Tomorrow we’ll go back and finish with…
Acts 24
Paul Tried Before Felix
1 And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.
“Ananias” the high priest himself made the 60 mile journey to supervise the case personally.
“Elders” – the council was made up of 71elders. The designation was used of both the religious and the political councils.
“Orator” – in a court trial one trained in forensic rhetoric would serve as an attorney.
“Tertullus” – a common variant of the name Tertius. Possibly he was a Roman but more likely a Hellenistic Jew familiar with the procedures of the Roman court.
2 And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence,
3 We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.
4 Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.
5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
6 Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.
7 But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,
8 Commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him.
9 And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.
10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:
11 Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.
12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:
13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.
17 Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.
18 Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult.
19 Who ought to have been here before thee, and object, if they had ought against me.
20 Or else let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while I stood before the council,
21 Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.
“Touching the resurrection” – Paul again introduces the point of contention between the Pharisees and Sadducees.
22 And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter.
“Having more perfect knowledge of that way” – Felix could not have governed Judea and Samaria for six years without becoming familiar with the place and activities of the Christians.
23 And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him.
“Let him have liberty” – perhaps Paul was under house arrest similar to what he experienced while awaiting trial in Rome – in recognition of the fact that he was a Roman citizen who had not been found guilty of any crime.
24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
“Drusilla” – Felix’s third wife, daughter of Herod Agrippa 1. At age 15 she married Azizus, king of Emesa, but deserted him for Felix a year later. Her son, also named Agrippa, died in the eruption of Vesuvius (79 A.D.).
25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
26 He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him.
“Money should have been given him” – Felix supposed that Paul had access to considerable funds. He had hear of his bringing an offering to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.
So he wanted Paul to give him money in order to secure his release. Paul no longer had the money, nor would he offer a bribe if he had it.
What could one expect, he was a Jew.
What is the objective of Jewish Football? Get the quarter back.
27 But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.
“Festus came into Felix’s room” – Festus succeeded him. Felix was recalled to Rome in 59/60 A.D. to answer for disturbances and irregularities in his rule, such as his handling of riots between Jewish and Syrian inhabitants.
Festus is not mentioned in existing historical records before his arrival in Judea. He died in office after two years, but his record for that time shows wisdom and honesty superior to both his predecessor, Felix, and his successor, Albinus.
Fifty-Two Major Cities of the World
I don’t know all of these cities, haven’t been to any of them outside of the United States, so I apologize if any of the names are misspelled.
1. Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is the capital of Japan located on the eastern coast of Honshu Island at the head of Tokyo Bay.
The city of Tokyo is the administrative, financial, educational, cultural and industrial center of Japan, surrounded by numerous suburban manufacturing complexes.
2. Seoul, the Republic of Korea
Seoul is the capital of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), located in NW part of the country, on the Han River. The political, commercial, industrial, and cultural center of the nation, Seoul is by far the most important city in the country.
3. Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea, in SW of the country, on a high bluff looking down the Taedong River. It is considered as the oldest city on the Korean Peninsula.
During the Korean War, Pyongyang fell to the North Koreans. After having been ravaged in the war, the city was rebuilt according to an organized city planning.
4. Ulan Bator, Mongolia
Ulan Bator (Ulaan Baatar) is the capital city of Mongolia, situated in the north central part of the country, on the Tuul River. It is situated at the foot of the Bogdo Khan Uul, It is the political, cultural, economic, and transportation center of the country.
5. Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. The second largest city in China (after Shanghai), Beijing is the political, cultural, and educational center of the country.
At the center of the city, Tianmen square is located surrounded by Great Hall of the People to the west and Museum of the Revolution to the east.
6. Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei is the capital of Taiwan located in the northern part of Taiwan Island. Taiwan’s largest city, it is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the island. The Jiang Jie-shi Memorial Park is located in the center of the city.
7. Manila, Republic of the Philippines
Manila is the capital of Republic of the Philippines, SW Luzon, on Manila Bay. Manila is the center of the country’s largest metropolitan area, with its chief port, and the center of all the governmental, commercial, industrial, and cultural activities.
8. Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi became (7th cent.) the seat of the Chinese rulers of Vietnam. Hanoi was occupied briefly by French in 1873 and it became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.
9. Vientian, Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Vientiane is the administrative capital and the largest city of Laos, in the north central part of the country on the Mekong River. Vientiane possesses diverse light industries and is a trading center of forest products, textiles, and hides.
10. Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, in SW part of the country, at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers.
Phnom Penh was founded in the 14th century and became Khmer capital after the abandonment of Angkor. It became the capital of Cambodia in 1867. The cultural and commercial center as well as political capital of Cambodia.
11. Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand
Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, in SW part of the country, on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, near the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand’s largest city and one of the leading cities of Southeast Asia. Bangkok is home to the regional headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as well as many other international businesses and organizations.
12. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia, located in the southern part of Malay Peninsula, at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. Malaysia’s chief inland city, Kuala Lumpur is the country’s commercial and transportation hub.
13. Singapore, Republic of Singapore
Singapore , officially called Republic of Singapore, consists of the mainland of Singapore and about 50 small adjacent islands at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, SE Asia.
Its Capital, Singapore city is the largest city and historically played an important role as a key junction of trade between Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean.14. Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia located in NW Java Island, at the mouth of the canalized Ciliwung River, on Jakarta Bay. It is the country’s administrative, commercial, industrial, and transportation center.
15. Yangon, Union of Myanmar
Yangon, formerly Rangoon, is the capital of Myanmar and of Yangon div., located in the south central of Myanmar, on the Yangon River.
The name of Yangon, meaning “the end of war” was given in 1755, ever since the city has been developed as a port city, the center of commercial activities.
Central part of the city was constructed according to the city planning in 1952, when beautiful grid street scape was developed.
16. Dhaka, People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh, located in the high populated delta prone to floods on a channel of the Dhaleswari River, in the heart of the world’s largest jute-growing region, and the industrial, commercial, and administrative center of Bangladesh.
The city achieved glory as the 17th-century Mughal capital of Bengal and became the capital of Pakistan in 1971.
17. Katmandu, Kingdom of Nepal
Katmandu is the capital of Nepal, central Nepal in a fertile valley of the E Himalayas. It is the administrative, business, and commercial center of Nepal.
Great many western tourists visit Katmandu, many of them mountain climbers. Tourism and trade with India led to a rapid increase in Katmandu’s population and to the expansion of paved streets and sewage systems.
18. New Delhi, India
Delhi is located in the middle of Delhi plain, where Yamuna River crosses. New Delhi, the capital of India, and Delhi (or Old Delhi) is the chief urban centers.
Government buildings are concentrated in New Delhi, which has organized streets with greens and parks.
19. Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, in NE part of the country, just NE of Rawalpindi, the former interim capital. Construction of Islamabad [city of Islam] as the capital to replace Karachi began in 1960.
20. Kabul, Islamic State of Afghanistan
Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and its largest city and economic and cultural center, in the east part of the country, on the Kabul River.
It is strategically located in a high narrow valley, between mountain ranges that commands the main approaches to the Khyber Pass. A tunnel under the Hindu Kush Mountains links Kabul to the Tajikistan border.
21. Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan
Tashkent is the capital of Tashkent region and of Uzbekistan, in the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains. The largest and one of the oldest cities of Central Asia, it is the economic heart of the region.
22. Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Tehran is the capital of Iran, in north part of the country, near Mt. Damavand. It is Iran’s largest city and its administrative, commercial, and industrial center.
Meherabad international airport is located in the center of the image, and Azadi Tower (Freedom Tower) , which was built for the celebrations of the 2500th anniversary of the monarchy, is located at the junction of the roads from the airport, and acts as a gateway to the capital.
23. Baghdad, Republic of Iraq
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, located in the central Iraq, on both banks of the Tigris River.
The city was founded (762) on the west bank of the Tigris by the Abbasid caliph Mansur, who made it his capital. The period of its utmost glory is reflected in the thousand and One Nights, in which many of the tales are set in Baghdad.
Now, the city’s principal economic activity is oil industry, as a result, Baghdad experienced rapid economic and population growth.
24. Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Riyadh is the capital and the largest city of Saudi Arabia, located in the Nejd district, central part of Saudi Arabia.
Situated in an oasis, Riyadh is the nation’s educational, administrative, financial, and transportation center. Oil refining is the main industry.
25. Jerusalem, State of Israel
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It is situated on a ridge of 760 m high that lies west of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River.
Jerusalem is the center of administrative, religious, educational, cultural, and market activities. Tourism and construction are the city’s major industries.
26. Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
Cairo is the capital of Egypt in NE part of the country. The city includes two islands in the Nile, Zamalik (Gezira) and Roda (Rawdah), which are linked to the mainland by bridges.
Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East and in Africa. It is Egypt’s administrative center and, along with Alexandria, the heart of its economic activities.
27. Tunis, Republic of Tunisia
Tunis is the capital of Tunisia, in NE part of the county, on the Lake of Tunis. Access to the Gulf of Tunis (an arm of the Mediterranean) is by a canal terminating at a subsidiary port, Halq al Wadi (La Goulette).
Tunis has notable mosques, the University of Tunis, and a national museum. The ruins of Carthage are located nearby, to the northeast in the right of the image.
28. Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco
Casablanca is the largest city and principal port of Morocco, located in the western part of Morocco, on the Atlantic Ocean. It accounts for more than half of Morocco’s industrial production.
During World War II, Casablanca was the scene of one of the three major Allied landings in North Africa (Nov., 1942) and the conference between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill was held (Nov., 1943).
29. Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa
Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa, the center of its important gold-mining industry, its manufacturing and commercial center, and the hub of its transportation network.
Gold mining is the sprawling city’s chief industry. Manufactures include cut diamonds, industrial chemicals, plastics, cement, electrical, electronic, and mining equipment, paper and paper products, glass, food products, and beer.
30. Istanbul, Republic of Turkey
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey on both sides of the Bosporus at its entrance into the Sea of Marmara.
Its name was officially changed from Constantinople to Istanbul in 1930; before A.D. 330 it was known as Byzantium.
In cities adjacent to Europe, Overseas Establishments, hotels, restaurants and shops are concentrated, while old cities adjacent to Asia has landmark constructions represented by Blue Mosque, Ayasofya, Topkapi Sarayi and Kapali Carsi, commemorating Greek, Rome and Ottman Empire.
31. Athens, Hellenic Republic
Athens is the capital of Greece, eastern central Greece, on the plain of Attica, between the Kifisos and Ilissus rivers, near the Saronic Gulf.
Mt. Aigaleos, Mt. Parnis , Mt. Pendelikon , and Mt. Hymettus are lined in a semicircle with the city at its center.
The capital of Attica prefecture, Athens is the largest city in Greece and it is administrative, economic, and cultural center.
In the city there are many landmarks, major one is the acropolis which dominates the city and on which stand the remains of the Parthenon.
32. Kiev, Ukraine
Kiev is the capital of Ukraine with a port on the Dnieper River. The largest city of Ukraine, Kiev is the industrial, commercial, and cultural center.
Known to Russians as the “mother of cities, Åh Kiev is one of the oldest towns in the north Europe.
Lying amid hills along the Dnieper and filled with gardens and parks, Kiev is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, as well as a treasury of medieval art and architecture.
33. Moscow, Russian Federation
Moscow is the capital of Russia and the administrative center of the Central district, in the western central European Russia, on the Moskva River near its junction with the Moscow Canal.
In the city, roads spread in concentric circles with Kremlin at the center, dividing the city into several divisions.
The outermost division is allocated as a residential area. A loop road surrounding the area is the boundary of the city.
34. St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Sankt Petersburg, the second largest city and former capital in Russia, formerly named Leningrad at the head of the Gulf of Finland on both banks of the Neva River and on the islands of its delta.
The city’s main thoroughfare is the celebrated Nevsky Prospekt. On it are the high-spired admiralty building; the Winter Palace; the Hermitage museum; the huge domed Cathedral of St. Isaac ; and the equestrian statue of Peter the Great.
35. Rome, Republic of Italy
Rome is the capital of Italy and see of the pope, whose residence, Vatican City , is a sovereign state within the city of Rome.
Rome is also the capital of Latium, a region in central part of Italy, and of Rome prov. It lies on both banks of the Tiber and its affluent, the Aniene, in the Champagne di Roma, between the Apennine Mts. and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Called the Eternal City, it is one of the world’s richest cities in history and art as well as one of its cultural, religious, and intellectual centers.
36. Paris, French Republic
Paris is the capital of France on the Seine River. It is the commercial and industrial focus of France and a cultural and intellectual center in the world.
Paris is divided into roughly equal sections by the Seine. On the right (northern) bank are the Bois de Boulogne, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Opera and Louvre.
The left bank, with the Sorbonne, the French Academy, is the governmental and the intellectual section.
37. Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany
Berlin is the capital of Germany, coextensive with Berlin State, NE Germany, on the Spree and Havel rivers.
Formerly divided into East Berlin and West Berlin , the city was reunified along with East and West Germany on Oct. 3, 1990.
The large Tiergarten Park in central Berlin contains the reconstructed Reichstag building with its glass dome and the Berlin zoo.
Landmark of the city includes Charlottenburg castle, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church, Reichstag and Philharmonic Hall.
38. Wien, Republic of Austria
Wien (Vienna) is the capital and largest city of Austria and administrative seat of Lower Austria, in NE part of the country, on the Danube River.
The city plays an important role as a major riverfront town in Europe.
The former residence of the Holy Roman emperors and, after 1806, of the emperors of Austria, Wien is one of the great historic cities of the world and a melting pot of the Germanic, Slav, Italian, and Hungarian peoples and cultures.
39. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
London is the capital of Great Britain, in SE part of England, on both sides of the Thames River. Greater London consists of the “City of London”, or “City” and 32 boroughs.
The City is the commercial center; it is also referred to as the “Square Mile” because of its areal feature.
The 13 inner boroughs that surround the City are Westminster, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea.
40. Madrid, Spain
Madrid is the capital of Spain located in the central part of the country, and the center of its own autonomous region, on the Manzanares River.
Its landmarks include the huge royal palace, opera house, the Buen Retiro Park and three superb art museums, the Prado, which houses one of the finest art collections in the world; the Queen Sofia Museum of modern art; and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum; housed in the renovated Villahermosa Palace.
41. Lisbon, Portuguese Republic
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal on the Tejo River where it broadens to enter the Atlantic Ocean.
Lisbon is Portugal’s largest city and its cultural, administrative, commercial, and industrial hub.
Delta at the mouth of Tejo River provided the optimum location as a harbor in Europe for handling large trades, which led to develop into a major cruise port.
In 1966 , one of the world’s longest suspension bridges was completed across the Tejo.
42. Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver is a city in SW British Columbia, Canada, on Burrard Inlet of the Strait of Georgia, opposite Vancouver Island and just north of the Wash. border.
It is the largest city on Canada’s Pacific coast, the center of the third largest metropolitan area in Canada, and the nation’s chief Pacific port, with an excellent year-round harbor.
At Point Grey in metropolitan Vancouver is the University of British Columbia in the lower left of image, and Stanley Park, the largest among the city’s parks, is in the top of peninsula in the center of the image.
43. New York, United States of America
New York City is the largest city in the United States and one of the largest in the world, on New York Bay at the mouth of the Hudson River.
It consists of five boroughs, Queens, Brooklyn, State Island, Bronx and Manhattan. Except for Bronx, all the other boroughs are located on island. Central park, which spreads in the central part of Long Island, is said to be the first public buildings to have applied landscape architecture in the U.S. history.
44. Washington D.C., United States of America
Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States , coextensive with the District of Columbia, on the Potomac River.
The city is the center of a metropolitan area extending into Maryland and Virginia.
Washington is the legislative, administrative, and judicial center of the United States but has little industry; its business is mainly involved in the government, and hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the metropolitan area.
45. San Francisco, United States of America
San Francisco is a city in western California, on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden Gate.
The city is the heart of the San Francisco Bay region and with along Oakland and San Jose, the city comprises the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States.
46. Los Angeles, United States of America
Los Angeles is a city in south California. It has the second largest population in US cities and it is one of the largest cities as the hub of industries, commercials, transportations, finances and international trades.
Two mountain ranges, the Santa Monica and Verdugo, cut across the center of the city. The east end of the Santa Monica Mountains is seen in the upper left of the image.
47. Mexico City, United Mexican States
Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico located in the center of the country.
Mexico City forms the core of the Federal District and is the commercial, industrial, financial, political, and cultural center of the nation.
Population has increased rapidly in a city that had already spread out into many residential sections called colonies.
48. Brasilia, Federative Republic of Brazil
Brasilia is the capital city and federal district of Brazil located in the southwest of Goias state.
Inaugurated in 1960, it is situated in the highlands of central Brazil, and its modern public buildings stand out in sparsely settled countryside.
The city was laid out (1957) in the shape of an airplane by the Brazilian architect Lucio Costa. Government services, small-scaled industry, food services, and construction are important factors for the country’s economy.
49. Rio de Janeiro, Federative Republic of Brazil
Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Rio de Janeiro state, in SE Brazil, on Guanabara Bay of the Atlantic Ocean.
The second largest city and former capital of Brazil, it is the cultural center of the country as well as financial, commercial, communication, and transportation hub.
Rio has one of the world’s most beautiful natural harbors. It is surrounded by low mountain ranges, which extend to the waterside, across the city.
50. Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina located in the east central part of Argentina, on the Rio de la Plata.
One of the largest cities in Latin America, Buenos Aires is Argentina’s chief port and financial, industrial, commercial, and social center.
Area around a port in the right part of the image is the place where the people first settled. Since then, the city has expanded in semicircle form.
51. Santiago, Republic of Chile
Santiago is the capital of Chile and of Metropolitan de Santiago region, on the Mapocho River. It is the political, commercial, and financial heart of the nation.
The city was founded and named Santiago de Nueva Estremadura on Feb. 12, 1541, by Pedro de Valdivia. Laid out according to Valdivia’s plan in a gridiron pattern between the hill of Santa Lucia and the Mapocho, a mountain torrent, Santiago has spread over a broad valley plain and it is one of the largest cities in South America.
52. Canberra, Commonwealth of Australia
Canberra is the capital of Australia, in the Australian Capital Territory, located in SE Australia. The city was first settled in 1824, and chosen as the capital in 1908.
In 1913, Canberra officially became the second capital of the commonwealth (succeeding Melbourne); however, although the Parliament first met there in 1927, the transfer of federal functions was not completed until after World War II and the Parliament House, on Capitol Hill, was not opened until 1988.
…Paul’s fourth and last journey.