“Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.”
Acts 21:8-9

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MAY 22, 2025

On his trip to Jerusalem, Paul stopped in Caesarea at the home of an evangelist. Luke tells us that this man has four daughters who prophesied.

Don’t you wish we knew more about this visit? We think of prophesy as “telling the future” but the word really means “proclaim”, more like what a preacher does than a fortune-teller.  While the prophet’s message can include God’s discernment about what will come next, it primarily means God’s word for us now.

Imagine staying several days at the home of an evangelist and not one but four women who were proclaiming, preaching, and prophesying! This house is a hub of ministry, for sure. No wonder Paul stopped.

It’s interesting that Paul is hurrying to Jerusalem in hopes of arriving for Pentecost. Pentecost was a traditional harvest festival where—like our own Thanksgiving—families traveled long distances to celebrate together.

But look back at Pentecost after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension. This was when the Holy Spirit came, and suddenly all these visitors to Jerusalem from Judea could understand the disciples in their own languages.

Peter explained what was happening by peering even further back to the prophet Joel, saying:

These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

 

 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.”
Acts 2:15-18

In other words, now that Jesus is alive, the time of God’s redemption is here now. This good news will be seen by both young and old, and proclaimed and prophesied by both men and women.

And in the house where Paul is staying, this is happening in spades. The father is an evangelist, and his four daughters are prophesying. As Joel, and the Spirit, and Peter knew, this is what the kingdom looks like, now that Jesus is alive.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Why do you think Luke includes this description of the evangelist and the four prophesying daughters?
  • What did Joel understand that the Holy Spirit was someday going to do? How was this done through Jesus, and through the early Church? How is this being done today?
  • How can this encourage and shape us in our own church communities and ministries?

 

Church Reading Plan: Numbers 31; Psalm 75-76