(fi-lip'i; "lover of horses, warlike"). A town of Macedonia. It was situated about nine miles from the Aegean Sea, NW of the island of Thasos. King Philip II took it from the Thracians and gave it his own name. The area of Philippi was then important for its gold mines, but the economy was bolstered by the fertility of the soil as well. The Philippi that the apostle Paul visited was a Roman colony founded by Augustus. The position of the city on the main road from Rome to Asia, the Via Egnatia, made it strategically important.

The fertile plain of Philippi was the battlefield between Mark Antony and Octavian and Brutus and Cassius, in which the former conquered and the Roman Republic was overthrown in 42 B.C. In celebration of the victory the city was made a Roman colony with the special privileges this involved.

1. Paul was on his 2^nd journey with Silas, Timothy, and Luke ( vs. 1-2, 10-13; 15:40 ).

2. Acts records the conversion of Lydia and the Jailor – and others ( vs. 40 ).

1. Paul and Silas imprisoned here on the 2^nd missionary journey (Acts 16:9-40).

2. They were especially generous and loved by Paul (2 Cor 8:1-6; 11:9; Phil 1:1-8).

3. The second epistle to the Corinthians may have been written in this city.

4. The first church in Europe was planted here.

5. Luke enters Philippi, but when Paul leaves he reverts to the 3^rd person. Was he left there for a time?

6. The church supported Paul through at least 2 contributions of support(Phil 4:15-16; 2 Cor 11:8-9; cf. Acts 18:5 ).

1. The general background would suggest that Philippians is the last of the four so-called prison epistles.

2. The first three of those epistles were written about A.D. 60; therefore, Philippians must be dated at the close of the year A.D. 61.

1. Though he corrects no doctrinal errors among them, he warns them.

2. There is exhortation to growth, trust, and joy, perhaps an indication of his place, not theirs.

3. Much thanksgiving for their fellowship.