Bible Word of the Day
Antioch (Antakya)
Meaning
Antioch was a city located in the Eastern Mediterranean in what today is the North West corner of Syria near the border of Turkey. After the death of Stephen there arose a persecution against Jewish believers as well as Gentile believers. Many had fled to Antioch and started a Christian church in the city. Antioch was also the location where the term “Christian” was first coined and used. The word “Christian” meant “little Christ” and referred to all those who follow and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Barnabas was a Jewish convert and friend of the Apostle Paul, who lived and taught in Antioch.
Barnabas brought Paul to Antioch, where they labored together for a year or so teaching the congregation before heading off on their first missionary journey. After some time Paul returned to Antioch with another man named Silas. Paul and Silas came from Jerusalem, where he had met with Peter, James and the other leaders of the church in Jerusalem. There a meeting was convened to answer questions about what laws and customs Gentile believers were required to follow. Antioch in a lot of ways became “the cradle of Christianity” and it was one of the four leading cities in that portion of Syria. During the Roman era Antioch had a large and thriving Christian population consisting of both Gentile and Jewish believers.
‘And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?’ When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.’ Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.” (Book of Acts 11:15-22)