“Anointed One” is translated as “Messiah” in Hebrew and “Christ” in Greek. Since the New Testament is written in Greek, “Christ” is almost always the term used. However, Jesus and his apostles primarily spoke in Hebrew (or the related language Aramaic) so they would have used the term “Messiah.” You can see this in action in John 1:41 and 4:25, where John explains that the term “Christ” is the same as “Messiah.”
The terms “Messiah” would have probably been the term used until about 50 AD when virtually all Christians were Jews who spoke Hebrew. From about 50 AD to 70 AD, the term “Messiah” would have been used by the Jewish Christians and the term “Christ” would have been used by the Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians. During that time period, the terms would have been synonymous. That is also the time period when virtually all of the New Testament was written in Greek, except for the books by John.
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Acts 16:6 is a curious verse. Paul is on the Second Missionary Journey. He apparently wants to go into the province of Asia (western part of modern Turkey) but the Holy Spirit keeps him from doing so. Why? Possibly because he hasn’t met Lydia yet!
Lydia lives in Philippi, a city in Macedonia. She is an international businesswoman from Thyatira, a city in Asia. Is it possible that her influence will later help Paul establish churches throughout Asia? Was she influential in the church later established in Thyatira talked about in Revelation 2:18-29?
Lydia’s conversion story is told in Acts 16:11-15. Holy Spirit has not allowed Paul to go to Asia, but he did guide him to go to Philippi in Macedonia. Paul goes to pray at the river, where he meets Lydia. Lydia is described as a worshiper of God. This probably means she was a God Fearer, a non-Jew who was allowed to worship God at the local synagogue along with the other women. She listened to Paul, became a believer and was baptized.
