Printable ModeThe Acts of the Apostles, 42
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42:1 Paul Appeals to Caesar 42:2 [This chapter is based on Acts 25:1-12.] 42:3 "When Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him, and desired favor against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem." In making this request they purposed to waylay Paul along the road to Jerusalem and murder him. But Festus had a high sense of the responsibility of his position, and courteously declined to send for Paul. "It is not the manner of the Romans," he declared, "to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have license to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him." He stated that "he himself would depart shortly" for Caesarea. "Let them there . . . which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him." 42:4 This was not what the Jews wanted. They had not forgotten their former defeat at Caesarea. In contrast with the calm bearing and forcible arguments of the apostle, their own malignant spirit and baseless accusations would appear in the worst possible light. Again they urged that Paul be brought to Jerusalem for trial, but Festus held firmly to his purpose of giving Paul a fair trial at Caesarea. God in His providence controlled the decision of Festus, that the life of the apostle might be lengthened. 42:5 Their purposes defeated, the Jewish leaders at once prepared to witness against Paul at the court of the procurator. Upon returning to Caesarea, after a few days' sojourn at Jerusalem, Festus "the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought." "The Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove." Being on this occasion without a lawyer, the Jews preferred their charges themselves. As the trial proceeded, the accused with calmness and candor clearly showed the falsity of their statements. 42:6 Festus discerned that the question in dispute related wholly to Jewish doctrines, and that, rightly understood, there was nothing in the charges against Paul, could they be proved, that would render him subject to sentence of death, or even to imprisonment. Yet he saw clearly the storm of rage that would be created if Paul were not condemned or delivered into their hands. And so, "willing to do the Jews a pleasure," Festus turned to Paul, and asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem under his protection, to be tried by the Sanhedrin. 42:7 The apostle knew that he could not look for justice from the people who by their crimes were bringing down upon themselves the wrath of God. He knew that, like the prophet Elijah, he would be safer among the heathen than with those who had rejected light from heaven and hardened their hearts against the gospel. Weary of strife, his active spirit could ill endure the repeated delays and wearing suspense of his trial and imprisonment. He therefore decided to exercise his privilege, as a Roman citizen, of appealing to Caesar. 42:8 In answer to the governor's question, Paul said: "I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar." 42:9 Festus knew nothing of the conspiracies of the Jews to murder Paul, and he was surprised at this appeal to Caesar. However, the words of the apostle put a stop to the proceedings of the court. "Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go." 42:10 Thus it was that once more, because of hatred born of bigotry and self-righteousness, a servant of God was driven to turn for protection to the heathen. It was this same hatred that forced the prophet Elijah to flee for succor to the widow of Sarepta; and that forced the heralds of the gospel to turn from the Jews to proclaim their message to the Gentiles. And this hatred the people of God living in this age have yet to meet. Among many of the professing followers of Christ there is the same pride, formalism, and selfishness, the same spirit of oppression, that held so large a place in the Jewish heart. In the future, men claiming to be Christ's representatives will take a course similar to that followed by the priests and rulers in their treatment of Christ and the apostles. In the great crisis through which they are soon to pass, the faithful servants of God will encounter the same hardness of heart, the same cruel determination, the same unyielding hatred. 42:11 All who in that evil day would fearlessly serve God according to the dictates of conscience, will need courage, firmness, and a knowledge of God and His word; for those who are true to God will be persecuted, their motives will be impugned, their best efforts misinterpreted, and their names cast out as evil. Satan will work with all his deceptive power to influence the heart and becloud the understanding, to make evil appear good, and good evil. The stronger and purer the faith of God's people, and the firmer their determination to obey Him, the more fiercely will Satan strive to stir up against them the rage of those who, while claiming to be righteous, trample upon the law of God. It will require the firmest trust, the most heroic purpose, to hold fast the faith once delivered to the saints. 42:12 God desires His people to prepare for the soon-coming crisis. Prepared or unprepared, they must all meet it; and those only who have brought their lives into conformity to the divine standard, will stand firm at that time of test and trial. When secular rulers unite with ministers of religion to dictate in matters of conscience, then it will be seen who really fear and serve God. When the darkness is deepest, the light of a godlike character will shine the brightest. When every other trust fails, then it will be seen who have an abiding trust in Jehovah. And while the enemies of truth are on every side, watching the Lord's servants for evil, God will watch over them for good. He will be to them as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. |
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Special note for ANDROID SmartPhones
I recommend to download PhoneMe emulator for Android from here.
Especially I recommend phoneME Advanced - Foundation Profile + MIDP High Resolution b168 rev20547 from here, or from here.
Then you have to build your application, to transfer the .jar and .jad files on your mobile phone and run using this nice emulator.
1. Install a Zip Utility from Android Market.
2. Install a File Manager from Android Market.
3. Download and install PhoneMe, as mentioned above.
4. Build your application by using Download Multilingual Service or Dynamic Download (zip).
5. Copy the zip file into your Android Phone and unzip the content in a folder, and then write down the path to the unzipped files and the name of the .jad file.
6. Launch PhoneMe from your smartphone.
7. Inside PhoneMe, write to the main window the path and the name to the .jad file, above mentioned. Will look something like: file:///mnt/sd/download/BiblePhone.jad and then press enter.
8. The application will be installed, and next a hyperlink will be available below the above mentioned textbox. On this way you can install as many of MIDP application you like on your Android Phone.
How to install the application in Java Mobile enabled phones
It is possible now to have the Holy Scriptures on your mobile phone and to read
it wherever you are due to the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)
technology in 1.0 and 2.0 versions, developed for Java applications.
A good advice is to try in the beginning the MIDP 1.0 / 128 Kbytes version, and
progressively to advance to MIDP 2.0 and larger volumes (512 Kbytes or more).
The application is available for MIDP 2.0, MIDP 1.0. You have only to select one
table on the field MIDP2.0 or MIDP1.0, according to the desired Bible version.
Then, you shall make a click on the JAR (Java Archive) file in order to obtain
the software to be installed on your mobile phone.
I recommend you to start with STARTER(MIDP1.0old) edition, then to continue with
INTERMEDIATE(MIDP1.0), and in the end, if the mobile phone supports this thing,
to try to install the ADVANCED (MIDP2.0) edition. Also, start with 128 kbytes
volumes, continue with 512 kbytes, and at the end try the version in one file.
There are cases where the mobile phone requires so called JAD (Java Descriptor)
files. These JAD files has to be
uploaded, on this case, together with the desired JAR files(s).
There are different methods to download the applications in your mobile phone as
follows:
1. Directly from Internet by using a WAP or GPRS connection
2. By using the infrared port of the mobile phone
3. By wireless Bluetooth access to the mobile phone
4. By cable link between PC ad mobile phone
5. If none from the above cases are valid
Next, we shall examine each case in order to have a successfully installation of
the software.
1. Directly from Internet by using a WAP or GPRS connection
If your have Internet access on your mobile phone (e.g. WAP or GPRS), it is
enough to access
https://biblephone.intercer.net/wap/ from the browser of the mobile phone,
and to access the desired Bible version, and then to make an option about
MIDP1.0 or MIDP2.0, and finally to select the desired module (e.g. one or more).
After the last selection, the desired version will be downloaded on your mobile
phone.
Many phones have only this option for installing JAVA appplications.
2. By using the infrared port of the mobile phone
Sometimes there is a need for a special uploader software for specific mobile
phones.
If you don't have access to Internet directly from your mobile phone, then you
shall have to pass to this step requiring to have infrared ports on your mobile
phone and on the computer.
a. On this case, you will download the application by using the computer from
the Internet (i.e. JAR files).
b. Once the application is downloaded (preferable on the desktop) you will have
to activate the infrared port on the mobile phone and align it with the infrared
port of the computer (preferable laptop).
c. Then a window will appear asking what file you want to send to the mobile
phone. Next, you will select the downloaded JAR file, and after OK, the mobile
phone will ask you if you want to load that file. You say YES and the
application will be downloaded on your mobile phone.
d. Probably, you will be asked by the mobile phone where you want to save it (e.g.
on the games or applications directories). After you made this selection, the
file will be ready to be loaded for run.
The displaying preference can be set inside the application in order to have
larger fonts, full screen display etc.
3. By wireless Bluetooth access to the mobile phone
Sometimes there is a need for a special uploader software for specific mobile
phones.
This situation is similar with the infrared case. You have only to activate
Bluetooth access on your mobile phone (check if exists) and on the computer (check
if exists).
4. By cable link between PC ad mobile phone
Sometimes there is a need for a special uploader software for specific
mobile phones.
On this case the steps are as follows:
a. On this case, you will download the application by using the computer from
the Internet (i.e. JAR files).
b. Once the application is downloaded (preferable on the desktop) you will have
to set up the wired connection between the mobile phone and the computer. Next,
you will start the synchronization / data transfer application and download the
JAR file in your mobile phone. Surely, you will have to consult the CD of your
mobile phone.
c. By this application you shall transfer into your mobile phone the JAR file in
the games or applications directories. Next, you will have to select for run the
JAR desired file.
5. If none from the above cases are valid
On this unhappy case, I recommend you to find a friend with a laptop having
infrared / Bluetooth capabilities, or to buy a data link cable, or to change
your current model of mobile phone.
Unfortunately, some models of mobile phones require only WAP/GPRS in order to
download and run Java applications.
Sometimes there is a need for a special uploader software for specific mobile
phones. Therefore check the documentation of them and also the page for specific
models.
Why so many versions? Simple, because not all the mobile phones support the
Bible in one file with MIDP 2.0 (the most advanced for the time being).
Multilingual Online Ebooks
It is possible now to have the inspirational ebooks on your browser and to read it allowing you to make comparisons between different translations or versions for a specific language. This occasion is unique, and you have only to browse to the desired author and book.
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