Verse 9
9. A vision The Greek word does not indicate a dream, nor imply sleep, although these might be suggested by the phrase in the night.
A man of Macedonia Macedonia is the Greek province on the European shore opposite Troas. It was the realm of Philip of Macedon, the subduer, in spite of eloquent Demosthenes, of classic Greece, and the father of Alexander the Great, conqueror of Asia. It was by crossing this same Hellespont that Alexander went upon his career of Asiatic conquest.
This man in Paul’s night vision is the impersonation, or the representative angel, of this same conquering European Macedon. Grotius holds him to have been the angel of that nation, like the “prince of the kingdom of Persia,” and the “Michael” of Israel in Daniel 10:13. Whether a real objective being or not, he is representative not so much of pagan Macedonia itself, as of the invisible Church of pagan Macedonia; that is, of the human souls in Europe’s moral twilight longing and struggling for the true light. (See our work on The Will, pp. 347-355.) Truly did such souls unconsciously call for Help! So Heber, in his beautiful missionary hymn, represents the cry of those who
“ Call us to deliver
Their land from error’s chain.”
Perhaps, indeed, this man is the Lord Jesus himself, identifying himself with the sighing sons of Macedon, longing to know the true way of salvation, (Acts 16:17,) and likely to embrace it when presented, as at Saul’s first call he identified himself with his persecuted saints; and now he completes the call then commenced of this same Paul to the Gentile mission.
Come over Literally, crossing over, help us.
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