -
Pat'ara was a bustling port city on the southwest coast of Lycia (the southern part of Asia Minor). The town was wealthy and heavily populated. Paul's ship stopped in Pat'ara, where he switched to a larger, safer, and faster Phoenician ship here (Acts 21:2).
Phenicia -
Also called Phoenicia. A narrow maritime coastline that stretched 120 miles along the Mediterranean Sea (in present-day Syria). Phoenicia was a thriving trade center whose main city was Tyre. In Phoenicia, Jesus performed a miracle for the Gentile woman and her possessed daughter (Mark 7:24-30).
Tyre -
A seaport city located in Phoenicia on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now modern-day Lebanon. It lay thirty-five miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee, forty-seven miles north of Caesarea and twenty-five miles south of Sidon and was primarily populated by Gentiles. Tyre dates back to the twenty-eighth century BC and was called Tyrus in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 26:2). Described as a beautiful city (Ezekiel 27:4), Tyre was a primary city known for its cedar trees (1 Chronicles 22:4), dye works, glassware, weaving, and other manufactured goods. Isaiah 23:8 tells us that Tyre was a "crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth." Tyre supplied cedarwood, carpenters, and masons to build the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:2-10; 2 Chronicles 2:3). But unfortunately, the city also had a reputation for wickedness. Its people turned against Israel and sold Hebrews into slavery (Joel 3:6-8). God destroyed Tyre in the Old Testament (Isaiah 23:1; Amos 1:9-10; Zechariah 9:3-4). By Jesus' time, the city had been rebuilt and boasted one of the busiest harbors in the eastern Mediterranean. Ezekiel 27:3 describes Tyre as being "situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles." Tyre's merchant's shipped goods throughout the Roman empire and made the city wealthy. Today, Tyre is called Sur and inhabited by just a few thousand residents. Tyre is mentioned extensively in Isaiah 23 and Ezekiel 26-28.
Ptolemais -
A seaport city of Galilee located thirty miles (a day's sail) south of Tyre. Called Accho in the Old Testament (Judges 1:31), Ptolemais was renamed to honor the Greek general Ptolemy Soter. Paul stopped here for one day.
Caesarea -
Caesarea was a large Mediterranean seaport on the coast of Palestine thirty-two miles north of Joppa, twenty-two miles south of the modern-day city of Haifa, and seventy miles northwest of Jerusalem. Not to be confused with Caesarea Philippi, a town near the Sea of Galilee. A two-day sail from Tyre, Caesarea was the Roman capital of Palestine, home base to Pontius Pilate, and it housed a large Roman army garrison. Originally named Straton in the 4th century BC, it was renamed by King Herod after receiving the city as a gift from the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. It was here that Peter converted the Roman centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:1-24), and we saw Paul sail from Caesarea as he fled a murder plot in Jerusalem (Acts 9:29-30). This is the third time we see Paul visit Caesarea (18:22).
Co'os -
A small island in the Aegean Sea, northwest of Rhodes Island. Co'os was, and still is, famous for its wine vineyards. The island was the birthplace of the well-known physician Hippocrates (author of the Hippocratic oath). Paul spent one night here on his way to Jerusalem.
Rhodes -
Called the island of roses, Rhodes is located near Cyprus. The island is forty-six miles long and eighteen miles wide, making it the largest of the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. Rhodes was a commercial center known for its art and literature. The great Colossus (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), a towering brass statue representing the pagan god Apollo, stood astride its harbor. The statue was so tall that ships entered the port by sailing through Apollo's legs. Today, Rhodes is primarily a vacation resort with inviting beaches. There are many ancient ruins, including those left behind from the crusades. The population of Rhodes today is about 120,000 people.
Pat'ara -
Pat'ara was a bustling port city on the southwest coast of Lycia (the southern part of Asia Minor). The town was wealthy and heavily populated. Paul's ship stopped in Pat'ara, where he switched to a larger, safer, and faster Phoenician ship here (Acts 21:2).
Phenicia -
Also called Phoenicia. A narrow maritime coastline that stretched 120 miles along the Mediterranean Sea (in present-day Syria). Phoenicia was a thriving trade center whose main city was Tyre. In Phoenicia, Jesus performed a miracle for the Gentile woman and her possessed daughter (Mark 7:24-30).
Tyre -
A seaport city located in Phoenicia on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now modern-day Lebanon. It lay thirty-five miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee, forty-seven miles north of Caesarea and twenty-five miles south of Sidon and was primarily populated by Gentiles. Tyre dates back to the twenty-eighth century BC and was called Tyrus in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 26:2). Described as a beautiful city (Ezekiel 27:4), Tyre was a primary city known for its cedar trees (1 Chronicles 22:4), dye works, glassware, weaving, and other manufactured goods. Isaiah 23:8 tells us that Tyre was a "crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth." Tyre supplied cedarwood, carpenters, and masons to build the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:2-10; 2 Chronicles 2:3). But unfortunately, the city also had a reputation for wickedness. Its people turned against Israel and sold Hebrews into slavery (Joel 3:6-8). God destroyed Tyre in the Old Testament (Isaiah 23:1; Amos 1:9-10; Zechariah 9:3-4). By Jesus' time, the city had been rebuilt and boasted one of the busiest harbors in the eastern Mediterranean. Ezekiel 27:3 describes Tyre as being "situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles." Tyre's merchant's shipped goods throughout the Roman empire and made the city wealthy. Today, Tyre is called Sur and inhabited by just a few thousand residents. Tyre is mentioned extensively in Isaiah 23 and Ezekiel 26-28.
Ptolemais -
A seaport city of Galilee located thirty miles (a day's sail) south of Tyre. Called Accho in the Old Testament (Judges 1:31), Ptolemais was renamed to honor the Greek general Ptolemy Soter. Paul stopped here for one day.
Caesarea -
Caesarea was a large Mediterranean seaport on the coast of Palestine thirty-two miles north of Joppa, twenty-two miles south of the modern-day city of Haifa, and seventy miles northwest of Jerusalem. Not to be confused with Caesarea Philippi, a town near the Sea of Galilee. A two-day sail from Tyre, Caesarea was the Roman capital of Palestine, home base to Pontius Pilate, and it housed a large Roman army garrison. Originally named Straton in the 4th century BC, it was renamed by King Herod after receiving the city as a gift from the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. It was here that Peter converted the Roman centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:1-24), and we saw Paul sail from Caesarea as he fled a murder plot in Jerusalem (Acts 9:29-30). This is the third time we see Paul visit Caesarea (18:22).
Study Tip:
"Read the Bible with an open mind. Don't read into its passages ideas that are not there.
Try to search out fairly and honestly the main teachings and lessons of each passage."
Henry Hampton Halley, minister and religious writer (1874-1965).
"Read the Bible with an open mind. Don't read into its passages ideas that are not there.
Try to search out fairly and honestly the main teachings and lessons of each passage."
Henry Hampton Halley, minister and religious writer (1874-1965).
