To the Jew, the apostle's witness was that `Jesus' was the `Anointed'. To the philosopher, he declares that `that

Man', Who had been raised from the dead, was the Lord's `appointed'.

`Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man Whom He

hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead' (Acts

The historic fact of the resurrection was open to all men to investigate, and upon this the apostle based his claim.

The times of ignorance had passed, and God now commanded `all men everywhere' to repent.

At the mention once more of the `resurrection of the dead', some `jeered', while others said: `We will hear thee

again of this matter'. So far as we know from the Scriptures no church was founded at Athens, but at least one

trophy of grace was brought from this city of idols and philosophy - Dionysius, the Areopagite. We know nothing

of the social standing of the `woman named Damaris', but her inclusion here brings Athens into line with Philippi,

Thessalonica and Berea, for women are specially mentioned in each of these cities as being among the first to

And so, with undaunted faith, the apostle passes from Athens, the city of learning, to Corinth, the city of license.

We now come to the apostle's visit to Corinth, which immediately follows his witness at Athens. The two cities

were widely different in character and associations. The great concern of the men of Athens was `to speak or to hear

some new thing'. Corinth, on the other hand, was regarded as the `Vanity Fair' of the Empire, and its reputation for

evil was such that its very name became a term to express the foulest immorality. Korinthiazesthai became a

synonym for licentiousness, and the meaning of `Corinthian' is still given in the English Dictionary as `a licentious

man about town'.

The famous temple of Aphrodite Pandemos, that crowned the Acrocorinthus, was served by a thousand

heirodouloi, `consecrated slaves' whose lives were devoted to immorality in the name of religion. It was from

Corinth that Paul wrote the terrible indictment of Gentile depravity that forms the second half of Romans 1. When a

`Corinthian' appeared on the stage at this time, he was usually represented as drunk. Corinth was a seaport and a

centre of commerce. It therefore attracted merchants from all quarters, and the mixed character of its population

influenced the whole for evil.

Upon arrival at Corinth, Paul finds a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus and lately come from Italy, with

his wife Priscilla. This man and his wife had been obliged to depart from Rome because Claudius had commanded

that all Jews should leave the city.

Finding that he was of the same craft - the craft of tentmaking - the apostle took up his abode with this worthy

couple, to whom the whole company of Gentile believers are particularly indebted (Rom. 16:3,4). Paul had entered

Athens `alone', but here in Corinth his loneliness would have been intensified. Who would think twice about this

weary Jew? He knew only too well how cruel the money-loving merchants could be, and would not have looked to

them for help or sympathy. He therefore turns his footsteps to the Jewish quarter and there by the grace of God he

comes upon Aquila.

The decree issued by Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be taxed was instrumental, under God, in

bringing about the birth of the Saviour at Bethlehem. The decree of Claudius was equally overruled here to bring

about this happy fellowship between Aquila, Priscilla and the apostle. Suetonius says of Claudius that `he banished

from Rome all Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus'.

There is every reason to believe that Paul had been brought up in comfortable, if not in affluent, circumstances.

He had been taught a trade, not because his parents had ever intended that he would be obliged to work at it for a

living, but because this procedure was in accordance with the teaching of the Rabbis. Rabbi Judah, for instance,