Bithynia

Biblical References

Bithynia is mentioned twice in the New Testament.

• Acts 16:7: On his second missionary journey, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. Because the Holy Spirit had forbidden them to preach the word in Asia, they came to Mysia and "assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not." The party then passed by Mysia and came down to Troas. There Paul saw a vision of a man of Macedonia pleading for help, and he crossed over into Europe (Acts 16:6–10). The route is described in detail in the article Paul's missionary journeys.
• 1 Peter 1:1: 1 Peter opens as a letter addressed "to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1–2). This indicates that a Christian community existed in Bithynia at that time.

Background

Bithynia is a region of northwestern Asia Minor. It borders the Black Sea to the north and the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus to the west. Its name is generally thought to derive from the Bithynians, a Thracian tribe that inhabited the area.

For a long period the region was an independent kingdom. It became a Roman province when its last king, Nicomedes IV, bequeathed his realm to Rome in the first half of the first century BC. It was later joined with the region of Pontus to the east and governed as the province of Bithynia-Pontus. Its principal cities included Nicomedia (modern İzmit) and Nicaea (modern İznik). In the early AD 110s, Pliny the Younger, then governor of the province, wrote to the Emperor Trajan asking how Christians should be dealt with. His letter reports that Christianity had spread not only through the cities but also into the villages and countryside.

Significance in Scripture and Church History

In Acts, Bithynia appears as a land the gospel was not permitted to enter. Yet 1 Peter and second-century sources show that churches were established there before long. Scripture does not say who first preached the gospel in the region.

The region later hosted major councils in church history: the First Council of Nicaea met at Nicaea in Bithynia in 325, and the Council of Chalcedon met at Chalcedon in 451.

Interpretation and Issues

• How the Spirit prevented them: The text states only that the Spirit "suffered them not." It does not specify whether this came through prophecy, through blocked circumstances, or through inner conviction. Pentecostal and charismatic interpreters often emphasize the passage as an example of the Spirit's direct and specific guidance. Reformed interpreters tend to regard it as a special form of guidance belonging to the apostolic age and hold that it should be applied cautiously to the ways God guides believers today.
• Why they were prevented: The common interpretation is that the purpose was to direct them to Macedonia. This, however, is an inference drawn from the following context (Acts 16:9–10); the text itself does not state the reason.
• Peter and Bithynia: There is a tradition that Peter personally traveled and preached in this region, but Scripture contains no such account. Some scholars suggest that the order of the regions listed in 1 Peter 1:1 reflects the route taken by the person who delivered the letter.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Acts 16:6–10 is frequently cited in sermons on "closed doors and open doors," God's guidance, and the direction of mission. Within that passage, Bithynia is commonly mentioned as an example of human plans being thwarted.