And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer. Acts 25:24

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In the previous verse, the entrance of King Agrippa and Bernice was accompanied by much pomp. The audience included commanders and prominent men of the city. With that introduction, the narrative now continues directly into the words concerning Paul. Luke records, “And Festus said: ‘King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us.’”

Festus addresses Agrippa as the principal in the gathering. He then also notes all the men. He doesn’t say anything about Bernice in his address. Bengel seems to see this purposeful omission as a way of avoiding the presentation of a prisoner to a woman. That seems to stretch things. As Bernice is the wife of the king, she is implicitly included in the address to the king.

Regardless of this, however, Festus next notes, “you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me.”

The expression “the whole assembly of the Jews” includes the legal counsel, the Sanhedrin, and any others with which he had direct relations. It could even be inclusive of the entire nation, if he was told the specifics of Acts 22:22, where the whole assembly cried out for him to die.

The entire nation seemed to want Paul removed from the face of the earth. As Festus was the newly appointed governor, it was his duty to figure out what was going on and to administer justice to the nation he was appointed to lead. And yet, he was also responsible for the care of each and every Roman citizen under his authority. Therefore, he had to tread carefully in his handling of such an important matter. Understanding this, Festus next notes, “both at Jerusalem and here.”

This reveals that their petition to have him executed was not limited to his time in Jerusalem but also the meeting that was held at Caesarea. This is something that was unstated in Luke’s record of that meeting. Everywhere he went, the nation was in an upheaval over the existence of this one man. It was a challenge that could not go unaddressed.

Therefore, he desired that the king himself hear the matter and consider what was to be done. As for the Jews, he next notes that wherever he went, they were “crying out that he was not fit to live any longer.”

There was the call for capital punishment upon a Roman citizen. This means the jurisdiction lay solely within Festus’ realm of authority. But so did the maintenance of the Jewish people. As this was true, a resolution had to be obtained, or things would only devolve over Paul’s state. This is especially true because Paul had been incarcerated for more than two years, and yet the matter before Festus continued to fester.

Life application: Festus had an obligation to secure the rights of the Roman citizens under him. This is true of leaders in America today. They are obligated to do what they can to secure the rights of citizens of the United States.

And yet, this has not been happening. US citizens have been attacked, beaten, robbed, raped, and murdered within the borders of the United States by a flood of illegal immigrants who have come across her borders. These illegals are not deported, many are simply released without a trial, and the rights of the citizens in obtaining justice are denied.

This has also been occurring in European nations. There is a global agenda to replace vast swaths of the population of these nations with people who have no rights to the benefits enjoyed by the citizens of any given nation. And yet, they are given benefits that the citizens are denied.

This is setting up the end times prophesied in the Bible. In Daniel 2, the Bible speaks of a line of kingdoms that would come upon the earth that would have control over the affairs of Israel. The fourth kingdom refers to the Roman Empire. It existed in the past, and it is being revived in our times. Daniel records this –

“And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” Daniel 2:40-43

The Roman Empire was formed from many people groups. They would not adhere to one another because their priorities, religions, and cultural expressions were not cohesive. Because of that, the empire could not stand. Learning from this lesson, the globalists have an agenda to destroy national sovereignty by flooding individual nations with people whose priorities are completely different than those within the nations they are coming to.

By doing this, the seed of these people will not intermingle properly. Chaos will be the inevitable result. Out of this chaos will come calamity, death, and destruction. This is the goal of the globalists. In reducing the population of producing people groups, there will be those who are more easily subjugated. Or, at least, this is the hoped-for intent.

However, the calamity coming upon the world will be greater than they can control. Isaiah prophesies that man will become as scarce as fine gold. Jesus says that if those days were not cut short, none would survive. What is happening in civilized nations of the world today is intentional, but its results will go beyond the ability of the globalists to control.

As you see your nation being destroyed by an influx of people who are not like you, it is depressing, even maddening. And yet, the Bible prophesied that it would be this way. Because of this, we know that the coming of the Lord is at hand. Despite the sadness of seeing longstanding nations destroyed, rejoice that a greater and eternal state lies ahead.

Man without Christ is hopeless. But thank God for Jesus. He provides a better hope and a new and eternal kingdom for those who await His coming.

Heavenly Father, it is difficult to see the world devolve into the chaos produced by the rabid people who are in control. But we know that this is a part of what must occur before You come for Your people. Soon, the world will destroy itself because of its rejection of You. For those who wait for You, however, there is the prospect of eternal joy. Thank You for the hope we possess beyond this fallen, sin-filled world. Amen.