Agabus was a Christian prophet who served in the early church and is known for two significant prophecies recorded in Acts. He prophesied about a great famine that would strike the entire Roman world—a prophecy fulfilled during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Later, he warned the apostle Paul through a dramatic symbolic act that he would be bound and handed over to the Gentiles in Jerusalem. Agabus stands in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets and shows that the prophetic gift continued to operate in the early church.
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The Prophecy of Famine
Agabus came down from Jerusalem to Antioch and prophesied by the Spirit that a great famine would come over the whole Roman world. This famine occurred during the reign of Emperor Claudius, which led the disciples in Antioch to send help to the believers in Judea.
28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated through the Spirit that a severe famine was about to come over the whole world; this happened in the days of Claudius.
In Caesarea, at the house of the evangelist Philip, Agabus took Paul's belt and bound his own hands and feet in a symbolic prophetic act. He prophesied that the Jews in Jerusalem would bind the man who owned the belt and hand him over to the Gentiles. This dramatic sign-act stands in the tradition of Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, who also used visual demonstrations to underscore their messages.
11He came to us, took Paul's belt, tied his own feet and hands with it, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.'"
13Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."