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E LIFE OF PAUL3e will conclude the exciting story ofPaul's second journey in this lesson.Then we'll begin his third and finalourney before his arrest and imprisonment inrusalem. We will continue to learn about theeginnings of the early Church, the people Godalled into it, and more about basic Church

PAUL AT ATHENSWe can only imagine how Paul must haveelt during his first visit to Athens, Greece.

today, Athens is one of the mostnteresting cities in the world. Some threendred years before the Apostle Paul walkedhe streets of this huge metropolis, Athens washe capital of the Grecian Empire. Though thempire had crumbled long before Paul's time,t still must have been quite an experience forul to visit this ancient city-a city which haseft its mark on western culture to this veryA visit to Athens is a trip into the pastplendor and glory of the Greek Empire oflexander the Great who had conquered mostf the known world by the time he was 30 yearsf age. The Greeks left their mark on educationnd the philosophies. In fact, the basic form ofducation followed in western cultures todaytems from the methods employed in Classicalreece.ABOUT OUR COVER . . .Mt. Parnassos in the area of Greece today. TheApostle Paul travelled near this area on his way toCorinth and Athens. YE.S. Photo

Paul's trip to Athens was very enlighteninbecause he saw firsthand how totally astrafrom God's truth societies can become. Pauknew how paganized the ancients were. Thstories of Zeus and the many gods angoddesses of that pagan society Paul knew weBut to be in Athens and actually see hocompletely the society had rejected the truGod and worshipped false gods was shockinghim!How completely were the Athenians giveover to worshipping false gods? (Acts 17:16

What best sums up the mentality of the meand women of Athens in the days of Pau(Verse 21) _

On his tour throughout Athens, Paul wamazed at the scores of pagan deities thpeople worshipped. The Greeks had a god foalmost everything-the sun, moon, fire, eartthe underworld, snakes, rivers. You name ithey probably had a god for it. But just in casthere was a god they had overlooked (thedidn't want to "offend" any of the gods), thehad even erected a "just-in-case-we-didn'know-you-existed" god! Paul noticed thstatue while passing through the city anreferred to it. Read the story in verses 22-3and write out just verse 23. _

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A few points should be emphasized from thisaccount. First, Paul made it plain that all menare created by God with a certain sa m e ne ss-yet obvious differences exist. Read verse 26again and write the verse here . _

All men and women on earth have comefrom Adam and Eve. And all of us havedescended from Noah through his three sonsand their wives from th e time of the Flood. Allmen are of one blood. No one is better thananyone else.God is the Designer of the ethnic and racialstocks that exist on earth. Undoubtedly it wasthrough the wives of Shem, Ham and Japheththat the racial groups God designed werepreserved through the Flood.Beginning with the tower of Babel, Godcaused th e nations to migrate out of the regionsHe intended for them. Th e descendants ofJapheth primarily migrated to the eastern partof the world called the Orient. Th e descendantsof Ha m are the black peoples who settled in

Mars Hill in Athens (foreground), is where Paulpreached to the curious Greek phi losophers.

Africa. The descendants of Shem movedEurope and, many centuries later, to thUnited States, Canada, Australia and othparts of the world. So even though all men aof one blood, the origins of nations and racwas designed by the Eternal God.Spiritually speaking, in Christ we are all oregardless of whether we are Jew or GreeGentile or Israelite, male or female (Galatia3:28). Under the coming government of God oearth, however, national boundaries of thethnic groups will be determined by God fthe best possible benefit of all mankind.Paul preached a very powerful messagethose curious Greek philosophers on Mars Hthat day. Ca n you pick out the three mapoints of his message from verses 28 throug31?

As is the case even today among the peopof this world, the truth of God did not mamuch sense to those who heard Paul in AthenTherefore did many, or just a few of thebelieve? (Verses 32-34) . Thointerested in his message were mainly thcuriosity seekers and debaters, some of whomocked him. So Paul departed Athens anwent to Corinth.

IMMORAL CORINTH YIELDS MANYBELIEVERS

Corinth was a seacoast town with less ofcu lt ural and educational back ground thaAthens. I t was a city filled with immoralitThe pagan religious system in Corinth includprostitution and other immorality as parttheir religious worship . But God was goingreach into that sinful society and call manyHis way of life.How long did Paul stay in Corinth, andhow many people did he minister? (Ac18:9-11)Very often when Paul went to a new ci

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here there was no Church of God alreadystablished, he had to support himself finanially. Later, when a Church was establishednd the members had grown in knowledge,hey learned about tithing and could helpupport the Work of God which Paul wasthe Gospel of the Kingdomf God to the gentile world. So what did Paulo to support himself in those early months atorinth? (Acts 18:3) _. And whatid he do every Sabbath? (Verse 4) _that in this predominantly gentile cityf Corinth, Paul continued (as he always did)o teach and preach on God's Sabbath day.As was so often the case throughout Paul's

inistry, he was persecuted by Jews who didot believe his message. So what did he dothe Jews in Corinth rejected hiseaching? (Verses 5-6) _

During the 18 months Paul spent raising upnd strengthening the Church he established in, he wrote the first letters or epistleshave been preserved for us in the Bible.hey were I and II Thessalonians. (Rememberthe Church in Thessalonica was the firstne raised up in Europe.) These letters wereritten about 51 A.D. This form of communiation was to become common with Paul.uch of the New Testament is made up of thepistles which Paul wrote to Churches andnisters of God.While Paul was doing God 's Work in, a number of Jews tried to have himrrested and thrown in jail. But it was notod's will for Paul to be jailed or beaten thisime. In fact, in this case the tables wereWhat did the Greeks do to the chiefuler of the Jewish synagogue? (Verse 17)

While in Corinth, Paul became acquaintedith a zealous Jewish couple who had served inhe New Testament Church for many years.

" " " " , , -

Ruins at Corinth in southern Greece today. Paulwrote the epistles of I and II Thessalonians duringhis 18-month stay in Corinth.They were an

(Acts 18:2). They hapreviously been in Rome where a fairly largnumber of Jewish people lived. But in the la40s or early 50s A.D., there was a persecutioof the Jewish people in Rome. The RomaEmperor Claudius had____________ (verse 2).When Paul decided to leave Corinth anreturn to Jerusalem for a short visit, he tooPriscilla and Aquila with him as fa rEphesus, then traveled on to Jerusalem. Whdid Paul go to Jerusalem? (Verse 21)

The time was probably the fall of 52 A.D. SPaul, most likely, was able to keep the FeastTabernacles in Jerusalem that autumn. Whenot able to keep the Feast in Jerusalem, he keit with a congregation somewhere in the gentiworld. On a few occasions, however, Paul wable to go up to Jerusalem and keep the Feawith Peter, James and other ministers of Go

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ho might have been in Jerusalem. Thus endeds second journey.PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY BEGINS

After keeping the Feast of Tabernacles aterusalem in 52 A.D., Paul set out on yetnother long journey. He spent the winter of2-53 A.D. in Antioch, the same city where heegan to preach about ten years earlier. I t wasn Antioch that the disciples were first called(Acts 11:26). (Find thisity on the map on page 7, then trace the routef Paul's third journey as you learn the name ofach new city he visits.)Paul continued traveling through Galatia,isiting the Churches he and Barnabas raisedp on their first journey. After visiting with therethren and traveling on, he wrote them aetter which has been preserved for us in thebook of Galatians.Having strengthened the Churches in Galaia and other parts of Asia Minor, Paul thenourneyed to Ephesus. There he met a youngan with great speaking ability. This youngan had come to a knowledge of God's way asresult of the teaching of those who followedhn the Baptist.These disciples of John had continuedreaching John's message long after his deathnd long after Christ's death, resurrection andscension to heaven. Christ began His ministryfter John was put in prison by the Romanuler of Judea, whose name was _

Luke 3:19-20). After a short time in prisonhat happened to John? (Mark 6:27) _

APOllOS lEARNS MORE TRUTHJohn the Baptist reached many peoplehis brief ministry. Jews came torusalem from all over Judea and surroundingeas to keep the annual festivals. When thoseho believed John returned to their homes,hey taught others what they learned from him.his eloquent Jewish speaker, named(Acts 18:24),

had been so instructed. But he had not ylearned about the life and ministry of ChriHe apparently had not heard of the Holy Spiwhich was sent on the day of Pentecost overyears earlier. (Travel and communicatiowere slow in that day and age, and word dnot always get to every area of the world.)Apollos came from Alexandria, a large ciin Egypt. He just had not heard all of Godtruth. But he was ready to learn more truth. Halready believed the message of John tBaptist who had prepared the way for ChriSince he was a Jew and knew the existiScriptures, Apollos would visit and preachthe synagogues when he traveled, teachiwhat John had taught (verses 24-25).When an elder in God's Church and his w

heard Apollos preaching in a synagogue, thinvited him into their home and _____________ (verse 26).Apollos was such an effective speaker thsome members of the Church chose him asfavorite in a wrong way. This caused a seveproblem in the Church. Read about itI Corinthians 1:10-13 and I Corinthians 3:4-Copy down the highlights of this Churproblem.

Apparently Apollos continued to effectivepreach in the New Testament Church and wa great help in backing Paul, though he nevwas one of Paul's close companions as weTimothy, Titus and Luke.BAPTISM AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

In the first part of Acts 19, we learn abomore people who had heard the teachingJohn the Baptist, but had not yet learnedChrist and the Holy Spirit. In fact, the peopin Ephesus to whom Paul preached had not yeven_____________ (verse 2, lapart of verse).Paul explained to these people that Johnbaptism was the baptism of _

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verse 4), and that its purpose was to preparehem to believe on one who would corne afternamely Jesus Christ. After Paulhoroughly explained who Christ was and Hisessage of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God,hey were (verse 5). What

Paul do after they were baptized? (Verse 6)did they receive? (Same verse)

Notice that God gave the Holy Spirit tohese people after they were baptized-notefore or during the baptism. They received itnly after the laying on of Paul's hands andrayer. Read Acts 8:12-17 and notice that theoly Spirit is given by God only after baptism,rayer and the laying on of the hands of one ofs ministers.You should also understand that when youave grown to maturity and God calls you, youan also be baptized and have hands laid onou for the receipt of God's Holy Spirit-if youccept God's call and want to follow His way.When Christ was on earth He trained theisciples. But they did not receive the Holyirit until after He was raised from the deadnd ascended to heaven. It was on the day of

that the Holy Spirit was first sent toist's chosen disciples-His Church. Whatid Christ tell them about the Holy Spirit whilee was yet with them? (John 14:17) _

This verse shows us that even beforeeceiving the Holy Spirit in us, we can haved's Spirit working with us and have a certainount of understanding of spiritual thingss t as the disciples did. Young people with ateast one of their parents in God's Church,ave God's Holy Spirit working with themefore they are called by God. They are notoff" from God like the rest of humanity.

What was the message Paul continued toreach? (Acts 19:8, last few words) _

_____ . All the apostles preached tgood news of the Kingdom of God, justJesus did while He was on earth.How long did Paul stay in Ephesus? (Ver10) . While in EphesuPaul wrote a letter to the members at Corintwhich is now the book of I Corinthians.

SPECIAL MIRACLES THROUGH PAULPaul and all the other apostles had beinstructed by Christ regarding the healingthe sick. What does the apostle James, tphysical brother of Christ, tell us to do whwe are ill? (James 5:14-15)

But what could Paul do if someone wasmany miles away? Traveling in Paul's time wto ta lly dif fe rent from our age of swtransportation. Travel by walking, donkecamel caravan, or by boat were the only meaof transportation available. For a ministertravel and visit each person who needanointing and prayer would have been timconsuming and difficult, if not impossible!So what did Paul do? (Acts 19:11-12) _

God inspired Paul to anoint and pray ovpieces of cloth which were then taken to tsick and they were healed. These people hthe to be healed (Acts 14:9).When a sick person asks to be anointed aprayed for by a minister of God for his healinthis shows that person's desire to follow Goinstructions as given in James 5:14-15, as was his faith in God's healing power. There is"magic" in the oil or in the minister that causa person to be healed. I t is God who heals. Tminister is merely a representative of God wis carrying out God's instructions and showifaith also, when anointing and praying for t

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CYRENAICA

sick. Since it was not possible for Paul torespond personally to all the requests of thesick, he sent anointed cloths to them.Today, one of God's ministers can usuallyvisit a sick person who seeks to follow theinstructions in James 5:14-15. But when theminister can't come personally, an anointedcloth is sent in the mail and in most casesarrives within two or three days, especially inthe United States and most parts of theWestern World. During Paul's time it oftentook much longer for an anointed cloth to bedelivered to the sick. But God honored the faithof the sick and healed them, often before thecloth arrived. Many times today we hear ofpeople being healed even before the cloth canbe sent!

IDOLATRY AND THE OCCULTDuring Paul's day, just as in our time, therewere people who believed in strange superstitions. They often dabbled in spiritism. Therealso were certain people called exorcists, whothought they had power to cast out demon

P T U S

spirits (Acts 19:13). Get a dictionary and loup the word "exorcise" and copy down tmeanmg.

From time to time you may hear aboutmovie or book that promises to entertain ywith a strange and weird story, which isreality about "ghosts" or demon spirits. Gdoes not want us to see such movies or resuch books, or to "toy around" with the spworld in any way! Ouija boards and othsimilar games have long been party entertament, but those who participate in these do nrealize they are dabbling with the demon spworld of Satan the devil!What happened to the seven men who trito cast out a demon? (Verse 16)

This incident shows that those who haveauthority to deal with wicked spirits should nattempt to do so, even out of curiosity. God hgiven only His ministers the authority to c

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out evil spirits. Paul had that power andauthority.As a result of this incident, many in Ephesuswho dealt with such things as ast rology,fortune telling and palm reading turned toGod. They came to see that these practiceswere ungodly. They repented of havingdisobeyed God. What else did they do? (Verse19, first part of verse) _

Notice that the things they used inconnection with their occult practices were noteven fit to sell as a way of disposing them! Theywere destroyed so that others could not usethem. What was the value of the books andother items they burned? (Verse 19, last part)____________ . Bible scholars differ as to the actual value, but they wereprobably worth at least 10 to 20 thousand U.S.dollars today.

CHURCH GROWS AT EPHESUSAs a result of Paul's preaching andaccompanying miracles, God's Church grewrapidly in Ephesus. But Ephesus was a very

pagan city. The temple of Diana, one of thefamous seven wonders of the ancient world,existed at Ephesus during the time of Paul. Theentire city worshipped the pagan idols of theGreeks and Romans, but they especiallyworshipped the goddess Diana.Paul faced many trials and dangers while hewas in Asia Minor (I I Corinthians 1:8). But hesaw God's hand in opening the way for theGospel of the Kingdom of God to be preached.So Paul went ahead and did God's Workcourageously regardless of the obstacles andresulting threats to his life (I Corinthians16:8-9).Paul angered many in Ephesus by teachingthat there is only one true God, and bypreaching about the coming Kingdom of Godwhich, under Jesus Christ, is soon to rule theentire earth from Jerusalem. So what happened8

in the city? (Acts 19:23) _

Paul had turned so many from their pagways in Ephesus and throughout Asia Minthat sales of silver and brass replicas of thgreat temple of Diana dropped dramaticallMerchants, priests, workmen and artists wefurious with Paul. His encounter with thDiana worshippers is recorded in Acts 19:241.As you read through this account, notihow easily human beings can be swayedbelieve in absolute lies and become stirred uemotionally. Had it not been for a town clewho intervened, there might have been mantrampled to death in a riot that day!

PAUL SAILS FOR GREECEPicking up the story in Acts 20, it is notime for Paul to leave Ephesus. Sometim

during the fall of 55 A.D., he and hcompanions departed for the region callMacedonia (Greece), and spent the wintthere. This is when he wrote the letters (bookof II Corinthians and Romans. What did Pado in the spring of 56 A.D.? (Acts 20:6) _At this point in time, Paul had beconverted about 20 years. He had travelmostly through the gentile world. Notice thmention is made of God's festivals as Patraveled through these gentile cities. Certainlif God's Holy Days had been done away, Pawould not still be keeping them in this gentregion 20 years after his conversion. Nor wou

he have continued to keep them faithfully yein and year out throughout the rest of his lifA GREAT MIRACLE

After crossing from Europe (Greece) backAsia Minor, Paul and his party spent a weekTroas. Paul, as one would expect, alwaassembled with the brethren on the Sabbaday. Here at Troas one of the great miracles

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he Bible occurred.After the sermon on the Sabbath day, Paulnd the disciples came together to(Acts 20:7, middle part oferse) on Saturday night. Remember, the dayshen were considered to begin and end atundown. (This is the way God originally

the beginning and ending of23:32.) Days did not beginnd end at midnight as the world counts timeoday. So when you read Acts 20:7, you shouldthat the "first day of the week"entioned here is actually what we would callnight.The Church undoubtedly had a large dinnerter the Sabbath (they "broke bread") so theyould continue fellowshiping with Paul. Then

fter dinner Paul continued to speak to them.n fact, he continued his preaching untildnight. (Remember that Paul spoke to somef these congregations only once in manyears!) This sequence of events shows thatpreaching had to have been on anight-or the night portion of theirst day of the week. I t definitely was not anday morning church service!A young man named Eutychus became a

her famous Biblical personality as a result ofalling asleep while the Apostle Paul preachednight. What happened to Eutychus?Verse 9) _did Paul immediately do? (Verse 10)

'. It is apparnt that the young man died! Everyone wasrelieved and excited that he was miraculouslyrestored to life.

TRIALS OF THE CHURCHNot long after leaving Troas, Paul hadplanned to visit Ephesus again (Acts 20:16).But since he did not really have time to stop by

he Church at Ephesus and still get toerusalem in time for the Day of Pentecost, heent word ahead for the elders of the Church to

come down to the city of(verse 17) to meet him.As we've already noted, the Church of Ghad been in existence for almost 25 years noand Paul had been in the ministry overyears. As the Gospel of the Kingdom of Gwas preached to the world, those who becatrue Christians experienced many trials. Thoften suffered persecution from their ofamilies and friends. In many cities where larJewish congregations existed, the Jewbelievers were also persecuted by their ocountrymen for rejecting much of the humandevised traditions of the Jewish religion thhad grown up keeping.Most of the Jewish people in Christ's dand up to our time have never accepted JesChrist as the Messiah. In additionpersecution from the Jews in the gentile citwhere Paul raised up churches, members wpersecuted by civil magistrates for rejecttheir former Jewish and/or pagan ways.There were even trials from within tChurch! People who were not truly converchurch members led astray some of the weakmembers of the Church. False ministers crin and led away congregations to themselves.false religious system, masquerading undername of Christianity, had already begun awas growing-perhaps as much or more,some areas, than the true Church of God.you read through the rest of Acts 20, taspecial note of the love, warmth and emotPaul expressed as he implored the ministersGod's Church to remain faithful and to sethe needs of the people whom God hcalled.Take the time here to copy down three kverses in the middle of this chapter. Thcontain an important warning to all Gopeople and especially to all of God's ministe(Verses 28-30) _

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An insight into Paul's character, drive andetermination can be found in verses 33-34.these verses on the following lines. __

ou may remember that in an earlier lesson wealked about Paul having a trade. All Jewishoys learned a manual trade while they wererowing up. Through many months of Paul'sinistry, he had to support himself before thelearned the truth about tithing toNew Testament ministry. At Ephesus,aul worked with his own hands providing aiving not only for himself, but also for thoseho accompanied him.LEARNING HOW TO "GIVE"

Paul, through his example and teaching, lefts one of the greatest principles of trueHe followed the words of Jesushrist who said (Acts 20:35, last part of theerse) _

This is not a direct quote from Matthew,Luke or John who wrote the biographiesf Jesus. Yet Paul plainly says these wordsere spoken by Jesus Christ. In an earlieresson we learned that Paul spent three years inrabia, during which time he was personallyby Jesus Christ. Even though the aboveentioned biographers did not include theseords of Christ, they are nevertheless a part ofod's inspired Word, the Bible.These words state what appears to be aimple principle. But very few people haveiscovered the real joy of living by this mostsic Christian principle. I f you have not yetxperienced this living principle in action inour own life, we hope you will soon start toarn this precious truth.When we are young, we are often on thereceiving or "getting" side of things. In societyoday, the "get" way or philosophy of life ispracticed in the holidays and customs that are10

observed. Young children receive presentsChristmas time. They expect and are givpresents on their birthdays. They get valentinfrom their friends. They receive new clothesEaster. Most people don't realize how thecustoms actually instill a wrong waylife-the way of "get." Thus people growgenerally wanting to be on the receiving endOf course it is fine to receive gifts, bcertainly not on pagan holidays! Under tproper circumstances, everyone can enjreceiving nice things at any time of the yefrom those who love them. But since Chrsaid, "I t is more blessed to GIVE thanreceive," someone also has to be on the giviend. I f there is a receiver, there must begiver.

The wrong principle so often taughtconnection with pagan holidays or other soccustoms-especially to the very young-isprinciple of receiving without learning howgive. But anyone who has experienced the rjoy of giving, especially when he or she is nexpecting to receive something in return, htruly learned an important spiritual lesson.Often, the greatest gift we have to give is otime. When we help another person and expnothing in return, we are on the waylearning what Christ truly meant. I f you haever experienced the fact that "I t is moblessed to give than to receive," you alreaknow what a blessing it really is!

PAUL RETURNS TO JERUSALEMAfter leaving Miletus and the elders froEphesus, Paul and his party island-hopp

across the Mediterranean Sea on their wback to Jerusalem. But the times were not eaThe Church in Jerusalem was being percuted. Because he had made such an impthroughout the gentile world, Paul wouldbe welcomed by the Romans-and certainot by the Jews. While visiting churmembers in the city of Tyre, what did theyto persuade Paul not to do? (Acts 21:4) _

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An excavated portion of a moat is part of an oldforti fication at Caesarea. Paul stopped by thisseacoast city on his return trip home to Jerusalem.On the trip to Jerusalem, Paul and his partystopped at the seacoast city of Caesarea. Therethey were able to stay for many days in thehome of _

(verse 8).You may remember reading in Acts 7 aboutthe first deacons being ordained after theChurch began to grow. These deacons wereordained to help take care of certain physicalresponsibilities, thus giving the ministers moretime for their spiritual duties. Some of thesedeacons eventually became ordained minis-ters.One of the original deacons was Stephen,who became the first martyr of the NewTestament Church. Philip, whom we readabout here, was also one of the first sevendeacons to be ordained. He had grownspiritually through the years and eventuallybecame an evangelist in the service of God'sChurch. What are we told about Philip'sdaughters? (Verse 9) _

The New Testament does not give us detaiof how God revealed special messages to thowho served him. But here we have justpassing comment about four young ladies (thmust have been between 16 to 25 years of agwhom God used to prophesy (relate) certamessages from Him. However, through PaGod shows that women do not serve in tministry. Read and copy down what Paul sain I Corinthians 14:34. _

Though women are not to be ministerspreach in church, there were prophetesses wfaithfully served God.In addition to prophetesses, there wealso prophets in the early New TestameChurch. While Paul stayed with Philip, tevangelist, one of these prophets nam(Acts 21:10) came froJudea to see Paul. What was his message to tapostle Paul? (Verse 11)

God's message to Paul, spoken by Agabualerted him to the fact he would be arrestand bound in Jerusalem. Paul felt strongthat it was God's will for him to goJerusalem, even though he now knew whhis fate would be. Paul even speculated thhe might have to die in Jerusalem (ver13). But he was ready for whatever mighappen and did not change his mind abogoing on to Jerusalem!In the next lesson we will cover Paustay in Jerusalem and, just as the prophAgabus predicted, his arrest and imprisoment. It was through these events that G

had Paul eventually appear before tEmperor at Rome. There's more excitemeahead as we continue to learn about tearly years of God's Church and about thoHe called into it!

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