Bible Study

But first of all, let's ask God's blessing upon the Bible study. Now that most of you have settled. So if you bow your heads, please, and we'll begin. Have great God and Father in heaven with Jesus Christ at your right hand. Great God, we come before your throne on this beautiful Sabbath day, thanking you very much for the reminder we have each week of your plan of salvation. Great God, we do pray for your kingdom to come. We pray for Jesus Christ, return to Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives to establish your kingdom here. We pray for a time when all of mankind will know your truth, understand your word, and will know you, Father, and have a relationship with you and be offered salvation and opportunity for eternal life. So we do pray for your kingdom to come and hear now on this Sabbath day, which in many ways pictures that great time ahead. We pray for your blessing upon the Bible study as we continue our study into the book of Acts. Please bless the listening and the speaking that it will be to your honor and glory and edifying for all involved. Thank you, Father, and we do pray in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

Go ahead and pull out your Bibles, and we're going to begin in Acts 24. I'll cover that for about 40 minutes or so. Mr. Antion is going to do Acts 25. For those of you who were listening in last Wednesday evening to Acts 22 and 23, let me just recap just briefly what happened in that previous chapter, especially, chapter 23.

See, in Acts 23, Paul was saved pretty much from certain death at the hands of the Jews.

In fact, the Jews, I think it was about 40 of them, took an oath to kill Paul. They said, we're not going to eat or drink again until we've killed this guy. This was a Jewish leadership.

The Roman commander got word of this. A young fellow went and told him about it. The Roman commander in Jerusalem whisked Paul away and took him up to Caesarea, which is about 60 miles away.

This is Claudius Liceus, who was the commander in Jerusalem for the Romans, who whisked Paul away up to Caesarea to protect him from the Jews killing him.

Claudius Liceus sent 200 soldiers along with Paul under the command of two centurions, each with 100 soldiers.

He sent 70 cavalry and 200 spearsmen to protect Paul from the Jews.

And so when you get an angry mob like that, it can get out of hand really fast.

The seat of Roman government in that area was not in Jerusalem. The seat of Roman government was in Caesarea, 60 miles up the coast.

The governor, not the commander in Jerusalem, but the governor of the whole region for the Romans was Felix.

And Felix had governed Judea for five years up to this point.

Felix's brother, Pallas, was best friends with Nero.

So Felix had quite a connection with Emperor Nero at the time. Felix was unscrupulous, and he was known for hiring hitmen to kill even his own staff and supporters.

Felix was not a good man when it came to being a governor in Judea.

And so as we begin chapter 24, we have to remember that it was to Felix, this unscrupulous governor, that the commander sent Paul up to for protection and then to hear his legal case.

And as we begin chapter 24, Paul starts to get into his defense and tries to explain why he should be protected and let free, and the Jews should not be trying to kill him.

Let's read the first eight verses right through in chapter 24 and get a feel for the flow of things first.

Acts 24.

Now after five days, Ananias the high priest came down with the elders in a certain orator named Tertullus.

These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

And so they're up there now talking with Felix against Paul.

Verse 2.

When he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation saying... Here's what he says to Felix.

Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, we accept it always and in all places most noble Felix with all thankfulness.

Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.

If we have found this man a plague, a creed of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him and wanted to judge him according to our law.

But the commander, Lysias, came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come to you, Felix.

By examining him yourself, you may ascertain all the things of which we accuse him.

Okay. So there's the opening argument by Tertullus against Paul to Governor Felix. If we go back to verse 1, now you see what happened there.

It's pretty obvious in verse 1 that Tertullus is being brought in because of his persuasive speaking skills.

He was a known orator. He was going to take the stand before the jury and persuade his case for an anis, the high priest, and for the ruling Jews back in Jerusalem. So they hide their own oratorial hitman, okay, to speak against Paul.

Now notice verses 2 and 4. The flattery here is over the top. Come on.

He was polishing the boots of Felix big time. Of course, we have a more modern term for this kind of flattery today.

He says, you know, seeing that through you, Felix, through your great governorship, we enjoy such awesome peace.

And prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight. We accept it always and in all places most noble Felix is all thankful in us.

It's extremely flattering. And I don't know if Felix saw through this. If he liked it, I don't know.

But then you notice verses 5 and 6. The charges here in verses 5 and 6 being laid against Paul were not totally accurate.

The facts were being twisted. The truth was being stretched in order to elicit an emotional response from Felix.

So you notice in verse 5, if we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, he even tried to profane the temple and we seized him and wanted to judge him according to our law.

So Tertullus says that Paul was a leader of dissension among the Jews throughout the world.

He's hoping to get Felix to react. The last thing a Roman governor needed was an insurrection in his area, or a riot in his land.

And so the Romans would crush it. And Tertullus was hoping Paul would be executed for it, quite honestly.

And so he's saying, look at all the trouble he's causing, Felix, and surely you don't want to have trouble under your governorship, do you?

And then by labeling Paul as a sect of the Nazarenes, it would seem, although it was, of course, untrue, that Paul was part of a group of false messiahs that whipped up the Jewish population into riots and mayhem.

There are a number of people at the time that said, I'm Jesus, we're the messiah, I'm the messiah. And they were causing trouble and riots and dissension.

And so Tertullus says, well, Paul's one of those guys, which wasn't true.

But once again, the Romans had to squash any dangerous behavior. As long as the Jews behaved themselves, they're okay.

But Tertullus is telling Felix, you know, this guy Paul's a troublemaker, and he's hoping to get Paul lumped in with that group, too, the sect of the Nazarenes, and have Felix take action against Paul.

He wasn't a true accusation, but maybe Felix would believe part of it at least, and something would happen to Paul.

And then in verse 6, Tertullus tries to get Felix to side with the pro-Roman Sadducees.

There were the Pharisees and the Sadducees that ruled in the Sanhedrin.

And the Sadducees collaborated more with the Romans than did the Pharisees. Remember, Paul was a Pharisee.

The Sadducees collaborated more with the Romans and tried to take a bit more of a side to get preferential treatment.

So surely Felix would want to stop Paul from compromising the power of the pro-Roman Sadducees, wouldn't he?

And so he's saying that, you know, we were needed to try him according to our law.

So it was all a series of twisted facts, half-truths, and some lies.

And so this is classic courtroom drama, lawyers and all. And they're not telling the truth.

And so then, verse 7, But the commander Lysias came by, and with great violence took him out of our hands. So that was the local commander in Jerusalem that saved Paul's life, whisked him away early the next morning with 200 soldiers, 70 horses, and took him up to see Felix to protect him.

If anyone was going to do violence, it was the Jews, not Paul. The Jews wanted to take action against Paul. And it was not Commander Claudius Lysias. The Jews were the ones who were trying to cause violence.

Lysias was preventing violence by whisking Paul away from Jerusalem to prevent his lynching.

And then, of course, verse 8, commanding his accusers to come to you. They want...Tertullus wants Felix to hear the case.

And all the Jews also assented, verse 9, maintaining that these things were so.

So the crowd there corroborated Ananias and Tertullus' accusations.

Yeah, that's true! He's causing trouble throughout the whole world. He's defiling our temple.

So that's the end of the opening argument by Tertullus and Ananias the High Priest.

Let's read verses 10 through 21 now. We'll just read through it, flow through it, and then we'll go back and examine a couple of things.

So then verse 10, Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered, And as much as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, it had been about four years, I do more the cheerfully answer for myself.

And Paul says, I'm quite happy to tell you what happened, because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone, nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city, Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the way which they call a sect, So I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.

I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

And now after many years I came to bring arms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which came Jews from Asia.

Jews found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult.

They ought to have been here before you to object, if they had anything against me.

Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me, while I stood before the council.

Unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day.

Okay, so there's Paul's opening statement.

In verse 10, Governor Felix lets Paul tell his side of the story.

And Paul states the facts. He answers the accusations led by Tertullus, one by one, as you'll see here.

And Paul does so with courage and confidence. He's not afraid.

He says he's going to cheerfully answer for what he's done.

After all, God had spoken to him and told him to do so.

You may remember back in Acts 23 from Wednesday night's Bible study.

Acts 23 verse 11, after Paul had been slammed in chains, the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul. Be of good cheer, Paul.

For as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness that Rome. So God was working out a plan here. He gets whisked away from Jerusalem after Caesarea, and then we're going to find out later he ends up in Rome.

And it's all for God's purpose and plan.

Paul's in the midst of a pretty big trial here, and yet God is working something out.

So Paul is cheerfully going to tell Felix what happened.

Now in verse 11, Paul challenges his accusers on the facts of when and why and where he was in Jerusalem.

He says it could be proven one way or the other, and his accusers were not telling the whole truth.

Paul says you can easily ascertain why I was up in Jerusalem when I was there worshipping.

And he's basically telling Felix, what you just heard from Tertullus is not true.

And in verse 12, there is no proof of Paul disputing in the temple area or starting a riot.

There was no proof of Paul starting a riot.

He says, ask those who were there. He said this can be ascertained easily.

So that's in verse 12. He said, they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd.

Either in the synagogues or in the city. Nowhere in town was I causing trouble, like Tertullus just told you.

And you can ask people that were there. Paul has a pretty strong case. He could call witnesses, no doubt.

And so in verse 13, we see false charges continuing to be laid against Paul. Will Felix believe them?

Will Felix decide to do something to please the Jews at Paul's expense?

Because Paul says they can't prove anything in verse 13 of what they now accuse me.

As we go into verse 14, Paul says, I'm not a part of any crazy sect, but simply a follower of the way, as outlined in the Jewish religious writings, the law and the prophets, that every good Jew should follow.

That's all I'm doing.

So he says, I confess that this is according to the way, verse 14.

So I worship the God of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the God of their God, and I believe all that's written in the law and the prophets.

And then verse 15, he says, I have hope in God. And then he mentions a note about the resurrection from the dead, okay?

The only thing Paul could have done to cause unrest, and he admits this, here in verse 15, was to pit the Sadducees against the Pharisees and their belief, or not, in the resurrection.

I want to read to you from Acts 23 from last Wednesday night, verses 6-10, to show what's happening here, because Paul had done a really nice job of confusing the initial proceedings against him in Jerusalem.

Acts 23, verse 6. And so this is where Paul says, if I caused any trouble, this might have been it, where he asked them about the resurrection. That's all he did.

Acts 23, verse 6, but when Paul perceived that one part was Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out, or he said in the council, Man and brethren, I'm a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead, I'm being judged.

And when he had said this, verse 7, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection and no angels or spirits, but the Pharisees confess both.

Then there arose a loud outcry, and the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, We find no evil in this man.

But if a spirit and angel had spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

Then when there arose a great dissension, the commander, this is Lysias, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him back to the barracks.

So that's when Lysias saw what was happening and rescued Paul.

And then, of course, the next day he sent him up to Caesarea, which we're reading about here now, here this afternoon.

So Paul says in verse 15 of Acts 24, basically the only thing I could be accused of was saying that there is a resurrection, which the Sadducees for some reason didn't seem to like.

And so Paul was, you know, he confused their proceedings quite nicely.

So verse 16 now of Acts 24, this being so, he says, I strive to have a clear conscience without offense toward God and men.

Paul strove to live an upright, honest life before God and all people.

His conscience is clear, he says.

He's boldly stating the facts.

I haven't done anything wrong.

Now, verses 17 and 18 are interesting here.

Let's read to me, and he says, After many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, but neither were the mob nor with Chumot.

The unfortunate part of this story is that Paul was in the middle of a humanitarian project at the time.

He was bringing offerings and supplies from the other church areas back to Jerusalem to help the local poor people.

And he went to the temple, after dropping off the supplies, to take part in the purification ceremonies there, and was spotted by his enemies, who tried to start a riot.

He says, I was honestly just there, going through the purification ceremony.

I was here on a humanitarian project, and then they're the ones that tried to start the riot.

If we go back to Acts 21, which is now from a few weeks ago when we had the Bible study, read verses 26 through 30 with me, and you'll get the context.

This is actually what happened.

Acts 21, verse 26 through 30.

Then Paul took them in, and the next day, having been purified with them, so he was with his buddies there at the temple area, and went through the purification ceremony, entered the temple.

They had the ritual, Washington Cleansings, before they entered the temple, to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

So they were going to give their offering.

And I don't know if it was an actual live animal, or if they were just putting money into the temple treasury, the trumpets there or not.

And it says, Now when the seven days were also ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, Men of Israel, help!

This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law and this place, and furthermore, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.

For they had previously seen Trophimus and Ephesians with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.

And all the city was disturbed, and the people ran together, seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

Now, you may remember the sermon we heard here the last couple of weeks, in the Ammon P.M. church, about the Temple Mount, and you'll see that Paul handed out this chart, and you'll recall that there was, on the overview, the surrounding area was the area of the Court of the Gentiles.

You couldn't bring Gentiles into the Court of the Women or into where the Jewish men could go.

They accused Paul of trying to bring a Gentile in, which was not true, just because they'd seen him down in town the day before with a couple of Gentiles.

They tried to bring a false accusation and get everybody stirred up. So Paul's not the one causing trouble here.

It's the Jewish leadership that is.

So Paul was being set up, and now he's up in front of feelings.

He was framed.

He was in the temple area simply minding his own business, taking part in the offerings and the ritualistic purification like everyone else did.

So then we get to verses 19 and 20.

He says, there should be people here before you to object if they had any case against me.

Where are your witnesses, he's saying?

Or verse 20, let those who are here themselves save their family and wrong doing in me while I stood before the Council.

Paul says, you were the guys that caused the trouble, not me. You grabbed me.

And there were no accusers from that earlier uprising in court to say Paul was not telling the truth.

They should have been if they had a case.

So the Jews are trying to rig things here.

Verse 21, unless it is for this one statement that I cried out standing among them concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. Say, is this what it's all about? The fact that I said there is a resurrection?

Is this what got you upset?

The only thing that Paul could be accused of was questioning the Sadducees and their belief that there was no resurrection.

That did happen.

But nothing else that they accused him of. And what's wrong with saying that anyway? The Pharisees believed in the resurrection. They were half of the governing council.

So then verse 22 and 23, when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, When Lecius the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.

So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

So to begin with, Felix treated Paul properly while under court orders to stay.

But this case dragged on for a long time yet, as we're about to see.

Felix said, Let's have the commander from Jerusalem come up. I want to hear more about what happened down there. I want to hear what happened on the Temple Mount, and then we'll render a decision.

Sounded like he was trying to be fed, didn't it?

Well, notice verse 24.

And after some days, when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

Felix wanted to get some more background information on exactly what Paul did believe.

And so he had Paul come, he met with Paul, and of course, Felix had a Jewish wife, and said, So what is this the way? I've heard about it, I know a bit about it, explain it to me some more.

So it doesn't say much here, but no doubt Paul expounded the Gospel message to Felix.

Talked about all kinds of things, including judgment to come, penalty for sin, Jesus Christ's sacrifice.

And Paul was a faithful, obedient believer.

Felix, on the other hand, had lived a sinful life.

He was not to be trusted. Like I said, his brother, his best friend, was Nero.

And no doubt what Paul was telling him began to strike at the heart of Felix's conscience.

Verse 24, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

Now, William Barkley, in his book, The Acts of the Apostles, I've got the revised edition here, on page 171, Barkley says, Felix was not unkind to Paul, but some of Paul's admonitions struck terror into his heart. Now listen to this.

Felix's wife, Drusilla, was the daughter of Herod Agrippa I.

She had been married to Azesus, king of Amissa.

But Felix, with the help of a magician called Atmos, had seduced her from Azesus and persuaded her to marry him. So basically, Felix stole this other guy's wife.

And Barkley says, It is little wonder that when Paul presented him with the higher moral demands of God, he became afraid.

Felix knew that he was living beyond the law.

Verse 25, as he reasoned about righteousness, as Paul reasoned about righteousness, about self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, Go away for now. I've heard enough. When I have a convenient time, I'll call for you.

Felix finally couldn't hear the truth any longer.

He became afraid of what judgment might be rendered by a higher power on him.

And then in verse 26, meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him again.

So Felix had an ongoing conversation with Paul, hoping that Paul would eventually give him a bribe and Paul would be set free.

But as we see in verse 27, this went on for two years.

Verse 27, but after two years, Portia's Festus succeeded Felix, then another governor came in, and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

So Felix is wanting to, first of all, get a bribe from Paul, so that he'll get set free. The other thing is, Felix is trying to side with the Sadducees and the Jewish leadership, and have them say good things about him for keeping Paul bound for them.

Now, when you look back at history, the reason Felix was trying to make the Jews happy was because Felix was in big trouble, actually, with Rome.

Oh, as I said, this went on for two years. But Felix was finally removed from office. And Festus, as we'll read about in a moment with Mr. Antony in chapter 25, succeeded him. Festus was different. He was a just and fair governor. Felix was in it for himself. And Mr. Antony will explain more about that. But once again from Berkeley, on page 171, the Acts of the Apostles, Berkeley says, For two years Paul was in prison, and then Felix went too far once too often and was recalled.

Berkeley says, There was a long-standing argument as to whether Caesarea was a Jewish or a Greek city, and Jews and Greeks were at daggers drawn.

So there you've got the Hellenist Jews and the local Jews.

There was an outbreak of mob violence in which the Jews came off best.

Felix dispatched his troops to aid the Gentiles. Thousands of Jews were killed, and the troops, with Felix's consent and encouragement, sacked and looted the houses of the wealthiest Jews in the city.

So Felix took advantage of the riot, and went overboard with his power and authority, killed thousands of Jews, and then robbed them all.

And then Berkeley says, The Jews did what all Roman provincials had a right to do. They reported their governor to Rome.

That was why Felix left Paul in prison. Even though he was well aware that he should have been liberated. He was trying to carry favor with the Jews, but it was all to no purpose. He was dismissed from his governorship and only the influence of his brother, Pallas, the buddy of Nero, saved him from execution.

If Felix's brother was not such good friends with Nero, Felix probably would have been executed for the way he treated the Jews that were under his care in Judea.

So all this time, Paul's in prison, and it's just basically one verse says, and by the way, he was there for two years.

And you don't hear a lot about it, but he did have certain liberties.

I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Antony and see if he wants to add anything more to chapter 24 before he starts talking about Festus in chapter 25. Ready to go. Ready to go. Okay. A comment I wanted to make for you comes out of the book, Acts, a study guide for Acts by Curtis Vaughn.

On page 135, he says this, Stalker, talking about a commentator, Stalker thinks that Paul, by this time when he was going on this trial, must have been nearly 60 years old.

For 20 years, he had been engaged in almost superhuman labors.

He had been traveling and preaching incessantly, carrying on his heart a crushing weight of cares. His body had been worn with disease and mangled with punishments and abuse.

His hair must have been whitened, his face furrowed with lines of age. As yet, however, there were no signs of the body breaking down, and his spirit was still as keen as ever in its enthusiasm for the service of God. I thought that was really interesting. A 60-year-old man now being brought in when you see what he's facing when he goes up to discuss things with not only Festus, but with also Herod Agrippa. It mentions about Festus in his book by Vaughn on page 146. He says, Festus, who became governor about age 60, died in office two years later. And as Mr. Eddington pointed out, he was known as just an upright man. He was just an upright, but he was still political. He was still political. Often times, when there's a change of governors, they release prisoners. So here's Paul sitting there. They said, this man, there's no reason for him to be held in prison.

And Porsches Festus comes to take the place of Felix, and he doesn't release him. Often, when there's a change, they can. And here's a man that they said, he's not guilty of anything. You'd think he would have released him. But he also knew, politically, he had to gain the favor of the Jews, or he might end up like Felix, being reported to Rome, or have riots on his hands, have to deal with him. So chapter 25, we're going to see he appears before Festus, and then he appeals to Caesar.

And then he also then has an audience with King Agrippa II. And I'll talk to you a little bit about the Harrods, so you can keep them straight. So I'll go through that. But let's go to chapter 25. Chapter 25, verse 1.

Now when Festus, not Matt Dillon's assistant, now when Festus, that's the only other time, the only other time I ever heard that name on Gunsmoke, Festus, okay? Now when Festus had come to the province after three days, he went up to Caesarea, from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Caesarea was where the governor would reside, where his headquarters were. And of course, Jerusalem was the main city where the Jews had their temple, about 64 miles between.

Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul. These guys could not let it go. Two years! Paul's been incarcerated or been kept under house arrest. And these guys can't let it go. New governor, let's see if we can get him to commit to doing something to Paul. So they go and they try to lobby him. Now Festus is an honorable and upright man. And he sees through this. He sees through this. Asking a favor against him that he would summon him to Jerusalem while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him.

Because the guys who had made this vow are languishing now. I'm probably dead. Two years have gone by. Remember, they were not going to eat until we killed Paul. Two years have gone by. They're pretty thin by now. Anyway, they wanted to give it the way. Let's send him down 64 miles. Remember, the number of troops that they sent, something like 470 troops, I think it was, to accompany him to make sure nobody heard him on the way from Jerusalem to Caesarea. So they want to just ship him back to us and we'll have the trial here.

There would have been no trial. Now, Portia's Festus was smart. He was wise. He was also political. Because he didn't release him right away. And as we'll see, he appeals to the Jews. But he wasn't about to turn a Roman citizen over to them to be killed.

But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself was going there shortly. Well, I'm going back. I'm going back. That's where the governor resides. So I'm going to go back there so I can't really release him to you. The Jews were trying to lay it on thick, whatever they could, to ingratiate themselves to get him to release Paul to Jerusalem so they could kill him on the way. Verse 5, therefore he said, Let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man to see if there's any fault in him.

No, we're going to do this in a court of law. You have accusations against this man. You need to come with me and you need to accuse him. We need to do things right, lawfully, in a court of law. Because I'm going there shortly. Go with me and accuse him. Verse 6, And when he had remained among them, more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. So he stayed there trying to get to know the lay of the land and figure out how he's going to run and take over this governorship that he's been assigned.

After ten days, he went down to Caesarea. Notice they say, Go down. If you look on your map, you find Caesarea is north. Usually if I go north, I say, I'm going up. But when you're at Jerusalem, you're always up high. So they always say, You go down from Jerusalem, even though they're going north. So he says to them, When the Jews had come down from Jerusalem, stood about, and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.

You can accuse anybody of anything. You just throw it out there, and you wait for them to answer. They threw out a lot of accusations. They made a lot of assumptions as we know. They said, He brought these Gentiles into the temple. He never brought Gentiles into the temple. They saw Him with Gentiles during the day. Well, they just assumed.

They made allegations. You can accuse anybody of anything. Proving is another matter. Proving is another matter. They could not prove what they said. But they still soiled the image. You could throw out anything. You could say, This person is a rat. This person is a rebel. This person is a criminal. Guess what? That gets front-page news. And when it's disproved, it gets back-page news. Oh, by the way, we made a mistake.

You've already tarnished the image. I've seen it happen. I remember at Ambassador College, one student was accused of something. I was on the administrative team, and I came to the attention, and I said, Oh, no, no, that's not the case. That wasn't it. And we talked about it. No, that never happened. Every time we had a meeting, guess how that fella was painted? With that same wrong brush. And I had to explain. No, no. Remember? He didn't do this. But that's what lodged in the mind of the person who was leading the meeting.

The accusation, not the truth. So here they lodged these accusations, and you can throw them out a mile a minute, and I'll tell you, you know who the accuser of the brethren is. Anytime you find yourself getting into an accusative mood, ask yourself whom you are joining in mind. It is not God. Check Revelation 12, verses 9, 10, 11.

The accuser of our brethren is cast down. Satan the devil loves to accuse. Who accused Job? Who likes to accuse, who they try to set up to accuse Jesus? They couldn't bring in the witnesses, the false witnesses.

They couldn't get their stories straight. Even falsely, they couldn't get them straight. It's amazing. But these men came down. They had many complaints. You can complain. I always tell people, you know, the complaint department is three heavens high. You want to complain? He's up there. Go ahead. But you better be sure.

As Dean of Students of Big Sandy, I said, if you bring a complaint against your brother, and it is not true, you will get the punishment that you wanted him to get. So before you bring a complaint, you better be sure. Whatever punishment he would have gotten if the complaint was true, you get it. I'll tell you, I didn't have very many complaints that were untrue. And in fact, I told people, if you have a complaint, go to your brother. Don't go to me.

Go to your brother. Tell him first. Give him a chance to change. Don't bring it to me. Take it to him. Be courageous. If you can help him, help him, and I never need to know anything.

If you do bring it to me, you better be right. Because it's a serious thing that can accuse your brother. These men didn't care. And I want you to notice, who's out there laying in wait to want to kill Paul? It's chief priests. It's religious leaders who don't care about one of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not murder. They were willing to murder. What happens to people that are supposed to be religious, who can do such things?

How has their mind been around to allow them to do such things? To lie, to accuse, when you know it's not true? What a shame! And what a sham that religion is! Verse 8, while he answered for himself, he said, Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all. I've not offended. I've not done anything. He was accused of heresy. He was accused of sacrilege. He was accused of sedition. He said, I've not done any of these things. As Mr. Eddington pointed out, the only thing he did was pit the Sadducees against the Pharisees, because he said, I believe in the resurrection, and God spoke to me.

And that set the Sadducees off, because they didn't believe in spirits, and they didn't believe in the resurrection. So they were arguing. He didn't argue with them. They were arguing with themselves. But he wasn't against the state. He wasn't against being a Roman.

He was a Roman, free-born. So in verse 9, now we see the political side of Festus. But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, brethren, do the right thing, not the convenient thing. Do the right thing. Not the convenient thing. For him, it was convenient. Why? I make some friends with the Jews. And the Jews are getting beaten here, because they really don't have any proof against this man. So maybe I could just do them a favor. He answered Paul and said, Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem? This is what they had asked before, so he's going to curry their favor a little bit.

Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things? Paul knew if he went to Jerusalem, he was a dead man. He knew it would be stacked against him. He knew they would have time to probably suborn wicked men to come in and try to accuse him. He knew they would probably try to kill him on the way down. So what did the Apostle Paul do? Verse 10. He did what every good Roman had the right to do. He appealed to Caesar.

He said, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I have done no wrong as you very well know. You don't have any proof. They didn't supply you with any proof. And you want to send me back to Jerusalem to those men? No. I appeal to Caesar. It was every Roman's right to appeal to Caesar unless they had done some heinous crime. I can read it to you out of here, page 173.

If a Roman citizen felt he was not getting justice in a provincial court, he could appeal direct to the emperor. Only if a man was a murderer, a pilot, a pirate, a pirate, could be a pilot too, of a ship, but he's a pirate, a pirate or a bandit caught in the act was the appeal invalid. None of those were the cases. So Paul uttered his fateful words, I appeal to Caesar.

Festus had no choice. And so Paul, in very different circumstances from those he had dreamed, had set his foot upon the first step to being sent to Rome. It is interesting, in Matthew 10 and verse 18, we read that we will be sent. Disciples were told they'll be sent. They'll have to stand before leaders and give account. Matthew 10 and verse 18. And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as Christ said, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

You're going to be brought before kings and leaders. And he says, let me just follow in verse 19, but when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak, for it shall be given to you in that same hour what you shall speak. I've been put on the spot a few times, not before kings, but on the radio in Niagara Falls. After the feast in Niagara Falls, somebody called me for an interview about something, and I didn't know what they were going to ask. And I just prayed to God for answers, and they came.

But I had no idea what they were going to ask. They didn't give me any information ahead of time. And God can somehow guide us and help us, the right thoughts to come into our minds, to guide us through when we're put on the spot.

And this is what the Apostle Paul didn't have time to sit around and plan and prepare. But he appealed to Caesar. Over in Acts 9 and verse 15, when he was first converted, remember what this statement was said about him, what he faced in the future. Acts 9 and verse 15, the Lord said to him, Go your way, told Ananias, the prophet who was going to lay hands on him, go your way, for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

And now he was going to go to the king of the entire Roman Empire, the emperor at Rome, Caesar. It was his ticket when he said, I appeal. He was forced into it because he had no other means. Either he died before God was ready to let him go, or he appealed to Caesar.

Verse 11, he says, For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I don't object to dying. If I am a criminal, then I have committed some capital crime, that I deserve to die, I am willing to die. But if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar. With those words, they studied, they had to send him. Notice what happened. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, so he asked the lawyers, is this right?

Is this true? Does he get to go? Is the case ended right now for me here? Is it over? And so, of course, he answered after he checked with them, You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go.

He appealed. He appealed. Now here's the question. Can you use the law of the land to help you? Yes, you can. That's clear in Scripture. You can use the law of the land. You don't have to just take everything that comes your way. One time I was driving in Windsor, I made a left-hand turn, and the police officer stopped me. Well, I didn't complete my turn through the yellow-green, because there was a pedestrian in the jaywalking, and I didn't want to hit the pedestrian, so I stopped.

And after the pedestrian crossed, I went through. The light had turned red by this time. This police was standing on the corner, and he said, You get over here, you point me over to this. So I pulled over to the side. He walked up, Let me see your license. Just really nasty. So I said, What is your badge number? What is your name? Took his badge. Where do you work? Where is your station?

And when he was done, I wheeled around, and I went to his station, and I went right in, and I said to them, I don't mind being given a ticket if I've done wrong. I don't mind being stopped by a police officer, and I respect the police. But this man treated me like a common criminal, and he had no proof of what I did, and he was nasty. And if he treats other people this way, he's doing your police department a great disservice. And I walked away, and I appealed it, and I won.

He never showed up at court. I used the law. He had no right to treat me that way. I wasn't mean, but I was straight. So again, I say to you, you can use the law. You don't have to just say, take everything that comes your way.

If you know the law, you can use the law in your favor. You can use the law for you. You don't have to walk away from it, or be unknowledgeable of it, or be penalized by it if it's not correct. Paul did it before, when they were about to beat him. He said, oh, by the way, is that okay for you to beat a Roman? Oops! A guy stopped in the midst of hitting him. He said, well, I purchased my citizenship.

Paul said, I'm free-born. Oh. Then he called the captain, his guys of Roman, who were about to beat him, and he's never been condemned of anything. And then they called the big magistrate, and they said, well, you should go. Now Paul said, no, I'm not going until you give him. Come here and apologize. I'm not leaving. And then he left. So you can use the law. Paul did. He appealed. Verse 13, after some days, King Agrippa and Bernice. Now who's Bernice? Bernice is the sister of Jusilla. Bernice is the wife and sister of King Agrippa. Wife and sister of this king. So it is interesting. I want to read to you just a little bit about them, and I'm going to read to you about the Harrods before I continue.

Page 170. Let's see. I'll come to the other section. Page 174. Agrippa II was still a king of quite a small part of Palestine, which included Galilee and Peria. He knew quite well that he held even that limited realm by the grace of the Romans. They had put him there, and they could just as easily remove him.

So he was kind of like a puppet king. He was there, but he was on the string to Rome. It was there for his custom to pay a courtesy visit to a Roman governor when he entered his province. Technically, he's the king, the other guy is the governor, but who's got the power? Rome. So let's go up and do a little bit of point making, if you can, winning.

So it was his custom to pay a visit. Bernice was a sister of Drusilla, the wife of Felix. She was also the sister of Agrippa himself. Festus, knowing that Agrippa had the most intimate knowledge of the Jewish faith and practice, proposed to discuss Paul's case with him.

He gave Agrippa a characteristically impartial view of the situation, review as it existed at the moment. Now the stage was set for Paul to plead his case and bear his witness before a king. And of course, then he would go to the ultimate one. Let me read to you about this. Festus himself, Festus had gotten into difficulty. It was Roman law that if a man appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome, there must be sent with him a written account of the case and of the charges against him. Festus' problem was, as far as he could see, there was no charge to send. Why are you sending this man to Caesar? And there's nothing that you can prove. There are no valid charges. That is why this meeting was convened. He was hoping he could get more help in discussing and discovering why this man would be sent. But I like this part. Listen. There's no... and this comes from Barclays' Acts of the Apostles, page 175. There is no more dramatic scene in all the New Testament. It was with pomp that Agrippa and Bernice had come. They would have on their purple robes of royalty, their gold circlet of crown on their brows. Doubtless Festus had donned the scarlet robe which a governor wore on state occasions. Close at hand must have stood Agrippa's whole entourage, sweet it says, and also in attendance were the most influential figures of the Jews. Close by Festus would stand the captains in command of the five cohorts which were stationed in Caesarea. And in the background there would be a solid flanks of tall Roman legionaries on ceremonial guard. Into such a scene came Paul, a little Jewish tentmaker with his hands in chains, 60-year-old. Yet from the moment he speaks, it is Paul who holds the stage. There are some men who have an element of power. And he goes on to say, When a man has Christ in his heart, and God in his right hand, he has the secret of power. Of whom then shall he be afraid? So Paul enters this room with all these pomp and ceremony there to try to give an account of what it's all about. I have something in Vaughan too about this, see page 146. About the two of them, Herod and the... Let's see... This was Herod Agrippa II, son of Herod, half-brother of Jusilla, wife of Felix, because of his youthful age, 17, at the time of his father's death. Agrippa II was not appointed to succeed him, but later on he did. After three years, Nero added to Agrippa's domain several cities and villages around the Sea of Galilee. His capital was Caesarea Philippi, the name of which it changed as time went on. Agrippa was educated in Rome and in thorough sympathy with the policies of Rome. So he was in thorough sympathy with it. I'm going to share with you something about the Harrods. Herod the Great, you're familiar with him. He was the king who was alive when Jesus Christ was born. He died shortly thereafter. He was a ruthless fighter, cunning negotiator, and a subtle diplomat. For 33 years, he remained a loyal friend and an ally of Rome, beginning in 37 BC. Later, he was appointed as king of Judea, and he was in direct control of the Jewish people. He did much to improve his relationship with the Jews when he prevented the temple in Jerusalem from being raided and defiled by the Romans. To assure his continued rule, he slaughtered all male infants who could possibly be considered legal heirs to the throne. His wife, Mary Ann, also became a victim of his suspicion and brutality. At times, Herod implemented his policies with force and cruelty.

His kingdom began to decline about 14 BC. It was brought on mainly by his personal problems. Herod's murder of his wife, Mary Ann, apparently haunted him. This was compounded when his two sons of that marriage, Alexander and Aristobobulus, realized their father was responsible for their mother's death. So by 7 BC, Herod had both of those sons put to death. Ruthless, right? As Herod became increasingly ill, an intense struggle for succession to his throne emerged within the family. Herod the Great. His 10 marriages and 15 children virtually guaranteed such a struggle. One son poisoned Herod's mind against the other two eligible sons, and there was all this wrangling back and forth.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great. And of course, you know what he did. He killed all the males, two years and under, to try to kill off Jesus.

Herod, Archalaeus, inherited his father's, Herod's, vices without his abilities. That's what it says about him. He's one of the sons. He inherited his vices, his troubles without his abilities.

He was responsible for much bloodshed in the Jewish revolt, especially led by the zealots. The only biblical reference to Archalaeus occurs in Matthew 2.22.

Herod, Philip the Tetrarch, Philip who inherited the northern part of his father's kingdom, Luke 3, verse 1, must have been the best of Herod's surviving sons, but he's kept out of the picture. Herod Antipas, another of Herod's sons, began as the Tetrarch over Galilee and Pareea, and he was ruling Herod during Jesus' life and ministry.

He's the one who took his brother's wife, remember, that John the Baptist said, Why do you have your brother's wife? And he had him beheaded.

Herod Agrippa I took over Antipas' territory. That was the one who was there. He ruled from 37 to 44 after Jesus. After Antipas fell from favor, so he took over from him, Agrippa's power and responsibility extended far beyond his ability. As a young person growing up in the imperial court, he developed an undisciplined and extravagant lifestyle. But Agrippa had enough charm and intelligence to stay on the good side of Rome. You can be evil as long as you're nice. You're a nice evil person.

Nice evil people don't get replaced. Amazing.

Very little about Agrippa I is recorded in Scripture from the comments in Acts 12 verses 1-23. We know Agrippa sought to win the favor of the Jewish subjects by opposing the church. And, of course, his death is recorded on how he died, a humiliating death, worms eating him up.

Herod Agrippa II, the one we're dealing with, was judged to be too young to assume leadership over all the land. He was appointed as the legitimate ruler over part of this territory. The only reference to Herod Agrippa II in the New Testament occurs in Acts 25 verses 13-26 and verse 32, which deals with Paul's imprisonment.

Agrippa listened to Paul's defense, but the apostle appealed to Rome. Agrippa had no power to set him free. Agrippa was caught in Jewish revolts that preceded the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD under Emperor Titus. And he continued to rule by appointment of Vespasian until his death in AD 100.

His death marked the end of the Herodian dynasty and the affairs of the people. This comes from Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary, which I have on my computer. So, Herod, if you want it, Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary by Thomas Nelson.

So that gives you some information. So we're dealing with Herod, Agrippa II here, who's married to his sister, Bernice. After some days, verse 13, King Agrippa, this is Acts 25-13, after some days, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. And when they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, there's a certain man left in prison by Felix, about whom the chief priests and elders of the Jews informed me when I was in Jerusalem. So he was barely on the job, and they came to me already about him.

He said, and asking for a judgment against him, to them I answered, it is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man the destruction. So he knew what they wanted to do. Before the accused meets the accusers face to face, he has the opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him. Therefore, when they had come together without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in.

When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed. So I thought, boy, they had more proof than this. They made a big stink about it, but they had no proof. But had some questions against him about their own religion, which the Romans stayed out of that. And about a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

So they had questions about him. That's not my business. And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem, and there be judged concerning these matters. But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar. Remember, he's looking for something to write. Then Agrippa said to Festus, I also would like to hear the man myself.

Remember what they said about Paul and his work? That he had turned the world upside down? That Paul even says, I've preached the gospel everywhere in the world. What a dynamo he was! People had heard about him if they had not met him. They had heard about this man who travels all over preaching about Jesus Christ.

Who once killed people who believed in Jesus Christ, who now is on their side. So Agrippa said, I'll hear the man for myself. Tomorrow, he said, you shall hear him. So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, here they are, all the ceremony, the trumpets blowing, all the robes flowing, and the wine in abundance, and the court all set up magnificently.

Everything shined and polished, and all the guards at honor position. When he had entered the auditorium with the commanders, and the prominent men of the city, at festus command, Paul was brought in. So here you have the Apostle Paul coming in humbly into this situation, the 60-year-old tentmaker probably still in chains. And festus said, King Agrippa, all the men who were here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer.

They want to give him. But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. Verse 26, I have nothing certain to write to my Lord concerning him. What am I going to say? Is the reason I'm sending him. I'm going to really look bad if I can't find something to write. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after, because he was familiar with the Jews, he felt familiar with their religion, familiar with circumstances about the temple and all the rest, brought him out before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place, I may have something to write.

Maybe you could coach me a little bit. For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, not to specify any charges. Why is he a prisoner? If he hasn't done anything wrong, I'm going to be in trouble, is what he's saying. So it ends with that particular section, and I'll stop there and save chapters 20. Chapter 26 is his defense before Agrippa, and the Apostle Paul doesn't spare anything in his preaching.

He goes after him, and he explains about his life. He explains what he has done, and he almost turns him, almost. And he said he could have been free if he had just not appealed to Caesar. But Paul couldn't take that chance. Mr. Edington, any comments or thoughts? No, it's a fascinating story. I remember that God told Paul in a dream, in Acts 23.11, that, by the way, I am going to send you to Rome.

And that was, you know, this was all preordained, almost, that this was going to happen. Yeah. Fascinating story. We have a couple of questions here we can close with. I have one here. It says, it's not necessarily related to a recent Bible study, but I would like to inquire to a recent sermon. I don't know if it was my sermon or somebody else's, but anyway. In reference to being a servant, are you being submissive?

Are you being submissive? Do you do what you are told? I don't know. I don't think I gave that. But anyway, does this transfer to the Scripture, speaking of women, submitting to their husbands? Of course. All women are supposed to be slaves to their husbands. Get that, dear? Nuts, do you see? As far as I read it, Ephesians 5.21 says, submitting yourself one to another. So if a wife is supposed to be the submissive person to her husband, the husband also is supposed to be.

But Ephesians 5.22 does talk about wives submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord. She is in the secondary role in the marriage. She is not second fiddle to anybody as a person. But in the relationship, God holds the husband accountable first. Husband is the head of the wife, it says in 1 Corinthians 11. I've also taught in Ephesians 5. But what does that mean? Then you go to 1 Peter 3, where he says, wives, submit to your husbands. Be in submission. But he also goes on to say, husbands, honor your wives.

A husband who honors his wife will not treat his wife like a slave. A wife who loves her husband and understands the principle of Ephesians 5 will cheerfully help. The first woman made Eve. It's spoken of her that she is a help comparable to her husband. Didn't make her the boss, he made her a help.

Comparable. She's not inferior as a person. But in the family structure that God gave, she has a lesser position in a sense of authority in the home. It is never a question of who's in charge. God says, man's the head of the home. It is a question of how he's in charge that makes the difference.

Scriptures, Ephesians 5.22, the person asks for scriptures. 1 Peter 3.1 and 7, Colossians 3.18. But when can a woman not listen to her husband? Acts 5.29. We ought to obey God rather than man. If your husband's a man. If your husband's a man. You cannot, you can say, I will not do it if it's a sin. Any husband who tries to tell his wife to sin, she has the right to reject that. When I counsel girls and guys for marriage, I say to them, do you know what type of judgment this man makes?

Because remember the scripture, you should obey him in everything. How does he make judgments? Does he make them all on his own? Does he consider you? Do you have an input? Do you get your input? Do you work together on things?

Does he make bad judgments? Because you know what? Once you're married, he's going to be making the judgments in your home. And are you the one? Does he take you into account? Does he get your input? Does he value your input? Do you work together? You better check that out. But any man who rules his wife like a lord to a slave has made a huge mistake. She's your partner.

She's your companion. Malachi talks about she's your companion, not your slave. So submission, what does that mean? I always tell couples when I counsel them, you need to talk about submission. What does it mean? Because when I think the word submission, I think of a person bowing and scraping to somebody else. It's what I think of it, but when I think of a wife being submissive, I don't think of that.

You need to talk about it. What does that mean? And make sure you both agree and know what that means. So I hope that answers the question. No, woman's not supposed to be a slave to her husband, but she is supposed to submit in the course of things in the family. There's one other that came in as well. If someone shops for you on a weekday and brings a product to Sabbath services, and I write a check to pay for the product on the weekday, and we exchange the items, is this considered buying and selling on the Sabbath?

This would be a favor for me, because I live 100 miles away from the store. This fellow lives there. Each weekend I drive to Sabbath services but never travel that way other than Saturday. And so this delivery is to save me a trip, she says, going 100 miles to the store. She must live way out from the nearest store. She says it's 100 miles from the store. She must be way out there.

The question is, is it okay to exchange those goods on the Sabbath? She says she writes the check during the week. And this is something we do have to be very careful about, and that is not buying and selling on the Sabbath. You'll read that back in the Old Testament times, around the time of Nehemiah even, there were people buying and selling at the entrance to the city on the Sabbath, God took a very stern view of that. Nehemiah 10, was it? 1031. Nehemiah 10, verse 31, The people of the land bring where or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath or on the Holy Day, that we would leave the seventh year in the action of every debt.

Now, what's being talked about here, though, is not the same case as buying and selling on the Sabbath as a business. The lady is writing out her check ahead of time, and then just, I think it would be very important just to slip it into an envelope, or even mail it during the week, even.

Pop the check in the mail, and he knows it's coming, and he can just give you the bag of groceries at church. I wouldn't put that in the term of, or the category of buying and selling on the Sabbath, and a business proposition. It is because she lives so far from the store.

If you can put the check in the mail ahead of time, I think that would avoid that compromise as well. Mr. Antion, any thoughts? Yeah, I would say the same thing. Certainly, you could put something in an envelope and hand it to that person during church, or you could put it at the safest. I would say, me, of it. And if that person brings it and has it in their car, and all you do is take it out of his car, put it in your car, or if it's cold, if it's hot out, bring it in, or it's cool enough, and then transfer it after services. There's no big deal on that. Any more than bringing food in here for the potluck that we had today, which was, by the way, delicious. Thank you all. Thank you all. It was wonderful. The last Super Sabbath I'll be doing with you, as far as running it, Mr. Myers can decide what he wants to do when he comes. But it was great. I think there's still some leftover, whatever out there, that we could enjoy afterwards. We had a wonderful potluck for those on the webcast. We had a Sabbath service this morning at 11 o'clock. We had a break afterwards, and we had five people ordained as deacons, three as deacons, and two as deaconesses for the service here to serve in the church. And then we also had a wonderful potluck Italian-flavored luncheon. So we had a great time. But yeah, as much as you can avoid doing that, if the food is necessary, if it's like necessary grains or necessary things like that, okay, fine. If it's just something like, they buy me popsicles that I can't get in my area, forget the popsicles, you know, make your own or whatever else, rather than try to do that. But it's a matter of you're not trying to do business on the Sabbath, and you're not making money on it, you're not doing business, you're actually doing service to someone who cannot get that particular potluck. So you're not making any particular product or products being 100 miles away. So I hope that helps, but we want to honor God's Sabbath day as best we can in our modern world of conveniences. Before we close, I did want to say hi to Bill Zimmer, who's listening in from home. He was here this morning, but he had to take off this afternoon. He said he listened in on the webcast. He called me up Tuesday over in Bloomington, and by the way, she's doing a lot better. She's recuperating nicely. We spent about 4 days over there last week, so she's doing better, recuperating all the time. Alright! That brings us to a close. We ended 5 minutes early. Don't hold us 5 or 6 minutes early. Don't hold us guilty for that. We'll release you and say have a wonderful Rest of the Sabbath day, and see you next time.