Acts 10:24-48  God Hath Shewed Me that I Should not Call any Man Common or Unclean

[Study Aired March 26, 2023]

Act 10:24  And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
Act 10:25  And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
Act 10:26  But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
Act 10:27  And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Act 10:29  Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
Act 10:30  And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
Act 10:31  And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
Act 10:32  Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
Act 10:33  Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
Act 10:34  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Act 10:36  The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Act 10:37  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
Act 10:38  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Act 10:39  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Act 10:40  Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
Act 10:41  Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
Act 10:42  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
Act 10:43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Act 10:44  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Act 10:45  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 10:46  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Act 10:47  Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Act 10:48  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

In our study today we will find Peter and six other Jews entering the house of a Gentile Roman centurion, which is doing something contrary to the law of Moses. We will see how Cornelius, the Roman centurion, reacts to meeting the apostle Peter and how Peter deals with Cornelius.

Finally, we will be shown that the holy spirit was given to these Gentile converts before they were even baptized, and I will draw your attention to the words used when Peter baptized these converts. Those words are the same words used when baptizing new converts throughout this book of the Acts of the apostles.

We begin our study today in:

Act 10:24  And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.

If we include the last verse of our last study, we will see that Peter and the six other Jewish men from Joppa, along with the Roman soldier and the two men who were of Cornelius’s household, spent a whole day and part of another day, traversing the 34 miles from Joppa to Caesarea.

Here is the last verse of our last study:

Act 10:23  Then called he [Peter] them [the three men sent by Cornelius] in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

The repetition of “and the morrow after” in the very next verse, verse 24, tells us they spent a whole day and part of another day making that 34-mile trip by foot from Joppa to Caesarea.

Act 10:25  And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.

Peter is the man who the “holy angel” had told Cornelius to send for, and like John did two times in the book of Revelation Cornelius also fell down to worship the Lord’s messenger:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Act 10:26  But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

“The angel which showed me these things” signifies Peter and each of us who are granted to “show these things” to others: “I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” As long as we are in these clay vessels, we are not to be worshiped. However, the day is coming when we will not tell those we rule and judge that we are mere men:

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Act 10:27  And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

The fact that Peter was in a house by the seaside when the three Gentile men came to get him is as significant as the number of times he was shown his vision. The sea represents all of mankind to whom the gospel is now being given.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

The ‘sea’ signifies all flesh, and both Joppa and Caesarea are “by the sea side”.

Act 10:29  Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
Act 10:30  And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
Act 10:31  And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
Act 10:32  Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
Act 10:33  Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

This is the beginning of the gospel being preached to the Gentiles. This is the very first indication that being a Jew is now not a matter of being a Jew outwardly. This is the beginning of showing all men, that being a Jew is now an inward matter, and being circumcised is also now a matter of being circumcised of the heart in the spirit.

Rom 2:25  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
Rom 2:27  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

It will take years for even the apostles themselves to relinquish the doctrine of physical Jews having an advantage based upon physical descent and physical pedigree. Jews have always been taught that they, by virtue of their physical pedigree, are the apple of the Lord’s eye by simply being born Jewish. Even today most Christians believe that is still true. What they have always been told was a great advantage has now begun to be seen as ‘transgressing the law’ of Christ, and bringing reproach upon God by being circumcised physically but not being ‘circumcised’ spiritually of the heart in the spirit’:

Rom 2:27  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law [of Christ], judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

Act 10:34  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

Peter was made to go with the three Gentile men whom the Lord Himself had supernaturally sent to him and told him to go with them to the home a Gentile. Now he finds himself in the house of a Roman Gentile centurion where he is forced to confess that the Lord has shown him that “God is no respecter of persons” simply because of one’s physical descent from Abraham. Nevertheless, and despite having been given this great honor of being the first person to take the gospel to the Gentiles, many years later Peter was still struggling to accept this ‘mighty earthquake’ of a revelation of “things to come” (Joh 16:13 and Rev 16:18-19):

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
Gal 2:14  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

Peter typifies each of us when we put the fear of men above our fear of God. Think for a moment what confusion such hypocrisy had to have placed into the minds of the Gentiles at Antioch who knew that this was the apostle whom the holy spirit had chosen to be the first to bring the gospel to the Gentiles at the house of Cornelius. “And all the other Jews [Christian Jews] dissembled [they all played the hypocrite along with Peter] insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation [their hypocrisy].”

Why did Peter cave to “certain… that… came from James”? The answer is always the same… “fearing them which were of the circumcision.” That is the same as saying in today’s society, ‘fearing those who are still in a Babylonian society “observing days, months, times and years”, and it all boils down to fearing what men will think of us more than we fear what God has told us to do:

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children [G3516: ‘nepios’ “carnal babes in Christ”, 1Co 3:1-4], were in bondage under the elements [G4747: ‘stoicheion’] of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons [G5206: ‘uihothesia’ mature sons of God].
Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant [of sin], but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements [G4747: ‘stoicheion’], whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? [What are these ‘stoicheion’, these ‘elements of the world’?]
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

This revelation by the holy spirit at that time was more than many Jewish Christians could yet accept. Breaking the sabbath as Christ did is something they simply cannot follow yet.

Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

The apostles themselves did not consider healing a lame man to be breaking the sabbath, but Christ confesses to “profaning the sabbath day” in Matthew 12:

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? [What is Christ’s defense? Does He deny profaning the sabbath? Absolutely not! Here is His defense of “profaning the sabbath day”:]
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Paul makes clear that the law of Moses is a carnal commandment, which is no more spiritual than the law of the Gentiles:

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law [“not made for a righteous man” (1Ti 1:9)], do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law [“a carnal commandment” (Heb 7:16)] written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

The keeping of the carnal traditions of the law of Moses was still very much a part of the early church throughout the entire book of Acts. Keeping the traditions of men is still one thing which separates those who fear God from those who fear men:

Pro 29:25  The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

It is the man who “puts his trust in the Lord” and does not fear what men think of him who “esteems every day alike” in:

Rom 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not [is weak in the faith] judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4  Who art thou that judgest [speaking to the weak in the faith] another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Rom 14:5  One man [who is weak in the faith] esteemeth one day above another: another [who is not weak in the faith, who fears God more than men (Gal 4:9-10)] esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind [“We then that are strong ought to bear [with] the infirmities of the weak” (Rom 15:1)].

The beast within every man wants to please men and fit in with society. It is as natural as breathing. Peter was chosen by the holy spirit to demonstrate to us that we must be willing to go against the traditions of the great harlot system into which we are all born. Peter is also used of the holy spirit to show us that it is a great struggle for him and for us to come out of this world” (Rev 18:4). Peter’s hypocrisy and weakness typify each of us in our natural state.

At this moment, Peter is being made by the spirit to accompany six other Jews to the house of a Gentile Roman centurion, and now Peter is accepting what the Lord is revealing to him and to the whole world:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

What is now required to become a part of the household of God, and to become a spiritual ‘Jew’, is to simply fear God and be obedient to the Words of Christ as Peter tells everyone in Cornelius’s house:

Act 10:35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Act 10:36  The word which God sent [first] unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Act 10:37  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

Peter is well aware that the gospel of Christ, and the witness John the Baptist gave of Christ, was known by Cornelius and by all societies of the Roman Empire because of all the miracles Christ had performed while on this earth, and because of what had happened on the day of Pentecost when the Jews from all over the Roman empire had “heard the wonderful works of God in their own tongue.” Peter is not speaking to people who have never before heard of Christ and His doctrines. Let’s read these last two verses again:

Act 10:36  The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Act 10:37  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

“The baptism that John preached” was a big ‘splash in the pan’ at that time. However, no one in the history of mankind has affected the lives of all mankind to the extent that the life of Christ has. Christ Himself set an example for all men. His crucifixion and His love for even those who crucified Him is the most powerful weapon against all His enemies and “[Christ] is love”:

1Co 13:4  Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5  doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
1Co 13:6  rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;
1Co 13:7  beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

That is the voice of the True Shepherd, but that is not the doctrine of the law of Moses, which taught “an eye for and eye” and “hate thine enemy”. The contrast between the law of Moses and the law of faith, also called the law of Christ, is stark, and the story of the life and doctrine of Christ, at the time Peter was in the house of Cornelius, has been and is being spread all over the Roman empire not just by the apostles, but by those from all over the world who came to Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and heard in their own tongue “the mighty works of God” as we are told in:

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them.
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5  Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6  And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language.
Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8  And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born?
Act 2:9  Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,
Act 2:10  in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11  Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God.
Act 2:12  And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

What was it all these nations heard that day “In our tongues”? This is what Peter tells us they heard that day:

Act 10:38  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Act 10:39  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Act 10:40  Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
Act 10:41  Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

This fulfills Christ’s own words concerning the coming of His kingdom within us (Luk 17-20-21).

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Mat 26:29  But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

Of course, the drinking of the wine signifies our fiery trials in this life, but it had to be done in the natural realm first.

“Nor to all the people, but… even to us [the] few chosen”:

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Act 10:42  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
Act 10:43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Before this very moment Peter understood those words to apply only to physical Jews. Peter is just now verbalizing the meaning of the thrice repeated vision he had been given in the house of Simon the tanner in Joppa. It is at this point that the holy spirit does something which makes the words Peter just spoke to be undeniably true:

Act 10:44  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Act 10:45  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 10:46  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

By this means the Lord has shown Peter and the six Jews who accompanied him that this event in the house of the Gentile, Cornelius, a Roman centurion, is the very same work of the Lord which took place on the day of Pentecost. The only difference being that it is now “they of the circumcision which believed” who are the “unbelievers [for whom] tongues are a sign”:

1Co 14:22  Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

Until this very moment “they which were of the circumcision” did not believe that the gospel was for anyone other than the Jews.

As Peter tells the Jews at Jerusalem in our next chapter:

Act 11:15  And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Act 11:16  Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Act 11:17  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

The Lord has now made it indisputably clear that “ye shall be baptized with the holy ghost” applies to the Gentiles who are in Christ just as much as it applies to “they of the circumcision which believed.”

Nevertheless, it will be decades later, in the book of Ephesian in chapter two, before it will finally be revealed that “the middle wall of partition” between the Jews and the Gentiles is now being taken down:

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made [Aorist tense, ‘is making’] both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances [the ordinances the Jews were still under according to the letter to the Gentiles in Acts 15]; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

It is this same book of Ephesians which revealed that the outward ritual of water baptism is not at all what cleanses us:

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it [“the church” verse 25] with the washing of water by the word,

The whole church has not yet been given to know this and so Peter does what should be done under those immature circumstances:

Act 10:47  Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Act 10:48  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

The only formula given for baptism is “in the name of the Lord”. It is not ‘in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost’ as we have been led to believe by the prophets of the great whore. Here is the link to the article which shows The Truth of this question:

Is God a Trinity?

The three thousand who were added to the church on the day of Pentecost were all “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”:

Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, 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 Ghost.

The men of Ephesus were “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”:

Act 19:4  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

Act 19:5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Everywhere the formula for being baptized is mentioned in scripture, it is “in the name of the Lord Jesus’ or ‘in the name of Jesus Christ’. There is not one instance in scripture where anyone is baptized ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the holy ghost’!

We can only imagine the sweet fellowship that was shared between Peter and the six Jewish men who had accompanied him to the house of the Gentile, Cornelius, for those “certain days” as they discussed this “wonderful work of the Lord”:

Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Next week we will learn how this all went down with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. It is not exaggerating to call this event one of the “mighty [spiritual] earthquakes, mentioned in the book of Revelation, being lived out in the lives of all the Christian Jews in Jerusalem.

Rev 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

This ‘opened temple’ now includes Gentiles who are not circumcised outwardly but who are circumcised inwardly of the spirit (Rom 2:28-29)]. This undeniable event, which was without any doubt, a work of the holy spirit, was contrary to the law of Moses:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

That was a hard pill for the Jewish Christians to swallow, so to speak. It was as hard, or even harder, to believe than “any good thing [can] come out of Nazareth”:

Joh 1:45  Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Joh 1:46  And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

That is what the Lord will say to the whole world when He reveals to them His bride, with whom He will rule this earth for a thousand years, and then ‘judge angels’ in the lake of fire/ white throne judgment/ second death: “Come see what I have made of those who were not wise, mighty, or noble in this world. Come and see how I have made the foolish, the weak, base and despised of this world into My blessed and beautiful bride and wife.”

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.