Please open your Bibles to Acts 21. At the end of Acts chapter 20, we saw Paul express, as he was leaving people whom he loved dearly and had spent a great deal of time with, he expressed the duty that they had, that he had left them fully armed, fully equipped, and that it was their responsibility to guard against evil and to overcome the world to do what is right. He expressed that he knew that he was about to suffer greatly and that he was doing so for the cause of Christ. He departed with these people whom he loved sorrowing over the fact that they would see him no more. They embraced him, kissed him, prayed, They accompanied him to the ship. So he departs. So we see now, in chapter 21, looking at verses 1-14, we are going to look at additional prophesying of the suffering that Paul would be going through for the cause of Christ. And we're going to see him here challenged about him continuing on and what he's planning to do. And this is also a key text in terms of the debate about prophecy and whether or not there is a type of prophecy that is fallible from the Holy Spirit and prophecy that continues We've talked a lot about the continuation argument and I won't be focusing on that as much as I will be on the idea that there is prophecy that is somehow fallible. So let's read chapter 21 verses 1 through 14. Now it came to pass that when we had departed from them, and set sail running a straight course we came to Kos the following day to Rhodes and from there to Patera and finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia we went aboard and set sail when we had sighted Cyprus we passed it on the left sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre For there the ship was to unload her cargo. And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up to Jerusalem. When we had come to the end of those days, we departed. and went on our way. And they all accompanied us with wives and children till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship and they returned home. And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemaeus, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. On the next day, we, who were Paul's companions, departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied, And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit. So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him. into the hands of the Gentiles. Now, when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with Him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? If I am ready, not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, sorry, for the name of the Lord Jesus. So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased saying, the will of the Lord be done. So first, I want to look at the issue of prophecy that comes up here. And from there, we'll go to the application that is drawn out as a conclusion which has to do with the pursuit of the objective, Paul's reason for proceeding on to Jerusalem. which I think is the major theme here that we're continuing to see. So let me deal with the technical aspects and then we'll go into that. Verse 1, Now it came to pass that when he had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course, we came to Kos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Pterah. Rhodes is a famous city. We're continuing to skip along in the Mediterranean and get on towards Jerusalem. The city of Rhodes has the famous Colossus, the great statue there. There is a number of interesting things that Paul passes by, and in his great haste, he is unconcerned to play the tourist. He is trying to get to Jerusalem in time for Pentecost. Verse 2, "...and finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail." So now they're changing ships. They're getting on to another one that's heading over to Phoenicia. Imagine this for a moment. If you had travel at this time, what the logistics of that would be like. Now we are so accustomed to the fact that we simply buy a plane ticket and we know which plane we're supposed to get on. We even, we buy the ticket electronically and it shows us what to expect in terms of when we leave, where, when we'll get to the place we're going, and if there's another plane, when it's supposed to get there, and how we get on to it. And so we have a very down to the minute kind of scheduling. here you would be kind of getting to a place and hoping to find maybe something there that could take you closer. So the dangers, the uncertainty, the difficulty in making things happen, that is something that we need to consider here. Verse 3, when we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left. So that would mean that the ship on Cyprus is right. And so they're passing this, they're going east, and so that means they're going south of Cyprus, right? We passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre. Tyre is much mentioned in the Scriptures. There's much about it in the Old Testament. There's much about David's interaction with Tyre. There's a great deal about Tyre. We are told about much of that land and so these lists, they are just like genealogies, these traveling itineraries provide much opportunity to go and think about and remember things both in the recent context and also throughout the scriptures And so I am tempted to do so, but we, like Paul, must continue on skidding across the surface. For there, the ship was to unload her cargo. So that's the end of the line there. And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. So they've gotten to a place where they go, OK, now we can pretty well estimate our time of travel remaining. Because, if necessary, we could just go on foot from Tyre to Jerusalem. So they have extra time that they can use, and so they're using it. They're trying to use it well. They stay there with those disciples, seeking to benefit and equip them. They told Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up to Jerusalem. Now, take note of that. They tell him this through the Spirit. This is a significant part of this controversy. When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way, and they all accompanied us with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home." Now notice here, There's a recognition that even though they could get there by foot, ship is faster, travels even while you sleep. And so there they are, they have opportunity now to be able to take ship. That further explains why they could wait, because they knew there would be opportunity, because perhaps they were aware of some frequency of travel. Think about close ports and how often ships might pass between close ports. We've seen that the habit of ships already is to jump from port to port, right? Taking local things because they don't want to be traveling at night. And there's a way of making profit by jumping from port to port. sort of as you might carry mail, so to speak, from town to town. So there's little things to be transported on a frequent basis, and passengers that would like to do that. So we have both the possibility of foot travel, but also now they've actually chosen to go by sea still. Verse 7. When we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemaeus. greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. On the next day, we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him." So here we have Philip. We can remember Philip back from chapter 8. You'll remember, it ends and it says, the section with Philip, remember, Philip preaches to the Ethiopian. And so we have Philip, he's appointed in chapter 6 as one of the deacons, he's elected, nominated, elected by the men, the hands are laid on him. And then, he preaches to the Ethiopian, and we're told in verse 40, that Philip was found at Azotus, Hebrew it's Ashdod, and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea. Well, they're at Caesarea and apparently Philip stayed there. So they enter the house of Philip, the evangelist, who is one of the seven, and stayed with him. So here is Philip being hospitable. Notice that he seems to have a higher rank than deacon. He is obviously has the authority of deacon, but now he's an evangelist. Which means he has prophetic gifting and is in a office designed for the spread of the gospel. And we see that office referenced, for example, in Ephesians chapter 2. So he's one of the seven, one of the first seven deacons. They stay with him. Verse 9, now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. And so he has four daughters, they're virgin daughters, which means they're staying with him still. They're still in his home. And they prophesied. They have the gift of prophecy. So, we have Paul being told through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. We have Philip who's an evangelist. We have his four daughters who have the gift of prophecy. Verse 10, And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. So now we've got another prophet. If we count Philip, because evangelists are also prophets, he has four daughters, and Agabus, we have six prophets at a minimum right now. And there is, of course, the apostolic band that's with Paul. Verse 11, When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit." This is a combination of things. We have words from the Holy Spirit. It's supposed to be attributed to the Holy Spirit. The Agabus is called a prophet. And in the Old Testament, you see this prophetic drama. On occasion, there's the use of props to kind of communicate things. So they're used in a similar way that we think about sacraments. The idea that sacraments are used as visible signs. It's a visible word. And so he explains the meaning of the visible sign. The sign is the belt and the action taken with the belt. Sort of how you think about the Lord's Supper, you have the bread and the wine, the action taken with the bread and the wine. They represent things. The breaking represents something. The spilling represents something. So we think about that with the Lord's Supper. There's action here. There's the physical belt. And so here he binds his own hands and feet and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt. and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. Now, we see elements of this occurring in Acts 22 and Acts 24 and the conclusion into even Acts 28 with Paul's continuing to be dealt with by the Gentiles. People will approach this and they will say that Agabus' prophecy does not come true. And notice what we said earlier about the idea that they told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. They'll say, see, look, right here, there's this obvious collection of stuff going on where you have speech through the Holy Spirit, so prophecy, and Paul rejects it. He doesn't obey it. And you have a prophet, Agabus, saying what's going to happen, and it doesn't quite happen that way, so he's wrong. And then, let's keep going, verse 12. Now, when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. So he's got Philip, the four virgin daughters who are prophets, who have the gift of prophecy, not the office of prophet, and you have Agabus, who is a prophet, and then you have the apostolic band of which Luke includes himself. These are a lot of inspired speakers, right? You've got prophets, at least one evangelist, actually at least two, because Luke's an evangelist, So, multiple prophets, I mean, how many prophets, evangelists, and apostolic band members does it take to get Paul to not go to Jerusalem? Light bulbs hadn't been invented yet. So, you can see there's a lot of inspired officers slash people with inspiration-oriented gifts. Right, the Holy Spirit-empowered speaking gifts. A lot of people pleading with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. So, when he would not be persuaded, we ceased saying, The will of the Lord be done. So the way, for example, Wayne Grudem interprets this, okay, is he'll look at this and say, you know, verse four, we got the speaking through the spirit. We have Philip and the four virgin daughters who have the gift of prophecy. We have Agabus, a prophet. We have the apostolic band, prophetically gifted people, and they're all trying to tell him to not go. And so, this must be prophecy, and it must be non-authoritative prophecy. Because Paul disobeys. And then, in addition to that, they all ultimately submit to it, the will of the Lord be done. And then, what Agabus prophesied, they say doesn't quite happen. He says, Ingrid, it doesn't quite happen. So, let me capture all that together and say, that's blasphemy. It's designed around trying to make the argument that there is prophecy that continues. Here's why. Modern prophets lie. Modern prophets prophesy falsely. Modern prophets say, thus says the Lord, when the Lord has not spoken. Modern prophets say, thus shall happen, and it happens not. Now, if we're taking the Bible seriously about prophecy, then we need to recollect some of the clear teaching of scripture about judging prophets. So let me first show you that there is no prophecy, no speaking of the Holy Spirit that it lies. There are so many verses. If you just go to Bible Gateway and search for truth, you will find so many places in which the Word of God is said to be truth, and the Word of the Holy Spirit speaking is equated with truth. But let me turn with me to 2 Peter, and I want to show you some teaching from 2 Peter about prophecy. 2 Peter chapter 1. verses 19 through 20. 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 19 to 20 and so we have the prophetic word confirmed which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts knowing this and pay careful attention here, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private, and your translation will probably say interpretation, it is unloosing, no private unloosing, which is better translated as of no private revealing or no private giving. Its origin is the Holy Spirit and it's a public word. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private unloosing. Four, and here's the argument. This is an argument about Scripture. Let's try to consider the argument's form. Four, prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Now, the point is that there's a public word in Scripture that is of confirming authority. Now, what's this confirming authority in reference to? It's in reference to what God the Father said in verse, it's quoted in verse 17. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So the argument is, here's this voice from God the Father, and it's a trustworthy Word. This trustworthy Word that is the speaking of God is confirmed by the Scriptures, which is also the Word of God. So the Word of God is being confirmed here by the Word of God. And there's an argument that's made that this Word of Scripture is not a private word. It's a public word. It's given for public use. That's what the prophecy is for. He has chapter verse 21. For prophecy never came by the will of man. The prophecy of Scripture is the written prophecy. And the argument is made from the general category of prophecy. For prophecy never came by the will of man. prophecy never came by the will of man. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." The argument for the voice of God heard is that we can trust the Word of God because the Word of God written says so, because prophecy as a general category is from the Holy Spirit. This is God the Father speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ then there's the written word, and then there's prophecy, which is by the Holy Spirit. That argument does not work if there's Holy Spirit-empowered prophesying that's a lie. You see how that wouldn't confirm? The line of argumentation is from spoken prophecy to the written word, which So the prophet speaking is the argument that leads to the written word being reliable, which leads to confirming God speaking himself. It's equal authority. The argument only makes sense if they're equal or if, in fact, the prophet speaking is of higher authority. Those are the only two ways that the argument works. The second argument is the argument that the prophet Now I'm not willing to go and say that the audible speaking of the prophet is more authoritative than the scripture, because we're shown elsewhere that you test the audible speaking of the prophet by the scripture. So the only thing that's left is that they're equal. But you judge the later by the earlier. Okay, so there's an order in time. And the things that came before are used to test the things that come later. This by itself destroys the idea of fallible Holy Spirit prophesying. Now, in addition to that, we have from Deuteronomy very clear teaching about false prophets. First, Deuteronomy 13, verse 1, teaches us about judging the doctrine of prophets. If it contradicts the earlier teaching, then here's how you deal with it. If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you saying, let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them. You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice. You shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death. Because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst." Notice, this is a prophet who says, here's something that's going to happen. Here's a sign. It's going to happen in the future. And regardless of whether that sign comes true or not, the fact that they've contradicted the teaching of Yahweh is grounds to reject them as a prophet. But then, even if there's not that, even if there's not a contradiction of doctrine, Deuteronomy 18 teaches us what to do with prophets who then also claim a sign, and that sign doesn't happen. So, Deuteronomy 18, starting at verse 9, When you come into the land which the Lord your God has given you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, as idolatry, or who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God for these nations which you will dispossess, listened to soothsayers and diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you." Now here's a regulated principle verse. These things are forbidden because they weren't appointed. Now, in addition to that, these are all ways of trying to read the mind of God or to do something that God hasn't said to do. They're all rejected. And then, verse 15, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. So what is the appropriate means? What has been appointed? Prophecy. So then now we've got a question. How do we know the difference between good and bad prophecy? Well, we already saw from Deuteronomy 13, you judge the past doctrine that's been revealed and you judge the new prophet by whether it contradicts the old prophecy. Secondly, so this prophet that God raises up, him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb, in the day of the assembly saying, let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore lest I die. So remember God spoke directly to Moses and Moses spoke to the people. God spoke directly to Jesus, and Jesus spoke to the people, and since Jesus is God, He also spoke through His apostles. Now, this points to Jesus. Verse 17, And the Lord said to me, What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. Remember the Great Commission, how we're supposed to teach everything that Jesus commanded us? That's because He taught everything that God commanded Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. So here, obligation to hear it. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, how shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if a thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. you shall not be afraid of him." Now, you think some people, like Wayne Gruden, will say this is not something that continues to be obligatory. We don't judge the prophet by whether the prophecy happens. Instead, we accept them And we, you know, look at if they contradict the biblical doctrine as to whether or not to accept that particular prophecy. And we look at the events to see whether or not that particular prophecy was true. But the prophet, we shouldn't judge in that way. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ, who wrote both the Old Testament and the New Testament through his prophets, disagrees. But also, he spoke by his very mouth the following out of Matthew 7. Matthew 7, verse 15 says, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing. Alright, claiming to be Christians. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Now here's what modern evangelicals say, you will know them by their fruits means. They mean Mother Teresa, lots of good fruit. They think fruit means all the stuff that Paul says, if I do these things but have not love. That's what they mean. Giving the property, giving all sorts of signs and wonders. That's not what Jesus means. What Jesus means here by fruit is primarily good doctrine. And let's consider this. You will know them by their fruits. Hey, what did Deuteronomy say? Didn't it say, judge the doctrine they tell you, which God they tell you to follow, and then judge what they say will happen? Is Jesus contradicting Deuteronomy? I think it's clear he's not. Let's keep reading. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them." Hey, what do prophets do? Don't prophets prophesy? So if I were going to use an analogy about prophets, and I were going to say, you judge the prophet by their fruit, and you judge a tree by its fruit, right? Trees that are fruit producing trees, the fruit that they bear, right? You go, here's a lemon tree, and I expect it to bear giving alms to the poor. I expect it to bear lemons. Right? I don't expect it to bear thistles. So we have the example of the good tree bears that kind of fruit. So a prophet, a good prophet, bears almost all the pork? No. A good prophet bears good doctrine. A bad prophet bears bad doctrine. A good tree bears good fruit. A good fruit tree bears good fruit. And a bad fruit tree bears bad fruit. The obviousness of the analogy should be painful when you consider how this verse set is normally dealt with. So, a good prophet bears good doctrine. A bad prophet bears bad doctrine. Judge them by their fruit. Now, here's what the verse doesn't say. It doesn't say judge their fruit by their fruit. What it says is judge the prophet by the prophet's doctrine. And their predictions are part of that. The same principle is taught by the Lord Jesus Christ as in Deuteronomy. So I hope it's very clear that this reading of Acts that is propounded by Wayne Grudem and other people who believe in continuing gift of prophecy. When they say, well, you can't hold these prophets accountable using the Deuteronomy standard, what they are doing is rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ who teaches us that we are to judge these prophets by their prophecy. You don't judge the particular prophecy by the prophecy. You judge the prophet by the prophecy. That is what Deuteronomy teaches. Now, what is going on then? Chapter 20. One. I can count. It was a delayed one. I always meant it. You can't use that one to stone me. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. So is that prophecy the Holy Spirit tells you to not go up to Jerusalem? Okay, so here's how I understand this. One, they have a particular prophecy about what's going to happen. You're going to go there and they're going to persecute you. Two, there's a general rule when they persecute you in one town, flee to the other. That's Scripture. That's Jesus Christ. Therefore, Paul, don't go there. Now that's taking the particular word of the spirit and the word in scripture, right? And that's applying it. And there's a reason why you would not apply that general rule. And that is, if you believe it's worth the risk. And so Paul has the objective in mind. Remember the war principles? Objective being the first one. You need to know the strategic objective. And you need to have intermediate objectives to take. And so his objective is the glory of God. He's doxologically focused. He's focused on the glory of God as the purpose. And he wants to go there and preach to these Jews at Pentecost. for the purpose of causing them to know Christ and Him crucified, and then to cause the knowledge of God to fill the earth. He wants to do this because he believes this is an opportunity that is worth the risk, worth the cost. And that's the same argument he makes when he's talking to everybody who's arguing against him still. what is happening what's being said through the spirit there's the prophecy about what will happen the application of the word the general rule and that is them applying scripture properly that's you know a good work fruit of the spirit activity there and so that's what they're talking to him it's they told paul through the spirit not to go up to jerusalem This is one of the things that we need to keep in mind when we're arguing with people. When we're arguing with people, when there's much discussion going on about a point of doctrine or about the application of some rule, people can be doing a good work, and then we're giving them additional information. And then they can be wrong in their application because they're being given additional information. But they were right without the additional information. Their conclusion can be right. And so this is a right conclusion that if there's persecution there, and the general rule is to flee persecution, Paul should not go there. And Paul gives a reason why the particular is different from the general rule. Generally, we shouldn't kill people. But when they're trying to kill us, we can defend ourselves and kill them. So the general rule, but here's the particulars of the circumstances. I was right to kill this person because I was defending myself. So then, verse 5. When we come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way, and they all accompanied us with wives and children until we were out of the city. and we knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship and returned home. And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemaeus, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. On the next day, We who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us He took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles." That's the same sort of thing Paul's been hearing for a long time. You're going to go to Jerusalem, and you're going to get persecuted. That's the same sort of thing that's back in verse 4. They told Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up to Jerusalem. That's the same. What's one of the premises? Not news to Paul. The only thing he's surprised possibly about is that the belt is involved. Verse 12, Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. That pleading for anything we didn't know about Paul's particular mission. good work trying to save his life it's through the spirit then Paul answered what do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart for I am ready not only to be bound but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of of the Lord Jesus, right? The goal, he's willing, he's ready to risk his life. He's ready to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus. The goal, he's ready to sacrifice for the objective. So when he could not be persuaded, we ceased saying the will of the Lord be done. They realized that the general rule was not something that they could just continue to plead with him about. They couldn't rebuke him with it. They couldn't say, no, Paul, you're sinning. You're throwing your life away. Don't do it. You're a young man. They didn't do that. He's not particularly young at this point. They didn't do that. And the reason they didn't do it is because they recognized the goodness of it. in the context of him recognizing the objective, recognizing the risk, counting the cost, and choosing to risk that cost, his own safety, his own life, for the sake of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that is how this is not him disobeying prophecy. This does not prove an unauthoritative prophecy. And this does not prove that what Agabus said could somehow be wrong. And if you go and read the future, the text that we're going to look at with what happens, you see the fulfillment of these things across chapter 22, 24, up through 28. And so the idea that this is a false prophecy is totally bogus. It's eisegesis. It's imposition on the text, and is a part of trying to justify blasphemy, that the Holy Spirit has said things that the Holy Spirit has not said. Comments, questions, and objections from the voting members? Shunai? Thank you for your teaching, Alarice. correction, to give a very minor scripture reference. When you were talking about the office of evangelists, you said Ephesians chapter 2. It's Ephesians chapter 4, verse 12 in particular, I think, where Paul lists those offices. OK, forgive me. It might also be in chapter 2. There's at least a reference of apostle and prophet in Ephesians chapter two, and I might be referencing the wrong one there, forgive me. So there's a place in Ephesians chapter two where apostle and prophet are put together with an and, and there's arguments about the continuing offices that, the relationship of prophet and apostle that are made from that. So forgive me, let's just double check. Right, I was, and I think I'm wrong. I think you're right that there's not an evangelist reference there. I might just be thinking about, oh no, it's Ephesians 3 verse 5 that has apostles and prophets. There's an argument there about them being equivalent using the Granville Sharp rule it does not apply to that text and just forgive me oh no I'm sorry it is in chapter 2 it's also it's it's chapter 2 I'm sorry chapter 2 verse 20 the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets so forgive me that's all wrong none of that applies you're absolutely right the thing that matters is in chapter 4 the list of offices is what I meant to reference thank you for that It's chapter 4, verse 11. And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. And so the office of evangelist reference that I was thinking of was there in verse 11. So forgive me for that. Thank you for the correction. Mr. Nye. You're welcome. Thank you for looking at that. I wanted to ask a couple of questions based on things that you said. You said in terms of judging, you said that we do not judge the prophecy of a prophet, sorry, I'm trying to remember exactly what he said, but I believe it was something along the lines of, we do not judge the prophecy, but we judge the prophet. Don't we do both? We do both, yes. So the question is, do we judge the prophet or the prophecy? And we judge both, yes. And so we are judging the prophecy of the prophet. And if that prophecy is false, displayed by incoherence with past revelation, or by the prediction made being false, not coming to pass, either of those things displayed the falsity of that prophecy. And also you could test it for its own internal coherence, that prophecy. But then, as a result, you judge the prophet to be a false prophet if the prophecy from the prophet is false. If there's bad fruit, then the tree is bad. And that's what we're being taught by Jesus in the parable. Not parable, it's an analogy, I guess. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you for explaining that. And then the last thing, I want to repeat back to you your argument about how what the warning or the prophecy from these prophets is true and from the Holy Spirit. So to make sure that I understand it. they are prophesying what's going to happen to Paul if he goes to Jerusalem, namely persecution. And then they are taking Scripture about what is said in Scripture about persecution, about what Christ says, that we should, we have, We have the freedom to be able to flee persecution. And in some circumstances, we should flee persecution. And so they are interpreting their own prophecy and concluding that Paul should not go to Jerusalem, but instead to flee that. Is that a correct understanding? Yes, so to restate, you're asking if these prophets out of Acts 21, they're saying, one, by their own prophecy that this persecution is going to come to Paul if he goes to Jerusalem. Two, the scriptures say to flee persecution. And therefore, conclusion, since he's going to be persecuted if he goes there, And we should generally flee persecution. Therefore, conclusion, he should not go there, he should flee the persecution. And so you would think about this in the same sense that if if you had a prophecy that said, if you enter this burning house, you're going to die, we should generally not enter burning houses, because that's unlawfully risking our lives. Therefore, you shouldn't go into the burning house. I'd say that's true, except that My children are in there, and I need to get them out. And I would rather die and save them than live and not save them. And that would be fitting as my counterargument. So just like the knowledge of the person's children being in the burning house, the person warning the person doesn't have that knowledge, just like that, they don't have the knowledge necessarily that that Paul, so this is where I'm struggling, because Paul has expressed that he is compelled to go to Jerusalem because the ministry is way nearer than his life. So I believe he's expressed that publicly. And so, it seems that they would already know that. And so that's where my disconnect is. Yeah, so you're saying it seems like at least the apostolic band would already know that he is compelled to go to Jerusalem and to risk himself for the work, that he's willing to risk himself for the work. Yes, the apostolic band certainly would. And they would have heard him talk about that. in Acts 20 right with the elders from Ephesus so there is certainly a an awareness on their part and so I think with them there might be sin in terms of trying to stop him from doing his duty right similar to Peter with Christ saying you know don't go to Jerusalem or far be it you know so this this idea that they should stop his work so However, the ones who have not heard that, they at least would have no guilt. And so that's a good point. And I didn't go through that just because I was running out of time. I also didn't go through my application section that I said I was going to go through. So I'm good at this preaching thing. Sure. Thank you, David. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Sure, absolutely. Sorry, I didn't mean that as in any way negative towards you. I was making fun of myself. Okay, so let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We ask that you would instruct us out of it, that you would build us up, that you would edify us. We ask that you would help us to not say that you have given prophecy by your spirit that is false, but to say that you are true and every man a liar. And we ask that you would help us to defend the great name of your Holy Spirit and the gift of prophecy, which is a sure word, which came by your Spirit through holy men of old. And we thank you that we have a completed prophecy. We have completed scripture and that we now have that full canon that the perfect or complete revelation has come. And we thank you that we do not have the partial any longer being now ones who have the mature scripture. We thank you that you have put away from us childish things and made it so that the church is in a position of greater maturity. We ask that you would help us to be willing to suffer for the sake of the objective and to be willing for the glory of your great name to pay costs, knowing that we will be rewarded 30 or 60 or 100 fold, that we will be rewarded greatly in this life and also in that to come. As we pray all of this in Christ's name, amen.