Philippians and Philippines are two similar words that sometimes cause confusion. Although these words are almost spelt identically, there is a difference between the Philippians vs Philippines.
If you are having a hard time understanding the difference between these two words, keep reading to better what the difference between the Philippians and the Philippines.
Philippians is the eleventh book of the New Testament of the Bible, while the Philippines is a country officially known as the Republic of the Philippines in Southeast Asia.
Philippians also refers to people who lived in the ancient Greek city of Philippi not just the eleventh book in the New Testament.
Definition of Philippians
The word “Philippians” in the English dictionary is the eleventh book of the New Testament of the Bible, the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians or the Letter of Paul to the Philippians.
Philippians was written by Saint Paul the Apostle to the Christian congregation in Philippi, a city in ancient Greece. According to Britannica, Philippians was written while Saint Paul was likely to be imprisoned at Rome or Ephesus around 62 CE.
Several scholars believed that the Philippians was a later collection of fragments of correspondence of Saint Paul with his Christian congregation in the city of Philippi.
Apostle Paul, Silas, and Timothy were said to have visited Philippi for the first during Saint Paul’s second missionary journey from Antioch. Their visits to Philippi is said to have occurred between 49 and 51 AD.
In the account of Apostle Paul’s visit in the Act of the Apostle, he and Silas were accused of disturbing the peace in the city.
Saint Paul hoped to visit the Philippians once again, as his execution was getting close. Saint Paul was a man who loved to spread the gospel despite being imprisoned several times for doing so.
He explained that he was imprisoned because he was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Saint Paul embraced death for the sake of Jesus Christ. Although Apostle Paul was more concerned to continue preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, he had to accept his faith a point.
Apostle Paul was an educated man who exhorted his readers to remain steadfast in their faith in Jesus Christ. He urged his readers to imitate the humanity of Christ, who “emptied himself” and “became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”.
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Definition of Philippines
Officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, this is a country located in Southeast Asia. The Philippines is one of the countries in the world that is made up of thousands of islands.
According to Wikipedia, in total, there are about 7,641 islands and these islands are categorized into three main geographical divisions- from north to south, Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas.
These islands are all located in the western Pacific Ocean.
Since the country consists of thousands of islands, the Philippines is bounded by seas and shares maritime borders with many countries in Asia. The country is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Celebes Sea to the south and the Philippines Sea to the east.
The Philippines is the twelfth most populous country in the world, with over 109 million people according to the 2020 census. The Southeastern Asian country covers a total land area of 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 square miles).
The capital of the Philippines is Manila, while its largest city is Quezon City. Filipino and English are two official languages in the Philippines, with an additional 19 recognized languages.
Philippians vs Philippines: History of the Philippines
During the 16th century, Ruy Lopéz de Villalobos who was a Spanish explorer named the islands of Samar and Leyte “Felipinas”. Ruy Lopéz named the two islands after King Philip II of Castile.
Later, the Spanish adopted a new name “Las Islas Filipinas”, which will be used for the conquered archipelago. The Philippines then was referred to by other names like “Islas del Oriente” (eastern islands), “Islas del Poniente” (western islands), and “San Lázaro” (island of Saint Lazarus).
Before the arrival of the Europeans to the Southeast Asian islands, the Negrito inhabited the land for thousands of years. They were the first inhabitant of the land before the presence of other settlers in the land.
Ferdinand Magellan who was a Portuguese explorer led the Spanish to the islands. The arrival of the Europeans was followed by the introduction of Christianity.
Catholic Christianity became a widely accepted religion in the Philippines.
During the late 19th century, the Spanish-American War began and Spain gave up the territory to the Americans. On June 12, 1898, the Philippines gained its independence from the United States but adopted the name given to the territory by Spain.
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Philippians vs Philippines: Difference between Philippians and Philippines
The word “Philippians” in the English dictionary is the eleventh book of the New Testament of the Bible, the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians or the Letter of Paul to the Philippians.
In contrast, The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines is a country located in Southeast Asia.
Philippians was written by Saint Paul the Apostle to the Christian congregation in Philippi, a city in ancient Greece.
Philippians was written while Saint Paul was likely to be imprisoned at Rome or Ephesus around 62 CE.
Several scholars believed that the Philippians was a later collection of fragments of correspondence of Saint Paul with his Christian congregation in the city of Philippi.
The Philippines is one of the countries in the world that is made up of thousands of islands. It’s a county that consists of about 7,641 islands and these islands are categorized into three main geographical divisions- from north to south, Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas.
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Philippians vs Philippines: Comparison Chart
| Philippians | Philippines |
| The word “Philippians” in the English dictionary is the eleventh book of the New Testament of the Bible, the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians | The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines is a country located in Southeast Asia |
| Philippians was written by Saint Paul the Apostle to the Christian congregation in Philippi, a city in ancient Greece. | A county in Southeast Asia that was a colony of Spain but gained independence from the United States |
| Philippians is considered one of Saint Paul’s most personal and heartfelt writings | A country with over 109 million people, home to a diverse ethnic group |
Philippians vs Philippines: Are Philippians from the Bible and Filipinos the same?
No! They are not the same people from the Bible. The Philippians are people from the ancient Greek city of Philippi, while Filipinos are people from the Southeast Asian country named the Philippines.
The Philippians are people from Philippi, an ancient territory in Macedonia- located in present-day Greece in Europe. Apostle Paul hoped to visit the Philippians once again, as his execution was getting close.
So, there is a difference between the Philippians vs Philippines. One is an ancient city in Macedonia (in present-day Greece), while the other is an archipelagic country known as the Republic of the Philippines in Southeast Asia.
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Conclusion
Although both words are almost spelt identically, there is a difference between the Philippians vs Philippines.
Philippians, in the English dictionary, is the eleventh book of the New Testament of the Bible, the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians. The Philippines is the twelfth most populous country in the world, with over 109 million people according to a 2020 census.
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References
- Wikipedia: Philippines
- Britannica: Letter of Paul to the Philippians
- Wikipedia: Epistle to the Philippians
- Reddit: Are Filipinos and Philippians from the Bible the same thing?
- Quora: Are the Filipinos from the Philippines the Philippians from the Bible?
