Act 16:16-24 | KingComments | STEP | On the way to the place of prayer, Paul and his companions meet a slave-girl who possesses a spirit of divination, through whom she practices fortune-telling. The girl is really demon-possessed, really in the power of an evil spirit, through which her identity has been lost. She is an instrument of satan who ruthlessly exploits her. The masters of the girl earn well from her. There are plenty of people who come to consult her for payment. When she crosses Paul’s path, the spirit of divination in her reveals itself noisily. It praises “these men” as “bond-servants of the Most High God” who proclaim (not: ‘the’, but) a way of salvation. Here we see the deceptive tactics of satan. He does not openly attack the gospel here in Europe, but tries to connect with the work of the gospel through deceptive support in order to mix gospel and error and thus destroy the gospel. It is important to see that there is no article here before the word “way”. The girl does not speak about ‘the’ way, but about ‘a’ way. She is also talking about proclaiming “to you” a way and not about proclaiming “to us” the way. She does not advertise the gospel, but is out to present the gospel as one of the many ways of salvation. It is typically demonic to deny the exclusivity of the gospel. In world religions such as buddhism and islam there is room for Jesus, but only in addition to other idols. In the Greek context, talking about them as bond-servants of the most high god also means that she says that Paul and his companions are bond-servants of Zeus. She speaks of a way of salvation, not as salvation from sins, but the salvation from certain unpleasant circumstances of life which she also proclaims as a fortune-teller. She proposes a path which should lead to the well-being of man, but which in reality ends in eternal destruction. Paul does not act directly against the girl. He endures her crying out for many days. Then comes the moment when he can no longer bear it. It does not mean that he becomes irritated, but that tolerating it even longer would make the gospel powerless. The girl’s crying focused people’s attention on them and not on the gospel. At a certain point, Paul turns and commands the spirit in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. Paul does not expel the spirit in his own strength, but with the authority of the Name of the Lord Jesus. That Name is exalted above all power and strength ( ). The spirit obeys immediately. Unfortunately, much of the gospel preaching today is a preaching that has the approval of the world because the evangelist allows the world to unite with his preaching. ‘It is about the entrance for the gospel’, it sounds as justification. That is not the way Paul works. His rejection of mixing will cost him dearly, as the sequel shows.

‏ Acts 16:16-24

A Spirit of Divination Cast Out

On the way to the place of prayer, Paul and his companions meet a slave-girl who possesses a spirit of divination, through whom she practices fortune-telling. The girl is really demon-possessed, really in the power of an evil spirit, through which her identity has been lost. She is an instrument of satan who ruthlessly exploits her. The masters of the girl earn well from her. There are plenty of people who come to consult her for payment.

When she crosses Paul’s path, the spirit of divination in her reveals itself noisily. It praises “these men” as “bond-servants of the Most High God” who proclaim (not: ‘the’, but) a way of salvation. Here we see the deceptive tactics of satan. He does not openly attack the gospel here in Europe, but tries to connect with the work of the gospel through deceptive support in order to mix gospel and error and thus destroy the gospel.

It is important to see that there is no article here before the word “way”. The girl does not speak about ‘the’ way, but about ‘a’ way. She is also talking about proclaiming “to you” a way and not about proclaiming “to us” the way. She does not advertise the gospel, but is out to present the gospel as one of the many ways of salvation. It is typically demonic to deny the exclusivity of the gospel. In world religions such as buddhism and islam there is room for Jesus, but only in addition to other idols.

In the Greek context, talking about them as bond-servants of the most high god also means that she says that Paul and his companions are bond-servants of Zeus. She speaks of a way of salvation, not as salvation from sins, but the salvation from certain unpleasant circumstances of life which she also proclaims as a fortune-teller. She proposes a path which should lead to the well-being of man, but which in reality ends in eternal destruction.

Paul does not act directly against the girl. He endures her crying out for many days. Then comes the moment when he can no longer bear it. It does not mean that he becomes irritated, but that tolerating it even longer would make the gospel powerless. The girl’s crying focused people’s attention on them and not on the gospel. At a certain point, Paul turns and commands the spirit in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. Paul does not expel the spirit in his own strength, but with the authority of the Name of the Lord Jesus. That Name is exalted above all power and strength (Acts 3:6 ; 16 ; Acts 4:10). The spirit obeys immediately.

Unfortunately, much of the gospel preaching today is a preaching that has the approval of the world because the evangelist allows the world to unite with his preaching. ‘It is about the entrance for the gospel’, it sounds as justification. That is not the way Paul works. His rejection of mixing will cost him dearly, as the sequel shows.

Thrown Into Prison

If satan cannot reach his goal with flattery, he turns into a roaring lion (1Pet 5:8). His instruments are the masters of the girl. Their source of income is lost by these people. They are not at all grateful for the deliverance of the girl, but extremely angry now that they see their profits evaporate. They drag Paul and Silas directly in front of the government which is represented by chief magistrates. The chief magistrates were the Roman governors, a kind of mayors.

The masters of the girl delivered by Paul accuse Paul and Silas of causing riots. This is a heavy accusation, because anything that endangers the unity and peace of the Roman Empire is severely punished. In their cunning, these people make what Paul and Silas did a political theme. They know that by doing so they stand a good chance of a conviction of Paul and Silas. They also respond to the hatred against the Jews by talking about “these people, who are Jews”.

Furthermore, they accuse Paul and Silas of proclaiming customs that go against Roman customs. They apparently think that Luke and Timothy are less important, so they let them go. Customs have to do with culture. They accuse them of wanting to destroy their culture with that gospel. Culture has been put in the nature of the people by God and is different for all peoples, but in the hand of satan it can become a means to oppose the gospel. When the accusations have been made, the crowd, always looking for amusement, also stands up against Paul and Silas.

The chief magistrates consider further investigation unnecessary. Without any further form of trial, the clothes of both servants of God are torn from their bodies by the judges, who order them to be beaten with rods. Those who perform the beating do not take their task lightly and strike both preachers “with many blows”.

God allows His servants to be beaten and it is their honor not to resist. It becomes a means by which an even more shining testimony of His Word and of His servants is given. As for the body, the world is stronger than the Christian, if God allows it; but in his heart, the Christian is above circumstances if he can realize the presence of God. His presence is greater than all circumstances and can overcome everything else (1Jn 5:4). One can then rejoice in suffering (Acts 5:41; Rom 5:3).

After being beaten with rods, they are thrown into prison. The jailer is ordered to guard them carefully. He leaves nothing to chance and throws them into the inner prison. You can’t go any deeper. As if that doesn’t offer enough security, he carefully fastens their feet in the stocks as well. Escape is impossible. It seems that they are completely eliminated and the enemy has won. How discouraging it would be if they thought that this was their reception in Europe, when they clearly recognized the Lord’s guidance to go here.