Paul's Third Missionary Journey
Acts chapters 20 and 21 describes the a portion of Paul's Third Missionary Journey, providing a detailed timeline of his travel between the dates of Passover and Pentecost. This timeline provides evidence regarding what type of calendar Paul was observing at the time. If it can be shown that the journey had to take more than the allotted time of fifty days between the Wave Sheaf Offering and Pentecost, then this would support the theory that Paul was observing Lunar Sabbaths and reckoning the date of Pentecost via the Lunar Sabbath Pentecost calendar.
Introduction
The timeline described below is one of many interpretations of the exact timeline of Paul's journey. This is because not all of the details regarding his journey are documented, and so some assumptions have been made. In all cases, conservative assumptions have been made.
The starting point for the journey is based on a Rabbinic Pentecost, which is the most conservative option. A Sunday Pentecost calendar would provide more days between Passover and Pentecost.
Departure from Philippi
Paul begins his Third Missionary Journey when he departs from Philippi by sea. Acts 20:6 does not provide us with the exact day that he departed, only that he departed “...after the Days of Unleavened Bread”. However, it does specify in this verse that he traveled for five days from Philippi to Troas, and then stayed in Troas for seven days. Then, in Acts 20:7 it says that Paul departed Troas on the second day of the week. Counting backwards from the second day of the week, it can be calculated that Paul arrived in Troas on Sunday, and therefore must have left Philippi on the previous Wednesday. This would have been Day 7 of the Counting of the Omer, with the previous Thursday being Day 1.
It is important to note here that inclusive counting should be used when calculating the days cited in Acts 20. Americans typically use exclusive counting when referring to days, but Semitic cultures use inclusive counting. So when the Scriptures document that Paul stayed somewhere for seven days, or traveled for five days, the count includes the current day as the first day. In this case, Paul traveled for five days by leaving on a Wednesday and arriving on the following Sunday.
The distance from Philippi to Troas is 140 miles. It's not clear why the voyage took five days to travel only 140 miles. It could be that it was a smaller ship that was not able to travel very quickly, or a ship that made frequent small stops along the way, or both.
| - | Wednesday | First Day of Unleavened Bread | |
| Omer Day 1 | Thursday | Wave Sheaf Offering | |
| Omer Day 2 | Friday | ||
| Omer Day 3 | Saturday | ||
| Omer Day 4 | Sunday | ||
| Omer Day 5 | Monday | ||
| Omer Day 6 | Tuesday | Last Day of Unleavened Bread | |
| Omer Day 7 | Wednesday | Acts 20:6 | Sails from Phillipi |
| Omer Day 8 | Thursday | Sailing Day 2 | |
| Omer Day 9 | Friday | Sailing Day 3 | |
| Omer Day 10 | Saturday | Sailing Day 4 | |
| Omer Day 11 | Sunday | Acts 20:6 | Arrives in Troas in five days, stays seven days |
| Omer Day 12 | Monday | Troas Day 2 | |
| Omer Day 13 | Tuesday | Troas Day 3 | |
| Omer Day 14 | Wednesday | Troas Day 4 | |
| Omer Day 15 | Thursday | Troas Day 5 | |
| Omer Day 16 | Friday | Troas Day 6 | |
| Omer Day 17 | Saturday | Acts 20:7 | Troas Day 7 (Eutychus falls out the window this evening) |
| Omer Day 18 | Sunday | Acts 20:13 | Paul walks to Assos, others sail there to meet him |
| Acts 20:14 | Paul sails from Assos to Mitylene |
From Troas to Miletus
Paul stays seven days in Troas and then begins his journey to Patara.
Paul walks from Troas to Assos (Acts 20:13), a distance of twenty miles. Assuming a walking speed of 3 mph, this would have taken him six hours.
From Assos he boarded the ship and sailed the rest of that day to Mitylene (Acts 20:14). This trip would have been only forty miles by ship. They then departed that day to travel to Miletus.
The day after departure they passed Chios (Acts 20:15), which was seventy miles from Mitylene. The day after that they arrived at Samos (another seventy miles distance) and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day they arrived at Miletus, a fifty mile trip by sea.
| Omer Day 9 | Friday | Sailing Day 3 | |
| Omer Day 10 | Saturday | Sailing Day 4 | |
| Omer Day 11 | Sunday | Acts 20:6 | Arrives in Troas in five days, stays seven days |
| Omer Day 12 | Monday | Troas Day 2 | |
| Omer Day 13 | Tuesday | Troas Day 3 | |
| Omer Day 14 | Wednesday | Troas Day 4 | |
| Omer Day 15 | Thursday | Troas Day 5 | |
| Omer Day 16 | Friday | Troas Day 6 | |
| Omer Day 17 | Saturday | Acts 20:7 | Troas Day 7 (Eutychus falls out the window this evening) |
| Omer Day 18 | Sunday | Acts 20:13 | Paul walks to Assos, others sail there to meet him |
| Acts 20:14 | Paul sails from Assos to Mitylene | ||
| Acts 20:15 | Departs from Mitylene | ||
| Omer Day 19 | Monday | Acts 20:15 | Sails past Chios |
| Omer Day 20 | Tuesday | Acts 20:15 | Arrives at Samos, stays at Trogyllium |
| Omer Day 21 | Wednesday | Acts 20:15 | Arrives at Miletus |
Meeting with the Elders from Ephesus at Miletus
Upon arrival in Miletus, Paul sent for the Elders in Ephesus, which was a sixty-three mile journey by land.
Ferrell's Travel blog states:
From Miletus, on the first visit, Paul sent for the elders of the church at Ephesus. In those days it would be a lengthy journey for a messenger to go from Miletus to Ephesus. The distance by land would have been about 63 miles. If the couriers went across the Gulf of Latmos (Latmus) the distance would be about 38 miles.[1]
A conservative estimate would be that it took the messenger three days to walk to Ephesus (a total of twenty-one hours walking at 3 mph), and then three days for the elders to walk to Miletus. According to our timeline, if the messenger did not arrive in Ephesus until Friday, then that would also mean a one day delay for the Elders to begin traveling to Paul after the Sabbath. Paul then spoke to the Elders, prayed with them and walked to the ship with them. So we will include seven days here as the total time that Paul stayed in Miletus.
| Omer Day 19 | Monday | Acts 20:15 | Sails past Chios |
| Omer Day 20 | Tuesday | Acts 20:15 | Arrives at Samos, stays at Trogyllium |
| Omer Day 21 | Wednesday | Acts 20:15 | Arrives at Miletus |
| Acts 20:17 | Calls for the elders | ||
| Omer Day 22 | Thursday | ||
| Omer Day 23 | Friday | Messenger arrives at Ephesus | |
| Omer Day 24 | Saturday | Sabbath | |
| Omer Day 25 | Sunday | Acts 20:18 | Elders depart for Miletus |
| Omer Day 26 | Monday | ||
| Omer Day 27 | Tuesday | Elders arrive | |
| Acts 20:38 | Elders accompany Paul to the ship |
From Miletus to Patara
After leaving Miletus, the ship passed Cos and then the next day passed Rhodes. Cos is forty miles from Miletus, and Rhodes is another eighty-five miles. From Rhodes they sailed to Patara, which is seventy miles from Rhodes. Given that they have now been traveling on this ship at the rate of about seventy to eighty-five miles a day, it should be safe to assume that they took one day to travel from Rhodes to Patara.
| Omer Day 27 | Tuesday | Elders arrive | |
| Acts 20:38 | Elders accompany Paul to the ship | ||
| Acts 21:1 | Departs from Miletus | ||
| Acts 21:1 | Passes Cos | ||
| Omer Day 28 | Wednesday | Acts 21:1 | Passes Rhodes |
| Omer Day 29 | Thursday | Acts 21:1 | Arrives at Patara |
Travel from Patara to Tyre
Once in Patara, they board a different ship headed for Phonecia. This was a much larger ship than the one that they were sailing before. Instead of traveling along the coastline, this ship would sail straight across the Mediterranean Sea past the island of Cyprus to Tyre. It's also noted in Acts 21 verses 3 and 4 that the ship was so large that it took seven days for the ship's cargo to be unloaded in Tyre. A ship of this size during this time period was capable of traveling at the speed of four to six knots, and would have completed the journey from Patara to Tyre in three to four days. We will assume four days for travel, and then count the seven days to unload the cargo.
| Omer Day 29 | Thursday | Acts 21:1 | Arrives at Patara |
| Acts 21:2 | Boards a ship to Phonecia (4 day journey) | ||
| Omer Day 30 | Friday | ||
| Omer Day 31 | Saturday | Acts 21:3 | Passed Cyprus |
| Omer Day 32 | Sunday | ||
| Omer Day 33 | Monday | Acts 21:3 | Landed in Tyre |
| Acts 21:4 | Stays in Tyre for seven days | ||
| Omer Day 34 | Tuesday | Day 2 | |
| Omer Day 35 | Wednesday | Day 3 | |
| Omer Day 36 | Thursday | Day 4 | |
| Omer Day 37 | Friday | Day 5 | |
| Omer Day 38 | Saturday | Day 6 | |
| Omer Day 39 | Sunday | Day 7 | |
| Omer Day 40 | Monday | Acts 21:6 | Departs Tyre for Ptolemais |
Travel from Tyre to Caeserea
After the seven days' stay in Tyre, they traveled twenty-five miles to Ptolemais and stayed there one day. The next day the group departed and walked to Caesarea, a distance of thirty miles. After this they stayed “many days”.
| Omer Day 40 | Monday | Acts 21:6 | Departs Tyre for Ptolemais |
| Acts 21:7 | Stays in Ptolemais for one day | ||
| Omer Day 41 | Tuesday | Acts 21:8 | Departed next day and arrived in Caesarea |
| Omer Day 42 | Wednesday | Acts 21:10 | Stayed “many days” |
Travel from Caeserea to Jerusalem
At this point in the journey, Paul and his companions have reached Caeserea on Day 41 of the Counting of the Omer. The remaining journey to Jerusalem is only 65 miles, which could be accomplished in two days. This leaves six days for them to spend “many days” in Caesarea before leaving for Jerusalem and arriving before Pentecost.
| Omer Day 42 | Wednesday | Acts 21:10 | Stayed “many days” |
| Omer Day 43 | Thursday | ||
| Omer Day 44 | Friday | ||
| Omer Day 45 | Saturday | ||
| Omer Day 46 | Sunday | ||
| Omer Day 47 | Monday | ||
| Omer Day 48 | Tuesday | Acts 21:15 | Packed and went up to Jerusalem |
| Omer Day 49 | Wednesday | Arrived in Jerusalem | |
| Omer Day 50 | Thursday | Pentecost |
Conclusions
From this timeline example, it should be clear that it was indeed possible for Paul to journey from Phillipi to Jerusalem within the fifty days between the Wave Sheaf Offering and Pentecost. It therefore cannot be used as evidence that the Lunar Sabbath Pentecost timing is correct.
Additionally, there is evidence found in Acts that supports the theory that Paul was counting only fifty days to Pentecost. Acts 20:16 states that Paul cut part of his journey short and did not visit Ephesus, “for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost”. If it were true that Paul had seven weeks plus fifty days to complete his journey, there would have been plenty of time for him to stop at Ephesus. Instead, it says that he hurried past Ephesus and sailed to Miletus. This makes it even more likely that Paul was not observing Lunar Sabbaths.
Common Objections
Objection #1: Paul's Purification
It says in Acts 21 that Paul undertook purification for seven days. Your timeline doesn't provide enough time for him to arrive in Jerusalem, meet with the Elders, and then be purified before Pentecost.
It's true that Paul met with the Elders upon arriving in Jerusalem, and that he undertook a vow of purification with four other men. However we need to examine the context surrounding this event.
First, it's clear that Paul was not planning on undergoing a purification when he arrived in Jerusalem. It was only when he met with the Elders that they asked him to do it(Acts 21:24). Therefore we should not assume that Paul arrived early enough in Jerusalem to be purified for seven days before Pentecost.
Second, the intention of the purification ritual was not to be purified in time for Pentecost, but to demonstrate "that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law". The purification vow described in Acts 21 was a Nazarite Vow. This is the only vow in Torah that requires shaving one's head [2]. By appearing before the congregation at the temple on or around the time of Pentecost, and announcing the date upon which their purification would be complete (Acts 21:26), Paul fulfilled the request of the Elders by demonstrating to the assembly that he was indeed following the Law.
Objection #2: The Jews from Asia
Near the end of Paul's purification, he was confronted by the Jews from Asia in the temple (Acts 21:27). This must have been at the time of Pentecost for those Jews to have been present at the Temple. This proves that Paul must have arrived in Jerusalem at least seven days beforehand, which makes your timeline impossible!
Although it's likely that this group of Jews from Asia traveled to the temple specifically for Pentecost, it's not unlikely that they remained in Jerusalem for an additional seven days. After all, the journey from Asia to Jerusalem is not a short one, and it is difficult to presume that everyone traveling to Jerusalem for Pentecost turned around and left immediately afterwards. There's no evidence in the text which would indicate whether the timing of this event was during or the week after Pentecost.
Sample Timeline Calendar
See Also
References
- ↑ Ferrell's Travel Blog, Paul Stopped at Miletus
- ↑ Num 6:18, Acts 21:24
