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 apostle!

Gentle reader,

We have seen that the book of Acts can be visualized into the 3 R’S that is:

Restoration Jerusalem Jews only - Peter

Reconciliation Antioch Jews and Gentiles -Paul and others

Rejection Rome Gentiles only -Paul

Where Peter open the understanding by accepting Cornelius in acts Chapter 10 "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, In truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." Acts 10: 34-35. And now we read not only Jews but Jews and Greeks, Acts 18:4, 19:10, 20:21. The posibility of the salvation of the Gentiles does not seem to have been entertained by the apostles at Jerusalem. Peter himself confessed that the Gentile salvation was never in his thoughts either at Pentecost or after. To the seeking Cornelius he said-"And he said to them, Ye know that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come to one of another nation; but God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." [Acts 10:28]. The word reconciliation which has been suggested is one of intense significance as it is found only in the epistles of Paul. Here are Paul’s words to the Gentiles where the apostle speaks of the long centuries of Gentile darkness during Israel’s ascendancy, but where he also indicates that the time had arrived when the Gentiles would come back into favor.

Now, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

Therefore he disputed in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? some others, He seemeth to be a setter-forth of strange gods: because he preached to them Jesus, and the resurrection.

And they took him, and brought him to Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine is, of which thou speakest?

For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears; we would know therefore what these things mean.

(For all the Athenians and strangers who were there, spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars-hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I to you.

God that made the world, and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

Neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

And hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he is not far from every one of us:

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.

Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like to gold, or silver, or stone graven by art and man's device.

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 17;16-30. And another place where Paul explains what is and has happened. Romans 11:11-15 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? By no means: but rather through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.

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 fullness?

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office:

If by any means I may incite to emulation them who are my flesh, and may save some of them.

For if the rejection of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

And now the last few verses of Acts Chapter 28 are associated in Rome. The keyword is Rejection, for Israel now passes off the scene; they become Lo-ammi from the prophetic book of Hosea Israel has become at last "Not my people" so ends the book of Acts and the end of the 1^st ministry of the apostle the Gentiles who went always the Nation of Israel (Jewish) first.

Next time we’ll start to see that even in the failure of Israel God through Paul has an even better plan! What is called "the Church which is His Body" and where we fit in to the wonderful plan of God.

Love,

Denis