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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.

Arrested AND Released
So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out..
Acts of the Apostles 5:18-19a – CSB

ACTS of Arrests witnessed by the Apostles

Politically motivated religious leaders of Jerusalem now begin to develop a dossier of accusations against Peter, John and the Apostles, because as disciples of the Messiah Jesus they boldly proclaim the Lord’s resurrection from His horrific death on a cross.

As they once again imprison the Apostles, let’s look back briefly at what Annas, Caiaphas and the ruling council of Jerusalem have on them. Herod’s palace records also add evidence.

Simon, a Galilean fisherman, aka Peter, had been a disciple of John the Baptist.

John baptized disciples, even JEWS, to REPENT about three years ago.

Herod had John the Baptizer beheaded.

Pharisees report that Simon and John were part of Jesus’ inner circle of Apostles.

The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
Gospel of Luke 5:30 NASB20

Simon Peter identified near Jesus’ trial

Witnessed just three months ago just prior to the Passover feast by a servant of the High Priest:

Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
Gospel of Luke 22:55-56 NKJV

A Noteworthy Sermon from Solomon’s Portico

Just days ago the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s High Court, orders Peter NOT to say anything about Christ Jesus. Although Peter and John were arrested for preaching repentance, Jerusalem’s leaders released them from prison as a politically palatable concession to the crowds who had witnessed Peter healing a man lame from birth.

By what power? Political prowess by the powers that be

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. – ACTS 4:18

Arrested, yet the Apostles boldly remain in Jerusalem

ACTS of the Apostles 5:

12 At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all together in Solomon’s portico…

And increasingly believers in the Lord, large numbers of men and women, were being added to their number, to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any of them. The people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together as well, bringing people who were sick or tormented with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed. But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates.. laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public prison.

Previously, the authorities brought Peter and John before the council, however on this occasion the Lord sends an angel to open their prison door!

and leading them out, he said,
“Go, stand and continue to speak to the people in the temple area all the words of the whole message of this Life.”
ACTS of an Angel of the Lord 5:19b-20

Daybreak after another night in prison

At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
ACTS of the Apostles 5:21 NIV

(Of course, these same officials of Jerusalem’s political elite who had seized them believed that the Apostles were still imprisoned as before.)

Not just another day at the office

BIG political victory last evening. Those Apostles opposed to OUR LEADERSHIP of JEWISH JERUSALEM await OUR VERDICT of what to do with them.

(Or so they thought, as these religious officials arrived at work in a Jerusalem guarded by Roman centurions.)
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ACTS 5:21b
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Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,

“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”

(REMEMBER their dilemma of JESUS’ EMPTY TOMB just a couple of months ago?) NOW what?

Who does this Galilean we arrested think he is?
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Narrative of this private conversation is a speculative fiction behind the scenes in ACTS 5.
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On that day when we arrested this Simon of Capernaum the first time what was it I said?

When we released him after he drew crowds to himself in the Portico of Solomon proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead, he challenged our very authority to hold or release him.

So when the others asked, “What are we to do with these men?”

I insisted, DO NOT release them to cause more trouble.

But when they couldn’t find cause to keep these men in prison I said, “You had better start a dossier on them, because we will just have to arrest them again.”

For this Simon Peter had confirmed my distrust when he answered:

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts of the Apostles 4:19b-20 NASB20

Let’s punish them this time!

So I was all prepared to tell you, “I WARNED YOU about these men.”

But what’s this we hear now after having arrested these crowd-stirring Galileans again so soon? Listen to this new report as we assembled this morning:

The Captain of the Temple Guard’s Report

But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported,
“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
ACTS of the Captain of the Temple Guard 5:22-23 NIV

Even though it seems impossible, these rabble-rousers must have escaped and run home to Galilee.

(Maybe not such a bad thing for us.)

NOW what do we do?

Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.

25 But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple area and teaching the people!”

The Apostles Now have Thousands of Disciples

And Peter, John and the others are preaching boldly as the Angel has commanded them to continue with the words of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they return to preach in the Temple.

IT IS YET ANOTHER SIGN, not to be taken lightly by those who had seized them the previous day, throwing the Apostles into Prison.

26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

(A riot against the capitol police? Roman soldiers in Jerusalem would certainly never condone such RAGE by any Jewish crowd throwing stones at Jerusalem’s politicized religious police.)

Would you, the arrested, convict US?

27 After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and [Caiaphas, or possibly Annas] the high priest asked,

“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name?

Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

[Peter had convicted them of their complicity in Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross; however the Apostle had also stated that God the Father had allowed it AND that JESUS had been raised from the grave!]

But Peter and the apostles answered,

“We must obey God rather than men.

30 The God [theos] of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince [archēgos] and a Savior [sōtēr], to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

GUILTY!

When they heard this, they were furious [diapriō – cut to the quick] and wanted to put them to death.

It is what we should have done the first time we jailed them.

WE know that these men have escaped, but HOW? Never-the-less, WE cannot allow them to continue to sway all of Jerusalem to become disciples of this JESUS we hung on a Roman cross just two months ago.

AWAY WITH THEM!

οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες διεπρίοντο καὶ ἐβούλοντο ἀνελεῖν αὐτούς
But when they heard this, they became infuriated and nearly decided to execute them.
ACTS of the Sanhedrin 5:33

An Appeal Against Rash Reaction

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.
ACTS of Gamaliel 5:34 NASB
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To be continued...
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December 1, 2021
Speaking the Word of God with Boldness
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness
Acts of the Apostles 4:29 NIV

The Believers Pray for Boldness
- DO YOU?
- How do YOU ACT Confidently in Christ Jesus?
παρρησία – parrēsia

Now as they observed the confidence^G3954 of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
Acts of the Apostles 4:13 NASB20 – Reaction of the rulers and elders of the people to Peter preaching at Solomon’s Portico, filled with the Holy Spirit

Luke’s account of events in Jerusalem has already revealed boldness in the Apostles not seen before Pentecost.

(Of course if YOU had seen the RISEN Crucified Christ Jesus in His flesh and received the HOLY SPIRIT in Jerusalem’s upper room, YOU would have had some added confidence as well.)
- Invite the Holy Spirit of God and Christ Jesus into your life; and then boldly ACT for Him.
By what power? Political prowess by the powers that be

After having been arrested, imprisoned overnight and then released, Peter, John and the Apostles will continue to preach with boldness.

ACTS of Confidence and Boldness

ACTS of Jerusalem’s First Century Believers 4:
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The believers continue to lift their voices together with the Apostles to God:
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30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
ACTS of the Believers in Jerusalem 4:31 NIV

Where will 21st. Century Christians find such BOLDNESS?

Christian confidence seems hard to come by in this world opposed to GOD and Jesus Christ, doesn’t it?

The Apostles and many first century saints who became their disciples gained such boldness because they knew Jesus Christ personally.

And like us, first century believers receiving the Holy Spirit came to know Christ through the Holy Spirit. New believers met the Apostles as living witnesses, God’s anointed shepherds of Christ’s living Church.

ALL feared God and basked in the light of Christ’s grace and unfailing eternal love.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

παρρησία – Strong’s G3954 parrēsia
- all out-spokenness, i.e. frankness, bluntness, publicity; by implication, assurance:—bold (X -ly, -ness, -ness of speech), confidence, × freely, × openly, × plainly(-ness).
1. freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech
  1. openly, frankly, i.e. without concealment
  2. without ambiguity or circumlocution
  3. without the use of figures and comparisons
2. free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance
3. the deportment by which one becomes conspicuous or secures publicity
Conspicuous Confidence of Christian Witness

The fear of their Messiah in the flesh and blood always infected the multitudes who surrounded Jesus, along with recognition of God’s love in His Person.

The Apostle John tells us in his Gospel:

And there was a great deal of talk about Him in secret among the crowds: some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He is misleading the people.”
However, no one was speaking openly [G3954] about Him, for fear of the Jews.
So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this man not the one whom they are seeking to kill? And yet look, He is speaking publicly [G3954] , and they are saying nothing to Him.
Gospel of John 7:12-13, 25-26a NASB + talk of JESUS at the Feast of the Booths in Jerusalem

And just two months earlier in Jerusalem, at Jesus’ trial (when Peter cowered secretly beyond the gaze of official witness by the powers that be who cross-examined Jesus):

The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching.
Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly G3954 to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple area, where all the Jews congregate; and I said nothing in secret.
Gospel of John 18:19-20 NASB + True testimony of Jesus before the Jewish High Court prior to the Passover Sacrifice

This is Annas, the same High Priest who now recognizes Peter and John as Jesus’s Disciples.

More Miracles and Boldness
- ACTS 2:2 And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
- 2:3 And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them.
- 3:8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them..
- 4:4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
- 4:13b-14 ..they [Annas, the High Priests and ruling Council] were amazed, and began to recognize them [Peter and John] as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.
  - 22 for the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
- 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken,
- and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
- 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
  - and abundant grace was upon them all.
  - 34-35 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.
A Witness of Grace by the saints

Five thousand disciples of the Apostles of Christ SPEAK the word of God with much BOLDNESS!

These confident new Christians share Christ’s love as a community of faith in Jerusalem SHARING all blessings of the Lord God as if their money is not their own, but solely the LORD’S. And the saints, disciples learning of Christ JESUS from the APOSTLES trusted them completely with EVERYTHING.

From his introduction to the church in Jerusalem in second account, next Luke will insert a caution to believers about NOT being ‘ALL IN.’ But for our conclusion noting these ACTS of BOLDNESS we will proceed just a little ahead in Luke’s list of signs and boldness of ALL.

Returning to Solomon’s Portico

Preaching from Herod’s Porch

We’ve been there before; but Peter & John, who had stirred the crowds with a healed lame man at their sides, were NOT supposed to come back.

Acts 5:

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

ACTS of the Apostles 5:12 NIV

Why does the NIV translate this in the past tense?

5:12 διὰ δὲ τῶν χειρῶν τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐγίνετο σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα πολλὰ ἐν τῷ λαῷ καὶ ἦσαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἅπαντες ἐν τῇ Στοᾷ Σολομῶντος

Luke wrote ACTS of the Apostles about three decades after these signs in the Temple.

AD 44 Judaea is annexed as a Roman province after the death of Herod Agrippa.

Luke’s readers may not have seen the temple prior to it’s destruction.

Opposition to our Boldness

Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them.
Acts 5:12-13 CSB

The NASB states:

But none of the rest dared to associate with them
Acts 5:13A NASB20

‘WHY NOT,’ Luke’s readers must have wondered?

Do you ever feel like the crowds do NOT want to associate with you once you boldly claim faith in Jesus Christ?

14 Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers—multitudes of both men and women. As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
ACTS 5:14-15 CSB

Luke tells us that these accompanying signs of miracles from God also occurred in towns surrounding Jerusalem as well. But of course, ALL of this had taken place prior to Rome completely eliminating any threat of these Judean Jews.

Luke then makes the opposition to Christian boldness in Jerusalem apparent to any now persecuted by Rome. Once again, the powers that be in JERUSALEM meet to reign in the boldness of these ‘Galileans.’

Their persecution of these BOLD opponents begins

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
ACTS of the Apostles 5:17-18 NIV

Arrested AGAIN!
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To be continued...
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November 29, 2021
Why DO the nations rage?
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed
Psalm 2:1b-2

ACTS of the disciples of the Apostles 4:

If you READ this section of Acts 4 carefully, you will discover that unlike the earlier acts focused on Peter, here Luke records that these prayers, praises and actions emanate from followers of the Apostles along with them.

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people.. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.

Thanks for Simeon Peter from the Psalms
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Look closely and hear this praise of the Lord God through the followers (now disciples) of the Apostles (as their teachers).
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Act 4:24 (KJV) — And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:

Psalm 55 – Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous
- First, is it godly to pray for the ‘destruction of the treacherous?
Listen to my prayer, God;
And do not hide Yourself from my pleading.
2 Give Your attention to me and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and severely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the pressure of the wicked;
For they bring down trouble upon me
And in anger they hold a grudge against me.
- Yes, I say; for their treachery is not only against the Apostles but rage against the Sovereign Lord God and His Anointed Messiah, their savior against the sins of their own Nation.
11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets.
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12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers.
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- Is this not what the Apostles Peter and John have just endured at the Temple? For they have been imprisoned overnight by Judaism’s highest officials who then dismiss the Truth of the Holy Spirit as leaven in the house of the LORD.
Therefore these Jewish disciples of the Apostles now pray according to the Psalms:

16 As for me, I shall call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me,
For they are many who are aggressive toward me.
19 God will hear and humiliate them—
Even the one who sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah
With whom there is no change,
And who do not fear God.

16 ׳יַשִּׁימָוֶת׳ ״יַשִּׁ֤י״ ״מָ֨וֶת׀״ עָלֵ֗ימוֹ יֵרְד֣וּ שְׁא֣וֹל חַיִּ֑ים כִּֽי־רָע֖וֹת בִּמְגוּרָ֣ם בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃

17 אֲ֭נִי אֶל־אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֶקְרָ֑א וַ֝יהוָ֗ה יוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃

18 עֶ֤רֶב וָבֹ֣קֶר וְ֭צָהֳרַיִם אָשִׂ֣יחָה וְאֶהֱמֶ֑ה וַיִּשְׁמַ֥ע קוֹלִֽי׃

19 פָּ֘דָ֤ה בְשָׁל֣וֹם נַ֭פְשִׁי מִקֲּרָב־לִ֑י כִּֽי־בְ֝רַבִּ֗ים הָי֥וּ עִמָּדִֽי׃

Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said,
Acts 4:25a KJV

Righteous Rage: Answers from Acts 4:25-26

Again recalling the context of Luke’s second account written to the Church, these early events which took place in Jerusalem reflect some cause for evil already evident to all and a destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Rome very shortly.

Questions of Cause:

“‘WHY
1. do the nations rage
2. the peoples plot in vain
3. kings of the earth rise up
4. and the rulers band together
Against the Lord

and against His Christ.’

Yes, their rage is not only against the Apostles but against the Sovereign Lord God and His Anointed Messiah, Jesus Christ.

27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur.

We see the RAGE in protests

The crowds turn quickly FOR or AGAINST the proclaimed leaders of the day.

Multitudes of OTHERS against

Nations rage against each other. But it’s not just nation against nation.

Not only religious leader against religious leader. Certainly not just political leader against political leader – party of one agenda opposing God against the other side of the aisle also opposing the rule of a ‘nation’ under God.
- the rulers take counsel together,
  against the Lord and against his Anointed – Psalm 2:2
Rage, ye peoples, and be broken in pieces! And give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth: Gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces! – Isaiah 8:9 DBY
ἔθνος – ethnos

To the Jews, gentiles; to Rome any foreign peoples to be conquered; to Caucasians, people of any other ethnic color.

Outline of Biblical Usage Strong’s G1484 – ethnos
1. a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together
  1. a company, troop, swarm
2. a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus
  1. the human family
3. a tribe, nation, people group
4. in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles
5. Paul uses the term for Gentile Christians
MEDIA HEADLINES of today provoke one multitude against another. The political/religious officials of first Century Jerusalem were no different. Herod and the Jews joined the Romans in accusing Christ and Christians falsely for many of the same personal motives as today.

RAGE!

φρυάσσω phryassō – to neigh, stamp the ground, prance, snort; to be high-spirited: properly, of horses

Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
Acts 4:25 KJV

Although this is the only instance in the New Testament where this word is used from the common Greek of the Roman Empire, the Hebrew use by David and Isaiah also connect the ‘rage’ to other ‘nations.’

2:1 לָמָּה רָגְשׁוּ גוֹיִם וּלְאֻמִּים יֶהְגּוּ־רִֽיק׃
Tehillim (Psalms) 2 :
- Lexicon :: Strong’s H1471 – gôy
  - The KJV translates Strong’s H1471 in the following manner: nation (374x), heathen (143x), Gentiles (30x), people (11x).
- רָגַשׁ – Lexicon :: Strong’s H7283 – rāḡaš
  - † [רָגַשׁ] verb be in tumult or commotion (Arabic bdb092104 make a vehement noise; Biblical Aramaic Aramaic רְגַשׁ, bdb092105 be disturbed, in tumult (Targum Ithp. often for הָמָה, as Psalm 46:6, שָׁאָה Isaiah 17:12f.; bdb092106 for חָמוֺן ibid.); but Syriac usually perceive, so Late Hebrew Hiph., but Hithp. fall stormily upon); —
  - Qal Perfect 3rd person plural Psalm 2:1 רָֽגְשׁוּ why do the nations throng tumultuously ?
A Parallel between Herod’s city of Jerusalem in Roman Syria and Damascus in David’s day
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With some vision toward more recent events of these last days of this 21st century, heed yet another warning to the Nations.
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Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 17 ::
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Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap...
And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean...

Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
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January 6, A.D. 2021 US Capitol under siege by the rage incited by SOH & POTUS

Faithful Jews knew their Scripture.

Isaiah, the son of Amoz, ministered in and around Jerusalem as a prophet to Judah during the reigns of 4 kings of Judah: Uzziah (called “Azariah” in 2 Kings), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1), from ca. 739–686 B.C. – source
- In panic, Ahaz sent to the Assyrian king for help (2 Kin. 16:7) and the Assyrian king gladly responded, sacking Gaza, carrying all of Galilee and Gilead into captivity, and finally capturing Damascus (732 B.C.). Ahaz’s alliance with Assyria led to his introduction of a heathen altar, which he set up in Solomon’s temple (2 Kin. 16:10–16; 2 Chr. 28:3). During his reign (722 B.C.), Assyria captured Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom, and carried many of Israel’s most capable people into captivity (2 Kin. 17:6, 24).- source
Long BEFORE Rome, the LORD banished His chosen nation because of their turning against Him.

The Holy Spirit then spoke through the same Isaiah who prophesied the coming of the Christ, warning Jerusalem’s rulers seven centuries before Christ.

40 Years of King David – 1000 B.C.

(Some after his anointing by Samuel, but before victorious return to Jerusalem)

David’s first two Psalms were written a full millennium before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem just two months before this day in ACTS 4.

Now, Luke records what the Holy Spirit reiterates: Psalm 2, as praise for John and Peter’s safe returns, reminding all of similar themes of these two verses in Psalms to Acts of the Apostles:
1. The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted
2. The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed
Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
Psalm 1:1 NASB

Why are the nations restless
And the peoples plotting in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away from us!”
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4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
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- Do YOU know the prophesies of Christ Jesus the Lord from the Psalms, of Isaiah and the true Prophets of Old Testament Scripture?
  - (These 1st century Jewish saints did.)
- The saints who followed the Apostles of the early Church ACTED when the Lord showed such signs of His glory.
The Jews knew their history and its consequence, even as they awaited their expected Messiah, the Son of David.

These outrageous events have already taken place as the Church reads Acts of the Apostles.
- AD 40 Emperor Caligula orders that a statue of himself is to be erected in the temple at Jerusalem. Herod delays implementation long enough to prevent wide-spread revolt in Judaea.
- AD 44 Judaea is annexed as a Roman province after the death of Herod Agrippa.
- AD 49 Claudius passes an edict expelling all Jews from Rome.
  - (Christians considered just a sect of Judaism by Rome.)
- AD 54 Death and deification of Claudius. Nero ascends to the throne.
Consequence

JUST one more reminder of context and consequence for these disciples of the Apostles to whom LUKE wrote ACTS of the APOSTLES in about A.D. Sixty. [~AD 60-62]
- Martyrdom of James, head of the Jerusalem church (A.D. 62 according to the Jewish historian Josephus)
- AD 64 The Great Fire of Rome speculated to have been started by Nero to make room for his palace.
  - Christians Persecuted as scapegoats.
- AD 67-69 The future Emperor Vespasian is sent to Judaea to put down a Jewish revolt.
  - Nero enters the Olympic games and is named the winner of every he event he enters.
  - Death [by execution] of Paul the Apostle.
  - Widespread revolt forces Nero to commit suicide, sparking civil war.
  - Year of the four emperors.
And LESS than a DECADE after Luke completes ACTS:

Persecution under Nero (A.D. 64), and the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) also suggests he [Luke] wrote Acts before those events transpired.

ACTS 4: (In Jerusalem before its destruction)

And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
ACTS 4:29-31 NASB

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

From the bold witness of these saints of the first century church, Jerusalem will witness ACTS of power against its worldly powers which will soon plot the first DEATHS of disciples of the Apostles.
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To be continued... 
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November 19, 2021