The Progress of Revelation, Part 3

[0:00] Actually get under working at some particular texts. I want to preface these remarks with a few propositional statements that I would ask you to keep in mind.

[0:11] And we will then get right to our subject matter with the progression of doctrine. It was in 1956 when I came to know the Lord as my Savior.

[0:24] And yet for 14 years, and it wasn't until about 1970, that I began discovering some of the things that I'm going to share with you this morning.

[0:40] And up until that time, I had no clue about the distinctions that we are going to share with you now. And I must add that looking back on the whole thing, there's absolutely nothing that I can point to that so enormously opened my eyes to the truth of Scripture and to the progressive revelation that is found therein.

[1:14] Prior to that time, while I had no doubts regarding the veracity of the Bible or the importance of it, I just had enormous problems making things fit.

[1:31] See how they fit. See how they come together. Because they weren't coming together. They were woefully separated and I could not make head nor tail of them.

[1:46] I knew it was all true. But the Bible said one thing in one place and another thing in another. And I'll be giving you those examples in the morning, this morning.

[1:58] And I would scratch my head and say, But it says here, and yet it says here. And what's going on? And the whole concept of progressive revelation simply never occurred to me.

[2:15] I guess it might be in part to the idea that we see the Bible in its wholeness. And it is to be appreciated in its wholeness.

[2:26] But I guess we just kind of think that it's just one huge divine pile of truth.

[2:37] And that you cannot expect to see the interrelatedness or interconnectedness of it. Because it's just this one magnificent document.

[2:49] And it's just here. And you just appropriate the whole thing. And you believe the whole thing. But you don't appreciate it in its parts or see the progression of revelation.

[3:02] And how there is sequence involved. And that once you are able to get that fixed in mind. And this escaped me.

[3:13] For the first 12 or 14 years. Of being a believer. And that was a good thing. And that was a good thing. But boy, when I got plugged into this.

[3:25] It was just like a new takeoff. I mean, it was amazing. The Bible took on a new kind of thrill. Of meaning.

[3:37] Of appreciation. Of connection. And it seemed like every page I was turning was an aha moment. So that's how.

[3:49] So that's why. And this began to fit. And things just started falling into place. And I'm telling you. I have never lost the burden since that time.

[3:59] Of trying to get as many people as possible. To see it and appreciate it. Like I did then. And that's what I am engaging.

[4:13] Even in what is probably the twilight of my ministry here with you. Because if there is anything that I want to leave you with. It's this.

[4:26] Because nothing. Nothing will stick to your spiritual ribs. Like this. And it provides a kind of launching pad.

[4:38] Out of which. Everything else. Flows. And it is just. Well. Let me. Here are those propositional statements. And then we'll get underway.

[4:49] The Bible is consistent within itself. But only when it is understood to be a progressively unfolding divine revelation of truth.

[5:01] Its progressiveness should be easily understood given its 15 centuries of unfolding development. The Bible is a fundamental.

[5:12] The Bible is a fundamental. We've already noted the primitive, even elemental connection between creator and creature from the beginning. From physical and materialistic connections with God to the spiritual and non-materialistic, God and his revelation to man has been on the upward development of revelation.

[5:36] We've already noted and emphasized the obvious progression between the Old Testament and the New. The Bible is a fundamental. This was clearly seen with the dispensing of animal sacrifices.

[5:49] No longer necessary due to the final, ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Yet, there exists another progression that is sadly overlooked and by some even denied.

[6:04] And this is the progression within the body of the New Testament. So let us go there for starters to Matthew's Gospel Chapter 1, commonly referred to as the opening of the New Testament, which by the way is also a misnomer, but we won't stop to examine that now.

[6:31] Matthew Chapter 1, in verse 18, follows after 400 years of God not having anything to say.

[6:45] When Malachi put down his pen and closed out what we call the Old Testament, heaven went silent with no further revelation forthcoming for what is referred to as the four silent centuries, or 400 years, when God was not speaking audibly through the prophets as he had in the Old Testament.

[7:12] And then we begin reading this in Matthew's Gospel Chapter 1. And I'm going to skip all of the genealogy, not because it isn't important, but because it is.

[7:25] Yet, it does not serve our purpose other than to say that this is the arrival of the Messiah on the scene, as verse 18 indicates.

[7:37] Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.

[7:51] So, here we have our Lord Jesus arriving on the scene 4,000 years after he was promised to Eve as the seed of the woman.

[8:07] And the seed of the woman, of course, is going to be none other than Jesus Christ. And the woman that will provide this seed is none other than the Virgin Mary.

[8:19] So, what I want you to do now, once we have him on the scene in verse 18, is fast forward from Chapter 1 to Chapter 3.

[8:31] And when we do that, we are going to skip three decades. There's 30 years of time that separates the birth of Christ in Chapter 1 and the announcement of John the Baptist in Chapter 3.

[8:52] So, bear in mind, if you will, we are fast forwarding three decades, 30 years. In those days, verse 1, Chapter 3.

[9:06] John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is commonly referred to as the gospel of the kingdom.

[9:23] And I don't want to spend much time here other than to say that this was a special kind of gospel, not to be confused with the gospel of the grace of God, which we are called upon to preach today, which the Apostle Paul preached.

[9:41] This gospel of the kingdom has to do with the erection of the kingdom of heaven come to earth when everything is going to be fixed.

[9:54] The world is broken. It is a ruined world. It is filled with heartache and misery and suffering and death and disease and all of those things that go with the broken world.

[10:08] That's what's wrong with this world. And it is filled to the brim with broken people. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that the king is coming.

[10:21] And when the king comes and establishes his kingdom, he's going to fix this ruined world. And it's going to be what it ought to be. That will be an answer to what many refer to as the Lord's Prayer, where we read the following, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[10:49] That prayer is being gotten underway here in chapter 3 with the arrival of John the Baptist.

[11:00] Making this announcement. And it was absolutely electrifying. And the reason it was electrifying was because it was a promise awaiting fulfillment for 4,000 years.

[11:13] That's a long time to wait for anything. So anyone today who becomes impatient over Jesus not having returned after having been gone for 2,000 years and promised that he would return, just bear in mind, if you will, that we've only waited half as long for the second coming as what the Jews waited for the first coming.

[11:38] They waited 4,000 years before he came. And there is no way in the world that I can explain to you adequately the dynamic of this kingdom.

[11:51] This is nothing more than the world fixed so that it is what it is supposed to be. So the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.

[12:05] So that a lame man shall leap like a deer. So that the lamb and the wolf will lie down together. So that a little child can play on the den of a deadly serpent without any fear of danger or hurt.

[12:22] All of these things are going to be fixed when that kingdom of heaven comes. And the Jewish people knew that. They understood that. That's why they were so excited when John began preaching this message.

[12:36] Because it was to the Jewish people that the promise was given that God was going to utilize them as the spearhead nation through which God would fix this broken world.

[12:56] And it absolutely, positively has to come through the instrumentality of Israel. This is why the Jew is so critically important to the whole plan and program of God.

[13:13] Many, many Gentiles do not understand that. And many do not believe it. And many have even persecuted the Jew because they see the Jew as misappropriating or whatever.

[13:26] And the irony of it is today, most of the Jews don't believe it. That's quite remarkable. That you'll only find a small percentage of Jews among the Orthodox who still subscribe to this idea.

[13:44] And so many other Jews have just pretty much written the whole thing off as just a great big misunderstanding. That that's not what God had in mind at all. And that the whole thing is just almost mythological.

[13:58] And you can understand that so many Jews today have fallen into atheism, largely because of the Holocaust and other related items. So if the Jew is God's chosen people, as the Old and New Testaments make so abundantly clear, doesn't it seem to you that God does a pretty lousy job looking out for his chosen people?

[14:25] I mean, these are supposed to be the apple of his eye. These are the people that he has allowed to be tormented and ridiculed and marginalized and ostracized and persecuted and murdered for thousands of years.

[14:40] And you're telling me that God is on their side? One of my favorite movies, and many of you, I'm sure, have seen it, is Fiddler on the Roof.

[14:53] And I can well remember Tevye, the milkman, lamenting all of the woes that have fallen upon the Jewish people. And he's kind of calling God into question and saying, hey, what's the deal here anyway?

[15:08] You know, we're your friends. And then finally Tevye says, well, maybe for a while you could choose somebody else.

[15:21] And get us out of this thing. We, you know, it's just not working right. Folks, I just, I would give almost anything if I could explain to you how utterly critical the Jewish people are to the plan and program of God.

[15:45] It is just absolutely amazing. In fact, God has taken his integrity of his word and he has ramped it up in the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[16:00] And, of course, the real cornerstone of it is the cornerstone, is the Messiah himself, who was every bit a Jew and who will always be a Jew.

[16:13] But this is so very, very critical. And when John came on the scene and began preaching, repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, what he was saying, and he was saying it as a Jew exclusively to Jews.

[16:32] No Gentiles involved here. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[17:08] And to repent of their sins. Because John was preaching a get ready message. God is about to do his thing. And it's really going to be something.

[17:21] And the one that God is going to use to do his thing is Yeshua HaMashiach. Jesus, the Messiah.

[17:32] Well, the show didn't get under the road, but quite it had problems from the get-go. And the first problem was with John.

[17:44] Who is this weird character? He wears these funny clothes and has got this screwball kind of diet, locust and wild honey and stuff like that.

[17:57] And he's out in the wilderness. Who is this Yehu anyway? And all of the intelligentsia straight out of Jerusalem. Those who had been to all the rabbinical schools.

[18:09] Those who had all the answers. Those who could read and write in the Hebrew and all the rest of it. Completely discounted John. These guys have no consequence.

[18:21] Nobody knows anything about him. Didn't come from the right schools. Comes from the wrong side of the tracks. Don't believe anything he says. And for the most part, they didn't.

[18:33] And when they came out of curiosity. Because they were concerned. Here's all the common people. Poor, ignorant, ordinary, everyday souls.

[18:45] They don't look straight up. But they're taken in by this charlatan. And they start listening to him. Well, we might as well go out and see if we can protect them some way.

[18:55] But when they showed up, John stood there on the bank and looked at them and said, You brood of vipers. That's not politically correct, by the way.

[19:09] It's the same thing as saying, You sons of snakes. Brood of vipers. Who's warned you to flee from the wrath to come? And he really read them out.

[19:22] And, of course, that didn't build any bridges with him. They did not accept John. They completely rejected John. They rejected John's message. So what kind of a posture is that going to put them in when John introduces Jesus of Nazareth as the one through whom God is going to work all of these miracles?

[19:44] Well, if John was illegitimate, and we know he was, then what does that make the one that John introduced?

[19:57] But illegitimate also. And we know he was. And that's the footing that the scribes and Pharisees got off on almost from the beginning.

[20:09] And the only exception that we are aware of was to Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus in chapter 3. They were the only two exceptions.

[20:22] All the others considered Jesus and John as being from the wrong side of the tracks. Don't pay any attention to them. They don't know anything. And they're just leading all of these people astray.

[20:33] Because, you see, common, ordinary people who are not properly educated and don't have any sophistication about them, they just get kind of desperate about the activities of life.

[20:44] And they're ripe for falling for anything. And, of course, they fell for John and they fell for Jesus. But we are the sophisticates.

[20:58] We are the educated. We are the truly informed. We are those who know better. We dismiss them. And, of course, they did. So, this kind of conflict is going to go on for the entire three-and-a-half-year ministry of our Lord.

[21:13] And they are going to comprise, the scribes and Pharisees, comprise the chief sphere of opposition to our Lord. So, we keep reading in Matthew.

[21:28] And we come to chapter 10. And I'm just going to be very brief here. But I want to show you this Jewish motif and how solidly entrenched it is.

[21:41] In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus summoned his 12 disciples, gave them authority over unclean spirits, cast them out to heal every kind of disease, every kind of sickness.

[21:54] These fellows are going to go about performing the same kind of miracles that Jesus did. And, by the way, wouldn't you not think that just the sheer miracles themselves would be enough to win over the opposition?

[22:09] I mean, after all, seeing is believing. These people obviously saw the miracles that were done. And yet, the best that they could come up with was, well, yes, Jesus.

[22:22] Yeah. Yeah. Yes, he does perform miracles. You know how he does that, don't you? Yeah. He performs his miracles by the power of Beelzebub.

[22:38] Next question. You see, they had answers for everything. Yeah, Jesus performs miracles. His disciples perform miracles too. Well, after all, the devil has supernatural powers.

[22:51] And he can enable them to perform these miracles. And obviously, that's the source of his miracles. And Jesus rebuked them for that.

[23:02] But it didn't change their minds. Because here's a principle that cuts across all time and space. And that is unbelief.

[23:13] Unbelief. Unbelief is not always satisfied by evidence. Because many times, a lack of evidence is not the problem.

[23:26] It is an unwillingness to believe. It is the unyieldedness of the human heart. Unbelief is not always satisfied by the human heart. And there isn't any amount of evidence that you can crank out that will satisfy some people.

[23:40] Because they will always, no matter what you do, they will always come back with, yes, but. And there was that crowd 2,000 years ago.

[23:52] There was that crowd in Noah's day. And there's that crowd today. Nothing has changed. So, these are all Jews to whom he gave these powers.

[24:08] And in verse 5, these 12 Jesus sent out after instructing them. Now, he made a point to tell them, Do not go in the way of the Gentiles.

[24:19] And do not enter any city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach this.

[24:32] Saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That doesn't mean the kingdom of heaven has arrived. And this, I think, is a faulty assumption that many make.

[24:43] But Jesus is not announcing the coming of the kingdom. Nor were the twelve. And this is a very, very important distinction. And I hope you never forget it.

[24:55] He says, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That means it's near. It's close by. He's not saying, the kingdom of heaven, this is it.

[25:06] This is it. No, no. No, no. Every time this message is preached, it is the kingdom of heaven is right at the door. It is close by.

[25:18] It is near. It is at hand. But it never has gotten here. Two thousand years after John announced this message, and Jesus repeated the message through the twelve, we are still waiting for that kingdom to come.

[25:44] It's never right. Some may kid themselves and say, well, this is it. But it's a spiritual kingdom.

[25:55] It's not a physical kingdom. It's a spiritual kingdom. What does that look like? Well, if hearts and minds are going to be changed, and it's a spiritual kingdom, then it would appear that men and women are living like they should and being what they should.

[26:11] Do you see any indication of that? Maybe on a very small, limited basis. But by and large, the world is running amok. Always has and still is.

[26:24] This kingdom has never come. But it is essential to understand that they are to limit themselves to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, isn't that what you would expect if they are to be the spearhead people through whom that kingdom is to come?

[26:42] Would you not expect that it must then begin here with the Jew? That's not really a stretch. And that's exactly what Jesus was doing.

[26:56] That's what he was telling the twelve. And you know as well as I do, this has nothing to do with the asinine idea. Well, Jesus only cared about Jewish people.

[27:07] That is so stupid. It almost defies description. Jesus loved everybody.

[27:19] He came for everybody. And he died for everybody. But there is a methodology. There is a plan that is set in motion. And it goes all the way back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[27:32] And God has put his integrity on the line for executing that plan just as he has promised. And this is why these are called unconditional covenants for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[27:46] And the Davidic covenant for David. And so on. God's integrity is at stake for his fulfilling these promises just as he has given them. And we believe that he will.

[27:58] And here, here, his promise is starting to get underway. This is the beginning stages. Now, if we will come over to, well, let's just stop for chapter 15 for just a moment.

[28:12] I've already touched on this. But I just want to refresh your minds a little bit. Chapter 15 of Matthew. Cyber Phoenician woman. This just reinforces what we've been saying.

[28:24] Jesus went away from there, withdrew into the district, the Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman. Canaanite woman came out of that region. That's another way of saying a woman who is not a Jew. You understand, do you not, that all of the world's population is made up of Jews and Gentiles.

[28:44] That's the two great classifications for the whole globe. I care not who you are or where you live or what color you are or what language you speak.

[28:58] You are a Jew or you are a Gentile. If you are a Jew, you are a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If you are not a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you are a Gentile.

[29:13] Doesn't make any difference. If your heritage is German or French or Dutch or whatever, you're Gentile. Those are the two great classes of people. And this woman is not a Jew.

[29:25] But she lived close to the Jews, bordered the Jews. Canaanite woman. Heard about Jesus and his miracles. And she has a mother's heart.

[29:37] And she has a daughter who's in serious trouble. And she's asking herself, I wonder if this Jesus who has done so much for the Jewish people.

[29:48] And so many miracles. And so many. I wonder if he could heal my daughter. So, she came to him and says, My daughter is cruelly demon possessed.

[30:01] He did not answer her a word. You know that's another way of saying he ignored her. That doesn't seem very nice, does it?

[30:14] Can you imagine Jesus being rude? Isn't that the way it looks? He ignored her.

[30:27] Did not answer her a word. And his disciples came to him and kept asking him, saying, Send her away. She's shouting out after us. This woman is a pain.

[30:38] Can you get rid of her? And he answered and said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That's another way of saying.

[30:52] He had an audience that was exclusively Jewish. And he's not making any apologies for it. And apparently, she even recognized that. And he answered and said, It's not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

[31:11] Now, in the context here, who are the children? The Jews. And who's the bread? That's the miracles and the work that he's doing on behalf of Israel.

[31:23] And who's the dogs? Well, they are the Gentiles. They're called dogs because dogs lead anything. That's the way Jews are. The Gentiles are.

[31:34] And she didn't dispute that. She said, Yes, Lord, but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from the master's table. And Jesus answered and said to her, Woman, your faith is great.

[31:50] I love this gal. You know why? She just, she is a risk taker and she is going to bat for her daughter. In an unlikely kind of situation, but a mother's heart will not be denied.

[32:07] And she is going toe to toe with the Son of God and calling him into question. And she's saying, I agree with everything you say. But, I have this girl who has tremendous need and I'm begging you.

[32:26] And Jesus comes up short and he says, Well, how about this? How about this? And he honors her request.

[32:40] Beautiful. Just absolutely beautiful. He honors her request and says, Woman, your faith is great. She, as a Gentile, is exercising confidence and trust in a previously unknown Jewish man that she has no reason to believe he would have any compassion on her.

[33:07] So, she's appealing to him. And her daughter was healed at once. Now, this is a very brief incident.

[33:18] But it just emphasizes, once again, the Jewishness that's involved here. All right. Now, let's come over to Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts. Now, what we're going to do now is fast forward.

[33:34] Well, however long it takes for the day of Pentecost to come.

[33:45] And when Acts 2 opens, of course, we've got the crucifixion and the resurrection behind us. And this is the day of Pentecost. And this is the day of Pentecost. You understand that the day of Pentecost is the Jewish feast day.

[33:59] Gentiles have no interest in this. And this event is going to transpire in the Jewish temple where Gentiles were not even allowed to be. This, too, is a holy Jewish thing.

[34:15] And that kingdom of heaven, by the way, that was promised. And let me just insert this, if I may. There are two things. Two things. And I hope grace people never, ever forget these.

[34:27] Two things have to be in place before the kingdom of heaven can come to earth. And God's fix-it program gets underway. And everything is the way it's supposed to be.

[34:41] And the two things that have to be fulfilled is that Jesus, the Messiah, has to pay the sin debt of the world, which he accomplished when he died on that cross.

[34:57] In the death of Christ, he satisfied the demands of a righteous God. And Jesus, in his sacrificial death, balanced the moral scales of the universe.

[35:12] I hope you never forget that. Jesus balanced the moral scales of the universe. That's the first leg.

[35:24] And the second is, and here we go again. We're right back to that unavoidable, inescapable Jew. That's the second prong of the plan and program of God that must be in place before the kingdom of heaven can come to earth.

[35:45] And that is, Israel has to sign off. Israel has to be in a cooperative mode with the plan and program of God in order to be that spearhead nation that will affect the changes that's going to come upon the earth.

[36:07] Where are they now? They are far removed. They are disinterested. They are held in unbelief. In the rejection of their Messiah, they cause God to set them aside in judicial blindness.

[36:26] As Paul wrote that blindness in part is happened unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in. We are the Gentiles. 99% of the world's population are Gentiles.

[36:40] And we are right now working on our fullness. And when Gentiles get through, when God gets through with Gentiles ruling the world, ruling the roost like we do now, the United States rules the world along with the Soviet Union and the Chinese and a host of other nations.

[37:01] We are the Gentiles. We rule the world. We run the world. But the time of the Gentiles is going to expire. And when that happens, then the fullness of the Gentiles will be come in, will be finished.

[37:18] And God will take up his unfinished business with the nation of Israel. So here in Acts chapter 2, the day of Pentecost, Peter is delivering this message. And it is accompanied by these miraculous manifestations, chiefest of which was their ability to hear the language, to hear the message that Peter was delivering in their own tongue.

[37:43] Because these people, as indicated here in chapter 2, beginning with verse 9, they're from 15, 18 different places all throughout the Mediterranean basin.

[37:56] And the one thing they have in common is their religion. That's why they're there. It's because of the Jewish feast day of Pentecost. But what they have lacking in commonality is the language barrier.

[38:12] These people are all speaking different languages. And they can't communicate. So God simply reverses what he did at the time of Babel, where he confounded the languages.

[38:24] And here he allows everyone to hear this message in their own language. And it is an electrifying thing. I'm telling you, this place was just jumping.

[38:35] It was so exciting. We've got a noise like a violent, rushing wind. And it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And all of this is creating a tremendous amount of attention.

[38:50] And people start running over where they hear these noises and what's going on. And a crowd of people gathers a bigger crowd of people. And the crowd keeps growing and growing. And everybody's puzzled.

[39:01] And they're looking around. And they're saying, what is this? What's going on here? Who are these people? What's happening here? And some say, well, it looks to me like a big, big hangover.

[39:11] These people are all drunk. And Peter stands up and says, no, these people are not drunk. It's only nine o'clock in the morning. And then he says, tell you what this is.

[39:23] This is what Joel was talking about. Joel is an Old Testament prophet. And he prophesied this information hundreds of years before it's transpiring here on the day of Pentecost.

[39:38] And Peter, the spokesman, is saying, this is what Joel was talking about. And it shall come to pass in the last days. God said, oh, what does that mean?

[39:51] Are these then the last days? Well, that's what Joel said. That's what he's quoting. That just adds to the excitement. I will pour forth of my spirit upon all mankind.

[40:01] Your sons, your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of my spirit.

[40:12] They shall prophesy, grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hmm.

[40:26] Verse 19. Verse 19. I will grant wonders in the sky above, signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor and smoke.

[40:37] The sun shall be turned into darkness and moon. When did that stuff happen? Well, it never did.

[40:49] What? What's going on here? These things never happen. Sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.

[41:06] It shall come. It should be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Wow. That never happened then. Well, now, the tongues and speaking in languages that they had not learned.

[41:24] Sons and daughters prophesying. Young men seeing visions. Old men dreaming. I don't know how many of those things actually took place then. But I know these phenomena here regarding the heavenly bodies and all that.

[41:36] That never happened. Now, come over to chapter 3. Just a page or so. And we find Peter giving part 2.

[41:48] That same message. And this is in connection with the man who was healed at the gate. Beautiful. And here we're going to draw another big crowd.

[42:00] This is still in the temple complex. This is a huge area. By the way, I think I misquoted one time when I told you that this temple area here was so large that it encompassed the area of 12 football fields.

[42:17] I was wrong. It wasn't 12 football fields. It was 29 football fields. That's a lot bigger.

[42:31] That's a lot of area. And Peter sees this as an opportunity to continue his message that he began in chapter 2.

[42:44] And we read in verse 17, chapter 3. Very important stuff. And now, brethren. And he's not calling them brethren because they are fellow believers.

[42:56] Because most of them are not. He's calling them brethren because they're fellow Jews. They're all seed of Abraham. Now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also.

[43:08] But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets. And that would include Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel and all the minor prophets.

[43:22] That his Christ should suffer. He has thus fulfilled. Part one. Scratch it. It's over and done with.

[43:34] It's finished. He has thus fulfilled. That his Christ should suffer. Jesus died on that cross. Was resurrected from the dead. First part. First requirement is out of the way.

[43:47] This is God's part. And God's part was in providing this Messiah. To balance those moral scales of the universe.

[43:59] And Peter is here saying. God did that. God's part is over with. Things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all his friends.

[44:10] That he has thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore. In other words, Israel. Now it's your turn. Ball's in your court.

[44:21] God has done his part. Now it's up to you. To do your part. And when you do. That will be the second leg. Of the requirement. And the kingdom of heaven.

[44:33] Will get underway. What do you say. Israel. Are you in. Or not. And he'll send Jesus the Christ appointed for you.

[44:51] Whom heaven must receive. Until the period of restoration of all things. About which God spoke to the mouth of his holy prophets. From ancient time. So.

[45:08] What do you think. Now all you have to do friends. Sad to say. All you have to do is just drop down a few verses.

[45:20] Into chapter four. And Israel's answer. Is forthcoming. They were speaking to the people.

[45:31] The priests. And the captain of the temple guard. And the Sadducees. Came upon them. Being greatly disturbed. Because they were teaching the people.

[45:43] And proclaiming in Jesus. The resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them. And put them in jail. Until the next day. For it was already evening.

[45:58] This. Is Israel's answer. It's a persecution. It's nothing more than. We will not have this man. To reign over us. And the persecution.

[46:11] Continues apace. And one. Arises on the scene. Who will become the chief persecutor. And I've often referred to him. I've often referred to Saul of Tarsus.

[46:22] As the first. The first. Jewish Gestapo agent. Think of that. Saul of Tarsus.

[46:34] And he takes it upon himself. To stamp out these people. After all. There are now. Five. Thousand of them.

[46:45] Who have been. Misled. By this. Nazarene. Into thinking that he is the Messiah. And what these people. Constitute.

[46:56] These. Jews. These. Countrymen of mine. Who ought to know better. Just because they are Jews. They ought to know better. They bought into this. And now there are five thousand of them.

[47:08] And I'll tell you. What I'm taking upon myself. As a personal responsibility. I see these people. As a cancer. That is growing.

[47:19] On Judaism. And they need to be. Eliminated. Eliminated. And he set out to do that very thing. Hailing men and women.

[47:33] Dragging them off. Putting them in prison. Executing them. Having mock trials. And all the rest. And then he gets word. Saul. I don't know if you are aware of it or not.

[47:45] But there's a whole contingency of Jews. That knew you were on the war path. And they took off. They. They headed out for parts unknown.

[47:58] I don't know for sure where they've gone. Some rumor that they've gone up to Damascus. Clear out of the country. Into the nation of Syria. Just to get away from you. Paul says. Oh is that right?

[48:09] Syria. Huh? Well we'll see about that. And he went to the chief priests in the temple. These are the cadre. The elite.

[48:20] Sophisticates. Who were behind. The deal with. With Judas Iscariot. And trumped up charges. And put Pontius Pilate.

[48:33] In an embarrassing situation. Where he had little or no choice politically. But to go through with executing Jesus. And these are the same people. And Saul of Tarsus.

[48:44] Went to them. As his superiors. And says. I am volunteering. For a special assignment. And if you will give me letters of authorization. Introducing me to the powers that be.

[48:55] In Damascus. I'll have the official writing. To take with me. And I'll go up there. And find those people. And I'll bring them back. Make them walk all the way back.

[49:06] To Jerusalem. In chains. And we'll execute them. Let me get them back here. And the Damascus. Road thing. Is what is looming.

[49:18] In the balance. And that's all. Going to come. To a halt. In chapter 9. And I want to close. With reading. Just a couple of verses there.

[49:29] In Acts chapter 9. This is. Actually. Electrifying stuff. Not going to read. The conversion. All upon his name.

[49:39] And the Lord said unto him. Go. For he is a chosen instrument of mine. To bear my name. Before the Gentiles.

[49:55] Wait a minute. What happened to the Jews only? What happened to the Jews only?

[50:06] Bear my name before the Gentiles. And kings. And the sons of Israel. Now let me ask you a question.

[50:19] When you take the Gentiles. And kings. And the sons of Israel. Who's left?

[50:32] Nobody. This covers the whole waterfront. This is everybody. Is this saying that. Is this saying that the apostle Paul.

[50:43] Is being raised up of God. To be the apostle to everybody. That's exactly what he's saying. Now do you not see. A clear as crystal.

[50:55] Break. Between. Go not into the way. Of the Gentiles. Don't go to the Samaritans. Confine your ministry.

[51:07] To the lost sheep. Of the house of Israel. What is this? It's as simple as it can be.

[51:21] It's a change. It's a change. Something has happened. Well I thought God didn't change. No. No. No. I didn't say that. I said. It's a change. I didn't say God had changed.

[51:33] God. Never changes. I. The Lord. Change not. Therefore. The sons of Jacob. Are not consumed. God doesn't change. God is.

[51:47] Immutable. But God's methodology changes. God's plans and programs change. Why do they change? Because people change. Cultures change.

[51:59] Societies change. We've got an enormous change. That has taken place. Between the Old and the New Testament. And we saw that quite clearly. With the elimination of animal sacrifices.

[52:11] Now what we're saying here. Right here. In our New Testament. We've got. A dramatic change. That is taking place. Within.

[52:22] The New Testament. From. Exclusively. Solely. Jew. To Jew. To Jew. And Gentile.

[52:33] Everybody. That is so obvious. So apparent. And I cannot tell you. How embarrassed I am. To have overlooked it.

[52:43] For so many years. What's going on here? There is a change afoot. Something dramatically. Different is happening. It's just not that.

[52:58] Hard to understand. Is. Is. Can you not see the change? Well. Okay. I only got one amen out of that. And because I did.

[53:10] Because I did. You're going to go. To Galatians chapter. Chapter one. I'm just going to read this. Because it just reinforces. What we're talking about here. Oh my goodness.

[53:22] This is something. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Well. Okay.

[53:40] Chapter two. Galatians. I'm going to be very quick about this. And it was. Chapter two. In verse two. And it was because of a revelation. Paul said that I went up. And I submitted to them.

[53:52] The gospel. Which I preach. Among. The Gentiles. Now. Trust me. But. Because we're not going to look into the context.

[54:05] But. When he says. The gospel. The revelation. That he preached among the Gentiles. Submitted to them. The gospel. He's talking about his Jewish brethren. And he wants to give them information.

[54:19] As to what he has been preaching. To Gentiles. Why. Would he do that. If he had been preaching the same thing to the Gentiles.

[54:32] That they were preaching to the Jews. Why would he do that? He wouldn't. The whole point is. He is running this message by them.

[54:44] What he is preaching to the Gentiles. Because. Listen. Listen. Because. It is different. From what they were preaching to the Jews.

[54:56] What. Two different messages. Yes. Two different messages. This is called. A transition.

[55:08] This is called. Moving from one thing. To another. And if you insist. On sticking. With just one. Or the other.

[55:19] You miss the whole point. This is. A transition here. And. Oh my goodness.

[55:31] This. Well. For time's sake.

[55:42] I've just got to skip down to verse nine. Verse eight. For he. Well. Verse seven. On the contrary.

[55:53] Look at this. But on the contrary. Seeing that I. Paul was speaking. First person. I had been entrusted. With. The gospel.

[56:03] With the good news. To the. Uncircumcised. Now. What's another word for uncircumcised? Gentiles. Yeah. Yeah. To the uncircumcised.

[56:16] Just. Just. Just. As. Peter. With the gospel. To the. Circumcision. And who are they? And here are the Jews. For he.

[56:26] Who effectually. Worked for Peter. In his apostleship. To the circumcised. Effectually. Worked for me. Also. To the Gentiles. Two.

[56:38] Different messages. Two. Different groups. Of people. What. Is this? What. The one commonality. Is that the person of Jesus Christ.

[56:50] Was at the center of both messages. For the Jew and the Gentile. But after that. A lot of things were different. A lot of things were different. So what we've got here.

[57:02] Right. In plain sight before us. Is the reality of two. Different gospels. And I remember some people just go ballistic.

[57:13] When you say that there is. More than one gospel. Listen. There is only. One. Gospel. That is worthy.

[57:24] And qualified. To be preached. Today. That's the gospel. Of the grace of God. We come. We come.

[57:35] Into eternal life. By exercising. Faith. In the Lord Jesus Christ. Plus. Nothing. No. Circumcision. No.

[57:47] Baptism. No. Sabbath. Keeping. No. Kosher diet. No. Any of those things. It is solely. By grace. Through faith. That's the gospel.

[57:58] Of the grace of God. And we are not preaching. The gospel. To the circumcision. That's not our gospel. Now. Here is the problem.

[58:10] The gospel. Of the circumcision. Is saturated. Throughout. Matthew. Mark. Luke. And John. And where is it.

[58:21] That most Christians. Today. Feel. That their time. Is most productively. Spent. It's in the gospels. Where Jesus is. Big.

[58:34] Big. Big. Big. Mistake. Do you know what Jesus. Wants you to do. Jesus. Wants to get you. Out. Of the gospels.

[58:45] Into the. Updated. Information. That is found. In the epistles. Because. Jesus. Is. In. All of it.

[58:55] We've got a sentimental. Attachment. To Matthew. Mark. Luke. And John. So do I. So do I. And some of us. Are so deeply.

[59:07] Sentimentized to it. That we just. We just think. That those red letters. Are part of the inspiration. And there's nothing.

[59:18] Inspired. About red letters. At all. Every. Word. In the bible. From Genesis. 1. 1. To. To. Revelation. 22.

[59:29] Is the word. Of God. It is all. Inspired. Of Christ. And. If we could just. Get beyond that. We would see the progression. And the update.

[59:40] And it would just. Be so. Enlightening. Just amazing. How everything. Fits. So we've got a progression. Of doctrine here.

[59:50] It's just. I wish. I wish. I wish. I could better. Explain it. Well.

[60:03] Pray with me. makes it so interesting. Follow me. So.elf Must Deojat. come to UCLA.woacha. rob ct alive. Thank you. That's it for you. Then. Tamagi. Imagine. Thank you.

[60:14] In today's book. From us. maximum. I've been speaking. And this. I journalism. This is all. The ones. My word. Most. Mostly. To us. My가�. And what we have always been taught. traditions, and what we have always been taught.

[60:29] And it's difficult for us to often embrace something that we've never really heard before. We're not sure about this.

[60:40] And where is this going? And what does this mean? Thank you for having built into the Word like you have these wonderful truths.

[60:50] And we pray that as we continue to appreciate and develop them, that you will help us to see not only the distinctions that are made, but the critical importance of them and how rejuvenating it is and how enlightening it is to be able to enter into these things with a new sense of understanding and seeing how so many things in your Word just so wonderfully fit together.

[61:23] We are a blessed people. And we pray that you will enable us as we move on through this material to explain it and to do a job that will be a blessing to these people.

[61:35] In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.