POST 12 - Paul's First Death

by William W. Orr, A.B., M.A., Th.B., D.D.. Pastor and Teacher.

     Another remarkable incident occurred on the great Apostle Paul's first missionary journey.  He and his companion, Barnabas, were preaching and teaching as they went through Asia Minor.  When they came to a city called Lystra (Acts 14:6-22), God enable Paul to heal a helpless cripple by the way.

     Seeing this miracle, the people of Lystra thronged around Paul and Barnabas, wildly proclaiming them to be their own pagan gods, come down in the form of men.  They called Paul Mercury and Barnabas Jupiter.  They summoned priests of the temple of Jupiter, who hurriedly brought oxen and garlands to sacrifice before the servants of the Lord.  Only with the greatest effort did God's true messengers restrain the cheering populace for worshiping them.

     The next day the story was quite different.  During the night hate-inspired, unbelieving Jews came from cities where the apostles had already ministered and, hatching a wicked plot, planned to kill them.  These Jews formed an unruly mob, surrounded Paul as he preached, and stoned him on the spot.  For some unrecorded reason Barnabas was not there at the time.

     Stoning was an ugly sight, a brutal act.  Weighing about two pounds, the stones were concealed until needed in the garments of the would-be executioners.  They maneuvered the victim into the center of the frenzied, bloodthirsty mob of screaming manics.  Then they hurled stones at him from all directions until one eventually him the human target and caused him to fall.  This was the signal for the mob to close in and throw stones unmercifully at close range until every bone of the victim was crushed.  Rarely did anyone come through a stoning alive.  And if one did survive, he was a helpless cripple for life.

     Though the account does not state that Paul died from the stoning, there is every reason to believe that he did.  First, the eye-witnesses thought that he was dead.  "Having stoned Paul, they drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead" (Acts 14:19).  Likely he was dragged to the refuse dump.  The next bit of evidence is a corroborating passage from the pen of the apostle himself.  It possibly related to this very incident (II Cor. 12:1-10).

     Certainly his executioners thought the Apostle Paul was dead when they tossed his burised and bleeding body outside of the city.  In a short time there came grief-stricken disciples, possibly Barnabas among them, who sorrowfully wept and prayed.  Then, without warning, Paul arose, unassisted and proceeded to walk back into the city.  What had happened?

     We might never have been able to understand this unusual event without Paul's description in his second letter to Corinth (12:1-10).  In this passage Paul defends his apostolic authority against false teaching who dogged his steps, repeatedly heckling and harassing him.  As Paul produces the proofs of his apostleship, he cites the miracle of Lystra, which had occurred about ten years before the epistle was written.

     As Paul gives the account, it is evident that he still cannot overcome the wonder of the tremendous experience that he underwent.  It seemed almost like a dream to him, yet it was not a dream, not a vision, but an actual experience.  At first he speaks of himself in the third person, then he changes to the first person.  In summary, his experience was this:  Paul was caught in the mob and brutally stoned to death.  His body was dragged outside of the city where he was dumped.  The plotters wiped their bloody hands and departed.  But the news traveled fast and in a short time a few friends gathered around the corpse to mourn Paul's loss.  Then Paul stirred, got to his feet before their incredulous eyes, and suggested that they all return to the city.

     Actually very little time was involved in this entire incident.  What had happened to Paul is what happens to every Christ.  At the Point of Death, Paul's spirit went immediately to be with his Lord(Phi. 1:23).  After he took his last look at earthly scenes, he immediately began viewing heavenly scenes.  After he stopped breathing, he entered into a heavenly experience.

     The transition from the earthly body to the heavenly body is without strain or shock.  Paul says that he did not know whether he was in the body or out of it.  Evidently, he did not miss his earthly body in any way.  There was no feeling of being unclothed.  He was onot hindered or hampered by lack of the body.

      Many believe that the Lord provides a temporary body for a child of God until he receive his glorified body (II Cor. 5:15).  If so, Paul was able instantly to see, to hear, and to enjoy the indescribably glorious sights of heaven.  He heard things and saw scenes that are indescribable.  In fact, he said they were so sacred that it would be unlawful to describe them.  All of this took place in a brief amount of time.

     There was no pain in the exchange of earth for heaven.  There was no valley of the shadow to enter, no dark river to cross, no purgatorial fires to undergo.  There was no fear, no terror, no loneliness, no shock.  One moment Paul experience the agony of death, the next heaven.

We are interested in YOUR RESPONSE.   Please use the COMMENT section at the end of EACH POST for your response and impressions.  Was this post helpful to you?   How?