BAPTISM OF FIRE

<p>BAPTISM OF FIRE</p> <p>After Paul’s ministry to the Greek philosophers of Athens in Chapter Seventeen Paul left Athens and went to Corinth and met Aquila and his wife Priscilla and lodged with them, working together with them at their common trade of tentmaking. Aquila and Priscilla had just arrived from Italy after being expelled from Rome along with many other Jews by the Roman Emperor Claudius Caesar. For many years the Jews had been exercising political activism and resistance against the Roman oppression wherever it was. This was apparent in the time of Jesus, who had been perceived as the Saviour from the Roman oppression in Judea for many Jews, and this is why so many were disappointed when he declared that his Kingdom was not of this world and told Pilate to crucify him. And the Romans finally killed or scattered over a million Jews and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 70AD. </p> <p>Then finally Silas and Timothy arrived at Corinth from Macedonia and joined Paul as he preached in the synagogues, but the Jews argued and totally contradicted him at every turn, so Paul left off preaching to the Jews and began preaching to the Corinthian Gentiles and a great many of them believed and were baptized. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a dream and said to him: "Keep it up, and don't let anyone intimidate or silence you. No matter what happens, I'm with you and no one is going to be able to hurt you. I have many people with me in this city." That encouraged Paul and he stayed another year and a half, faithfully teaching the Word of God to the Corinthians. Then when it was time to leave Corinth Paul sailed with Aquilla and Priscilla across the Aegean Sea to Syria and then journeyed across to Ephesus which was one of the largest and most important cities in the ancient Mediterranean. Priscilla and Aquila decided to stay on there but Paul left them and travelled east to Antioch. </p> <p>Then a man named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a Jew, born in Alexandria in Egypt, and a very powerful speaker, accurate