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Category: Acts for a 21st c. Church

Acts of the Apostles + a History of Christ’s Church

Acts of the Apostles 1-28

Acts of the Apostles:
+ The first century Church SHARED Christ while suffering severe persecution.
+ Luke records a historic account of the Church which gives 21c Christians a context to SHARE the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Read more about the Early Church & add your COMMENT on Scripture.

ACT now.

+ SHARE the Gospel history witnessed in the CURRENT chronological SERIES from ACTS of the APOSTLES.

He distinctly saw an angel of God
“Cornelius!” the angel said.

Cornelius stared at him in terror.

“What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.

ACTS 10:4 of angels

Sir, yes Sir!?!

ACTS 10: of an angel & a Roman warrior

What an unlikely scene in this new missionary journey of Twelve Jewish Apostles of JESUS the Messiah of Israel.

Luke records an encounter of a Roman soldier, Cornelius, with an angel of God!

Previously, we left Peter in Joppa, where the Apostle has just performed another resurrection.

We will get to Cornelius and then Peter; but TODAY I would like us to consider the role of an angel of God in the mission of the Church.

A missionary moment with a timeless messenger

Man, even a prophet or an Apostle, is mortal – spirit adorned in flesh with beating heart tirelessly churning the blood of life from limb to limb.

We know the nature of a fellow being of dust whom we meet in the street.

But what of an angel?

How would you and I react to such an encounter with that which is unlike us – an angel – a living being created of spirit without flesh and bone, an eternal messenger who may appear to mankind only once in many lifetimes?

What do we really know about angels?

Angels in art have blurred our view of truth, eternity and the messengers of the Lord our God.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com
- What do YOU think?
We cannot take time here for an exhaustive quest for God-sent angels or an unveiling of messengers veiled in darkness, but let’s glance at the evidence of angels in the Bible.

What do you know about them?

Angels in a Biblical Context
- Question: What book of the Bible makes the most mentions of an angel (or angels)?
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If you guessed: The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John [51x in the KJV]
you would be correct. (But that's a scene somewhat challenging for any to get a clear picture of an angel in its usual mission for the Lord.)
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- What about all the angels in Luke’s Gospel announcing Jesus’ birth?
  - Pretty good guess. [15x KJV] But it comes in fifth.
  - Two Old Testament Books come in at #3 and #4.
    Any guesses? [hint: one is a Prophet]
    CLICK HERE for that answer [19x]
- TWO books of the Bible, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament, contain the most references (second only to Revelation) to an angel or angels).
- DO YOU KNOW WHAT THESE TWO BOOKS REFERRING TO ANGELS HAVE IN COMMON?
Answer:

History.
- #3 is Judges
  - & you have probably guessed..
- #2 is ACTS of the Apostles.
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So before we proceed with our look at an angel bringing messages to Cornelius, Peter and others, let's take a brief glance at what the Bible reveals about these messengers of God.
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מַלְאָךְ

mal’āḵ – From an unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy
1. messenger
2. angel
3. the theophanic angel
a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher):—ambassador, angel, king, messenger.
Strong’s H4397 – mal’āḵ

An angel may be a heavenly being with a message from God.

BUT a man such as Zechariah (or the Apostle John) may also bring a commanded message and/or a prophetic message of the future from the Lord.

We see this many times:
- And the angel H4397 of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
- And Jacob went on his way, and the angels H4397 of God met him.
- And Jacob sent messengers H4397 before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
We needn’t debate if these angels of specific instances were men or heavenly beings; the point is that these angels bring a message of God to men and women for whom He cares.

וַיַּעַל מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָה מִן־הַגִּלְגָּל אֶל־הַבֹּכִים פ וַיֹּאמֶר אַעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם וָאָבִיא אֶתְכֶם אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם וָאֹמַר לֹֽא־אָפֵר בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם לְעוֹלָֽם׃
CLICK FOR ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM HEBREW: Shoftim (Judges) 2:1 :: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)
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Would you like to READ an encounter from the Old Testament between an angel and the parents of Samson?
CLICK HERE FOR JUDGES 13 CSB with ten references to this angel.
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Angel in the New Testament

ἄγγελος – angelos
- The KJV translates Strong’s G32 in the following manner:
  - angel (179x),
  - messenger (7x).
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon

STRONGS G32:
ἄγγελος, -ου, ὁ,
1. a messenger, envoy, one who is sent: Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:24, 27; Luke 9:52; Mark 1:2; James 2:25. [From Homer down.]
2. In the Scriptures, both of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, one of that host of heavenly spirits that, according alike to Jewish and Christian opinion, wait upon the monarch of the universe, and are sent by him to earth, now to execute his purposes (Matthew 4:6, 11; Matthew 28:2; Mark 1:13; Luke 16:22; Luke 22:43
ἄγγελος θεός – angelos theos

AN ANGEL OF GOD

Acts 10:3 (and other passages) referenced by Thayer’s Greek Lexicon [above]

He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
sent by him to earth, now to execute his purposes

hence, the frequent expressions ἄγγελος (angel, messenger of God, מַלְאָך) and ἄγγελοι κυρίου or ἄγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ.

They are subject not only to God but also to Christ (Hebrews 1:4ff; 1 Peter 3:22, cf. Ephesians 1:21; Galatians 4:14), who is described as hereafter to return to judgment surrounded by a multitude of them as servants and attendants: Matthew 13:41, 49; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 24:31; Matthew 25:31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, cf. Jude 1:14.

Up until now, we have encountered an angel seven times in Acts of the Apostles.

What is your COMMENT about any similarities and differences between these seven angels we have met so far in ACTS of the Apostles?

NEXT: Cornelius and the Angel of God
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in ACTS 10: [click for NASB]
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March 30, 2022
Another Resurrection in Joppa
death… Why do you weep?

Death’s Vigil

If you should pause briefly near death’s vigil, you may see some soul precariously perched on a precipice above the dark shadows of hades; yet.. lifted to light of life after death.. another resurrection in Christ to eternal glory with God Who Saves.

Peter and another resurrection as witness

Even as Peter travels some distance to Lydda and Joppa, somewhere back in towns nearer to Jerusalem a disciple named Lazarus witnesses another resurrection than that of the Lord Jesus Christ: his own.

So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!”

It’s one of the tenderest lines in Scripture. Roger@talkofJESUS.com

– on witnesses of Jesus at Lazarus’ funeral John 11:36

In the ever so brief time prior to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection Peter, the Apostles and many disciples of the Lord Jesus had witnessed this powerful sign of the Messiah as Jesus called out to Lazarus to come out of the grave!

Earlier in Jesus ministry the Apostle also had witnessed yet another resurrection of a young man sitting up in his coffin about to be carried to his funeral wake in Nain!

Resurrection of a body which has fallen from life into the valley of death is nothing new to the Apostles. To Peter another resurrection would be completely possible IF it is the will of the Lord.

Acts 9:
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Click above for Gevurot 9:35-43 Orthodox Jewish Bible; Living Bible; Living Bible; Living Bible; Arabic Bible:
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Death’s appeal from Joppa
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A young woman has died..
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Her friends prepared her for burial and laid her in an upstairs room. ³⁸But when they learned that Peter was nearby at Lydda, they sent two men to beg him to return with them to Joppa.

Aeneas of Lydda: “I can walk!

Peter responds and ACTS

Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years, because he was paralyzed, has been at Peter’s side; just as a lame man in Jerusalem who was healed also had stood with him and John as witness in the Temple.

35 And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord..

37 But it happened [in those days] at that time that she [the young woman in Joppa] became sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upstairs room.

“Do not delay in coming to us.”
So Peter got ready and went with them.
ACTS of Peter 9:38b-39a NASB20

Might a Gazelle Leap once more?

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which when translated means [Gk. for gazelle] Dorcas);

this woman was excelling in acts of kindness and charity which she did habitually.

Peter arrives in Joppa

39 .. as soon as he [Peter] arrived [from Lydda with the two men who had summoned the Apostle to Joppa], they took him upstairs where Dorcas lay.

It’s the scene of grief – mourning the loss of a beloved servant of all, a friend, a young woman once vibrant in life who succumbs to one of the many maladies of this fragile flesh.

Like those Peter had seen — the boy in a bier in Nain and Lazarus wrapped in death’s cloths behind a closed tomb in Bethany — here the Apostle takes in the vigil of those watching this Gazelle’s lifeless body, as well as the Apostle’s own entry into their sad scene in an upper room perched above the the shadows of valley of death.

The room was filled with weeping widows who were showing one another the coats and other garments Dorcas had made for them.

⁴⁰But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed.

(Like in Nain, Joppa will cancel its funeral procession today,

DUE TO this next resurrection.)

Another Resurrection!

.. and turning to the body, he [the Apostle Peter] said, “

Ταβιθά ἀνίστημι
“Tabitha, arise.”
The familiar command of Peter (to a dead woman) in ACTS 9:40

And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

He Raised Her Up

You Raise Me Up – Selah – 5 min.

DEATH.. and all hope for flesh and blood lost.. except for the hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ! And once again, here and now, another resurrection — by the Apostle and not the Lord Incarnate.

Luke continues with the resurrection theme [45x] in his second account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

ἀνίστημι – Strong’s G450 – anistēmi – an-is’-tay-mee – to cause to rise up, raise up

42 The news raced through the town, and many believed in the Lord.

43 And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, the tanner.
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ACTS of the Missionary Journeys of Peter: To be continued...
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March 24, 2022
No Longer Paralyzed: Walking in Lydda
Aeneas of Lydda: “I can walk!

Paralyzed until Peter’s missionary journey

What must it be like to be paralyzed, either from birth or as the result of a traumatic impact of this fragile flesh and bones at any time?

We have seen paralyzed men many times in Scripture. And Simon Peter had met paralyzed or lame men at various times in his lifetime. For this Apostle, who by faith had walked on water when Jesus had called out to him from their boat, Peter certainly would have had great empathy for any person who could not walk on the many roads of Galilee, Samaria and Judea or the streets of Jerusalem.

Luke has just shown us in Acts that now Peter and the Apostles are no longer confined to Jerusalem, but travel as missionaries for the Gospel of the risen Jesus throughout their beloved Israel.

https://talkofjesus.com/acts-9-12-more-acts-of-peter/
Acts 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified.

Acts on a Missionary Journey of Peter

32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.
Acts of the Apostles 9:32 NKJV

Please understand something of Simon’s mission from the Lord: Peter travels the same roads between the cities of his fellow Jews where the Apostle followed his Teacher and Lord, the Anointed One, Yeshua.

Luke 22: Recalling the Lord’s Supper
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From the Hebrew Names Version of Luke's Gospel
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When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles..

“I have earnestly desired to eat this Pesach with you before I suffer..

.. “This is my body which is given for you.

Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you..

But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.

You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Yisra’el.”

Πέτρος

Petros in Lud

Simon Peter’s journeys from the hills of Jerusalem bring him down to the plain of Sharon, which lead through Jewish towns approaching the Mediterranean ports controlled by Rome, like Joppa and Caesarea (from where they just sent Saul back to Tarsus).

32 Now it came about that Kefa, passing through all the parts of Eretz Yisrael, came down also to Moshiach’s kadoshim dwelling in Lud.
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Simon was given the name Peter by Jesus. The apostles name translates as "ROCK." (for more info about the Aramaic form, Kefa, click HERE)

Λύδδα - Lydda [lud'-dah] Lydda = "strife" - a town 9 miles (15 km) from Joppa, and is the first town on the northernmost of the two roads between that place and Jerusalem 

It's Hebrew name לֹד
lōḏ Lod = "travail" in the plain of Sharon in the territory of Benjamin was the head of a family of returning exiles from Babylon.
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Aeneas of Lydda

33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him,

“Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.”

Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ἰάομαι σύ
JESUS CHRIST HEALS YOU

Immediately he got up.

Imagine that you are Aeneas, a paralyzed saint in Lydda who believes that Yeshua IS the Anointed One of Israel who IS risen from the grave after His horrific Blood Sacrifice on a Roman Cross in Jerusalem.

And now, into your town of Lud on his way to Jaffa comes Simon Peter, who in Jerusalem had stood in the Temple with a man lame from birth clinging to his side as the Apostle preached to the crowds. Many witnesses have already passed through Lydda.

Like the man who had clung to John and Peter, YOU are no longer paralyzed!

So as the Apostle had done in the Temple, Peter continued to preach the gospel of Jesus the Christ to all in your town with you (Aeneas) as a sign of proof from God standing at his side.

35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

How about you? – Is YOUR faith paralyzed?

Jesus and the Apostles had seen it many, many times. After some sign from God many came to follow the Lord, the Anointed One of the Father. They could not deny the powerful sign — the miracle of God; YET some remained paralyzed – confined to their failing flesh of this brief life even as they marvelled at men and women of faith in Jesus doing what only God could empower.

We have all heard the amazing signs before, even as Peter or another Apostle or one of their many disciples came into our town.

A Man Lowered Through a Roof
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Aeneas the paralyzed man may have heard of this man whose name we do not know and his faithful friends who we also do not know by name. YOU have heard the story of this great sign as Jesus taught to a houseful of those paralyzed in their faith.

From Luke's Gospel & also (Mat 9:2–8; Mar 2:1–12 )

Peter and the Apostles had been there..
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One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing..

.. because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

“Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

.. Who can forgive sins, except God alone?” ..

“Why are you thinking this way in your hearts? Which is easier, to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”

He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your own bed.” Immediately he got up.
ACTS 9:34 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος Αἰνέα ἰᾶταί σε Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ἀνάστηθι καὶ στρῶσον σεαυτῷ καὶ εὐθέως ἀνέστη

And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
Gospel of Luke 5:25

GET UP.

Saul of Tarsus got up after he had seen the Lord Jesus. Apneas got up after the Apostle Peter commanded him in the Name of Jesus Christ.

IMMEDIATELY he got up, Scripture records of those men like the paralytic on the mat before Jesus.

So what keeps YOU from immediately wanting to TALK OF JESUS CHRIST to others?
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Please comment on this sign of healing in the name of Jesus Christ TODAY.

May grace, peace and the love of our Lord heal your frozen witness for the only Gospel which raises the paralyzed perishing soul.

Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

ACTS of the Apostle Peter: to be continued...
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March 22, 2022