Lesson 2740

(Lesson 2740)(06-25-19) Acts 8:26-40
    “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.”

     Today’s quote contains information that is not only inconsistent with New Testament intent but is in actual contrast with documented history as well; Therefore, I believe those fifteen verses should be taken with a grain of salt.
    First: There is only one other reference in the New Testament that implies that a human may have been carried by the spirit from one place to another. That was when Satan carried Jesus into the desert to tempt Him.
    Second: For a eunuch from Ethiopia to have possession of a copy of  the book of Isaiah would have been a virtual impossibility at that time. That is because it is a part of the “book of the twelve” which Jews guarded with their lives in order to preserve it’s explicit accuracy.
    We must remember that in those times there were no copiers nor printers. For that eunuch to have possessed a copy of Isaiah would have been a miracle in itself since it would have required that the Jews make a special scroll, just for him. From what I have been able to find in the bible as well as the historical record, that would not have been allowed by the Jewish hierarchy under ANY circumstance.
    There are more inconsistencies in those fifteen verses that can be easily exposed with a thorough study; Therefore, seeing that those verses have no specific relevance to the doctrine of Jesus Christ, I have decided to ignore the content classifying it as just a bit more Roman Catholic maipulation of the intent of the New Testament. ~