Southern Christian University

Acts

Class Session 01

James A. Turner

Hello students, it is now time for us to begin our first Class Session for New Testament 3409A, which is an introduction to and a study of the book of Acts. I surely hope that each one of us will profit in a good way by the study of this great book. The first thing that I would like to do this evening is first get some of this busy work out of the way. I guess you know how that we are to put down learning objectives for each class and then how we are going to deal with the learning objectives in the lecture. Notice for this class I have down three things, one that Luke is the author of Acts and a number of things about Luke, and so we will begin with that.

We know that Luke is the author of the book of Acts because he had already written the gospel of Luke and he addressed it to most excellent Theophilus, Luke 1:1-4. And in the introduction to the book of Acts, Acts is addressed to Theophilus. Reading from Luke chapter one verses one through four, he says, "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things, which thou was instructed." And then here in the beginning of the book of Acts, Acts is addressed to Theophilus. Acts 1:1-2, "The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen."

Notice verse one says he had written that former treatise to Theophilus about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the days that he was taken up. And that surely is what the gospel of Luke is about. Now reading from Luke chapter twenty-four, beginning with verse twenty-five, it reads, "Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures, and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that Christ should suffer, and to rise again from dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: But tarry ye in the city (Jerusalem) until ye be clothed with the power from on high. And he led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he departed from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, blessing God." So notice that the book includes, just as he states here in Acts 1:2, that it is about what, “Jesus began to do and to teach until the days which he was received up.” And the gospel of Luke closes with Jesus giving commandment unto the apostles and then ascending into heaven.

Now in regard to other things about Luke, we are first introduced to him as a person in Acts chapter sixteen, verses ten through fifteen. Paul was on the second missionary journey as recorded in the book of Acts. It was not the second journey he had been on, but it is the journey that is recorded in the book of Acts as the second journey. On the second journey he started out with Silas, and they went through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches (Acts 15:41), and then they revisited those churches of Galatia that he and Barnabas had established on that first journey. They started with that last church that they had established, Derbe, and then from Derbe to Lystra. At Lystra, there was a young man that Paul had converted on the first journey, Timothy, and he was well-reported of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium. Paul decided to have him circumcised and carry him as a fellow worker on this second journey. After he and Silas and now Timothy had revisited those four churches that they had established on that first journey, those churches were in the order that they were established: Antioch of Pisidia, then Iconium, then Lystra and Derbe. And after they had revisited those churches, and had delivered to them the decrees that had been ordained of the apostles and elders as recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Acts about that Jerusalem meeting over circumcision, after they had delivered those to the churches, Paul wanted to go into Asia.

He probably wanted to go to Ephesus at that time, but he was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go into Asia. They wanted to go into Bithynia and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not to go there. And Luke says passing by a Mysia they came to Troas (Acts 16:8). At Troas, Paul received a vision in the night, a man standing over in Macedonia of European territory saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” We can tell from the pronouns in Acts 16:10 beginning, that Luke joined the company of Paul, Silas and Timothy at Troas. This strongly indicates that Paul and Luke must have had some association prior to this. Some think that Luke was a Gentile and possibly the brother of Titus, that Paul and Barnabas had carried with them to Jerusalem to make him a test case. If circumcision was binding, Titus had not been circumcised. Whether that is true or not, the Bible does not tell us, but it does seem quite logical. But notice the reading of Acts sixteen beginning with verse ten, "And when he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel unto them. Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district and Roman colony: And we were in this city certain days. And on the Sabbath we went forth without the gate by the river side, where we supposed that there was a prayer service; and we sat down, and spake unto the women that came together.” At that prayer service Lydia and her household, which looks like was a business household, were all converted. And verse fifteen says, "When she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us." And then he continues on there with more we. But in chapter seventeen, we see that he stays behind at Philippi when Paul and Silas left Philippi and went to Thessalonica. Reading from Acts seventeen, "And when they,. (talking about Paul and Silas) had passed through Amphipolis and Apolonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the scripture, opening and alleging, that it behooved that Christ must suffer, and to rise from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I proclaim unto you, is Christ." So we can see by his use of the pronouns when he is with the company of Paul and when he is not with the company of Paul.

The next time that he uses the pronoun we is after Paul had taken up contributions from all of those Gentile churches of Macedonia and Achaia and they were ready to carry that bounty to Jerusalem, Luke joined the company. We know that to be the case from the reading in Acts chapter twenty, verses five and six. In verse four, Luke lists the names of the messengers of the churches and then verses five and six, "These had gone before and were waiting for us, (Paul and Luke) and we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them at Troas in five days; where we tarried seven days." And, of course, Luke continued with them on that journey to Jerusalem. Acts 21:7, "And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly." It looks like that Luke was close to Paul during that time that he was in prison at Caesarea, (Acts 23:26-25:12) which some count as a two-year period. Whether it was that long or not, I do not know, but anyway he was first tried by Claudis Lyseas (Acts 23:26-30) and then by governor Felix. Felix recognized that he had done nothing that was illegal, and he hoped that money would be given to him, and he would turn him loose. Paul and his friends did not come with any money, because that would have been contrary to what was right. When Felix was going out of office, he wanted to show the Jews a favor and he left Paul bound. So the book shows that Luke was close to Paul during that imprisonment. While Paul was in prison at Caesarea, would have been a good time for him to have written the gospel of Luke. Notice again that he said that he had followed everything, that he had traced everything accurately concerning the things that were believed. Let me read it again. "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus." You see Luke would have had an opportunity, Caesarea is just a few miles from Jerusalem, and surely he would have had an opportunity to have talked to eyewitnesses and traced accurately the things from the first about what Jesus did and taught until the time that he was taken up. Finally Paul appealed his case to Caesar.

After Festus had tried him, he did not find anything that Paul had done wrong, but he was ready to show the Jews a favor. They pleaded with Festus for him to let them try him at Jerusalem, Acts 25:1-2. If Paul had gone to Jerusalem, they had planned to kill him in the way. Notice from Acts 25:11-12, Paul was a Roman citizen, so he refused to go to Jerusalem but appealed his case to Caesar. He said, "If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: But if none of these things is true whereof these accuse me, no man can give me up unto them. I appeal unto Caesar." You see he had rights as a Roman citizen to make an appeal unto Caesar, and so he appealed his case to Caesar.

Luke was also with Paul when he made the voyage to Rome as given in Acts 27:1, "And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain prisoners to a centurion named Julius of the Augustus' band." So Luke was with Paul on that voyage to Rome, and he was with Paul during that two years imprisonment. During that first Roman imprisonment Paul was permitted to live in his own hired dwelling during that two years. Remember that there were no real charges against him, and so he was permitted to live in his own hired dwelling, guarded by soldiers, but he was permitted to speak to all that came in to hear him. During that two years imprisonment, he carried on an evangelistic campaign, plus he wrote the four New Testament books that we refer to as the prison epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. And in Colossians 4:14, he sends a salutation to the Colossians from, “Luke the beloved physician.”

So Luke was a physician, and a well-educated man. His gospel book is counted as the most literary book of the four gospel books, and the book of Acts is also written in a very good way. Also in the short epistle to Philemon, he sends salutations from Luke (Philemon, 23-24). So Luke was with Paul during the first Roman imprisonment, and he was with Paul during the second Roman imprisonment, according to II Timothy 4:11, Paul writing to Timothy and encouraging him to come and bring Mark with him. He says only “Luke is with me.” Luke was almost in continuous association with Paul during those times that we have spoken of. I think that deals fairly well with the objective that Luke is the author of the book and some of the other things about Luke. Luke was surely a great person.

The number two, learning objective, the approximate time that Acts was written and how many years the book covers. Acts begins with the closing admonitions of Jesus to the apostles and then his ascension, and it concludes at the end of that first Roman imprisonment. The dates usually given for that two years' Roman imprisonment is either 60 to 62 AD or 61 to 63 AD, therefore the book of Acts covers approximately thirty years. It is a brief history of the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church. It was written about 62 or 63 AD and covers approximately thirty years. Think of that, giving a brief history of the spread of the gospel and the growth of the kingdom of God in twenty-eight chapters. That ought to tell us on the surface that the book of Acts is a very brief account. And when we get to the twentieth chapter of the book of Acts, we will give attention in a more detailed way of just how brief it is.

The third objective is that the book of Acts is a great book, and surely it is. We really would not have a very clear understanding of what a person must do in order to be saved without the book of Acts. Now, there are many other passages coupled with the book of Acts that show very clearly, but as many of our brethren have referred to the book of Acts as a book of conversions. Well, it is a book of conversions, but it is much more than a book of conversions because it shows how that the apostles carried out the instructions that Jesus gave them as recorded in Acts 1:8, which we will be reading in a few minutes.

In the book of Acts, the question is asked and answered three times as to what a person must do in order to be saved. When the apostle Peter preached the first gospel sermon on that first Pentecost after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, he told them about the resurrection of Christ, and that he had been exalted to the right hand of God. And he said, "And he hath poured forth that which you should see and hear." Talking about the miraculous things that were happening to the apostles. And he said, "Let the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this same Jesus, whom you have crucified both Lord and Christ. And there were those who were pricked in their hearts, and they said to Peter and the other apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do." Meaning what shall we do to be saved. "And Peter said, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promise is unto you and your children, them that are far off even as many as the Lord our God shall call." In chapter nine Saul of Tarsus had received letters from the chief priest to go to a foreign country to Damascus the capital of Syria to bind the Christians that were there and carry them back to Jerusalem and put them in prison when he was arrested by a light from heaven. And the Lord spake to Saul, and when he did, Saul said, "Who art thou, Lord?" Acts 9:5. "And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: But rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." And then God sent Ananias to him to tell him what he needed to do. And in Acts twenty-two, Paul repeats the story of his conversion and also in chapter twenty-six. In Acts 22:12-16, he tells about Ananias coming to him and saying to him, "Why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." So Saul was told what he needed to do in order to be saved.

Then in Acts sixteenth chapter, we read about where Paul and Silas at Philippi were beaten and thrown into prison, and the keeper of the prison was given charge to keep them safely, and he thrust them into the inner part of the prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” And the Lord sent an earthquake that jarred the prison doors open, and the jailer, thinking that the prisoners had escaped, drew his sword, ready to kill himself, when Paul said to him, “Sir, do thy self no harm, for we are all here.” And the Philippian jailer, trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas -- and I believe he called for a light, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And Paul told him what he needed to do to be saved. So three times the question is asked and answered. And, of course, we have many other cases of conversion recorded in the book of Acts. Let me emphasize that in each case where everything is recorded the conversion ends in baptism. In the eighth chapter of Acts, the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, “Philip preached unto him Jesus” and they came to a certain water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized?” And that goes for all the cases where everything is enumerated as to what they did. It ended with them being baptized for the remission of their sins.

The book of Acts is also a great book from the standpoint of how it ties in with the epistles of Paul. Paul wrote I and II Thessalonians, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, and those four prison epistles during the time period of the book of Acts. And it is very important from the standpoint of being able to have some details about where and when Paul wrote those books and the problems in those churches when he wrote the books. There are a number of things in the book of Acts that assist us with a better understanding of those epistles, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, and then the prison group.

Well, I reckon we are now ready to begin the reading and the study of the first chapter of Acts. "The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach." Notice that. Some preachers are ready to say, you are not to do as I do, but do as I tell you to do. Well, if he really believes that, he is the wrong kind of preacher. A man is to demonstrate his teaching by the way that he lives, Jesus did that, and notice, “concerning of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom he also showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God." I believe I am right when I say that it is only this third verse of chapter one of Acts that we learn how many days Jesus was on earth after his resurrection. Luke tells us it was forty days, appearing unto them in a space of forty days, and speaking of things concerning the kingdom of God. From the gospel accounts, we recognize that Jesus was on earth for a while before his ascension, but Luke tells us how long. "And, being assembled together with them (the apostles) he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem." Now, going back to verse two, he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles. And so he is giving this charge then in verses four and five -- well, beginning with verse four and on through verse eight. "And being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard from me. For John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence." I think we have stated as a fact that most religious people in our American society are all mixed up in regard to Holy Spirit baptism and the purpose of Holy Spirit baptism. Some even teach that everybody should be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and that is not the case at all. At the end of verse five, if you have room like I have in my Bible, write “promised to the apostles”. Please let me encourage you to write down notes or references in your Bible. Over the years I have learned that they are some of the very best notes that you can have are references in your Bible, which you will refer to and refresh your memory concerning things that you know you have learned, but by the time you come back, you may have forgotten. I remember hearing Dr. James Bale of Harding University saying a number of years ago that, “faded ink is much better than a faded mind”. I found that to be the case, and I highly recommend that you write down references in your Bible, and I will give you quite a number. And I would appreciate it very much if you would write them down. References in your Bible will be a lot better. You also have references given in the study questions, but in all probability in the process of time you will not know where those study questions are. And even if you do, you would not have them with you when you are going to need them. But if you have the references written down, that will remind you, then you have them there. Verse four again, "And, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard from me. For John indeed baptized with water; but ye ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence."

When John was preaching and baptizing in the Jordan as recorded in Matthew 3:11-12, he said, "I indeed baptize you unto repentance: But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire." So Matthew 3:11-12 says that Jesus would administer Holy Spirit baptism and fire baptism. I remember seeing a sign in the yard of one church building that said: “A Fire Baptism Church”. They were of that denomination that say that the Lord gave three baptisms: water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism, and fire baptism, and we believe in all three. Well, I surely believe in all three, but not the way that they believe, about fire baptism or Holy Spirit baptism either.

Fire baptism, as shown by verse twelve, is hell fire. "Whose fan is in his hand, he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire." John is using the illustration of the threshing floor of that day. During that time they piled up the grain on the threshing floor, and they had an ox to pull around and around a threshing sled over the grain until the chaff was separated from the grain. And then when the wind was right, they threw the wheat, or whatever grain it was, and the chaff up in the air, and the wind blew the chaff out, and the grain was left on the threshing floor. And so John says, "Whose fan is in his hand, he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into the garner." The wheat represents the righteous, and the garner would represent heaven. "But the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire." I guess all of you have been listening some about the great number of wild forest fires in the western states and how at times there is just very little they can do in controlling some of them. But at the same time, they are not unquenchable fire. Sometimes those flames they say go up a hundred and fifty feet high and reach out about that far. From the standpoint of man being able to deal with them, they cannot deal with some of them very effectively, but the Lord can send a great downpour, a gully washer rain, and put them out in a hurry! There is no fire that is unquenchable except hell fire. Another reference which shows that to be the case is II Thessalonians 1:6-10 were Paul said, "To you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, from the glory of his power."

Another reference that you need to put down at the end of verse five is John 14:26, 16:7-14. John is the only writer that records that long discourse that Jesus gave his disciples after he had kept the last Passover and had instituted the Lord's Supper before he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. That long discourse covers John thirteen through sixteen, and then chapter seventeen, the prayer that he prayed on that occasion. In John 14:26, Jesus said, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father shall send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." And in John chapter 16:7-14, he states, "It is expedient that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come. But if I go away he will come. And when he comes he will convict the world of sin." And further he says, "He shall not speak from himself, but he shall take of mine, and shall declare it." Well, first he would guide them unto all truth, but the Comforter or the Holy Spirit would not be speaking for himself. "But he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you." So the Holy Spirit was to guide the apostles, each time the apostles are involved. He is talking to the apostles here Acts 1:4-8, and he is talking to the apostles in John 14:26, and in John 16:7-14. You need to turn sometime soon and read those passages and get them in mind.

Okay. Verse six, "They therefore when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" We need not get excited today when we teach the same thing over and over again and still some people do not understand. These apostles had been with the Lord more than three years, about three-and-a-half-years, we think, and they were still expecting him to set up an earthly kingdom instead of establishing a spiritual kingdom. The Lord could not have pleased the apostles any better than if he had come to establish an earthly kingdom. And he surely could not have pleased the Jewish people any better if he had accepted all three of those challenges that the devil presented Jesus with after he had been in the wilderness for forty days. After that forty days, he was hungry, and you know those temptations, how that the devil said, “if thou be the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” And you know that would have pleased the Jewish people because they liked for the Lord to perform signs and wonders, and they were always ready to be fed. They would have liked to have seen him cast himself down from the temple, from the pinnacle of the temple, and they would have surely liked for him to have been an earthly ruler. When the devil carried him up on the exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, “These will I give to you, if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said, “Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thy serve.” The Jewish people wanted to be out from under Roman authority, and most of the Jewish people were looking for was for him to be become an earthly king. And he could not have pleased them better than to become an earthly king.

By verse six, you need to write down John 6:15 and 18:36. After Jesus had fed the multitude of five thousand men plus the women and children, and that must have been at least ten thousand people that he fed with five loaves and two fishes. As recorded in John 6:15, they were ready to take him by force to make him an earthly king. Let us turn to John six and notice that with your own eyes how important it is. Notice in verse ten, "And Jesus said, Make the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.” Well, when you think that most of them had their wives with them and a lot of children, so it must have been at least ten thousand that were fed. "Jesus therefore took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down; and likewise also the fishes as much as they would. And when they were filled, he saith unto his disciples, Gather up the broken pieces which remain over, that nothing be lost." The Lord teaches a lesson of being conservative and taking proper care of what we have, and they took up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces. "And so they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which remained over unto them that had eaten." Now notice verses fourteen and fifteen. "When therefore the people saw the sign which he did, they said, This is of a truth the prophet that cometh into the world. Jesus therefore perceiving that that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain himself alone." Do you see the importance of John 6:15, “that they were about ready to make him king by force”? This is one of the many references which show that the doctrine of Premillennialism is a false doctrine. They are bent on making him an earthly king. Would this not have been the proper time for him to be an earthly king if God had intended him to be an earthly king? I want to continue to mention a number of things like this which show that the Premillennialism doctrine is a false doctrine. Jesus did not come to be an earthly king, but they are still going to have him be an earthly king. On this occasion they were about to make him an earthly king by force and he left their presence.

When the first period of the first Class Session was up, we were still on Acts 1:6, the disciples said to Jesus, "Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And I asked you to write down John 6:15, and we turned and read from the sixth chapter of John about how that the people were ready to make Jesus an earthly king by force and he left their presence. I also asked you to write down 18:36, when Jesus was before Pilate and he questioned him about his being an earthly kingdom. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world, if my kingdom were of this world, then should my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence..” Jesus did not come to be an earthly king. And you may wonder why are you calling attention to these. I want you to be able to see that that premillennial doctrine that Christ is going to come back to earth and reign on earth as an earthly king for a thousand years is false from beginning to end. I will call attention to other references as we study this book. . When we get to Acts chapter two where Peter speaks about God raising up Jesus to sit on David’s throne, we will go into details about the throne, that Christ is now reigning on the throne of David. Those of you that are on the Web, you should have all those documents printed out, and so we can look carefully at that outline when we study Acts chapter two, the latter part of it.

Verse seven, "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times of the seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: And ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Now, notice that they were to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. Going back to verse four, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father, the promise of the Father about their being baptized with the Holy Spirit. And in verse eight, "But ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you."

What is the meaning of ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you? Write down beside verse eight, Mark 9:1. When the Holy Spirit came on them, then the kingdom would come. Mark 9:1 reads, "There are some of you that stand here, that shall no wise taste of death, till ye have seen the kingdom of God come with power." And so here and in Acts 1:8, Jesus said that the power would come upon them when the Holy Spirit came upon them. And then in Acts two, we will be reading about the Holy Spirit coming on them on that first Pentecost after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and on that day then the kingdom had its full beginning. According to the premillennial doctrine Christ came to establish his kingdom, but because the Jewish people rejected him (John 1:11-12) he ushered in the church age and the kingdom age is yet to come. Such reasoning makes Christ a liar in Mark 9:1 or else there are some living today on earth who are a bout two thousand years old. In Colossians 1:13 Paul said that those brethren had been “translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son”. How were they translated into a kingdom that according to that false doctrine does not exist. Revelation 1:9 says that the apostle John and all of those first century brethren were “in the kingdom, tribulation, and patience of the Lord Jesus Christ”.

Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you." And notice the Lord's marching orders as to who they would carry the gospel to first and then second, third and fourth. "And ye shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea." That means the area especially around Jerusalem. "And in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." And that would mean the Gentile people. So the gospel was first preached to the Jewish people, and there were thousands of Jewish people that obeyed the gospel during the beginning days of the kingdom. After they preached the gospel in Jerusalem and Judaea, then the gospel was carried to the Samaritans, chapter eight of Acts. Philip, one of those seven that the apostles had laid hands on, had miraculous power, and he went to Samaria and started preaching, and when they saw the signs and all that he did and heard his “teaching concerning the kingdom of God of the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women”. So after the gospel was preached to the Jewish people, it was to go next to the Samaritans, and then after the gospel had been carried to the Samaritans, then it was to be carried to the Gentiles and to the uttermost parts of the earth. The first time that the gospel was formally carried to the Gentiles was at the household of Cornelius as recorded in Acts 10. The “uttermost parts of the earth” really got under way when Barnabas and Saul were told by the Holy Spirit to go on that first journey as given in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Acts.

Now, in regard to the Samaritans, how much do you know about the Samaritans? Let us take a little time and review a few things about the Samaritans. When the ten tribes were carried into Assyrian captivity -- Turn to II Kings chapter seventeen. Do you remember how God divided the kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms because of the sins of king Solomon in marring so many foreign women and idolatry being established in a big way in the land of Israel? And God, because of that, divided the kingdom into two kingdoms (I Kings 11: 1-4, 11:9-12, 11:26-33, 12:12-16, 12:21-24).. He left Rehoboam the son of Solomon with only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, and gave the other ten tribes to a new king, Jeroboam the son of Nebat. God promised the new king Jeroboam, if he would be faithful, he would establish him a sure kingdom like that of David's. But Jeroboam did not exercise proper faith, and he began to reason if the people returned to Jerusalem to worship, they will return to Rehoboam, and they will kill me, and I will no longer be king. So he set up two golden calves, one at Bethel and one at Dan. The people of Israel had had that calf idolatry all the time since they had left Egypt. And remember when Moses came down from the mountain, Exodus thirty-two, and they had had Aaron to make a golden calf for them. So Jerboam’s advisors evidently knew that that would be popular with a lot of the people, and they established those two golden calves, one in the south and one in the north of the territory of the ten tribes.

And they said it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem and “behold thy gods which brought you out of the land of Egypt”, and most of them were ready to turn and worship before those golden calves at Bethel and at Dan. Of course, that was idolatry, very displeasing to God. But all of the kings of the northern kingdom, from the first to the last, did not depart from that calf idolatry. Finally because of all that idolatry and their going beyond that in worshiping the Baals and burning their children as sacrifices in worship to their idol gods, that God, after two hundred and fifty-two years, I believe it was, in 722 BC carried the ten tribes into Assyrian captivity. And thus we will begin to read from II Kings chapter seventeen, "In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea, the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel and he reigned nine years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea: For he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tributes to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: Therefore the king of Israel shut him up, and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded the land, and came to Samaria." During the days of king Omri (I Kings 16:23-24), they had established a capital in a very strategic position in Samaria. And evidently it was very hard to take that capital city, for it says for three years he besieged it. "And in the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and on the Habor the river of Gozan, and the cities of the Medes." And then he begins and gives at least seven reasons why. Coming down to verse twenty-one, "And when he had torn Israel from the house of David; they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit great sin. The people of Israel walked in all the sins which Jeroboam did; they did not depart from them." That means about that all the kings continued with that calf idolatry. It was made the engine of the state, and so because of all their sins and particularly because of all of the idolatry and the burning of their sons and their daughters as sacrifices to their idol gods (I Kings 17:17-18; Psalms 106:37-38). God carried them into Assyrian captivity. Most of the Jewish people of Samaria were carried to other territories, and the Assyrians brought Gentiles into the area of the ten tribes. Verse twenty-four, "And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah and from Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel: And they took possession of Samaria, and dwelt in its cities. And at the beginning of the dwellings there, they did not fear the Lord: Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them." So the king of Assyria was told, "The nations which ye have carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, do not know the law of the God of the land."

That was the pattern of idolatry, that one country had this god as their primary god, and another country another, and another country another. But anyway the king of Assyria sent back one of their priests. Verse twenty-seven, "Then the king of Assyria commanded, Send there one of the priests whom ye carried away thence; and let them go and dwell there, and teach them the law of the God of the land." And so the Samaritans would, have been taught some knowledge of the five books of Moses. But they just accepted God as another God. Verse twenty-nine, "But every nation still made gods of its own." And they burned their children as sacrificed to their gods. Verse twenty-two, "They also feared the Lord, and appointed among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places." "So they feared the Lord, but also served other gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. Unto this day they do according to the former manners: They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the ordinances of the law, or the commandments which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel." So the Gentiles that were brought into the territory just accepted Jehovah as another idol god. They did not really fear him and follow his statutes and ordinances. It is thought that some of these Gentile people intermarried with some of the Jewish people that were left in the land.

The southern kingdom remained a hundred and thirty-six years after the ten tribes were carried into Assyrian captivity. Then they were carried into Babylonian captivity. And God, through the prophet Isaiah, said that that captivity would be for seventy years (Jeremiah 29:1-10). When that period was up, the government of Babylon fell, to the Medes and the Persians. Cyrus the king of the Persians gave a decree that all of the people of Israel that wanted to go back to the homeland and build another temple could go (Ezra 1:1-4). Solomon’s temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in that last carrying away of Judah ((II Kings 25:8-12).

The Persian government also gave them help in being able to build a second temple. In Ezra the fourth chapter, when the returnees started building a second temple, the leaders of the Samaritans came forward and approached Zerubbabel, the governor and heads of the houses, and offered to build with them, but their offer was rejected. Reading from Ezra chapter four, "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building the temple to the Lord the God of Israel; they approached Zerubbabel, and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them." You will learn from chapters one and two that Zerubbabel was a descendant of that king Jeconiah that was carried into Babylonian captivity (Matthew 1:12; Ezra 1:7, 2:2), and his grandson led that first company back to Jerusalem. When they began building then, these enemies -- Notice verse one says, "When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin." So that puts us on notice that they are not true believers in God but they are adversaries. "They approached Zerubbabel, and the heads of fathers' houses, and said to them, Let us build with you: For we worship your God, as ye do; and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here." And so that is talking about what we read from II Kings chapter seventeen. "But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building the house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us."

I am pretty confident that some of our liberal brethren would say that Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses did the wrong thing when they rejected their offer, but that is not the case because they were not the Lord's people. They would have been compromising with the devil's workers if they had permitted them to build with them. And then they showed themselves of what they were, and they hired counselors against them until they finally stopped them from building on the temple for a period of time. Can you imagine how that the enmity must have continued to build up? And finally one of the priests was doing wrong, and Nehemiah kicked him out, and he went to Samaria and became a leader of the Samaritans, and they built a rival temple on mount Gerizim. An understanding of this is necessary really to understand the fourth chapter of the gospel of John, about Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman. When she finally recognized that he was a prophet, you remember she said, “our fathers worshipped in this mountain,and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”. She was referring to mount Gerizim, which they thought of as the mountain of blessing, where they had built a rival temple to the one in Jerusalem. Do you remember from Joshua the eighth chapter when they carried out the commandment that Moses had given them? When they came into the land, they were to read the blessings and the curses of the law. The blessings were to be read from mount Gerizim, and half of the tribes were to be assembled on that mountain, and when the blessings were read, all the people were to say amen, and the other six tribes on mount Ebal where the curses of the law were read. It must have been a very moving occasion. They could hear from one mountain to the other as the blessings and curses of the law were read. The people of Samaria had some knowledge of the books of Moses to say the least of it, at least some of them did. It was in order that the gospel be carried second to the Samaritans.

But let us take time, while I am thinking about it, to notice how fast the kingdom of God increased in those early days of the gospel age. There were about three thousand who obeyed because of that first sermon. Acts 2:40, "And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. They then that received the word were baptized: And there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls." So about three thousand were converted on that first day when the gospel was first preached. And then in Acts 4:4, you will do well to highlight these verses when Peter and John were arrested by the Sanhedrin. Verse four says, "But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of men came to be about five thousand." Well, in this day in time, there is usually more women than men that obey the gospel, right? So that must be at least ten thousand. And then after Ananias and Sapphira his wife lied about their giving, they were struck dead. Acts five, picking up with verse twelve, "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. But the rest of them durst no man join himself to them: Howbeit the people magnified them." Verse fourteen is the verse that you need to highlight. "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both men and women." So take ten thousand people and add multitudes to ten thousand, and that is getting into the thousands sure enough. Then Acts 6:1, "And in these days, when the number of the disciples were multiplied, there arose a murmuring of Grecian Jews." Acts 6:7, "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." When you think about all those references, it looks like to me that twenty thousand people would be a minimum estimate of the number of Jews that obeyed the gospel in the beginning days of the church.

Now, back to Acts 1:9, and we will read about the gospel being carried to the Gentiles in Acts ten, at the household of Cornelius, and then the Gentile church, chapter eleven, that was established at Antioch of Pisidia. And then Acts thirteen, the Holy Spirit said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." And then in that first journey, Barnabas and Paul, among the Gentile people, established those churches of Galatia. Verse nine, "And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight." And so after Jesus had given instruction to the apostles about how that they were to tarry in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come upon them, that when the Holy Spirit had come upon them, the power would come upon them, and then that they were to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and then to the Gentile people. And so after giving that instruction, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. "And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going up into heaven." Now, do you think these two men were just mere men or were they angels, the two men that stood by them in white apparel? You think they were angels, don't you? Some of our brethren today are speaking of angels as just being messengers, and they leave the impression that there is no real distinction to be made between men and angels. Do not let them pull that kind of wool over your eyes. The Bible makes a distinction between men and angels. Hebrews 1:14 says, "Are they not ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for them that shall receive salvation?" Angels as taught in the scriptures are heavenly beings, and they can take any form that God wants them to take. In the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel, Daniel was praying and God sent an angel that got to him before he had finished his prayer. Daniel was praying that God would help the returnees in Jerusalem. Babylonian captivity was up, and he did not see how things were working as he expected them to, and he was praying to the Lord. Daniel 9:4, "And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth the covenant and loving kindness with them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; we have sinned." So he was praying to God and confessing their sins. And he also said in that verse nine, "To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him." And verse sixteen, "O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, let thine anger and thy wrath be, I pray thee, be turned away from the city of Jerusalem." And it mentions how that they were in reproach. The latter part of verse seventeen, "Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary. That is desolate, for the Lord's sake." And now notice verse twenty, "And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God, for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel." Notice that he is spoken of as a man, but he is Gabriel that appeared to Zacharias in the temple and then to Mary as recorded in Luke chapter one. "Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in a vision, at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of evening oblation." So the angel Gabriel flew to him swiftly and got to him before he finished his prayer. The space shuttles are slow vessels in comparison to the angel’s flight!

In chapter thirteen of the book of Judges, an angel appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that she was going to have a son, that he was to be a Nazarite. When the angel appeared to Manoah's wife and she went and told her husband, and Manoah prayed to the Lord that that person might return, and the angel returned to his wife again, and she went quickly and told Manoah. Let us pick up with Judges 13:11, "And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" Now, notice that the angel appears in the form of a man. "And he said, I am. And Manoah said, Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy's manner of life, and what is he to do?" Verse fifteen, "Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, pray let us detain you, and prepare a kid for you." Manoah did not know that he was an angel. "And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, if you detain me, I will not eat your food: But if you make ready a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord. For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, What is your name, so that when your words come true we may honor you? And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful? So Manoah took the kid with the cereal offering and offered it upon the rock of the Lord to him who works wonders. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground." The angel had taken the form of a man until the offering was being made, and then he ascended in the flame of the altar.

Again in the first chapter of Matthew, you remember how Joseph was going to put Mary away privily. And when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Fear not, Joseph, take unto thyself Mary as thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Do you think an angel appears as people today in a dream? Can a man appear to another man in a dream today in the sense that the angel appeared to Joseph?

In Luke's account about the angel appearing to the shepherds while they were keeping watch over their flocks, evidently they appeared in the form of men then, but they were sore afraid when they appeared. And when the angel appeared to Zacharias in the temple in the first part of Luke chapter one, Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. The angel appeared on the right side of the altar and told Zacharias that his prayer has been answered and that his wife Elizabeth is going to bear a son and his name was to be called John. This idea of trying to make angels just messengers, is entirely out of order. Such interpretation is out of harmony with many references.

When the angel appeared to the shepherds as they were keeping watch over their flocks as given in Luke chapter two, verse eight beginning, "There were shepherds in the same country, abiding in the field, keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them." Evidently in the form of man. "And the glory of the Lord shown round about them: And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people. For there is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign unto you; ye should find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host." Now notice that statement, multitude of the heavenly host. "Praising God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men." And so angels are not human beings, they are of a heavenly host. Do not let anybody fool you that God sends forth just mere men as angels.

The angels say that they will return in like manner. So Jesus ascended into heaven in a cloud, verse nine, so he is to return in a cloud. And surely the gospel book shows that he will return in a cloud. Verse eleven, "Who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven." And so he ascended into heaven in a cloud and he is to come back in a cloud. In Matthew 24:29-35, and the parallels in Mark thirteen, and Luke twenty-one say that he will.

Another good reference that you need to put down there would be Daniel 7:13-14, that when Christ ascended to heaven, he was given the kingdom. Daniel says that he saw in a night vision the Lord send the Ancient of days to receive the kingdom. Daniel chapter 7:13-14, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto the Son of man." And another unique thing about Matthew's gospel is that he has Jesus referring to himself as the Son of man. Thirty different times in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of man. And so Daniel in one of the night visions saw one ascend to heaven, there came with the clouds. Well, the previous verse is about the throne. "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto the Son of man and he came even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the people, nations, and languages, should serve him." And so he received the kingdom when he ascended into heaven. "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Notice the reference is talking about the kingdom of Christ, that it shall never be destroyed. But now back to our reading in Acts. But don't you think that is a good reference there in Daniel 7:13, talking about Christ ascending to heaven and receiving a kingdom. And when he received that kingdom, it is the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning how that God would raise up Christ to be king and to reign on David's throne as set forth in the scriptures.

Verse twelve, "Then returned they unto Jerusalem." Jesus had told them to remain in Jerusalem, so they returned from the mount Olivet to Jerusalem. "Then returned they (the apostles) unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey off." And I had intended to look that up, but I think they counted a Sabbath’s day's journey about three-quarters of a mile. I'll try to remember and check that out, but anyway the mount of Olivet is very close to Jerusalem. "And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding." This shows that the apostles are spoken of as they in verse twelve. "Both Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zelotes, and Judas the son of James. These all with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." Jesus had brothers that were born to Mary and Joseph, and if you have a margin there, you ought to write down John 7:5. Sometime before the cross, those brothers of Jesus did not believe on him. Turning to John the seventh chapter -- And they were telling Jesus if he was who he claimed he was, he ought to go on up to Jerusalem and show himself to the people at the feast. I am reading from John chapter seven, picking up with verse one, but verse five is the clincher. "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: For he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles was at hand." The feast of tabernacles was the last of those three annual feasts. And during that feast they were to take branches and build, I guess, what we would think of as brush arbor, theirs were called tabernacles, and they would build those tabernacles during the days of that feast in remembrance of their journey in the wilderness when they did not have houses to live in. "His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples may also behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world." And here is the clincher. "For even his brethren did not believe on him." Our time is up for this second part of this first Class Session.

It is about time for us to begin our third period. I am trying to find the passage, but I did not find it right off, so we will pick up with Acts. We are in that verse where I said you need to put John 7:5. Okay. The point I am trying to make by having you put down John 7:5 is that the cross made all the difference. They did not believe on Jesus before the cross, but after the cross Jesus' brethren were with the apostles waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. Verse fifteen, "And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said, there was a multitude of persons gathered together about a hundred and twenty. Brethren, it was needful that the scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was to guide them that took Jesus. For he was numbered among us, and received this portion in this ministry. Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." Now, Matthew is the only one of the gospel writers that tells about Judas carrying back the thirty pieces of silver and trying to give it to the chief priests and went out and hanged himself. So turn back to Matthew. Notice the difference in the reading of Matthew's account and the reading here. Reading from Matthew twenty-seven, picking up with verse three, "Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? See thou to it. And he cast down the pieces of silver (that they paid him to betray Jesus) into the sanctuary, and departed, and he went away and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in, wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was priced, that certain of the children of Israel did price, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me." So when you think about it, there is no real conflict between the passage here that he bought the field, because the chief priests and elders took the money and bought “the potter’s field”.

Verses seventeen and eighteen, "For he was numbered among us, and received his portion in this ministry. Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." Now, some might be ready to say, here is a contradiction between Matthew's account and Luke's account here in Acts. Matthew said he went out and hanged himself, and Luke says that he obtained the field as a reward of his iniquity, and falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. How are you going to reconcile the difference in the reading?

Well, if he went and hanged himself, in a short time the body would swell up, and the body would fall, and falling headlong, it would burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels would gush out. That will happen to a body, especially in hot weather? It would swell up, and if it was hanging at any height, it would burst open when it fell. So I do not think there is any conflict in saying he bought a field. And the chief priests and elders said it is not lawful to put the price of blood into the treasury, and so they bought the potter's field with them. Do you see how the accounts can be reconciled? Verse nineteen, "It became known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as in that language the field was called Aceldama, that is, The field of blood." That agrees with what we read in Matthew. "For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be made desolate, and let no man dwell therein: And his office let another take. Of the men therefore." Now, notice the requirements for one to take Judas Iscariot's place as an apostle. "Of the men therefore that have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord went in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection."

So they had to choose a man that had been with Jesus, been an eyewitness of what Jesus did, beginning from the baptism of John until the day that it was received up as we read about in verse nine. "And of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection. And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Lord, who knoweth the hearts of all men, show of these two the one thou hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place. And they gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." There are several passages in the Old Testament, where we read that through the medium of the priests they could cast lots to determine certain matters. So it looks like they did a similar thing here, they chose two men and then prayed to the Lord for him to give them an answer. They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven.

Chapter Two

Acts 2:1 ties back to Acts 11:26. I think in one of the questions I have down Acts 1:46 instead of 1: 26. But anyway, look at Acts 2:1, "And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all in one place." The pronoun they refers back to the eleven apostles in verse twenty-six. They gave lots for Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. So the twelve apostles now, with Matthias taking Judas Iscariot's place of the twelve. Pentecost was the second of the three annual feasts that is set forth in a number of passages in the five books of Moses, Leviticus chapter twenty-three and Deuteronomy chapter sixteen, and I believe Numbers chapter twenty-eight. Let us to turn back to Leviticus chapter twenty-three.. The point I want you to get here is that this feast always came on the first day of the week. The first feast was the feast of the Passover or the feast of unleavened bread as described in Leviticus twenty-three, beginning with verse five, and the second feast was what is called the feast of Pentecost that we read about in Acts two. It is called in the Old Testament scriptures the feast of weeks (Deuteronomy 16:9-10), because they were to number seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest of the small grain crops. And then the morrow after the seventh Sabbath day was this feast. In other words, this feast began fifty days after they had offered a sheaf offering of the production of their small grain crops. I think we need to go back to verse nine. "And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying speak unto the children of Israel, saying to them when ye come into the land I shall give you and shall reap the harvest thereof, ye shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest." And so this feast is the feast of weeks, or feast of the firstfruits or the feast of harvest in the Old Testament scriptures.

But here in Acts two, that feast is called the feast of the Pentecost because of the meaning of the word Pentecost which means fiftieth, the Greek word Pentecost means fiftieth. And this feast started fifty days after they had offered a sacrifice of the firstfruits of their grain harvest, and then fifty days later would mark the end of that grain harvest. The barley harvest came before the wheat harvest. Do you remember about Ruth gleaning in the fields of Boaz, first in the barley harvest and then in the wheat harvest (Ruth 2:8-9, 2:21-23). Leviticus 23:15 ff, "And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto after the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meal offering unto Jehovah. Ye shall bring out of your habitation two wave loaves of two wave loaves two tenths apart: And they shall be of fine flour; and they shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto Jehovah."

Acts 2:2, "And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind." Now, it does not say that it was a mighty wind, but there came as a sound from heaven as of the rushing of a mighty wind. "And filled all the house where they were sitting, (apostles) and there, appeared unto them (the apostles) tongues parting asunder like as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them." So there was an outward demonstration, parting tongues like as of fire that sat upon each one of the apostles. "And they (the apostles) were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." So the Holy Spirit on Pentecost fell on the apostles and on the apostles only. Some teach today that the Holy Spirit is supposed to fall on all people before they are actually converted. Well, the Holy Spirit did not fall on the apostles to save them. They were already saved men. And the Holy Spirit did not fall on Cornelius and his household as recorded in Acts 10:11 to save them. Peter commanded them to be baptized with water after the Holy Spirit had fallen on them.

"They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Now the speaking in tongues was miraculous ability to speak a language, a foreign language that they did not know, and it looks like the apostles could speak any foreign language that they needed to speak. Think of the difference that that made. It made it possible for them to get the gospel to the whole world in a short period of time by overcoming the language barrier, by being able to speak in tongues in foreign languages that they had not learned by study, but was given to them miraculously. And the gift of speaking in tongues was one of the miraculous gifts (I Corinthians12:4-7) that the apostles could give converts by the laying on of their hands (Acts 8:14-24; I Corinthians 1: 7; II Timothy 1:6).

And notice how the multitude heard the sound and they came together and they were confounded, they were amazed, they were perplexed about what they were seeing and hearing. Verse five, "Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. When the sound was heard, the multitude came together." So you see it did not fall on the multitude, they did not come together until they heard that sound. The sound caused them to come together. "When the sound was heard the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them (the apostles) speaking in his own language." Now you might think at first the miracle was on the part of the hearer, but that is not the case. “And they were all amazed and marveled saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans?” Verse eight, "And how hear we every man in our own language, wherein we were born?" The point is one of the apostles must have been speaking the language that would meet the needs of one group, and another apostle the needs of another group and etc. So that all heard in their own language. So the miracles were on the part of the apostles and not on the part of the hearers.

"And when the sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own language, wherein we were born?" So the miracles were on the part of the apostles and not on the part of the hearers.

Acts 2:9, "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia; Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and the parts of Libya, and sojourners of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we hear them (the apostles) speaking in our tongues." Notice that we hear them speaking in our tongues. Does that not really clinch it, that the miracle is not on the part of the hearer, but on the part of the apostles? "We hear them speaking in our tongues, the mighty works of God. And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this? But others mockingly said, They are filled with new wine." And Peter used their mocking statement as an introductory step for his preaching. "But Peter standing up with the eleven." Peter and eleven would make twelve, right? So again it shows it is only the apostles that received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Acts 2:14, "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them saying, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words: For these men are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day." Now, of course, the third hour of the day there is counting according to Jewish time. They counted as the first hour of day what we call six o'clock in the morning, and so the third hour of the day would be nine o'clock in the morning. And so Peter in substance is saying that men do not get drunk at nine o'clock in the morning. "For these are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." And then he begins to quote the prophecy of Joel, Joel 2:28-32. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh." Now, notice that the Christian age fits in the category of the last days. There was a patriarchal dispensation, and then a Jewish dispensation, but the Christian dispensation is the last. When this dispensation is over, Peter says that “the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that therein shall be burned up (II Peter 3:10). So the Christian dispensation is the last dispensation. And so when Peter says this is that which is spoken of by God and quotes from Joel 2:28-32, he is saying that the Christian dispensation is the last dispensation, it is the last days.

And we have other references which speak of the Christian age as the last age. In Isaiah chapter two verses one and two, Isaiah tells us that the kingdom of God would be established in the last days. "It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto. And many people shall come and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the house of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; for he shall teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." And Micah 4:1-2 is a parallel to Isaiah 2:1-2, and it says essentially, if not, the exact same thing. And while we are thinking about it, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophecy And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Well, notice that the reference says that God would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. This was just part of the fulfillment of this passage when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostles represented the Jewish people, but all flesh would have to include the Gentile people. And then in Acts ten, we read about Cornelius and his household being baptized with the Holy Spirit. And for one thing, that fulfilled the promise of God's Spirit being poured out upon all flesh. It looks like one of the primary purposes of the Holy Spirit falling on them was to show the Jewish people that the gospel was to be carried to the Gentile people. And we will talk about that more when we get to Acts 10:11. Anyway, Joel said, "Your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophecy." And we read in chapter twenty-one of this book, that Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied. "I will pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophecy: And I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth beneath: Blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke. The sun shall be turned into the darkness, and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord come." That great and notable day. "And it shall be that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

That verse quoted in , verse twenty-one, is verse thirty-two of Joel, and it is quoted in Romans the tenth chapter. Notice how Paul makes use of that reference in Romans 10:12, "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek." So under the Christian dispensation, there is a way of salvation for all, Jews and Gentiles. "For the same Lord is Lord of all." Remember that the Old Testament law was just given to the Jewish people. "And is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." He is quoting Joel 2:32. Many false teachers today say that all a person has got to do to be saved is say, Lord, save me. Some of the very prominent TV evangelist close their lesson by asking alien sinners to pray a prayer with them that goes about like this, “Lord Jesus I confess unto thee that I am a sinner but I want to be saved. Lord Jesus come into my heart and save me! Thank you, thank you Jesus for my salvation! They may use a passage like this, but they would not dare read the following verses. Would they? "How then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" So Paul is showing that men cannot call upon the name of the Lord in such a way by which they can be saved unless they have first been taught how to call upon the name of the Lord. Consider, Act 22:16 where Ananias said to Saul of Tarsus, "Now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, washing away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." And so really in the Bible sense, a person does not call upon the name of the Lord in such a way as to be saved until he learns how to do it and then does it. And Saul, when he was told what to do, of course, he was ready to do it.

Acts 2:22, "Ye men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know. Him being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay." Now, notice by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, they by the hands of lawless men, Gentile men had crucified and slain the Lord of glory. The gospel accounts show very plainly that the Jews did not have a right to put a man to death, and they had to call upon Pilate to put Jesus to death. And so that is the meaning of lawless men, by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay. It was God's plan and his foreknowledge to send Christ in the world to be a sin offering for man and all who would accept him and apply his blood would be saved from sin. That was the part of that foreknowledge and foreordination of God. And there are several passages like it like Ephesians 1:3-5, where the writer said, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. Even as he chose us in him from the foundation of the world, that we should be holy before him and without blemish before him in love. Having foreordained us to the adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.." So God fore determined and planned things in his foreknowledge. So Jesus was at the proper time, to come into the world and be a sin offering for all men. And by the hands of the Gentiles, the Jews had him crucified. And he is talking to Jewish people, in verse twenty-three. "Ye by the hands of lawless men did crucify and slay. Whom God raised up."

Do you remember how Jesus continued to tell his disciples that on the third day he would be raised up and would go before them into Galilee. But they did not know what he was talking about until he was raised from the dead. "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death: Because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David saith concerning him (Christ), I beheld the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved." David, of course, is talking about Christ in this reference. "Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh shall also dwell in hope." Why? "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption." The latter part of verse twenty-seven is speaking of Christ that he would not see corruption, and on the third day he was raised up. Actually, it was part of two days and one full day. So the body of Christ did not see corruption is one of the points that he is making here. "Thou makest known unto me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance." David is speaking by the Spirit, referring to Christ. "Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died, and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, he would set one upon his throne. He foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of Christ, that neither was he left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we are all witnesses." I think we are going to stop here for this Class Session and pick up there then for our next Class Session. And please have your outline ready, the outline entitled, “Christ Is Now Reigning On The Throne Of David.” And we will begin and talk in some details about the throne of David. Peter is saying in substance that Christ is now reigning on the throne of David.