Following the conversion of the Samaritans, another important event occurred — the conversion to Christ of an Ethiopian nobleman, who is believed to have been a proselyte of the gate, that is, a pagan who had accepted Judaism, but had not yet been circumcised.

The angel of the Lord commanded Philip to go at noon, that is, to the south, to the road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. Gaza is one of the oldest major five cities of the Philistines, located southwest of Jerusalem, near the Mediterranean Sea. Having fulfilled the command of the Angel, Philip met on the road a man riding in a chariot, whom the writer of Acts identifies by three traits: he was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, and a nobleman of the queen. The fact that he read the book of the prophet Isaiah does not give the right to assume his Jewish origin, since he could have read this book in the Greek translation of 70 interpreters, which is also confirmed by the peculiarities of the text given in verses 32-33. The word "eunuch" means the eunuch proper. Such were the caretakers of the royal harems in the East; Eunuchs were often taken to the highest state posts, which is why noble nobles and non-eunuchs were often also called eunuchs. According to the law of Moses, a eunuch from the Gentiles could not be received into the society of Jehovah, but he could be a proselyte of the second degree, a proselyte of the gate. Such, probably, was this nobleman, who held a high position under the queen, as the guardian of all her treasures, and therefore, according to Eastern customs, was undoubtedly an eunuch. Ethiopia at that time was the name of the country lying south of Egypt, where Abyssinia and Nubia are now located. This country was ruled by women, and just as in neighboring Egypt all kings were called pharaohs, so in Ethiopia all queens were called Candaces. The population of this country belonged to the Semitic race and spoke a language close to ancient Arabic, but it was pagan. These were the Kushites often mentioned in the Old Testament.

Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Philip approached the eunuch's chariot and, hearing that he was reading aloud the book of the prophet Isaiah, asked if he understood what he was reading. With humility and childlike simplicity, the nobleman confessed that he did not understand what he was reading and asked Philip for an explanation. Taking advantage of the fact that the eunuch had read the passage about the sufferings of the Messiah from the 53rd chapter of the prophet Isaiah, Philip began to preach the gospel to him about Christ, and so successfully that when they arrived at the spring, as it is believed to be between Eleutheropolis and Gaza, the eunuch wished to be baptized. The evangelist demands only one thing from him – faith with all his heart, and when he confessed Jesus Christ as the Son of God, he baptized him.

It pleased the Lord to testify both to the baptized man that he had indeed received the salvation of God, and to the baptizer that what he had done in accordance with the will of God was accomplished by two miraculous events: the Holy Spirit descended without any intermediary upon the eunuch, as afterwards on the pagan Cornelius, and the angel of the Lord raptured Philip, so that the eunuch no longer saw him, but continued his journey alone, rejoicing, while Philip found himself in Azotus, a city lying 50 versts north of Gaza, where he preached the gospel, going north, until he came to Caesarea.

Caesarea was apparently his permanent residence: it was a large city near the Mediterranean Sea, 100 versts northwest of Jerusalem, which was the seat of the Roman procurators of Judea. Until the time of Herod the Great, there was a castle of the Stratons. Herod built a city here, naming it Caesarea in honor of Caesar Octavius Augustus. This Caesarea was called Straton, in contrast to Caesarea Philippi, built by Philip at the foot of Mount Lebanon on the site of the city formerly called Panea. Caesarea Straton is often spoken of in the Writer.

Church tradition has preserved for us information about the further fate of the eunuch. His name was Indikh; upon his return to his own country, he was there the first preacher of the Gospel, and converted many to Christ, including his mistress the queen, by baptizing her.

Chapter Nine

Saul's conversion to Christ on the road to Damascus, his baptism and preaching in Damascus (verses 1-25). His flight and sojourn in Jerusalem (vv. 26-30). The Holy Apostle Peter in Lydda and his healing of Aeneas (v. 31-35). The sojourn of the holy Apostle Peter in Joppa and his resurrection of Tabitha (v. 36-43).

The Conversion of the Persecutor Saul

(9:1-25)

The spread of Christianity in Samaria and the conversion to Christ of the proselyte eunuch marked the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel beyond the boundaries of pure Judaism. Soon, by God's providence, there was to be an even greater expansion of the scope of the Gospel preaching by transferring it to the pagan world. For this purpose, the Lord chooses a useful vessel for Himself in the person of His worst enemy Saul, who becomes the great Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul.

This is the same Saul who took an active part in the murder of the first martyr Archdeacon Stephen and the great persecution of the Church in Jerusalem that began after that (Acts 8:1-3) [48]. Not content with Jerusalem, he decided to take his vicious persecution of Christians beyond the capital of the Jewish world. He begged the high priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus in order to obtain authority there to persecute Christians. Saul's state of mind was such that, for human reasons, it excluded any possibility of any change in him.

With this mood he went to Damascus, the ancient main city of Syria, located 200 versts northeast of Jerusalem. Since the time of the Seleucids, a lot of Jews lived in it, so Nero could have killed up to 10 there. 000 of them, according to the testimony of Josephus. The Jerusalem Sanhedrin considered all Jews in all countries of the world to be subject to its judicial authority in matters of faith, and therefore Saul, having letters from the high priest, could bring Christians to Jerusalem to be brought before the Sanhedrin as blasphemers and apostates.

The grace of God, however, produced a decisive revolution in this malicious mood of Saul. As he was approaching Damascus, a light from heaven shone upon him, so bright and dazzling that it threw him to the ground by its surprise. The writer does not say directly that in the radiance of this light Saul saw the heavenly image of Jesus Christ Himself, but the further features of the narrative confirm this, and the Apostle Paul himself testifies in 1 Corinthians 9:1 [49] and 15:8 [50] that in the light that shone on him, he saw the Lord.