The soldiers took drastic measures, but an angel spoke to Paul, and he encouraged and advised them along the way. He gained many followers, but those who opposed him started a riot and threatened his supporters, so the believers sent him on to Berea. He stayed with two named Aquila and Priscilla, who were tentmakers, like him. Paul's hostile attitude toward the latest and most virulent messianic movement of the time underwent radical change. But while Paul now knew the true identity and power of the one he had been persecuting, he had yet to learn Jesus’ grace and power to heal. Not a fun fact: Even though Paul argued that Christians didn’t need to be circumcised in Acts 15, he circumcised Timothy in the very next chapter “because of the Jews who lived in that area” (Acts 16:1–3). Thank you so much for the Interesting history of Paul and the guide God bless you. From there, Paul and Barnabas went to Psidion Antioch, a city in the mountains of Turkey. Over the last two millennia, countless books have been written about Paul and his teachings. He certainly wasn’t the only apostle to do so, but he is known as the “apostle to the Gentiles” because that’s who Jesus specifically called him to minister to (Acts 9:15), he and the other apostles agreed that was his role (Galatians 2:7), and that was undeniably the focus of his ministry. For example, in 2 Timothy (believed to have been written shortly before his death) he appears to reference a recent trip to Troas (2 Timothy 4:13), which would’ve been impossible if he’d already been imprisoned in Caesarea for more than two years before his house arrest in Rome. They got everyone riled up against Paul and Silas and managed to convince the local authorities to have them beaten and imprisoned. In his letter to the Corinthians, first-century church father Clement of Rome said Paul “had gone to the extremity of the west,” which at the time presumably meant Spain. Despite never witnessing Jesus’ ministry, Paul arguably contributed more to the growth of the Christian movement than any other apostle. There are a number of reasons for this. Paul and his companions suffered such extreme pressure during a particular situation in Asia they “despaired even of life.” Scholars aren’t sure what event Paul referred to in these verses, but it was a situation so dire Paul believed he and his companions might die. You may have heard something like “Saul the persecutor became Paul the persecuted.”. He laid the foundation for missions work that has continued around the world today, and through his life he modeled evangelism, discipleship, perseverance, and suffering—for the Christians who knew him, and for every believer today. Paul constantly wrote to Gentile Christians to tell them not to worry about circumcision (as you can imagine, uncircumcised adults were rightfully freaked out by the idea that they’d have to do this), and in Acts 15, the apostles met with Paul and Barnabas to officially settle the matter, because pockets of Jewish Christians were continuing to tell Gentiles to get circumcised. Paul’s identity used to be rooted in his Jewishness, but after his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus (more on that later) his identity as a Jew became secondary to his identity as a follower of Christ. It would take time for Paul’s reputation as a Christian preacher to outgrow his reputation as a persecutor of Christians. He made a sorcerer go temporarily blind (Acts 13:11). But he saw and heard “inexpressible things.” Pride would be the natural sinful response to an experience like this, but pride and conceit have no place in God’s servant. My fellow Christians we are to ensure other Christians to live up to our heavenly calling. The next day they left for Derbe, another Lycaonian city where they “won a large number of disciples” (Acts 14:21). If you like the style, you’re also welcome to connect with the artist (Liz Donovan) on dribble or via email. Acts records that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10). Paul was born in Tarsus—a prosperous city in the province of Cilicia—which granted him Roman citizenship. Then he made his way back to Jerusalem and Antioch, where his second journey ended. And indeed, without God’s miraculous intervention, they would have. Ephesians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus all have very different styles than Paul’s other letters. But then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and convinced this crowd to actually stone Paul. Many of the Jews in attendance grew angry and tried to stop them, but the Gentiles were receptive to their message.Paul and Barnabas ultimately left Psidion Antioch due to persecution, and traveled to another Turkish city called Iconium. Let’s begin! Silas and Timothy rejoined him here. Many of his writings are contained in the Canon of the Bible and have influenced the growth and development of the Church since the first century. But we can be pretty confident that it wasn’t Paul. Normally people are ecstatic when that happens, but the slave girl’s owners had been making money off of her because of the spirit, so they were pretty mad. Who Was Herod? Paul remained in Ephesus for more than two years, and during that time he transitioned from teaching in the synagogue to discussing the gospel in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He casted out a spirit that was annoying him (Acts 16:16-18). He was bit by a venomous snake and nothing happened to him (Acts 28:3-5). Having Caesar’s court and the Roman justice system as his captive audience might have been Paul’s play all along. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. Fun fact: “Asia” used to refer to a very specific region in part of what we know as Turkey today, but westerners began using the name to describe pretty much anything east of them, until they eventually used it for the whole continent. Nearly all the original materials for the life St. Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Some scholars argue there was a fourth missionary journey as well. Instead of taking away from their number, he added to it. When Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the gospel, “the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul . The birth name of Paul is actually Saul. Who was Peter in the Bible & Why Was He So Important? In Troas (a city in Macedonia), Paul was teaching in an upper room when a young man fell asleep and tumbled out the window, falling to his death. When Paul was first imprisoned in Caesarea, he made his appeal to Governor Felix, then waited two years in prison with no progress. It had “PAULO APOSTOLO MART” (Paul apostle martyr) written on it. It is not clear whether his family moved to Jerusalem (where both Greek and Jewish schooling was offered) while he was young, or whether Paul was simply sent there for his education. The Jewish leaders agreed to help them by petitioning the Roman commander to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin for questioning. Before becoming a follower of Christ, Paul was a prime example of a “righteous” Jew. Paul was likely born between the years of 5 BC and 5 AD. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” —Acts 9:10–19. Inspirational, … As a GA in my teens I wrote and mapped Paul’s Missionary Journeys. 2 Corinthians is the fourth book Paul wrote. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. Paul had rejoined Timothy when Second Corinthians was written (2 Corinthians 1:1). Some of his listeners became believers, and then he left for Corinth. (We’ll discuss these more later, or you can read more about them now.). STORY 114 The End of All Badness So Paul and Barnabas parted ways: Barnabas took John Mark to Cyprus, and Paul took a man named Silas to Syria and Cilicia. Paul the Apostle. This would explain differences in style and vocabulary without really losing the letters’ authenticity. It’s true that in the Old Testament, God occasionally changed people’s names (Abram became Abraham in Genesis 17:5, and Jacob became Israel in Genesis 32:28) to represent significant changes in their identity. Paul also talks of a third visit to Corinth in 2 Thereafter he was shipped to Rome on appeal to the imperial court of Nero. It explores how each of the Bible’s 66 books fit into the big picture, and you’ll walk away with enough knowledge to have a thoughtful conversation about the Bible with a pastor, an atheist, or anyone else. We’ll start with the basics. There, Paul performed another miracle: he healed a man who had been lame since birth (Acts 14:8-10). Paul endured in his ministry. There is no one else in the bible who acts as his witness. He was of Benjamite lineage and Hebrew ancestry (Philippians 3:5–6). And once Jesus redirected him, Paul continued on this trajectory for the rest of his life. First-century Jews had grown up believing the Law was central to their identity as God’s chosen people, and they struggled to fully grasp that Jesus rendered the Law obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). After staying in Antioch for awhile, Paul asked Barnabas to go with him to visit the churches they’d established together. And since Jesus’ followers kept spreading the idea that Jesus was God, Paul thought Christians were sinners of the worst sort. Paul and Silas shared the gospel with the jailer, and once they were freed, they returned to Lydia’s house, and then left for Thessalonica. (Though he’s first mentioned by his Hebrew name, Saul—we’ll get to that soon.). For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” —Acts 15:19–21. The gospel he preached to them was enough, and they just needed to have faith in Jesus. When Christianity emerged, it was often thought of as a Jewish sect—it built on Jewish teachings and beliefs, and because most Christians were also Jewish, many still followed Jewish customs and rituals established in the Law of Moses. Paul spent the next few days with the very Christians he had come to capture, and he immediately began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ—to the confusion of Christians and Jews alike. Being a “Hebrew of Hebrews” lent him credibility and expertise when speaking to Jewish audiences, and helped him speak into the Law’s inability to make people righteous. After Paul insulted the high priest and sparked an intense theological debate between the Sadducees and Pharisees, a group of more than 40 men took a vow not to eat or drink until they killed Paul (Acts 23:12–13). I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. Paul was actually born as Saul. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’, The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Quite a change! Now protect it. But not everyone agrees that Paul wrote all of these letters. Here are the miracles associated with Paul: To those who saw and heard Paul, these miracles proved his authority from God, just as Jesus’ miracles once demonstrated his (Mark 2:10). The Jews who opposed Paul tried to bring charges against him based on Jewish law, but the Roman proconsul wasn’t interested in hearing their case. Like his father he was a Pharisee but grafted into Christianity through conversion. The Apostle Paul is traditionally considered the author of 13 books of the New Testament. The Vatican claims these are in fact the remains of Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. When Paul told a centurion, the Roman commander ordered a detachment of almost 500 guards to move him to Caesarea under the cover of night. Some of the people who opposed them in Psidion Antioch and Iconium followed them to Lystra, and they stirred up the crowd against them. James Tabor considers Biblical and external accounts of the apostle This article was originally published in November 2012 on Dr. James Tabor’s popular Taborblog, a site that discusses and reports on “‘All things biblical’ from the Hebrew Bible to Early Christianity in the Roman World and Beyond.” Bible History Daily republished the article with consent of the author. Bible Timeline Made Easy! Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. Early Christian writers even suggested possible alternative authors. Wonderful maps. This was contested as early as the second and third centuries, but for more than a millennia the church largely believed Paul wrote it. The third was Paul’s Latin name, Paullus. Throughout Paul’s ministry he suffered trials and persecution for the sake of Christ. What did Paul do during all this time in Arabia? Perhaps he would recount all the Gospel victories and tell me more about the suffering he endured for the name of Christ. He was from the Jewish tribe of Benjamin, and when describing himself, he said he was a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the Mosaic Law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the Christian Church, as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. After encouraging them, he boarded a ship and returned to Jerusalem, even after numerous Christians warned him not to go there. He was born into a Jewish family in the city of Tarsus. This status gave him special privileges, and in some cases saved him from abuse (Acts 22:25–29). Tired of his case dragging on to appease his Jewish accusers, Paul claimed his right as a Roman to appeal to Caesar: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. . It is believed that he wrote thirteen books of the Bible, together called the Pauline epistles. And in 200 AD, Tertullian wrote that Paul’s death was like John the Baptist’s (decapitation). After Paul’s arrest by a Roman commander in Jerusalem, 40 Jewish men bound themselves in an oath to not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. The father of church history, Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–339 AD) noted that “some have rejected the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying that it is disputed by the church of Rome, on the ground that it was not written by Paul” (Church History). They spent “considerable time there” (Acts 14:3), and the city became increasingly divided: some Jews and Gentiles supported them, and others reviled them. He spent much of his ministry dismantling the idea that in order to have a saving faith in Jesus, Gentiles must first “become Jewish” by adopting the Mosaic Law. In my mind, Paul met Jesus on a dusty road, spent three days fasting in Damascus, regained his eyesight, then jumped right into ministry to the Gentiles and never looked back. (It is not improbable that he was born between A.D. 0 and A.D. Paul didn’t jump right into long-term ministry. (Governor Felix strung him along because he wanted the Jews to like him, and he hoped Paul would bribe him.). But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment. Paul’s Latin name was a better fit for the predominantly Roman environment. From Derbe, Paul and Barnabas looped back through the cities they’d already preached to, encouraging the new believers there and appointing elders for each church. One of the most remarkable aspects of Paul’s life is that as a young man, he was well-known for persecuting Christians, but by the end of his life, he’d endured significant persecution as a Christian. Paul’s notoriety as a persecutor of Christians made believers uncomfortable around him even after his baptism, and it took a while for them to believe that he’d really changed (Acts 9:26). He often went without food, sleep, and shelter. What a wonderful synopsis of Paul. Then, Paul's arrival in Jerusalem was followed quickly by arrest and a two-year imprisonment in Caesarea Maritima. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. Moses: The Old Testament’s Greatest Prophet, Who Was King Solomon? He healed people and cast out spirits through items he touched (Acts 19:11–12). It was written from Macedonia in the autumn of 57 A.D. during his third missionary journey. He believed that Jesus was a mere man, and was therefore rightfully executed for claiming to be God. Scholars believe Paul was born sometime between 5 BC and 5 AD, and that he died around 64 or 67 AD. I am enthralled. You’re welcome to include them in a blog post or even a figure within your book with attribution, but we don’t want these to be used as a book cover. After they baptized Lydia and her household, she invited them to stay at her house. The person had to be with them when Jesus was alive on earth and teaching. Love the name clarification:Paul and Saul. Of all the ways Paul affected Christianity, the biggest was arguably his role in spreading the gospel to non-Jewish communities. Paul didn’t know if he had been physically transported or was there in spirit. . Reports of uncertain reliability place Paul's death at about a.d. 67 under the deranged oversight of Nero. Paul before Agrippa (Acts 25:13 - 26:32) Paul departs for Rome and sails to Myra (Acts 27:1-5) They sail to Fair Havens on Crete (Acts 27:6-8) In spite of Paul's warning, they set sail again (Acts 27:9-12) And if Peter, James, and John had nothing to add to what Paul preached, then why would the Galatians listen to someone else who said there was more they needed to do to be saved? When Paul left Damascus, he went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples there. It is reasonable to surmise that he was born within a decade of Jesus' birth. But someone warned the centurion of the plan, and instead, he rounded up nearly 500 soldiers to take Paul to the governor in Caesarea. When he finally arrived, “Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him” (Acts 28:16). “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. Today, it’s not really even up for debate. . Paul's conversion was never the focal point of his preaching he preached Christ, not his personal experience (2 Cor 4:5)but it does not fail to influence him in later years (Acts 22:2-12; 26:2-18). As you can imagine, boats weren’t nearly as safe in the first century—especially on long voyages. He came from a God-fearing family (2 Timothy 1:3), he was a Pharisee like his father (Acts 23:6), and he was educated by a respected rabbi named Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). There (see Acts 28) he apparently wrote his so-called prison letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. On six occasions in Acts, Jews and Gentiles alike made plans to murder him—and one of those times, they stoned him and left him for dead. Part of God’s story is about Paul. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. But there’s no verse that says that. However, there are also a couple of writings from the late first and early second centuries that refer to him, including Clement of Rome’s letter to the Corinthians. More than any other person besides Jesus, Paul was the reason Christianity spread so far and so fast. As an apostle to the Gentiles, not only did Paul need to engage the cultures he was trying to reach, but he had to protect these new believers from the weight of obligation that Jewish Christians often tried to impose on them. Paul the Apostle, previously known as Saul of Tarsus and now often called St Paul (2BC–67), was a Messianic Jewish - Roman writer and rabbi. Most of what we know about the Apostle Paul (also known as Saint Paul or Saul of Tarsus) comes from the writings attributed to him and the Book of Acts. But after his encounter with Jesus, instead of stamping out Christianity, Paul stoked the flames of the faith wherever he went, at whatever the cost. Not so! During their time in Philippi, a spirit that possessed a local slave girl was bothering Paul, so he cast it out of her (Acts 16:18). Together they traveled from town to town and told people what the apostles had decided at the Council of Jerusalem where James told Gentile Christians not to worry about circumcision, which was pretty ironic, because Paul had just circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3). The relationship between Paul the Apostle and Women is an important element in the theological debate about Christianity and women because Paul was the first writer to give ecclesiastical directives about the role of women in the Church. He went from hating people who loved Jesus to becoming someone who loved Jesus. For this reason, Saint Paul is often considered one of the most influential people in history. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul’s powerful testimonies. This site uses cookies to analyze traffic and ensure you get the best experience. Peter argued that God hadn’t discriminated between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians because he’d given them both the Holy Spirit, and if in the entire history of Judaism no one had been able to keep the Law (except Jesus), then why would they put that burden on the Gentiles (Acts 15:7-11)? Logos Bible Software 9 review: Do you REALLY need it? Paul was held prisoner in Rome in his last days on earth. If you’ll notice, the apostles didn’t decide that Gentiles should follow “the most important” commandments, or the Big Ten, or anything like that. His exegesis of the Old Testament bears testimony to his rabbinic training. Most Relevant Verses. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he promised his followers they would receive power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Silas and Timothy stayed behind, but would catch up later. In some cases, Paul spent well over a year in the cities he preached to, living with the believers there and modeling a lifestyle of imitating Christ. From the moment he became a believer in Christ, Paul’s life was transformed. Thank you for such an informative piece of writing and breaking down of scriptures, with supporting ref’s. But Jesus doesn’t refer to him as Paul, and he was still called Saul 11 more times after his conversion. The Galatians and Thessalonians letters were written during his first and second mission journies. He resurrected a young man named Eutychus (Acts 20:9-12). Peter states the requirements to be an apostle when Matthais replaces Judas. Answer: Paul was a Jew who took great pride in his Jewish heritage. It may be that Paul’s words have implications for all who are unmarried, but I think Paul’s reference to the unmarried refers to widowers specifically. I would, of course, give you credit for having created the map – cover sheet. Paul’s missionary journeys helped spread the gospel throughout much of the ancient world. In his second letter to the Corinthians, which was likely written before his final trip to Jerusalem, Paul claims he was shipwrecked three times: “Three times I was beaten with rods. Paul spent three months in Greece, then returned to Macedonia to avoid some people who were plotting against him. Saint Paul is one of the most important and influential of all the saints. Then he and Barnabas left (Acts 14:8–20). Before Paul ever preached the gospel, Jesus said, “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Meanwhile, Ephesus was in uproar, because Christianity’s explosive growth had stifled businesses that relied on idol worship. 5.) When all human hope was lost God delivered them by His grace through the prayers of the believers (2 Corinthians 1:11). He was a convert to Christianity. They stoned Paul and left him for dead outside the city. Ways to Tell the Story: This story can be told using a variety of methods. His Jewish credentials included his heritage, discipline, and zeal. Here they met with a group of women, including a wealthy cloth dealer named Lydia. Saul (later to be known as the apostle Paul) was zealous in all that he did. Then he got up and went back in. The Athenians were accustomed to discussing new ideas, and they’d never heard the message Paul preached before, so they were intrigued and debated with him. In Ephesus, Paul went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews and promised to return if he could. Acts records three missionary journeys that took Paul throughout Asia Minor, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, and Syria. The Book of Acts and Paul’s own letters provide an account of how this dramatic change happened. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. St. Paul the Apostle, original name Saul of Tarsus, (born 4 bce ?, Tarsus in Cilicia [now in Turkey]—died c. 62–64 ce, Rome [Italy]), one of the leaders of the first generation of Christians, often considered to be the most important person after Jesus in the history of Christianity. Paul leveraged his Roman citizenship to demand Caesar himself hear his case (Acts 25:11), and procurator has no choice but to grant him this right. This largely depends on whether Paul was imprisoned in Rome once, or twice, which his letters are ambiguous about.Paul suggested he would travel to Spain (Romans 15:24), but he provides no record of this journey in his letters. Most of what we know about the Apostle Paul (also known as Saint Paul or Saul of Tarsus) comes from the writings attributed to him and the Book of Acts. Paul had come to Troas and continued to Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13 and 7:5), where he was joined by Titus (2 Corinthians 7:6 & 13), which seems to correspond to Acts 20:1. After he received a vision (Acts 10:9–16), Peter was one of the first apostles to specifically advocate for sharing the gospel with Gentiles. In Arabia, Paul could immerse himself in the reality of his Savior and focus on learning and growing in preparation for ministry. He was born in Tarsus in Cilicia around AD 1–5 in a province in the southeastern corner of modern-day Tersous, Turkey. The Bible doesn’t tell us how Paul died, but numerous early church fathers wrote that he was martyred—specifically, he was beheaded, probably by emperor Nero, which would mean it had to be sometime before 68 AD. The Book of Acts tells us that Paul was even present at the death of the first Christian martyr—where he “approved the stoning of Stephen” (Acts 8:1). On many of Paul’s journeys, he travelled by boat. After a dangerous evil spirit claimed to know Jesus and Paul, people flocked to Paul and his followers and the church grew quickly. I’m just brain-storming here, with you, I’ve been thinking about using such a cover sheet for some time now, and your map just strikes me as being the best one I’ve seen. Later, Paul asked the high priest for permission to take Christians (known as followers of “the Way”) as prisoners: “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. Demas left him because he loved the world. The people who saw this thought Paul and Barnabas were gods, and attempted to make sacrifices to them even as Paul and Barnabas tried to convince them not to. Some of Paul’s relatives are mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars feel this may have been a spiritual retreat for Paul, a time to reconcile everything he knew from the Old Testament Scriptures with his new reality in Christ. And for that, he would need to meet a follower of Christ. Some, like the centurion in Acts 22:28, had to pay a lot of money to have it. 5 Tips for Using Scripture as Defense, 7 Ways We Know God Is the Author of Romance, New Podcast from Dan Darling: "The Characters of Christmas", 5 Unexpected Blessings of COVID Christmas, This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright © 2020, Crosswalk.com. As we see from Paul’s own letters, he was highly respected in the increasingly scattered Christian communities, many of which he started himself. Scholars believe this is likely when he wrote his letter to the Philippians, because he references being in chains (Philippians 1:12–13). From this point forward, Luke only refers to the apostle as “Paul.” This shift does not reflect a name change, as has often been said, but rather a conscious decision on Paul’s part to use a name he already had. No one ever opened the sarcophagus, but using a probe and carbon dating, archaeologists estimated that the remains inside were from the first or second century. The new religion was vulnerable, and it faced opposition everywhere from the Jews who believed it was blasphemy, and from the Romans who believed it challenged Caesar’s authority and created unrest. Most scholars (critical and conservative) believe that Paul did write seven of them: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. This could mean Paul simply had a different purpose in writing them, or that Paul’s writing style changed over the course of his ministry, but the epistles to Timothy and Titus also have very different vocabulary and even theology than we see in other Pauline writings. 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