Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

In this study we will concentrate on how “the last enemy… death, is destroyed.” We will begin by demonstrating who and what “the Israel of God” is. “The Israel of God” is His instrument for the destruction of death.

Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 tell us that “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” consist of 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The identity of who the 144,000 are totally relates to the destruction of death and hell, and who will and who will not be in the lake of fire.

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Rev 7:5  Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. [etc.]

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

These verses have led many to believe that God’s elect are indeed physical Jews. After all, chapter 7 names the 12 tribes, each contributing 12,000 “servants of our God” (Rev 7:3):

Rev 7:3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

It is that very phrase, “the servants of our God” in Revelation 7:3 which will help us to understand who these 12 tribes truly signify. They signify “the servants of our God”, and that manifestly excludes the physical nation of Israel which has rejected their own Savior.

Who then is “the Israel of God”? If we can demonstrate that being an ‘Israelite’, from the Lord’s perspective, has nothing at all to do with being physically descended from Abraham, and instead it has everything to do with being one of the “servants of our God”, and that being a servant of God is now a spiritual matter only, then we will know who the Israel of God is.

The first New Testament revelation that being an Israelite is not necessarily connected to being a physical descendant of Abraham comes to us from John the Baptist when he says this to the Israelites of his day:

Luk 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

If indeed ‘stones’ can be used by the Lord to become “children unto Abraham” then it would be no problem at all for the Lord to “raise up children unto Abraham” out of “those who are called uncircumcision by those who are called the circumcision”, which is exactly what the apostle Paul tells us He is doing, as we will soon see (Eph 2:11-22).

Before we look at who the holy spirit reveals to be the true “commonwealth of Israel”, let’s first look at whom the Lord Himself reveals to be His true ‘servants’ (Rev 7:3) and who He considers to be a true ‘spiritual’ Jew and a true ‘spiritual’ Israelite. This is what Christ Himself told a Gentile, Samaritan woman about who He was seeking to be His true servants:

Joh 4:5  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Joh 4:6  Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
Joh 4:7  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Joh 4:8  (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Joh 4:9  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Samaritans were apostates who had intermarried with Gentiles brought from Babylon. Samaritans were therefore considered to be worse than Gentiles. Therefore it was Christ who first took the gospel to the Gentiles. Peter was the first of the twelve to preach the gospel to the Gentiles when Peter was made to speak to the Gentiles in the home of Cornelius, the Roman centurion. Shortly thereafter Paul was struck down on the road to Damascus. Christ had preached the gospel to the entire Samaritan city of Sychar many years before either Peter or Paul.

It is here in John 4 that the gospel was first preached to the Gentiles:

Joh 4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Joh 4:15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Joh 4:16  Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh 4:17  The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Joh 4:18  For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. [“The Jews” of Romans 2:28-29 as the next verse makes clear]
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers [true Jews, (Rom 2:28-29)] shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit [God is not descended from Abraham]: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Joh 4:25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Joh 4:26  Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
Joh 4:27  And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

It would be years later before these very apostles would be given the strength and spiritual maturity to follow Christ’s example and “call no man common or unclean.”

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.

Joh 4:28  The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Joh 4:29  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Joh 4:30  Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
Joh 4:31  In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
Joh 4:32  But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye [with your carnal mind] know not of.
Joh 4:33  Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
Joh 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me [to save the world, (Joh 3:17)], and to finish his work.
Joh 4:35  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
Joh 4:36  And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
Joh 4:37  And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Joh 4:38  I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
Joh 4:39  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
Joh 4:40  So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
Joh 4:41  And many more believed because of his own word;
Joh 4:42  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

What both John the Baptist and Christ are telling us is that the day is coming, and is now here, where physical pedigree is no longer a factor in determining who is and who is not the seed of Abraham. As we said, John the Baptist told the Israelites of his day:

Luk 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Christ told the Samaritan woman:

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Now we will add one more to our list of New Testament “replacement theologians.” ‘Replacement theologians’ is an epithet given by the ministers of Babylon to those who fear and tremble at The Word of God. ‘Replacement theologians fear and tremble at these inspiried Words of God:

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.

Being a ‘Jew’ is now in Christ no longer a matter of physical pedigree. Rather in Christ being a ‘Jew’ is now “of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter” and “he is not a Jew which is one outwardly”!

Do the scriptures teach the same principle concerning who is now counted as “part of the commonwealth of Israel”, the twelve tribes of Israel? Yes, as a matter of fact that is exactly what the scriptures teach, and it matters not how many Rabbis and ministers are upset with these words concerning who is part of “the commonwealth of Israel.”

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God.

“This principle” is the principle which states that being an Israelite “doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.” This is such an important principle to the doctrine of Christ that He repeats this principle using the phrase “commonwealth of Israel” in:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth [the twelve tribes] of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
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 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; 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:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Someone will surely ask, if all this is true, then why go to the trouble of naming all the twelve tribes of Israel in Revelation 7? The answer to that question is that Israel was composed of twelve tribes for the purpose of becoming the foundation of the Lord’s physical kingdom on this earth. Read the study on the number 12: The Number Twelve

The Lord wants us to know that the spiritual foundation of His kingdom which will rule over “the kingdoms of this world… for a thousand years” is not connected to anything in this physical realm. Nevertheless, that kingdom is founded on the twelve spiritual tribes who are “the Israel of God… walking according to this rule [that] neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature” avails as now becoming the twelve spiritual tribes of “the commonwealth of… the Israel of God”:

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GWV)

This next point was made by the Lord Himself at the time of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding the colt of an ass. Remember as we read of these events that the Lord calls Israel “My fig tree” in the Old Testament:

Hos 9:10  I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

Joe 1:7  He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

As Christ was making His entry into Jerusalem the people “spread their garments in the way… and cut down branches of the trees and strawed them in the way”:

Mar 11:9  And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
Mar 11:10  Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
Mar 11:11  And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

The next day as Christ was returning to Jerusalem from Bethany, even though it was not yet time for a fig tree to have figs, Christ approached a fig tree and cursed it:

Mar 11:12  And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
Mar 11:13  And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
Mar 11:14  And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

This story signifies the fact that from that moment on the Lord was seeking only those who would worship Him in spirit and in Truth:

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the [spiritual] Jews.
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. [Rom 2:28-29]

Immediately after cursing the fig tree Christ enters into the temple and cleanses it of the “den of thieves” physical Israel had become.

Mar 11:15  And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
Mar 11:16  And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
Mar 11:17  And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye [“My fig tree”, (Joel 1:7)] have made it a den of thieves.
Mar 11:18  And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
Mar 11:19  And when even was come, he went out of the city.
Mar 11:20  And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
Mar 11:21  And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
Mar 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain [physical, natural Israel where Christ stood], Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith [Rom 2:28-29].

This fig tree was completely withered… “dried up from the roots”. The branches, the leaves, “the fig tree dried up from the roots.” Christ is both “the branch” and “the root.” He is “the root” of His fig tree. This “dried up from the roots” signifies the He has rejected “[His] fig tree” (Joel 1:7). This tree, signifying physical Israel, has no root of Christ in it.

Isa 11:10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Rom 15:12  And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

Notice that Isaiah does not say “to it shall Israel seek”, nor “In Him shall Israel trust.” To the contrary, this is what He says will happen to “Israel… according to the flesh.”

Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

That is one of the most overlooked verses in all of the Bible. When we put that verse together with what Paul tells us in Romans 11, then we will know when “all Israel shall be saved.”

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

The sins of the Jews who believed on Christ and yet wanted to kill Him will be taken away only “when Sodom… returns to her former estate” at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death when all men of all time are resurrected to be judged:

Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

The phrase, “the second death” has nothing to do with anyone dying for a second time. “It is appointed unto [all] men once to die.”

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

God’s elect are the first to ‘die daily’ in this age even as they live in these dying vessels of clay:

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:20  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.

God’s elect are the first to be judged in this present time:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

It is the Lord’s elect who will be the first to be raised up in “the resurrection of life” as our Lord tells us:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good [by dying daily in this present time], unto the [first] resurrection of life; and they that have done evil [did not die to their old man in this present time], unto the [second] resurrection of damnation [Greek ‘krisis’, judgment, the great white throne judgment/ lake of fire/ second death].

It is that fact, the fact that natural, physical Israel will not return to her former estate until Sodom returns to her former estate, that explains how death and hell are cast into  the lake of fire at the time of the second death. That ‘fire’ is the Word of God in the mouths of “the Israel of God” (Gal 6:15-16 GWV).

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire [the lake of fire], and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies [in the lake of fire]: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Paul tells us that it is through the mercy of Gentile converts, the true ‘Israel of God’, that all apostate Israel will receive mercy:

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [until “Sodom returns to her former estate” in the lake of fire]
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved [when Sodom is saved]: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins [at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death].

Rom 11:30  For as ye [Gentiles] in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their [physical Israel’s] unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed [physical Israel], that through your mercy [Gentiles, Romans, (Rom 1:13)] they also may obtain mercy.

Rom 1:13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Lest anyone miss this fact that physical Israel is no longer the sole object of the Lord’s affections Paul and Barnabas told the Jews of Pisidian Antioch:

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

It was not just the Sadducees who hated Christ and wanted Him dead, as some ministers and rabbis are falsely teaching. This false doctrine teaches that the Sadducees were nothing more than an arm of the Romans and that it was the Romans who wanted to kill Christ while Jews for the most part loved Christ. That is not at all what the New Testament teaches. John 8 tells us that it was “those Jews which believed on Him… [who] wanted to kill [Him]:”

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

Speaking to these same “Jews that believed on Him” Christ answers in the very next verse:

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

There is no mention of the Sadducees in John 8. Both John and Peter makes it clear that “Pilate would have let Him go”:

Joh 19:12  And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews [no mention of Sadducees] cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

Act 3:13  The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

Placing the death of Christ upon any particular group alone is to miss the whole point of Christ’s death. The doctrine of both the Old and New Testaments is that He came to bear the sins of all men, and it is the sins of all men which put Christ to death. Natural, physical Israel served as the instrument to reject their own Savior. Their rejection signifies what all but a remnant of Christianity has done and is doing to Christ and His doctrine until this very day. Being that physical nation the Lord has chosen to signify what we have all done, it is expedient that natural Israel be rejected of God and that the gospel must go to the Gentile Christians who have also rejected Christ and His doctrines, except for a very small remnant:

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

So the twelve thousand from each tribe simply signify “the foundation of the apostles and prophets of the New Testament times.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye [Gentile Christians] are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

In conclusion we see now that ‘the great white throne judgment’ is ‘white’ because it is a throne of mercy because “when [God’s] judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness”:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The judgments of the great white throne will be the ‘fire in the mouths’ of the Lord’s elect, which will judge every man according to his works and will burn up all the wood, hay and stubble in the lives of all men of all time, “but [they themselves] shall be saved yet so as by  fire.”

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire [the lake of fire].

When “fire comes down from God out of heaven” and “devours… the nations in the four quarters of the earth”, then there will be no more flesh and blood to continue procreating more carnal-minded flesh and blood. The resurrection of all men of all time is the casting of death and hell, Greek, ‘hades’, the grave, into the lake of fire, which is the destruction of the last ememy… death (1Co 15:26):

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire [to be judged]. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [1,000 years earlier] was cast into the lake of fire.

Rev 11:1-3, Part 2 – Leave Out The Court

[Study Aired Oct 11, 2024]

Rev 11:1  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Introduction

We concluded our last study by demonstrating that ‘the court’ of the Temple was the area where the multitudes of the nation of Israel could come to worship their God, but the multitudes were never permitted to go beyond the brazen altar at the front of the temple. Only the priests were permitted to wash in “the sea of brass” that stood between the brazen altar and the temple. No one but the priests were ever permitted to enter into the holy place within the temple, and no one but the high priest was ever permitted to enter into the holy of holies at the west end of the tabernacle and temple, and that was done but once each year on the day of atonement.

All priests are Levites of the tribe of Levi, but not all Levites are priests. Only the sons of Aaron were priests, and they alone had access to the temple and the holy things of the temple.

In the New Testament it is only those who are faithful to the words of our Lord who are “disciples indeed”:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

6) The Gentiles?

In scriptural terms there are only two groups of people, and those two groups are Jews and Gentiles. So once we establish who is the one group, we will know automatically who the other group is. From Rev 11:2 and the rest of scripture, we know that no Gentile is ever allowed to enter into the temple of God:

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

So it is essential that we come to know who scripturally is “a Jew” and who scripturally is “a Gentile”.

Before we look at the verses which give us our answer to this question, let’s remember what Christ told the Samaritan ‘woman at the well’.

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

If we can believe Christ, then we can believe Paul when Paul agrees with Christ when he tells us this:

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 is given to very few to believe that an outward physical Jew “is not a Jew” in the eyes of God. But that is nevertheless, the doctrine of scripture. Here is how Paul presents this same truth in Eph 2:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
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 both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

“Both are now one” and the fact that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile” does not mean that there are no longer Jews in Christ. What it does mean is that those who were once excluded by virtue of physical birth can now be “called uncircumcision” and are now ‘the true circumcision’ if they are in Christ.

Gal 6:15  Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do– submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Gal 6:16  All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

So those who walk by Christ’s rules are the true Jews, and those who say ‘Lord, Lord’, but do not do the things He says, are the true Gentiles.

1Co 10:20  But I [say], that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

All false doctrines are “the… sacrifice [of] the Gentiles… to devils.” It is all explained in this same second chapter of Romans quoted earlier, where we are told that “an outward Jew is not a Jew”.

Rom 2:9  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11  For there is no respect of persons with God.

I ask rhetorically, If there is no respect of persons with God then why are we told “to the Jew first”? The answer is that Paul is speaking of both in spiritual terms just as John does when he tells us:

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the [spiritual] Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Our next question is…

7) What is the holy city?

If the scriptures are true and “he is not a Jew which is one outwardly”, then it is also true that Jerusalem is not Jerusalem which is outward, but the holy city also “is inward, in spirit, and not in the flesh”.

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.

We have already demonstrated that whatever is under one’s feet has been subdued by that person. So our question is: What is the holy city which is trodden under the foot of the Gentiles for forty and two months?

While the whole world waits for physical Jerusalem to be conquered by the Gentiles, the truth of God’s Word is that “the time [was] at hand [2,000 years ago for] the holy city” to be “trodden under the foot of the Gentiles”,  and it has always been being trodden under the feet of the Gentiles inwardly, just as surely as “he is a Jew which is one inwardly.”

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

So what is “the holy city” which is at this very moment being trodden under the feet of the Gentiles? It is all those who are true to Christ. The holy city is those who are faithful to Christ and His doctrines. The holy city is the bride of Christ. Here are those who are today being trodden under the foot of the Gentiles:

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Christ’s “bride” is the same as God’s “dwelling place”, and that dwelling place is within us.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The “New Jerusalem” is “the tabernacle of God.” Therefore, if you and I are God’s elect, then the tabernacle of God, the New Jerusalem, is within God’s elect, as indeed the Lord Himself tells us the whole of “the kingdom of God is within you”.

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.

It is those who are true to the name and doctrines of Christ, those who are “hated of all men” (Mat 10:22), who are “trodden under the feet of the Gentiles forty and two months”. But exactly…

8) What is forty and two months?

‘Forty and two months’ is the same as ‘one thousand two hundred and sixty days’. That just happens to be the same length of time God’s “two witnesses” of the very next verse are allotted to do their witnessing. It is not called ‘forty and two months’, but it is the same span of time expressed in days instead of months.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

“Forty and two months” is also the same thing as “a time, times, and half a time” or “three and one half years”. We will discuss those words and that way of wording this span of time when we come to them.

It is most instructive now to notice that the time allotted to the beast to blaspheme the name of God is the exact same span of time allotted to the Gentiles to trod the court of the temple under foot, and it is expressed in the same words.

Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

As Joseph told the Pharaoh, “the dream is one”:

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

The time God’s elect are trodden under the feet of the Gentiles and the time the beast blasphemes the name of God are also the same length of time, and just as Joseph and all Egypt lived through both the years of plenty and the years of famine, we also live through the years of blaspheming the name of God and the period of being trodden under the feet of those who blaspheme the name of God. In other words we all must “read, hear, and keep” being blasphemers before we become “the holy city” trodden under the feet of those Gentile blasphemers. After all, “all things… written therein… are ours”:

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

If indeed ‘all things are ours’ then we are first “the children of disobedience” who “tread under foot the court of the temple” and ‘kill’ the Lord’s elect. Afterward, if God is merciful, we are transformed by the Lord’s “workmanship” (Eph 2:10) into those who, as our Lord was, are the temple of God and who are tread upon and spat upon by ‘the Gentiles’.

Mar 14:65  And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

The symbols of the third verse are…

9) My two witnesses

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Christ tells us that we are never to condemn or judge a brother at the word of a single witness. Instead, our judgments are to be based on the witness of “two or three”.

Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear [thee, then] take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

2Co 13:1  This [is] the third [time] I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Peter tells us that this principle is also to be used when reading the Word of God.

2Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private [Greek – idios, its own] interpretation.

Since the revelation of Jesus Christ is to be read, heard and kept because the time to do so has been “at hand” for the past two thousand years, God’s two witnesses are, and always have been, any and all of His elect who remain faithful to the Word of God. This will become especially clear in our consideration of the “two olive trees” in our next study.

10) A thousand two hundred and three score days

As mentioned above, it is not a coincidence that the period of time allotted to these two witnesses, is the same period of time allotted to those who trod under foot the court without the temple. The wording is different but the time and the message is the same. Instead of ‘forty and two months’ as the trodding of the temple court and the time of the blaspheming of the beast, the time allotted to God’s two witnesses is expressed as ‘a thousand two hundred and three score days’. These are the same words used to express the three and one half years the “woman [who] brings forth a manchild” is nourished in a place “prepared of God… in the wilderness.

Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.

What is the spiritual significance of this period of time? If ‘seven’ is the Biblical number signifying that which is complete, then ‘1260 days’ or ‘forty and two months’, or ‘a time, times and half a time’, are all symbols of that which is only half completed. But if, as the scriptures declare, Christ’s testimony was cut short “in the midst of the week” of years, then His testimony, and His witness, as well as His afflictions, are filled up in us as “His body which is the church.”

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Our testimony, witness and afflictions fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ in our bodies for a thousand two hundred and three score days.

Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

“The word of God” and “the afflictions of the Christ” are both “fulfilled [and] filled up in our bodies which are the church.”

Our last symbol in this week’s study of these first three verses of Rev 11 is…

11) Clothed in sackcloth

Why are we told that God’s two witnesses are “clothed in sackcloth”?

In scripture, sackcloth is the attire of those in deep mourning. Here is the first time in scripture this phrase is used, and it makes clear the meaning of “clothed in sackcloth”. It is the story of Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery and leading Jacob to believe that Joseph had been killed by a beast. Here is Jacob’s reaction to that terrible lie:

Gen 37:34  And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

When Joab maliciously murdered King Saul’s captain, King David forced Joab to mourn for Abner.

2Sa 3:31  And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David [himself] followed the bier.

But the question remains, why are God’s two witnesses “clothed in sackcloth”? If we can remember, this is all still part of the sixth trumpet, and the reason these symbolic “two witnesses” are “clothed in sackcloth” as the symbol of those who witness to what they have “read, heard, and kept [in] the things which are written therein” and in that “little book in the hand of the great angel”, is because of what is in that little book.

Eze 2:9  And when I looked, behold, an hand [was] sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

We all just naturally think that God’s wrath is for some evil person out there in the world. We must be given to see ourselves as the church of Laodicea who thinks of herself as rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing when in reality she is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”.

The little book that Ezekiel ate was full of lamentation, mourning, and woe, and Ezekiel 9 reveals a little of the lamentation, mourning, and woe we must eat and experience, in the bitterness in our bellies:

Eze 9:4  And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Eze 9:5  And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
Eze 9:6  Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Eze 9:7  And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
Eze 9:8  And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? [The seven last plagues of Revelation 15-16.]

This is what Christ calls “gold tried in the fire”, but it is not a marketable commodity for the natural man.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

This 18th verse of Rev 3 is addressed to the church of Laodicea and to “he that hath an ear to hear.” In other words, it is for you and me, if indeed we have been so blessed. The message is that we all think, like the church at Laodicea, that we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, when in reality we are poor and miserable and naked and blind, before we repent and buy of God gold tried in the fire and eyesalve that we may see.

Summary

We have covered 11 symbols in this study.

The symbols of the first verse are:

1) A reed like a rod, which we saw was an implement for measuring, and we saw that Christ is the reed by which those who are in His temple will be measured.
2) The temple of God was our second symbol and we reviewed the verses in 1Co 3 which state plainly that we are that temple and that the spirit of God dwells in that temple.
3) The altar of God, our third symbol, where we saw again that it is the cross and is the symbol of our lives being offered to God as a living sacrifice.
4) Them that worship in that temple is our fourth symbol, and is the symbol not just of us, but of all the kingdoms, powers and principalities within us which must all be subdued and placed under the foot of the great angel with His foot on the sea and the earth. “Them that worship therein” are the doctrines within us which must be subject to the doctrine of Christ.

Rev 11:1  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

The symbols of the second verse were:

5) The court without the temple, which we saw was that part of our own lives when we are “without the temple” and are not yet the sons of Aaron and are not yet worthy to handle the holy implements of the temple. “The court that is without the temple” symbolizes that part of our life when we are “yet carnal… babes in Christ”, unable to receive anything more than the milk of the word.
6) The Gentiles, was our sixth symbol, and they symbolize the same thing as those who are in the court which is without the temple. Gentiles symbolize all who are incapable of receiving the things of the spirit.
7) The holy city is our seventh symbol, and we saw that it symbolizes the bride of Christ, who is subjected to and forgiven of whoredoms before she becomes Christ’s bride.
8) Forty and two months.

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.

We saw that this length of time is the same as three and one half years and we saw that three and one half years is half of the complete witness of seven years. We saw that the other half of the week is the other afflictions of Christ which we fill up in our bodies:

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

The symbols of the third verse are:

9) My two witnesses, which we saw are simply the Biblical symbol for those who, down through the years, have been the faithful witnesses to the truths of the doctrines of Christ. We saw the scriptures which demonstrate that God requires a second witness to establish the truth of any question which arises, including questions concerning His own Word.

Our tenth symbol was:

10) A thousand two hundred and three score days, and we demonstrated that these words describe the same period of time as ‘forty and two months’ but are used in describing the time allotted to the two witnesses and the period in which the woman who brings forth the manchild is nourished of God in the wilderness. We pointed out that the ‘one thousand two hundred and sixty days’ of God’s witnesses, corresponds to the ‘forty and two months’ of the time allotted to tread down the court of the temple, and we were reminded that Joseph told the Pharaoh that the different details of Pharaoh’s dream were really saying the same thing. That being the case we, like Joseph, will live through both the time of the treading down of the court without the temple, as well as the time allotted to the two witnesses, just as Joseph lived through both the good years and the years of famine. “All things are yours” (1Co 3:21-22).

Our last symbol was:

11) Clothed in sackcloth. We demonstrated that this symbol is completely compatible with the “lamentations, mourning and woe” revealed in the writings of the little book with which this sixth trumpet is concerned.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Eze 2:9  And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

As even King David mourned the loss of King Saul, “the Lord’s anointed”, we too, will mourn the loss of and the destruction of our old man, who is also God’s anointed, “first man Adam”.

2 Sa 1:16 David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed’.”

In our next study, Lord willing, we will discover the power of the testimony of the two witnesses.

Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

[Study Aired February 13, 2024]

Rom 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 
Rom 11:12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 
Rom 11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 
Rom 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 
Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 
Rom 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? 

In these verses, the apostle Paul addresses the Gentile believers, reminding them of the profound mystery of God’s plan. He begins by asking a rhetorical question: “Have they stumbled that they should fall?” Paul emphatically responds, “God forbid!” Instead, through the fall of Israel, salvation has come to the Gentiles, with the purpose of provoking the Jews to jealousy.

Paul emphasizes the importance of recognizing the role of both Jews and Gentiles in God’s plan of redemption. He illustrates this by using the metaphor of an olive tree, where the natural branches represent the Jews, and the wild olive tree represents the Gentiles. Some branches (the Jews) have been broken off due to unbelief, while others (the Gentiles) have been grafted in by faith.

Yet, Paul cautions against arrogance among the Gentiles. They should not boast against the natural branches, for they stand only by faith. Paul reminds them of the severity and goodness of God: severity toward those who fell into unbelief, but goodness toward those who continue in faith.

Ultimately, Paul affirms God’s ability to graft the natural branches back into the olive tree if they do not persist in unbelief. He highlights the incredible depth of God’s mercy and the fulfillment of His promises.

Paul continues his preaching of Christ’s doctrines. The process of changing from the old man to the new man; the same theme is throughout Acts and Paul’s writings.

Act 13:16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. 

Act 13:38-49 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man [Christ] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. 

Rom 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Gal 3:21-29 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Eph 2:11-13 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Eph 3:1-7  For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Once again Paul declares the mystery, the things of the spirit. Let’s go through the verses of tonight’s study.

Rom 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 
Rom 11:12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 
Rom 11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 

Paul’s desire is to provoke his “kinsmen of the flesh” to jealousy so they will change their mind and see that Christ is come as their savior. God’s plan is that they become castaways so that the Gentiles can now take their place so all can be saved.

Rom 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 
Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear: 
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 
Rom 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? 

In Romans 11:11-24, the apostle Paul addresses the Gentile believers, emphasizing the profound mystery of God’s plan for salvation. He begins by affirming that the stumbling of Israel did not lead to their complete downfall but instead opened the door for salvation to come to the Gentiles. This was intended to provoke the Jews to jealousy.

Paul uses the imagery of an olive tree to illustrate the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in God’s plan. He warns against arrogance among the Gentiles and reminds them of the severity and goodness of God. While some branches (representing the Jews) have been broken off due to unbelief, Gentiles have been grafted in by faith. However, Gentiles must not boast, but rather fear God’s judgment if they do not continue in faith.

Paul stresses that God is able to and will graft the natural branches back into the olive tree when their unbelief is done away with. He highlights the depth of God’s mercy and the fulfillment of His promises.

The Book of Romans, Part 24 – Preach the Gospel

[Study Aired January 15, 2024]

Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 
Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 10:18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. 
Rom 10:19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. 
Rom 10:20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
Rom 10:21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. 

In Romans 10:14-21, Paul emphasizes the crucial role of preaching and spreading the Gospel. He raises a series of questions highlighting the interconnectedness of faith, belief and the need for preachers to proclaim the message. The passage emphasizes the importance of hearing the word of God, which is essential for faith to take root. Despite the widespread proclamation of the Gospel, not everyone has obeyed its message. Paul draws on the Old Testament, quoting Isaiah and Moses, to illustrate that God’s plan extends beyond Israel to include the gentiles from all nations. The passage concludes with a poignant reminder of God’s persistent outreach to a disobedient Israel. This study will explore the significance of actively sharing the Gospel and the universal invitation for all to embrace faith in Christ.

Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 

Paul quotes Isaiah 52 1-12.:

Isa 52:1-12 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 

Isa 53:1-12 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 10:18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
Rom 10:19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. 
Rom 10:20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
Rom 10:21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

Christ came to preach the gospel to the Jews first and was rejected and put to death. He changed the law, and they were not able to hear the truth of Christ’s words. The Father sent His Son to show the way of salvation. His own kinsmen were not given the ability to understand the message of Christ. He spoke in parables for the purpose of causing deafness and blindness in them.

Mat 13:10-15 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Paul desires for his kinsmen of the flesh to seek salvation, but it is not meant to be. He has been chosen to preach the message of the gospel to the gentiles. He understands that the scriptures must be fulfilled. Paul is our example of preaching to the nations. We also desire for our kinsmen to be saved in this age. We are to share the gospel with anyone that desires to hear it.

Psa 96:1-13 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Our sharing of the word today may not produce fruit in this age, but in the ages to come fruit will be produced. We are commanded to preach the gospel to every creature.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Acts 22:1-30  I Will Send You Unto The Gentiles

[Study Aired September 3, 2023]

Act 22:1  Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
Act 22:2  (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
Act 22:3  I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
Act 22:4  And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Act 22:5  As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Act 22:6  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.
Act 22:7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Act 22:9  And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
Act 22:10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
Act 22:11  And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
Act 22:12  And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
Act 22:13  Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
Act 22:14  And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
Act 22:15  For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
Act 22:16  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Act 22:17  And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
Act 22:18  And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
Act 22:19  And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
Act 22:20  And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
Act 22:21  And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Act 22:22  And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
Act 22:23  And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
Act 22:24  The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
Act 22:25  And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
Act 22:26  When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
Act 22:27  Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
Act 22:28  And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Act 22:29  Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
Act 22:30  On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

In our last study Paul had been apprehended by the Jews who had falsely accused him of teaching the Jews, which were among the Gentiles, that they should forsake the law of Moses and no longer circumcise their children. Here is that lie as it was told to James, the Lord’s brother:

Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

James knew Paul was teaching no such thing. Nevertheless, he asked Paul to demonstrate to the “many thousands of Jews that believe” that he was indeed ‘walking orderly and keeping the law’ of Moses by “being at charges” with four men who had a vow and purifying himself with those four men:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

Paul had no objections whatsoever to James’ request and took the four men who had a vow, entered the temple with them and initiated the seven days of purification, after which an offering would be made for all five of them. Just before the seven days ended, this is what happened in the temple:

Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Act 21:30  And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.
Act 21:31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

The chief captain “took soldiers and centurions and ran down unto” the mob and rescued Paul and saved his life “as they went about to kill him.” The chief captain asked the mob what Paul had done wrong, and because he got a lot of conflicting answers, he decided to take Paul into the castle and examine him. “When he came upon the stairs” leading into the castle, Paul asked the chief captain for permission to speak to the angry multitude, and the chief captain consented and gave him license to do so. Paul now has the opportunity he has always desired to speak to his own people en masse at Jerusalem and give them his own incredible testimony of how he, too, had zealously fought against the gospel of Christ. He especially wanted to tell them how and why he had become a follower of Christ.

Act 22:1  Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
Act 22:2  (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
Act 22:3  I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Paul identifies with the zeal of the multitude. It is the same zeal he had before he was struck down on the road just outside Damascus. Paul had no problem identifying with how all these Jews, who were all “zealous of the law”, felt when being lied to and told that Paul was teaching that Jews living among the Gentiles no longer needed to keep the law, and that he had brought a Gentile into the temple and had defiled the temple. He is hoping that if he tells them the extraordinary circumstances of his conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ he can convince them ‘that the things they are informed of concerning him are nothing, but he himself walks orderly and keeps the law.’

Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

To that end he tells them what brought him to become a follower of the very way that he, too, once hated:

Act 22:4  And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Act 22:5  As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Act 22:6  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.
Act 22:7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Act 22:9  And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
Act 22:10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

The way the Lord instructs Saul of Tarsus about “all [the] things which are appointed for [him] to do” reveals how He instructs each of us until this very day:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places [within us (Luk 17:21)] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Just as the Lord used Ananias as His spokesman, that is how He uses us to this very day.

Act 22:11  And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
Act 22:12  And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,

Ananias was a devout Jew and was “walking orderly and keeping the law” just as Paul was teaching the Jews to do. He points this out in commending Ananias’ devoutness to demonstrate that he himself also keeps the law.

Act 22:13  Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
Act 22:14  And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.

The same is true for each of us today if we are given to distinguish the voice of the True Shepherd from the ‘voice of a stranger’:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Act 22:15  For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
Act 22:16  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Baptism was part of the law which Paul is here instructed by Christ Himself to keep. “Calling on the name of the Lord” means that Paul was baptized in Jesus’ name, not in the name of the Father and the Son and the holy spirit. It is the same throughout the book of Acts. All baptisms were “in the name of Jesus.”

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.

Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

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

Act 22:17  And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
Act 22:18  And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
Act 22:19  And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
Act 22:20  And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
Act 22:21  And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

“I will send you far hence unto the Gentiles” was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. The multitude had been willing to hear that the Lord had told Paul the people of Jerusalem would reject his testimony concerning Christ, but they would not tolerate being told that the Lord Himself had sent Paul to the Gentiles. Paul certainly didn’t come out and say that the Jews were being “broken off” so the Gentiles could be “grafted in”, but telling them that the Lord had informed him while he was “in the temple, in a trance [that the people of “Jerusalem… will not receive thy testimony concerning me” and that the Lord would “send [Paul] far hence unto the Gentiles” was enough to make any Jew who was carnally ‘zealous of the law’ to want to destroy Paul, just as Paul himself had earlier wanted to destroy those who preached Christ. The doctrine of the salvation of the Gentiles apart from the law of Moses was as radical at that time as the doctrine of the salvation of “all…in Adam” is today.

Rom 11:15  For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Rom 11:17  And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19  Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23  And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Rom 11:24  For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Paul here reveals, for those with eyes that see, when all Israel shall be saved:

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in [At the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death (Rev 20:11-15)].
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel [and all men (1Co 15:22, 1Ti 2:4, 1Ti 2:10, 2Pe 3:9, 1Jo 2:2)] shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Act 22:22  And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.

Telling the Jews about the salvation of the Gentiles in Paul’s day was like telling Christians that:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

As a ‘very good elderly Christian’ of my own family emphatically told me when I read that verse to her, “That’s your opinion. The Bible does not teach that everybody will be saved!” The religious world believes that they are much more righteous and deserving of ‘going to heaven’ than all those less religious sinners in the world.

Like many ‘Christians’ of today, “if [they] had a holy ghost machine gun they would blow [such heretics] away to the glory of God” to quote a well-known American mega-minister. The Jews of Paul’s day, who signify the ‘Babylonian Christians’ of today, did not simply say, “Away with such a fellow.” What they said was, “Away with such a fellow from the earth!” In “believing a lie” they wanted Paul dead. Death is the fruit of believing a false doctrine:

2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned [G2919: ‘krino’ judged] who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

“Every man’s works” are tried because we all first “should believe a lie that [we] all might be judged.”

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Biblical ‘fire’ does not torment people forever with no purpose or goal in view. Biblical ‘fire’ produces salvation for “every man”. However, very few are being judged in this present age:

Luk 17:26  And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
Luk 17:27  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all [Very few saved].
Luk 17:28  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all [Very few were saved].

Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth [Very few saved]?

As James pointed out to Paul, there were indeed “many thousands  of Jews… which believe”, and since “they are all zealous of the law”, the believing Jews themselves may very well have been part of “all the people” who, out of zeal for the law, “laid hands on [Paul]…and… went about to kill him” because they had been falsely told Paul was teaching the Jewish Christians among the Gentiles to forsake the law of Moses and because they had falsely been told that he had brought a Gentile into the temple.

James and the elders knew Paul had done no such thing, and they were very happy to see him.

Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:

Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they [falsely] supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Act 21:30  And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.
Act 21:31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

Act 22:23  And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
Act 22:24  The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
Act 22:25  And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?

This is a good practical example for each of us of how to “use this world” without abusing it:

1Co 7:31  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

Claiming one’s earthly citizenship to avoid a physical beating is not at all to deny one’s heavenly citizenship:

Php 3:20  For our citizenship is in the heavens, whence also a Saviour we await–the Lord Jesus Christ–

Act 22:26  When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
Act 22:27  Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
Act 22:28  And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Act 22:29  Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

Paul’s actions in this case are an example of how we are to be ‘wise as serpents but harmless as doves.’

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

Paul claimed his Roman citizenship to avoid an unlawful beating. That is being ‘wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove.”

Act 22:30  On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

In our next study Paul will again demonstrate how to be wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove when he finds himself in a no-win situation.

Acts 21:10-19  The Will of the Lord is Being Done

[Study Aired August 20, 2023]

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
Act 21:11  And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Act 21:12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 21:14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
Act 21:15  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.
Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

In our last study Paul had just arrived in Caesarea in the house of Philip the deacon/evangelist.

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Paul is now in Caesarea in the home of Philip, the deacon turned evangelist. He had bypassed Ephesus because he was determined to be in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, already having been told by the holy spirit that “bonds and afflictions” were waiting for him at Jerusalem:

Act 20:16  For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

Act 20:22  And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Act 20:23  Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

The word ‘Pentecost’ means ‘count fifty’ or ‘fifty count’ because it was fifty days from the days of unleavened bread, which feast we are told Paul spent at Philippi:

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
Act 20:5  These going before tarried for us at Troas.
Act 20:6  And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

These seven men, plus Luke, are Paul’s traveling companions. Luke is the eighth man traveling with Paul to carry a gift from all the Gentile churches up to “the poor saints… at Jerusalem”:

Rom 15:26  For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

After the days of unleavened bread, Paul and his traveling companions spent five days traveling from Philippi to Troas, and they spent another seven days in Troas. That is twelve of the fifty days Paul needed to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost. It took another day for Paul to walk the 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Troas to Assos:

Act 20:13  And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
Act 20:14  And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.

That day of walking and then sailing to Mitylene was the thirteenth day since leaving Philippi after the days of unleavened bread.

Mitylene is a city on the island of Lesbos, which is visible from Assos. “We took him in and came to Mitylene” presents that part of his journey as taking place on that same day.

Act 20:15  And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.

It took another day to get to the island of Chios. That would be the fourteenth day, then another day to get to Samos, on the fifteenth day after leaving Philippi. Paul and his traveling companions would have arrived at Miletus on the sixteenth day.

I wondered why Trogyllium did not appear on the maps of Paul’s journeys, and I discovered that:

“Trogillium is on the cape where the Turkish mainland comes within a kilometer of the Greek island of Samos.” (https://www.ephesustoursguide.com/must-see-places-in-turkey/trogyllium.html)

It was here in Miletus, 30 miles south of Ephesus, that Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus:

Act 20:16  For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
Act 20:17  And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

If it took Paul a whole day to walk across the 25 miles of the peninsula from Troas to Assos then it would have taken a man at least a day to go to Ephesus and at least another day for the elders of Ephesus to go the thirty miles south to Miletus. That is assuming they all Immediately dropped what they were doing and came just as soon as Paul sent word.

We are up to at least eighteen days having passed since the days of unleavened bread and the elders of Ephesus are just arriving in Miletus. Paul speaks to the elders of Ephesus on the nineteenth day and warns them that some of them will become grievous wolves, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. He also tells them on that day that “ye… shall see my face no more”.

On that day, the nineteenth since the days of unleavened bread, Paul told the Ephesian elders:

Act 20:25  And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

After leaving the Ephesian elders in Miletus, Paul and his traveling companions go to the island of Coos. That would be day twenty, “and the day following unto [the island of] Rhodes [day 21] and from thence to Patara [day 22]. At least three weeks and one day, twenty-two days, have passed since Paul and his companions kept the “the days of unleavened bread” in Philippi. Now Paul and company begin the longest leg of their journey, sailing from Patara to Tyre:

Act 21:1  And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them [the Ephesian elders in Miletus], and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:
Act 21:2  And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.
Act 21:3  Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.

Here is the map we have been using to follow Paul and his “traveling companions”:

https://www.conformingtojesus.com/images/webpages/pauls_third_missionary_journey1.jpeg

The wording leads us to believe that they did not stop on the island of Cyprus and went straight to Tyre from Patara. That being so, they no doubt got to Tyre much quicker than if they had been disembarking and having to “find [another] ship” going their way, as has been related to us up to this time. I Googled the question, “How many days did Paul spend sailing from Patara to Tyre?” This is what I got:

“The second ship sailed directly from Patara to Tyre. Since it didn’t make overnight stops at ports, it would have easily averaged 67 miles (108 kilometers) per day to cover the 400 miles in 6 days.” (End Quote)

Here is our breakdown of the number of days that have passed by the time Paul reaches Tyre after leaving Philippi:

5 days from Philippi to Troas
7 days in Troas (Acts 20:6)
1 day (25 miles; 40 kilometers) from Troas to Assos (Acts 20:13) and then sail
to Mitylene which can be seen from Assos (Acts 20:14)
1 day from Mitylene to Chios (Acts 20:15)
1 day from Chios to Samos/Trogyllium (Acts 20:15)
1 day from Samos/Trogyllium to Miletus (Acts 20:15)
1 day for a messenger to travel from Miletus to Ephesus (Acts 20:17)
1 day for the elders to travel from Ephesus to Miletus (Acts 20:18)
1 day (estimated) spent with the Ephesian elders in Miletus (Acts 20:18-38)
1 day from Miletus to Cos (Acts 21:1)
1 day from Cos to Rhodes (Acts 21:1)
1 day from Rhodes to Patara (Acts 21:1)
6 days (400 miles sailing 67 miles per day) from Patara to Tyre (Acts 21:2-3)
28 days total

Paul would have arrived in Tyre on the 28^th day since the days of unleavened bread. There are twenty-two days more until Pentecost when he and his traveling companions arrive in Tyre, and we are told:

Act 21:4  And finding disciples, we tarried there [in Tyre] seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:5  And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.
Act 21:6  And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.

Twenty-eight plus seven equals thirty-five. There are now just 15 days until Pentecost, and Paul and his company are leaving Tyre for Ptolemais:

Act 21:7  And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.

If it took a day to get to Ptolemais, and they spent a day with the brothers there, we are now up to day thirty-seven since leaving Philippi. There are now only thirteen days left before Pentecost.

Act 21:8  And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

If it took another day to travel to Caesarea from Ptolemais, Paul would have arrived at Philip’s house in Caesarea on the thirty-eighth day with twelve more days to Pentecost:

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Tyre, Ptolemais, and Caesarea were all Jewish churches which were establish upon the persecution which arose about Stephen, and yet they are all very fond of the apostle Paul.

Act 11:19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

This is the same Agabus who had come from Jerusalem to Syrian Antioch way back before Paul and Barnabas had made their first missionary journey. When Agabus had come down to Antioch, he prophesied of a drought which prompted the church at Antioch to send aid to the saints in Judea, and they sent it by Paul and Barnabas:

Act 11:25  Then [soon after the stoning of Stephen] departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Act 11:27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Act 11:28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Act 11:29  Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Act 11:30  Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Act 21:11  And when he [Agabus, a certified prophet of God] was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

This is the positive application of being “bound hand and foot”. It is the futile attempt of the adversary to stop the work of the Lord’s anointed, stopping them physically from either walking or working with their hands in the Lord’s service. Yet it is an evident and manifested fact that the epistles Paul wrote from his prison house in Rome have never ceased to be used by God to spread His gospel throughout all the world in every generation. Being “bound hand and foot” by this evil world and being “dead in the streets of Babylon the great serves only to magnify the gospel of the kingdom of God within the heavens of His disciples.

Php 1:12  But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
Php 1:13  So that my bonds [“bind hand and foot” (Act 21:11)] in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
Php 1:14  And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Here is the negative application of being bound ‘hand and foot’:

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Act 21:12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

“We” are Luke and Paul’s other traveling companions who mistook the work of the holy spirit to prepare Paul’s heart for the trials that were just around the corner… they mistook this preparation for an admonition to avoid Jerusalem.

“They of that place” were those in Philip’s house and the church at Caesarea. They, too, thought that a prophecy of coming events was an admonition to avoid those impending events. Paul was mature enough to know that it is only “through much tribulation that we must enter the kingdom of heaven”, and that it is only “if we suffer with Him, we will be also glorified together with Him.” Their comments were in the same vein as Peter’s when he rebuked Jesus for saying He would be killed.

Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Act 21:13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

As Paul later tells us up front:

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

That is the exact opposite of “the voice of a stranger” which will always “speak unto us smooth things”:

Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

The Lord’s sheep know His voice, and they also recognize the words of a stranger who is ‘speaking smooth things and prophesying deceits’:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

This next verse reveals that even Paul’s traveling companions and “they of that place” knew that whatever took place happened only by “the will of the Lord”:

Act 21:14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

“The will of the Lord [is] being done… in “all things” because that is exactly what the Lord tells us is the case:

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The sovereignty of God extends to even the worst sin ever committed, and the Lord makes that very clear:

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Act 21:15  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.

“Those days” were the “many days” mentioned in verse ten which Paul and his traveling companions spent in the house of Philip there in Caesarea:

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

We have accounted for the passage of thirty-eight days since Paul and his traveling companions left Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, with the intent of being in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost.  When Paul arrived at Philip’s house there were only 12 days left before Pentecost.

Caesarea is a two-day journey to Jerusalem. Paul could conceivably have spent ten days with Philip in Caesarea and still have time to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost.

The “we” of verse 15 would have been Paul, and Luke and the seven men traveling with him to bring the gift of their Gentile congregations up to the suffering saints in Judea and Jerusalem to be distributed by the Jerusalem elders.

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Act 21:16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Mnason of Cyprus apparently also had a house in Jerusalem at which it had been arranged for Paul and his company to lodge. The body of Christ provides for its own in every city, and it does so with cheerfulness:

2Co 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Paul Visits James for the Last Time

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

The decrees of the elders of Acts 15 had been being shared by Paul with all the churches he established, and while there were false prophets accusing Paul of teaching the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, James and all the elders who knew Paul knew that was a lie being told by false brothers. Therefore “When we were come to Jerusalem the [true] brethren received us gladly.”

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

This particular ‘James’ is not the “James, the brother of John” who was killed by Herod at the time Barnabas and Saul had taken a gift from the church at Syrian Antioch up to Jerusalem during the days of unleavened bread shortly before their first missionary journey. This ‘James’ is the brother of Christ and the author of the book of James.

Act 12:1  Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
Act 12:2  And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Act 12:3  And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

We know this is the Lord’s brother because Paul mentions “James, the Lord’s brother” as the apostle who was at Jerusalem when he first came back to Jerusalem from Damascus, three years after his conversion on the road just outside of Damascus:

Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

Paul informs us that Christ had appeared to His brother James alone after His resurrection. Notice the order of these various appearances after His resurrection:

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
1Co 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Here in 1 Corinthians 15:5 and Luke 24:34 are the only two scriptures which tell us that Peter was the first apostle to see the Lord after His resurrection. Paul also says “He was [later] seen of James; then of all the apostles” at his ascension for the last time.

Here Paul tells us that “[Christ] was seen of James”, and then he informs us that “James the Lord’s brother” was made one of the apostles (Gal 1:19) by the time Paul returned to Jerusalem after his first three years of his ministry in Damascus. This demonstrates the high regard Paul gave to “James the brother of the Lord” as the leader of the church in Jerusalem:

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

It had been agreed many years earlier that Paul and Barnabas would concentrate their efforts on “going to the Gentiles” while Peter and the other Jewish apostles would go to the Jews first:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Paul and Silas shared these “decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” with all the churches “as they went” on their journeys.

Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

Those decrees expected the Jews to continue observing the law of Moses while the Gentiles were to do “no such thing” as we will see in our next study:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

This is a temporary agreement which lasted until the temple was destroyed. It initiated a period called “the time of reformation” which we all live as we come out from under the burdens of Babylon and into the freedom from all the traditions of men and all the ‘bondage under the elements of this world’ (Gal 4:1-10, Col 1:8-20).

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

The Lord has ordained that a reformation requires a certain amount of time in the lives of every man.

The point we need to understand is that there was no doctrine of ‘two administrations’ which was intended by the holy spirit to keep the Jews separated from the Gentiles in perpetuity.

Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the [singular] gospel;

Rom 3:30  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Eph 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Lest there be any question of whether the Jews were intended to remain under the law of Moses, Paul makes clear that “wall of partition between us [is being] broken down”:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
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 both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [“The decrees of the elders… and the holy ghost” stating that the Jews much continue to keep the law of Moses]
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; 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:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

What a wonderful message! Why would anyone want to return to a burden “which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

It is the churches of the great harlot system, with all their laws and traditions, which are the modern ‘schoolmaster’ from whom we are being delivered.

In our next study we will see that even Paul was still “under a schoolmaster” at this time in his life.

The Book of Romans, Part 6 – The Old and New Law

[Study Aired July 18, 2023]

Romans 2:12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 
Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 
Romans 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Romans 2:18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 
Romans 2:19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 
Romans 2:20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 
Romans 2:21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 
Romans 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 
Romans 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Romans 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. 
Romans 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 
Romans 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? 
Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 
Romans 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.

In our last study, Paul stated that we must walk in righteousness, exhibit patience, and avoid hypocrisy while judging. He emphasized the need for repentance, obedience to the truth, and the pursuit of good works, while highlighting the consequences of unrighteousness and the impartiality of God’s judgment. Paul continues to expand these thoughts with a comparison of the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ.

Romans 2:12: For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.

This verse highlights the principle on which judgment is based. Those who have sinned without the law, referring to individuals who are unaware of God’s specific commandments, will still face consequences for their wrongdoing. Likewise, those who have sinned while being under the law, meaning those who have received and are aware of God’s commandments, will be judged by the standards set forth in the law.

Romans 2:13: (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.)

Verse 13 emphasizes the importance of obedience to the law. It states that simply hearing or knowing the law does not make a person righteous in the sight of God. Instead, it is the act of doing or obeying the law that leads to justification. True righteousness is demonstrated through actions which are aligned with God’s commandments.

Romans 2:14-15: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.

These verses acknowledge that Gentiles, who were not given the Mosaic Law like the Jews, can still demonstrate obedience to God’s law. Although they do not have the specific written law, they possess a moral compass within themselves. Their actions reflect an understanding of right and wrong, as their conscience acts as a guide, either accusing or excusing their behavior.

Romans 2:16: In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

This verse points to the future judgment by God through Jesus Christ. It emphasizes that God will examine not only the outward actions but also the secret and hidden motives of individuals. The judgment will align with the gospel preached by Paul, which includes the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 2:17-20: Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

Verses 17-20 address the Jews and their pride in having the law. They are commended for their knowledge of God’s will, their confidence in teaching others, and their understanding of the truth contained within the law. However, these verses set the stage for a rebuke to follow, highlighting the importance of their actions aligning with their knowledge and not just their external adherence to the law.

Romans 2:21-23: Thou, therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

The above verses continue the rebuke toward those who claim to teach and uphold the law while disregarding it themselves. The Jews are reminded of their own transgressions and how their actions contradict the very principles they proclaim. By breaking the law while boasting about it, they dishonor God and undermine their credibility as teachers of the law.

Romans 2:24: For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Verse 24 highlights the negative impact of the Jews’ hypocrisy on the reputation of God. Their behavior causes the name of God to be blasphemed among the Gentiles. This echoes the writings of the Old Testament, which prophesied about the consequences of the Israelites’ disobedience and the resulting reproach brought upon God’s name.

Romans 2:25-29: For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law, but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keeps the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. 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.

These verses address the significance of circumcision and highlight the importance of true inward transformation rather than relying on outward rituals alone. Paul explains that circumcision, which was a sign of the covenant for the Jews, holds value only if accompanied by obedience to the law. However, if one breaks the law, their circumcision becomes meaningless. Paul emphasizes that true circumcision is a matter of the heart and spirit, reflecting a transformed inner nature. A genuine Jew is not defined by external factors but by their inward righteousness, which receives praise from God rather than from men.

Paul has introduced another spiritually significant message. He is continuing the message of Christ from Matthew chapter 5.

Mat 5:17-20 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Paul, like Christ, is saying the law of Moses has its place, but there is a greater law we must now follow.

Gal 3:21-29 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Christ changed the law by making it an inward spiritual law. 

Mat 5:21-22 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

The act of hate is not an outward action. Hatred is inward and is a matter of the heart. Paul is telling us we must be careful and fulfill the law of the spirit so we can be an inward Jew, circumcised of the heart. It is not enough to keep the law of Moses, the ten commandments. We must keep the law of Christ.

Gal 6:1-10 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Here is Paul’s spiritual message again.

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. 

We must walk after the spirit and not the flesh. The carnal commandments of Moses are for carnal men. They do serve the purpose of teaching us what is sin. But as stated in Galatians we must go beyond the schoolmaster.

Rom 8:1-11 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

We must go beyond the principles of the doctrine of Christ in order to become the elect of God.

Heb 5:12–6:6 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Our end goal is to become disciples indeed so we must continue in His word and follow the law of Christ.

Joh 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

In summary the apostle Paul discusses the principles of judgment and the role of the law in the lives of both Jews and Gentiles. He emphasizes that both those who have sinned without the law of Moses and those who have sinned while being under the law will be judged according to their actions. The chapter highlights that true righteousness comes from being a doer of the law, not just a hearer. Paul acknowledges that even Gentiles, who do not have the written law, can demonstrate obedience to God’s moral principles through their consciences.

Paul addresses the Jews who boast in having the law and emphasizes that true circumcision is not an outward sign but a matter of the heart and spirit. He rebukes those who break the law while teaching others, pointing out the hypocrisy that brings dishonor to God’s name.

Paul presents the concept of the Law of Christ, which goes beyond the external commandments of the law of Moses and focuses on inward transformation and obedience to the Spirit. He shows that through faith in Jesus Christ, believers are no longer under the law but under grace, called to fulfill the law of Christ by walking in the Spirit.

Overall, Romans 2 underscores the importance of genuine obedience, both for those who have the written law and those who do not, and emphasizes the need for an inward transformation of the heart to align with the principles of the Law of Christ.

Act 18:1-13 Henceforth I Will Go To The Gentiles

[Study Aired June 25, 2023]

Act 18:1  After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
Act 18:2  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
Act 18:3  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
Act 18:4  And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
Act 18:5  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
Act 18:6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
Act 18:7  And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
Act 18:8  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
Act 18:9  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
Act 18:10  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Act 18:11  And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Act 18:12  And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
Act 18:13  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

This is Paul’s second missionary journey. At the end of his first journey with Barnabas, he and Barnabas returned to Antioch in Syria “And there they abode long time with the disciples”:

Act 14:26  And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
Act 14:27  And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
Act 14:28  And there they abode long time with the disciples.

It was at this time that Peter came to Antioch and was there with Paul and Barnabas when some men “came from James” in Jerusalem and began teaching that the Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, or they cannot be saved:

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Act 15:2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

In Galatians Paul adds more detail to what went down in the church at Antioch at the time that he and Barnabas and Peter were all there eating with the Gentiles, at the conclusion of Paul’s and Barnabas’ first journey:

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch [at the end of Paul’s first journey], 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.

This is the “time of reformation” and the revealing of “many things [which] you cannot bear… now”:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances [circumcision and the law of Moses], imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Circumcision and all the laws of Moses were imposed on Israel “until the time of reformation.” Christ is that Great Reformer, and every time He said “Ye have heard that it has been said by them of old… but I say unto you…” He was in the process of ‘reforming the law of Moses’:

Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Such changes as Christ made here in Matthew 5 took many years to implement upon the society of His day. Later in this 18^th chapter we will see that Paul himself took a Nazarite vow despite Christ’s teaching to “swear not at all.” Replacing all the “carnal ordinances” with spiritual realities requires the mighty hand of God, as it was displayed in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus into Paul the apostle (Act 9:1-18), and the conversion of Peter into a Jew who did not consider Gentiles to be “common or unclean” (Act 10:1-28).

Both conversions were a work in progress in “the time of reformation”.

Even Peter, the person chosen by the holy spirit to miraculously come to see that Gentiles are not to be called ‘common or unclean’ and was given the honor of being the first Jew to take the gospel to the Gentiles, and Barnabas who was intimately acquainted with the miraculous circumstances which brought about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, struggled to accept this revolutionary reformation which was taking place in the heavens of all the Jews and even many Gentile proselytes at the beginning of “the time of reformation.” Let’s consider once again the stakes in this heavenly battle:

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch [at the end of Paul’s first journey], 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.

After leaving Damascus and spending “fifteen days” with Peter in Jerusalem, Paul was forced by the unbelieving Jews to flee Jerusalem for his home town of Tarsus from whence Barnabas brought him to Syrian Antioch to assist with the growth of the churches in that city. From Antioch, Paul, still known as Saul, went back to Jerusalem for the first time in fourteen years to take a gift to the saints of Jerusalem who were suffering under a severe drought. While Paul, who was at this time still called Saul, and Barnabas were there in Jerusalem, James was martyred by Herod, and Peter was placed in prison and was miraculously delivered from prison. Before Saul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, the Lord slew Herod by causing him to be eaten with worms right after giving a stirring oration. When Paul (Saul) and Barnabas went back to Antioch, they took John Mark with them, and he went with them on their first journey as far as Perga in Pamphylia. At this point, John departed from them and went back to Jerusalem.

Paul and Barnabas continued their journey and established churches in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe before returning to Syrian Antioch, where they met Peter, and Paul was forced to confront both Peter and Barnabas for their hypocrisy in eating with the Gentiles until certain men came down from James. When men came to Antioch “from James” Peter and all the other Jews of Antioch suddenly and hypocritically separated themselves from the Gentiles they had just been eating with. Even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy and separated himself from the Gentiles. Then those ‘men from James’ began teaching that Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. This was a crisis situation within the church. If it had not been handled according to the Lord’s commandment, it would have divided the church at its very birth just as the church continues to be divided today because it will not submit to the Lord’s words in Matthew 18:

Mat 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Mat 18:18  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye [the church] shall bind on earth shall be [Greek, ‘shall have been] bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye [the church] shall loose on earth shall be [Greek: ‘shall have been] loosed in heaven.

It was this confrontation at Antioch which occasioned Paul and Barnabas going back up to Jerusalem to seek the consensus of the apostles and elders concerning the question of whether the Gentiles were required to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.

What transpired at that Jerusalem conference was that Peter, Paul and Barnabas made known to the elders that they did not believe that there was any difference whatever, in Christ, between being a natural Jew and a Gentile. Peter went as far as to say, “Neither we nor our fathers were able to keep the  laws of Moses.” Furthermore, he labeled the law of Moses “a yoke”, and he declared that the Jews would be saved “even as they”, meaning in the same manner the Gentiles were being saved which was “purifying their hearts by faith.”

Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.[the Gentiles]

The holy spirit had made clear to both Peter, at the house of Cornelius, and to Paul, while still being called ‘Saul’, that in time He would “put no difference between [the Jews and the Gentiles] purifying their hearts by faith”. However, at this conference it was made clear by “the holy spirit” that it was not yet time for that doctrine to be proclaimed. For the time being, the holy spirit decreed that all Jews, including Peter, Paul, and Barnabas were required to remain under the law of Moses for a few more years, as the letter to the Gentile converts at Antioch proclaimed:

Act 15:25  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27  We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Act 15:30  So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
Act 15:31  Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
Act 15:32  And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them [confirmed the decrees of the epistle].

Having this question settled by the holy spirit and the apostles and elders, Paul and Barnabas decided to go back and visit all the churches they had established and tell them all this good news and see how they were faring. Barnabas wanted to give his nephew, John Mark, another chance to work with him and Paul. Paul disagreed with Barnabas so strongly that they decided not to work together in their travels in the Lord’s service. Barnabas took John Mark and sailed back to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, who had remained in Antioch after having been sent there to confirm the letter which the elders in Jerusalem had sent out to all the believing Gentiles. That letter decreed that though the Gentiles need not be circumcised nor keep the law of Moses, such was not at all the case for the Jews who were still required to keep the law. That message is not made clear in Acts 15. All that is said in Acts 15 is that ‘Moses is read in the synagogue every sabbath day’:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

Acts 21, which chronicles the events in Jerusalem at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, clarifies what was meant by the statement, “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” Here is what that meant to the believing Jews:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law [the law of Moses]:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themelves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Paul, Barnabas, and Silas had been “walking orderly and keeping the law of Moses” even as they were telling the Gentiles that they should “observe no such thing.” That was the decrees of the apostles and elders which came out of that Jerusalem conference, and all the Jewish apostles lived by that decree throughout the entire book of Acts. “[Paul and Silas] delivered them the decrees for to keep… as they went through the cities” in which they had evangelized and where Paul and Barnabas had established churches:

Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

No one disagreed with those decrees, and everyone, Jews and Gentiles, accepted the fact that the Jews were expected to continue to keep the law of Moses, which included Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and Peter. They were all preaching and teaching those decrees.

If we do not believe that Paul “[him]self also [was] walking orderly and keeping the law” of Moses throughout all three of his journeys, then we do not know or understand the dynamics operating in the church throughout the book of Acts and in all of Paul’s epistles, until the writing of the epistle to the church at Ephesus. Paul was keeping the law of Moses, not out of “condescension to their weakness” as Gill states in his commentary on Act 21:21, but out of “the fear of the Lord” and out of obedience to the decrees of the holy spirit and the apostles and elders at Jerusalem as we are informed in Acts 15, which I repeat:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

It is the apostle Paul who tells us that ‘the manifold wisdom of God is made known only by the church’:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

It was “the manifold wisdom of God… [made] known by the church” which decided at the Jerusalem conference that it was not yet time to “break down the middle wall of partition… [the] commandments contained in ordinances]” which distinguished a physical believing Jew from a believing Gentile. Paul being a physical Jew was walking orderly according to the law of Moses, not out of condescension, but out of a desire to remain faithful and obedient to the words of the Lord for that time.

It was also “the manifold wisdom of God [to make] known by the church” when the time came to break down that middle wall of partition and declare that the Lord puts “no difference” between the Jews and the Gentiles. There is a time to keep the law of Moses, and there is a time to refrain from keeping commandments contained in ordinances.

With this understanding that Paul agreed with the decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, we will continue our study of this second missionary journey:

Act 18:1  After these things [Paul’s preaching to the Jews in the synagogue and to the Greeks at the Areopagus court in Athens] Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
Act 18:2  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
Act 18:3  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

Working with Aquila and Priscilla, Paul met his own expenses and the expenses of those who were with him in Corinth:

1Co 4:11  Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
1Co 4:12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

Paul repeats this fact when speaking to the elders of Ephesus:

Act 20:34  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

The fact that Paul worked with his hands to minister to his necessities and the necessities of those with him is not meant to lead us to believe that it would be wrong for him to accept help from those to whom he ministered. Paul makes clear that he did just that and even thanked those who did so while admonishing the Corinthians for believing the lies of others who were telling the Corinthians that Paul was preaching the gospel just for personal profit.

2Co 11:7  Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
2Co 11:8  I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
2Co 11:9  And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

The Macedonians’ generosity in ministering to Paul’s needs was also commended by Paul in his epistle to the Philippians:

Php 4:15  Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
Php 4:16  For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
Php 4:17  Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

Paul and Silas had been unlawfully beaten and jailed by the authorities at Philippi and had been asked to leave the city. When they left Philippi, they went to Thessalonica where they spent some time until the unbelieving Jews forced them to leave for Berea. While in Thessalonica, the church which had been established in Philippi was led by the Lord to send some form of support to Paul and those who accompanied him, and Paul was very grateful for that support.

The Lord blesses a “cheerful giver” much more than a begrudging tithepayer. Even those who tithe with a willing heart will be blessed because the Lord knows their heart, and they, too, will reap what they sow.

2Co 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Gal 6:6  Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. [“communicate… with [his] necessities” (Php 4:15-16)]
Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Act 18:4  And he reasoned in the synagogue [at Corinth] every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

The Greek word for ‘reasoned’ is G1256, ‘dialegomai’ and it means to have a dialogue with someone aiming to persuade them, which is what Paul did with both the Jews and the Greeks.

Paul told the Thessalonians that he had sent both Timothy and Silas from Athens to return to minister to the churches in Macedonia including the church at Thessalonica:

1Th 3:1  Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
1Th 3:2  And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:

Sometime after leaving Athens and spending time establishing a church in Corinth, Paul sends again for Silas and Timothy. It is here in Acts 18 we learn that when he sent Timothy to care for and minister to the Thessalonians, he had also sent Silas back to minister to the churches of Macedonia where both Thessalonica and Philippi were located.

Act 18:5  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
Act 18:6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

This is the second time Paul has made this resolution, because he had said the same thing when the Jews in Pisidian Antioch had refused the gospel “and expelled them from their coasts”:

Act 13:45  But when the Jews [of Pisidian Antioch] saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

What Paul meant by “we turn to the Gentiles” was the Gentile proselytes who were in the synagogues to whom the Lord gave a more receptive spirit toward the gospel. Paul did not leave Corinth when the Jews “opposed themselves and blasphemed” against the gospel. He simply moved his work into a house which “joined hard to the synagogue” and continued to preach the gospel to all who were given ears to hear and eyes to see The Truth.

Act 18:7  And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

Paul’s efforts were so persuasive that “the chief ruler of the synagogue believed on the Lord with all his house” as well as many other of the Corinthians.

Act 18:8  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

This is the ‘Crispus’ Paul later refers to in his first epistle to the Corinthians when he was admonishing them to be of one mind and have no divisions among themselves based upon which one of the apostles had baptized them:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1Co 1:15  Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
1Co 1:16  And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
1Co 1:17  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Baptisms and sprinkling were an integral part of the law of Moses. Christ Himself was baptized by John, and He commissioned His disciples to baptize others, though He Himself baptized no one:

Joh 4:1  When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
Joh 4:2  (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
Joh 4:3  He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Christ baptized with the holy spirit and with fire.

Luk 3:16  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but there cometh he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire: (ASV)

Water baptism was left to Christ’s disciples, who were yet unable to bear the loss of that part of the law of Moses.

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [Things like “the washing of the water by the Word” (Eph 5:26)]

Indeed, the apostles and elders at Jerusalem continued the practice of water baptism throughout the history of the book of Acts. It is in the same prison epistle of Paul, the epistle to the Ephesians where Paul reveals that the ‘wall of partition’ (meaning the necessity that the Jews must keep the law of Moses) was being torn down by the Lord, who is now in the process of “making of twain one new man” and washing us with the water of His word:

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye [Gentile Ephesians] who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [The decree of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem requiring the Jews to keep the laws and ordinances of Moses, in Acts 15]
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; 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:

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Act 18:9  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
Act 18:10  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Act 18:11  And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

The words “no man shall set on thee to hurt thee” proved to be true, but that was by no means a promise that Paul and the gospel would not face much opposition here in Corinth as it did in every city. No man in Corinth beat Paul, stoned him, or put him in jail, but that was not because some did not want to do just that:

Act 18:12  And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
Act 18:13  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is always resisted by the secular and religious establishment because it is completely contrary in spirit of both. Paul’s perseverance in the face of such constant opposition is an example for us to never become weary in well doing as Paul twice admonishes us all:

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

2Th 3:13  But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

Any time a statement is repeated in scripture, it is because it needs to be repeated. It is because we all do become weary in well doing, and the holy spirit has seen fit to warn us against giving in to the desire to avoid the trials we are promised are a part of our calling if we aspire to be in ‘the kingdom of heaven’ at that ‘blessed and holy first resurrection’.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

We are not told exactly how long Paul spent in each of the cities he visited on this second journey, but we are told that he visited and ministered to Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens before coming to Corinth. That is seven cities. If he spent just one month in each of those seven cities, this second evangelistic journey would have lasted well over two years, because he spent a year and six months here in Corinth alone.

In our next study we will learn how Paul was kept safe through this “insurrection”, and we will see that he “shaved his head in Cenchrea; for he had a vow”, demonstrating beyond any doubt that he was actively remaining faithful to “the decrees from the holy spirit and the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” not out of any sense of “condescension.” He was rather keeping those decrees out of the fear of the Lord and a deep desire to please Him and be obedient to His decrees, the decrees of “the holy spirit and the apostles and elders.” Paul would never have encouraged any of his Gentile converts to take a vow or shave their head. It was understood and accepted that keeping the law of Moses was only expected of the Jews, and not of the Gentiles:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; (ASV)

The day will come when the spirit will decree that “the middle wall of partition” between the Jews and the Gentiles will be “broken down” (Eph 2:14), but that time is not yet, and that day will not be realized at any time throughout this book of Acts. It will be proclaimed only when Paul is taken to Rome as a prisoner in the epistle to the Ephesians. Throughout the book of Acts, all the apostles are living under the law of Moses, and they are all teaching that the Gentiles “observe no such thing” as James told Paul:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made 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; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Act 15:1-21  The Apostles and Elders Came Together to Consider this Matter

[Study Aired May 14, 2023]

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
Act 15:2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
Act 15:3  And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
Act 15:4  And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Act 15:12  Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
Act 15:13  And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Act 15:14  Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
Act 15:15  And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
Act 15:16  After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Act 15:17  That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Act 15:18  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

We will finish this chapter next week and stop here for today.

We have finally come to Acts 15. This is the chapter which reveals how the apostles set us an example of how we are to deal with doctrinal differences which do arise within the body of Christ. Remember what we have been told:

1Co 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Before we examine how these heretical differences are to be dealt with, let’s first examine why the Lord sends us “divisions among you” and doctrinal differences. It is not what we might think:

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

The Lord says that there must be heresies among us… “that they which are approved may be made manifest.” We would just naturally think the Lord would send heresies among us for the purpose of revealing what is the truth of the matter. Indeed, the Lord does show us what is the truth is, but that is apparently secondary to ‘manifesting… they which are approved among [us].’ Notice what Paul, in the previous verse, tells us what heresies produce when they are brought into our fellowship:

1Co 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

Heresies divide us, and the fact that there are 40,000 plus Christian denominations, each one formed generally over doctrinal differences, belies and reveals the great whore and all her daughter churches.

This is the mind of Christ as it concerns the unity of His body:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1Co 1:15  Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
1Co 1:16  And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
1Co 1:17  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Paul tells us:

2Ti 1:13  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 1:14  That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
2Ti 1:15  This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

“All they which are in Asia” includes “the seven churches of Asia” to whom the book of Revelation is addressed:

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

The number ‘seven’ signifies that the whole church had already apostatized before the death of most of the apostles. The apostasy was so strong that Diotrephes was “casting…out of the church” the people whom the apostle John had sent to minister to them:

3Jn 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
3Jn 1:10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Diotrephes was not interested in ‘being persuaded by his leaders and deferring to them’ as we are commanded of the holy spirit, not of any man:

Heb 13:17 Be persuaded by your leaders, and be deferring to them, for they are vigilant for the sake of your souls, as having to render an account, that they may be doing this with joy, and not with groaning, for this is disadvantageous for you.

Under the inspiration of the holy spirit, Paul told us “there must be heresies among you that those who are approved might be made manifest” (1Co 11:19). Let 1 Corinthians 11:19 sink into your spirit, as we examine this 15^th chapter, which demonstrates for us how the apostles dealt with the heresy which teaches that the Gentiles must be physically circumcised before they can receive salvation.

Heresies are listed as one of the works of the flesh which will rob us of our crown and of inheriting the kingdom of God:

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Christ Himself tells us that false prophets with their false doctrines and heresies will periodically be found among the Lord’s “very elect”:

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

The Lord’s people all “come out of [Babylon]” (Rev 18:4), and therefore we were all the victims of the “damnable heresies” of all these “false prophets” at the time appointed for each of us. These ‘damnable heresies” are also called “strong delusion”:

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned [G2919: ‘krino’, judged] who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The Greek word translated as ‘damned’ here is ‘krino’. It appears 117 times in the Greek, and this is the only time this word is mistranslated as ‘damned’.  Those who reject the truth in this present time will be judged in “the resurrection of judgment” (Joh 5:29), which is the lake of fire, which is the second death (Rev 20:14).

Notice how similar these words here in 2 Thessalonians 2 are to the words of Christ Himself:

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

We will now begin reading the story of how the apostles set us an example of how to avoid being divided against Christ and His doctrines. If we follow their example, we will ‘all speak the same thing, and have no divisions among us and we will remain perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment’ concerning what constitutes His doctrines.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Here in this 15^th chapter of Acts the apostles are confronted with the first recorded false doctrine which attempted to divide the Lord’s flock:

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
Act 15:2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

The apostle Peter, the apostle the holy spirit had chosen to be the first, who through miraculous circumstances, was privileged to take the gospel to the Gentiles in the house of the Roman centurion, Cornelius, just happened to be visiting the church at Antioch at the same time that Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from their first missionary journey. This is just over two years after Peter had visited the house of Cornelius. We know this is so because Barnabas was sent to Antioch immediately after the Gentiles had received the holy spirit when Peter was still speaking in Cornelius’s house, and as soon as Barnabas had seen all the holy spirit was doing in Antioch, he went to Tarsus to get Saul to help minister to all the synagogues in Antioch:

Act 11:25  Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

After ministering “a whole year” in Syrian Antioch, Barnabas and Saul are sent to Jerusalem at the time of the Passover to present a gift from the churches in Antioch to the drought-stricken saints in Jerusalem. When Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch from Jerusalem the holy spirit immediately sent Barnabas and Saul on an evangelical mission which occupied another year at the most. Therefore, Peter and Barnabas separating themselves from the Gentiles in Antioch occurred just a very few years after the holy spirit told Peter to call no man common or unclean.  Paul’s rebuking of Peter and Barnabas happened shortly after Paul and Barnabas had returned to Syrian Antioch after their first missionary journey:

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 then returned to Jerusalem and is there at Jerusalem when the church at Antioch sent Barnabas and Paul up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question of whether the Gentiles must be physically circumcised to be saved:

Act 15:3  And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
Act 15:4  And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

Before we continue our narrative, let’s remember just how contentious this doctrine was which taught that the Gentiles must be physically circumcised to be converted or they could not be saved. The contention began in Antioch. I will repeat:

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
Act 15:2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem  unto the apostles and elders about this question.

This same contentious spirit was still alive and well among “they of the circumcision” when they got up to Jerusalem:

Act 15:4  And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

What are we to do when there is a heresy among us? Heresies are essential to our walk “to have our senses exercised to know good and evil” as well as to reveal who among us is approved of God:

1Co 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Those words are expressing the mind of God in this matter, and so are these words:

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Any of us who think we do not need a teacher “are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat” simply because you simply have not yet had your “senses exercised to know both good and evil”.

Christ’s apostles are mature enough to acknowledge that they do need teachers, and they are humble enough to seek the counsel of all the apostles and elders to settle this question and to root out the heresy which is attempting to divide the church. Notice that we are twice told that this question was brought before “the apostles and elders” to consider and to deliver a decision. As clearly as it can be stated “the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.” This was not something the whole church discussed and considered as we once thought.

We had misread the Lord’s words “tell it to the church” and made it say, “Take it to the church.” That was a grievous error for which all our leaders at that time have repented.

Here is what the scriptures actually teach:

Mat 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

The church did not ‘come together for to consider of this matter.’ In fact this is what the church did:

Act 15:12  Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

The consensus of the apostles and elders was that the doctrine which held that the Gentiles must be physically circumcised to be saved was spurious heresy. However, it was also agreed that the Jews must continue to be circumcised and to live by the law of Moses.

Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we [Peter, Paul and Barnabas] believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [physical Jews] shall be saved, even as they [the believing Gentiles].
Act 15:12  Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

Why would the church at Antioch “determine that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go… to the apostles and elders about this question?” (vs 2)

That determination was made because the leaders of the church in Antioch knew what both Christ and the Old Testament instruct us to do when legitimate doctrinal questions arise within the body of Christ. We have already quoted Matthew 18:15-17, where Christ instructs us how we are to deal with being offended by a brother. Nothing is more offensive to a brother than to “bring in damnable heresies.”  These words of Christ in Matthew 18:15-17 are simply the New Testament version of these words from the Old Testament:

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

The only Biblical way to wage spiritual warfare is “in the multitude of counselors.” The only Biblical way to establish purposes and doctrine is with “a multitude of counselors.” The only Biblical way to stay safe in the Lord is to obey His commandment to seek “a multitude of counselors” when deciding whose doctrine is Christ’s doctrine.

Now let’s all pay very close attention to how this Jerusalem conference played out. Peter, speaking for himself and Paul and Barnabas, had made their case by declaring their position:

Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we [Peter, Paul and Barnabas] believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [Jewish believers] shall be saved, even as they [Gentile believers, saved by grace through faith, Eph 2:8].

While there was one hundred percent consensus that the Gentiles need not be circumcised or keep the laws of Moses to be saved, none of the original twelve apostles, other than Peter, thought the Jews did not need to keep the law of Moses:

Act 15:13  And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Act 15:14  Simeon [Peter] hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
Act 15:15  And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
Act 15:16  After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Act 15:17  That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Act 15:18  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence [G2919, ‘krino’, judgment] is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

As we will see in our next study, even though the judgment of James and the other apostles and elders was that the Jews needed to remain under the law of Moses, Peter, Paul and Barnabas were “persuaded [by] and deferred to” the consensus of the elders that the Jews must continue living by the law of Moses even though they had just declared plainly that they (Peter, Paul, and Barnabas) believed that the Lord put “no difference” between Jews and Gentiles. In time it was revealed that the Lord was indeed ‘making of twain one new man’ and was taking down the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles. That “middle wall of partition” was the very determination made at the Jerusalem conference expressed in a letter sent to the Gentiles which informed them that they need not keep the law, but the Jews must keep the law of Moses.

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
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 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; 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:

Lest we fail to understand that Paul was living under the law while teaching the Gentiles that they need do no such thing, the decision agreed upon at this conference is repeated for us in Acts 21, which takes place after Paul’s third missionary journey:

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: [of Moses]
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

If Paul had forsaken Moses during his past two journeys, then this was the perfect opportunity for him to speak up and say so. However, Paul had not forsaken the law of Moses and was himself living under it even as he was telling the Gentiles they need not to do so. Paul would die before being a hypocrite, so he had no problem with what James was asking him to do so that “all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law” [of Moses].

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Paul wanted everyone to know, and the holy spirit wants us to know, that when Paul agreed with the conclusion of the Jerusalem conference, he lived his life by that decision of the apostles and elders.

Neither he nor Peter nor Barnabas took the attitude that “Me and Jesus got a good thing going, me and Jesus got it all worked out, me and Jesus got a good thing going, we don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about” – to quote a country song by Tom T. Hall, which expresses the divisive evil spirit which rules over many who claim that they know the Lord. The ‘Jesus’ they know is not the same Jesus Peter, Paul and Barnabas knew and loved and obeyed, and all those who subscribe to the ‘Lone Ranger’ doctrine of Tom T. Hall know “another Jesus”, and they are building their spiritual house upon the shifting sand of this earth and not upon the Rock that is Christ:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Gal 1:6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

When Paul says, “Which is not another” it is obvious by what follows that he is telling us that those who are attempting to remove us from Him that called us into the grace of Christ unto another gospel will always tell us it is not another gospel, yet we are plainly told that they “would pervert the gospel of Christ.”

We have all been through the experience of being forced to discern what is and what is not the voice of the True Shepherd and what is “the gospel of Christ” versus what is a perversion of that gospel. In our next study we will learn how to choose our counselors and to know which counselors are the Lord’s counselors.

Here is some very good admonition from a very reliable source:

1Th 5:12  And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
1Th 5:13  And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
1Th 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

Acts 14:1-28  We Must Through Much Tribulation Enter into the Kingdom of God

[Study Aired May 7, 2023]

Act 14:1  And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Act 14:2  But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.
Act 14:3  Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Act 14:4  But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
Act 14:5  And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,
Act 14:6  They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
Act 14:7  And there they preached the gospel.
Act 14:8  And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
Act 14:9  The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
Act 14:10  Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
Act 14:11  And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Act 14:12  And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
Act 14:13  Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Act 14:14  Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
Act 14:15  And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
Act 14:16  Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Act 14:17  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
Act 14:18  And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
Act 14:19  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Act 14:20  Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Act 14:21  And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Act 14:23  And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Act 14:24  And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
Act 14:25  And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
Act 14:26  And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
Act 14:27  And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
Act 14:28  And there they abode long time with the disciples.

I have a map I want to share with everyone to give us all a perspective of where Paul and Barnabas traveled on their first missionary journey:

https://www.conformingtojesus.com/images/webpages/pauls_journeys_map1.jpg

Here is a cut and paste from Biblestudy.org which gives us some perspective of the miles these two men walked:

biblestudy.org › home › maps › n.t. churches › derbe

The Via Sebaste ran through Pisidian Antioch to Iconium, a distance of about 93 miles (150 kilometers). It then ran from Iconium to Lystra, a distance of 18.5 miles (30 kilometers). From Lystra he traveled on an unpaved track of the road about 62 miles (100 kilometers) to Derbe (Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting, Volume 2, by Gill and Gempf, Chapter 10).

We are reviewing the first missionary journey the Lord gave to Paul and Barnabas.

In our last study they had just been thrown out of the city of Pisidian Antioch because the Jews had “stirred up the devout and honorable women and chief men of the city… and cast them out of their coasts.”

Act 13:44  And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Act 13:45  But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Act 13:48  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Act 13:49  And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
Act 13:50  But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
Act 13:51  But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
Act 13:52  And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

“The “devout and honorable women” signify the church. The “chief men of the city” signify church leaders. It was the church of Paul’s day, the synagogues and the leaders of the synagogues, who most resisted the truth of the gospel and who were the chief persecutors of the Lord’s messengers. These events here in Pisidian Antioch are nothing more than a repetition of what Saul of Tarsus, now Paul the apostle, experienced right after his conversion at Damascus and then later at Jerusalem. It will be the same in every city Paul will preach in the rest of his life. The ‘great harlot’ does not appreciate being shown her own infidelity, and she passionately hates those who do so.

When Paul and Barnabas were “expelled out of [the] coasts of… Antioch”, they “were filled with joy” that they were “counted worthy to suffer with the Lord”, and they “shook off the dust of their feet against them [of Antioch], and came unto Iconium.”

Act 5:41  And they [the apostles] departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Act 14:1  And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Act 14:2  But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.

Notice just how fickle our minds are. “A great multitude both of Jews and also of the Greeks believed,” and yet “the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds [the minds of the great multitude of believers] evil affected against the apostles:

Act 14:3  Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Act 14:4  But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
Act 14:5  And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

When the Lord reveals to His followers that His word is being rejected, they never, ever resort to physical violence to silence their opposition, but that is exactly what will always take place when the lies of Babylon are revealed to this world in this present time. Those ministers who advocate violence are not “the voice of The Shepherd”, and we must “flee from them.”

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Here is what Christ and His Christ always do when they are rejected:

Act 14:6  They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
Act 14:7  And there they preached the gospel.

Once again, “the Jews with their rulers [plot] to stone [the apostles], and they once again patiently obey the Lord’s admonition to us all:

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

“The cities of Israel” signify the Lord’s elect, and the statement, “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come” means that our Lord has an “Israel of God” in every generation right up until the time of His appearing. There will also always be, in every generation, “those who say they are [spiritual] Jews [the Israel of God] but are not.” These will always be there to resist the Words of our Lord and His Christ:

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GWV)

Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

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.

Those who are “of the synagogue of Satan… say they are [spiritual] Jews”, and they truly believe that the Lord loves them and their doctrines. Those who know the voice of the True Shepherd, also know the false doctrines of strangers, and will flee from those false prophets and their false doctrines:

Joh 10:1  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep [Christ and His Christ].
Joh 10:3  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

“Know not the voice of strangers” means that they know that the voice they are hearing is not the voice of their True Shepherd, and they “will flee from [the false ministers of Satan].”

The day is coming when the whole world will know for certain who is and who is not loved of the Lord:

Mal 3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name [AKA ‘the book of life’].
Mal 3:17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Christ healed two men who could not walk – the man who was lowered to Him through the roof and the man at the pool of Bethesda. Peter at the gate that is called Beautiful healed a man who was born lame and was forty years old. These men signify our old man who cannot walk with Christ. Here at Lystra Paul is given to heal another man who was born lame and had never walked:

Act 14:8  And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
Act 14:9  The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
Act 14:10  Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

The holy spirit revealed to Paul that this man “had faith to be healed” and inspired Paul “with a loud voice [to say] stand upright on your feet”, and when the man was healed, he “leaped and walked”.

Now notice the difference between how the heathen react to a miraculous healing versus how those react who are “the synagogue of Satan… those who say they are Jews but are not, but do lie”:

Let’s notice the reaction of the synagogue of Satan first:

Joh 5:6  When Jesus saw [the lame man] lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
Joh 5:7  The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Joh 5:8  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:9  And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
Joh 5:10  The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

Now let’s see how the Gentiles react to such a miraculous healing:

Act 14:11  And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Act 14:12  And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
Act 14:13  Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Act 14:14  Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
Act 14:15  And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
Act 14:16  Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Act 14:17  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
Act 14:18  And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

Nevertheless, the heathen are just as unstable and just as fickle as the Lord’s own apostate church:

Act 14:19  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Act 14:20  Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

The way this is written could lead one to believe that it was the day after proclaiming Paul and Barnabas to be gods that the Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuaded the very same people to stone Paul and leave him for dead. It was no doubt more than a single day, but it certainly did not take a long time to persuade the very people who thought Paul and Barnabas were gods to stone Paul, but the Lord raised him up, and he returned to the city of Lystra before ‘fleeing [“the next day”] to another city” (Mat 10:23), the city of Derbe.

It was a miraculous healing that gave Paul the strength to recover from a stoning which left him for dead, He was raised up that same day as the disciples stood about his body which was left for dead praying for him. He returned to Lystra and then began the 62 mile (100 kilometers) walk to Derbe the very next day.

It is here at Lystra, on his next missionary journey which began very soon after the conference in Jerusalem, that Paul and Silas will meet a disciple named Timothy, who will join them on their travels and will become as a son to Paul:

Act 16:1  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
Act 16:2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Act 16:3  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. [The letter to the Gentiles which resulted form the Jerusalem conference of chapter 15]
Act 16:5  And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

1Ti 1:2  Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

2Ti 1:2  To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

The fact that Paul saw fit to circumcise Timothy soon after the Jerusalem conference is one of many things Paul did which demonstrates that Paul agreed that he, being a Jew, must keep the law of Moses at that time, even as he was telling the Gentiles at Rome and at Corinth and in Galatia that they were spiritual Jews who must not keep the law of Moses:

Rom 2:28  For he [Roman Gentile Christians (Rom 1:13)] 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 [spiritual] 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.

Rom 1:13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Gal 1:6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth [of the letter from the apostles at Jerusalem conference], before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [The apostles had sent a letter to the Gentiles telling them they need not keep the law of Moses].
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? [the law of Moses]
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
Gal 3:5  He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

This is the first journey of Paul and Barnabas, and they did not meet Timothy or his mother on this trip.

Act 14:21  And when they had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe], and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Act 14:23  And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Paul and Barnabas are now on their way back to Syrian Antioch to rehearse all the Lord had done through them. As they return through the cities they had evangelized, they “confirm the souls of the disciples, and exhort them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

It would be so much easier and so much more enjoyable to preach a gospel that said, “Jesus smiled” instead of “Jesus wept.” It would be much more acceptable to teach that Christ was a very popular man whose life was full of fun instead of having to teach that He was a man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief.

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Joh 11:35  Jesus wept.

I am not saying that Jesus never smiled. I am sure He did. What I am saying is that the scriptures just simply do not once tell us that while He was here in a body of flesh that ‘Jesus smiled’ or was popular with the church of His day or that He had a lot of fun in this life. That simply is not the tone of the scriptures.

Life would be so much easier if we could prophesy only smooth things and preach the deceits of the ‘prosperity gospel’ and the gospel of a life of ‘coffee and doughnuts’ as opposed to having to teach the truth of the gospel, which is that “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

Isa 30:8  Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

“The time of reformation” of the law of Moses was under way, and the new church was growing exponentially here right after its birth. The powers that be, the rulers of the churches, the rulers of the synagogues, expelled the apostles, from every city they came to. Nevertheless, there were very many who believed the gospel. There were so many that Paul and Barnabas “ordained them elders in every church.”

Derbe is the last city in which Paul and Barnabas preached on this first journey before returning through all the cities they had evangelized; Lystra, Iconium, Antioch and Perga in Pamphylia. As they pass back through Perga we are told “they preached the word in Perga”, which we are not told they did when they first passed through that city. From Perga they travel to another seacoast city called Attalia, and from that city they sail back to Syrian Antioch, the city from which the Lord had first sent them out into His field, and into His vineyard.

Act 14:24  And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, [meaning Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch] they came [back] to Pamphylia.

They are traveling back through Pisidia, back through all the cities they had evangelized, including Antioch, and from there they will return to Pamphylia, where Perga is located.

Act 14:25  And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
Act 14:26  And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
Act 14:27  And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
Act 14:28  And there they abode long time with the disciples.

It is while Paul and Barnabas are back in Antioch, “[w]here they abode long time with the disciples” that certain men come down to Antioch from Jerusalem telling the Gentiles they must be physically circumcised before they can be saved. It is at this point, soon after the first missionary journey, that Peter and Barnabas both temporarily and hypocritically side with these false prophets “from Judea”. Paul rebukes them both before all. Peter and Barnabas are forced to face their own hypocrisy because they both had been eating with the Gentiles before those men came down from Judea pointing out that Moses said one must be circumcised:

Gen 17:10  This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Gen 17:12  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
Gen 17:13  He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14  And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

They no doubt felt that they had the Bible on their side, but both Peter and Barnabas knew the miraculous way the holy spirit had made it very clear that a reformation of the law was under way in and through Christ.

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

That is what we will be dealing with in next week’s study in chapter 15, Lord willing.