Southern Christian University
Acts
Class
Session 01
James A.
Turner
Hello students, it is now time for us to begin
our first Class Session for New Testament 3409A, which is an introduction to
and a study of the book of Acts. I
surely hope that each one of us will profit in a good way by the study of this
great book. The first thing that I would
like to do this evening is first get some of this busy work out of the
way. I guess you know how that we are to
put down learning objectives for each class and then how we are going to deal
with the learning objectives in the lecture.
Notice for this class I have down three things, one that Luke is the
author of Acts and a number of things about Luke, and so we will begin with
that.
We know that Luke is the author of the book of
Acts because he had already written the gospel of Luke and he addressed it to
most excellent Theophilus, Luke 1:1-4. And in the introduction to the book of Acts,
Acts is addressed to Theophilus. Reading
from Luke chapter one verses one through four, he says, "Forasmuch
as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters
which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us, who
from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good
to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first,
to write unto thee in order, most excellent
Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things,
which thou was instructed." And then here
in the beginning of the book of Acts, Acts is addressed to Theophilus. Acts 1:1-2, "The
former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to
do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after that he had
given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen."
Notice verse one says he had written that former
treatise to Theophilus about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the
days that he was taken up. And that
surely is what the gospel of Luke is about.
Now reading from Luke chapter twenty-four, beginning with verse
twenty-five, it reads, "Then opened he their
mind, that they might understand the scriptures, and he said unto them, Thus it
is written, that Christ should suffer, and to rise again from dead the third
day: And that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from
Jerusalem. Ye are witnesses of these
things. And, behold, I send forth the
promise of my Father upon you: But tarry ye in the city (Jerusalem) until ye
be clothed with the power from on high.
And he led them out as far as Bethany,
and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he departed from them, and was
carried up into heaven. And they
worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem
with great joy:
And were continually in the temple, blessing God." So notice that the book includes, just as he
states here in Acts 1:2, that it is about what,
“Jesus began to do and to teach until the days which he was
received up.” And the gospel of Luke closes with Jesus
giving commandment unto the apostles and then ascending into heaven.
Now in regard to other things about Luke, we are
first introduced to him as a person in Acts chapter sixteen, verses ten through
fifteen. Paul was on the second
missionary journey as recorded in the book of Acts. It was not the second journey he had been on,
but it is the journey that is recorded in the book of Acts as the second journey.
On the second journey he started out
with Silas, and they went through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches
(Acts 15:41), and then they
revisited those churches of Galatia that he and Barnabas
had established on that first journey. They
started with that last church that they had established, Derbe, and then from
Derbe to Lystra. At Lystra, there was a
young man that Paul had converted on the first journey, Timothy, and he was
well-reported of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium. Paul decided to have him circumcised and
carry him as a fellow worker on this second journey. After he and Silas and now Timothy had
revisited those four churches that they had established on that first journey,
those churches were in the order that they were established: Antioch of Pisidia, then Iconium, then Lystra
and Derbe. And after they had revisited
those churches, and had delivered to them the decrees that had been ordained of
the apostles and elders as recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Acts about that
Jerusalem meeting over
circumcision, after they had delivered those to the churches, Paul wanted to go
into Asia.
He probably wanted to go to Ephesus at that time, but he was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go into
Asia. They wanted to go into Bithynia and the Spirit of Jesus
suffered them not to go there. And Luke
says passing by a Mysia they came to Troas (Acts 16:8). At Troas, Paul received a vision
in the night, a man standing over in Macedonia of European territory saying, “Come
over into Macedonia
and help us.” We can tell from the pronouns in Acts 16:10 beginning, that Luke
joined the company of Paul, Silas and Timothy at Troas. This strongly indicates that Paul and Luke
must have had some association prior to this. Some think that Luke was a Gentile
and possibly the brother of Titus, that Paul and Barnabas had carried with them
to Jerusalem to make him a test
case. If circumcision was binding, Titus
had not been circumcised. Whether that is
true or not, the Bible does not tell us, but it does seem quite logical. But notice the reading of Acts sixteen
beginning with verse ten, "And when
he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia,
concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel unto them. Setting sail therefore from Troas, we
made a straight course to Samothrace,
and the following day to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi, which is
a city of Macedonia,
the first of the district and Roman colony: And we were in this city certain
days. And on the Sabbath we went
forth without the gate by the river side, where we supposed that there
was a prayer service; and we sat down, and spake unto the women that
came together.” At that prayer service Lydia and her household, which looks like was a business household, were
all converted. And verse fifteen says,
"When she was baptized, and her
household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the
Lord, come into my house, and abide there.
And she constrained us."
And then he continues on there with more we. But in chapter seventeen, we see that he
stays behind at Philippi when Paul and Silas left Philippi and went to
Thessalonica. Reading from Acts seventeen,
"And when they,. (talking about Paul and Silas) had
passed through Amphipolis and Apolonia, they came to Thessalonica where
there was a synagogue of the Jews. And
Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned
with them from the scripture, opening and alleging, that it behooved that
Christ must suffer, and to rise from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I
proclaim unto you, is Christ." So we
can see by his use of the pronouns when he is with the company of Paul and when
he is not with the company of Paul.
The next time that he uses the pronoun we is after
Paul had taken up contributions from all of those Gentile churches of Macedonia
and Achaia and they were ready to carry that bounty to Jerusalem, Luke joined
the company. We know that to be the case
from the reading in Acts chapter twenty, verses five and six. In verse four, Luke lists the names of the
messengers of the churches and then verses five and six, "These
had gone before and were waiting for us, (Paul and Luke) and we
sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto
them at Troas in five days; where we tarried seven days." And, of course, Luke continued with them on
that journey to Jerusalem. Acts 21:7, "And
when we were come to Jerusalem,
the brethren received us gladly." It looks
like that Luke was close to Paul during that time that he was in prison at
Caesarea, (Acts 23:26-25:12) which some count as
a two-year period. Whether it was that
long or not, I do not know, but anyway he was first tried by Claudis Lyseas
(Acts 23:26-30) and then by governor
Felix. Felix recognized that he had done
nothing that was illegal, and he hoped that money would be given to him, and he
would turn him loose. Paul and his
friends did not come with any money, because that would have been contrary to
what was right. When Felix was going out
of office, he wanted to show the Jews a favor and he left Paul bound. So the book shows that Luke was close to Paul
during that imprisonment. While Paul was
in prison at Caesarea, would have been a good
time for him to have written the gospel of Luke. Notice again that he said that he had
followed everything, that he had traced everything accurately concerning the
things that were believed. Let me read
it again. "Forasmuch
as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters
which have been fulfilled among us, even as they have delivered them unto us,
who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed
good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the
first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus." You see Luke would have had an opportunity, Caesarea is just a few miles
from Jerusalem, and surely he would
have had an opportunity to have talked to eyewitnesses and traced accurately
the things from the first about what Jesus did and taught until the time that
he was taken up. Finally Paul appealed his
case to Caesar.
After Festus had tried him, he did not find
anything that Paul had done wrong, but he was ready to show the Jews a favor. They pleaded with Festus for him to let them
try him at Jerusalem, Acts 25:1-2. If Paul had gone to Jerusalem, they had planned to
kill him in the way. Notice from Acts 25:11-12, Paul was a Roman
citizen, so he refused to go to Jerusalem but appealed his case
to Caesar. He said, "If
then I am a wrongdoer and have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse
not to die: But if none of these things is true whereof
these accuse me, no man can give me up unto them. I appeal unto Caesar." You see he had rights as a Roman citizen to
make an appeal unto Caesar, and so he appealed his case to Caesar.
Luke was also with Paul when he made the voyage to Rome as given in Acts 27:1, "And when
it was determined that we should sail for Italy,
they delivered Paul and certain prisoners to a centurion named Julius of the
Augustus' band." So Luke was with Paul on that voyage to Rome, and he was with Paul
during that two years imprisonment. During
that first Roman imprisonment Paul was permitted to live in his own hired dwelling
during that two years. Remember that there were no real charges against him,
and so he was permitted to live in his own hired dwelling, guarded by soldiers,
but he was permitted to speak to all that came in to hear him. During that two years imprisonment, he
carried on an evangelistic campaign, plus he wrote the four New Testament books
that we refer to as the prison epistles: Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians and Philemon. And in
Colossians 4:14, he sends a salutation
to the Colossians from, “Luke the beloved physician.”
So Luke was a physician, and a well-educated
man. His gospel book is counted as the
most literary book of the four gospel books, and the book of Acts is also
written in a very good way. Also in the
short epistle to Philemon, he sends salutations from Luke (Philemon, 23-24). So Luke was with Paul during the first Roman
imprisonment, and he was with Paul during the second Roman imprisonment,
according to II Timothy 4:11, Paul writing to
Timothy and encouraging him to come and bring Mark with him. He says only “Luke
is with me.” Luke was almost in continuous association with
Paul during those times that we have spoken of.
I think that deals fairly well with the objective that Luke is the
author of the book and some of the other things about Luke. Luke was surely a great person.
The number two, learning objective, the
approximate time that Acts was written and how many years the book covers. Acts
begins with the closing admonitions of Jesus to the apostles and then his ascension,
and it concludes at the end of that first Roman imprisonment. The dates usually given for that two years'
Roman imprisonment is either 60 to 62 AD or 61 to 63 AD, therefore the book of
Acts covers approximately thirty years. It is a brief history of the spread of
the gospel and the growth of the church.
It was written about 62 or 63 AD and covers approximately thirty
years. Think of that, giving a brief
history of the spread of the gospel and the growth of the kingdom of God in twenty-eight chapters. That ought to tell us on the surface that the
book of Acts is a very brief account.
And when we get to the twentieth chapter of the book of Acts, we will
give attention in a more detailed way of just how brief it is.
The third objective is that the book of Acts is
a great book, and surely it is. We
really would not have a very clear understanding of what a person must do in
order to be saved without the book of Acts.
Now, there are many other passages coupled with the book of Acts that
show very clearly, but as many of our brethren have referred to the book of
Acts as a book of conversions. Well, it is
a book of conversions, but it is much more than a book of
conversions because it shows how that the apostles carried out the instructions
that Jesus gave them as recorded in Acts 1:8, which we will be reading
in a few minutes.
In the book of Acts, the question is asked and
answered three times as to what a person must do in order to be saved. When
the apostle Peter preached the first gospel sermon on that first Pentecost
after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, he told them about the
resurrection of Christ, and that he had been exalted to the right hand of
God. And he said, "And
he hath poured forth that which you should see and hear." Talking about the miraculous things that were
happening to the apostles. And he said,
"Let the house of Israel
know assuredly that God has made this same Jesus, whom you have crucified both
Lord and Christ. And there were those
who were pricked in their hearts, and they said to Peter and the other
apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do." Meaning what shall we do to be saved. "And Peter
said, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit, for the promise is unto you and your children, them that are far
off even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
In chapter nine Saul of Tarsus had received letters from the chief
priest to go to a foreign country to Damascus the capital of Syria to bind the Christians
that were there and carry them back to Jerusalem and put them in prison
when he was arrested by a light from heaven.
And the Lord spake to Saul, and when he did, Saul said, "Who
art thou, Lord?"
Acts 9:5. "And he
said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: But rise, and enter into the city, and it
shall be told thee what thou must do."
And then God sent Ananias to him to tell him what he needed to do. And in Acts twenty-two, Paul repeats the
story of his conversion and also in chapter twenty-six. In Acts 22:12-16, he tells about
Ananias coming to him and saying to him, "Why
tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized,
and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." So Saul was told what he needed to do in
order to be saved.
Then in Acts sixteenth chapter, we read about where Paul
and Silas at Philippi were beaten and thrown into prison, and the keeper of the
prison was given charge to keep them safely, and he thrust them into the inner
part of the prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. “But at midnight
Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were
listening to them.” And the Lord sent an earthquake that jarred
the prison doors open, and the jailer, thinking that the prisoners had escaped,
drew his sword, ready to kill himself, when Paul said to him, “Sir,
do thy self no harm, for we are all here.” And
the Philippian jailer, trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas -- and I
believe he called for a light, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas
and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And Paul told him what he needed to do to be
saved. So three times the question is
asked and answered. And, of course, we
have many other cases of conversion recorded in the book of Acts. Let me emphasize that in each case where
everything is recorded the conversion ends in baptism. In the eighth chapter of Acts, the conversion
of the Ethiopian eunuch, “Philip preached unto him Jesus” and they came to a certain
water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water,
what doth hinder me to be baptized?” And that
goes for all the cases where everything is enumerated as to what they did. It ended with them being baptized for the
remission of their sins.
The book of Acts is also a great book from the
standpoint of how it ties in with the epistles of Paul. Paul wrote I and II Thessalonians, I and II
Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, and those four prison epistles during the time
period of the book of Acts. And it is very
important from the standpoint of being able to have some details about where
and when Paul wrote those books and the problems in those churches when he
wrote the books. There are a number of
things in the book of Acts that assist us with a better understanding of those
epistles, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, and
then the prison group.
Well, I reckon we are now ready to begin the
reading and the study of the first chapter of Acts. "The former
treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and
to teach." Notice that.
Some preachers are ready to say, you are not to do as I do, but do as I
tell you to do. Well, if he really
believes that, he is the wrong kind of preacher. A man is to demonstrate his teaching by the
way that he lives, Jesus did that, and notice, “concerning
of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the
day in which he was received up, after he had given commandment through the
Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom he also showed himself alive after
his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and
speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God."
I believe I am right when I say that it is only this third verse of
chapter one of Acts that we learn how many days Jesus was on earth after his
resurrection. Luke tells us it was forty
days, appearing unto them in a space of forty days, and speaking of things
concerning the kingdom of God. From the gospel accounts, we recognize that
Jesus was on earth for a while before his ascension, but Luke tells us how
long. "And,
being assembled together with them (the
apostles) he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem." Now, going back to verse two, he had given
commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles. And so he is giving this charge then in
verses four and five -- well, beginning with verse four and on through verse
eight. "And
being assembled together with them, he charged them not
to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard from
me. For John indeed baptized with water;
but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence." I think we have stated as a fact that most
religious people in our American society are all mixed up in regard to Holy
Spirit baptism and the purpose of Holy Spirit baptism. Some even teach that everybody should be
baptized with the Holy Spirit, and that is not the case at all. At the end of verse five, if you have room
like I have in my Bible, write “promised to the apostles”. Please let me
encourage you to write down notes or references in your Bible. Over the years I have learned that they are some
of the very best notes that you can have are references in your Bible, which
you will refer to and refresh your memory concerning things that you know you
have learned, but by the time you come back, you may have forgotten. I remember
hearing Dr. James Bale of Harding University saying a number of
years ago that, “faded ink is much better than a faded mind”. I found that to be the case, and I highly
recommend that you write down references in your Bible, and I will give you quite
a number. And I would appreciate it very
much if you would write them down.
References in your Bible will be a lot better. You also have references given in the study
questions, but in all probability in the process of time you will not know
where those study questions are. And
even if you do, you would not have them with you when you are going to need
them. But if you have the references
written down, that will remind you, then you have them there. Verse four again, "And,
being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard from
me. For John indeed baptized with water;
but ye ye shall be
baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence."
When John was preaching and baptizing in the
Jordan as recorded in Matthew 3:11-12, he said, "I
indeed baptize you unto repentance: But he that cometh after me is mightier than
I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit, and
with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into the garner;
but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire." So Matthew 3:11-12 says that Jesus
would administer Holy Spirit baptism and fire baptism. I remember seeing a sign in the yard of one
church building that said: “A Fire Baptism Church”. They were of that denomination that say that
the Lord gave three baptisms: water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism, and fire
baptism, and we believe in all three.
Well, I surely believe in all three, but not the way that they believe, about
fire baptism or Holy Spirit baptism either.
Fire baptism, as shown by verse twelve, is hell
fire. "Whose
fan is in his hand, he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather
the wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire." John is using the illustration of the
threshing floor of that day. During that time they piled up the grain on the
threshing floor, and they had an ox to pull around and around a threshing sled
over the grain until the chaff was separated from the grain. And then when the wind was right, they threw
the wheat, or whatever grain it was, and the chaff up in the air, and the wind
blew the chaff out, and the grain was left on the threshing floor. And so John says, "Whose
fan is in his hand, he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather
the wheat into the garner."
The wheat represents the righteous, and the garner would represent
heaven. "But
the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire."
I guess all of you have been listening some about the great number of
wild forest fires in the western states and how at times there is just very
little they can do in controlling some of them.
But at the same time, they are not unquenchable fire. Sometimes those
flames they say go up a hundred and fifty feet high and reach out about that
far. From the standpoint of man being able to deal with them, they cannot deal
with some of them very effectively, but the Lord can send a great downpour, a gully washer rain, and put them out in a hurry! There is no fire that is unquenchable except
hell fire. Another reference which
shows that to be the case is II Thessalonians 1:6-10 were Paul said,
"To you who are troubled rest with us,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the
gospel of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, from the glory of his
power."
Another reference that you need to put down at
the end of verse five is John 14:26, 16:7-14. John is the only writer that records that
long discourse that Jesus gave his disciples after he had kept the last Passover
and had instituted the Lord's Supper before he was betrayed by Judas
Iscariot. That long discourse covers John
thirteen through sixteen, and then chapter seventeen, the prayer that he prayed
on that occasion. In John 14:26, Jesus said, "But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father shall send in my name,
he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you." And in John chapter 16:7-14, he states, "It
is expedient that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not
come. But if I go away he will
come. And when he comes he will convict
the world of sin." And further he says, "He
shall not speak from himself, but he shall take of mine, and shall declare
it." Well, first he would guide them unto all
truth, but the Comforter or the Holy Spirit would not be speaking for
himself. "But
he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you." So the Holy Spirit was to guide the apostles,
each time the apostles are involved. He
is talking to the apostles here Acts 1:4-8, and he is talking
to the apostles in John 14:26, and in John 16:7-14. You need to turn sometime soon and read those
passages and get them in mind.
Okay.
Verse six, "They therefore when they were come
together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom
to Israel?" We need not get excited today when we teach
the same thing over and over again and still some people do not
understand. These apostles had been with
the Lord more than three years, about three-and-a-half-years, we think, and
they were still expecting him to set up an earthly kingdom instead of
establishing a spiritual kingdom. The
Lord could not have pleased the apostles any better than if he had come to
establish an earthly kingdom. And he
surely could not have pleased the Jewish people any better if he had accepted
all three of those challenges that the devil presented Jesus with after he had
been in the wilderness for forty days. After
that forty days, he was hungry, and you know those temptations, how that the
devil said, “if thou be the Son of God, turn these
stones into bread.” And
you know that would have pleased the Jewish people because they liked
for the Lord to perform signs and wonders, and they were always ready to be
fed. They would have liked to have seen
him cast himself down from the temple, from the pinnacle of the temple, and
they would have surely liked for him to have been an earthly ruler. When the devil carried him up on the
exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said
to him, “These will I give to you, if you will
bow down and worship me.” Jesus said, “Get
thee hence, Satan, for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and
him only shalt thy serve.” The Jewish people wanted
to be out from under Roman authority, and most of
the Jewish people were looking for was for him to be become an earthly
king. And he could not have pleased them
better than to become an earthly king.
By verse six, you need to write down John 6:15 and 18:36. After Jesus had fed the multitude of five
thousand men plus the women and children, and that must have been at least ten
thousand people that he fed with five loaves and two fishes. As recorded in John 6:15, they were ready to
take him by force to make him an earthly king.
Let us turn to John six and notice that with your own eyes how important
it is. Notice in verse ten, "And
Jesus said, Make the people sit
down. Now there was much grass in the
place. So the men sat down, in number
about five thousand.” Well, when you think that most of them had
their wives with them and a lot of children, so it must have been at least ten
thousand that were fed. "Jesus
therefore took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to them that
were set down; and likewise also the fishes as much as they would. And when they were filled, he saith unto his
disciples, Gather up the broken pieces which remain over, that nothing be
lost." The Lord teaches a lesson of being
conservative and taking proper care of what we have, and they took up twelve
basketfuls of broken pieces. "And
so they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the
five barley loaves, which remained over unto them that had eaten." Now notice verses fourteen and fifteen. "When therefore the people saw the sign which he
did, they said, This is of a truth the prophet that cometh into the world. Jesus therefore perceiving that that they
were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew
again into the mountain himself alone." Do you
see the importance of John 6:15, “that
they were about ready to make him king
by force”? This is one of the many references which show
that the doctrine of Premillennialism is a false doctrine. They are bent on making him an earthly king.
Would this not have been the proper time for him to be an earthly king if God
had intended him to be an earthly king? I want to continue to mention a number
of things like this which show that the Premillennialism doctrine is a false
doctrine. Jesus did not come to be an earthly king, but they are still going to
have him be an earthly king. On this
occasion they were about to make him an earthly king by force and he left their
presence.
When the first period of the first Class Session
was up, we were still on Acts 1:6, the disciples said to
Jesus, "Wilt thou at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel?"
And I asked you to write down John 6:15, and we turned and
read from the sixth chapter of John about how that the people were ready to
make Jesus an earthly king by force and he left their presence. I also asked you to write down 18:36, when Jesus was before
Pilate and he questioned him about his being an earthly kingdom. He said,
"My kingdom is not of this world, if my
kingdom were of this world, then should my servants fight, that I should not be
delivered to the Jews:
but now my kingdom is not from hence..” Jesus did not come to be an earthly king. And you may wonder why are you calling
attention to these. I want you to be
able to see that that premillennial doctrine that Christ is going to come back
to earth and reign on earth as an earthly king for a thousand years is false from
beginning to end. I will call attention
to other references as we study this book. .
When we get to Acts chapter two where Peter speaks about God raising up Jesus
to sit on David’s throne, we will go into details about the throne, that Christ
is now reigning on the throne of David. Those
of you that are on the Web, you should have all those documents printed out,
and so we can look carefully at that outline when we study Acts chapter two,
the latter part of it.
Verse seven, "And
he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times of the seasons, which
the Father hath set within his own authority.
But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: And ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea,
and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Now, notice that they were to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued
with power from on high. Going back to
verse four, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem but wait for the
promise of the Father, the promise of the Father about their being baptized
with the Holy Spirit. And in verse
eight, "But ye shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit is come upon you."
What is the meaning of ye shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you?
Write down beside verse eight,
Mark 9:1. When the Holy Spirit came on them, then the
kingdom would come. Mark 9:1 reads, "There
are some of you that stand here, that shall no wise taste of death, till ye
have seen the kingdom of God
come with power." And so here and in Acts 1:8, Jesus said that the
power would come upon them when the Holy Spirit came upon them. And then in Acts two, we will be reading
about the Holy Spirit coming on them on that first Pentecost after the
resurrection and ascension of Christ, and on that day then the kingdom had its
full beginning. According to the premillennial
doctrine Christ came to establish his kingdom, but because the Jewish people
rejected him (John 1:11-12) he ushered in the
church age and the kingdom age is yet to come. Such reasoning makes Christ a
liar in Mark 9:1 or else there are some living today on earth
who are a bout two thousand years old. In Colossians 1:13 Paul said that those
brethren had been “translated out of the kingdom of
darkness into the kingdom of God’s
dear Son”. How
were they translated into a kingdom that according to that false doctrine does
not exist. Revelation 1:9 says that the apostle
John and all of those first century brethren were “in
the kingdom, tribulation, and patience of the Lord Jesus Christ”.
Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit is come upon you." And
notice the Lord's marching orders as to who they would carry the gospel to
first and then second, third and fourth.
"And ye shall be my witnesses, both
in Jerusalem
and in all Judaea." That means the area especially around Jerusalem. "And
in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." And that would mean the Gentile people. So the gospel was first preached to the
Jewish people, and there were thousands of Jewish people that obeyed the gospel
during the beginning days of the kingdom.
After they preached the gospel in Jerusalem and Judaea, then the gospel was
carried to the Samaritans, chapter eight of Acts. Philip, one of those seven that the apostles
had laid hands on, had miraculous power, and he went to Samaria and started
preaching, and when they saw the signs and all that he did and heard his “teaching
concerning the kingdom of God of the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women”. So after the gospel was preached to the
Jewish people, it was to go next to the Samaritans, and then after the gospel
had been carried to the Samaritans, then it was to be carried to the Gentiles
and to the uttermost parts of the earth. The first time that the gospel was
formally carried to the Gentiles was at the household of Cornelius as recorded
in Acts 10. The “uttermost parts of the earth” really got under way
when Barnabas and Saul were told by the Holy Spirit to go on that first journey
as given in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Acts.
Now, in regard to the Samaritans, how much do
you know about the Samaritans? Let us
take a little time and review a few things about the Samaritans. When the ten tribes were carried into
Assyrian captivity -- Turn to II Kings chapter seventeen. Do you remember how God divided the kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms
because of the sins of king Solomon in marring so many foreign women and
idolatry being established in a big way in the land of Israel? And God, because of that, divided the kingdom
into two kingdoms (I Kings 11: 1-4, 11:9-12, 11:26-33, 12:12-16, 12:21-24).. He left Rehoboam the son of Solomon with only
two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, and gave the other ten tribes to a new king,
Jeroboam the son of Nebat. God promised
the new king Jeroboam, if he would be faithful, he would establish him a sure
kingdom like that of David's. But
Jeroboam did not exercise proper faith, and he began to reason if the people
returned to Jerusalem to worship, they will
return to Rehoboam, and they will kill me, and I will no longer be king. So he set up two golden calves, one at Bethel and one at Dan. The people of Israel had had that calf
idolatry all the time since they had left Egypt. And remember when Moses came down from the
mountain, Exodus thirty-two, and they had had Aaron to make a golden calf for
them. So Jerboam’s advisors evidently
knew that that would be popular with a lot of the people, and they established
those two golden calves, one in the south and one in the north of the territory
of the ten tribes.
And they said it is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem and “behold
thy gods which brought you out of the land of Egypt”, and most of them were
ready to turn and worship before those golden calves at Bethel and at Dan. Of course, that was idolatry, very
displeasing to God. But all of the kings
of the northern kingdom, from the first to the last, did not depart from that
calf idolatry. Finally because of all
that idolatry and their going beyond that in worshiping the Baals and burning their children as
sacrifices in worship to their idol gods, that God, after two hundred and
fifty-two years, I believe it was, in 722 BC carried the ten tribes into Assyrian
captivity. And thus we will begin to
read from II Kings chapter seventeen, "In
the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah
began Hoshea, the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria
over Israel
and he reigned nine years. And he did
what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel
who were before him. Against him came up
Shalmaneser king of Assyria,
and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found
treachery in Hoshea: For he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt,
and offered no tributes to the king of Assyria, as he
had done year by year: Therefore the king of Israel
shut him up, and bound him in prison.
Then the king of Assyria
invaded the land, and came to Samaria." During the days of king Omri (I Kings 16:23-24), they had
established a capital in a very strategic position in Samaria. And evidently it was very hard to take that
capital city, for it says for three years he besieged it. "And in the
ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria
captured Samaria,
and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria,
and placed them in Halah and on the Habor the river of Gozan,
and the cities of the Medes." And then he
begins and gives at least seven reasons why.
Coming down to verse twenty-one, "And
when he had torn Israel
from the house of David; they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: And Jeroboam drove Israel
from following the Lord, and made them commit great sin. The people of Israel
walked in all the sins which Jeroboam did; they did not depart from them."
That means about that all the kings continued
with that calf idolatry. It was made the
engine of the state, and so because of all their sins and particularly because
of all of the idolatry and the burning of their sons and their daughters as
sacrifices to their idol gods (I Kings 17:17-18; Psalms 106:37-38). God carried them
into Assyrian captivity. Most of the Jewish
people of Samaria were carried to other
territories, and the Assyrians brought Gentiles into the area of the ten
tribes. Verse twenty-four, "And the
king of Assyria
brought people from Babylon,
Cuthah and from Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities
of Samaria
instead of the people of Israel: And they took possession of Samaria,
and dwelt in its cities. And at the
beginning of the dwellings there, they did not fear the Lord: Therefore the Lord sent lions among them,
which killed some of them." So the king of
Assyria was told, "The
nations which ye have carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria,
do not know the law of the God of the land."
That was the pattern of idolatry, that one
country had this god as their primary god, and another country another, and
another country another. But anyway the
king of Assyria sent back one of their
priests. Verse twenty-seven, "Then
the king of Assyria
commanded, Send there one of the priests whom ye carried away thence; and let
them go and dwell there, and teach them the law of the God of the land." And so the Samaritans would, have been taught
some knowledge of the five books of Moses.
But they just accepted God as another God. Verse twenty-nine, "But
every nation still made gods of its own."
And they burned their children as sacrificed to their gods. Verse twenty-two, "They
also feared the Lord, and appointed among themselves all sorts of people as
priests of the high places." "So
they feared the Lord, but also served other gods, after the manner of the
nations from among whom they had been carried away. Unto this day they do according to the former
manners: They do not fear the Lord, and they do
not follow the statutes or the ordinances of the law, or the commandments which
the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel." So the Gentiles that were brought into the
territory just accepted Jehovah as another idol god. They did not really fear him and follow his
statutes and ordinances. It is thought
that some of these Gentile people intermarried with some of the Jewish people
that were left in the land.
The southern kingdom remained a hundred and
thirty-six years after the ten tribes were carried into Assyrian
captivity. Then they were carried into Babylonian captivity. And God, through the prophet Isaiah, said
that that captivity would be for seventy years (Jeremiah 29:1-10). When that period was up, the government of Babylon fell, to the Medes and
the Persians. Cyrus the king of the
Persians gave a decree that all of the people of Israel that wanted to go back
to the homeland and build another temple could go (Ezra 1:1-4). Solomon’s temple
was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in that last carrying away of Judah ((II Kings
25:8-12).
The Persian government also gave them help in
being able to build a second temple. In Ezra
the fourth chapter, when the returnees started building a second temple, the leaders of the Samaritans came forward and
approached Zerubbabel, the governor and heads of the houses, and offered to
build with them, but their offer was rejected.
Reading from Ezra chapter four, "Now
when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned
exiles were building the temple to the Lord the God of Israel; they approached
Zerubbabel, and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them." You will learn from chapters one and two that
Zerubbabel was a descendant of that king Jeconiah that was carried into
Babylonian captivity (Matthew 1:12; Ezra 1:7, 2:2), and his grandson led that first company back
to Jerusalem. When they began building then, these enemies -- Notice verse one
says, "When the adversaries of Judah and
Benjamin." So that puts us on notice that they are not
true believers in God but they are adversaries.
"They approached Zerubbabel, and the
heads of fathers' houses, and said to them, Let us build with you: For we worship your God, as ye do; and we
have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who
brought us here." And so that is talking about what we read
from II Kings chapter seventeen. "But
Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel
said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building the house to our God; but
we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of
Persia hath commanded us."
I am pretty confident that some of our liberal
brethren would say that Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses did the
wrong thing when they rejected their offer, but that is not the case because
they were not the Lord's people. They
would have been compromising with the devil's workers if they had permitted
them to build with them. And then they
showed themselves of what they were, and they hired counselors against them
until they finally stopped them from building on the temple for a period of
time. Can you imagine how that the
enmity must have continued to build up?
And finally one of the priests was doing wrong, and Nehemiah kicked him
out, and he went to Samaria and became a leader of
the Samaritans, and they built a rival temple on mount Gerizim. An understanding of this is necessary really
to understand the fourth chapter of the gospel of John, about Jesus talking to
a Samaritan woman. When she finally
recognized that he was a prophet, you remember she said, “our
fathers worshipped in this mountain,and
you say that in Jerusalem
is the place where men ought to worship”. She
was referring to mount Gerizim, which they thought of
as the mountain of blessing, where they had built a rival temple to the one in Jerusalem. Do you remember from Joshua the eighth
chapter when they carried out the commandment that Moses had given them? When they came into the land, they were to
read the blessings and the curses of the law.
The blessings were to be read from mount Gerizim, and half of the tribes
were to be assembled on that mountain, and when the blessings were read, all
the people were to say amen, and the other six tribes on mount Ebal where the curses of the
law were read. It must have been a very
moving occasion. They could hear from
one mountain to the other as the blessings and curses of the law were
read. The people of Samaria had some knowledge of
the books of Moses to say the least of it, at least some of them did. It was in order that the gospel be carried
second to the Samaritans.
But let us take time, while I am thinking about
it, to notice how fast the kingdom of God increased in those
early days of the gospel age. There were
about three thousand who obeyed because of that first sermon. Acts 2:40, "And
with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves
from this untoward generation. They then
that received the word were baptized: And there were added unto them in that day about
three thousand souls." So about three thousand were converted on
that first day when the gospel was first preached. And then in Acts 4:4, you will do well to
highlight these verses when Peter and John were arrested by the Sanhedrin. Verse four says, "But
many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of men came to be
about five thousand." Well, in this day in
time, there is usually more women than men that obey the gospel, right? So that must be at least ten thousand. And then after Ananias and Sapphira his wife
lied about their giving, they were struck dead.
Acts five, picking up with verse twelve, "And
by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the
people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. But the rest of them durst no man join himself
to them: Howbeit the people magnified them." Verse fourteen is the verse that you need to
highlight. "And
believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both men and
women." So take ten thousand people and add multitudes
to ten thousand, and that is getting into the thousands sure enough. Then Acts 6:1, "And
in these days, when the number of the disciples were multiplied, there
arose a murmuring of Grecian Jews."
Acts 6:7, "And the
word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem
exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the
faith." When you think about all those references, it
looks like to me that twenty thousand people would be a minimum estimate of the
number of Jews that obeyed the gospel in the beginning days of the church.
Now, back to Acts 1:9, and we will read
about the gospel being carried to the Gentiles in Acts ten, at the household of
Cornelius, and then the Gentile church, chapter eleven, that was established at
Antioch of Pisidia. And then Acts
thirteen, the Holy Spirit said, "Separate
me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." And then in that first journey, Barnabas and
Paul, among the Gentile people, established those churches of Galatia. Verse nine, "And
when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a
cloud received him out of their sight."
And so after Jesus had given instruction to the apostles about how that
they were to tarry in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come upon them, that
when the Holy Spirit had come upon them, the power would come upon them, and
then that they were to be his witnesses
in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and then to the Gentile people. And so after giving that instruction, he was
taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. "And while
they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by
them in white apparel; who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye looking up into heaven? This
Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner
as ye beheld him going up into heaven."
Now, do you think these two men were just mere men or were they angels,
the two men that stood by them in white apparel? You think they were angels, don't you? Some of our brethren today are speaking of
angels as just being messengers, and they leave the impression that there is no
real distinction to be made between men and angels. Do not let them pull that kind of wool over
your eyes. The Bible makes a distinction between men and
angels. Hebrews 1:14 says, "Are
they not ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for them that shall
receive salvation?" Angels as taught in the
scriptures are heavenly beings, and they can take any form that God wants them
to take. In the ninth chapter of the
book of Daniel, Daniel was praying and God sent an angel that got to him before
he had finished his prayer. Daniel was
praying that God would help the returnees in Jerusalem. Babylonian captivity
was up, and he did not see how things were working as he expected them to, and
he was praying to the Lord. Daniel 9:4, "And
I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the
great and dreadful God, who keepeth the covenant and loving kindness with them
that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; we have sinned." So he was praying to God and confessing their sins. And he also said in that verse nine, "To
the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against
him." And verse sixteen, "O
Lord, according to all thy righteousness, let thine anger and thy wrath be, I
pray thee, be turned away from the city of Jerusalem." And it mentions how that they were in
reproach. The latter part of verse
seventeen, "Cause thy face to shine upon thy
sanctuary. That is desolate, for the
Lord's sake." And now notice verse twenty, "And
while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins and the sins of my
people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God, for the
holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man
Gabriel." Notice that he is spoken of as a man, but he
is Gabriel that appeared to Zacharias in the temple and then to Mary as
recorded in Luke chapter one. "Yea,
while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in a vision,
at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of
evening oblation." So the angel Gabriel flew to him swiftly and
got to him before he finished his prayer. The space shuttles are slow vessels
in comparison to the angel’s flight!
In chapter thirteen of the book of Judges, an
angel appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that she was going to have a son,
that he was to be a Nazarite. When the angel appeared to Manoah's wife and
she went and told her husband, and Manoah prayed to the Lord that that person
might return, and the angel returned to his wife again, and she went quickly
and told Manoah. Let us pick up with Judges 13:11, "And
Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him,
Are you the man who spoke to this woman?"
Now, notice that the angel appears in the form of a man. "And he
said, I am. And Manoah said, Now when
your words come true, what is to be the boy's manner of life, and what is he to
do?" Verse fifteen, "Manoah
said unto the angel of the Lord, pray let us detain you, and prepare a kid for
you." Manoah did not know that he was an angel. "And the angel of the Lord said unto
Manoah, if you detain me, I will not eat your food: But if you make ready a burnt offering, then
offer it to the Lord. For Manoah did
not know that he was the angel of the Lord.
And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, What is your name, so that
when your words come true we may honor you?
And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why do you ask my name, seeing
it is wonderful? So Manoah took the kid
with the cereal offering and offered it upon the rock of the Lord to him who
works wonders. And when the flame
went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the
flame of the altar. And Manoah and
his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground." The angel had taken the form of a man until
the offering was being made, and then he ascended in the flame of the
altar.
Again in the first chapter of Matthew, you
remember how Joseph was going to put Mary away privily. And when the angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a dream and said, Fear not, Joseph, take unto thyself Mary as thy wife,
for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Do you think an angel appears as people today
in a dream? Can a man appear to another
man in a dream today in the sense that the angel appeared to Joseph?
In Luke's account about the angel appearing to
the shepherds while they were keeping watch over their flocks, evidently they
appeared in the form of men then, but they were sore afraid when they
appeared. And when the angel appeared to
Zacharias in the temple in the first part of Luke chapter one, Zacharias was
troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. The angel appeared on the right side of the
altar and told Zacharias that his prayer has been answered and that his wife Elizabeth is going to bear a son
and his name was to be called John. This
idea of trying to make angels just messengers, is entirely out of order. Such
interpretation is out of harmony with many references.
When the angel appeared to the shepherds as they
were keeping watch over their flocks as given in Luke chapter two, verse eight beginning,
"There were shepherds in the same
country, abiding in the field, keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them." Evidently in the form of man. "And the
glory of the Lord shown round about them: And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: For, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all the people.
For there is born unto you this day in the city of David a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this
is a sign unto you; ye should find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying
in a manger. And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host." Now notice that statement, multitude of the
heavenly host. "Praising
God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will
toward men." And so angels are not human beings, they are
of a heavenly host. Do not let
anybody fool you that God sends forth just mere men as angels.
The angels say that they will return in like
manner. So Jesus ascended into heaven in
a cloud, verse nine, so he is to return in a cloud. And surely the gospel book shows that he will
return in a cloud. Verse eleven, "Who
also said, Ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye looking up into heaven?
This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in
like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven."
And so he ascended into heaven in a cloud and he is to come back in a
cloud. In Matthew 24:29-35, and the parallels
in Mark thirteen, and Luke twenty-one say that he will.
Another good reference that you need to put down
there would be Daniel 7:13-14, that when Christ
ascended to heaven, he was given the kingdom.
Daniel says that he saw in a night vision the Lord send the Ancient of
days to receive the kingdom. Daniel
chapter 7:13-14, "I
saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven,
one like unto the Son of man." And
another unique thing about Matthew's gospel is that he has Jesus referring to
himself as the Son of man. Thirty
different times in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of
man. And so Daniel in one of the night
visions saw one ascend to heaven, there came with the clouds. Well, the previous verse is about the
throne. "I
saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven,
one like unto the Son of man and he came even to the Ancient of days, and they
brought him near before him. And there
was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the people, nations,
and languages, should serve him." And so
he received the kingdom when he ascended into heaven. "His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
Notice the reference is talking about the kingdom of Christ, that it shall never be
destroyed. But now back to our reading
in Acts. But don't you think that is a
good reference there in Daniel 7:13, talking about Christ
ascending to heaven and receiving a kingdom.
And when he received that kingdom, it is the fulfillment of the
prophecies concerning how that God would raise up Christ to be king and to
reign on David's throne as set forth in the scriptures.
Verse twelve, "Then
returned they unto Jerusalem." Jesus had told them to remain in Jerusalem, so they returned from the
mount Olivet to Jerusalem. "Then returned they (the apostles) unto
Jerusalem
from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem
a sabbath day's journey off." And I had
intended to look that up, but I think they counted a Sabbath’s day's journey
about three-quarters of a mile. I'll try to remember and check that out, but
anyway the mount of Olivet is very close to Jerusalem. "And
when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were
abiding." This shows that the apostles are spoken of as
they in verse twelve. "Both
Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and
Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zelotes, and Judas the son of
James. These all with one accord
continued steadfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus,
and with his brethren." Jesus had
brothers that were born to Mary and Joseph, and if you have a margin there, you
ought to write down John 7:5. Sometime before the cross, those brothers of
Jesus did not believe on him. Turning to
John the seventh chapter -- And they were telling Jesus if he was who he
claimed he was, he ought to go on up to Jerusalem and show himself to the
people at the feast. I am reading from
John chapter seven, picking up with verse one, but verse five is the
clincher. "After
these things Jesus walked in Galilee: For he
would not walk in Judaea,
because the Jews sought to kill him. Now
the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles was at hand." The feast of tabernacles was the last of
those three annual feasts. And during
that feast they were to take branches and build, I guess, what we would think
of as brush arbor, theirs were called tabernacles, and they would build those
tabernacles during the days of that feast in remembrance of their journey in
the wilderness when they did not have houses to live in. "His
brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy
disciples may also behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth any thing in secret, and he
himself seeketh to be known openly. If
thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world." And here is the clincher. "For even
his brethren did not believe on him."
Our time is up for this second part of this first Class Session.
It is about time for us to begin our third
period. I am trying to find the passage,
but I did not find it right off, so we will pick up with Acts. We are in that verse where I said you need to
put John 7:5.
Okay. The point I am trying to
make by having you put down John 7:5 is that the cross made
all the difference. They did not believe
on Jesus before the cross, but after the cross Jesus' brethren were with the
apostles waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. Verse fifteen, "And
in these days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said, there was
a multitude of persons gathered together about a hundred and twenty. Brethren, it was needful that the scripture
should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David
concerning Judas, who was to guide them that took Jesus. For he was numbered among us, and received
this portion in this ministry. Now this
man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he
burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." Now, Matthew is the only one of the gospel
writers that tells about Judas carrying back the thirty pieces of silver and
trying to give it to the chief priests and went out and hanged himself. So turn back to Matthew. Notice the difference in the reading of
Matthew's account and the reading here.
Reading from Matthew twenty-seven, picking up with verse three, "Then
Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself,
and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? See thou to it. And he cast down the pieces of silver (that they paid him to betray Jesus) into the
sanctuary, and departed, and he went away and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the pieces of
silver, and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is
the price of blood. And they took
counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in,
wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by
Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the
price of him that was priced, that certain of the children of Israel did price,
and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me." So when you think about it, there is no real
conflict between the passage here that he bought the field, because the chief
priests and elders took the money and bought “the
potter’s field”.
Verses seventeen and eighteen, "For
he was numbered among us, and received his portion in this ministry. Now this man obtained a field with the reward
of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all
his bowels gushed out." Now, some might be ready to say, here is a
contradiction between Matthew's account and Luke's account here in Acts. Matthew said he went out and hanged himself,
and Luke says that he obtained the field as a reward of his iniquity,
and falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed
out. How are you going to reconcile the
difference in the reading?
Well, if he went and hanged himself, in a short time
the body would swell up, and the body would fall, and falling headlong, it
would burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels would gush out. That will happen to a body, especially in hot
weather? It would swell up, and if it
was hanging at any height, it would burst open when it fell. So I do not think there is any conflict in
saying he bought a field. And the chief
priests and elders said it is not lawful to put the price of blood into the
treasury, and so they bought the potter's field with them. Do you see how the accounts can be reconciled? Verse nineteen, "It
became known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem;
insomuch as in that language the field was called Aceldama, that is,
The field of blood." That agrees with what we read in
Matthew. "For
it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be made desolate, and
let no man dwell therein: And his office let another take. Of the men therefore." Now, notice the requirements for one to take
Judas Iscariot's place as an apostle. "Of
the men therefore that have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord went
in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that
he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection."
So they had to choose a man that had been with
Jesus, been an eyewitness of what Jesus did, beginning from
the baptism of John until the day that it was received up as we read about in
verse nine. "And
of these must one become a witness with us of his
resurrection. And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was
surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they
prayed, and said, Lord, who knoweth the hearts of all men, show of these two
the one thou hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and
apostleship, from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own
place. And they gave lots for them; and
the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." There are several passages in the Old
Testament, where we read that through the medium of the priests they could cast
lots to determine certain matters. So it
looks like they did a similar thing here, they chose two men and then prayed to
the Lord for him to give them an answer.
They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven.
Chapter
Two
Acts 2:1 ties back to Acts 11:26. I think in one of the questions I have down
Acts 1:46 instead of 1: 26. But anyway, look at
Acts 2:1, "And
when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all in one
place." The pronoun they refers
back to the eleven apostles in verse twenty-six. They gave lots for Matthias, and he was
numbered with the eleven apostles. So the twelve apostles
now, with Matthias taking Judas Iscariot's place of the twelve. Pentecost
was the second of the three annual feasts that is set forth in a number of
passages in the five books of Moses, Leviticus chapter twenty-three and
Deuteronomy chapter sixteen, and I believe Numbers chapter twenty-eight. Let us to turn back to Leviticus chapter
twenty-three.. The point I want you to
get here is that this feast always came on the first day of the week. The
first feast was the feast of the Passover or the feast of unleavened bread as
described in Leviticus twenty-three, beginning with verse five, and the second
feast was what is called the feast of Pentecost that we read about in Acts
two. It is called in the Old Testament
scriptures the feast of weeks (Deuteronomy 16:9-10), because they were
to number seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest of the small grain
crops. And then the morrow after the
seventh Sabbath day was this feast. In
other words, this feast began fifty days after they had offered a sheaf
offering of the production of their small grain crops. I think we need to go back to verse
nine. "And
Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying speak unto the children of Israel,
saying to them when ye come into the land I shall give you and shall reap the
harvest thereof, ye shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of
your harvest to the priest."
And so this feast is the feast of weeks, or feast of the firstfruits or
the feast of harvest in the Old Testament scriptures.
But here in Acts two, that feast is called the
feast of the Pentecost because of the meaning of the word Pentecost which means
fiftieth, the Greek word Pentecost means fiftieth. And this feast started fifty days after they
had offered a sacrifice of the firstfruits of their grain harvest, and then
fifty days later would mark the end of that grain harvest. The barley harvest came before the wheat
harvest. Do you remember about Ruth
gleaning in the fields of Boaz, first in the barley harvest and then in the
wheat harvest (Ruth 2:8-9, 2:21-23). Leviticus 23:15 ff, "And
ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye
brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto after the morrow after the seventh Sabbath
shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meal offering unto Jehovah. Ye shall bring out of your habitation two
wave loaves of two wave loaves two tenths apart: And they shall be of fine flour; and they
shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto Jehovah."
Acts 2:2, "And
suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind." Now, it does not say that it was a mighty
wind, but there came as a sound from heaven as of the rushing of a mighty wind.
"And filled all the house where they were sitting, (apostles)
and there, appeared unto them (the apostles) tongues
parting asunder like as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them." So there was an outward demonstration,
parting tongues like as of fire that sat upon each one of the apostles. "And they (the apostles) were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the
Spirit gave them utterance." So the
Holy Spirit on Pentecost fell on the apostles and on the apostles only. Some teach today that the Holy Spirit is
supposed to fall on all people before they are actually converted. Well, the Holy Spirit did not fall on the
apostles to save them. They were already
saved men. And the Holy Spirit did not
fall on Cornelius and his household as recorded in Acts 10:11 to save them. Peter commanded them to be baptized with
water after the Holy Spirit had fallen on them.
"They
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Now the speaking in tongues was miraculous ability to speak a language,
a foreign language that they did not know, and it looks like the apostles could
speak any foreign language that they needed to speak. Think of the difference that that made. It
made it possible for them to get the gospel to the whole world in a short period
of time by overcoming the language barrier, by being able to speak in tongues
in foreign languages that they had not learned by study, but was given to them
miraculously. And the gift of speaking in tongues was one of the miraculous
gifts (I Corinthians12:4-7) that the apostles
could give converts by the laying on of their hands (Acts 8:14-24; I Corinthians 1: 7; II Timothy 1:6).
And notice how the multitude heard the sound and
they came together and they were confounded, they were amazed, they were
perplexed about what they were seeing and hearing. Verse five, "Now
there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation
under heaven. When the sound was heard,
the multitude came together." So you see it
did not fall on the multitude, they did not come together until they heard that
sound. The sound caused them to come
together. "When
the sound was heard the multitude came together, and were confounded,
because that every man heard them (the apostles) speaking
in his own language." Now you might
think at first the miracle was on the part of the hearer, but that is not the
case. “And they were all amazed and marveled
saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans?” Verse eight, "And
how hear we every man in our own language, wherein we were
born?" The point is one of the
apostles must have been speaking the language that would meet the needs of one
group, and another apostle the needs of another group and etc. So that all heard in their own language. So the miracles were
on the part of the apostles and not on the part of the hearers.
"And when
the sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because
that every man heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled,
saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own
language, wherein we were born?"
So the miracles were on the part of the apostles and not on the part of
the hearers.
Acts 2:9, "Parthians,
and Medes, and Elamites, and the
dwellers in Mesopotamia,
and Judaea,
and Cappadocia,
in Pontus,
and Asia;
Phrygia,
and Pamphylia, in Egypt,
and the parts of Libya,
and sojourners of Rome,
both Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we hear them (the apostles) speaking
in our tongues." Notice that we hear them
speaking in our tongues. Does that not
really clinch it, that the miracle is
not on the part of the hearer, but on the part of the apostles? "We hear
them speaking in our tongues, the mighty works of God. And they were all amazed, and were
perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this? But others mockingly said, They are filled
with new wine." And Peter used their mocking statement as an
introductory step for his preaching.
"But Peter standing up with the eleven." Peter and eleven would make twelve, right? So again it shows it is only the apostles
that received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
Acts 2:14, "But
Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto
them saying, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this
known unto you, and give ear unto my words: For these men are not drunken as ye suppose,
seeing it is but the third hour of the day." Now, of course, the third hour of the day
there is counting according to Jewish time.
They counted as the first hour of day what we call six
o'clock
in the morning, and so the third hour of the day would be nine
o'clock
in the morning. And so Peter in
substance is saying that men do not get drunk at nine
o'clock
in the morning. "For
these are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the
day. But this is that which was
spoken by the prophet Joel." And then he
begins to quote the prophecy of Joel, Joel 2:28-32. "And
it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour forth
of my Spirit upon all flesh." Now,
notice that the Christian age fits in the category of the last days. There was a patriarchal dispensation, and then
a Jewish dispensation, but the Christian dispensation is the last. When this dispensation is over, Peter says that “the
elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that
therein shall be burned up (II Peter 3:10). So the Christian
dispensation is the last dispensation.
And so when Peter says this is that which is spoken of by God and
quotes from Joel 2:28-32, he is saying that
the Christian dispensation is the last dispensation, it is the last days.
And we have other references which speak of the
Christian age as the last age. In Isaiah
chapter two verses one and two, Isaiah tells us that the kingdom of God would be established in
the last days. "It
shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall
be established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills; and
all nations shall flow unto. And many
people shall come and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the house of the
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; for he shall teach us his ways, and
we will walk in his paths: For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." And Micah 4:1-2 is a parallel to
Isaiah 2:1-2, and it says
essentially, if not, the exact same thing.
And while we are thinking about it, "And
it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my
Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall
prophecy And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
dreams." Well, notice that the reference says that God
would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. This was just part of the fulfillment of this
passage when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostles represented the Jewish people, but
all flesh would have to include the Gentile people. And then in Acts ten, we read about Cornelius
and his household being baptized with the Holy Spirit. And for one thing, that fulfilled the promise
of God's Spirit being poured out upon all flesh. It looks like one of the primary purposes of
the Holy Spirit falling on them was to show the Jewish people that the gospel
was to be carried to the Gentile people.
And we will talk about that more when we get to Acts 10:11. Anyway, Joel said, "Your
sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens will I pour
forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophecy."
And we read in chapter twenty-one of this book, that Philip had four virgin
daughters who prophesied. "I
will pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophecy: And I
will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth beneath: Blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke. The sun shall be turned into the darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord come." That great and notable day. "And
it shall be that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved."
That verse quoted in , verse twenty-one, is
verse thirty-two of Joel, and it is quoted in Romans the tenth chapter. Notice how Paul makes use of that reference
in Romans 10:12, "For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek."
So under the Christian dispensation, there is a way of salvation for
all, Jews and Gentiles. "For
the same Lord is Lord of all." Remember that
the Old Testament law was just given to the Jewish people. "And
is rich unto all that call upon him. For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." He is quoting Joel 2:32. Many false teachers today say that all a
person has got to do to be saved is say, Lord, save me. Some of the very prominent
TV evangelist close their lesson by asking alien sinners to pray a prayer with
them that goes about like this, “Lord Jesus I confess unto thee that I am a
sinner but I want to be saved. Lord Jesus come into my heart and save me! Thank
you, thank you Jesus for my salvation! They may use a passage like this, but they
would not dare read the following verses. Would they? "How
then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they
have not heard? And how shall they hear
without a preacher?" So Paul is showing that men cannot call upon
the name of the Lord in such a way by
which they can be saved unless they have first been taught how to call upon the
name of the Lord. Consider, Act 22:16 where Ananias said to
Saul of Tarsus, "Now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, washing away thy
sins, calling on the name of the Lord." And so really in the Bible sense, a person
does not call upon the name of the Lord in such a way as to be saved until he
learns how to do it and then does it.
And Saul, when he was told what to do, of course, he was ready to do
it.
Acts 2:22, "Ye
men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto
you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of
you, even as ye yourselves know. Him
being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God,
ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay." Now, notice by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, they by the hands of lawless men, Gentile men had
crucified and slain the Lord of glory. The
gospel accounts show very plainly that the Jews did not have a right to put a
man to death, and they had to call upon Pilate to put Jesus to death. And so that is the meaning of lawless men, by
the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay.
It was God's plan and his foreknowledge to send Christ in the world to
be a sin offering for man and all who would accept him and apply his blood would
be saved from sin. That was the part of
that foreknowledge and foreordination of God.
And there are several passages like it like Ephesians 1:3-5, where the writer
said, "Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in
heavenly places in Christ. Even as he chose
us in him from the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
before him and without blemish before him in love. Having foreordained us to the adoption
as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will.." So God fore determined and planned things in
his foreknowledge. So Jesus was at the
proper time, to come into the world and be a sin offering for all men. And by the hands of the Gentiles, the Jews
had him crucified. And he is talking to
Jewish people, in verse twenty-three.
"Ye by the hands of lawless men did
crucify and slay. Whom God raised
up."
Do you remember how Jesus continued to tell his
disciples that on the third day he would be raised up and would go before them into
Galilee. But they did not know what he was talking
about until he was raised from the dead.
"Whom God raised up, having loosed the
pains of death: Because it was not possible that he should be
holden of it. For David saith concerning
him (Christ),
I beheld the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I
should not be moved." David, of course, is talking about Christ in
this reference. "Therefore
my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover my flesh shall also dwell in hope." Why?
"Because thou wilt not leave my soul in
Hades, neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption." The latter part of verse twenty-seven is
speaking of Christ that he would not see
corruption,
and on the third day he was raised up.
Actually, it was part of two days and one full day. So the body of Christ did not see corruption
is one of the points that he is making here.
"Thou makest known unto me the ways of
life; thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance." David is speaking by the Spirit, referring to
Christ. "Brethren,
I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died, and was
buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day.
Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with
an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, he would set one upon his
throne. He foreseeing this spake
of the resurrection of Christ, that neither was he left in Hades, nor did
his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did
God raise up, whereof we are all witnesses." I
think we are going to stop here for this Class Session and pick up there then
for our next Class Session. And please
have your outline ready, the outline entitled, “Christ Is Now Reigning On The
Throne Of David.” And we will begin and
talk in some details about the throne of David.
Peter is saying in substance that Christ is now reigning on the throne
of David.