EGW WritingsReferenceAdventist Pioneer Library
VersionsConcordancesDictionariesSDA Scripture Index
EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6
EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7ASDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7SDA Bible Students' Source BookHandbook of SDA TheologyMatthew Henry's Concise Bible CommentaryMatthew Henry's Complete Bible CommentaryKing James Reference Suite - Bible Maps
Romans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesians
Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 12Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 26Chapter 28
Chapters 8, 9
2, 3. Felix Base and Contemptible—Tertullus here descended to barefaced falsehood. The character of Felix was base and contemptible....6BC 1066.1
An example of the unbridled licentiousness that stained his character is seen in his alliance with Drusilla, which was consummated about this time. Through the deceptive arts of Simon Magus, a Cyprian sorcerer, Felix had induced this princess to leave her husband and to become his wife. Drusilla was young and beautiful, and, moreover, a Jewess. She was devotedly attached to her husband, who had made a great sacrifice to obtain her hand. There was little indeed to induce her to forgo her strongest prejudices and to bring upon herself the abhorrence of her nation for the sake of forming an adulterous connection with a cruel and elderly profligate. Yet the satanic devices of the conjurer and the betrayer succeeded, and Felix accomplished his purpose (Sketches from the Life of Paul, 235, 236).6BC 1066.2
22. Felix Not Deceived Regarding Paul—Felix himself had so long resided at Caesarea—where the Christian religion had been known for many years—that he had a better knowledge of that religion than the Jews supposed, and he was not deceived by their representations (Sketches from the Life of Paul, 239).6BC 1066.3
27. Strife in Caesarea; Felix Removed—Toward the close of this time there arose a fearful strife among the population of Caesarea. There had been frequent disputes, which had become a settled feud, between the Jews and the Greeks, concerning their respective rights and privileges in the city. All the splendor of Caesarea, its temples, its palaces, and its amphitheater, were due to the ambition of the first Herod. Even the harbor, to which Caesarea owed all its prosperity and importance, had been constructed by him at an immense outlay of money and labor. The Jewish inhabitants were numerous and wealthy, and they claimed the city as theirs, because their king had done so much for it. The Greeks, with equal persistency, maintained their right to the precedence.6BC 1066.4
Near the close of the two years, these dissensions led to a fierce combat in the market place, resulting in the defeat of the Greeks. Felix, who sided with the Gentile faction, came with his troops and ordered the Jews to disperse. The command was not instantly obeyed by the victorious party, and he ordered his soldiers to fall upon them. Glad of an opportunity to indulge their hatred of the Jews, they executed the order in the most merciless manner, and many were put to death. As if this were not enough, Felix, whose animosity toward the Jews had increased every year, now gave his soldiers liberty to rob the houses of the wealthy.6BC 1066.5
These daring acts of injustice and cruelty could not pass unnoticed. The Jews made a formal complaint against Felix, and he was summoned to Rome to answer their charges. He well knew that his course of extortion and oppression had given them abundant ground for complaint, but he still hoped to conciliate them. Hence, though he had a sincere respect for Paul, he decided to gratify their malice by leaving him a prisoner. But all his efforts were in vain; though he escaped banishment or death, he was removed from office, and deprived of the greater part of his ill-gotten wealth. Drusilla, the partner of his guilt, afterward perished, with their only son, in the eruption of Vesuvius. His own days were ended in disgrace and obscurity (Sketches from the Life of Paul, 245, 246).6BC 1066.6