Acts 27: Journey to Italy - Bible Study Summary
Bible Study # 21
3 15 16
Acts 27
Administrative Information
•
The Bible Study Class will be presented in the parish hall every
Tuesday morning
from
9:30 A.M. until 11 A.M.
beginning September 15, 2015 and ending
May 24,
2016
except for the following Tuesdays related to a holiday:
•
Nov 24, 2015 – Thanksgiving Week
•
Dec 8, 2015 – Feast of the Immaculate Conception
•
Dec 22, 2015 – Christmas Week
•
Dec 29, 2015 - New Year’s Week
•
Mar 22, 2016 – Holy Week
•
The same class will be given every
Tuesday evening
from
7:30 until 9:00 P.M.
in
the parish hall
•
Contact info (703) 644-5873; email
roberteward3@verizon.net
•
Inclement weather decision will be based on Fairfax County Public School
announcements
Acts 27
•
Acts 27:1-44
“And when it was decided that we should
sail for Italy,…And so it was that all escaped to land.”
•
Luke indicates that he was with Paul on this journey to Rome
•
Paul and a few other prisoners were under the authority of
Julius, a centurion of the Cohort of Augusta (a 1000 man unit
stationed in Syria)
•
Paul’s journey to Rome required three separate ships
•
First, from Caesarea to Myra
•
Second, from Myra to Malta
•
Third, from Malta to Puteoli
Acts 27
•
The ships avoided the open sea whenever possible and
made a series of short hops to coastal ports along the
shoreline
•
After traveling for one day, Julius allowed Paul to visit his
friends at
Sidon
who administered to Paul’s needs as a
prisoner
•
Next, they sailed to
Myra
where they changed ships
•
Julius decides to transfer his prisoners to an Alexandrian
ship heading for Italy
•
After making little headway they arrive in
Cnidus
and on to Fair
Haven on the Island of
Crete
Acts 27 (Cont)
•
By now it was autumn and sailing had become
hazardous
•
Paul warned Julius that sailing at that time would result
in serious damage and heavy loss of cargo, the ship and
human life
•
Julius ignored Paul’s warning and set sail for Italy with
276 people on board
•
Unfortunately, they ran into off shore winds of
hurricane force resulting in the loss of the ship at
Malta
•
Paul informed Julius that he had experienced a dream
promising that all would be spared
•
Fortunately, Julius wanting to save Paul decided to
spare the lives of the prisoners *
Acts 28
Acts 28
•
Acts 28:1-16
“After we had escaped, we then learned
that the island was called Malta….And when they came
into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with
the soldier that guarded him.”
•
Once they reached land they discovered that it was the island
of Malta
•
The natives were very hospitable
•
While picking up sticks for a fire Paul was bitten by a
poisonous snake which he shook off into the fire
•
The natives who thought he would die, decoded that he must
be a god
•
Paul then heals the father of Publius who was the chief of the
island leading the natives to bring the sick to be cured by Paul
Acts 28 (Cont)
•
Three months later Julius finds another Alexandrian
ship bound for Italy
•
Their first stop was Syracuse in Sicily, then
Rhegium
in
Calabria
and finally
Puteoli
on the western side of Italy
•
From there Paul and Luke walk toward Rome and are
met by some fellow Christians at the Forum of Appius
(43 miles from Rome and the Three Taverns (33 miles
from Rome)
•
Once Paul reaches Rome the “we” narrative ends and
Luke simply relates the final part of Acts concerning
Paul’s house arrest in the third person *
Acts 28 (Cont)
•
Acts 28:17-31
“After three days he called together
the local leaders of the Jews;…preaching the
kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus
Christ quite openly and unhindered.”
•
Because Paul was under house arrest, he could not visit
the local synagogue so he invited the local Jewish leaders
three days after his arrival to visit him in his lodgings
•
He presented three points to them:
•
First, that he had done nothing against his people (Jews) or their
ancestral customs
Acts 28 (Cont)
•
Second, that he had not committed a crime according to
Roman standards and for this reason they wanted to release
him
•
Third, that it was only because of objections to his release by
Jews in Jerusalem that he was forced to appeal to Caesar
•
The Jewish leaders indicated that they had not received
any letters from Judea or any damaging oral reports or
rumors
•
These leaders demonstrated a certain fair-mindedness
and asked to hear Paul’s presentation about this Jewish
sect that was being denounced everywhere
•
A meeting was agreed to and Paul presented the gospel
to them from early morning until evening
•
Some listeners were convinced and others were not
Acts 28 (Cont)
•
Paul’s final statement was from the Prophet Isaiah which
he used to warn his compatriots of the danger of
imitating their ancestors by refusing to heed God’s call to
them through Paul
•
This implied that the Jewish reluctance to accept Jesus as
the Messiah had been foreshadowed by God’s word
through Isaiah
•
Paul concluded that because of this “This salvation of
God has been sent to the Gentiles.”
•
Acts ends with the declaration that Paul remained for
two full years under house arrest
Acts 28 (Cont)
•
Despite his house arrest, Paul continued to
proclaim the kingdom of God and taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ
•
Thus Acts ends on a triumphal note with the two
last words in Greek meaning “boldness” and
“unhindered”
•
Even if the messenger was chained, the message
was not
Early Christian Time Line (Cont)
60-61 Paul’s Journey to Rome (Acts 27: 1-28:14)
61-63 First Roman imprisonment
•
Captivity Epistles
•
Ephesians
•
Philippians
•
Colossians
•
Philemon
Transition
•
Next we will look at the four “Captivity Epistles”
•
Background for Paul’s
Letter to the Ephesians
Ephesus
•
Ephesus
, in the heart of the providence of Asia, was a
major metropolis and the envy of all her neighbors
•
The city had been rebuilt by General Lysimachus, the
successor to Alexander the Great, and at the time of
Paul breathed the spirit of late Greek internationalism.
•
It contained vast storehouses and a world of commerce
•
Ephesus
can be considered the Babylon of the
Apocalypse rather than Rome
•
Along with
Jerusalem
and
Athens
,
Ephesus
was one of
the three great holy cities of antiquity
Ephesus (Cont)
•
It had a prosperous Jewish colony with its own
government and freedom of religion
•
All funds collected from the Jews of Asia in support of
the Temple in Jerusalem were handled by the Jewish
bank in
Ephesus
•
Ephesus
was a city known for its involvement in magic
and temples of the goddess Artemis
•
Paul’s teaching helped set the stage for how the early
Christians dealt with magical practices and contended
with the fact that the Christian message was perceived
to have political and economic repercussions leading to
hostility and even persecution
Ephesus (Cont)
•
In 61 B.C. Cicero appeared in
Ephesus
in a famous
lawsuit as the defense attorney for
Flaccus
, the governor
of the province of Asia accused of trying to prevent the
Jewish Temple fund from leaving Ephesus
•
Many of the Jews were interested in hearing Paul’s
message about Christianity during the one Sabbath he
spent with them at the end of his second journey
•
Paul’s journey from
Tarsus
to
Ephesus
on this 3
rd
journey
was approximately 720 miles
Ephesus (Cont)
•
Philosophically
Ephesus
was the location for the pre-
Socratic thought; the chaotic dreams of the
Orphics
and their weird cosmogonies which were later
overcome by Greek thought
•
It supported
Artemisium
, the sanctuary of
Diana,
the
central point for all Asiatic magic.
•
The shrine of
Diana
was one of the seven wonders of
the ancient world
Ephesus (Cont)
•
The
Artemis
of
Ephesus
was not only the divine huntress
and virgin of the Greeks but also a degenerate form of
Phoenician Astarte containing a black idol with countless
breasts and massive thighs that were believed to have
fallen from heaven (like the black stone of Kaaba at
Mecca)
•
Her temple was also a large banking institution
containing the entire treasury of the province of Asia
•
It was approximately the size of St Peter’s in Rome and
the roof was supported by 127 columns which rested on
a sculptured marble forms
Ephesus (Cont)
•
It was the paradise of pleasures, vices, and mysteries of
the Orient
•
The statues of gods and goddesses that Paul observed
there reminded him of what he experienced in
Athens
•
The old part of the city was completely in the hands of
the priesthood
•
An army of priestesses, who originally had been from a
troop of Amazons, was appointed to defend the image of
the goddess
Ephesus (Cont)
•
There was an equal number of priests, most of
whom were eunuchs and governed by a chief priest
•
And the temple also:
•
Contained temple guards, musicians, singers, staff
carriers, magicians, and fakers
•
Was an asylum for criminals
Introduction to Paul’s Letter to the
Ephesians
•
There is debate over the date of Paul’s Letter to the
Ephesians
, but most likely it was written by Paul toward
the end of his first captivity in Rome around the spring
of 63
•
His audience is difficult to establish
•
If the phrase “in Ephesus” is authentic, then Paul was writing
to Christians in the leading metropolis of the Roman
providence of Asia (a place where Paul spent several years
ministering to the Ephesians and disseminating the gospel
throughout the region)
•
If the phrase was not part of the original letter, then it might
have been a circular letter that Paul intended for several
churches in Asia Minor
Introduction to Paul’s Letter to
the Ephesians (Cont)
•
Paul visited
Ephesus
at the end of his Second Missionary
Journey (52)
•
He returned during his Third Missionary Journey (54-57)
and from here he wrote 1
st
Corinthians and Galatians
•
He had to leave the city due to the persecution following
the problems with
Demetrius
, the silver-smith
•
It appears that he left Timothy in
Ephesus
on his final trip
through Macedonia as bishop of the city where he was
eventually martyred for the faith
•
Themes and Characteristics
•
A vision of Christ reigning in heaven next to the Father
•
A renewal of the earth through his Church
•
Paul seems to contemplate and articulate a more
reflective way God’s saving work in Jesus
•
Instead of pastoral surgery, he gave the
Ephesians
a dose
of preventative medicine hoping that a deeper
appreciation of God’s blessings would lead them to a
more mature commitment to the gospels
•
It can best be described as his “mystagogical” catechesis
for the newly baptized
Testimony to Ephesians
•
The Epistle to the Ephesians can be seen as the most
eloquent of his letters and contains some of the richest
theological writing in the Christian tradition
•
Christians for over 2000 years have been thrilled to
read its:
•
Inspiring prayers
•
Awesome depiction of Christ as the head of creation and the
Church
•
Narrative of grace and salvation through Jesus’ death and
resurrection
•
Proclamation of the oneness in Christ of Gentile and Jew in
the sevenfold unity of the Church
Testimony to Ephesians (Cont)
•
Lofty ethical invitation to “be imitators of God, as beloved
children”
•
Lyrical comparison of marriage to the spousal relationship
between Christ and the Church
•
Many of Paul’s earlier themes are recapitulated here and
expressed in a highly polished manner
•
The impact of this letter has been immense
•
According to Raymond Brown, “Among the Pauline
writings only Romans can match Ephesians as a
candidate for exercising the most influence on Christian
thought and spirituality.”
Letter to the Ephesians (Cont)
•
During his imprisonment in Rome Paul fulfilled his
mission both by speaking to the:
•
Soldiers who guarded him
•
Judges who heard his case
•
Visitors who came to see him
•
And by writing to at least:
•
Ephesians
•
Philippians
•
Colossians
•
Philemon
•
and 2
nd
Timothy
Letter to the Ephesians (Cont)
•
A major hypothesis was that the letter was intended to
circulate both among the house church in
Ephesus
and
among the other nascent churches of
Asia
•
The content of the letter sheds some light on how Paul
perceived his audience as primarily Gentile Christians
•
His prayers and exhortations give us a sketch of the
profile of the Church of Ephesus and the surrounding
region
•
They were relatively new to their faith and although baptized
and catechized, they needed to be strengthened in their
Christian identity
Letter to the Ephesians (Cont)
•
Because they lived in a society that worshipped gods
and used magic, they needed to grasp Christ’s absolute
supremacy
•
They needed to understand the exalted position and
spiritual authority that belonged to believers and to the
Church as a whole as a consequence of Christ’s death,
resurrection, and ascension
•
They also needed to know that their standing was equal
to the Jewish Christians who most likely were the main
leaders of the congregation
An Overview of Paul’s Epistles
•
Before we look at the letter to the
Epistle to the
Ephesians
, let’s look back at the general outline or
overview of Paul’s letters
•
His Epistles are listed in the Bible beginning with the
longest and ending with the shortest because that is the
way they were used in the lectionary of the early church
•
This lectionary was divided into the Gospel Book and the Epistle
Book
•
His 14 Epistles are divided into two groups:
An Overview of Paul’s Epistles
(Cont)
•
9 Community Epistles
•
1
st
Thessalonians (from Corinth 2
nd
Journey)
•
2
nd
Thessalonians (from Corinth 2
nd
Journey)
•
Galatians (from Ephesus 3
rd
Journey)
•
1
st
Corinthians (from Ephesus 3
rd
Journey)
•
2
nd
Corinthians (from Philippi 3
rd
Journey)
•
Romans (from Corinth 3
rd
Journey)
•
Ephesians (captivity in Rome)
•
Philippians (captivity in Rome)
•
Colossians (captivity in Rome)
An Overview of Paul’s Epistles
(Cont)
•
5 Personal Epistles (including Hebrews)
•
Philemon (captivity in Rome)
•
1
st
Timothy
•
2
nd
Timothy
•
Titus
•
Hebrews
An Overview of Paul’s Epistles
(Cont)
•
Again, his letters typically:
•
Began with
his name
•
Included
who was traveling with him
•
Identified the
Church to whom the letter was written
•
Contained the phrase “
in God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ
”
•
Included the statement containing the words “
by grace
”
and “
peace
”
•
Often contained a “
blessing
” followed by a
“
thanksgiving
” section
•
Finally, included a
theological section
as the heart of
the letter
The Bible study class on Acts 27 explores Paul's journey towards Italy, detailing the challenges faced at sea, encounters with different ports, and the divine interventions that spared lives. The class covers key events like warnings about hazardous sailing conditions, the loss of the ship at Malta, and Paul's assurance of protection through a dream. Join the study to dive deeper into the biblical narrative and the faithfulness displayed amidst perilous moments.
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Presentation Transcript
Bible Study # 21 3 15 16
Administrative Information The Bible Study Class will be presented in the parish hall every Tuesday morning from 9:30 A.M. until 11 A.M. beginning September 15, 2015 and ending May 24, 2016 except for the following Tuesdays related to a holiday: Nov 24, 2015 Thanksgiving Week Dec 8, 2015 Feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec 22, 2015 Christmas Week Dec 29, 2015 - New Year s Week Mar 22, 2016 Holy Week The same class will be given every Tuesday evening from 7:30 until 9:00 P.M. in the parish hall Contact info (703) 644-5873; email roberteward3@verizon.net Inclement weather decision will be based on Fairfax County Public School announcements
Acts 27 Acts 27:1-44 And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, And so it was that all escaped to land. Luke indicates that he was with Paul on this journey to Rome Paul and a few other prisoners were under the authority of Julius, a centurion of the Cohort of Augusta (a 1000 man unit stationed in Syria) Paul s journey to Rome required three separate ships First, from Caesarea to Myra Second, from Myra to Malta Third, from Malta to Puteoli
Acts 27 The ships avoided the open sea whenever possible and made a series of short hops to coastal ports along the shoreline After traveling for one day, Julius allowed Paul to visit his friends at Sidon who administered to Paul s needs as a prisoner Next, they sailed to Myra where they changed ships Julius decides to transfer his prisoners to an Alexandrian ship heading for Italy After making little headway they arrive in Cnidus and on to Fair Haven on the Island of Crete
Acts 27 (Cont) By now it was autumn and sailing had become hazardous Paul warned Julius that sailing at that time would result in serious damage and heavy loss of cargo, the ship and human life Julius ignored Paul s warning and set sail for Italy with 276 people on board Unfortunately, they ran into off shore winds of hurricane force resulting in the loss of the ship at Malta Paul informed Julius that he had experienced a dream promising that all would be spared Fortunately, Julius wanting to save Paul decided to spare the lives of the prisoners *
Acts 28 Acts 28:1-16 After we had escaped, we then learned that the island was called Malta .And when they came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier that guarded him. Once they reached land they discovered that it was the island of Malta The natives were very hospitable While picking up sticks for a fire Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake which he shook off into the fire The natives who thought he would die, decoded that he must be a god Paul then heals the father of Publius who was the chief of the island leading the natives to bring the sick to be cured by Paul
Acts 28 (Cont) Three months later Julius finds another Alexandrian ship bound for Italy Their first stop was Syracuse in Sicily, then Rhegium in Calabria and finally Puteoli on the western side of Italy From there Paul and Luke walk toward Rome and are met by some fellow Christians at the Forum of Appius (43 miles from Rome and the Three Taverns (33 miles from Rome) Once Paul reaches Rome the we narrative ends and Luke simply relates the final part of Acts concerning Paul s house arrest in the third person *
Acts 28 (Cont) Acts 28:17-31 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews; preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered. Because Paul was under house arrest, he could not visit the local synagogue so he invited the local Jewish leaders three days after his arrival to visit him in his lodgings He presented three points to them: First, that he had done nothing against his people (Jews) or their ancestral customs
Acts 28 (Cont) Second, that he had not committed a crime according to Roman standards and for this reason they wanted to release him Third, that it was only because of objections to his release by Jews in Jerusalem that he was forced to appeal to Caesar The Jewish leaders indicated that they had not received any letters from Judea or any damaging oral reports or rumors These leaders demonstrated a certain fair-mindedness and asked to hear Paul s presentation about this Jewish sect that was being denounced everywhere A meeting was agreed to and Paul presented the gospel to them from early morning until evening Some listeners were convinced and others were not
Acts 28 (Cont) Paul s final statement was from the Prophet Isaiah which he used to warn his compatriots of the danger of imitating their ancestors by refusing to heed God s call to them through Paul This implied that the Jewish reluctance to accept Jesus as the Messiah had been foreshadowed by God s word through Isaiah Paul concluded that because of this This salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. Acts ends with the declaration that Paul remained for two full years under house arrest
Acts 28 (Cont) Despite his house arrest, Paul continued to proclaim the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ Thus Acts ends on a triumphal note with the two last words in Greek meaning boldness and unhindered Even if the messenger was chained, the message was not
Early Christian Time Line (Cont) 60-61 Paul s Journey to Rome (Acts 27: 1-28:14) 61-63 First Roman imprisonment Captivity Epistles Ephesians Philippians Colossians Philemon
Transition Next we will look at the four Captivity Epistles
Background for Pauls Letter to the Ephesians
Ephesus Ephesus, in the heart of the providence of Asia, was a major metropolis and the envy of all her neighbors The city had been rebuilt by General Lysimachus, the successor to Alexander the Great, and at the time of Paul breathed the spirit of late Greek internationalism. It contained vast storehouses and a world of commerce Ephesus can be considered the Babylon of the Apocalypse rather than Rome Along with Jerusalem and Athens, Ephesus was one of the three great holy cities of antiquity
Ephesus (Cont) It had a prosperous Jewish colony with its own government and freedom of religion All funds collected from the Jews of Asia in support of the Temple in Jerusalem were handled by the Jewish bank in Ephesus Ephesus was a city known for its involvement in magic and temples of the goddess Artemis Paul s teaching helped set the stage for how the early Christians dealt with magical practices and contended with the fact that the Christian message was perceived to have political and economic repercussions leading to hostility and even persecution
Ephesus (Cont) In 61 B.C. Cicero appeared in Ephesus in a famous lawsuit as the defense attorney for Flaccus, the governor of the province of Asia accused of trying to prevent the Jewish Temple fund from leaving Ephesus Many of the Jews were interested in hearing Paul s message about Christianity during the one Sabbath he spent with them at the end of his second journey Paul s journey from Tarsus to Ephesus on this 3rdjourney was approximately 720 miles
Ephesus (Cont) Philosophically Ephesus was the location for the pre- Socratic thought; the chaotic dreams of the Orphics and their weird cosmogonies which were later overcome by Greek thought It supported Artemisium, the sanctuary of Diana, the central point for all Asiatic magic. The shrine of Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
Ephesus (Cont) The Artemis of Ephesus was not only the divine huntress and virgin of the Greeks but also a degenerate form of Phoenician Astarte containing a black idol with countless breasts and massive thighs that were believed to have fallen from heaven (like the black stone of Kaaba at Mecca) Her temple was also a large banking institution containing the entire treasury of the province of Asia It was approximately the size of St Peter s in Rome and the roof was supported by 127 columns which rested on a sculptured marble forms
Ephesus (Cont) It was the paradise of pleasures, vices, and mysteries of the Orient The statues of gods and goddesses that Paul observed there reminded him of what he experienced in Athens The old part of the city was completely in the hands of the priesthood An army of priestesses, who originally had been from a troop of Amazons, was appointed to defend the image of the goddess
Ephesus (Cont) There was an equal number of priests, most of whom were eunuchs and governed by a chief priest And the temple also: Contained temple guards, musicians, singers, staff carriers, magicians, and fakers Was an asylum for criminals
Introduction to Pauls Letter to the Ephesians There is debate over the date of Paul s Letter to the Ephesians, but most likely it was written by Paul toward the end of his first captivity in Rome around the spring of 63 His audience is difficult to establish If the phrase in Ephesus is authentic, then Paul was writing to Christians in the leading metropolis of the Roman providence of Asia (a place where Paul spent several years ministering to the Ephesians and disseminating the gospel throughout the region) If the phrase was not part of the original letter, then it might have been a circular letter that Paul intended for several churches in Asia Minor
Introduction to Pauls Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) Paul visited Ephesus at the end of his Second Missionary Journey (52) He returned during his Third Missionary Journey (54-57) and from here he wrote 1stCorinthians and Galatians He had to leave the city due to the persecution following the problems with Demetrius, the silver-smith It appears that he left Timothy in Ephesus on his final trip through Macedonia as bishop of the city where he was eventually martyred for the faith
Themes and Characteristics A vision of Christ reigning in heaven next to the Father A renewal of the earth through his Church Paul seems to contemplate and articulate a more reflective way God s saving work in Jesus Instead of pastoral surgery, he gave the Ephesians a dose of preventative medicine hoping that a deeper appreciation of God s blessings would lead them to a more mature commitment to the gospels It can best be described as his mystagogical catechesis for the newly baptized
Testimony to Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians can be seen as the most eloquent of his letters and contains some of the richest theological writing in the Christian tradition Christians for over 2000 years have been thrilled to read its: Inspiring prayers Awesome depiction of Christ as the head of creation and the Church Narrative of grace and salvation through Jesus death and resurrection Proclamation of the oneness in Christ of Gentile and Jew in the sevenfold unity of the Church
Testimony to Ephesians (Cont) Lofty ethical invitation to be imitators of God, as beloved children Lyrical comparison of marriage to the spousal relationship between Christ and the Church Many of Paul s earlier themes are recapitulated here and expressed in a highly polished manner The impact of this letter has been immense According to Raymond Brown, Among the Pauline writings only Romans can match Ephesians as a candidate for exercising the most influence on Christian thought and spirituality.
Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) During his imprisonment in Rome Paul fulfilled his mission both by speaking to the: Soldiers who guarded him Judges who heard his case Visitors who came to see him And by writing to at least: Ephesians Philippians Colossians Philemon and 2ndTimothy
Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) A major hypothesis was that the letter was intended to circulate both among the house church in Ephesus and among the other nascent churches of Asia The content of the letter sheds some light on how Paul perceived his audience as primarily Gentile Christians His prayers and exhortations give us a sketch of the profile of the Church of Ephesus and the surrounding region They were relatively new to their faith and although baptized and catechized, they needed to be strengthened in their Christian identity
Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) Because they lived in a society that worshipped gods and used magic, they needed to grasp Christ s absolute supremacy They needed to understand the exalted position and spiritual authority that belonged to believers and to the Church as a whole as a consequence of Christ s death, resurrection, and ascension They also needed to know that their standing was equal to the Jewish Christians who most likely were the main leaders of the congregation
An Overview of Pauls Epistles Before we look at the letter to the Epistle to the Ephesians, let s look back at the general outline or overview of Paul s letters His Epistles are listed in the Bible beginning with the longest and ending with the shortest because that is the way they were used in the lectionary of the early church This lectionary was divided into the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book His 14 Epistles are divided into two groups:
An Overview of Pauls Epistles (Cont) 9 Community Epistles 1stThessalonians (from Corinth 2ndJourney) 2ndThessalonians (from Corinth 2ndJourney) Galatians (from Ephesus 3rdJourney) 1stCorinthians (from Ephesus 3rdJourney) 2ndCorinthians (from Philippi 3rdJourney) Romans (from Corinth 3rdJourney) Ephesians (captivity in Rome) Philippians (captivity in Rome) Colossians (captivity in Rome)
An Overview of Pauls Epistles (Cont) 5 Personal Epistles (including Hebrews) Philemon (captivity in Rome) 1stTimothy 2ndTimothy Titus Hebrews
An Overview of Pauls Epistles (Cont) Again, his letters typically: Began with his name Included who was traveling with him Identified the Church to whom the letter was written Contained the phrase in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Included the statement containing the words by grace and peace Often contained a blessing followed by a thanksgiving section Finally, included a theological section as the heart of the letter
