the redeemed o f all ages, the holy angels, and all the righteous in the Kingdom of Heaven. The King dom of God is the subject in the Acts of the Apos tles. Does that mean that the church is not there? No, it rather means that this will be the time at which God w ill bring before us His purpose to continue His plan to bring all things into subjection to Himself. H ow will He accomplish that? What about the King dom of Heaven? What about Israel in dispersion? What about the church? The Book of Acts is not the primary place for the full revelation o f church truth; that comes in the Epistles. This is the record of the Acts o f the H oly Spirit through the apostles and others as they teach concerning the Kingdom -of God, and establish churches. But to say that this is millennial kingdom truth, and nothing else, is false. Because Israel is in dispersion, and it is God’s present purpose to call out a people for His name, which will constitute the church, the Body of Christ, and because the living members here on earth will be gathered together in local churches for fellowship and testi mony, God has given us a historical record in the
the earthly sphere of the Kingdom o f God, hence the prayer, “ T h y will be done on earth as it is in hea ven” (M t. 6 :10 ). The Kingdom of Heaven w ill be fu lly realized in the millennial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God will have complete sway when the Son also Himself shall be subject unto H im that hath put all things under H im , that God may be all in all. Cf. I Corinthians 15:28. In the Acts of the Apostles we have the Kingdom o f God before us a number of times. See Acts 1:3; 8:12 ; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31. M any have fo l lowed me or would follow me readily up to this point. However, the moment they read “ The Kingdom of God” in the book of Acts they immediately assign everything connected therewith to “ The Kingdom,” by which they mean the millennium. W h y did our Lord, when rejected, crucified, and risen, begin to teach concerning the Kingdom of God? It was most difficult for Jews to receive a Messiah who had not fulfilled the promises concerning the Kingdom of Hea ven. Cf. Luke 24:19-21. They must now have in structions concerning the Kingdom of God. God will surely fulfill all His promises to Israel concerning the Kingdom of Heaven; but because the King has been rejected and the Kingdom is being held in abey ance, they must know something about the Kingdom of God. Israel must be scattered and peeled; the church must be called out; the Great Tribulation must run its course; the nations must be judged; Messiah must return; Satan must be bound; Israel must be es tablished under Messiah as King. In his System atic Theology, Volume V , Dr. Lew is Sperry Chafer states that there are seven stupen dous age-transforming events that serve as a cleavage between law and grace. 1. The death of Christ. 7. The scattering o f Israel in her last dispersion. Likewise, there are seven events between the age of grace and the millennium. 1. The removal of the Church from the earth. 2. The Great Tribulation. 3. The glorious return of Christ to the earth. 4. The judgment of Israel. 5. Establishment of Israel’s kingdom under the new covenant. 6. The judgment of the living nations. 7. The binding of Satan. It is concerning these events that the disciples and other believers must be instructed. In I Samuel 8:7 Israel had rejected God. In John 19:15 they rejected the Son of God with the words, “ W e have no king but Caesar.” But in the parable of the pounds recorded in Luke 19:12-27, the certain no bleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and to return. His citizens hated him and sent a mes sage after him, saying, “ W e w ill not have this man rule over us.” A fter the Lord Jesus ascended, they sent a message after H im by rejecting the ministry of Peter and Stephen, and thus rejected the H oly Spir it. Acts 7:51. Hence, deity, having received threefold rejection, now turns to instruction concerning the Kingdom of God. Remember that the Kingdom of God includes all intelligences w illingly subject to the w ill of God, wh ich will certainly include the church, all 2. The resurrection o f Christ. 3. The ascension o f Christ. 4. The advent of the Spirit. 5. The revelation of a new divine age purpose. 6. The place of Jews and Gentiles on the same level.
M Y FUTURE Psalm 31:15
I do not know where I sh all be T h ro ug h tim e th a t's y e t to be; B u t since m y H eavenly Father knows, It does not w orry me. I know not w hat m y w ork w ill be T h ro ug h tim e th a t's y e t to be; B u t there are three th in g s th at I know. A n d th a t's enough fo r me. I know th at I'm a ch ild o f G od — A -join t-h eir w ith m y Lord; A n d th at H e ever cares fo r me: 'T is w ritten in H is W ord . A n d when m y life on earth is done, I know th at I shall go T o be forever w ith m y Lord: T h e B ib le te lls me so. I do n o t know what I shall be W h e n Jesus shall appear; B ut o f th is one th in g I am sure: I shall H is likeness bear. For w hen I see H im as H e is — T h e Father's o n ly Son — T h e b rightness in H is face w ill be R eflected on m y own. I Jo hn 3 :2 — Sarah Faris
Book of Acts, which gives the record of teaching con cerning the Kingdom of God and the preaching of the resurrected and exalted Christ. Those who received the good news, were b om again baptized by the H oly Spirit into the Body o f Christ, and gathered in local churches for the purposes already suggested. The tes timony goes on and out, and the news concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom o f God, is made known through Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part o f the earth. M ay God give us the grace today to carry on the preaching and teaching of the Gospel of the grace of God, and to teach concerning the Kingdom of God, which includes all the purposes of God until that glor ious day when all things are put under our ever blessed Lord Jesus Christ, and He delivers up the kingdom to God even the Father.
17
AUGUST, 1962
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