| ACTS CONSIDERED DISPENSATIONALLY |
A Bible Study
Looking at the Beginnings of Christ's Church
And its Blessings During the Book of Acts, and its Blessings Today
The biggest mistake in understanding the book of Acts
is failing to recognize that
it is the
continuation of Old Testament Prophecy,
NOT the mystery of Ephesians and Colossians |
by R.L.B.
From a dispensational standpoint the Acts may be outlined as follows:
- Acts 1 - Preparation for the
prophecied millennial kingdom
-
Acts 2 - 9: The millennial
kingdom offered to Israel
-
Acts 2 - 3: The offer made exclusively to the
Jews
Acts 4 - 9: The offer rejected by Israel at Jerusalem
Acts 10 - 28:28: The Kingdom in
mystery form
- Acts 10: Gentiles included as a mystery, "outside of" prophecy
- Acts 13 - 28:28: God provokes Israel to jealousy by removing
individual Jews
from their New Covenant blessing, and substituting individual Gentiles into Israel's blessing.
But God's message is still to the Jew first with a valid
offer of the millennial kingdom.
Acts 28:16-28: Kingdom rejected in finality
by the last outpost of the Jewish dispersion
Acts 28:29-31: The earthly kingdom in
abeyance (see Eph. & Col)
But here is a simpler
outline showing the three phases the church (Christ's "gathering") has thus far
experienced.
1. The kingdom gathering - Israel
offered the prophesied kingdom - For the ears of Israel alone (Acts 1 through 7)
2. The kingdom gathering - Gentiles
admitted as a mystery to cause Israel to become jealous - Acts 8 through 28
3. The offer of Israel's kingdom
withdrawn - Jews and Gentiles placed on an equal basis. The Jew is no longer
first - Acts 28
The theme of the book of Acts
One distinct theme flows through the entire book of Acts. If this outstanding theme is not grasped, the
significance of the whole book will be misunderstood, and this failure to
rightly divide the word of truth will
necessarily lead to confusing what is and what is not "truth for today." It will result in
importing an incompatible mixture of "earthly kingdom practices" and "heavenly themes,"
into the environment of our Christian gatherings, thus distorting God's purposes
for us in the present dispensation. This theme is:
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1. In the historical period covered by the Acts, God's
primary purpose was to make a bona fide offer of
"restoring" the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6 & 3:21). The
King of this kingdom would be the Lord Jesus. The sphere of that
kingdom would be the
prophesied millennial kingdom that will eventually be established with His earthly covenant nation Israel
under the spiritual terms of Israel's prophesied new covenant (Jer.
31:31-35).
2. Subsequent events in the Acts (such as the untimely salvation of Gentiles) are the
consequences of Israel's
total rejection of that offer of the millennial kingdom. They are
NOT to be misconstrued as a "failure" of the 12 apostles to understand
Ephesian truth before it was intended to be revealed by the Holy Spirit to
the apostle Paul.
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What the book of Acts is not
The historical record in the Acts is not
a 'pattern' or 'blueprint' for Christian gatherings on earth (local
churches) in the present dispensation. Although this statement may
appear shocking, please consider the following study in the same spirit as did the "more
noble" Bereans, who "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched
the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:11)
- In the historical period covered by the Acts, God's primary purpose
was to make a bona fide offer of His prophesied millennial kingdom to his
earthly covenant nation Israel. See Acts 2:19-26.
- Subsequent events in the Acts (such as the untimely salvation of Gentiles) are the
consequences of Israel's total
rejection of that offer of the millennial kingdom and its King, Jesus the
Anointed One.
With this in mind let us briefly explore this
'history of the decline and fall of Israel' as recorded in the Acts of the
Apostles.
Preparation for the offer of the prophesied millennial kingdom
1. The Acts of the Apostles
begins with the statement that the book is a continuation of the earthly ministry of the
Lord Jesus to the nation Israel. Luke's gospel records what the Lord Jesus
began to do until he ascended into heaven (Acts 1:1). The Acts, also
penned by Luke, records what the Lord continued
to do through his apostles on earth, through the power of the Holy Spirit, while
the Lord was in heaven. In the book of Acts the Lord's message is the New
Covenant promised to the "House" of Israel and to the "House" of Judah.
But its promises depend on
whether the Jewish nation, (not just individual Jews), accept His Messianic claims.
2. The Lord Jesus taught the disciples for 40 days. What did He
teach them? He taught them "...the things which concern the kingdom of
God" (Acts 1:3). "They THEREFORE" (i.e., as a
result of what the Lord taught them), "being come together, asked him
saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts
1:6).
Let us not criticize the disciples for asking this very pertinent question.
The Lord's answer was NOT 'the kingdom will never be restored to
the Jewish nation Israel' (as is erroneously taught by so-called 'replacement
theology'). Nor was his answer 'NOT AT THIS TIME.' Some
expositors fail to understand that the earthly millennial "kingdom
to Israel" was, in fact, the EXACT THING
that WAS
offered to Israel by the apostles in Acts chapters two
and three. What Peter and John presented was not a "church" comprised of Jews and Gentiles in one body, whose
hope and blessing is "in the heavenlies" as per Ephesians 1:3. The Lord's
answer was "It is not for your to know times or seasons" (Acts 1:7).
The offering of the kingdom to Israel was to be a bona fide offer.
Whether Israel would receive or reject that offer was known only to God, and,
consequently, what God knew about Israel's fateful decision was not revealed to
the apostles at that time.
3. The missing apostle (Judas
Iscariot) is replaced, restoring the required twelfth apostle to their number
(Acts 1:15-26).
It is necessary (Acts 1:21) to have twelve apostles because the Lord promised that in
the Messianic kingdom on earth there would be twelve apostles who would sit on
twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Mat. 19:28). Some Bible teachers
erroneously claim Peter and the other remaining apostles were mistaken when they chose Matthias; that Paul was
the true twelfth apostle. But the
Lord Jesus had specifically given the apostle Peter Divine authority to perform tasks such as
this:
"And I will give unto thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven."
(Mat. 16:18)
This authority given to
Peter
proves that he had the God-given authority to choose the
twelfth apostle. Matthias, not Paul, is the twelfth apostle, and the Holy Spirit confirms
this fact
in Acts 6:2 and in 1 Corinthians 15:5. Paul is not
the twelfth apostle and will not sit on one of these twelve thrones. He is a very special apostle, born out of due time
(1 Cor. 15:8), with God's commission to go to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13).
Although some erroneously teach that the apostles sinned by using "the lot" to
choose Matthias, scripture says,
"The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole
decision is of Yahweh." (Prov. 16:33)
If Saul of Tarsus had been God's choice to sit on one of the twelve apostolic
thrones, it would have been necessary to delay the proclamation of the kingdom
gospel on the day of Pentecost (the Jewish Feast of Weeks) for several years until the
conversion of Paul and his spiritual instruction in Arabia.
4. The Lord Jesus ascends into
heaven (Acts 1:9), and the Holy Spirit is poured out upon believers (Acts 1:8 &
2:1-4), thus "gathering" them into a very special spiritual body of believers known as the ekklesia.
This ekklesia simply means a "gathering of
people," a word commonly
translated "church" or "assembly." This church is not a religious denomination
or a building, but a special gathering of believers chosen by God, a distinctive
spiritual people marked by the Holy Spirit for His Divine purposes.
The Lord Jesus had promised to build such a "church" in Matthew 16:18.
"And I also, I say unto you that you
are
a stone, and on this rock I will build my ekklesia, and hades' gates shall not
prevail against it." (Mat. 16:18)
What is the
nature of this "church" that the Lord Jesus prophesied He would build?
In the writings of the Hebrew prophets the Lord
God had promised to "gather" His covenant people Israel in the last days (Jer.
32:37-42; Ezek. 11:17-20; 36:24-28, etc.). From ancient times, the prophets of
Jehovah had promised to gather His people Israel, and to put his Spirit upon them,
so they might worship Him in holiness (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 36:27; 37:14; 39:29;
Joel 2:28, etc.). In Acts 2 and 3
this prophesied physical and spiritual 'restoration' (Acts 1:6) is exactly what
was about to happen to Israel,
provided they would willingly submit to His Divine will. They would be part of
God's prophesied "gathering."
In other words God's prophesied gathering was the same ekklesia (gathering)
promised by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 16:18-19, and by the Hebrew
prophets. This "gathering", or "church", did not have its terminus in heavenly
places (see Ephesians), but was earthly in its character.
Some believe it is necessary to distinguish between
"Israel and the church." This, however,
wrongly presupposes
that the descriptive nature of the church in Acts 2 and 3 are identical to those
characteristics of the church described in Ephesians and Colossians,
and that they are totally unlike those characteristics seen in the Hebrew
prophetic writings. When
the apostles preached the gospel to the "house of Israel" (Acts 2:36) the intent
was that if that nation (Israel) would turn to the Lord, they would comprise both the "gathering"
(ekklesia)
and the "kingdom" promised by the Lord in Matthew 16. As it turned out, only individual Jews, (not
the corporate Nation consisting of officials who sit in "Moses' seat"), would believe the gospel.
Because of this, Christ's ekklesia became composed of
a remnant of individual Jewish believers who had ceremonially purified themselves by water baptism from the
evil religious system maintained by the
unbelieving Jewish clergy.
What is a "church" (ekklesia)?
In New Testament language Local churches are simply local gatherings
of people who have been sovereignly drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ by the Father
(John 6:44). We ought not to 'officialize'
the word "church" or attach specific doctrinal terms to it. An
ekklesia is simply a "gathering."
For example, Acts
7:38 speaks of the "ekklesia in the wilderness," referring to the
Israelites gathered at Mount Sinai. (See Hebrews 2:12). The
Old Testament looks forward to the day when God's covenant people will be
sovereignly drawn or "gathered" from their various scattered
locations
This gathering is certainly an ekklesia.
(We must not confuse the
characteristics of the "church" as defined in the epistles of Paul, particularly
his later epistles, with the character of the "church" which existed on the
Feast of Weeks [Firstfruits or Pentecost]. In other words we must not
force Ephesian truth into the message of the book of Acts).
Some remarks as to when Christ's "gathering" began
Although some may disagree, it seems apparent that
the ekklesia (gathering) that the Lord promised to 'build' in
Matthew 16 had its beginning on the Jewish feast of weeks (the day of Pentecost)
when the Lord Jesus poured out [the] Holy Spirit upon believers. This same
ekklesia continued intact throughout the entire book of Acts, and
we believe it continues today. However, when Israel rejected God's offer
to 'regenerate' and
to 'restore' Israel, God changed his revealed plan. The offer of the earthly kingdom was
withdrawn, Israel was temporarily set aside as a covenant nation, and
God's grace was presented to sinners without regard to previous
covenant promises. Under God's new plan, no longer would
"gathered" believers expect millennial (earthly) blessings; instead they
would be promised "all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). Thus,
Israel's unfortunate response to God's offer of earthly blessing became "we will not have
this man to rule over us." When their rejection was final and complete (Acts
28:28) the earthly promises made to Christ's gathering (ekklesia) were
withdrawn, and new heavenly hopes, promises, and expectations were
given by grace to this same gathering (church).
These expectations far exceeded those prophesied kingdom blessings previously promised to His
earthly covenant people.
Did this radical change in God's purposes mean that
He abolished the first ekklesia (church) and created a new
"gathering" when He withdrew the millennial blessings and substituted blessings
"in the heavenlies in Christ?" We see no convincing scriptural evidence
that any such new "church" began subsequent to Pentecost. In fact, we are
convinced that several passages of Scripture indicate that the "church" at
Pentecost continued unbroken throughout Acts, and continues today. Please
refer to the links at the end of this article for more details on this
important subject.
The millennial kingdom offered to Israel at Jerusalem
5. On the day of Pentecost
Peter warned that the terrible "day of Yahweh" prophesied by Joel
had actually begun (Acts 2:16-21). When the assembled Jews
interpreted the gift of tongues poured out on the apostles as evidence of a
drunken state, Peter corrected their mistake:
"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." (Acts 2:15-16)
In Acts 3:19 the Lord, through Peter, healed the
lame man in a striking fulfillment of Isaiah 35:6 which previews the day when
the lame man (a picture of unbelieving Israel) shall "leap as a hart," a prophecy that also promises that
"The wilderness and the dry land shall be gladdened; and the desert shall
rejoice, and blossom as the rose" (Isa. 35:1). Peter's message was:
"Repent therefore and be converted, for the blotting out of your sins, so that
times of refreshing may come from [the] presence of the Lord,
"and he may send
Jesus Christ, who was foreordained for you,
"whom heaven indeed must receive till [the] times of
[the] restoring of all things, of which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy
prophets since time began." (Acts 3:19-21)
This
was a direct,
literal, promise of the return of the Lord Jesus to restore the
physical kingdom on earth at the time of the millennium as foretold by
God's holy prophets over and over throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.
But, this promise was conditional on Israel's
"repentance" (Acts 3:19)
because they had denied "the holy and righteous one," and because they had
slain "the originator of life" "in ignorance" (Acts 3:14,15,17). It was
conditional on Israel's "conversion" (Acts 3:19).
Again, no Gentiles are mentioned as being present either at Pentecost or at the
healing of the lame man. In fact, Peter distinctly identifies his audience
as being totally Jewish:
"Ye are the sons of the prophets and of the
covenant which God appointed to our fathers...." (Acts
3:25).
6. But
national Israel began to
resist and to reject the gospel of the kingdom as soon as Peter finished his
message in Acts 3. Acts 4 records this opposition, as does Acts 5:17 and
Acts 6:9-15. And so, it is not surprising that a "great persecution"
arose (Acts 8:1) immediately after the stoning of Stephen, "a man full of faith
and the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5).
"And Saul was consenting unto his
death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which
was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of
Judea and Samaria, except the
apostles." (Acts 8:1)
As a result of
this scattering those who fled Jerusalem continued to preach the Word to "none
but the Jews only" (Acts 11:19).
Thus, from Acts 2 through Acts 7 God's message of the kingdom was presented to
Israel alone (i.e., no Gentiles, no Samaritans). But as a result of the slaying of Stephen by Israel, God began a
new
phase, a new dispensation, a new administration,
a new
economy, in His relationship with His people Israel.
The kingdom in "mystery" form
One
feature of this new dispensation was that God
now began the process of breaking off the natural olive branches (Israel)
from their rightful new covenant blessing, and grafting
into their place "wild" (Gentile) branches (Rom. 11). This was done to provoke Israel
to jealousy (Rom. 11:11). God's prophetic purposes were
still in effect
at that time (Rom. 11:25-29). Before Acts 28:28 Israel was still
"first" in God's purposes (Rom. 1:16 & Rom. 2:9-10 as was also the case in Acts
3:26 and in Acts 13:46). According to Scripture, God's prophetic
purpose will one day be fulfilled by saving a remnant out of Israel and making them His covenant missionary
arm for the salvation of Gentile nations
(see Zech. 8:23).
But, at this point in the historical record of Acts, national Israel sadly embarked on their perilous voyage of unbelief.
Thus, as God began
to blind Israel,
believers would now preach Christ to the Samaritans, a people of mixed Israelite-Gentile race (Acts 8:1). Peter and
John travel to Samaria to turn another of the "keys of the kingdom" mentioned in Matthew 16:19.
These keys of the kingdom enabled the signs,
wonders and works of power of the millennial kingdom to fall upon this new group of half-Jewish
Samaritan believers (Acts 8:14-17). These signs and wonders were God's stamp of approval
upon the message, upon the messengers, and upon the people themselves who received the
message. They were the Divine credentials of the works of the Holy Spirit, particularly
on display to unbelieving
Israel, to provoke them to jealousy. These signs and wonders that were now displayed
among the despised Samaritans warned Israel that God had begun to
turn away from them because of their unbelief. At the same time it was
God's merciful call to Israel to believe the glad tidings and partake of the prophesied
blessings promised to them.
The next step in the
process of breaking off the natural olive branches was the salvation of the
household of Cornelius the previously "unclean" Gentile (Acts 10 & 11). Again, Peter
was on hand to
turn yet another of the "keys of the kingdom." And, again, the gift of the Holy
Spirit fell on the household of Cornelius, fulfilling the signs and wonders
promised by the great commission, (Mat. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18), and astonishing
even the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter:
"While Peter was yet speaking these words the Holy
Spirit fell upon all those who were hearing the word.
"And the faithful of the circumcision were astonished,
as many as came with Peter, that upon the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy
Spirit was poured out:
"for they heard them speaking with tongues and
magnifying God. Then Peter answered,
"Can any one forbid
water that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as we
also did?
"And he commanded them to be baptized in
the name of the Lord. Then they begged him to stay some days." (Acts 10:44-48)
Even
before Peter preached to the Gentiles, the dead,
unbelieving heart of a great persecutor of Christ's gathering, Saul of Tarsus, was quickened
(made alive) by the
Lord (Acts 9:1-31), because he was elected and destined to become God's chosen
vessel, a special apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13, 2 Tim. 1:11).
7. Yet, although Paul was
the apostle to the Gentiles, whenever he
ministered, as recorded throughout the book of Acts, he always went to the Jew first (Acts
13:46; 18:5-6; Rom. 1:16; 2:9-10). But each
time Paul preached to these Jews the majority of the Jews rejected the message. As a result,
when a particular city rejected the glad tidings, Paul turned away from them,
shaking the dust of that city or house from his feet (Acts 13:51 - see Mat.
10:14, etc.), and went to the Gentiles.
Why? Because God
was breaking off the natural branches of Israel's new covenant tree of
blessing and grafting in wild branches.
Throughout this book we observe the millennial miracles and signs of the "great
commission" pertaining to the earthly kingdom (Mark 16:17-18),
because God's message at that time still consisted of those prophetic promises
made specifically to Israel. Once this message of prophecy was withdrawn
from Israel there would no longer be a need for such signs. Some teachers
hold that such signs only occurred the first time the gospel was presented to a
new group of individuals, but one has only to read Paul's first epistle to the
Corinthians to see that that theory is without merit. That epistle points
to "gifts of healing...operations of miracles...prophecy...discerning of
spirits...kinds of tongues...interpretation of tongues," (1 Cor. 12:8-10),
multiple gifts so numerous and commonplace that they had become badly misused.
8. For the full period covered by
the Acts of the Apostles, God's message continued to be the message of the
millennial kingdom under the spiritual terms of the promised New Covenant. At this point in time,
"the hope of Israel" was still the message the Holy Spirit
was proclaiming (See Acts 26:6 and 28:20). As that dispensation drew to a close, and
as all Israel, at Jerusalem and finally at Rome, willingly placed themselves outside of the
Divine purpose, God's longsuffering toward Israel would wear thin and finally
result in Israel's prophesied earthly blessings being withdrawn.
The kingdom rejected in finality
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Acts 28:28, An Important
Dispensational Boundary Line |
9. We now reach Acts
28:28, the tremendously important dispensational boundary line that marks the temporary end
of God's 'prophetic' program with Israel.
Up until this point both Jews and Gentiles were partakers of Israel's
promised New Covenant blessing, a blessing that would have taken place if
Israel had accepted their Messiah. [This blessing that Israel forfeited will take place on earth during
the future millennium after Israel shall look on Him whom they have pierced
(Zech. 12:10)]. During the Acts period, Gentiles were blessed because of the "mystery" of Israel's
blindness, rather than as part of prophecy in which a faithful, believing,
Israel would be God's instrument for Gentile salvation. (This "mystery"
of Israel's blindness
was part
of God's program 'hidden' from the foundation of the world, but is not
the same "mystery" revealed in Ephesians, after national Israel was set aside).
At the end of the book of
Acts, God completed the process of breaking off the "natural branches." Israel
(temporarily) ceased to be God's potential vehicle for the salvation of the Gentile world,
a commission announced in the prophetic writings. Earlier, corporate Israel at
Jerusalem had rejected the works of the Holy Spirit, and demonstrated
this by
stoning Stephen. Now, at Acts 28:28 representatives of the Jewish
dispersion also rejected Him. At Acts 28, with an air of finality,
Paul quoted the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10 pronouncing final blindness upon the
entire corporate nation Israel, thus officially ending their former covenant position that had previously required Paul to
minister "to the Jew first." Not only so, in shutting up
National Israel, Paul emphasized that it was the Holy Spirit who was doing this,
bringing to mind the warning of the Lord Jesus as to the consequences of
rejecting the Divine will of the Holy Spirit. This is the so-called
'unpardonable sin' against the Holy Spirit - "it shall not be forgiven him,
neither in this age nor in the coming one" Mat. 12:32. And it
happened to National Israel at Acts 28:28.
In Acts 28:20 Paul had met
with the official representatives of Israel and immediately set the record straight as
to the purpose of his ministry thus far in the Acts. He clearly emphasized that his
every endeavor had been to bring about Israel's
blessing in the millennial kingdom under their Messiah, saying to the Jews,
"For on account of the hope of
Israel I have this chain about me." The "hope of Israel" was
Israel's Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. This "hope" also included
long-prophesied millennial
blessings for a restored Israel under their Messiah. But Israel rejected the resurrection of
the King who would rule that kingdom. The apostle Paul taught that the true hope of Israel was the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the resurrection of believers from the dead that was made possible through Him (see Acts 23:6;
24:14-15, 21). In Acts 28:22-23
the Holy Spirit was careful to stress that this meeting in Rome was no inconsequential five minute
dissertation to a small handful of unimportant Jews. His exposition of the
Scriptures was to "those who were the chief of the Jews," it was to a
"great number" of Jews, and his message lasted perhaps eight or more hours,
"from morning till evening." This was Paul's final opportunity to present the
claims of Israel's Messiah
to the final outpost of the Jewish dispersion, and it was Israel's final opportunity to hear it.
"But we desire to hear of thee what you think: for as concerning this sect,
it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against.
"And when they had
appointed him a day, they came to him into his lodging in great
number; to whom he expounded the matter, testifying the kingdom of God, and
persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the
prophets, from morning till evening.
"And some
believed the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.
"And when they
agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word,
Well spoke the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers, saying,
'Go thou unto this people, and say, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no
wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
For this peoples heart is waxed gross,
And their ears are dull of
hearing,
And their eyes they have
closed;
Lest, haply they should perceive
with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And should turn again, And I should heal them.'
"Be
it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is sent unto the
Gentiles: they will also hear.
"And when he
had said these words, the Jews departed, having much disputing among
themselves." (Acts 28:22-29)
10. The preaching of the
Gospel of the Kingdom as set out in the "great commission," (Mat. 28:18-20 and
Mark 16:15-18), had included the same signs of authentication which had
convinced John the Baptist that the Lord Jesus was the Anointed One, the
Messiah.
"But John, having heard in the prison the works of the Christ, sent by
his disciples,
"and said to him, Art thou the coming one? or are we to wait for another?
"And Jesus answering said to them, Go, report to John
what ye hear and see.
"Blind men see and lame walk; lepers are cleansed, and
deaf hear; and dead are raised, and poor have glad tidings preached to them:
"and blessed is
whosoever shall not be offended in me." (Mat. 11:2-6)
Just as the Lord was in effect
telling John; 'Open your eyes John! What do you see? Do you not see
the mighty works that I performed which are the physical signs meant to identify
the Messiah?' So too, the Nation Israel
should have recognized these mighty works as proving that the Lord Jesus was the Divine Messiah. They
were the same signs promised in the "great commission" to the apostles
and to all who would believe the Gospel of the Kingdom:
"And he said to them, Go into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to all
the creation.
"He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, and he that
disbelieves shall be condemned.
"And these signs shall follow those that have
believed: in my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new
tongues;
"they shall take up serpents; and if they should drink any deadly thing
it shall not injure them; they shall lay hands upon the infirm, and they
shall
be well.
"The Lord therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and
sat at the right hand of God.
"And they, going forth, preached everywhere, the
Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs following upon it."
Mark 16:15-20
With the
final blinding of Israel,
however, all mention of the physical signs of the earthly kingdom would
necessarily cease
(tongues, healing, immunity to poison and snake bite, miraculous powers, etc.).
All these signs and wonders once had to do with authenticating to Israel the
messengers of the kingdom blessing which
was now in abeyance. (Contrast 1 Cor. 12:28
with Eph. 4:11,
particularly noting that in Ephesians there is a complete absence of the special sign gifts that pertain to
Israel, the particular
Nation that requires a sign).
But,
now that Israel at Jerusalem and throughout the world has abdicated their
spiritual birthright, and flatly rejected their Messiah (Acts
28:28), and now that the Divine judgment of blindness has fallen upon that Nation,
we must now ask the following questions:
Will the
Gentile's future sphere of blessing continue to be
identified with Israel's
millennial sphere of blessing on earth?
And now that the offer of
the New Covenant has been withdrawn from
Israel, would those New Covenant signs and wonders previously performed by Gentiles be taken from them
also? After the blinding of National Israel would there be any purpose, or
even a possibility, for a Gentile speaking in tongues to cause blind Israel to
become jealous through that action?
And, what about the "basis of their salvation" as manifested by Israel's
"new covenant?" Would it too be taken away, or is this a
non-dispensational truth, (what has been called a 'horizontal truth')?
The kingdom in abeyance
11. After the
blinding of Israel at Acts 28:28, individual Jews and individual Gentiles continued to be saved in spite of
national
Israel's unbelief. Israel's blinded eyes, deaf ears and hardened heart
coincided with God's prophetic program being placed on hold and all features of
the "mystery" previously hidden in God would now be revealed in all their
fullness. As part of this new program, the Jew was no longer "first," as
had been the case during their previous
covenantal relationship with God. The Holy
Spirit, through Paul, revealed new non-prophesied blessings for all
believers (whether Gentile or Jew, without any national distinction or superiority.
This new sphere of blessing was not
a millennial blessing on earth, but spiritual blessings "in the heavenlies,"
plus blessings completely unknown in the prophetic
writings, or in the gospels, or even in the entire book of Acts.
After the final blinding of Israel at Acts 28:28, Luke's historical record of the Acts closes
without specifying a doctrinal basis for the message that would follow Israel's
spiritual demise. The unfolding of this new revelation is left to the
letters written from prison by the apostle Paul (Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus). Therein are contained the
doctrinal basis for our spiritual blessing following the suspension of
Israel's New Covenant. It is
thankfully true that many of the precious foundational truths of the New
Covenant also appear in those prison epistles,
such as the truth of redemption by the precious blood of Christ. But some
features are missing, such as physical signs and wonders. These
physical manifestations are replaced by
spiritual blessings not previously revealed in that prophesied covenant.
In summary, rather than lose blessings, believers previously saved under the
New Covenant have moved upward, and have gained blessings beyond measure. To God be the
glory!
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
But, was there more than one Church?
For thoughts on this question please read
the article
The
Birthday of the Church, When was it?
Acts 2? Acts 9? Acts 13? Acts 28:28? Acts 28:18+?
Was there more than one
'church?'
And,
of which 'church' are we members today?'
AND
If there is a dispensational change
does that mean a new
church must be born?
Also be sure to
read our article entitled
Miracles, Signs and Wonders of the Great
Commission
The above paper presents a graphical bar-chart display
of the 65 times the various miraculous signs and wonders
of the Great Commission are mentioned in the
Acts.
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