Was It the Will of God or Not, for Paul to Return to Jerusalem Considering All the Prophecies Along the Way That He Should Not?
1) Direct Answer
Yes. It was God’s will for Paul to go to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit bound him to that path; the prophecies along the way warned of suffering, but did not forbid the journey.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Acts 20:22–24: “I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem… the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me… that I might finish my course.” The Spirit bound him; the Spirit also warned him what awaited.
- Acts 21:11–14: Agabus prophesied Paul would be bound. The saints wept and begged him not to go; Paul answered, “I am ready… to die at Jerusalem.” Then they yielded: “The will of the Lord be done.” The prophecy revealed what would happen; the pleading was their human response.
- Acts 23:11: After Paul was arrested, “the Lord stood by him” and said, “as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.” God confirmed Paul was on the appointed road.
- Acts 19:21: Paul had already “purposed in the spirit” to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome.
- Acts 9:15–16: From the start God told Paul he was a chosen vessel and “I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Suffering was part of the commission.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- The Holy Spirit does not contradict Himself. He cannot bind Paul to go (Acts 20:22) and at the same time forbid him to go. So what were those “don’t go” appeals? The Spirit revealed the danger; loving believers, feeling the weight of that revelation, urged Paul not to go. The warning was divine; the prohibition was human.
- If Paul had stepped outside God’s will, would the Lord have stood by him in the prison and commissioned him on to Rome (Acts 23:11)? No. God’s approval there shows Paul was walking in the path appointed.
- This follows the pattern of Jesus: He set His face to go to Jerusalem knowing suffering awaited (Luke 9:51; 18:31–33). When Peter tried to turn Him aside out of love, the Lord rebuked it (Matthew 16:21–23). Human love often tries to spare God’s servant from a cross that God has already willed as the very road to fruitfulness.
- You see, prophecy often prepares the heart for trials, not to divert the obedient servant from God’s plan.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, the Spirit’s warnings steeled Paul, the brethren’s tears tested him, and the Lord’s visitation in custody sealed him. Therefore, Paul’s journey to Jerusalem was in the will of God.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-79
Now God says they are naked as well as blind. I cannot imagine anything as tragic as a man who is blind and naked and does not know it. There is only one answer--he is out of his mind. He is already deep in oblivion. His faculties are gone, spiritual amnesia has set in. What else can it mean? Can it mean that the Holy Spirit has taken His leave of this last day church? Can it mean that men have put God out of their minds to such an extent that it is happening even as stated in Romans 1:28. "And even as they did not...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-49
The Baptists have their creeds and dogmas based on the Word and you can't shake them. They say the apostolic days of miracles are over and there is no Baptism with the Holy Ghost, subsequent to believing. The Methodists say (based on the Word) there is no water baptism (sprinkling is not baptism) and that sanctification is the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. The Church of Christ majors in regenerational baptism and in all too many cases they go down dry sinners and come up wet ones. Yet they claim their doctrine is Wo...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-122
But thank God, at this moment, this age is not over. He is yet crying. And His cry is not only in the spiritual ears of men by His Spirit, but once again a prophet is in the land. Once more God will reveal the truth as He did to Paul. In the days of the seventh messenger, in the days of the Laodicean Age, its messenger will reveal the mysteries of God as revealed to Paul. He will speak out, and those who receive that prophet in his own name will receive the beneficent effect of that prophet's ministry. And they tha...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-29
The second thought that must be impressed on our hearts is that the seven church ages started out with the antichrist spirit as well as the Holy Spirit Who is to be blessed forever. I John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." Did you notice it? The antichrist spirit is identified with false prophets. The ages came in with false prophets and they will go out with false prophets. Now of course there is going to...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-48
We are going to look at this carefully. It says that this Laodicean church age group is lukewarm. This lukewarmness demands a penalty from God. The penalty is that they will be spued out of His mouth. Here is where we don't want to go astray as a lot of folks do. They very unwisely say that God can spue you out of His mouth and that proves that there is no such thing as any truth to the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints. I want to correct your thinking right now. This verse is not given to an individual. I...