A rare Greek coin
I do meet a lot of people as I move around, and it is very interesting to note that some of these people- males and females- have all kinds of stories. As a journalist, I sometimes use my skills to glean such tales out of them.
My dear readers should tighten their seat belts for the take-off.
I was in a hotel overlooking a very important Safari valley somewhere in Africa when a gentleman in his forties came to sit beside me and we talked about so many things including the power of God Jehovah.
He poured out his experiences on my lap. I will not mention his real name so let me call him Alexander.
He then removed from a locket from his neck and prying it open, he gingerly took a coin and asked me to look at it.
As a son of a goldsmith, who is well versed in the profession, the moment I saw it I knew it was genuine gold and the craftsmanship was rare. What really attracted my attention was the intricate writing on it so I asked Alexander about it.
“That is Greek and what is written on it is ‘Under the blood’ and it is very significant,” he stressed.
Alexander told me that he could not pinpoint his ancestry but he knew his origin could be traced from Greece and I again asked him how he came by that unique coin.
“My father gave it to me on his death bed in Turkey and told me to keep it and if the Corinth Declaration did not happen in my life time, I should hand it over to one of my children,” he said.
“So what is the Corinth Declaration? I asked.
Alexander then disclosed that after the death of Jesus Christ, one Saul of Tarsus who was initially against the new Christian religious movement was eventually converted and he propagated the Good news to new places.
He noted that in his missionary journey, Apostle Paul came to Corinth from Athens. That story was captured in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Bible and let me present it for my readers to read before we continue.
Acts 18:1-11(Revised Standard Version)
1 After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aq’uila, a native of Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them; 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked, for by trade they were tentmakers. 4 And he argued in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedo’nia, Paul was occupied with preaching, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months teaching the word of God among them.
Alexander said a successful merchant in the city of Corinth heard Paul’s preaching who converted and got his family baptized. He said when Paul left the city, some people fought the merchant because he refused to give them money to pray for him before the gods of the city. Realizing that he would be killed, he quickly bought a lot of gold and had them minted into coins. He divided the coins into three parts. He gave two-thirds to his two sons and he concealed the remaining. The wife later died.
One night, he called his two sons and after seriously praying together, he urged them to continue to worship the God that Apostle Paul had preached to them. He then gave them one special gold coin each with ‘Under the blood’ crafted on it. He then made a declaration that he had hidden a huge amount of gold somewhere and he declared that at the appointed time the gold treasure would be found by the person chosen by God to use it to propagate the Christian faith. He therefore commanded them to hand over the medallions to one of their children until the appropriate time.
“So after ages, one of the coins had come into your hands and if nothing happens you would hand it over to one of your children?” I asked Alexander.
“Something finally happened and that is why I am here to spend three days to fast and pray before taking the next step.”
I looked into his face and I could see some seriousness and I knew the guy meant business.
“Now let me ask why you came up to me and narrated this incredible story after some time you?” I asked him again.
Before I embark on this journey I prayed and it was revealed to me that I would meet somebody and I could safely narrate my story to him. So I when I came last night, you were the first person I saw standing alone and watching the entrance.” Alexander said.
“Why did you select this place to do your fasting and prayer?” I prodded him.
My dear readers, we have just started this intriguing story, God willing we would continue next week.
By Amos Amaglo
