EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

Acts 17:1-34

Good News for Everyone

Acts

Marion Adams

Chapter 17 Paul and Silas go to Thessalonica, 17:1-4

v1 Paul and Silas travelled through Amphipolis and Apollonia. They came to Thessalonica. There was a *Jewish *synagogue in that city. v2 As he usually did, Paul went to the *synagogue. On three *Sabbath days, he spoke to the people there. He discussed the *scriptures and he explained them. From the *scriptures, v3 he proved that the *Messiah had to suffer. But Paul also proved that the *Messiah would become alive again. Paul told the people, ‘I am telling you about Jesus. He is the *Messiah.’ v4 Some *Jews there believed what Paul said. They joined Paul and Silas’s group. Many *Greek *God-fearers also joined the group. So, did many important women.

Verse 1 Paul and his helpers continued their journey along the long road called the Egnatian Way. They went south and then they went west. They travelled to Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a big city and it was an important place for business. People from many different countries lived there and many people travelled there for trade. Many *Jews lived there too.

Verses 2-3 Paul always went to the local *synagogue first. (Look at Acts 13:46.) The people there wanted him to *preach to them. They discussed the *scriptures (the *Old Testament) together with him. Paul talked about Jesus. Paul explained *prophecies from those *scriptures. Those *prophecies proved that Jesus was the *Messiah. The *prophets said that the *Messiah would suffer. They also said that he would become alive again. All this had happened to Jesus.

Verse 4 Some *Jews believed what Paul said. But the new *believers were mostly *Gentiles. Many *new believers were important women. Perhaps their husbands were the leaders of the city. Or perhaps the women had their own businesses, as Lydia had.

Luke writes that Paul spoke in the *synagogue three times. But we know that Paul stayed in Thessalonica for a longer time. He stayed until they set up a *church there with leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12). It seems that he did a job there to earn money (1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:2 Thessalonians 3:8). The Christians at Philippi sent gifts to him there (Philippians 4:16).

Trouble in Thessalonica, 17:5-9

v5 But the *Jewish leaders were jealous. They gathered some very bad men from the market-place. The leaders formed them into a big, noisy crowd. Then that crowd upset everyone in the city. The leaders wanted to drag Paul and Silas out of the house. They wanted to take Paul and Silas to that crowd. So, they rushed to Jason’s house. v6 But they did not find Paul and Silas there. So, they dragged Jason and some other *believers outside. They took them to the officials of the city. They shouted, ‘Paul and Silas have caused trouble everywhere! Now they have come here. v7 Jason has let them stay in his house. They all do things against the *Emperor’s laws. And they say that there is another king. His name is Jesus.’ v8 The officials and the crowd were upset when they heard this. v9 So, they made Jason and the other *believers pay ‘bail’ (see note). Then the officials let them go.

Verse 5 Again, Paul’s message upset the *Jewish leaders. They made a plan. The *Roman rulers did not want crowds to cause trouble on the streets. There were laws against this. It was a very serious crime. The *Jewish leaders wanted the officials of the city to accuse Paul and Silas of that crime. So, they persuaded some local bad men to make trouble. These men made people hate Paul and Silas. So, then the officials could blame the *missionaries for the trouble.

Verses 6-7 But the *Jewish leaders’ plan failed. Paul and Silas were staying at Jason’s house. So, the *Jewish leaders and the crowd went there. But Paul and Silas were not inside the house. Instead, the crowd dragged Jason outside and they dragged some other *Christians outside. The crowd took them to the officials of the city.

The officials usually decided whether a person was guilty of a crime. It was a crime to have a criminal as a guest. The *Jewish leaders accused Jason of this. They said, ‘Paul and Silas have caused trouble everywhere’ (verse 6). ‘Everywhere’ meant through all the *Roman *empire. They had probably heard about what happened during Paul’s first journey. They accused Paul and Silas. They said that Paul and Silas did not obey the *Emperor’s laws (verse 7). There was only one chief ruler in *Rome. That was the *Emperor!

They did not understand when the *missionaries *preached about God’s *kingdom. God’s *kingdom is very different from any *kingdom on earth. God’s *kingdom will never end. Some people believe Jesus and they trust him. Everyone who does those things can belong to God’s *kingdom. Jesus is their king.

Verses 8-9 The officials were responsible for the city. They had to make people obey *Roman law. If people did not obey it, the rulers and the *Emperor in *Rome would be angry.

But these officials were more sensible than the officials in Philippi. They saw that there was not much proof of the crime. Paul and Silas were not even there to answer questions! So, they did not order people to whip Jason and the other *believers. Instead, they made them pay ‘bail’. The *believers had to pay money before Paul and Silas could go free. The *believers were responsible for them.

The *missionaries had to leave Thessalonica. The officials did not want them to return.

Many people become *Christians in Berea, 17:10-15

v10 It was night. Immediately, the *believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When Paul and Silas arrived, they went to the *synagogue. v11 The people in Berea had a better attitude than the people in Thessalonica. The people in Berea were eager to listen to the message. They studied the *scriptures every day. They had heard what Paul said. And they wanted to see whether it was true. That is why they searched the *scriptures. v12 Many *Jews there believed. Many important *Greek women also believed and so did many *Greek men.

v13 The *Jews in Thessalonica heard about this. They heard that Paul was *preaching God’s message in Berea. They went to Berea and they caused trouble. They made the crowds oppose Paul. v14 Immediately, the *believers sent Paul away. He went to the coast but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. v15 Some men went with Paul to Athens. Then those men returned to Berea. They had instructions from Paul. He wanted Silas and Timothy to go to him as soon as possible.

Verse 10 Paul and Silas left at night, in secret. They left the Egnatian Way and they went south to Berea. Berea was in one district in Macedonia. There were four districts in Macedonia in total. Timothy went to be with them there.

Verses 11-12 The *Jews in Berea were different. They were not like the *Jews in Thessalonica. They ‘had a better attitude’. The *Greek word here means that they were more willing to receive God’s message. But they did not just believe the message. They checked that the message had the same meaning as the *scriptures. We should be like these people. When someone teaches something new, we should do this. We should check that we can learn the same thing from the Bible. So, we must study the Bible often. It is good to read it every day, like the people in Berea.

Many people in Berea, both *Jews and *Gentiles, believed the *gospel. In Acts 20:4, Luke mentions one such person. That person was called Sopater and he was Pyrrhus’s son. As in Thessalonica, many important *Gentile women became *Christians.

Verse 13 But Paul was in trouble again. Some *Jews from Thessalonica followed him to Berea. Again, they started to make the crowds oppose Paul. They probably accused him of the same crime. They probably said that he did not obey *Roman law.

Verses 14-15 So, the *believers in Berea helped Paul to get away in secret. It seems that the *Jews from Thessalonica were more angry with Paul. They were not so angry with his helpers. So, Silas and Timothy stayed to help in the new *church. Paul went to Athens. He arranged that Silas and Timothy would go to him later.

Paul *preaches in Athens, 17:16-21

v16 Paul waited for Silas and Timothy in Athens. During that time he became very upset, because he saw many *idols in the city. v17 He went to the *synagogue and he talked with the *Jews. And he talked with the *Gentiles who *worshipped God. Every day, he also talked to everyone that he met in the market-place. v18 Some Epicureans and Stoics started to argue with him. (Look at the note below.) Some people in their group asked, ‘What is this babbler trying to say?’ (A ‘babbler’ is a person who talks a lot.) Other people in their group replied, ‘It seems that he is talking about foreign gods.’ Those other people said this because Paul talked about Jesus and the *resurrection. v19 So, the group took Paul with them. And they brought him to the rulers of the city. This group of rulers was called the *Areopagus. They said, ‘What are these new things that you teach about? v20 We have heard you say some strange things. We want to know what you mean.’ v21 Everyone in Athens, both citizens and foreigners, loved to hear new ideas. And they loved to discuss them. They were always doing those things. They spent all their time in that way. They did nothing else.

Verse 16 For several centuries, Athens had been the most important city in the world. But it had lost its political power. When Paul was alive, *Rome had become more important. But Athens was still the most important city for culture and art. Many people came there to teach about religion. And many people came there to learn about religion. They also discussed different ideas about life’s meaning.

But there were *idols everywhere. They were images whose shape was like false gods. People made them from stone and metal. Today, people look at them because they are beautiful works of art.

But people did not make those images so that they could just look at the images. People made the images in order to *worship them. That was very wicked. Later, in a letter, Paul warned the Christians at Corinth about this. He wrote that ‘when *pagans *sacrifice something, they offer it to evil *spirits. They do not offer it to God’ (1 Corinthians 10:20). When people *worship false gods, they are really *worshipping evil *spirits!

This made Paul very ‘upset’. The *Greek word here is ‘paroxyno’. That word appears many times in the *Greek translation of the *Old Testament. With that word, the writers there describe what God thinks about *idols. Paul thought the same as God thinks. But Paul did not leave the city in disgust because of the *idols. Instead, he showed his love for the people. He told the good news about Jesus to them. They needed to hear it very much!

Verse 17 While Paul waited for Silas and Timothy, he continued to *preach. Again, he went to the *synagogue first. But he also went to the busy centre of the city. He talked to the people there too. 450 years before, the famous *Greek teacher Socrates had done that too. Paul knew that the people in Athens liked to discuss new ideas in public. So, that was the best way to tell them about Jesus.

Verse 18 The Epicureans followed what Epicurus taught. (Epicurus lived during 340-270 *BC.) The Epicureans believed in false gods. But they said that those gods had no interest in people’s lives. The Epicureans believed that people should just enjoy themselves as much as possible. They avoided things that caused fear and pain.

The Stoics followed what Zeno taught. (Zeno died in 265 *BC.) The Stoics did believe in a chief god, but they did not believe in the real God. They said that everything happened because of fate. They had no hope for the future. They were not like the Epicureans. They did not try to avoid pain. They believed that people should suffer bravely.

The ideas that the Epicureans and the Stoics had are very old. But many people believe similar false ideas today.

Although the Epicureans and the Stoics had different ideas, they agreed about Paul. The *Greek word for ‘babbler’ is ‘spermologos’. The people in Athens used this word as an insult. It meant a teacher who takes parts of other people’s ideas. Then he puts those parts together. And he pretends that those ‘new’ ideas are his own ideas. The people in Athens did not understand what Paul meant. They thought that he was talking about two gods called Jesus and ‘Resurrection’. The people thought that the word ‘*resurrection’ was a god’s name.

Verses 19-20 But some people there wanted to know more about what Paul was teaching. They probably thought that people might not believe in the local gods any longer. They brought Paul to the *Areopagus. They asked him to explain what he was teaching.

Verse 21 Luke writes that the people in Athens loved to talk about new ideas. But that is all that they did all day! Luke seems to think that they were wasting time in that way. They talked about new ideas. But they never really learnt anything. If they did learn something, they did not do anything about it! They preferred to talk rather than actually to do anything!

Paul’s speech to the *Areopagus, 17:22-34

v22 Paul stood up in front of the *Areopagus. He said, ‘People in Athens, I can see that religion interests you a lot. v23 I can see it because I walked about in your city. I looked at the things that you *worship. I found an *altar. Someone had written this text on it. The text was “to a God whom we do not know”. You *worship this God. But you do not know him. So, I will tell you about him now. v24 He is the God who made the world. He made everything that is in it. He is the *Lord over heaven and earth. He does not live in *temples that people build. v25 And he does not need anyone to help him. This is because he gives to everyone life, breath and everything else. v26 Out of one man he made all the nations, so that they would live all over the whole world. God decided when every nation would exist. And he decided where every nation would be. v27 God did this so that people would search for him. Perhaps they would reach out to him and they would find him. But he is not far from anyone among us. v28 Someone has said, “He gives to us the power to live. He gives to us the power to move. And by means of him, we are the people that we are.” Some of your poets have said, “We are his children.” v29 We are God’s children. So, we must not think that God is like an *idol. People have not made him from gold, silver or stone. He is not like anything that people could design! v30 In past ages, God forgave people who thought such things. They did not know what they were doing. But now, he orders all people everywhere to *repent. v31 God has chosen a day when he will decide everyone’s fate. He will do this in a fair way. He has chosen a man to do this for him. He has given proof about this to everyone. He has raised this man from death.’

v32 When the people heard Paul speak about a *resurrection, some people laughed. Other people said, ‘We want to hear you talk about this again.’ v33 Then Paul left the meeting. v34 Dionysius (a member of the *Areopagus), Damaris and several other people joined Paul’s group. Those people believed in the *Lord.

Verses 22-23 The *Areopagus was the name for the leaders of Athens city. That group had once possessed much political power. At the time when Paul lived, the *Areopagus still made important decisions. These included decisions about the law, education and religion.

Paul began his speech to them. The first thing that they talked about was religion. We must remember that Paul’s audience were all *pagans. So, he *preached in a new way. He did not mention the *scriptures, nor did he mention *Jewish history. That was because these people did not know about those things.

Instead, he talked about something that was familiar to them. He talked about an *altar that he had seen. It was an *altar ‘to a God whom we do not know’. In Athens, there were many *altars like this. Probably, it had been an old, broken *altar. People did not know to which god it belonged. So, when they mended it, they wrote this text on it. They wrote ‘to a God whom we do not know’. Paul said that he would now identify that God!

Verse 24 Paul did not mention the *scriptures. But he used certain words to describe God. Those words were similar to words that writers used in the *Old Testament. God made all things and he is the *Lord over all things. Like Stephen, Paul told his audience that God does not live in one place only. God is much bigger than anything that we can build.

Verse 25 God does not need anything from us. We cannot give to him anything that he does not already have. Everything that we have comes from him. He gives us life. And he keeps us alive.

Paul’s words here are similar to how the *prophet Isaiah described God (Isaiah 42:5). But Paul meant something else also. The *Greeks linked their word for ‘life’ (‘zoe’) with Zeus. Zeus was their chief god. So, Paul was telling them that God gives life, but Zeus does not give life.

Verse 26 God made all people. And he is the ruler over all people. God controls everything that happens in the world.

All people have one common *ancestor, Adam. (Look at Genesis 2:7.) The *Greeks thought that they were superior to other nations. Paul shows to us here that no nation is superior. God made all people from one man. God decided when each person would live on earth. He decided where each person would live.

Verse 27 But God did not make us just so that he could watch us from far away. He wanted us to search for him. And he wanted us to know him. That was his plan.

But Paul used particular *Greek words for ‘reach out’ and ‘find’. Those words mean that God’s plan has not happened. *Sin stopped it. *Sin separates us from God. But Paul did not say that. It is possible to know God. And he is very near to us. So, Paul wanted to show those facts to his *pagan audience. The Stoics also believed that their god was in everything. (Look at the note about verse 18.) So, he was near, too. But Paul was speaking about the genuine God. The real God is not the same as the things that he has made. Also, the real God wants to know ‘everyone among us’. We can talk to him as a friend. And he wants us to know that. Those things are very different from what the Stoics believed. Their god did not care about them. He was more like an idea.

Verse 28 Paul often used words from the *Jewish *scriptures when he was explaining about God. But he could not do this here. This was because his audience did not know the *scriptures. Instead, he used words that *Greek poets had written about God and people. He used words that the poet Epimenides had written. (Epimenides lived about 600 *BC.) And he used words that the poet Aratus had written. (Aratus was born in 310 *BC.)

Aratus was a Stoic. He was writing about the false god Zeus. Of course, we are not Zeus’s children! But we are children of the genuine God. That is because he made us. And he gives us life. Paul used words that his audience had heard before. He took examples from their *pagan culture. In this way, his message would be more real for them. And it would be easier for them to understand.

Verse 29 We are God’s children. He designed us. So, we should not design God from metal or stone. It is not possible! God is *Spirit (John 4:24). So, we cannot make an image that can show his form to us.

Paul was careful not to annoy his audience. He did not try to make them seem silly. Because they made *idols, their beliefs were wrong. But he told the truth to them in a kind and gentle way. He said ‘we’ instead of ‘you’. When we spread the *gospel today, we must always be polite. People will not listen to us if we laugh at them. We must not laugh at them, nor must we insult them. We must not do those things, even when their beliefs are silly and wrong.

Verses 30-31 Then Paul returned to what he had said at the beginning. The people in Athens did not know God. ‘But now’ (verse 30) means ‘now, when *Christ has come’. *Christ offers to people *salvation from *sin’s results. To receive this *salvation, they must *repent. They must not *worship *idols any longer. They must start to *worship God. Jesus *Christ has shown what God is like. So, people cannot say that they do not know who the genuine God is now.

God will decide what every person’s fate will be. He will decide it for every person that he has made. He has already decided when that will happen. Nobody will avoid God’s judgement. God has chosen ‘a man’ to do this. That man is Jesus *Christ. God raised him from death. This proved that God had chosen Jesus. God wanted to decide about everyone’s fate by means of Jesus. That included all the people in the world.

Verses 32-33 Some people in Paul’s audience laughed when he mentioned *resurrection. They could not believe that a dead person could return to life. Most *Greeks (except the Epicureans) agreed that a person’s *spirit lives for always. (Look at the note about verse 18.) But the *Greek writer Aeschylus, who lived during 525-456 *BC, had written about their god Apollo. In that story, Apollo had said that ‘there is no *resurrection’. This would mean that when someone dies, that person cannot come back to life.

Other people in Paul’s audience wanted him to explain more at another time. They did not want to make a decision immediately.

When we spread the *gospel today, people’s reactions may be similar to those people’s reactions. Some people will laugh at us. Other people will want to hear more before they believe. We must pray that they do make a decision. We can discuss about God. We can learn some things about him in that way. But there is only one way to know God certainly. We must believe in Jesus, his Son. And we must trust in Jesus. That is how we can really know God.

Verse 34 A few people believed Paul’s message about Jesus and they went with Paul. Dionysius was a member of the *Areopagus.

Some students say that Damaris may have been a foreigner. That is because the ordinary women in Athens did not attend meetings of the *Areopagus. Other students think that she may have been Dionysius’ wife.

After that, Paul left Athens. Nowhere in the *New Testament does a writer mention a new *church in Athens. So, it seems that Paul’s speech was not very successful. He had explained the *gospel in a particular way. In some students’ opinion, Paul thought that this way had failed. Certainly, when he came to Corinth, he *preached in a different way. Corinth was also a *pagan city. Later, he wrote these words. ‘I decided to speak only about Jesus *Christ, whom people *crucified’ (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew; or it describes anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
synagogue ~ a building where Jews gathered for prayer. They went there to study the scriptures. And they went there to attend other public meetings.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
scripture ~ the Bible, the book that contains God’s holy messages; the Old Testament.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.

Old Testament ~ the Bible’s first part, which the writers wrote before Jesus lived on earth; the holy things that the writers wrote before *Christ’s birth.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
Sabbath ~ the Sabbath was the 7th day in the week. That day was special to the Jews. On that day, the people had to rest from work (Exodus 20:8-11).
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
scripture ~ the Bible, the book that contains God’s holy messages; the Old Testament.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.

Old Testament ~ the Bible’s first part, which the writers wrote before Jesus lived on earth; the holy things that the writers wrote before *Christ’s birth.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil. This shows that God has chosen him or her.

'God-fearer ~ a Gentile that worshipped God.
Gentile ~ not Jewish; a person that is not a Jew; a person who does not know God. ‘Gentiles’ can mean people from all countries (but it does not include Jews).
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew; or it describes anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
preach ~ to tell the good news about Jesus to a person or people; and to explain it to them.'Old Testament ~ the Bible’s first part, which the writers wrote before Jesus lived on earth; the holy things that the writers wrote before *Christ’s birth.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
prophecy ~ special messages and stories that God gives to a person; messages about things that will happen in the future; the words that a prophet speaks or writes.
prophet ~ someone who tells God’s messages; a person that God sends to speak for him.
prophet ~ someone who tells God’s messages; a person that God sends to speak for him.
believer ~ a person who knows *Christ and accepts him.
Gentile ~ not Jewish; a person that is not a Jew; a person who does not know God. ‘Gentiles’ can mean people from all countries (but it does not include Jews).
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew; or it describes anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
emperor ~ the most important ruler in Rome.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
Roman ~ a person from Rome; a word that describes someone from Rome; or it describes something from Rome. The Roman soldiers fought against people in many countries. And they defeated them. They made the people obey the rules that officials in Rome made. They made the people pay taxes to Rome.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
missionary ~ a person who goes to another country to tell people about Jesus.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
empire ~ a very big kingdom.
kingdom ~ where a king rules; a country where a king rules. God’s kingdom is where God rules.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
kingdom ~ where a king rules; a country where a king rules. God’s kingdom is where God rules.
Gospel ~ a book at the beginning of the New Testament. There are 4 Gospels. They are called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
gospel ~ the good news about Jesus; the message that Jesus came to save us.

New Testament ~ the Bible’s last part, which the writers wrote after Jesus lived on earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the church. It is about what Christians believe. And it is about what they do.
save ~ to rescue from sin’s result.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
idol ~ a thing that people make from wood, stone or metal. It looks like an animal, a man or a god. People worship it instead of God. And they pray to it instead of God.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
resurrection ~ when someone comes back to life after death; when someone rises from death to life.
Areopagus ~ the group of men that met to make important decisions in Athens.
pagans ~ people that worship a false god or gods.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
sacrifice ~ when someone kills an animal and he offers it to God (or a false god). In this way, he asks God (or a false god) to forgive him.
spirit ~ a person’s spirit is the part in them that will always be alive. It will be alive even after his or her body is dead. There are good spirits. Those include God’s Spirit and his angels. There are also evil spirits. These include Satan and his angels.
angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God to people that live on earth.
Satan ~ the name for the worst spirit among the evil spirits, who are against God. He has another name, which is the Devil. He is God’s enemy.
BC ~ years Before Christ came to the earth.
altar ~ a table where people burned animals as a sacrifice to God; or they burned them as a sacrifice to false gods. (People usually made the table from stone.)
sacrifice ~ when someone kills an animal and he offers it to God (or a false god). In this way, he asks God (or a false god) to forgive him.
Lord ~ the name for God or Jesus in the Bible; the name means that he is above all other things; a name that we use for Jesus when we obey him; someone with authority.
temple ~ a building where people worship God (or a false god).
Temple ~ the Temple was the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
Jerusalem ~ the capital city in Israel.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
repent ~ to stop doing sin and then to obey God; to change from past evil behaviour; to let one’s mind change, so that one stops doing wrong things.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
ancestors ~ a person’s relatives that lived a long time ago.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
spirit ~ a person’s spirit is the part in them that will always be alive. It will be alive even after his or her body is dead. There are good spirits. Those include God’s Spirit and his angels. There are also evil spirits. These include Satan and his angels.
angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God to people that live on earth.
Satan ~ the name for the worst spirit among the evil spirits, who are against God. He has another name, which is the Devil. He is God’s enemy.
salvation ~ when God saves us from sin’s results and he saves us from its power; when a person is sorry for his or her wrong behaviour and God forgives the person. And then that person obeys Jesus.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.'New Testament ~ the Bible’s last part, which the writers wrote after Jesus lived on earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the church. It is about what Christians believe. And it is about what they do.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.

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