 Story number 15 of Hallbott's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hallbott's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hallbott, part 7. The Speech on the Stairs Acts chapter 21 from verse 17 to verse 29 of chapter 22. When Paul and his friends came to Jerusalem, they met with the church in that city and gave them the money which had been gathered among the Gentiles to help those of the Jewish believers in Christ who were Paul. The Apostle James, the Lord's brother, who was at the head of the church in Jerusalem, gave to Paul and his friends a glad welcome and praised God for the good work wrought among the Gentiles. About a week after Paul had come to Jerusalem, he was worshiping in the temple. When some Jews from the lands around Ephesus saw him, they at once stared up a crowd and took hold of Paul crying out, Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and against our law and against this temple. Besides, he has brought Gentiles into the temple and thus has made the Holy House unclean. They had seen with Paul walking in the city, one of his friends from Ephesus who was not a Jew and they started the false report that Paul had taken him into the temple. When the Jews set up this cry against Paul, all the city was stirred up and a great crowd gathered around Paul. They dragged Paul out of the temple into the outer courts and were about to kill him in their rage, but in the castle on the north of the temple was a Roman guard of soldiers, a thousand men under the command of an officer whom we should call a cornel, but who they called the chief captain. Word came to this officer that all Jerusalem was in a riot and that a wild mob had seized the temple. They called out companies of soldiers and their centurions or captains and rushed quickly into the temple and into the midst of the crowd who were beating and trampling upon Paul. The chief captain took Paul from their hands and thinking that he must have done something very wicked to call first such a riot ordered him to be fastened with two chains. Then he asked who this man was and what he had done. Paul began to answer at once, some shouting one thing and some another, and as the chief captain could understand nothing in the confusion, he commanded the soldiers to take him into the castle. The crowd made a rush to seize Paul and take him away from the soldiers, but they carried him through the trunk and up the stone steps that led into the castle, while all around at the foot of the stairs was the multitude of angry Jews crying out, away with him, killing. Just as they reached the platform at the door of the castle, Paul in a quiet manner spoke to the chief captain in his own language, which was the Greek tongue. He said, may I say something to you? The officer was surprised and he answered Paul, do you know Greek? Are you not that man from Egypt who some time ago rose up against the rulers and let out into the wilderness four thousand men who were moderates? But Paul said, I am a Jew of Thassos in Cilicia. I belong to no mean city. I pray you give me leave to speak to the people. The chief captain thought that if this man should speak to the people, he might learn something about him, so he gave him leave. Then Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the crowd to show that he wished to speak. Soon, everybody became quiet, for all wanted to hear, and then Paul began to speak to the people, but he did not speak in Greek as he had spoken to the chief captain. He spoke in the Hebrew tongue, their own language which they loved to hear, and when they heard him speak in Hebrew, their own tongue, they were all the more ready to listen to him, and this was what Paul said, brethren and fathers, hear the words that I speak to you. I am a Jew born in Thassos of Cilicia, but brought up in the city at the feet of the wise teacher, Gamaliel, and taught in a strict way in the law of our fathers, and I was earnest for God, as all of you are this day, and I was a bitter enemy of the way of Christ, binding and putting in prison both men and women who believed in Jesus. The High Priest himself knows this, and all the Council of the Elders, for they gave me letters to our people in Damascus, and I went on a journey to that place to bring in chains from Damascus to Jerusalem, those who followed Jesus to punish them, and it came to pass as I made my journey and drew night to Damascus. Suddenly they are shown from heaven a great light round about me, and I fell to the ground and had a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are thou fighting against me and doing me harm? And I answered, who are thou, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are trying to destroy. Those who were with me saw the lights, but they did not hear the voice that spoke to me. And I said, what shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, rise up and go into Damascus, and it shall be told thee what things are given to thee to do. When I stood up, I could not see, from the glory of that light, and I was led by the hands of those who were with me into Damascus. And a man named Ananias, a man who worshiped God and kept the law, of whom all the Jews in the city spoke well, came to me and standing by me said, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And in that very hour, I looked up and saw him, and he said to me, the God of our fathers had chosen thee to know his will, and to see the Holy One, and to hear his voice. For thou shalt speak in his name to all men, telling them what thou hast seen and heard. And afterward, when I came back to Jerusalem, and was praying in the temple, I saw the Lord again, and he spoke to me, go forth, and I will send thee far hence to the Gentiles. The Jews listened to Paul quietly, until he spoke that word, Gentiles, which roused up all their wrought. They began to cry out, away with such a fellow from the earth. It is not fit that he should live. And as the flung of their garments, and threw dust into the air in their rage, the chief captain ordered that Paul should be taken into the castle and beaten with rods, until he should tell what dreadful thing he had done to arouse such anger. For the chief captain, not knowing the Jews' language, had not understood what Paul had said. They took Paul into the castle, and were tying him up to beat him when Paul said to the centurion who stood by, have you any right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been tried before a judge? When the centurion heard this, he went in haste to the chief captain, and said to him, take care what you do to that man, for he is a Roman citizen. Then the chief captain came and said to Paul, tell me, are you a Roman citizen? And Paul answered, yes I am. The chief captain said, I bought this right to be a citizen with a great sum of money. And Paul said to him, but I am a freeborn citizen. When those who were about to beat Paul knew that he was a Roman citizen, they went away from him in haste, and the chief captain was afraid because he had bound Paul. For no one might place a chain on a Roman citizen until he had been tried before a Roman judge. They took Paul into the castle, but were careful not to do him any harm. End of story number 15. After Paul had been rescued from the Jewish mob, he was taken to the castle on the north of the temple for safekeeping. The chief captain wished to know for what reason the Jews were so bitter in their hate against Paul, and to learn this he commanded the chief priests and rulers to meet together, and brought Paul down from the castle and set him before them. Paul looked earnestly upon the council and said to them, brethren, I have lived with a right feeling toward God all my life until this day. The high priest, whose name was Ananias, was sitting in the council, clad in the white garments worn by all priests. He was so enraged at those words that he said to those who were standing near Paul, strike him on the mouth. And Paul roused to sudden anger at such unjust words, and said in answer, God shall strike you, O whiteed wall, do you sit to judge me by the law, and yet command me to be struck against the law? Those that were standing by, said to Paul, do you speak such words against the high priest of God? I did not know, answered Paul, that he was high priest. It is written in the law not to speak evil of a ruler of your people. Paul saw that there were two parties in the council, and by a few wise words he made some of the rulers friendly to him, so that they stood up and said, We find no evil in this man. Perhaps a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel. This made the rulers of the other side all the more furious, and such a quarrel arose between them that the chief captain feared that Paul would be torn in pieces, and he again sent down soldiers to take him by force from the council, and bring him into the castle. On the night after this, while Paul was in his room in the castle, the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have spoken for me at Jerusalem, so shall you speak for me at Rome. Early on the next morning more than forty of the Jews laid a plan to kill Paul, and bound themselves together by an oath, swearing that they would neither eat nor drink until they had slain him. These men came to the chief priests and said, We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now do you ask the chief captain to bring Paul down again to meet the council, so that they may hear him and try his case once more, and while he shall be on his way to the council we will rush in and kill him. Now Paul had a sister living in Jerusalem and her son heard of this plot and came to the castle and told it to Paul. Then Paul called one of the officers and said to him, Take this young man to the chief captain, for he has something to tell him. So the officer brought the young man to the chief captain and said to him, Paul, the prisoner, called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you, for he has something to say to you. Then the chief captain took the young man aside and asked him, What is it that you have to say to me? And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the council again, but do not let him go, for there are more than forty men watching for him who have sworn an oath together that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed Paul. The chief captain listened carefully and then sent the young man away after saying to him, Do not tell anyone that you have spoken of these things to me. And after the young man had gone the chief captain called to him two centurions, captains over a hundred men, and he said to them, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea and seventy men on horseback and two hundred men with spears at nine o'clock at night. And he told him also to have ready horses for Paul so that he might send him safe to Felix, the governor of the land at Caesarea. And he wrote a letter in this manner. Claudius Lyceus sends greetings to the most noble Governor Felix. This man was seized by the Jews and would have been killed by them, but I came upon him with the soldiers and took him from their hands, having learned that he was a citizen of Rome. And to find out the reasons why they were so strongly against him I brought him down to their council. But I found that the charges against him were about questions of their law, but nothing deserving death or bonds. When I heard there was a plot to kill the man I sent him at once to you and told his enemies to go before you with their charges. So in the night almost five hundred men were sent with a guard for Paul. He was brought out of the castle and taken that night as far as to enter Patris, about forty miles. On the next day the soldiers left him, thinking him to be no longer in danger and return to Jerusalem while the horsemen rode on with him to Caesarea, where the governor Felix lived. The officer in charge gave the letter to the governor. He read the letter and then asked Paul from what land he had come. Paul told him that he belonged to the land of Cilicia in Asia Minor. And Felix said, I will hear your case when those who bring charges against you have come. And he sent Paul to be kept in a castle which had once belonged to Herod. After five days the High Priest and Anias and some others came to Caesarea, bringing with them a lawyer named Tertullus. And when Paul was brought before them in presence of Felix, the governor, Tertullus made a speech charging him with riot and law-breaking and many evil deeds. They also said that he was a ringleader in the party of the Nazarenes, which was the name they gave to the Church of Christ. And the Jews all joined in the charge, saying that all these things were true. After they had spoken the governor motioned with his hand toward Paul, showing that he might speak, and Paul began, I know that you have been for many years a judge over this people, and for that reason I speak to you willingly. For you may know that it is only twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem. Nor was I quarreling with anyone in the temple, nor stirring up a crowd in the temple, or the synagogues, or in the city. Nor can they prove to you the things they have said against me. But I do own to this, that after the way which they call the party of the Nazarenes, so do I serve the God of our fathers, believing all things in the law and in the prophets, and having a hope in God that the dead shall be raised up. And I have always tried to keep my heart free from wrong toward God and toward men. Now, after many years, I came to bring gifts to my people and offerings for the altar. And with these they found me in the temple, not with a crowd, nor with a riot. But there were certain Jews from Asia Minor who ought to have been here, if they have anything against me. Felix knew somewhat about the Church of Christ, and he said, When Lysias, the chief captain, shall come down, I will settle this case. And he ordered Paul to be kept under guard, but that his friends might freely come to see him. After a few days, Felix and his wife Drisilla, who was a Jewess, sent for Paul, and heard him with regard to the Gospel of Christ. And as Paul preached to him, of right living and of ruling oneself, and of the judgment of God that should come upon sinners, Felix was alarmed and said, Go away for this time when a fit time comes, and I am ready to listen, I will send for you. Felix was not a just judge, for he hoped that Paul might give him money, so that he might set Paul free. And with this in his mind he sent for Paul and talked with him many times. Two whole years passed away, and Paul was still in prison at Caesarea. At the end of that time Felix was called back to Rome, and a man named Porcius Vestis was sent back as Governor in his place. Felix wished to please the Jews, and he left Paul a prisoner. End of Story 16 Story 17 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Part 7. The Story That Paul Told to the King. Acts 25, Verse 1 to 26, Verse 32. When Vestis came to rule over the land of Judea, in the place of Felix, who had kept Paul in prison so long, he went up to Jerusalem to visit that city. There the chief priest and the leading men spoke to him against Paul, and they asked that he might be sent to Jerusalem to be tried. It was their plan to kill Paul on the way. But Vestis told them that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself would soon go there. Let your leaders go down with me, said Vestis, and bring your charges against him, if you have any. When Vestis came down to Caesarea, he called them all together and sat upon the judge's seat and commanded Paul to be brought. Then the Jews said evil things about Paul, declaring that he had done wickedly. But they could not prove any of the things which they spoke against him. And Paul said, I have done no wrong against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against the rule of Caesar, the emperor. Vestis wished to please the Jews, for he did not know their secret purpose to kill Paul. He said, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried upon these charges before me? But Paul said, I am standing before the Roman court where I ought to be judged. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as thou knowest very well, and no men shall give me into their hands. I ask for a trial before Caesar, the emperor, at Rome. It was the law throughout the Roman lands that any citizen of Rome, as Paul was, could ask to be tried at Rome before Caesar, the emperor. When Vestis heard Paul's words, he said, do you ask to be tried before Caesar? Then unto Caesar you shall go. So Paul was taken back to the prison at Caesarea to be sent to Rome when his time should come. A few days after this a Jewish ruler named Agrippa and his sister Bernice came to visit Vestis. He was called King Agrippa, and he ruled over a part of the land on the east of the River Jordan. While Agrippa and Bernice were at Caesarea, Vestis said to them, there is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, of whom the chief priest and elders of the Jews asked, when I was at Jerusalem, that I should give orders to have him put to death or given into their hands. I told them that the Romans never give judgment against any man until he stands face to face before his enemies, and can make answer to their charges. When they came down to this place, and the man was brought before them, their charges were not the wicked acts that I expected to hear of. But they had some questions about their ways of worship, and about somebody named Jesus, who was dead, but who Paul said was alive. As I could not understand these questions, I asked Paul whether he would go up to Jerusalem and there be tried. But Paul asked for a trial before Caesar, and I am keeping him to be sent to the emperor at Rome. I would like, said Agrippa, to hear this man myself. Tomorrow, said Vestis, you shall hear him. So on the next day Agrippa and his sister Bernice and Vestis, with the chief men of the city and the officers of the army, came in great state to the hall of judgment, and Paul was brought before them, chained to a Roman soldier. And after a few words by Vestis, Agrippa said to Paul, you may now speak for yourself. Then Paul spoke in words like these. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, to give answer before thee of all the things charged against me by the Jews, because I am sure that thou dost know all the Jewish ways and the questions about the law. I ask thee, then, to hear me. My way of life from my youth, all the Jews know, for I have lived among them, and if they tell the truth, they would say that I was one of those who kept the laws of our people most carefully. And now I stand here to be judged for the sake of the promise which God made to our fathers, that promise to which our twelve tribes, serving God day and night, hoped to come. And on account of this hopeful king, the Jews charged me with doing evil, because I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead to be the king of Israel. Why, should it be something thou canst not believe, that God does raise the dead to life? In former times I really thought with myself that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I did in Jerusalem, for I shut up many good men and women in prisons, and when they were put to death I gave my voice against them. I caused them to be beaten, and I tried to make them curse the name of Jesus. And being exceedingly mad against them, I sought for them even in cities far away. And as I journeyed to Damascus with letters from the chief priests at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who were with me. And as we all fell down upon the ground, I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you fighting against me? And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are trying to destroy, but rise up and stand upon your feet, for I have shown myself to you to make you my servant and my messenger to tell of what you have seen, and of what I will show you. I will keep you safe from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan, the evil one, to God, that their sins may be forgiven, and that they may receive a reward among those that are made holy by faith in me. O King Agrippa, I did not disobey the voice from heaven, but first at Damascus, and then at Jerusalem, and throughout all the land of Judea, and also among the Gentiles, I have spoken, telling men to turn from sin to God, and to show deeds of right doing. This is the cause why the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. Having gained help from God, I stand unto this day speaking to people, small and great, saying only what is given in the law of Moses and in the prophets, that the Christ must suffer and die, and that he by rising from the dead should give light to our people and to the Gentiles. While Paul was speaking, Vesta said with a loud voice, Paul, you are mad, your great learning has turned you to madness. For Festus, being a Roman, knew nothing of Jesus or of the truths which Paul spoke. But Paul said to him, I am not mad most noble Festus, I speak only sober and truthful words. The king knows of these things, and I speak freely to him. None of these things are hidden from him, for these things were not done in secret. King Agrippa, does Thou believe the prophets? I know that Thou dost believe. And Agrippa said to Paul, a little more and you will persuade me to become a Christian. And Paul said, I would before God, that whether with little or with much, that not only Thou, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these chains. After these words King Agrippa and Bernice and Festus the governor, and those who were there, went away by themselves, and they said to each other, this man has done nothing deserving death or prison. And Agrippa said to Festus, this man might have been set free if he had not asked to be tried before Caesar. Chapter 27 Verse 1 to Chapter 28 Verse 1 When Paul chose to be tried before Caesar the emperor, which was his right as a Roman, it became necessary to send him from Caesarea in Judea to Rome in Italy, where Caesar lived. In those years there were no ships sailing at regular times from city to city. But people who wished to go to places over the sea waited until they could find ships with loads sailing to those places. Paul and some other prisoners were given into the charge of a Roman centurion or captain named Julius to be taken to Rome. Julius found a ship sailing from Caesarea to places on the shore of Asia Minor, which would take them a part of the way to Rome. He took Paul and the other prisoners on board this ship, and with Paul went his friends, Luke, the doctor, and Aristarchus from Thessalonica. Perhaps Timothy also was with them, but of this we are not certain. They set sail from Caesarea, after Paul had been in prison more than two years, and they followed the coast northward to Sidon. There they stopped for a day, and Julius the centurion was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to see his friends who were living there. From Sidon they turned to the northwest and sailed past the island of Cyprus and then westward by the shore of Asia Minor. At a city called Myra they left the ship and went on board another ship, which was sailing from Alexandria to Italy with a load of wheat from the fields of Egypt. Soon a heavy wind began to blow against the ship, and it sailed very slowly for many days, but at last came to the large island of Crete and followed its southern shore in the face of the wind until they found a harbor, and they stayed for a few days. But this harbor was not a good one, and they thought to leave it and sail to another. Paul now said to them, Sirs, I see that this voyage will be with great loss to the load and the ship, and with great danger to the lives of us all. And he urged them to stay where they were at anchor. But the owner of the ship and its captain thought that they might sail in safety, and Julius the centurion listened to them rather than to Paul. So when a gentle south wind began to blow, they set sail once more, closely following the shore of the island of Crete. But soon the wind grew into a great storm, and the ship could not face it, and was driven out of its course. Behind the ship was a little boat, and this they drew up on board, and as the ship creaked and seemed in danger of going to pieces, they tied ropes around it to hold it together. The storm grew and drove the ship away from the island into the open sea. To make the vessel lighter, they threw overboard a part of the load, and the next day they cast into the sea all the loose ropes and everything on the ship that could be spared. Day after day went on with no sight of the sun, and night after night with no sight of the stars. The great waves rolled over the ship and beat upon it, until those on board hardly hoped to save their lives. In their fear, for days the men and the prisoners had eaten nothing, but in the midst of the storm Paul stood up among them and said, Sirs, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete, for then we might have been saved much harm and loss. But even as it is, be of good cheer, for though the ship will be lost, all of us on board shall be saved. This night there stood by me an angel of the Lord to whom I belong and whom I serve, and the angel said to me, Fear not, Paul, you shall yet stand before Caesar, and God has given to you all those who are sailing with you. Now, friends, be of good cheer, for I believe, God, that it shall be even as the angel said to me, but we must cast upon some island. When the storm had lasted fourteen days, at night the sailors thought that they were coming near to land. They dropped down the line and found that the water was twenty fathoms deep, then after a little they let down the line again and found the water only fifteen fathoms deep. They were sure now that land was near, but they were afraid that the ship might be driven upon the rocks, so they threw out from the stern, or rear end, four anchors to hold the ship, and then they longed for the day to come. The sailors let down the little boat, saying that they would throw out some more anchors from the bow or front of the ship, but really intending to row away in the boat and leave the ship and all on board to be destroyed, but Paul saw their purpose and he said to the centurion, Unless these sailors stay in the ship, none of us can be saved. Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and let it fall off so that the sailors could not get away, and as it drew toward daylight Paul urged them all to take some food, he said. This is the fourteenth day that you have waited without any food. Now I beg you to eat, for you need it to keep your lives safely. You will all be saved, not an hair shall fall from the head of one of you. He took some bread and gave thanks to God before them all, then he broke it and began to eat. This encouraged all the others, so that they too took food. There were in all on board the ship, sailors and soldiers and prisoners and others, two hundred and seventy-six people. After they had eaten enough they threw out into the sea what was left of its load of wheat, so that the ship might be less heavy upon the waves and might go nearer to the shore. As soon as the day dawned they could see land, but did not know what land it was. They saw a bay with a beach into which they thought they might run the ship. So they cut loose the anchors, leaving them in the sea, and they hoisted up the foresail to the wind and made toward the shore. The ship ran aground and the front end was stuck fast in the sand, but the rear part began to break in pieces from the beating of the waves. Now came another danger, just as they were beginning to hope for their lives. By the Roman law a soldier who had charge of a prisoner must take his prisoner's place if he escaped from his care. These soldiers feared that their prisoners might sail ashore and get free, so they asked the centurion to let them kill all the prisoners while they were still on board the ship. But Julius the centurion loved Paul, and to save Paul's life kept them from killing the prisoners. He commanded that those who could swim should leap overboard and get first to the land. Then the rest went ashore, some on planks and some on broken pieces of the ship, and all came safe to the shore, not one life being lost. And then they found that they were on the island of Melita, which is in the great sea, south of the larger island of Sicily. End of story number eighteen. Recording by John Leader, Bloomington, Illinois. Story number nineteen of Hurlbit's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by John Leader. Hurlbit's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbit. How Paul came to Rome and how he lived there. Acts chapter twenty-eight, verses two to thirty-one. The people who lived on the island of Melita were very kind to the strangers who had been thrown by the sea upon their shore. It was cold and rainy, and the men from the ship were in garments drenched by the waves. But the people made a fire and brought them all around it and gave them good care. Very soon they found that many of the men were prisoners who were under guard of the soldiers. Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and placed them on the fire when suddenly a poisonous snake came from the pile, driven out by the heat, and seized Paul's hand with its teeth. When the people saw the snake hanging from his hand they said to each other, This man must be a murderer. He has saved his life from the sea, but the just gods will not let him live on account of his wickedness. But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and took no harm. They looked to see his arms swell with poison and to see him fall down dead suddenly. But when they watched him for a long time and saw no evil come to him they changed their minds and said that he was a god and were ready to worship him. Near the place where the ship was wrecked were lands and buildings belonging to the ruler of the island whose name was Publius. He took Paul and his friends into his house and treated them very kindly. The father of Publius was very ill, with a fever and a disease called dysentery, from which people often died. But Paul went into his room and prayed by his side, then he laid his hands on him and the sick man became well. As soon as the people of the island heard this many others troubled with diseases were brought to Paul and all were cured. The people of Melita after this gave a great honor to Paul and those who were with him and when they sailed away they put on the ship as gifts for them all things that they would need. The Centurion found at anchor by the island a ship from Alexandria on its way to Italy which had been waiting there through the winter. The name of this ship was the Twin Brothers. After three months in the isle the Centurion sent on board this ship his soldiers and prisoners with Paul's friends and they sailed away from Melita. After stopping at a few places on their voyage they left the ship at Putioli in the south of Italy and from that place they were led toward Rome. The church at Rome to which Paul had written a letter in other days heard that he was coming and some of the brethren went out to meet him a few miles from the city. When Paul saw them and knew that they were glad to meet him even though he was in chains he thanked God and took heart once more. He had long wished to go to Rome and now came into the city at last but as a prisoner chained to a Roman soldier. When they came to Rome the good Centurion Julius gave his prisoners to the captain of the guard in the city but from the kind word spoken by Julius Paul was allowed to go to a house by himself though with the soldier who guarded him always at his side. After three days in Rome Paul sent for the chief men among the Jews of the city to meet in his house because he could not go to the synagogue to meet with them. When they came he said to them, Brethren, though I have done no harm to our people or against our law yet I was made a prisoner in Jerusalem and given into the hands of the Romans. When the Romans had given me a trial they found no cause for putting me to death and wished to set me free. But the Jews spoke against me and I had to ask for a trial before Caesar though I have no charge to bring against my own people. I have asked to see you and to speak with you because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. They said to Paul, No letters have come to us from Judea nor have any of the brethren brought to us any evil report of you. But we would like to hear from you about this people who follow Jesus of Nazareth for they are a people everywhere spoken against. So Paul named a day and on the day they came in great number to Paul's room. He talked with them explaining the teaching of the Old Testament about Christ from morning until evening. Some believed the words of Paul and others refused to believe. And when they would not agree Paul said to them as they were leaving. Truly indeed did the Holy Spirit say of this people in the words of Isaiah the prophet, hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and yet not see. For this people's heart is become hard, and their ears are dull, and their eyes they have shut, for they are not willing to see nor to hear nor to understand nor to turn from their sins to God. But know this, that the salvation of Christ is sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen to it even though you do not. And after this Paul lived two years in the house which he had hired. Every day a soldier was brought from the camp, and Paul was chained to him for all that day. And the next day another soldier came, each day a new soldier was chained to Paul, and to each one Paul spoke the Gospel, until after a time many of the soldiers in the camp were believers in Christ, and when these soldiers were sent away they often carried the Gospel with them to other lands. So Paul, though a prisoner, was still doing good and working for Christ. Then too some of Paul's friends were with him in Rome, the young Timothy whom Paul loved to call his son in the Gospel, and Luke the Doctor, of whom he wrote as the beloved physician, were there, perhaps in the same house. Aristarchus of Thessalonica, who had been with him in the ship and in the storm, was still with Paul. Mark, the young man who years before went with Paul and Barnabas on their first journey from Antioch, visited Paul in Rome. At one time, when Paul had been a prisoner nearly two years, a friend came to see him from Philippi in Macedonia. His name was Epaphroditus, and he brought to Paul a loving message from that church, and also gifts to help Paul in his need. In return Paul wrote to the church at Philippi a letter, the Epistle to the Philippians, full of tender and gentle words. It was taken to the church by Epaphroditus and by Timothy, whom Paul sent with him, perhaps because in Rome Epaphroditus was very ill, and Paul may have thought it better not to have him go home alone. In Rome a man named Onesimus met Paul. He was a runaway slave who belonged to a friend of Paul named Philemon, living at Colossae in Asia Minor not far from Ephesus. Paul led Onesimus to give his heart to Christ, and then, although he would have liked to keep him with himself, he sent him back to Philemon his master. But he asked Philemon to take him, no longer as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. This he wrote in a letter which he sent by Onesimus called the Epistle to Philemon. Onesimus carried at the same time another letter to the church at Colossae. This letter is the Epistle to the Colossians, and about the same time Paul wrote one of the greatest and most wonderful of all his letters, the Epistle to the Ephesians which he sent to the church in Ephesus. So all the world has been richer ever since Paul's time by having the four letters which he wrote while he was a prisoner at Rome. It is thought, though it is not certain, that Paul was set free from prison after two years, that he lived a free man preaching in many lands for a few years, that he wrote during those years the first Epistle to Timothy, whom he had sent to care for the church at Ephesus, and the Epistle to Titus, who was over the churches in the island of Crete, that he was again made a prisoner and taken to Rome, and from his Roman prison wrote his last letter, the second Epistle to Timothy, and that soon after this the wicked Emperor Nero caused him to be put to death. Among his last words in the letter to Timothy were these, I have fought a good fight, I have run my race, I have kept the faith, and now there is waiting for me the crown which the Lord himself shall give me. End of Story 19 Recording by John Leader Bloomington, Illinois Story 20 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut Part 7 The Throne of God Revelation 1 verses 9 to 20 and Revelation 4 verses 1 to 14. You remember the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. When John was an old man he was made a prisoner by a cruel Emperor of Rome, and was kept in a little island called the Isle of Patmos, which is in the Aegean Sea, not far from Ephesus. While John was shut up on this island, the Lord Jesus Christ came to him and showed him some things which were to come to pass. It was on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, when suddenly John heard behind him a loud voice, as loud as the sound of a trumpet. He turned to see from whom the voice came, and then he saw seven golden candlesticks standing, and among them one whom John knew at once as his Lord Jesus Christ. Yet Christ, as he saw him, was far more glorious than he had been while living as a man on the earth. He was dressed in a long white garment with a girdle of gold over his breast. His hair and his face were so shining that they seemed as white as snow. His eyes flashed like fire, his feet were like polished brass, glowing as a furnace. And his voice sounded like the rushing of a mighty torrent of waters. In his right hand were held seven stars, and a glory came from him brighter than the sun. When John saw his Lord in all this splendor, he fell at his feet in great terror. Then he felt the right hand of Christ laid upon him, and heard his voice saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one. I was dead, and now I am alive for evermore. Write the things which you have seen, and other things which I will show you, and send them to the seven churches in Asia. The seven stars which you see in my hand are the ministers of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks standing around me are the seven churches. Then the Lord gave John the words of a letter which he commanded John to write to the seven churches in that part of Asia, of which churches that at Ephesus was the first. To each church was to be sent a different letter. The word of the Lord Jesus to that church, praising it for some things, and rebuking it for others. When these words had been given to the churches, John saw a door opened in heaven, and he heard a voice like the sound of a trumpet saying to him, Come up to this place, and I will show thee things that shall come to pass. Then at once John was taken up to heaven, and he saw the throne of God, and one sitting upon it whom he could scarcely see for the dazzling glory around him. And over the throne was a rainbow of many colors. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and upon them sat twenty-four old men, the elders of the church, dressed in white with crowns of gold on their heads. Out of the throne came lightning and thunder, and the sound of voices. Before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal, and beside the throne were four strange living creatures, each having six wings. And these living ones were saying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, which was, and which is, and which is to come. And then the elders would fall down and worship him who sits on the throne, and lay their crowns at his feet and say, Thou art worthy, O God, our Lord, to have the honor and the glory and the power for Thou didst create and make all things. Then John saw in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne a book in the form of a roll, written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And a mighty angel called out with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals? And no one in all the heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to loosen its seals. Then John began to weep, because there was found no one worthy to open the book or even to look upon it. But one of the twenty-four elders spoke to John saying, Weep not, see the lion of the tribe of Judah, he who came from David, has won the right to open the book and its seven seals. Then before the throne and among the elders and the four living creatures, John saw standing the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, with the wounds of the cross upon him, in hands and feet and side. He came and took the book from the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. And as he took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders all fell down before the throne. Each held a harp and a golden bowl full of incense, such as was used in the temple as a sign of the prayers of God's people. And they all sang a new song with the words, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to have the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. End of Story 20, Recording by David Lawrence, June 30, 2008 in Brampton, Ontario. Story number 21 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, part seven, The City of God, Revelation 7, 9 to 17, 21, 1 to 27, 22, 1 to 17. Again John saw the throne of God and before it and before the Lamb of God stood a multitude of people so great that no man could count them. They were dressed in white robes and branches of palm were in their hands and they cried with a loud voice, salvation unto our God upon the throne and unto the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the four living creatures and around the seats of the 24 elders and the angels fell down on their faces and worshiped God saying, Amen, blessing and glory and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Then one of the elders spoke to John and said, Who are these dressed in white robes and whence did they come? And John answered, My Lord, thou knowest who they are and whence they came, but I do not know. Then the elder said, These are they who have come up out of great trouble and sorrow and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For that cause they are before the throne of God and they serve him day and night in his temple and he that sitteth upon the throne shall spread his tent over them. They shall hunger no more, neither shall they thirst any more nor shall the heat of the sun strike upon them. But the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall lead them as shepherd and shall guide them unto the fountains of waters of life. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. After this John heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men and God shall dwell among men and they shall be his people and he shall be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither shall there be weeping or crying nor pain any more. And he that was sitting upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new, I will give to him who is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely. Then John seemed to be standing upon a great and high mountain and he saw a glorious city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Over the city was a rich light, like that which glows in some precious stone clear as crystal. Around the city was a lofty wall and on each side of the wall were three gates, for the city was four square, having 12 gates in all. Beside each gate stood an angel and on the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel and the wall had 12 foundations and on them were written the names of the 12 apostles of the Lord. The wall was like Jasper and the city was built of pure gold but a gold which seemed clear like glass. The 12 gates were 12 pearls, each one of the gates was one great pearl and the street of the city was pure gold as clear as glass. John could see no temple in the city and it needs none for the Lord God and Jesus Christ the Lamb of God are its temple and the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine upon it for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb of God is as a lamp in it and the gates of the city shall not be shut by day for there shall be no night there and the nations of men shall walk in the light of this city and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it and all the honor and glory of the nations of earth shall be brought into it and into it shall never come anything that is evil or unclean or anyone who does what God hates or anyone who makes a lie but they only shall come into it whose names are written in the Lord's book and John saw a river of water of life clear as crystal coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing through the street of the city on each side of the river was growing the tree of life bearing its fruit every month 12 times in the year and the leaves of the tree were to heal all people of their diseases and in the city the Lord God and the Lamb of God shall reign as kings when John had seen and heard all these things he fell down to worship the angel who had showed them to him but the angel said to him do not worship me for I am a fellow servant with you and with your brethren the prophets and with those who keep the word of the book worship God and the angel said to John do not seal up the words of what you have heard and seen but tell them to all men and the church and the bride the church of Christ say come and let him that hears say come and let him that is thirsty come and whoever will let him take the water of life freely end of story 21 end of hurlbut story of the bible by jessie lineman hurlbut part seven recording by John McGahy cc.tactapeguy.net