As the Presidential elections here in "the States" have come to a close, I guess the next question might be: "What's next?" And then, maybe we really don't want to know....hope for the best, right?
Politics...always have been an agenda when it comes to defining a country, and it has been that way...for centuries! I have been reading recently in the Book of Acts, around chapter 26. In this time frame, St. Paul is at it again...this guy to me was a "ball of fire"...and I think his personal motto might have been: "Don't Hold Back!"
Ok, Paul is in prison...this time in Caesarea Philippi, and is in one of his times where he is about to defend himself and the Gospel he preaches. The Sacred Scriptures point out 5 different occasions where St. Paul proclaims Christ in this matter...in an arena that he seemed to thoroughly enjoy...debating the Scriptures and preaching Christ is alive!
Caesarea Philippi...this was the city the Herod family had put together to honor Rome and to honor its Emperors. The city was dedicated to shrines honoring the god Pan, and in fact the surrounding territory was commonly called "Panion". This Roman city was located on the southwest base of Mt. Hermon, about 25 miles northeast of Galilee, and about 150 miles north of Jerusalem.
Here in the Book of Acts Paul was in prison in Caesarea Philippi, and was brought before the civil court by...his Jewish brethren. (nice...you can always count on the ones who are the closest to you...lol..well, kinda lol).
The charges were as follows: 1. Paul spoke directly against the Law of Moses 2. Paul was against the customs and worship of the Jewish Temple, and 3. Paul was defiant of Roman authority including Caesar himself and laws of the Roman Empire.
The conclusion of these charges were not one of them could not be proved, nor was it even established there was any truth to them at all, yet because of the political process and influences, the governors of the region Felix or Festus...did not sanction Paul to be freed.
Did that deter Paul?....uh...no! Paul then took the initiative and because of the "lack of justice served" in regards to Paul not being set free, appealed as a Roman Citizen (which Paul was) that his case be brought before the Emperor Nero in Rome itself.
Ok, while Paul was exercising his rights as a Roman citizen, Caesarea Philippi received a visit from a King Agrippa ll. He had come with his sister Queen Bernice to pay respect to the new governor of the region, a Governor Festus.
Governor Festus had relayed Paul's appeal to King Agrippa and that he would have to bring Paul to Rome. King Agrippa then requested for Paul's case to be brought before him.
St. Paul and King Agrippa ll...now that is a "piece of work"! These two have some connections that go back a ways...and let's just say they "were not on the same side of the fence."
Here then is Paul, demanding his freedom not only from a social equality standpoint, but freedom to preach the very "Gospel" he is now given to.
And then there is King Agrippa ll....the great-grandson of Herod the Great. You remember him?...he was the guy that tried to kill Jesus while an infant. Oh, and there is more...King Agrippa ll's father, Agrippa l...he had James the Apostle beheaded and Peter arrested in an attempt to kill him. Real nice family...right? In fact, in Acts 12 we read where Agrippa's father had made the Lord God very angry on his stand and actions he chose to exercise against Christians, we later find Agrippa's father was killed in A.D. 44...where?..right here in Caesarea Philippi.
And King Agrippa ll himself?...wasn't he a "model of family life". Josephus, the great Jewish historian, points out that King Agrippa ll and Bernice most likely had a romantic relationship...no big deal right? Well, here is the "kicker"...Agrippa and Bernice...were brother and sister.
You see, Agrippa ll's father, King Agrippa l, had 3 children ( well, 3 we know of). Drusilla was one, and she was married to Felix, a governor of Caesarea Philippi at one time, and the other 2 children?...Agrippa ll and...Bernice. It puts a whole new meaning on "keeping it all in the family"...right?....GROSS!
Queen Bernice...not exactly your "All-American" girl. Bernice was a year younger than Agrippa, and at age 13 had married her...uncle...Herod of Chalcis. They were together for 7 years and she bore him 2 children, then "Uncle Herod" died.
So, Bernice "hooks up" with her brother...well, among others. Honestly, historians of that time period conclude Bernice was basically a "perv"...a whore. She "shacked up" with a number of guys including being a mistress to Titus, a son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian.
King Agrippa ll...didn't have any children. Agrippa's father died when he was 17 years of age while he was in Rome being trained in the court of the Roman Emperor Claudius. Later, Agrippa ll became "King Agrippa ll" because he was given a territory in the Lebanon Valley which actually had been under the control of his uncle, Herod of Chalcis. Agrippa ll made some "trades" and became king over the territory of Perea and certain cities in Galilee.
King Agrippa ll was considered an authority in Jewish affairs, well acquainted with the Old Testament Scriptures, the customs of Jewish Temple worship, and the conflicts Jewish people had both internally and those outside their race.
Rome had made King Agrippa ll curator of the Jewish Temple: which gave him a wide range of power including the appointing of high priests and being in charge of the Temple treasury ( which I am sure a real sore spot to the Jewish community).
King Agrippa ll's territory included the city of Caesarea Philippi, which he later renamed "Neronias", in honor of one of the most "whacked-out" Roman Emperors of all time...Nero. It didn't really matter...Caesarea Philippi or Neronias...is no more. It is now an archaeological find in the Golan Heights.
In 66 A.D., when the Jewish people revolted against Roman rule, both King Agrippa ll and Queen Bernice supported Rome....and did a kind of "in your face" celebration over Rome's victory over the Jewish people.
King Agrippa ll was the last of "the Herod family", and died in 100 A.D. at the age of 73. Agrippa ll wrote of himself: " a Great King, a pious Friend of Caesar, and a True Friend of Rome"....whatever....
Ok, now let's get on to the setting where Saint Paul confronts King Agrippa ll.......
Politics...always have been an agenda when it comes to defining a country, and it has been that way...for centuries! I have been reading recently in the Book of Acts, around chapter 26. In this time frame, St. Paul is at it again...this guy to me was a "ball of fire"...and I think his personal motto might have been: "Don't Hold Back!"
Ok, Paul is in prison...this time in Caesarea Philippi, and is in one of his times where he is about to defend himself and the Gospel he preaches. The Sacred Scriptures point out 5 different occasions where St. Paul proclaims Christ in this matter...in an arena that he seemed to thoroughly enjoy...debating the Scriptures and preaching Christ is alive!
Here in the Book of Acts Paul was in prison in Caesarea Philippi, and was brought before the civil court by...his Jewish brethren. (nice...you can always count on the ones who are the closest to you...lol..well, kinda lol).
The charges were as follows: 1. Paul spoke directly against the Law of Moses 2. Paul was against the customs and worship of the Jewish Temple, and 3. Paul was defiant of Roman authority including Caesar himself and laws of the Roman Empire.
The conclusion of these charges were not one of them could not be proved, nor was it even established there was any truth to them at all, yet because of the political process and influences, the governors of the region Felix or Festus...did not sanction Paul to be freed.
Did that deter Paul?....uh...no! Paul then took the initiative and because of the "lack of justice served" in regards to Paul not being set free, appealed as a Roman Citizen (which Paul was) that his case be brought before the Emperor Nero in Rome itself.
Ok, while Paul was exercising his rights as a Roman citizen, Caesarea Philippi received a visit from a King Agrippa ll. He had come with his sister Queen Bernice to pay respect to the new governor of the region, a Governor Festus.
Governor Festus had relayed Paul's appeal to King Agrippa and that he would have to bring Paul to Rome. King Agrippa then requested for Paul's case to be brought before him.
St. Paul and King Agrippa ll...now that is a "piece of work"! These two have some connections that go back a ways...and let's just say they "were not on the same side of the fence."
Here then is Paul, demanding his freedom not only from a social equality standpoint, but freedom to preach the very "Gospel" he is now given to.
And then there is King Agrippa ll....the great-grandson of Herod the Great. You remember him?...he was the guy that tried to kill Jesus while an infant. Oh, and there is more...King Agrippa ll's father, Agrippa l...he had James the Apostle beheaded and Peter arrested in an attempt to kill him. Real nice family...right? In fact, in Acts 12 we read where Agrippa's father had made the Lord God very angry on his stand and actions he chose to exercise against Christians, we later find Agrippa's father was killed in A.D. 44...where?..right here in Caesarea Philippi.
And King Agrippa ll himself?...wasn't he a "model of family life". Josephus, the great Jewish historian, points out that King Agrippa ll and Bernice most likely had a romantic relationship...no big deal right? Well, here is the "kicker"...Agrippa and Bernice...were brother and sister.
You see, Agrippa ll's father, King Agrippa l, had 3 children ( well, 3 we know of). Drusilla was one, and she was married to Felix, a governor of Caesarea Philippi at one time, and the other 2 children?...Agrippa ll and...Bernice. It puts a whole new meaning on "keeping it all in the family"...right?....GROSS!
Queen Bernice...not exactly your "All-American" girl. Bernice was a year younger than Agrippa, and at age 13 had married her...uncle...Herod of Chalcis. They were together for 7 years and she bore him 2 children, then "Uncle Herod" died.
So, Bernice "hooks up" with her brother...well, among others. Honestly, historians of that time period conclude Bernice was basically a "perv"...a whore. She "shacked up" with a number of guys including being a mistress to Titus, a son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian.
King Agrippa ll was considered an authority in Jewish affairs, well acquainted with the Old Testament Scriptures, the customs of Jewish Temple worship, and the conflicts Jewish people had both internally and those outside their race.
Rome had made King Agrippa ll curator of the Jewish Temple: which gave him a wide range of power including the appointing of high priests and being in charge of the Temple treasury ( which I am sure a real sore spot to the Jewish community).
King Agrippa ll's territory included the city of Caesarea Philippi, which he later renamed "Neronias", in honor of one of the most "whacked-out" Roman Emperors of all time...Nero. It didn't really matter...Caesarea Philippi or Neronias...is no more. It is now an archaeological find in the Golan Heights.
In 66 A.D., when the Jewish people revolted against Roman rule, both King Agrippa ll and Queen Bernice supported Rome....and did a kind of "in your face" celebration over Rome's victory over the Jewish people.
Ok, now let's get on to the setting where Saint Paul confronts King Agrippa ll.......
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