What Acts 17:24-28 Really Means
In the Bible, Paul visits Athens, according to scripture. In the Book of Acts beginning with verse 17:24 we find the following statements. And we're going to break it down into pieces since there is so much territory to cover in just this one verse.
The verse opens with this statement:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.
Right off the bat, Pauls tells the people in Athens multiple things of great importance. First of all, this "God" or Source, made the world and everything in it. And from what did he make it from? God stuff thats what. So everything ... is made out of God stuff. Everything. Secondly, Paul says that "God/Source is the Lord of Heaven and Earth." A Kingdom needs a King, so the king of this creation, is the Source of this creation. The "Lord" ... someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler. This word is rooted in it's ancient etymology as "Bread-Keeper." Remember that the word "Bethel-hem" means "House of Bread." All is symbolic.
"And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else."
Next ... "and He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything." Worship is not needed. We cannot do anything for God/Source, since God/Source provides all things TO US. He has no need of anything from us. In fact, the next line says "He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." Pretty clear to me. Source ... provides everything. Including life and existence. Our very breath ... the source of the energy we need to stay alive and operating in this beingness. We are the light of the world, Source provides the power and electricity running the whole show.
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands."
From ONE MAN it says. Well, what is a man? This word has it's roots in ancient Sanskrit and means "mankind/mind." So from one mind, or mankind, he made all the nations. The word "nations" means birth, tribe, descendants, species, and common ancestry. Again ... ALL mankind, to inhabit ALL the Earth (matter). And, decided who comes and goes between Spirit and Matter ... and when and where they come and go.
"God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."
Ask yourself "where did I come from?" and the answer has already been given. From God/Source. Where everything came from ... and remember ... all made out of God Stuff. The only materials found at the time Source expanded. He is not far, because he is INSIDE and IS all things. You, me, and the entire single organism of the universe.
And now ... this part: "For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own wise men have said, ‘We are his offspring.’"
Wow. How incredibly simple is this ... and yet we still fight over it. "For IN him (inside of him / Spirit consciousness), we live, and move, and have our being. We exists IN God as God made from God Stuff and are ONE thing ... GOD. We, as Jesus said (not just Jesus) are HIS OFFSPRING. The word "offspring" means descendants ... and generally younger or newer in age. We are DESCENDED from God. This word means to "dismount, to fall from, to come down from." This is our "fall" into matter from Spirit. Not some church story of sin and fruit. These are allegories. Not real events ... surface stories with deeper meanings.
So you see how much can be extracted from just one short paragraph of scripture when time is taken to find what the words means and how they were translated from their original languages? Question everything. Don't let someone else decide your spiritual fate. Do your research and let it speak to the God Stuff inside of you. You will know, rather than have to guess.
Just a thought ...
~Justin Taylor, ORDM., OCP., DM.
