Category: early Acts period

Joel and Dispensationalism

Monday, July 27, 2015

“…I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:28-31 KJV).

What can the Prophet Joel teach us about dispensational Bible study?

A half-dozen Old Testament passages combine Jesus Christ’s two comings: these prophets saw one coming. In hindsight, however, we see two prophesied comings. Why were two comings not originally apparent? (There were two secret comings hidden between!)

Today’s Scripture explains Messiah coming twice: first to pour out His Spirit, then to pour out His wrath. These two comings are according to prophecy, “that which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). The Old Testament prophets did not know that there would be two additional comings of Jesus Christ to divide the two prophesied comings—one coming to start our Dispensation of Grace (save Saul of Tarsus and start the Body of Christ) and one to end it (save the Body of Christ from enduring the seven-year Tribulation). These are the two comings according to mystery, that “which was kept secret since the world began” but was manifested through Paul’s epistles (Romans 16:25,26).

Today’s Scripture (cf. Acts 2:16-21) first predicts Jesus Christ pouring out the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost (First Coming). Then, it delineates how He will pour out His wrath on His enemies (Second Coming). Joel knew nothing of our Dispensation of Grace and the Body of Christ—we are between Joel 2:29 and 2:30. The mystery was “hid in God” (Ephesians 3:9) and completely hidden from Israel’s prophets. God kept a secret from Satan—He would use Calvary’s crosswork to form the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). The Dispensation of Grace (and its two comings) was also withheld from the Old Testament prophets, including Joel. Wow!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did Jesus say to throw the net on the ‘right’ side?”

Manipulating Moses to Murder Messiah #4

Sunday, May 31, 2015

“And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17 KJV).

How could Israel have been so blind in rejecting Jesus as Messiah, One who fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies?

Israel knew they were killing the Lord Jesus. It was great spiritual insanity. When God opened our Dispensation of Grace in Acts chapter 9, a twofold benefit arose. Firstly, the Gentiles whom God had consigned to Satan could now be saved by Jesus’ finished crosswork. Secondly, the Jews who were still in unbelief—the very ones who deliberately killed Jesus Christ—could also be saved by simple faith in Calvary’s crosswork. Saul of Tarsus was in the latter group.

Upon meeting the ascended Lord outside Damascus, Saul realized and trusted Jesus Christ’s righteousness and he forgot all about his foolishness in works-religion. God certainly came back in Acts chapter 9, not to pour out His wrath, but to pour out His grace and start the Church the Body of Christ! The leader of the world’s rebellion against Jesus Christ, Saul, the one who mercilessly imprisoned and slaughtered God’s Messianic Jews, Saul, was now saved unto eternal life.

Decades later, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15,16: “[15] This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. [16] Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

If God saved such a rebel as Saul of Tarsus, a wicked and bloodthirsty theologian, there is no person “too far gone” in unbelief and sin, whom God cannot save in a literal heartbeat today. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). For nearly 2,000 years, God has offered salvation freely to all, Jew and Gentile alike, by His grace through simple faith in Jesus Christ’s shed blood for our sins, death, burial, and resurrection. The Gospel of the Grace of God, the heart of the Dispensation of the Grace of God, is the only way we can approach Almighty God today!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How did Satan ‘hinder’ Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:18?”

The Common Prison and The Extraordinary Message

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

“Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison” (Acts 5:17,18 KJV).

Oh, man’s shameful treatment of God’s faithful apostles!

For several months now, Peter and the 11 other apostles of Israel have been preaching to their Jewish brethren, pleading with them to trust Jesus as their Messiah, that they not be consumed in His wrath when He returns. The Holy Spirit has been working mightily in and through these 12 men: they have performed various healing miracles, confirming the kingdom message that they are preaching (Mark 16:17-20; Hebrews 2:3-5; et al.).

Israel’s religious leaders know the apostles’ activities threaten their organization. In the chapter previous to today’s Scripture, Israel’s religious leaders “commanded [the apostles] not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (verse 18). Peter wisely answered, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (verses 19,20). The apostles were further threatened but not imprisoned.

Today’s Scripture is some time later, after many other healing miracles occurred, after many other sermons about Jesus Christ have been preached. Israel’s religious leaders arrest the apostles and throw them into prison. Not the prison for political or elite wrongdoers, but the “common prison.” The apostles are thrown into a dangerous environment. The worst criminals—the murderers, rapists, et cetera—are in the “common prison” with them! God certainly had His eyes on these dear Israeli apostles. In fact, they miraculously survived that “common prison” until the angel of the Lord came by night to release them (verse 19)!

Israel’s apostles went on from the common prison to preach again to the common people. Praise God that they were not bitter or slack. Despite their persecution, they preached their hearts out. Nothing could keep them from talking about the Messiahship of Jesus. They eventually gave up their lives for Him! Beloved, surely, in light of what these men faced for Jesus Christ, we can endure name-calling and ostracism! 🙂

The Lively Oracles

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

“This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us” (Acts 7:38 KJV).

To mess with the “lively oracles” is to deal with the “living God!”

The expression “the lively oracles” appears only once in our King James Bible. Stephen used it in today’s Scripture in his sermon to Israel’s national leadership. In that context, Stephen affirmed that Jesus Christ was the Prophet whom Moses predicted back some 1,500 years prior in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. That same Jesus Christ was with the angel that spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai, when Moses received the Ten Commandments from God (cf. Galatians 3:19).

While the Ten Commandments were written on cold, dead stone, they were the very words of God Himself: “And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables” (Exodus 32:16).

Those words were “lively oracles” because they were the words, not just the thoughts, of the living God. As Jesus declared, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The word “quick” in older English means “living and life-giving” (“quick” in Hebrews 4:12 is the same Greek word, zao, translated “lively” in today’s Scripture).

God’s Word is not only living, it can impart life to its hearers and readers. Hence, Jesus’ spoken words raised Lazarus and others from the dead. His inspired words, the Gospel message we trusted, raised us out of spiritual death and gave us new life and a home in heaven. The same powerful words that God Himself wrote centuries ago, we have them preserved today in our language (the King James Bible). May we never let “scholarship” kill our faith in the living words of the living God! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does ‘kicking against the pricks’ mean?”

Christ Liveth in Me

Sunday, April 5, 2015

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 KJV).

“He is risen” is not a simple blasé cliché!

When Jesus’ disciples came to His tomb on that glorious Sunday morning nearly 2,000 years ago, they were startled to find it empty! Angels inform them that He has resurrected, but they are still in shock (Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-8). Jesus Christ Himself must later explain the Scriptures to them regarding what happened those last few days (Luke 24:44-46).

However, until Paul’s ministry, Christ’s finished crosswork is not preached as good news for salvation. Peter and Israel’s other apostles simply preach that Jesus Christ is now resurrected to “sit on [David’s] throne” (Acts 2:30)—that is bad news for much of Israel, for they still reject Him, weeks and months after His resurrection and ascension. Throughout early Acts, Israel’s apostles warn her that Jesus Christ is coming back to judge them.

When we come to the Apostle Paul’s ministry, we learn that we Gentiles can benefit from Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork. Israel’s rejected Messiah is now our way to heaven! Yes, Israel hated Him, and demanded that He experience the most awful method of execution devised, but God allowed it in order to accomplish His will. Satan attempted to hinder God’s will by having Christ killed, but all that did was provide the method whereby God could save us pagan Gentiles. Calvary’s finished crosswork frees us from Satan’s evil system and gives us a chance to be God’s people (Acts 26:17,18)!

As people who have trusted Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins, that crucifixion is our death to self and sin, and that resurrection is our raising to walk in newness of life—His life (today’s Scripture; cf. Romans 6:1-11)!

Indeed, Jesus Christ is alive, and He lives in and through those who walk by faith in God’s Word to them, Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon! 🙂

HAPPY EASTER!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study by the same name. That study can be read here or watched here.

In Evil Long I Took Delight #3

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:1-3 KJV).

The third verse of John Newton’s classic 1779 hymn “In Evil Long I Took Delight” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Sure, never to my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.”

Beloved, there has never been—and will never be—a more drastic conversion than when Saul of Tarsus met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts chapter 9). Formerly lost, once dead in his sins, and formerly on his way to hell, he was now saved from those sins, now alive in Jesus Christ, and now on his way to heaven. Previously Israel’s—and the world’s—leader against Jesus Christ, Saul of Tarsus (as the Apostle Paul) became the most useful servant of Jesus Christ. What a transformation God’s grace can bring when trusted!

Until his dying day, the Apostle Paul never forgot from where he came. Throughout the book of Acts and his epistles, he makes reference to the spiritual slums in which he once lived. For instance, he wrote, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). That was Saul—that was we!

In today’s Scripture, Paul had such a desire to see lost Israel saved, the nation whose fall before God he had greatly encouraged. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved” (Romans 10:1). Throughout his ministry, he witnessed the unbelief and spiritual insanity of the wayward nation out of which God had saved him. How it broke his heart to remember that he had been a Pharisee so fervently against Jesus, highly influential in encouraging Israel to reject Him, responsible for Rome sentencing Him to death. Having met Jesus Christ face-to-face, Saul would delight in evil no more….

In Evil Long I Took Delight #2

Monday, February 9, 2015

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:7 KJV).

The second verse of John Newton’s classic 1779 hymn “In Evil Long I Took Delight” highlights today’s Scripture.

“I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.”

Saul of Tarsus, a proud, self-righteous religionist “verily thought with [himself], that [he] ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:9). He saw Jesus as an imposter, a blasphemer. Figuring that he was doing JEHOVAH a favor by putting all those Jesus-lovers to death, Saul decided that all of His followers had to be punished! Yes, so infatuated with his religion, he was willing to physically eliminate “competition” at whatever the cost.

One of the most learned Mosaic scholars of his day, Saul had it all—religion, education, fame, and fortune. The context of today’s Scripture describes him perfectly: “[4]… If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: [5] Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; [6] Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

Outside of Damascus’ city gates, Saul lost it all (or, rather, he realized he was destitute of what really mattered!). He heard JEHOVAH speak to him audibly, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 9:4,5). Imagine how overwhelming the shock was—the God he thought he was serving was the Jesus he was persecuting! It was in today’s Scripture that he remembered these events of all those years ago (over 30, actually). He gained it all in religion only to lose it all in Christ—he lost his religious “goodness” and gained Jesus Christ’s righteousness by faith! In that doctrine revealed to him, he saw and trusted the efficacy of Christ’s finished crosswork as total payment for his sins. Saul of Tarsus took his eyes off of himself and looked to Jesus….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Should I be concerned about the four ‘blood moons?’”

In Evil Long I Took Delight #1

Sunday, February 8, 2015

“And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women… and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me” (Acts 22:4-6 KJV).

The first verse of John Newton’s classic 1779 hymn “In Evil Long I Took Delight” highlights today’s Scripture.

“In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.”

While some of us trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour at a very early age, others among us did not do so until well into their earthly life. Saul of Tarsus was of the latter type. Blinded by religious fanaticism, today’s Scripture says that Saul did not think twice about using his prominent position in Israel’s religion to do away with every single Jesus-adherent. If it meant personally tracking down and literally dragging back to Jerusalem every last Jewish man and woman who had trusted Jesus as Messiah, Saul was all for it. He would have them imprisoned and then slaughtered! There was no shame, no fear, just religious zeal and delight (has religion changed at all since then?).

One day (Acts chapter 9), Saul left Jerusalem (the last time as a lost man), bound for Damascus up north, ever so eager to capture the Messianic Jews who had sought refuge there. Jesus Christ Himself stared down from the third heaven, watching every move of Saul en route to Syria. When Saul was just outside the city of Damascus, Jesus Christ made a surprise appearance and “captured” Saul before he could capture His saints. A mighty light shown from heaven—a light so intense that Saul is actually struck to the ground; Jesus Christ has permanently ended that worthless ministry! Now humbled, Saul sees something so much better than his vain works-religion; he sees Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners, of whom Saul is chief….

His Blood Be Upon Us… Not!

Monday, February 2, 2015

“And when they had brought them [the apostles], they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:27,28 KJV).

Did not Israel’s religious leadership remember that they condemned themselves long before the Lord’s apostles did?

Several months prior to today’s Scripture, Jesus’ trial occurred: “[24] When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. [25] Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:24,25).

Luke 23:20-24 supplements Matthew’s account: “[20] Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. [21] But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. [22] And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. [23] And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. [24] And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.”

At Jesus’ trial, Israel’s religious leaders cried, “His blood be on us, and on our children!” Today’s Scripture says they now, nearly a year later, are recanting their “guilty plea.” Now, they pretend to be innocent! In today’s Scripture, Israel’s high priest admits he greatly objects to the apostles’ preaching that Israel killed Messiah Jesus (cf. Acts 2:22-24,32,36; Acts 3:12-18; Acts 4:10-12). Rather than admitting wrong-doing, they blame-shift and say the apostles’ message is flawed. Peter, in the verses following today’s Scripture, again reaffirmed Israel did indeed kill her Messiah (verses 29-32).

Friends, do not be surprised when lost people—especially religious people—tell you they are “not that bad.” Israel’s religious leaders tried to use the same “escape-hatch” with the apostles. Let us not be discouraged, but preach God’s grace in love, meekness, and boldness! 🙂

Upside Down and Right-Side Up

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

“And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus” (Acts 17:6,7 KJV).

We find ourselves in a similar “trial” today!

When the Holy Spirit first preached the Gospel of Grace through the Apostle Paul and his ministry coworkers, the pagans said Jesus Christ’s ministers had turned the whole world “upside down” (today’s Scripture)—technically, right-side up! The Gospel of Christ had rippled through the cultures of the Roman Empire. Untold hundreds had abandoned heathen beliefs, practices, and temples, and were now rejoicing in God’s grace to them in Jesus Christ.

Today, since the last few decades, but particularly the last 10 years, the dominant Christian voice has become increasingly suppressed here in our beloved United States of America. Nowadays, pagan culture is infiltrating us—the reverse of the first century. What was right-side up because of Christianity is now returning to upside-down (pagan religion and culture).

Bible-believing Christians, we should be concerned, but let us not lose hope. If the Word of God prospered in a pagan world as it did throughout the book of Acts, it will surely prosper here as our culture slips into paganism. Despite all the persecution—the imprisonment, torturing, and execution—of believers, we read, “And the word of God increased…” (Acts 6:7). “But the word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:20). No matter what happens, God’s Word will never return to Him void/empty; it will prosper wherever He sends it (Isaiah 55:11).

While my generation and younger ones are distracted in the world, we should still proclaim the King James Bible rightly divided, for it contains the solutions to the problems they will face in the coming decades. As long as we get God’s Word out there, it will take care of itself (it has for 2,000 years). Let us be faithful stewards of God’s precious words now, that the future faithful remnant perpetuate them (2 Timothy 2:2).

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Could you please explain Romans 2:14?”