No one can accuse Paul of having it too easy. At this point in his ministry he’s a prisoner of the Roman government and about to board a ship to take him to Rome to face trial. Not long into the voyage a storm will come upon them. By the end of the chapter the ship will be destroyed. Compare this to storms and shipwrecks in your own life.
Any time that any person is confronted with the truth about Jesus, it demands a personal response. Two of the most common are to respond very negatively or try to avoid a response altogether. This section of the book of Acts allows us to closely examine these common responses to the gospel.
When people discuss the gospel publicly, a lot of opinions get thrown around. Some are intellectual, some emotional. These next chapters give us a grid by which we can analyze varius responses to Jesus. The important point is that the gospel demands a personal response.
Those interested in Bible prophecy might be intrigued by an article in the Jerusalem Post from Thursday, February 19, 2009. It points out a noticeable shift in political focus in Turkey, which has in the past been very western-leaning, but now has an Islamist-led government.
The connection with Bible prophecy is found in Ezekiel 38, where a coalition is formed to attack Israel led by “Rosh” (Russia), but including Persia (Iran) and Gomer (Turkey). This coalition is destined to fail.
For anyone wanting additional information or explanation about Ezekiel 38-39, I’m including a link to my own notes. These were written in July of 2005, when we were studying Ezekiel at Horizon Central.
Finally, there is also a link to a 2005 article from the Middle East Forum, expressing doubt as to whether Turkey can maintain its pro-western tilt.
Article from Middle East Forum
Thanks to John Colón for pointing out the article in JPost.
Central Reflections 