Draft: Document in Preparation

By F. A. Heckman

THE CASE FOR TWO PHILIPS IN SCRIPTURE:

THE APOSTLE AND THE EVANGELIST

There are 34 Scripture references to men named Philip. At the outset, we shall exclude
from further consideration Philip, the Tetrarch, brother of Herod (Matt. 14:3; Mk. 6:17 &
Lu.3:10)., This Philip was neither an apostle nor a disciple of Christ. Thus the remaining 31
Philip references are the ones of interest to this paper.

It was a great shock to me when I found out for the first time (at age 86!) that most Bible
scholars believe that the New Testament writers speak of two different men named Philip!
I am sorry to say that all of my life before this, I had read the Scriptures pertaining to Philip
much too casually. As a result, I completely missed the teaching about two Philips.

In order to confirm the two-Philip assertion, I looked up a number of articles on the subject.
All of the articles I consulted so far speak about the Apostle Philip (Philip-A) and Philip, the
evangelist (Philip-E), as being separate and distinct from each other. However, none of
them offered an explanation as to how they reached that conclusion; they simply said it
was so.

Thus, the reader was left to his own devices to try to explain the position taken in the
articles, namely that there must be two Philips. One may start by stating facts about men
named Philip.

First, the Gospel references and one Acts 1 reference, to Philip (of which there are 15), are
quite clearly and unambiguously to the Apostle Philip. The Gospel record of Philip-A’s
activities make no mention of evangelizing.

Second, in Acts, Chapters 6, 8 and 21, we find 16 references to a man named Philip, i.e.,
Philip-E. As mentioned above, the authors of the articles I read say that all these
references are to Philip, the evangelist. Now let us set down in step-wise order the
reasons why these beliefs are held.

STEP ONE: The Hellenistic Jews complain about food distribution

In Acts 6:1-7; Luke makes a clear case for the existence of a disciple named Philip, who
would later be called the evangelist (Acts 21:8). In verse 1 he tells us that the disciples
were increasing and the Hellenistic Jews were complaining that their widows were being
overlooked in the daily provision of food.

STEP TWO: The Apostles respond

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In response, verses 2 & 3, the 12 apostles (certainly including Philip-A) summoned the
congregation of the disciples. The way Luke puts it in the NAS, the congregation seems to
be an official body in Jerusalem..

STEP THREE: Philip-E, not the apostle, chosen a deacon

Then, in verse 3, the 12 apostles commissioned the congregation to choose 7 men, wise,
honorable and Spirit-filled, from among you (disciples), to take over this task. The apostles’
motives in doing this were 1, to take care of the Hellenistic widows and 2, to free their time
for prayer and the ministry of the word. Thus the Philip, mentioned in verse 5, having been
chosen from among the congregation of disciples, was Philip-E, the disciple, not the
apostle Philip. Thus the latter Philip-A’s services were required for the apostolic ministry,
not for the deacons’ ministry. It would appear, from Acts chronology, that Philip-E carried
out his food ministry for about two years before the persecution. As a result, Philip-E went
down to Samaria and began his evangelistic career.

STEP FOUR: Persecution scatters disciples, apostles remain in Jerusalem

In Acts 8:1, following the stoning of Stephen, we read that a great persecution broke out
against the Jerusalem Church, scattering all but the apostles throughout Judea and
Samaria. These who were scattered, including Philip-E, began to proclaim the word. We
next hear about Philip-E specifically, in Acts 8:5, where he went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed Christ to them. It is important to note here that the Philip who went down to
Samaria could not have been the apostle, as he would have remained in Jerusalem. In
verse six, we read that the multitudes paid attention to what Philip-E said because of the
healings, signs and wonders he performed. At this time, Philip-E began to acquire his title
of evangelist. . In verse 8 we read that there was much rejoicing in that city (Samaria)
because of the great happenings which took place there. In a parenthetical experience
(verses 9-24),Philip-E encounters Simon, the magician

STEP FIVE: An angel sends Philip-E south toward Gaza

After this, an angel of the lord spoke to him instructing him to take the desert road down
toward Gaza. When Philip did this , he encountered the Ethiopian eunuch (verses 27-39)
a man in charge of Queen Candace’s treasury. Philip explained the Scriptures, preached
the gospel, converted the eunuch and baptized him, thus completing his most noteworthy
act of evangelization. After he was baptized, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing, and the
Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. Later, Philip found himself in Azotus, (i.e., Ashdod)
which is some 18 miles north of Gaza and some 55-60 miles south of Caesarea along the
Mediterranean coast..

STEP SIX: Philip-E on the way to Caesarea

Chapter 8 closes by telling us that Philip preached his way northward until he reached
Caesarea. According to Acts chronology, the events described in Chapter 8 took place
around 38 A.D.

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STEP SEVEN: Philip, the evangelist in Caesarea
We hear no more about Philip until Acts 21:8-9, where Luke tells us that the Apostle Paul
stayed with him in his house in Caesarea. In this passage, Philip is positively identified as
Philip, the evangelist, one of the seven (deacons) appointed in Acts, Chapter 6). Paul’s
visit to Philip’s house took place around 55 A.D. Thus, about 17 years elapsed between
Acts 8 and Acts 21. We know nothing about Philip’s activities during this time. However,
we do know that he had 4 virgin daughters who prophesied, thus strongly implying that he
was married (Acts 21:9).. Incidentally, there is no Scripture record saying that the apostle
Philip ever went to Caesarea.

It should be noted here that some authors hold out the possibility that there is only one
Philip in Scripture. However, the preponderance of Scriptural evidence, as presented
above, makes a very strong case for two Philips.

CONCLUSION

The steps set forth above serve to make a logical distinction between the apostle Philip and
Philip, the evangelist.. These steps in outline form follow.

1. Hellenistic Jews complain about food distribution

2.The apostles respond, calling for appointment of deacons
3. Philip, not the apostle, chosen a deacon, from among the disciples
4. Persecution scatters disciples, apostles remain in Jerusalem
5. Angel sends Philip southward to Gaza, evangelizes eunuch
6. Philip on his way northward to Caesarea, preaching as he went
7. Philip, the evangelist in Caesarea

In the main body of this paper above, compelling observations and deductions strongly
support the two-Philip assertion. First, Philip-E was chosen a deacon from among the
Jerusalem disciples. Second, at the time of the persecution, the disciples, including Philip-
E were scattered while the apostles, including Philip-A, remained in Jerusalem. Thus it
was clearly Philip-E who went down to Samaria, preaching and evangelizing. Third, Philip-
E continues his evangelizing activities all the way to Caesarea, where he remained, to be
visited by the apostle Paul and companions..