The Story

The journeys of the disciples were now taking them to countries and cities far away from Jerusalem. Paul was one of those who took long journeys. On one of his journeys he came to Greece and to Athens. It was a beautiful city. Its finest buildings are now in ruins, but they are still wonderfully beautiful. There were, too, many beautiful statues. Some of the most lovely buildings were grouped together on a hill called the Acropolis.

The most beautiful buildings were temples, and were named for different gods and goddesses whom the Greeks believed in - the temple of Athena, the temple of Olympian Zeus, and many more. Paul saw these buildings in their glory, and many shrines and altars. There were altars along the road by which Paul came from the harbor, "to the unknown god." It was all very beautiful, but it must have made Paul sad to see such labor and skill spent in building temples to gods who were not really gods. "His spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry."

Paul soon was talking with the people of Athens, first with the Jews in their synagogue, and with the Greeks as he met them in the market place. The Athenians were people who loved to learn. "For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing." There were always people ready to listen to the great teachers, sitting about them in convenient places in the city or walking with them in the groves. They were glad to gather around Paul, to hear what he had to say.

They brought Paul to Areopagus, or Mars' Hill. A large rock at the top of the hill, and a level place before it, made this a convenient place for many people to hear him. He preached to them about the Lord Jesus Christ. They need not build altars to the unknown god, for they could now know and worship the real God who had come and lived with men. He did not dwell in temples made with hands, but was near to every one of them; they ought not to think of Him as an idol of gold or silver or stone. We can imagine as Paul said these things, that he pointed to some of the beautiful temples and statues of which the Athenians were so proud. Some mocked; some wished to hear more; some believed. (Read Acts 17:15-34)

Junior

Much has happened between the first preaching in a Gentile's house, by Peter in Caesarea, which we learned of in a recent lesson, and Paul's preaching in Athens, which we read of today. At first when the apostles and brethren at Jerusalem learned that Peter had gone to the Gentiles, they contended with him; but he told them how the Lord had shown him that it was right to go, and they were glad. (Acts 11:1-18) Soon after, we find disciples preaching in Antioch, a city to the north of Palestine. (Have you your map before you? You will need it.) "The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." (Acts 11:26)

In chapters 13 and 14 we learn of the first long missionary journey of Paul. Barnabas was his companion. They set out from Antioch, sailing from the seaport Seleucia. They passed through the island of Cyprus, which had been the home of Barnabas. (Acts 4:36, 37) Then they sailed north to the coast of Asia Minor, and visited especially the cities of Perga, Antioch (in Pisidia), Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, returning again to Antioch where they started. There were many things to encourage them and also persecutions on this journey. Read of their experience at Lystra. (Acts 14:8-20)

After this there was a serious contention among the Christians at Antioch whether Gentiles in becoming Christians must first become Jews, and observe all the ceremonies of the Jews. Paul and Barnabas and others were sent to lay the question before the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. They decided that the Gentile converts should be required to keep only a few necessary rules. (Acts 15:28, 29)

Now Paul started from Antioch on a second missionary journey, which proved to be much longer than the first, though it began by revisiting some of the cities which were visited on the first journey - Derbe, Lystra, Iconium. This time Silas was Paul's companion, and Timothy, whom he baptized and took with him from Lystra. They went by land to these places visited before, coming first to Derbe, and the journey reached to new places in central Asia Minor. Then guided by a vision, they crossed to Macedonia, and were the first to carry the Christian teaching into Europe. You will be interested to read about their experience in Philippi. (Acts 16:9-40) They were not well treated at Thessalonica, and unfriendly ones followed them to Berea. You begin to recognize the names of persons and churches to whom Paul addressed some of his Epistles: Timothy, Philippians, Thessalonians. From verses 13-15 of our chapter you learn how Paul came to Athens, and of his teaching while he was there alone, waiting for Timothy and Silas to come.

We must look at pictures of Athens, and read in your Greek history about the temples and the statues that made the city so beautiful. From the ruins of the temples which are still standing we can get a good idea of their wonderful beauty, the grace of their lines and the delicacy of the carving; they were standing in all their glory when Paul saw them. A group of buildings standing up above the city on the rocky hill of the Acropolis were among the most beautiful of all. One of these was the Parthenon, the temple of Athena, the goddess of war. In this temple was a most beautiful statue of the goddess, very large, the parts of the body that showed being of ivory, and the clothing of gold. On the Acropolis, near this temple, was another still larger statue of the goddess made of bronze, which overtopped the buildings; the spear and helmet could be seen by sailors out at sea. This was the city "wholly given to idolatry" or "full of idols" in which Paul found himself.

The chapter also gives a glimpse of the character of the people of Athens, always ready "to tell, or to hear some new thing." You have heard the names of some of the famous teachers, who used to gather groups of disciples about them in Athens, and their names are connected with the philosophy which they taught. You have heard of the wise old Socrates, and of his disciples Plato and Aristotle. Two other schools which grew out of the teaching of Socrates were the two named in our chapter - the Epicureans, named from their master Epicurus, and the Stoics, founded by Zeno. The word "epicure" now means one who is over-fond of good food, but the old Epicureans looked for the highest good in happiness of mind rather than in bodily pleasure. They denied the immortality of the soul. The Stoics taught temperance and self-denial, and the name is now applied to those who make nothing of suffering. Followers of both these kinds of thought were among those who gathered about Paul to hear what new thing he had to say about Jesus and the resurrection.

We are with Paul and the company on the Areopagus, or Mars' Hill. The name was also given to the higher council or court of Athens, which sat either on this hill or in a hall near by. A member of this council is named in the last verse of our chapter as one of those who believed Paul's teaching. The city was below them, and the Acropolis near by with its beautiful temples and great statue of Athena. Paul's words have new force if you have the scene in mind. How empty, how hollow, it all was, the temples and the philosophy. Paul told them of the One who came into the world to make religion real and living.

1. Where is Athens? For what was it famous?

2. What signs of idolatry did Paul see?

3. What in our chapter illustrates the inquiring mind of the people?

4. What was Paul's message to the Athenians?

5. How was it received?

Deeper Study

Intermediate

In these accounts of Paul's journeys we make the acquaintance of churches and persons to whom Paul addressed epistles. We meet today Timothy, the Philippians and Thessalonians.

Paul's words in Acts 17:22, 23 are not intended to be disrespectful to the Athenians. He evidently wished to be conciliatory. He recognized in them an effort to reach the Divine, but neither with the Stoics nor the Epicureans, the two leading schools of philosophy, was the effort successful. The Stoics thought of God as a living force, and sought a freedom in soul by cultivating indifference to external pain or pleasure. The Epicureans thought of gods quite apart from human life, and for themselves sought happiness in pleasures, chiefly of a refined and cultured kind. Their philosophies gave them only vague thoughts of God. Paul wished that they might know Him as He had revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Interesting things are told in Heaven and Hell about wise Gentiles of ancient days, showing how easily in the other world they learned about the Lord and His Divine Humanity. (H. 322, 323) The description of the Athenians as desiring above all things to tell or to hear some new thing (Acts 17: 21) touches a conspicuous trait of their character. In three Relations (T. 692, 693, 694) Swedenborg gives a picture of some Greek philosophers and their disciples in the spiritual world. They still keep their interest in learning something new. "What news from the earth?" they ask. They are still fond of discussing to learn the truth; and the good-hearted become wise in regard to the Lord and heaven, wiser than many Christians.

Idolatries came from perversion of the wisdom of the Ancient Church and of their knowledge of correspondences. Statues and pictures which to the wise ancients represented qualities of God were afterward regarded by worldly people as Divine and were worshiped. Read of the origin of idolatry in S. 23. Something of the ancient wisdom came from Asia into Greece, and much of correspondences was preserved in the Greek myths. (A.2762; T. 693; W. H. 4) But the temples and idols which surrounded Paul in Athens were beautiful forms that had largely lost their spiritual content. It would change religion from a form to a living reality and would satisfy the yearning for God, if the Athenians could know Jesus as the Christian disciples knew Him. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." (John 1:18)

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