It is interesting to note that five centuries earlier, Socrates, had been sentenced to death at the Areopagus, because he spoke out against the gods.ⁱⁱ The “Hill of Ares” was nothing less than the “high court” of appeals for capital crime in Athens. And here is an eye-opening historical side-note: “The Council of Areopagus is revealed as an institution where consensus could be reached on important strategic political issues, in particular when secrecy was necessary”.ⁱⁱⁱ

In fact, during the very early phase of Greek democracy, the powerful politician and military general, Themistocles (524-459 BC), cunningly exploited the influence and secrecy of the Council to win the consensus of the Athenian Assembly, the equivalent of which is, “Congress” or “Parliament” in modern terms. He confided his plans to the Council, which, in turn, influenced the Assembly to give the “green light” to one of his ambitious navy agendas without the need to actually disclose them. Through this mechanism, and under the cloak of democracy, General Themistocles, who was at times a leading member of the Council himself, thus received authority “to do whatever he wished”3. In this sense, the Areopagus functioned as an agency to preserve government secrecy, and at the same time, to manipulate the democratic chamber. Please bear this in mind, as this will help you understand an important detail set forth later in this article.

Whether openly or as part of a hidden agenda, it appears that the philosophers and government officials of the day feared that Paul was teaching heresy against the gods, like Socrates of old. Hence, they dragged him into the Areopagus in order to examine what he was saying. Paul was on trial! No defense attorney in sight other than the Holy Spirit Himself (Luke 12:11-12).

Testifying Before the Intellectual Elite

Now it was time for Paul’s one hundred second long testimony. With a “tact born of divine love” (AA 241), Paul recognized that in this city of heathendom some people were still longing and looking for truth and thus dedicated at least one shrine to the Unknown God. In a stark contrast to Socrates, Paul did not run down the Greek pantheon of gods; instead, he lifted up the God of the Hebrews:

[The Greek philosophers] soon saw that he had a store of knowledge even greater than their own. His intellectual power commanded the respect of the learned; while his earnest, logical reasoning and the power of his oratory held the attention of all in the audience. His hearers recognized the fact that he was no novice, but was able to meet all classes with convincing arguments in support of the doctrines he taught. Thus the apostle stood undaunted, meeting his opposers on their own ground, matching logic with logic, philosophy with philosophy, eloquence with eloquence (AA, 235).

Whether this positive impression on the side of the audience arose during the sermon or in a follow-up discussion after Paul’s sermon, we don’t know for sure. While studying Paul’s words, please turn to the Book of Revelation and cross-compare the following verses side by side:

Acts 17:24-25: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things…”

Revelation 14:7b: “…worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

Acts 17:26: “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation…”

Revelation 14:6: “…preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people…”

Acts 17: 29-30: “ Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent…”

Revelation 14:7a: “Fear God and give glory to Him”

Acts 17:31: “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Revelation 14:7b: “for the hour of his judgment is come”

Do you see it? Paul preached an early version of the First Angel’s Message to the secular and spiritual crème de la crème of ancient Athens.

It was God’s plan that Paul was brought to the Areopagus, the Supreme Court of Athens. The learned people of Greece were eager to hear something new, so the most influential philosophers of the time urged him to deliver a testimony of his faith. Athenians knew that there was the council of nine; and above the council of nine, there was the high council of Athens, the Areopagus. Within this setting of judicial authority, Paul now turned the tables on them, returned the charge and proclaimed that there was an even higher court case with the Ultimate Supreme Justice presiding. In this universal court case, all mankind was (and is) on trial for the capital crime of sin: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a).

We all will face capital punishment, unless we accept the pardon offered by the Heavenly justice system: “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). God used the Areopagus as a symbolical setting for justice. Paul’s sermon was delivered within the context of justice and judgment to demand the respect of the haughty intellectuals of Athens. What was the response of the people?

And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them (Acts 17:32-34).

Paul wrote later from Ephesus to the Corinthians:

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent (1 Corinthians 1:18.19).

It should not surprise us that there were three groups. There were the mockers, and this was probably the largest portion. There were also those interested in hearing more. And there was a group of people, likely only a few, who accepted the truth right away and made an instant decision.

Paul’s Judge Becomes His Convert

…an eminent man, “Dionysius the Areopagite,” one of that high court or great council that sat in Areopagus, or Mars’ Hill-a judge, a senator, one of those before whom Paul was summoned to appear; his judge becomes his convert. The account which the ancients give of this Dionysius is that he was bred at Athens, had studied astrology in Egypt, where he took notice of the miraculous eclipse at our Saviour’s passion,—that, returning to Athens, he became a senator, disputed with Paul, and was by him converted from his error and idolatry; and, being by him thoroughly instructed, was made the first bishop of Athens… The “woman named Damaris” was, as some think, the wife of Dionysius; but, rather, some other person of quality; and, though there was not so great a harvest gathered in at Athens as there was at other places, yet, these few being wrought upon there, Paul had no reason to say he had “laboured in vain.”

Dionysius was one of the judges of the Athenian high court, and Damaris was most likely his wife. One can assume that, as an Egyptian astrologer, he was very familiar with the Egyptian sun gods and the mysteries of the Egyptian Abydos triad Isis, Horus and Osiris (or “Isis, Horus and Seb”, since Seb was just the dark side of Osiris), in particular. The sun and the moon were namely regarded as the eyes of the great falcon god Horus “from very early times in Egypt”. ^v Indeed, Dionysius’ very own name was the Greek name for “Osiris”.^vi Dionysius’ perspective becomes even clearer if we consider that “Osiris…was the Judge of the Divine Court and presided over the judgement of the dead”, and that this “Osiris was a human who died and was resurrected as a god.” ^vii

Can you see that Paul’s words provided the missing puzzle piece in Dionysius’ search for the ultimate truth? Judgment and resurrection were already central themes in Dionysius’ system of star divination. Thanks to Paul’s clear and concise message, this Athenian senator and high court judge found the true Judge who had been previously unknown to him. This may explain his instant conversion. Osiris was the distant “all-seeing eye” in Dionysius’ religion. In contrast, the omniscient Creator is the God who is with us and “not far from every one of us”. As opposed to Osiris, the resurrected falcon god, the Judge Jesus Christ is the resurrected Son of Man; He walked here on earth right among us, and He will be presiding over the judgment of the dead and the living (2 Timothy 4:1).

While the Athenians had an altar reserved for the “Unknown God”, Judge Dionysius surely had a place reserved in his heart for this “Unknown God”. His role as an attorney presiding over a court of law, reveals that he had a desire to contribute to justice; howbeit, Satan had pointed him to a counterfeit role model, the falcon god judge. The true character of the “The Unknown God” had been hidden from him, until Paul’s message of the merciful Creator filled the gap. He was now able to serve the true Judge.

There is one aspect of the cross that has not been widely discussed. When Jesus died on the cross, this also meant the ultimate defeat of the occult forces called upon by sun and star worship. Lucifer had been using sun worship and triads of idol gods since the time of Nimrod as a system of counterfeit. While Jesus Christ, the Creator of the universe, gained ultimate victory on the cross, the sun was darkened (Matthew 27:45) for hours. This could have been understood as a signal to pagan sun worshippers that God, who had always been above creation, exercised power over the sun. Similar to the defeat of the Philistine fish and sun god Dagon, who had to fall and break before the Ark (1 Samuel 5:4), the sun gods fell and broke before the ultimate Power, Justice, Mercy and Truth of the universe. Symbolically, the illuminating force of “the eyes” of Horus was suspended while Christ assured the fall of Lucifer’s plethora of unholy sun trinities throughout all ages and cultures.

Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and triggered by Paul’s piercing words proclaiming the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2), Dionysius must have recalled the mysterious event of the darkened sun as a visualization of the message that sun worship was fallen (Revelation 14:8). It was time for him to come out of the counterfeit system (Revelation 18:4).

The Honorable High Court Justice Dionysius Areopagita, as we would address him in our times, turned from an elected government official to a humble leader of God’s church at Athens. Tradition holds that he suffered the death of a martyr. Formerly an agent of Satan’s occult sun and star worship system, Dionysius not only sacrificed his high position, his wealth and power; he finally laid down his earthly life on the altar of the formerly Unknown God in the firm anticipation of the eternal life to come. What a beautiful and strong testimony of the transforming grace of God!

Let us look at another interesting parallel. We read that “astronomical allegory derived from Egypt” and “the sun’s progress through the first seven signs of the zodiac” played an important role with initiation rituals of secret societies of the late 19th century ^viii and perhaps still play a role today. It is interesting that such initiation of the Kadosh (meaning “elect”, or “holy”) candidate was, and likely still is, carried out in a sequence of four apartments. The third one, a chamber hung with blue below a starspangled vaulted ceiling, was called the “areopagus”. Here, the candidate was solemnly urged “sincerity of his intentions and promise of secrecy” by a priest representing a hierophant, a chief of the Eleusinian cult, the best-known of the mystery religions of ancient Greece.^ix Subsequently, the candidate entered the fourth and last apartment, hung with red, the “senate” chapter.

The Areopagus-a vault of intimidation and secrecy! Is this mere coincidence? Or did the magistrates and the high court of ancient Athens contribute as archetypes to the shape of secret societies many centuries later? And if we think about General Themistocles’ agenda to preserve government secrecy while manipulating the democratic chamber, does that mean that many important political decisions are pressed for in the “Areopagus” vaults of the world and then “sold” to the public as democracy? The fact is, there is nothing new under the sun.

In any case, it would seem that the Prince of Darkness did not particularly like the highly visible conversion of fraternity fellow Dionysius Areopagita. Satan thus raised a counterfeit character, the so-called “pseudo-Dionysius”, ^x who advanced Neo-Platonism and mysticism in the name of Christianity. The writings of this pseudo-Dionysius had enormous influence in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Clearly, Lucifer tried hard to obscure the success story of the genuine Dionysius in the times of Paul.

Treasure of Knowledge for the Church

Scripture reveals that, along with Judge Dionysius and his wife, there were other converts from the ranks of Athens’ citizens. If we recognize this story in Athens as typological for the Christian church in the end-time, then the person of Paul becomes a type for a small group of end-time believers who become the remnant church (Revelation 12:17), and his oration given to the council of the Areopagus becomes a “treasure of knowledge for the church” of the last days (AA241). Consider the typology. After arriving in Athens, Paul was isolated, lonely and distressed. Such will be the remnant church which will be isolated from other churches and will face persecution. Paul was summoned by Greek proponents of individualism, materialism, sun-worship and mysticism to testify for his faith. The remnant church will also be brought before worldly councils to testify for Christ.

Some argue that contemporary secularism is a new phenomenon, but is it really? Paul proclaimed at least the First Angel’s Message (Revelation 14:6-7) to materialists and mysticists sitting side-by-side. Of course, there were those who ridiculed him. But there were also some who “clave unto” Paul, wanting to hear more. (See Acts 17:34.) And there was a small group of instant converts. Similarly, the end-time Christian church will face ridicule, will meet those who’d like to hear more, but will also witness instantaneous conversions.

Like the small group of converts in Athens in Paul’s day, there are many today who are deceived by Satan, but who are genuinely interested in worshipping the Creator and righteous Judge and having Him declared unto themselves, among them, secular atheists, materialists, mystics, astrologers, members of Catholic and Protestant churches alike.

Did Paul talk about the power of God? Yes, he did. Paul introduced the Creator, who made the heavens and earth. He also revealed that God demonstrated His power in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. But did he proclaim the justice of God? Absolutely! Paul solemnly conveyed that a time of judgment has been appointed. Did Paul preach the mercy of God? Very much so. In a tactful and inclusive manner, Paul declared that we are all children of Abba, the loving Father, and that God wants us to repent so that He can be very close to all of us. Did he call out the preeminence of truth? Certainly. Paul sternly admonished that God expects to be worshiped in spirit and truth which excludes the reverence of man-made idols, precious metals and stones.

Paul was a bright scholar; likewise, God expects the end-time church to accumulate and distribute a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. But Paul could not win a single convert through daily debate and arguing (Acts 17:17). Paul did not roll out a fancy evangelism campaign to win the sophisticated citizens of Athens for Christ. It was the simple, solemn and concise message on God’s character that ensured that Paul did not labor in vain.

In Part I, I said “If the message is the rocket, it still needs a propellant to take off.” Let’s find out what propelled the message at Athens. The true rocket fuel in Paul’s sermon before the prestigious council of the Areopagus was not his education, nor his eloquence. What was it then? Ellen G. White provides the answer:

Today the truths of Scripture are to be brought before the great men of the world in order that they may choose between obedience to God’s law and allegiance to the prince of evil. […] Many of the greatest scholars and statesmen, the world’s most eminent men, will in these last days turn from the light because the world by wisdom knows not God. Yet God’s servants are to improve every opportunity to communicate the truth to these men. Some will acknowledge their ignorance of the things of God and will take their place as humble learners at the feet of Jesus, the Master Teacher. In every effort to reach the higher classes, the worker for God needs strong faith. (AA, 241-242, emphasis supplied.)

It was Paul’s faith, and the faith of the praying believers who accompanied him, that gave power to Paul’s message to the learned people of Athens. Paul knew that he was powerless to accomplish God’s work, but he had strong faith that God would complete His will for the Athenians. May God the Father give you strong faith. May the Lord Jesus Christ guide you and help you to become a communicator of truth, and may the Holy Ghost enable you to utilize the precious talents that have been entrusted to you to further the closing work of salvation.

Michael E Fassbender, Ph.D., is a nuclear scientist. Originally from Germany, he spent a three-year stint in South Africa. He now works for the U.S. Government and lives with his wife and two daughters in New Mexico, USA. Michael and his wife are members of the Texico Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.