Philip was a gifted evangelist, given a keener spiritual sense to detect when, where and what to say to people who had not given their lives to Christ. We saw Philip evangelizing on a large scale in Samaria, but now the Lord sent him to preach in the desert, where there was a sinner ready to listen, an Ethiopian, he believed the gospel and was baptized. Then, Philip preached his way up the coast to Caesarea.

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The time has come for Elijah the prophet to go to heaven. He is sent by the Lord to a few cities before it is time. With him is Elisha, Elijah’s God given replacement. As Elijah begins his journey towards heaven he thrice gives Elisha, his beloved servant, a chance to remain behind. Thrice Elisha adamantly insists on remaining inseparable. As they walked and talk a chariot of fire lifted Elijah away and Elisha assumed the role. He parts the Jordan, heals a well, and deals with idolatrous thug youth in a way no one could forget.

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As Satan tried to crush and destroy the early church neither he nor the Christians who were being persecuted and fleeing Jerusalem realized at the time that the fleeing Christians were actually winning to conflict because they were converting more to Christianity by spreading the Gospel. In Samaria Philip made converts, then two apostles were dispatched to validate or negate the movement. They authenticated and joined the work but also rebuked a man name Simon for tying to buy God’s power.

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The wicked son of the wicked King Ahab, is now king and has injured himself in a fall. Instead of seeking the God of Israel through a real prophet of God, he sends messengers to inquire about his fate form fake prophets of a non-existent God. That is when Yahweh sends the great prophet Elijah to intercept those emissaries with a message of His own. Troops are sent to arrest Elijah but he called for fire from heaven.

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Satan’s attempt to silence the voice of the truth from Christians now spreads from the murder of Stephen to attacks on Christians living in Jerusalem. This persecution will be used by God to spread the gospel beyond the borders of Jerusalem and to other peoples also. Philip, who we met in chapter six, becomes an evangelist, spreading the gospel to Samaritans, a people in religious and cultural conflict with the Jewish people and Judaism.

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