NT Characters: Agabus & Rhoda

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/nt-character-podcast-50-agabus-rhoda/">website</a>.</p><p><strong>Agabus (Acts 11:27-29)</strong></p><ul><li> <ul><li>A Jerusalem prophet, like Judas and Silas (Acts 15)</li><li><i>Hagabos </i>means "locust"—which is interesting, given the connection of locusts with famines.</li><li>The famine prediction was made 43/44 AD.<ul><li>The "whole world" is the Roman world, as in Luke 2:1.</li><li>Claudius was emperor 41-54 AD.</li><li>Suetonius and Tacitus, Roman historians, refer to this famine.</li><li>The apostle Paul organized the famine relief collection (2 Cor 8-9) to enable Gentile Christians to share material with the Jewish-background Christians in Judea, where the famine would be especially severe.</li><li>In the NT, merciful charity is esp. to be given to the family of believers (Gal 6; Matt 25).</li></ul></li><li>The Christians took Agabus seriously.</li><li>The prophecies and the resulting collection led to unity among Christian of different backgrounds.</li><li>And, like nearly all the prophecies of the OT, this one pointed to the near future (not the distance future).</li><li>Agabus’s prophecy is highly practical.</li></ul></li></ul><p><strong>Acts 21:10-11</strong></p><ul><li>Agabus makes another prediction.</li><li>He does not<i> tell</i> Paul it’s God’s will for him <i>not</i> to go to Jerusalem.</li><li>Luke and others beg Paul not to go (v.12), breaking the apostle's heart (v.13.), although eventually they conclude this must be God’s will (v.14). See indicated in 1 Cor 14:29; 1 Thess 5:20-21. Note: this Jerusalem visit isn't the same as the famine relief visit. It takes place many years later.</li></ul><p><strong>Rhoda (Acts 12:12-16)</strong></p><ul><li>Rhoda = rose. Roses from the island of Rhodes.</li><li>She was a slave girl. Many slaves became Christians in the time of early church.</li><li>Rhoda correctly identifies Peter by voice. (We assume there was no peephole in the door.)</li><li>Yet she fails