And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
"Paul traveled in a northwesterly direction around Asia, to Troas and on to Greece." (Ryrie)
"'Asia,' a province of Asia Minor, was the natural place for Paul and his companions to go next, but for some reason the Holy Spirit forbade them to preach the Word there at that time. Whether this was done by a vision, or through some who had the gift of prophecy, or by direct revelation, we are not told, but we do know that later was permitted to do a great work in this region, 'so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks' (Acts 19:10; cf. Acts 19:26; 20:4). Next, arriving opposite Mysia, they 'assayed,' or attempted to go into Bithynia, but again 'the Spirit suffered them not,' so they 'passed by' Mysia, not geographically, but as far as laboring there was concerned, and 'came down to Troas' (Ver. 8)." (Stam)
Mysia - "A district in the north-west part of Asia Minor bordering on the Helespont and the Propontis, and included in the Roman province of Asia. The missionaries travelled mainly in a northerly direction till they arrived 'opposite to Mysia', on the border of the Asian province, with the intention of entering the province of Bithynia. They were, at that juncture, almost due east of Troas." (Walker)
Bithynia - "That is, the Roman province of that name (Bithynia-Pontus). It lay north-east of Asia and north-west of Galatia, on the borders of the Propontis and the Black Sea. It is mentioned again in 1 Pet 1:1. A Roman road ran into it from Asian Phrygia, which the missionaries must have been following. So far as we know, St. Paul never preached in Bithynia." (Walker)
Troas - "Or, more fully, 'Alexandria Troas', a city of Mysia on the Aegean coast, opposite the island of Tenedos. The district surrounding it bore the same name, but was commonly known as 'the Troad'. Antigenes built a city there, near the site of the ancient Troy, but it was refounded in 300 B.C. by Lysimachus and named 'Alexandria Troas' after Alexander the Great. It passed into Roman hands in 133 B.C. and Augustus made it a Roman colony. We read of it again in Acts 20:5-6; 2 Cor 2:12; 2 Tim 4:13. Arrived there, the missionaries had the Aegean sea before them, with Europe awaiting them beyond." (Walker)
man of Macedonia - "Although the man of Macedonia represented all the culture, intelligence, religion, and achievements of Greek civilization, he was spiritually bankrupt." (Ryrie)
"The Macedonians were akin to the Greeks, but more hardy and less civilized. Their country was a region in the centre of the Balkan Peninsula. Under Philip (360-336 B.C.) and his son Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.) they became the predominant power and conquered the Persian empire, carrying their victorious arms east as far as India. They were finally subjugated by Rome, and in 147 B.C. Macedonia was formed into a province of the empire, including portions of Illyria and Thessaly. Its capital was Thessalonica (Acts 17:1)." (Walker)
we - "Luke joined Paul and his group at Troas and went with them to Philippi, where he remained when the other left (v 40). Six or seven years later he rejoined Paul (Acts 20:5) and remained with him until the end of the narrative." (Ryrie)
"It has been conjectured that since Luke evidently arrived on the scene here at Troas (Note the 'we' and 'use' in Ver. 10) it may have been he whom Paul saw in his vision. There seems to be real support for this, however. In the vision Paul saw 'a man of Macedonia,' and it is doubtful whether Luke was a Macedonia. It is enough to know that Paul's course was again guided by a supernatural manifestation. The apostle was often led in this way during his early ministry, as were others of the Acts period, such as the circumcision apostles (Acts 5:19-20) Philip (Act 8:26) Ananias (Act 9:10-11) Cornelius (Act 10:3) Peter (Acts 10:10, 17, 19; 12:7-9) etc. This experience of Paul's has often been used as an example of what a missionary call should be. In view of the evident character of God's dealings with men in the present dispensation, the application is generally somewhat modified, but still there is the feeling that a 'call' to missionary work involves some sort of 'supernatural' manifestation: a dream, a feeling that 'the Lord spoke to me,' a sense of deep assurance or settled peace or urgent necessity or personal responsibility; a burden for the souls of a particular race or nation, the coming upon a particular Scripture passage from a 'promise box' or in devotional reading, or the results of 'laying out the fleece' or giving God the choice of two alternatives. But none of these human emotions or experiences should be confused with the definite vision by which Paul was called to go into Macedonia, and those who today look for some supernatural manifestation in seeking God's guidance should reflect that the many such supernatural 'calls' recorded in the Scriptures, this one of Paul at Troas is the last, for with the setting aside of Israel and her kingdom hopes such manifestations vanished away (Acts 2:16-18, cf. 1 Cor 13:8). Today we are to walk entirely 'by faith, not by sight' (2 Cor 5:7)." (Stam)
"Paul traveled in a northwesterly direction around Asia, to Troas and on to Greece." (Ryrie)
"'Asia,' a province of Asia Minor, was the natural place for Paul and his companions to go next, but for some reason the Holy Spirit forbade them to preach the Word there at that time. Whether this was done by a vision, or through some who had the gift of prophecy, or by direct revelation, we are not told, but we do know that later was permitted to do a great work in this region, 'so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks' (Acts 19:10; cf. Acts 19:26; 20:4). Next, arriving opposite Mysia, they 'assayed,' or attempted to go into Bithynia, but again 'the Spirit suffered them not,' so they 'passed by' Mysia, not geographically, but as far as laboring there was concerned, and 'came down to Troas' (Ver. 8)." (Stam)
Mysia - "A district in the north-west part of Asia Minor bordering on the Helespont and the Propontis, and included in the Roman province of Asia. The missionaries travelled mainly in a northerly direction till they arrived 'opposite to Mysia', on the border of the Asian province, with the intention of entering the province of Bithynia. They were, at that juncture, almost due east of Troas." (Walker)
Bithynia - "That is, the Roman province of that name (Bithynia-Pontus). It lay north-east of Asia and north-west of Galatia, on the borders of the Propontis and the Black Sea. It is mentioned again in 1 Pet 1:1. A Roman road ran into it from Asian Phrygia, which the missionaries must have been following. So far as we know, St. Paul never preached in Bithynia." (Walker)
Troas - "Or, more fully, 'Alexandria Troas', a city of Mysia on the Aegean coast, opposite the island of Tenedos. The district surrounding it bore the same name, but was commonly known as 'the Troad'. Antigenes built a city there, near the site of the ancient Troy, but it was refounded in 300 B.C. by Lysimachus and named 'Alexandria Troas' after Alexander the Great. It passed into Roman hands in 133 B.C. and Augustus made it a Roman colony. We read of it again in Acts 20:5-6; 2 Cor 2:12; 2 Tim 4:13. Arrived there, the missionaries had the Aegean sea before them, with Europe awaiting them beyond." (Walker)
man of Macedonia - "Although the man of Macedonia represented all the culture, intelligence, religion, and achievements of Greek civilization, he was spiritually bankrupt." (Ryrie)
"The Macedonians were akin to the Greeks, but more hardy and less civilized. Their country was a region in the centre of the Balkan Peninsula. Under Philip (360-336 B.C.) and his son Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.) they became the predominant power and conquered the Persian empire, carrying their victorious arms east as far as India. They were finally subjugated by Rome, and in 147 B.C. Macedonia was formed into a province of the empire, including portions of Illyria and Thessaly. Its capital was Thessalonica (Acts 17:1)." (Walker)
we - "Luke joined Paul and his group at Troas and went with them to Philippi, where he remained when the other left (v 40). Six or seven years later he rejoined Paul (Acts 20:5) and remained with him until the end of the narrative." (Ryrie)
"It has been conjectured that since Luke evidently arrived on the scene here at Troas (Note the 'we' and 'use' in Ver. 10) it may have been he whom Paul saw in his vision. There seems to be real support for this, however. In the vision Paul saw 'a man of Macedonia,' and it is doubtful whether Luke was a Macedonia. It is enough to know that Paul's course was again guided by a supernatural manifestation. The apostle was often led in this way during his early ministry, as were others of the Acts period, such as the circumcision apostles (Acts 5:19-20) Philip (Act 8:26) Ananias (Act 9:10-11) Cornelius (Act 10:3) Peter (Acts 10:10, 17, 19; 12:7-9) etc. This experience of Paul's has often been used as an example of what a missionary call should be. In view of the evident character of God's dealings with men in the present dispensation, the application is generally somewhat modified, but still there is the feeling that a 'call' to missionary work involves some sort of 'supernatural' manifestation: a dream, a feeling that 'the Lord spoke to me,' a sense of deep assurance or settled peace or urgent necessity or personal responsibility; a burden for the souls of a particular race or nation, the coming upon a particular Scripture passage from a 'promise box' or in devotional reading, or the results of 'laying out the fleece' or giving God the choice of two alternatives. But none of these human emotions or experiences should be confused with the definite vision by which Paul was called to go into Macedonia, and those who today look for some supernatural manifestation in seeking God's guidance should reflect that the many such supernatural 'calls' recorded in the Scriptures, this one of Paul at Troas is the last, for with the setting aside of Israel and her kingdom hopes such manifestations vanished away (Acts 2:16-18, cf. 1 Cor 13:8). Today we are to walk entirely 'by faith, not by sight' (2 Cor 5:7)." (Stam)
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