World Peace Through Mutual Understanding
CLASS 4 ISSUES
Study: Isaiah 2: 2 – 4; Acts 17: 26 – 28
Background: Isaiah 2; 11: 6 – 10; John 18: 28 – 38; Acts 17
Devotional: Revelation 5: 8 – 14
Lesson 5 March 28, 2026
Key Verse
Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.—Isaiah 2:3
INTRODUCTION
Would you like to have peace in your life and the ability to have firm agreements with others you might not have a good relationship with?
If you do you will in good company for all human beings do not like constant fighting, quarrelling, killing, and abuse of the helpless.
That is the problem that human beings have been faced since sin came into the world in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned and they were expelled from the Garden of Eden everything went downhill and there were murders, abuse of the helpless by the stronger people, and women and children were abused. But God had other plans for the wicked people and nations, and for those who needed His help.
God then spoke through Isaiah the prophet to tell us about the future He planned for the people on earth.
Our Lesson Study is a particularly good introduction to the subject of prophecy. The prophet Isaiah gives us two pictures from which we will learn lessons about the present world, and about the future.
In the first picture we see displayed before us the city of Jerusalem which stands for the nation of Judah for Jerusalem is the capital city of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin.
Isaiah gives a prophecy about this city as it stands before the world. This city and the nation of Judah is in poor shape. In Isaiah’s assessment he points to the wickedness of Judah in chapter 1:2 to 20 and he stresses the degeneracy of Jerusalem in 1:21 to 31. This city of Jerusalem in Isaiah’s time was a very marginalized city and it was a very vulnerable city for it flourished or then suffered at the behest of the Great powers of the day.
In fact Isaiah would later sum up this terrible situation in Chapter 5 where he sings to the nation the “Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard”, where the nation is pictured as a vineyard that had been lovingly prepared by God to produce a great deal of grapes. But instead it produced wild grapes.
So the prophet therefore denounced the injustices practiced in Jerusalem and Judah (5:8-23), and he pointedly looks at the suffering of the people and the devastating invasion which will come to them as judgment for their sins (5:24-30).
God will speak through Isaiah at great length about the wickedness of Judah but then in the second picture, Yahweh, ever merciful, states that He will allow a remnant to survive and He will thoroughly purge away “their dross” so that Jerusalem might be called “the city of righteousness” a “fruitful town”. (1:25-26).
Isaiah looks at Jerusalem through the prophetic lens and tells us that Jerusalem will in future before the world look very different from what it was looking then. What a difference there will be!
In the final days the messianic time it will be a glorious time.
Note that Isaiah was a prophet and he has a prophetic vision when he tells us the word that he saw. As a prophet he sees into the future with spiritual perception and the Holy Spirit brings to his spiritual understanding the ‘word’ which he saw.
Let us remember that prophets had a two- fold ministry. They were men who had foresight for by God’s Spirit they were able to look down into the future and they were able then to write what they saw and to preach about what they saw given them by the Holy Spirit concerning the future. They were able to predict.
But they also were able to give insight into the knowledge that they have been given by God and so they could look on their fears of people and nations and see the spiritual issues that were affecting them and their fears, so the prophets then gave them the word of God. They became known as men who gave revelation from God dealing with what was happening now and what would happen in the future.
So in the second picture the prophet would see the glory of God that would be in Jerusalem is the last days, the messianic days, the days of the Messianic Kingdom.
Like the prophet Zechariah and others he is bringing forth for us the time when the Lord Jesus Christ comes and the messianic worship would be established in the mountain of God which is above the mountains of the earth. People will respond and come to worship the Lord Jesus Christ in this reversal of Babylon where the nations had come together and wanted to build a name for themselves and a tower that would reach up to heaven.
Now in the Messianic Kingdom there will be judgment among the nations, teaching of the law of God among the nations and they will beat their swords and weapons of war into agricultural implements so that there would be peace on earth and war will be banished as a desirable practice. God will then show conclusively that He loves Gentiles as well as Jews and the original covenant with Abraham that “in you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” as recorded in Genesis 12:3, will be fulfilled, the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile referred to in Ephesians 2:14 will be broken down, Christ will welcome people of all nations into the presence of God the Father and people of all nations will worship the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the second part of our Lesson Study we will see the Apostle Paul witnessing to the Greek Gentile philosophers and comparing for them the truths of Hebrew Scripture with the misguided Greek philosophy and in doing so presents his message without any hint of compromise between both systems.
The prophet Isaiah had been talking to people who thought that they were better than others and so they failed in carrying the testimonies of God Almighty to the nations
But now, when the Apostle came to Athens he was facing Greeks who thought that they were inherently superior to other people and they found what the apostle was teaching them about the true God something very difficult for them to understand.
We should note carefully that God was talking to people who were searching for God but they were doing this as most people on the face of the earth starting from their own conceptions of God. So the Apostle had to point out to them that they were groping for God with uncertainty, a reaching out into the darkness, doing this search and ending up with many idols. They had been hoping to find God, hoping to placate God and to keep God happy and hoping to avoid the wrath of God. But they had a problem for for the gods that they ended up with were merely figments of their imaginations.
So note the lesson that we will face and what we often will find as we witness in the world. They were reaching out and attempting to find God but they were not willing to receive the revealed God about whom Paul was speaking. So the apostle tried to make them understand the imperfectness of their understanding of God, shouting out to them that God is not far away from all of us, for as the Creator He did not want anyone to perish.
The Apostle Paul’s approach to these people is a masterpiece of evangelism and it teaches us what we should do when we approach those who are suppressing the truth of God in unrighteousness.
The nation of Judah had a similar problem as those in the city of Athens where the apostle confronted the Athenian philosophers, mainly the Stoics and the Epicureans philosophers.
They did not understand what the revelation of God meant when it said that human beings were created in the image and likeness of God.
In addition to this, neither the people of Judah nor the people in Athens understood that the Holy Spirit is here convincing all men of sin, righteousness, and judgment. But despite this witness, in many cases they will choose to suppress according to the Apostle in Romans 1 the truth of God in unrighteousness so that they can pursue their love for darkness rather than loving the light.
Paul in his missionary evangelistic endeavour felt sympathy for the people of Athens and we will examine this carefully for we should learn how to deal with the widespread feeling of meaninglessness of existence, and the depersonalization of their lives and what one writer calls, “ the insecurity that undermines every certainty, the demonic in human affairs, and the ambiguities of ethical behavior”.
As we examine this Study let us not forget the sad reality of the Christian life today and what separates professing Christians. We tend to develop meaningless gods which are no gods, and we tend to think that our thoughts can attain to the quality of the expressed words of God.
We like to think that we can come up with conjectures instead of relying on the revelation from God. The kind of thought processes that led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to slip into wickedness, and the kind of thought processes which led the Athenian philosophers to follow the ways of paganism and think that their human ingenuity and artistic skills could create gods that had meaning, is similarly reflected in our modern practice. One writer comments and we note some of his beliefs will be controversial:
“ The National Council of Churches in the United States and the World Council of Churches internationally are our most visible attempts at “ecumenism” (Christian unity), but they got mixed reviews, and they are poorly supported by the rank and file members of the participating churches.
In 1965 the major denominations of the Christian faith formed an ecumenical group called COCU – an acronym for the Consultation on Christian Union. The goal was to explore matters of faith on which we all agree., that was some 40 years ago and we’re still looking!
So what do you think? Will there ever come a day when all the various denominations of the Christian faith ( much less, the other religions of the world) come together in common communities with God and each other?
Why not? What stands in the way? I suspect that one of the biggest hurdles to overcome if we are ever going to agree on anything of substance is our own pride…..
What separates us from each other, doctrinal differences or competing egos? What are the really important matters of faith? Does God care, for example, whether we say “debts” or “trespasses” in the Lord’s Prayer, whether we baptize by sprinkling or immersion; whether we use the rite liturgical colours?
God does not care, but we care and that’s the point……
And this is the point Isaiah made perfectly clear: the kingdom of God will come upon the earth when all- the various peoples of the world— including us are willing to give up their desire to be #1 and surrender their wills to God’s good and perfect will for all humankind. He says,
“For out of Zion the law shall go forth, he will judge between the nations… and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more”.
You might not agree with everything that this writer states for it seems that he appears to believe that mutual understanding will bring the world to peace. But remember everything that will happen on this earth is determined ultimately by God. We therefore pray that He will act quickly to bring peace to the earth and bring the Messiah for His Second Coming.
The prophet Isaiah however is insistent that it is God that will bring about peace in the latter days and establish the city of Jerusalem, or Mount Zion, as the place from which the Law of God will come”. So like the prophet Isaiah we will have to remind you that the sovereign God will override the wrath of men whether they be Jew, or whether they be Gentile.
Isaiah therefore conveys the Word of God to us where Jerusalem will become a holy city for many nations and the house of Jacob will walk in the light of the Lord. This of course will happen in the latter days.
Throughout history, war has been a constant reality. Examples of conflict are not hard to find; we can pick any century. In modern times, many have grown weary of the unending, active war scenes of devastation and suffering on our news devices. We live in a world that is often gripped by terrorism and violence.
Nevertheless, most people desire peace; we yearn for it.
But how can such peace arrive? Where will it come from?
The Bible tells us that true, lasting peace will only come from God. The total peace He promises has two aspects.
The first is peace between us and God.
The second is peace between humans, nations, and people groups.
The first aspect has already been achieved through Jesus (Romans 5:1). This week’s Study Texts reveal the path toward the second aspect which unsurprisingly also leads to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Isaiah in Judah
Isaiah began prophesying at the end of the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, in about 740 BC
(Isaiah 1:1; 6:1). During Isaiah’s lifetime, the kingdom of Judah faced threats from within and without. Whether the danger came from war with the massive Assyrian Empire (7:17) or injustice and violence within Judah itself (1:21–23), the future of its capital, Jerusalem, was uncertain.
The beginning of the book of Isaiah warns Judah against an even deeper conflict: a war of rebellion that the people were waging against God. The people of Jerusalem led lives filled with unrighteousness, idolatry and oppression; the once “faithful city” had become a “harlot” (Isaiah 1:21). Isaiah explained that the Judeans would have no peace with other nations or among their own people until they first accepted God’s terms of peace. Thus, Isaiah calls Judah to repent (1:16–17).
Amid promises of fearsome judgment, however, Isaiah also announced a message of hope: Jerusalem would once again become a “city of righteousness” through God’s redeeming work (1:26–27). The first of Today’s Texts (which has a parallel in Micah 4:1–3) picks up on this theme.
Paul in Athens
On his second missionary journey (AD 52–54), Paul traveled through the region of Macedonia (modern-day northern Greece). During this journey, he planted churches in the cities of Philippi and Thessalonica (Acts 16:6–15; 17:1–9). Due to persecution in Thessalonica and then Berea, Paul was forced into an untimely departure from Berea and he moved on to Athens some three hundred miles to the south (17:14–15).
As Paul walked around Athens, he became increasingly distressed by the city’s wholesale idolatry. There were idol temples, altars and shrines on almost every corner! (Acts 17:16). It seems every known or imagined ‘god’ or goddess was represented in Athens; there was even an altar to the ‘unknown god’.
Noteworthy, in the west Christianity has been largely removed from the public sphere; idolatry is rampant and man has made himself the chief deity.
Paul’s response to this idolatrous city was to engage fellow Jews, God-fearing Gentiles and others in conversation about Jesus. Paul’s teaching soon drew the attention of local philosophers, who invited him to speak at the Areopagus, the space in which the city’s political council met (17:19). The Areopagus council likely had authority over which religious teachings were allowed into the city. These men had a rich knowledge of Greek philosophy but almost no familiarity with Hebrew Scripture.
Today’s passage comes as Paul addressed a highly educated gathering with the Gospel and an approach suitable to his august audience.
THE TEXT
2. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
After a first chapter filled with dire warnings for Judah to repent the Lord promises that something incredible will happen during the last days. The breadth of this oracle is astounding: all nations will come to the Lord’s house, that is, the temple in Jerusalem. They will come not as enemies, ready to mount an attack, but as disciples, ready to learn and have a relationship with God.
It is not immediately clear what Isaiah meant by “the last days.” The original audience likely understood such days to be a part of the future history of the nation. Several Old Testament prophets refer to this as a time when God’s glory and authority will be revealed to Israel and the world more universally (Jeremiah 49:39; Hosea 3:5; Micah 4:1; etc.). The context seems to suggest the time of Messiah’s millennium kingdom.
The imagery of the Lord’s house located high on the top of the mountain indicates the temple’s relative importance. At the time of Isaiah’s prophecy, fictitious gods were commonly worshiped and offered sacrifices on mountains and hills as well (Isaiah 65:7; compare 2 Kings 15:4). The elevated location of the Lord’s house on the top of the mountains indicates the Lord’s holiness above all other gods and authorities (Psalm 3:4; Isaiah 27:13; 56:7; 66:20; Micah 4:7). The imagery also speaks to God’s manifest, absolute and sovereign rule over the nations.
God commanded the people of Israel to destroy such sites upon entrance into the promised land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 12:2), but the vision in the verse before us is that of a singular, holy mountain naturally elevated above all others.
The last days will make clear that the Lord alone is God and that the God of Israel is the only true God.
The New Testament references the language of “last days” to describe the messianic era, as God speaks to us through Jesus the Son (Hebrews 1:2). Both Jesus’ own physical body and the church as the body of Christ are described as the new temple (John 2:21; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 2 Corinthians 6:16). Understood in this light, we can read Isaiah’s prophecy as a promise that the nations will come to learn from Jesus through the church. Through its obedience to God and its proclamation of the truth, the church will make known the mystery of God to the nations (Ephesians 3:9–11).
3. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.
All people will realize the nature of the mountain of the Lord as defined above, they will be drawn to it but more so to the God who dwells there (compare Micah 4:2).
Further, they will also draw each other to the mountain, encouraging each other to go up and approach God together. The image is one of people who no longer oppress each other or encourage each other to pursue idolatry but help each other serve the one true God.
The image of many people from various nations worshipping the God of Jacob may have shocked its original audience. Still, Isaiah underscores the promise by later prophesying that even Israel’s historical enemies of Egypt and Assyria would experience blessing and become the people of God (Isaiah 19:25).
Jesus echoed this verse’s imagery when He told His disciples that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47;
Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 1:8).
And he will teach us of his ways, ….
A logical way of thinking for being able to walk in God’s paths is learning his ways (Psalm 86:11). The law was given to Israel to guide them as they lived before God in the land He gave to them. Initially, God designed His law to identify people who were distinct in bearing witness to Him as the one true God.
Israel was to be a “kingdom of priests” with the unique honor of displaying God’s character to a watching world (Exodus 19:6). When the nations saw Israel flourish because of its people’s obedience, they would inquire and want to share in that life (Deuteronomy 4:5–8).
Sadly, prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah indicate that this beautiful display was not what happened in history. Instead, Israel and Judah often subverted their priestly role through idolatry and oppressive behavior toward others.
| Here, God promises that, once again, people would follow the word of the Lord. Israel would truly become a light to the nations by broadcasting that word to all (Isaiah 42:6). The Gospel of Luke returns to this image, with the prophet Simeon announcing that Jesus Himself would be that “light” to heal the relationship between God and the nations (Luke 2:32). |
4. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people.
God Himself will be the one to decide what is true, good, and righteous as He executes justice between people groups in the world (compare Isaiah 32:1). Yet while many people from among the nations will seek God and learn from His word, many others will not. God will deal with such people according to their folly, violence, and injustice.
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks.
In each of our three verses from Isaiah, we can see a pattern of parallelism. Parallelism, which appears frequently in Hebrew poetry, happens when words in one line of a verse reflect the words in another line to communicate a larger point. In this partial verse, we see parallelism communicating God’s promise to establish a permanent peace between Himself and humanity.
At this point, a further promise emerges: when the nations are in fellowship with God, they will have peace with one another. At the proper time, they will take their weapons, both swords and spears, and turn them into farming instruments. The destructive tools of warfare will become tools of peaceful creation (contrast Joel 3:10). Nations will be free to seek ways to flourish together.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
When every nation becomes devoted to God’s reign, there will no longer be a need for conflict between them. They will be transformed from self-interested, violent people groups into participants in the kingdom of God.
Each nation will be filled with peace, justice, and righteousness. Such nations no longer need to pursue conquest and domination over each other. There will no longer be a need to learn the ways of war. There will no longer be any cause for fear from other people (Micah 4:4). When God reigns, peace will reign too.
The world will not fully know this peace until Jesus returns and all people worship Him.
Acts 17:26–28)
26. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.
Many of Paul’s listeners in Athens would have been trained in philosophy (Acts 17:18). With this in mind, Paul adapts his usual mode of sharing the Gospel, Rather than beginning with obvious references to Hebrew Scripture, as he might with a Jewish audience.
The city of Athens had one of the grandest history of any city in the ancient world for it was the home of the famous Socrates. It was a lovely city and it reflected the search from the people of the city for the eternal and the beautiful. So the apostle Paul would see the glistening temples raised to Diana and Apollo and Zeus and Poseidon. The apostle would see the perfectly artistic Doric temples and to his right would be the Acropolis, the pantheon, and many other altars and temples erected to various gods., writers comments that the statutes of marble gold and silver were the most beautiful and perfect ever made. Paul would see the Temple of Demeter, the goddess of the earth and there were many temples to Athena the goddess of wisdom, Zeos, the God of force.
So note that if you wanted to look for what one writer calls the vanity of human wisdom one could find it in the city of Athens.
So no wonder the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church,”For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness”.
So the apostle now was walking in the home of the great philosophers from Socrates to Plato. One writer tells us,
“The great dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Aristophanes wrote their magnificent works here. Theirs was a golden culture, perhaps the most shining society the world has ever known.
But four centuries had passed since Socrates had stood where Paul now stood. Thus centuries has seen Athens fall from its former glory. Now so-called philosophers loitered about the city trying to imitate the mental greatness of Socrates. But now they spent” their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new”.
Paul had even seen a monument dedicated to the “Unknown God”. How close they were to the secret of life! But in spite of all these efforts, their urge to find God had not been satisfied. They had looked everywhere, turned over every stone, and still had not found him.
Paul felt sympathy for the people of Athens. What they had not had the advantage of meeting Christ on the Damascus Road. They had not heard the stories of the Galilean—of his wisdom, his insights, his parables. They had not dealt with the meaning of the cross and the Resurrection.
Notice the method of Paul’s evangelism. There is no simple sentence or phrase that has in it anything of harshness. His whole message was one of courtesy and kindness.
He did not demand that they jump to his assumptions about life and about truth, but he started where they were.
He gives his hearers the benefit of the doubt, pictures them as earnest seekers of God, and sees their previous, misguided attempts as forgivable in instances of ignorance’
“You men of Athens, I perceive you are very religious in all things.
For as I passed along, and as observed the objects of your worship, I found an altar with this inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Whom therefore, ye ignorantly worship him declare I unto you”.
Paul draws on his knowledge of Hebrew Scripture to strengthen his argument while also referencing concepts found in Greek philosophy.
Notice that Paul did not play any word or mind games but cut through to the basic matter of what they believed, what they aimed for, and what they actually needed. He started with where they were and so they listened to him.
That of course is a lesson for us as we do our evangelism with people that have suppressed God in their unrighteousness and had become ignorant and vain in their thinking.
The Apostle therefore started with their worship and their images of God pointing out to them that the images of God were unworthy images.
Even though the idols they created might be aesthetically pleasing as portraits and images of God the images could at best be very inadequate representations of God for a man could not limit the unlimited. With their temples they were more misplacing their emphasis on where God was living rather than on the God that lived there.
Paul was telling them in fact that their form of worship should capture the essence of God as the Creator, Preserver, and Judge, and the worship of the idols failed that test and did not reveal to them who God is.
The apostle Paul therefore in his evangelistic message quoted from their own poets in his attempt to bring them to a realization of the truth:
“For in him we live,, and move and have our being.
As some, of your own poets have said, “For we are also his offspring”.
Being then (Greektherefore) the offspring of God,, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver or, stone engraved by art and design of man”.
When the Apostle speaks of, a man living moving, and having their being in God one writer comments:
“Scholars debate whether this phrase is from one of the Greek philosophers. Chance ascribes this to Seneca (Chance,311). Faw and Rogness attribute it to Epimenides of Crete (Rogness, 584). Bock says that it “appears to allude to pagan ideas” ( Bock, 568). Williams says that it doesn’t have the characteristics of Greek poetry (Williams,307)—implying that this phrase does not come from a Greek source.
The phrase does not come from Hebrew Scripture., however it expresses as beautifully the faith of Jewish and Christian people that “ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1)—and that God is with us and keeps us wherever we go ( Genesis 28: 15).
When the Apostle saysthat some of their poets have said for we are his offspring, one writer comments:
“Scholars agree that this phrase comes from the Greek poet Aratus. Once again, Paul uses what these Greeks know to link to the God whom they do not know. He uses this quotation from a Greek poet (who meant that we are the offspring of Zeus) to establish that Yahweh has created us and that we are therefore his offspring—his children”.
He affirms the creation of humanity from one blood, affirming all peoples’ descent from Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:20). Much of Paul’s Greek audience, influenced by a philosophy called Stoicism, would have already agreed that all humanity came from divine origin (though they may not have been completely sure which god was the creator!).
Paul’s statement regarding times and bounds may reflect texts such as Deuteronomy 32:8 and Isaiah 10:13. This language would have resonated with adherents of Stoicism, who held that all of history was guided by one powerful, driving force.
It is interesting to note that the two Major philosophical traditions in Athens at the time were the Epicureans and the Stoics.
For the Epicureans the chief aim is happiness and they were very impressed with the idea of self esteem and the kind of living that applied to that. The chief aim was happiness and freedom from distraction.
Note that they were what we called theistic, and this meant they did believe in God, but not necessarily in the God they that we believe in and who brings salvation.
They believed that the gods were careless with respect to mankind and that the gods brought everything into being by the creation, but then pretty well left everything to run by the operation of natural laws..
So they believed in avoiding physical pain and seeking natural pleasures which was common to man.
Epicureans were advocates of a materialistic, hedonistic philosophy aiming for tranquility and the absence of bodily pain. For them pleasure is the absence of pain and mental distress. There is some differences among them for some of them were not necessarily aiming at extreme sensual indulgences.
But for them pleasure is the ultimate good.
But while the early Epicureans did not really advocate sexual excess and decadent food from time to time they would indulge in these things.
On the other hand the Stoics’ chief aim was virtue and the virtue of not being involved in anything else. They hoped that man would be self sufficient in himself.
They cared about virtuous behavior and living according to nature. They really were pantheists believing that God was in everything. When a man died his soul returned to the great soul and so there was no real life after death. They did not believe in divine Providence.
They believed that one should only show emotions like calmness and politeness that is useful. Self control is the key for them and so they are like the Zen Buddhism philosophy that some seem to like.
Some speculate about which modern leaders are Stoics. They will tell you that the founder of Amazon even though he does not identify himself as a stoic philosopher his actions and strategies reflect many of the stoic principles such as wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.
So the Stoics preached that one should focus on what one can control and accept the inevitable setbacks in life.
But note that this idea of Epicureanism is counter to the teachings of Scripture and the revelation of God. Epicureanism denies an afterlife and an act of divine intervention.
It denies and opposes biblical teachings of God’s involvement in the world and in the resurrection.
So note that when the apostle Paul was talking to philosophers of that stripe he was insisting that God is actively involved in the lives of human beings and in history. God was not distant and indifferent. He had a powerful role of control and direction in human affairs.
When Epicureans denied the immortality of the soul and that death is the end of consciousness and so it is not to be feared they are opposing the revelation of the true God..
Their teaching is opposed to the teaching of Scripture on the resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment and life after death.
For the Epicureans then they would oppose the idea of Christian self-denial and serving God. That is why they would disagree so violently with the teaching of the apostle on the Resurrection.
With respect to the Stoics, the Scriptures though sharing an emphasis on virtue and self-control, differs significantly from this philosophy, for Scripture teaches placing hope in personal divine grace. Scripture teaches that the Word became flesh and was not an impersonal force and did not pull away from the affairs of the world. God therefore is a personal God manifested in Jesus Christ and He became flesh and emphasizes that one should have a personal relationship with Him and not a rational, distant relationship.
The Scriptures do not teach self reliant detachment. Scripture teaches reliance on God’s grace and the resurrection power it provides. This is found in 1 Corinthians 15 as well as in many other texts.
In fact contrary to stoicism, strength is not found through self-control and detachment.
The Bible encourages emotions such as joy, love, compassion, and weeping with those who weep. The Bible does not teach freedom from passionate emotions.
Scripture teaches faith in Christ. But it does call for endurance, contentment, examining one’s own faults before judging others, and thus improving oneself and managing one’s perspective with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Some of these teachings of course are somewhat similar to the teachings of stoicism.
But do not forget that the teachings of the Stoics and that of the Epicureans are contrary to Scripture and Paul is trying to bring them around to the truth though many of them resist the truth.
One cannot therefore expect that in the face of rebellion and the acceptance of all kinds of unbiblical teachings that there will be world peace. There will never be mutual understanding until Jesus comes back for He will enforce the required behavior according to the laws of God.
World peace is not to be expected. Mutual understanding is not to be expected. Isaiah was told by God not to expect to be witnessing to people whose eyes were shut and whose ears were closed.
Nevertheless the witness of the truths of God must be carried out for God knows who belong to Him and the Holy Spirit will bring those people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God sovereignly, sets up and pulls down nations. No racial superiority as Greeks in general believed and Athenians in particular. They called all non-Greeks barbarians!
God is sovereign over the political and military affairs of nations. The Greeks liked to think that they determined their own destiny.
God’s purpose in regulating times and boundaries was that people would realize His sovereignty and seek Him (Rom. 1; John 6:44; 12:32).
27. … that they would seek God, … God, Paul said, is not far from human contact. This again harmonized with some Greek philosophy, but it contradicted the teachings of other philosophers.
It is implied here that the pagan world had made little progress in searching for its Creator. In Romans it is more vigorously stated that, for all God’s visible presence in His creation, the world at large had failed to find Him.
God created the earth to be inhabited (Genesis 1:28). He allowed all kinds of nations to flourish in different times and places (see Acts 17:26, above). But why did God create nations in this way? Paul explains that God did this in order for the nations to feel after him, and find him.
It is important to recognize that God is not playing a game of hide-and-seek in this regard. Although God transcends both time and space, He is concurrently not far from every one of us—this speaks to what is called His “immanence.” This word describes His close presence and activity within the created world. God has always worked among nations to heal the broken relationship between humanity and Himself.
His works are designed to create opportunities for people from every nation to seek Him.
Can people from every nation find God?
Paul thinks they can.
God has not left Himself without a witness through nature and history (see Acts 14:17; Romans 1:19–20). At the same time, people from all nations can be ignorant, blinded, and self-deceived by their own sin (1:18). Idolatry has darkened their sensibility to the true God. Paul even notes that the Athenians ignorantly worshiped what they called “the unknown god” (Acts 17:23).
| Nevertheless, the true God never left them. God is present among the nations. Indeed, God is present to every person. The transcendent God is also the “right here, right now” God. |
28. As Paul addresses the council, he confirmed his statements about God by quoting their own poets. We might imagine that Paul’s audience was surprised to hear an expert in Jewish law quoting Greek poets. It should be amazing to us how widely read Paul is! It was compelling enough for at least part of the council to want to hear more of what Paul had to say in the future (see Acts 17:32–33).
Paul’s first quote may come from Epimenides, a sixth-century BC philosopher-poet who writes that in Zeus, “We live and move and have our being.” He then follows immediately by quoting the third-century BC poet Aratus, who describes Zeus with the words: “We are truly his offspring.” Paul adapts these quotes to align with the Scriptural truth that God created and sustains all of humanity (see Genesis 2:7; Job 12:10; Psalm 104:29; etc.).
It is important to note that Paul is not arguing that Zeus and the God of Scripture are equal or even similar. Rather, he finds common ideological ground with the philosophers before claiming that the Lord is unique (Acts 17:29–31). This common ground indicates that some people and nations can understand truths about God, even if their ideas about Him are misguided in many ways. In effect, Paul says, “Hey, even some of your own people have figured out this part.” Paul uses the council’s own way of thinking as a springboard for the gospel. In this way, Paul’s line of argument in verse 28 proves his words in verses 26 and 27!
CONCLUSION
When we suffer, or see others suffering, from the devastating effects of conflicts between nations, any hope for lasting peace may seem unrealistic. Christians might be tempted to imagine that God has left the nations to fend for themselves. But today’s Texts tell a different story.
The Lord promises in Isaiah 2:2–4 that, eventually, people will end their conflicts with each other when they embrace His ways.
Peace between humanity and God will ultimately result in peace between nations.
Christians can rest assured that peace has been established between God and people through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1; 2 Peter 3:14).
Yet while God’s reign of peace has begun, it is not yet fully complete. Until Jesus returns, there will always be wrongs to make right in the world. As His disciples, we are called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9; James 3:18).
Through Christ’s power, the church can be a shining example of peace in the world, starting within our own relationships. We must seek to live peaceably with everyone as far as it depends on us to do so (Romans 12:18). By leading the way in peacemaking, the church can truly be a light to the nations.
Although conflicts sometimes appear too deep to heal, Acts 17:24–26 reminds us that God has made each of these different groups for the purpose of seeking Him. Like Paul before the Areopagus council, we can use these differences as a launchpad to share the hope of the gospel.
One day, people from every nation and region, from every ethnic group and language, will stand before
the throne of God and enjoy God’s peace (Revelation 7:9–12). This will happen when God renews all things, and the New Heaven and New Earth appear (21:1–4).
Finally, all the Kingdoms of this world will become one Kingdom in our Lord.