Fire and Sword (24 page)

Pellecus and Kara stood next to the man who, moments before, had been bound by a spirit that had overtaken his body with disease. They glared at the humbled spirit who had been forced out of the man on Paul’s words. The spirit looked at the two glaring angels and vanished in fright. Pellecus watched the people coming to Paul and Barnabas.

“As I said,” Pellecus began, “it’s the power that impresses people. But it’s the source which they worship.” He smiled at Kara. “Let’s give the gods a little credit for this one, shall we? At least we’ll take the attention off Paul.”

Pellecus moved among the crowd and found a particularly fanatical man who was devoted to the local temple. He looked at Paul with wonder, as if he was looking at a god and not a man. Pellecus sensed this, moved in close, and began speaking into his mind. At once the man ran to Paul and Barnabas and stole the crowd’s attention.

“I have received a message from the gods!” he proclaimed to the people in Lycaonian. “These are not mere men. This is Zeus and Hermes!” The people stood back and began to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods. Pellecus laughed at the predicament, enjoying the fruit of his work.

“And now we’ll see how a little worship affects these two,” he said. “What human can resist the adoration of other humans?”

Paul looked about him.

“What are they saying?” Barnabas asked.

“I’m not sure,” Paul said. “They are speaking their dialect.”

A woman ran up and spoke to Paul in Greek.

“They have proclaimed you gods,” she said. “You are Hermes,” she said, not daring to look Paul in the eyes. “And the other is great Zeus!”

Barnabas and Paul looked at each other.

“No, no!” Paul exclaimed. “We are only men!”

But the people heard none of it and brought offerings and sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas, invoking their names and asking for favors and blessing from the gods. Finally Paul was able to get their attention and shouted loudly. “Why are you doing this? We are only men, human like you.”

He picked up one of the offerings and handed it back to a woman.

“We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything in them. You are bringing us these things as if we had power. But hear me. God alone has power. And He provides for you out of the abundance of His creation—even nations such as yours who don’t even know His name.”

Suddenly a voice rang out in the crowd.

“Those men are troublemakers! They were run out of
our
region because they were inciting riots and stirring up the people.”

Paul scanned the crowd and saw the familiar face of Simeon. The determined Jew berated Paul and Barnabas and began turning the crowd against them.

“Looks like our friend has followed us from Pisidian Antioch,” he said to Barnabas. “Be ready!”

“Kill the heretics!” someone said, and before they knew what was happening, Paul and Barnabas were pulled down and dragged through the city streets toward the edge of town. Simeon followed, calling on the other Jews in the crowd to keep the crowd fired up. Simeon turned to the local synagogue ruler.

“This Paul has been a vexation long enough,” he said, stooping down to pick up a fist-sized rock. “Always words. Always teaching this poison. It’s time for us to teach the teacher!”

“Is he dead?”

In response, Paul opened his eyes, which were clogged with dried blood. He felt himself being pulled up by several hands. Within minutes, his head wrapped in a clean cloth, Paul was being escorted by some of the local believers. They were guiding him and Barnabas out of the region of Lystra.

“They had left you for dead,” Barnabas told him. “We thought you were dead as well. But these disciples gathered and waited and believed—and you came to.”

Paul’s head throbbed.

“I won’t soon forget Lystra,” Paul said. “But God made an impact here; that is all that matters. We’ll return one day to strengthen the church here.”

“Return here?” a man asked. “After that?”

“To suffer for our Lord is an honor,” Paul said. “I would suffer ten stonings if the church is strengthened through our visits.”

Paul thanked the men when they arrived at the main road leading out of the region. They prayed for Paul and Barnabas and gave them food and water. Paul looked at the unfamiliar country.

“Where will this road take us?” he asked.

“Derbe,” a man answered.

“Then to Derbe we shall go,” said Paul. “Perhaps they will be eager to hear this good news. Remember, Barnabas, people never run out of the need for truth.”

“I only hope they run out of rocks,” he answered.

Paul laughed.

Serus stayed close to Paul and Barnabas as they left the region. He was prepared to protect him to the degree that the Most High would allow. If only he had the strength of numbers Peter had when he was rescued by Gabriel in Jerusalem. But this time there was no church praying. It was evident that in such journeys, it would be up to Paul’s own faith and the mercy of the Most High to protect him.

Chronicles of the Host

Paul’s Cell, Rome, A.D. 67

“For this reason I remind you, Timothy, to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline…”

“It was about this time you met Timothy, was it not?” Luke asked, reading the words he had just penned.

Paul looked up from the letter he was writing. He set down the stylus and rubbed his tired eyes. “Yes. At Lystra. Barnabas and I had a falling out over John Mark.”

He laughed.

“But God has long since repaired that. He is ever my brother. As is John Mark. But at the time I chose Silas to accompany me, and Barnabas took Mark back to their native Cyprus. Silas and I were revisiting the churches we had started—the churches Barnabas and I had encouraged on our first trip. At Lystra we met Timothy and his family, and Timothy accompanied us after that, proving to be a great brother and encourager.”

Paul leaned back as if remembering it all vividly. “After a time we had a decision to make—and decided that we should remain in Asia,” he continued. “But that night the Lord sent me a vision.”

“The Macedonian,” Luke said.

“Yes. Pleading with us to come to his land and bring the message of Christ. Then you arrived, my brother.”

“Ah, yes,” Luke said, sipping a cup of water. “Troas. If only I had been with you for that whole trip. What a glorious adventure.”

Paul smiled. He lifted up his cloak. “You’re fortunate that you were not, my friend. I received these marks on that mission,” he said, pointing to a series of scars on his back. “Silas and I received a flogging—my first. I lost count how many times the Jews and angry Gentiles incited violence against me. But the Lord was ever my protector.”

“That was Corinth?” Luke asked.

“No. Philippi,” Paul said.

Philippi,
Paul’s Second Mission, A.D. 48–49

Serus followed Paul’s group on the road to Philippi. He knew that the enemy was already awaiting their arrival and would soon be stirring up the opposition that they all expected. It was a wonder to him that the minds of men could be so easily manipulated.

Lucifer had long ago learned how the minds of men worked, and when coupled with a darkened heart, humans were capable of almost any atrocity.

“Enjoying this assignment?” said a voice at his side.

Serus turned to see Crispin. The wisdom angel was a favorite of his, being a wealth of information about the ways of men and God. “Paul is certainly not a dull work,” Serus said. “For one who once persecuted the Church, his passion for it is quite spectacular. Making amends, I suppose.”

“Of course,” said Crispin. “Men often become ardent supporters of that which they once opposed. But Paul’s motivation is much more compelling than mere making amends—it is something he has recognized and is only now beginning to grasp.”

“Ambition?” asked Serus. “He is a man driven.”

“Not ambition.
Grace
,” Crispin answered. “Haven’t you seen it in his manners, his speech—his actions? The reason Paul is so driven is because he has received so much from the Most High.”

“Grace?”

“Something afforded to men that angels will never fully understand,” said Crispin, as they neared the town. “Grace is reserved for humans—something attained by their belief, but given by the Lord. Grace is at the heart of this message to which Paul has devoted his life. And grace is what moves him forward.”