OVERVIEW:
The messengers of the kingdom prepared (chapter 1); the offer of the kingdom of heaven to the nation of Israel (chapter 2); a second offer of the kingdom of heaven to the nation of Israel (chapters 3 and 4).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
- Author: Luke, the physician (Colossians 4:14); also, the author of the Gospel of Luke. (compare Acts 1:1 with Luke 1:1-4)
- Approximate date of writing: 59-65 AD
- Dates of the recorded events: 33-62 AD
- Theme: God’s plan for Israel postponed and the revelation of the church.
- Christ is seen as our High Priest ministering in the heavens. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
- Key verses: Acts 1:6-7
- Key chapters: 7-13
- Chapters: 28 • Verses: 1,007 • Words: 24,250
As we discussed in our introduction to the book of Matthew, there are four books of the Bible where you can lose your way if you don’t keep your compass pointed toward the “ancient landmark” of the nation of Israel. (Proverbs 22:28; 23:10) They are Matthew, Acts, Hebrews, and James. It’s not difficult to navigate your way through the book of Acts if you keep the following “trail markers” in mind.
Trail Marker #1:
This book is entitled, “The Acts of the Apostles.” The title is NOT “The Doctrine (or Teaching) of the Apostles.” That is very significant! The book of “ACTS” is the historical record of the “ACTIONS” of the Apostles. Simply stated, it’s the story of what happened through the continued ministry of Jesus through the Apostles. (Acts 1:1)
Trail Marker #2:
The key verses of the book are Acts1:6 and 7: “…[the Apostles] asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And [Jesus] said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” The Apostles’ minds, in verse 6, are focused on one thing and one thing only: the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on earth. Remember, Jesus had told them they’d be sitting on 12 thrones with Him in the kingdom! (Matthew 19:28) This was, obviously, a big deal to them! Jesus’ answer to them concerning the timing for the establishment of the kingdom in verse 7, however, is rather vague. Basically, what He tells them is, “It depends!”
At this point, in the book of Acts and in the plan of God, the literal, earthly kingdom (the “kingdom of heaven”) and the King of that kingdom, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, are still being offered to the nation of Israel. When Jesus answered the Apostles’ question in verse 7, it remained to be seen what Israel would do with their final offer. However, by the time Paul writes his first letter to the Thessalonians, in 54 A.D., it is clear that the question had been answered. If we compare Acts 1:7 where Jesus says, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons,” with 1st Thessalonians 5:1-2, where Paul says, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye…know perfectly”, obviously, a transition has been made! It’s gone from, “It’s not for you to know,” to “You know perfectly!” As we will see, the Apostles’ question was actually answered in Acts 7 after the nation of Israel rejected the offer of the kingdom for the third time. This brings us to our third trail marker.
Trail Marker #3:
Acts is a transitional book. One thing we will observe as we make our way through this book is that the most CONSISTENT thing about the book of Acts is its INCONSISTENCY! God does one thing in one place, and does something completely different in another place. This is very simply because God is making key transitions for key purposes throughout this entire book. This book is a bridge that carries us from one dispensation into a new dispensation, the Church Age. We are currently living in the Church Age. Acts is the record of God’s transition from accomplishing His plan through the nation of Israel to accomplishing His plan through the church. God’s change in plans is made obvious through seven transitions and three key events in the book of Acts.
‣ Transition #1: From the ministry of Jesus Christ to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (1:2)
‣ Transition #2: From “the twelve” being referred to as “disciples” to “apostles”. (1:2)
- Key Event #1: The nation of Israel’s final rejection of the kingdom of heaven. (Acts 7)
‣ Transition #3: From the nation of Israel to the Samaritans—a race of half Jew and half Gentile. (8:1-5)
‣ Transition #4: From the nation of Israel to the church—a group composed of Jews and Gentiles. (8:26-11:18)
‣ Transition #5: From the preaching of the “kingdom of heaven”—the literal earthly kingdom offered to the nation of Israel, to the preaching of the “kingdom of God”—the unseen spiritual kingdom inside individual believers. (8:12)
- Key Event #2: The salvation of the Gentile, Cornelius, and the determination by the apostles that God is no longer dealing exclusively with the Jews, but has now taken salvation to the Gentiles. (11:18)
- Key Event #3: The execution of the Apostle James, the decision not to replace him, and Peter’s departure to Caesarea. (12:1-2, 19)
‣ Transition #6: From Peter, the apostle to the Jews, to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. (9:1-13:1)
‣ Transition #7: From God’s base of operations being in Jerusalem to it being in Antioch. (11:26-13:1)
It’s important to understand that the transition from Israel to the Church and the Church Age were “mysteries”, or truths that were hidden from the twelve apostles. (see Romans 11:25; Ephesians 3:1-12; 2:11-22) The twelve believed that God dealt exclusively with the nation of Israel (Matthew 10:5-7), and in their ethnocentric opinions, the Gentiles were pagan heathens unworthy to receive anything from God. (Acts 11:1-3) The apostles, however, thought they were going to find themselves in the millennial reign of Christ, but actually found themselves in the Church Age. Needless to say, their journey was full of surprises!
Trail Marker #4:
Keep in mind, as we’re making our way through these key transitions and events in the book of Acts, that the Jews require a sign. God makes this explicitly clear in 1st Corinthians 1:22, saying, “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” The signs and wonders done by Jesus and the apostles were designed to prove to Israel that the message and the messengers were sent by God. (Hebrews 2:3-4) Miraculous healings and speaking in tongues were signs for the nation of Israel. It says in 1st Corinthians 14:22, “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.” Tongues were a sign given to unbelieving Jews, and every time tongues occur in the Bible (which, by the way, is only three times—Acts 2, 10, 19), an unbelieving Jew is present to witness the sign. The reason that apostolic healings and speaking in tongues do not occur today is because God has postponed His dealings with Israel. Romans 11:25 makes this very clear: “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.” God has temporarily blinded Israel and is currently working exclusively through the church.
With these four trail markers at the forefront of our minds, let’s take a look at some highlights in chapters 1-4.
Acts 2 — This chapter is a vortex of doctrinal error in contemporary Christianity. This is where the modern-day Pentecostal and Charismatic churches (speaking in tongues, baptism of the Holy Spirit, etc.), and the Church of Christ and the Christian Church (water baptism is essential for salvation), lose the “ancient landmark”, Israel. If you keep your eye on the landmark, and pay close attention to the context, this chapter is easily understood. Here’s the whole chapter in one sentence: Jews from all over the world (2:5-11) came to Jerusalem (the holiest city of the Jews) to celebrate Pentecost (a Jewish holiday, 2:1) where they saw the sign of tongues (Jews require a sign) and heard a Jewish apostle (Peter) tell them that just 50 days prior, they had killed their Jewish Messiah (2:22-24, 36), and that they needed to do exactly what John the Baptist (the last Jewish prophet) and Jesus (their Jewish Messiah) told them to do in the Gospels (repent and be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Matthew 3:1-2; Luke 3:3; Matthew 4:17; John 3:22-23; 4:1-2), to prepare themselves for the soon coming “kingdom of heaven”! Obviously, you get the point! This passage deals exclusively with the nation of Israel! Simply stated, unless you’re a Jew living in 33 A.D., there’s no need for you to speak with tongues, and water baptism does not save you from your sins!
Acts 3 — Again, we see from the context that God is dealing exclusively with the nation of Israel. Note that Peter and John (Jewish Apostles) are on their way to the temple (the Jewish place of worship) at the hour of prayer (Jews prayed three times a day) and Peter performs a miracle (Jews require a sign) and upon seeing the crowd gathering (other Jews at the temple to pray), Peter tells them that they killed the Jewish Messiah (3:13-16), but tells them that if they repent, Jesus will return to establish His literal, earthly, Jewish kingdom! (3:19-21) In this passage, Peter is offering Israel a second chance to accept Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, and prepare themselves for the coming of His literal earthly kingdom.