What was the Council of the Areopagus in Acts 17?
Acts 17:1 - 32
MSG - 1 They took the road south through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, where there was a community of Jews. Paul went to their meeting place, as he usually did when he came to a town, and for three Sabbaths running he preached to them from the Scriptures. He opened up the texts so they understood what they'd been reading all their lives: that the Messiah absolutely had to be put to death and raised from the dead - there were no other options - and that "this Jesus I'm introducing you to is that Messiah. 4 Some of them were won over and joined ranks with Paul and Silas, among them a great many God-fearing Greeks and a considerable number of women from the aristocracy. But the hard-line Jews became furious over the conversions. Mad with jealousy, they rounded up a bunch of brawlers off the streets and soon had an ugly mob terrorizing the city as they hunted down Paul and Silas.
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Donna Williams
Supporter
According to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Areopagus, aka "Mars Hill" by the Romans, was the site that the Apostle Paul preached to the Greeks in Athens about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It literally means Hill of Ares, a Greek god. An Areopagite was a member of the highly respected Greek council that met on the hill. In Acts 17:18, the men who brought Paul to the hill were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The people of Athens and foreigners were idolaters, who were always looking to tell or to hear some new thing according to verse 21.
michael hillyard
Supporter
The Council of Areopagus was a group of 100. This consisted of philosophers, scholars and former government officials. Their mission was to have jurisdiction over trials such as homicides,woundings and poisonings. The council also excersized surveillance into religious matters. Areopagus also became known as "Mars Hill" by the Romans.
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