# 57: 5-9-08 1

Acts 27

Paul’s Jerusalem trials – both formal and informal – had finally reached their conclusion. In each case, the
heavenly court had proven Paul’s innocence; but the earthly courts had pursued their own agendas, and
never rendered any justice to Paul. In each case, judgment was passed upon those sitting in judgment on
Paul, as each proved themselves unworthy of the gospel of Grace.

Paul’s final, informal hearing before King Agrippa followed in like manner. As Paul preached the gospel
through his personal testimony, Agrippa hardened his heart to what he heard, refusing Paul’s invitation to
bear witness to the truth as spoken by the OT prophets.

Agrippa could not bring himself to acknowledge a crucified, resurrected Messiah – particularly in front of
his Roman friends, who considered resurrection to be absurd. For Agrippa, Christ was a stumbling block.
And Christ was foolishness to Festus – who ever heard of a Savior who had come back from the dead? That
was madness.

Could there have been any in the room that day that responded to the call of the gospel? Who saw, as we
have, that Christ is in fact the power of God and the wisdom of God? The message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing – but to us, who are being saved, it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18,
23-24).

King Agrippa would be the final king of the Herodian dynasty, which had ruled over Israel for just 140
years. The nation of Israel would come into God’s judgment as meted out by the Romans in 70 AD.
Agrippa himself would participate in the destruction of the nation he claimed for his own. Israel will not
have a king again until their true King – the King of kings – returns to the earth.

Governor Festus, that aristocratic Roman who was so intent upon his own political survival, would die in
office as the procurator of Judea within two years of this time. It would seem that Festus was unable to
preserve himself where it really counted.

Let’s go back to the point of history where we left off in Acts. Agrippa would have gleaned enough from
his interview with Paul to help Festus write his report that was to accompany Paul to Rome. Shortly after,
Festus would have arranged to have Paul brought to Rome.

What follows is an account of that journey to Rome. Now, as you reflect back on Luke’s record in the book
of Acts, doesn’t it seem strange to you that Luke chose to devote such a large portion of his record to this
journey? Luke had written this volume with the intent of having it published – and for such purposes, the
volume had to be a certain length, and no longer – and the book of Acts fits that length.

We have noted that Luke often summarizes the speeches in this book – we have seen that with the trials and
the hearings of Paul, most recently. We have also seen that Luke limits the detail of many parts of the
missionary journeys – not recording all of the stops, and all of the things that occur in each place.

Space was clearly at a premium. Yet here, Luke records – with amazing detail – this entire journey – 44
verses to Malta, 60 verses, total, to Rome! Why would Luke think it necessary to give all the details here,
having skipped over so many in the past?
# 57: 5-9-08 2

He could only think it necessary because the Holy Spirit, who inspired his writing this account, revealed to
him that it was necessary. And the Holy Spirit brought back to Luke’s mind exactly which details of the
journey should be recorded; and exactly how the account should be phrased. Why? Because the Holy
Spirit had a purpose in doing so – a purpose that went beyond the historical account of the journey.

The first part of the journey is the sea voyage, which ends in shipwreck. Within the account is a picture.
The picture shows the prophetic history of the church in the world, throughout the church age. Because of
the length of the text, we’ll only be looking at the historical account of the voyage this week, but next
week, we’ll look at what it pictures in significance.

27:1-2 The decision was reached to sail to Italy. Who would have made that decision? That would have
been Festus, the Roman governor. Paul was his prisoner, and the prisoner had appealed to Caesar. So it
was for Festus to decide when to send him. No doubt, it would have been as soon as that report was written
to Caesar; Festus would have been most anxious to rid himself of Paul, who was creating friction for him
with his Jewish subjects.

Notice that Luke wrote, “it was decided that we should sail to Italy”. Who is the “we”? From past
experience with this record, we have seen that whenever Luke was accompanying Paul, he used “we”; and
when he was not present, he wrote “they”. So Luke was with Paul; and as we see in verse 2, Aristarchus
was with him.

You may remember that Aristarchus was a traveling companion of Paul. He probably became a believer
when Paul had preached the gospel in Thessalonica on his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-4); he was
almost certainly a Gentile, as few Jews were converted there.

Subsequently, Aristarchus accompanied Paul to Ephesus, where he labored with him in the gospel, along
with Gaius. These were the two men who had been seized by the pagan Gentiles during the riot at Ephesus
(Acts 19:29).

Aristarchus was also one of the delegates who represented the Gentile churches in Europe and Asia that
were sending alms to their Jewish brethren in Jerusalem (Acts 20:4); this means that Aristarchus
accompanied Paul to Jerusalem. It is likely that both Luke and Aristarchus ministered to Paul during his
two-year Caesarean imprisonment; now they were accompanying him to Rome.

So the “we” is at least Luke and Aristarchus, possibly other believers. Whereas Festus decided to send
Paul, it would have been the Holy Spirit who decided to send these brethren, to accompany Paul in his
chains. During his Roman imprisonment, Paul would refer to Aristarchus as his “fellow prisoner” (Col
4:10), perhaps because Aristarchus stayed with Paul to provide companionship during his long
incarceration.

The decision was made to have Paul sent by sea, rather than by land. That would be the fastest route to
Italy, and the time of year would still allow travel by sea.

There were other prisoners that were being transported, along with Paul. It is possible that their cases were
similar to Paul’s – citizens of Rome who were appealing their case to the emperor – but a higher number of
those sent to Rome were condemned criminals who would be killed in the games for the entertainment of
the Roman public.
# 57: 5-9-08 3

Paul was delivered to a centurion named Julius, who was to escort him to Rome. Julius was the
commander of the Augustan regiment, a troop of the emperor. He may have had his full company of eighty
soldiers with him (he was a centurion – “commander of 100” – but that was just the technical term; in
reality, the troop size was usually 80).

The ship that was available in Caesarea originated from Adramyttium, a city on the northwest coast of Asia
Minor. Apparently, this was a coasting vessel, which routinely called at various ports in the province of
Asia. It is likely that this vessel engaged in trade at these ports, as well as the transport of passengers. This
would slow down the voyage significantly.

v. 3 The ship sailed about 70 miles north to Sidon, in Phoenicia (see map). Apparently, Paul knew some
believers in this city; he may have come to know these brethren during journeys he made between Antioch
and Jerusalem (Acts 11:30, 15:2-3, 18:22).

The trip up to Sidon would take less than a day. Yet while they were at port, Julius paid Paul a great and
unusual kindness: He gave Paul the freedom to go off in the city and spend time with his friends – no
doubt, with a guard – but it still reflects trust.

It takes time to build trust. It would seem from this that the centurion and his detail of guards had come to
know Paul during his time of imprisonment in Caesarea; perhaps they were even the ones assigned to guard
him there. Julius had come to know and respect Paul well enough to allow him this freedom; even though
Paul was his prisoner.

I’m sure Paul relished this short time of liberty, fellowshipping with the believers in Sidon. On their part,
the believers cared for and attended to Paul, perhaps providing him with provisions for his trip, as well.

v. 4-6 The ship left the port in Sidon, and proceeded on a northwest course, hugging closely to the side of
the island of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean. Why did they do this? Because the winds were adverse (v. 4).
It was early fall; at this time, the winds usually blow from the west or northwest. The winds, then, were
blowing in exactly the opposite direction to which they wanted to go; that is, the winds were contrary. By
sailing close to the east coast of Cyprus, the ship was sheltered from the winds by the land mass, and could
make progress – slow progress.

It is likely that the ship then proceeded north or northwest directly to the coast of Asia Minor (unlike what
is shown on the map at this point), and followed the coast to take advantage of the land breezes there,
which would aid their westward progress. Then they made port in Myra, in the province of Lycia.

In Myra, the centurion made the decision for his party to transfer to an Alexandrian ship docked there
which was bound for Italy. Later, we will read that this ship was laden with wheat (v. 38). That tells us that
this ship was one of the imperial grain fleet – the largest ships that sailed the Mediterranean. These vessels
worked the Egypt-to-Italy grain shuttle, for Egypt was the chief granary of Rome.

The ships sailed during the summer months, leaving Italy and heading southeast, catching the northwesterly
winds, which brought them quickly to Alexandria in Egypt. There the ships would unload their cargo from
Italy, and take on tons of wheat, as well as passengers.
# 57: 5-9-08 4

The return trip to Italy, against the winds, required them to follow a lengthy, circuitous route,
counterclockwise through the eastern Mediterranean, taking advantage of land breezes as they passed along
the coasts of Israel, Phoenicia, Syria and Asia Minor, then through Greece and back to Italy, where they
unloaded, and spent the winter until the next sailing season. Myra was one of the main grain ports of the
Mediterranean, so this ship was on the return leg of its trip.

As mentioned, west or northwest winds were routine at this time of year, which favored eastward travel, but
was adverse to westward travel. To give you an idea of how adverse, the journey from Rome to Alexandria
could take as little as nine to twelve days. But because of the winds and the subsequent course on the
return trip, it could take from fifty days to two months to get back to Italy! Nonetheless, these Alexandrian
ships were the quickest means of transportation from Syria to Rome.

Now, seeing the slow progress they had made by sea, the centurion could have proceeded to Rome over
land at this point, but he elected to continue by sea. That had been the original decision made by his
superior, Festus, and he intended to stick with it.

But the slow progress of the coasting ship had brought them closer to the end of the sailing season in the
Mediterranean. By switching to a faster vessel, the centurion hoped to expedite the trip, so that there would
be no chance of encountering any dangerous weather. Not to mention their large party would be far more
comfortable on that spacious grain ship!

v. 7-8 That wind from the northwest, usual for this time of year, was blowing unusually hard. The ship
made slow progress along the coast of Asia Minor, eventually passing the island of Rhodes and coming to
Cnidus, right at the southwest tip of Asia Minor. Cnidus was another port that served the imperial grain
fleet.

The wording here suggests that the ship was unable to get into port, perhaps because of the rougher waters
of the Aegean. Also, there wasn’t any protection from the land here, with the direction from which the
wind was blowing.

Normally, the grain ships sailed north at this point along the coast of Asia, then westward to Italy; but this
ship would be unable to sail any further west due to the strong headwinds. This resulted in the crew being
forced to turn the ship south, and to head for the island of Crete, where they intended to use the land mass
to shelter the ship from the strong winds.

They made their way around the eastern cape of Crete with difficulty, then dropped anchor in a small bay
known as Fair Havens, on the south central coast of the island. There was no town or city near Fair
Havens; the city of Lasea was nearest.

v. 9-13 The strong contrary wind had slowed their voyage down to such an extent that the time of “the
Fast” (v. 9) had now passed. This Fast is the Day of Atonement, which was celebrated according to the
new moon on the lunar calendar, in September or October. The Day of Atonement had passed.

It was late in the year; late to be sailing on the Mediterranean. Navigation was dangerous there between
mid-September and November. November 10 through March 10 was the period known as mare clausum –
closed sea – as the Mediterranean was considered far too hazardous in the winter season for navigation.

This particular year was almost certainly 59 AD, when the Day of Atonement fell rather late in the calendar
year. October was a dangerous month to be in the middle of this sea; yet there they were.
# 57: 5-9-08 5

At this point of the voyage, Paul felt compelled to speak. He was addressing those in authority on the ship
– who were they? Well, the helmsman – that is, the captain, or master of the ship – and the owner were
present. The wording may suggest that this was the same person; in fact, a merchant-shipowner normally
acted as captain of his own ship.

The other person Paul was speaking to was the centurion. The centurion did have authority on the ship; in
fact, his authority superceded the owner-captain’s, because this was an imperial grain ship, and as such,
was under the authority of the emperor, and his representative – the centurion.

Paul’s statement in verse 10 reads literally, “I see that the voyage is about to be with injury, and not only
much loss of the cargo and of the ship, but also of our souls”. Paul was not necessarily saying that their
lives would be lost, but that they would be jeopardized. There would also be much damage and loss to the
cargo – the wheat – and to the ship itself.

Now, how did Paul perceive this? Well, his senses certainly could tell him much of this. They were not
even able to hold to their course; it was obvious that sailing was dangerous, at this point. And Paul could
also draw on his personal experiences; he had been shipwrecked no less than three times (2 Cor 11:25)!

But the things that Paul said were very specific; things he could not have had the foresight to predict, in
himself. It would appear that this was a revelation that the Holy Spirit made to Paul, and that he was now
sharing it with the authorities on the ship.

But apparently, the owner-captain spoke up, as well. From his wealth of experience, he was advising to
press on. This man realized that it was too late in the season now to make it to Italy, but he had his valuable
cargo to think of; and his ship. Fair Havens apparently was not a suitable port to winter in; it was far too
open to the winds. A better harbor lay just ahead on Crete – Phoenix, about 40 miles to the west. That
harbor would provide good shelter from the winter storms. It was just a little farther along the coast – a
few short hours away.

The centurion weighed the counsel of both men. The words of the owner-captain came from experience; he
knew the land, he knew the sea, he knew the wind, he knew the season, he knew his vessel.

Where did the words of Paul come from? From God. But the centurion didn’t know that; any more than he
knew Paul had been shipwrecked three times. All the centurion knew about Paul was his character – which
was sterling. But in this case, the centurion was persuaded by the owner-captain over Paul – he valued
worldly knowledge over a godly man, with godly character, and godly words.

If they couldn’t stay in Fair Havens for the winter, what could they have done? They could have turned
around; done a full reversal. With the wind at their backs, they would have reached a safe port in no time.

But the centurion didn’t want to go back; nor did the owner-captain. They were men of time and sense;
they had an agenda, and a timetable. To go back would be to admit defeat or error; they wouldn’t even
consider that. Failure was not an option. Rome was their destination, and if they couldn’t go further, at
least they would not concede to losing any ground.

So the centurion went with the advice of the owner-captain, and decided to sail along the coastline to
Phoenix, on the south side of Crete, approaching the westernmost edge. At this time in history, prior to
seismic changes, this bay had two inlets, exactly as Paul described them.
# 57: 5-9-08 6

The men picked up with their senses the change in the wind; it began to blow gently from the south. A
south wind was considered a reliable wind – generally – although it could change suddenly, in this region.
The south wind would be ideal for holding the ship to its course along the shoreline. Thinking they had
gotten exactly what they needed, the crew weighed anchor and began sailing toward Phoenix, keeping close
to the shore of Crete.

v. 14-15 Things are not always as they seem, are they? That gentle south wind gave the men a false sense
of security; it turned out that judgment was just around the bend. Around Cape Matala, in fact – for when
they rounded that point, the wind changed, and the storm struck.

This was a tempestuous wind; literally, a typhonic wind. Our word “typhoon” is derived from this Greek
word. The sailors had a name for this gale - Euroclydon; the preferred reading from the Greek is
Euraquilon, a combination of the Greek word for east wind, euros, and the Latin word for north wind,
aquilo.

Euroquilon was a strong, dangerous windstorm characterized by a northeastern, gale-force wind, although
the wind could blow from all points, at times, causing great uncertainty. This storm was an old enemy that
was greatly feared by those who sailed the Mediterranean. It drove this ship into the open sea.

The ship’s sails were unable to bear up against the force of the wind, so the sailors were forced to let the
storm just bear the ship along before the wind, wherever it would. They were at the mercy of the sea.

v. 16-20 Twenty four miles to the south of Crete, they came to the little island of Clauda. They managed to
maneuver their ship to take advantage of the protective cover that the small land mass provided from the
storm.

Within that short window of time, they hoisted up the waterlogged skiff – the small boat that was usually
towed astern, which presented a danger in a storm such as this. They also tightened the supporting cables,
with which all larger ships were fitted, to protect the hull of the ship in storms.

The northeastern wind was blowing them in the direction of the Syrtes, a region of sandbars off the coast of
North Africa – much feared as a graveyard of ships.

In order to prevent the storm from running the ship aground there, the sailors dropped a sea anchor, which
acted like a brake to slow the drift of the ship. This is actually translated “struck sail” in verse 17, but they
had already taken down or let loose the sails when they discovered they could not head into the wind.
These sails must have been lashed down on the deck at this point, except for a small storm sail which was
used to keep rudder control on a westerly course. Then they had no choice but to let the wind drive them.

By the next day, the ship had been driven away from Crete and Clauda, and now experienced the full fury
of the storm. The pitching and rolling were so severe that cargo worked its way loose, and the crew pitched
the unsecured projectiles overboard.

By the day following, the battered ship must have begun taking on water. So more drastic measures were
needed: the crew dispensed of any and all excess gear, which would include spare sails, tackle and even
ship’s furnishings.
# 57: 5-9-08 7

The statement of throwing the ship’s tackle overboard “with our own hands” suggests that something heavy
and awkward was jettisoned; this was likely the yard, the main mast to which the sails were attached. It
was nearly the ship’s own length, and lowering it to the deck and launching it overboard would require the
help of both passengers and crew. This would significantly lighten the ship.

Days and days went by, without the storm abating. The clouds were impenetrable; without sun or stars, the
crew could not get their bearings; so they had no way of knowing what their location was; they were
completely “in the dark”. The ship was taking on water, but without their bearings, they had no way of
knowing where to find land. This left the passengers, and even more horrifying, the captain and crew –
completely without any hope of surviving.

But there was at least one man on board who did have hope.

v. 21-26 I venture to say that Paul’s words were most welcome, this time; a ray of hope, piercing the
darkness of their despair.

Luke mentioned that there had been a long abstinence from food (v. 21), presumably among all the men on
board. That’s not surprising, is it? Nothing kills the appetite like nausea; not to mention, fear would have
driven the hunger out of even the most seasoned sailors. And once men despair of life itself – there is no
thought of eating; after all, what is the point of trying to sustain that which is perishing?

So Paul gave the men food for thought. First, Paul pointed out that the men should have listened to him in
the first place. This was not an “I told you so”. Paul had warned them of disaster and loss if they pursued
their course; and as they could now see, that is exactly what came to pass. Paul was showing them that his
words had been proven to be the truth.

Now Paul had more words for these men – another revelation from his God; and this time, Paul told them it
was a revelation, which was communicated through an angel. The angel confirmed what Jesus Himself had
already told Paul in Jerusalem: that Paul would testify for Jesus in Rome.

But the angel specifically said that Paul would be brought before the emperor; that is, the emperor would
judge his case. Jesus had said that Paul would bear His name before kings (Acts 9:15); Agrippa had been
the first; apparently, Nero would be the second.

Well, if Paul was going to be brought before Caesar, it was evident he would survive this storm! Not only
that, but the angel assured Paul that everyone else on board would survive: in fact, God had already
granted Paul all who sailed with him.

Now, that was encouraging – if you believed it. So Paul exhorted the men to take heart – to believe it – for
he, Paul, believed it would be just as God had told him. Isn’t it always?

There was just one little caveat. The angel revealed to Paul that, although all who sailed with Paul would
be saved, the ship would be lost (v.22).

So what would happen to them, if the ship was lost? Look again at verse 26. The translation in the NKJV
is unfortunately most misleading here. It sounds as if Paul was saying that the ship must be run aground;
but that’s not what the Greek means. The Greek word translated “run aground” actually means “brought
upon”. Not the ship, but the men must be brought upon a certain island; or as in the KJV, cast upon it. As
the angel said, the ship would be lost; but they would be saved.
# 57: 5-9-08 8

After the words of Paul, night fell once again.

v. 27-29 Seemingly, nothing had changed. The storm continued to rage, as night descended; the
fourteenth night since the storm had hit. Nothing had changed, but the men had the words of Paul; and his
words had proven true before.

By now, the ship had been driven into the Adriatic Sea. Now, this is not what we call today the Adriatic
Sea, we just consider this area to be the western part of the Mediterranean Sea; the area south of the “boot”
of Italy (see map). But that is what they called it back then; and they were being tossed all around in it, by
the tempest.

Around midnight, the sailors could tell that land was near. How could they tell? It was dark; there were no
stars to see by; yet the sailors sensed it. I’m sure they heard the sound of surf breaking on a shore. Can
you imagine what a great sound that was to these sailors?

They began to fathom the depths; first twenty fathoms, about 120 feet; then, going a little further, fifteen
fathoms – 90 feet. This confirmed it; the ship was approaching land.

This was great news; but at the speed that the storm was driving them, and without being able to see, they
could have been dashed against the rocks near shore. So the crew dropped four anchors off the back of the
ship to secure it. There was nothing left to do, for light was needed to see the land, where they hoped to be
made safe. All they could do now was pray and wait for day to come; did they pray to Paul’s God?

But some were unwilling to wait.

v. 30-32 This gives you an idea of just how desperate these men were. The sailors could hear what it was
they’d been hoping for – land – but they couldn’t see it. Yet they decided to try to set out in the lifeboat, on
their own, and try to make it to land – in the dark, with rocks scattered about, in the middle of a tempest.

Yes, they were desperate; so desperate, that they tried to find the land - without the light. These sailors
would have been lost; and the men left on ship would have been lost, as well – because they could not
navigate the ship without the crew.

Providentially, their actions were observed by Paul, who informed the centurion. What Paul told him in
essence, was that all would be saved God’s way – or all would be lost. God would save them; but they had
their part; to believe Him and co-operate in the salvation.

By now, the centurion knew that Paul was to be believed at his word. He quickly commanded his soldiers
to cut away the lifeboat; there would be no more attempts for anyone on board to save themselves.

Still the world was veiled in darkness; but as dawn was approaching, Paul once again spoke to the men.

v. 33-38 By the Jewish way of reckoning, the fourteenth night is followed by the fourteenth day – “and the
evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen 1:5).

The men on board had gone without food for fourteen days, and Paul encouraged them to eat – for they
would need their strength for what was ahead. Food would provide them with the energy to endure; it was
for their survival; the word in the Greek actually means deliverance or salvation. Paul reassured them
again that there would be no loss of life, for that was the meaning of the proverb: “not a hair will fall from
your head” (Lk 21:18).
# 57: 5-9-08 9

And then Paul set the example for them, demonstrating his own belief: he took bread, gave thanks, broke
it; familiar words, aren’t they? In his gospel, they are the words which Luke used to describe the Lord’s
Supper with His disciples (Lk 22:19).

Paul thanked God in the presence of all the men; the God who had promised to deliver them; who would
deliver them. Paul began to eat; and then the men were encouraged, and ate as well.

What was it that encouraged them? Just watching Paul? That wouldn’t do it. But they saw he absolutely
believed God; and in that moment, they chose to believe God for themselves. That’s why they were
encouraged. They believed God would save them – all 276 of them!

What had changed? Well, the circumstances hadn’t. It was still dark; they were still in the midst of a dire
storm. But what changed was their perspective. From their perspective, it had all seemed so impossible.
But with God, all things are possible. They now saw things from God’s perspective; and so they were
encouraged – that they had a future and a hope.

The men ate the bread until they were satisfied; then they lightened the ship by throwing its valuable cargo
overboard – the wheat. This cargo had been kept for its value as well as to act as ballast, to steady the boat.

The fact that they jettisoned the wheat shows that the men believed God; they would not have done this if
they thought that the ship could be saved. They believed God that the ship would be lost; but that they
would be saved. In lightening the ship in this way, it would be easier to run the ship aground, if this
became a possibility.

v. 39-41 Finally, the light had come; and by that light, they saw the land. The land was not familiar to
them, but they saw some features with which they were happily familiar; there was a bay; an area that was
sheltered from the storm. This bay is known today as St. Paul’s Bay.

The bay was not rocky, but instead had a beach. That brought the possibility of running the ship aground,
which seemed safest to them; so they resolved to do that.

So they cast off their anchors, leaving them in the sea; and they released the rudders from their bands, so as
to steer the ship; and they hoisted a small sail that remained, on the foremast, and they headed for the shore.

But there was something they could not see as they entered the bay – a shoal that had formed at the
confluence of two opposite currents, just out of view beneath the surface of the water. The bow of the ship
got stuck in it; and the storm waves behind the ship began to crash against the stern. After the long
battering which the ship had endured for the past two weeks, the stern could not take this further abuse, and
quickly began to disintegrate. The ship was coming apart.

v. 42-44 It was the customary procedure of Roman soldiers to kill their prisoners if there was any
possibility of them escaping; by law, the lives of the soldiers could be forfeit if they lost their prisoners.

Fortunately, the centurion had a different thought. If it wasn’t for Paul, none of them would even be alive;
and the centurion wanted to return the favor – even extending it to the other prisoners. Was the centurion
aware that, in so doing, he was helping to fulfill the word of God?

The centurion commanded those who could swim to do so; and the rest to cling to boards or other parts of
the ship, and wade to shore. The ship was destroyed; but God granted Paul all those who sailed with him.
And in this way, the word of God was fulfilled; it never returns to Him void.
# 57: 5-9-08 10

It was a miracle that the ship survived that storm; that it didn’t wind up on the Syrtis; that it managed to
encounter this island, Malta, at all. Clearly it was divine providence that brought life out of the most dire of
circumstances – which were the result of men’s doing. And next week, we’ll see how this reflects the
history of the church down through the age.

Read Revelation chapter 2 and 3.