Acts 21:7-14

To Ptolemais. On the coast, about half-way to Caesarea. Named for the Egyptian king who rebuilt the city. This is the Accho of Judges 1:31. And arrived in Caesarea. Some thirty or forty miles south. Paul had been here twice before (Acts 9:30; Acts 18:22). The first Gentiles were brought to Christ here. To the house of the evangelist Philip. He had preached in the cities of the sea coast (Acts 8:40). Who proclaimed God's message. Compare Acts 2:17. The fact that they were unmarried does not mean they were members of a special religious order. The spirit of prophecy is not confined to men, either in the Old or New Testaments. Deborah and Huldah are Old Testament examples. Elizabeth, Mary, Anna, and the daughters of Philip are New Testament examples. On the role of a prophet, see note on Ephesians 4:11. In the East, men would not be free to spend much time teaching women in private, but a woman prophet could. Compare Romans 16:1; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. A prophet named Agabus. He had come especially to meet Paul. [We met this man in Acts 11:28.] In the style of the Old Testament prophets, Agabus takes Paul's belt and in a dramatic way shows what will happen to Paul. Compare 1 Kings 22:11; Isaiah 20:2; etc. Agabus either lived in Jerusalem or was closely connected with that city, and had first-hand knowledge of what would happen to Paul there. The prophecies of the danger Paul faced were designed to focus the attention of the entire church on Jerusalem. Paul deliberately walked into the danger to prevent a schism that threatened the church (compare Acts 15)! Jerusalem was the headquarters of the "circumcision party."