image
image
image
Salvation of the Jews Commentaries Category

The Church at Penticost in Acts 2 was made up of all Jews. All of the 120 in the upper room in Acts 1 were Jews. The 3000 added to the Church on the day of Penticost were Jews.

We find that all who heard Peter's first recorded sermon in Acts 2 were all Jews living in Jerusalem at that time but were from every nation under heaven.

Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

3000 of those who heard Peter's first recorded message recognized Jesus as their promised Messiah whom they had crucified as their spiritual blindness was removed so that they could have spiritual sight when God saved them.

Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, 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 Ghost.

Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Acts 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Many of us have been taught that the Church didn't begin until Penticost and that the Church were Gentiles who were saved and that the Church and the Jews were separate. But we see that the Bible doesn't say that. As we see in the above Scriptures, the Church on the day of Penticost consisted totally of Jews.

And it was the Church, all Jews, who first took the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 10. And when the gospel started going out to the Gentiles, it continued also going out to the Jews at the same time.

Acts 11:19 Now they which were scattered abroad (all Jews who made up the Church) upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

Acts 11:20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians (Gentiles), preaching the Lord Jesus.

Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

And throughout the New Testament era we find the gospel going out to the Jews. Never do we find where God ever put a stop to His gospel going out to the Jews everywhere, to all of the house of Israel.

God didn't segregate the Jews from His Church, their Messiah and His glorious gospel. Nowhere in the Bible do we find that God stopped the clock on them and left them in their sins without any hope until 2000+ years later.

Jews living today didn't have anything directly to do with the crucifixion of Christ. But the Jews Peter preached to in Acts 2 certainly did as Peter said, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)

But God didn't hold what they did against Christ against them nor that He would leave them in their blindness and prevent the gospel from going out to them so they could be saved. On the cross Jesus forgave them before He died for their sins as well as the sins of the whole world when He said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

Error #1 of Dispensationalism
Dispensationalists claim that since Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God blinded them and stopped His clock on them and turned to the Gentiles and birthed the Church on the day of Penticost.

But as we can clearly see throughout the book of Acts, the Church from Acts 1 - 9 consisted of only Jews. And when the gospel began going out to Gentiles in Acts 10, the gospel didn't stop going out to Jews, as we see in Acts 11:19-21. As we find in the rest of Acts, the gospel continued going out to both Jews and Gentiles alike during the NT era.

Error #2 of Dispensationalism
Pretrib/Dispensationalists claim that the purpose of the 7 yr. Great Tribulation is for God to punish the Jews via the antichrist for crucifying their Messiah when He came the first time.

But modern-day Jews didn't directly crucify Jesus. Peter said those Jews to whom he preached his first recorded sermon did:

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)

God didn't physically punish them but gave His salvation to all who who repented and received it beginning in Acts 2. Those unrepentant Jews still alive in 70 AD suffered the destruction of their earthly kingdom when God sent the Romans into Jerusalem and they destroyed the temple, the city of Jerusalem and all Jews who were in the city.

So why would pretribbers still believe that God would punish modern-day Jews for what their ancestors did 2000+ years ago?

But all unrepentent unbelieving Jews will be punished in the lake of fire throughout eternity just like all unrepentent unbelieving Gentiles.

Error #3 of Dispensationalism
Pretrib/Dispensationalists claim that when God is through punishing the Jews during the Great Tribulation via antichrist, all of them left alive will then accept Jesus as their Messiah when they see the nailprints in his hands and feet as they see Him descending down from heaven at His Second Coming, just in time for Him to set up again their restored earthly kingdom.

But as we see in the book of Acts, Jews by the multitudes in the New Testament era already saw the nailprints in Jesus' hands and feet when He was crucified. And they mourned for Him when they were "pricked in their hearts" and asked, "what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37)

3000 Jews entered the kingdom of Christ at one time in Acts 2 and continued entering into His kingdom throughout the NT era. The restored earthly Jewish premil kingdom is only a fantacy of Judaism. There is not one Scriptural support for it anywhere in the Bible.

image



image