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#33. The Second Missionary Journey (16: 6 - 19: 20).
Satan's Attempt at Compromise, and Paul's Refusal (16: 12-15).
pp. 101 - 104
If, speaking humanly, the reception which the Apostle received at Philippi was
humbling to the flesh, subsequent events at the same city show how impossible it is to
foresee what may be the sequel to a genuine call to preach in any particular place. One
might be pardoned for expecting that, with the two closed doors in Asia and Bithynia,
and the vision of the man of Macedonia, Philippi would have proved to be a place where
great gatherings assembled to hear the Word, and converts were numbered by the
hundred. A little experience, however, would modify these expectations, and the
presence and persistence of an active enemy would be kept in mind. If Troas proved to
be an open door, the Apostle's added words: "And there are many adversaries" most
certainly fitted the situation. The first test encountered by the apostles was that of the
out-of-the-way meeting place by the river side, and the fact that only some women were
present. This was faithfully met, the situation accepted, and the Word preached. One
heart was opened, and a household baptized, so that the first encounter was a victory of
faith. What will be the next move on the part of the opposition? Instead of creating a
disturbance and getting the Apostle expelled from the city, the enemy of truth changes his
tactics and attempts to compromise the purity of the gospel. If Balaam cannot curse
Israel, he will involve them in evil associations, and we have the testimony of Rev. 2:
that this method of attack to which every faithful minister of the truth is peculiarly
susceptible. Only those who have walked alone for years, because of the demands of the
faith, can have any conception of the strength of the temptation to join up with this or
that, so that the stigma of isolation and peculiarity may be removed. To capitulate,
however, means a life's work shipwrecked; and we can see this drama enacted for our
learning in the remainder of the section dealing with Philippi.
"And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, that a certain damsel possessed with a
spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The
same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most
high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this she did many days. But
Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus
Christ to come out of her. And he came out that same hour" (Acts 16: 16-18).
The A.V., in the margin, draws attention to the fact that "spirit of divination" may be
rendered "spirit of Python". As this encounter with the powers of darkness at Philippi
occurs at a most critical period in the history of the preaching of the gospel, we must seek
to get as full an understanding as possible of what this expression involves.
Speaking of the agency of evil spirits, the Rev. Walter Scott writes:
"Of all the devices which he has ever employed for these purposes, one of the most
successful has been to invest, as far as he was able, error with the form, and to array it in
the beauties of truth; to imitate all the methods which God has adopted to demonstrate
the divinity of the true religion; and thus to transform himself into an angel of light. If