Tag: Psalms

  • Why DO the nations rage?

    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

    Look closely and hear this praise of the Lord God through the followers (now disciples) of the Apostles (as their teachers).

    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.

    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.
    • 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.

    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
    • 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

    With some vision toward more recent events of these last days of this 21st century, heed yet another warning to the Nations.
    Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 17 ::
    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.
    
    u s capitol under siege Jan 6 2021
    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.

    time line of David ruling israel

    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!”

    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.”
    • 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:

    Fall of Jerusalem

    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.

    To be continued... 
  • The Heart-piercing POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT!

    The Heart-piercing POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT!

    The POWER of the Holy Spirit in ACTS

    What have we observed most in Luke’s early accounts of Acts?

    Clearly, the further power of the Holy Spirit, which Luke also notes in his Gospel as having descended on Jesus.

    And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased… And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil.

    Gospel of Luke on the Holy Ghost 3:33, 4:1-2b KJV
    "Holy" AND "Spirit"
    occurs 111 times in 53 verses in your custom selection ' in 'Luke-Acts'' in the NASB20.
    Source: BlueLetterBible.org
    READ ALL fifty-three verses recorded by Luke and you will be convinced not only of the Trinity, but also of the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT of the Lord God.
    
    https://talkofjesus.com/acts-of-the-holy-spirit/

    ACTS 1 opens with Jesus’ Promise of the Holy Spirit.

    Before Jesus ascends to the Father, He commands the Apostles to WAIT for the power of the Holy Spirit

    The Coming of the Holy Spirit

    On the day of Pentecost the crowds in Jerusalem witness with wonder the AWESOME power of the Holy Spirit!

    Although the HEADING for ACTS 2 in one of my Bibles refers to The Coming of the Holy Spirit, from the next HEADING, Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost, we learn of the convicting POWER of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s words.

    NOW, we will look to the POWER of the Holy Spirit to pierce the hearts of Peter’s audience.

    I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND

    “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

    ACTS 2:32 NKJV

    ACTS 2 – Peter’s Sermon continues

    Lord and Christ

    “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

    Acts 2:36 NKJV

    A pall of silence most likely falls upon many in the massive crowd listening to Peter as he stands with all the Apostles and preaches Christ crucified and risen from the power of death.

    Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart,

    and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,

    “Brothers, what are we to do?”

    Acts 2:37 NASB

    J.B. Phillips paraphrases this passage following Luke’s account of Peter’s sermon:

    When they heard this they were cut to the quick, and they cried to Peter and the other apostles, “Men and fellow-Jews, what shall we do now?”

    They were ‘cut to the quick,’ ‘pierced to the heart.’

    Sounds painful, reminding us of reference to Jesus’ gruesome crucifixion on a Cross preceding the previous Passover ‘festival’ of the Jews.

    Yet one of the soldiers pierced His [Jesus‘] side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

    Gospel of John 19:34

    Perhaps some of these Jews hearing Peter’s sermon were sadly present during the storm of Jesus’ death and the piercing of His side with a Roman spear.

    The Prophet Isaiah had said (as the Jews well knew):

    But He was pierced for our offenses,
    He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
    The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
    And by His wounds we are healed.

    וְהוּא מְחֹלָל מִפְּשָׁעֵנוּ מְדֻכָּא מֵעֲוֹנֹתֵינוּ מוּסַר שְׁלֹומֵנוּ עָלָיו וּבַחֲבֻרָתֹו נִרְפָּא־לָֽנוּ׃

    Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 53:5 NASB20 :: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)

    Luke uses a word for ‘pierced‘ which implies ‘wounded in conscience,’ a conviction of the power of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s preaching from the word of God which the crowds in Jerusalem knew well. Later, the letter written to the Hebrews reminds the faithful:

    For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

    Hebrews 4:12 NASB20

    YES, Peter’s sermon pierces their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.


    HOLY SPIRIT POWER

    Because the HOLY SPIRIT is so important to Luke’s continuing account in Acts of the Apostles, before we proceed with Peter’s brief answer I would like to quote the powerful nineteenth century English preacher, Charles Spurgeon.

    The Power of the Holy Ghost

    Charles Haddon Spurgeon June 17, 1855 Scripture: Romans 15:13 From: New Park Street Pulpit Volume 1

    Spurgeon (1834-1892)

    Please note Spurgeon’s brief outline about the Third Person of the Trinity.

    One. Comforter

    When Christ was on earth, He must have been the consolation of all those who were privileged to be His companions.

    Spurgeon – Holy Spirit Power opening paragraph

    This certainly would include Peter and the eleven now at his side on Pentecost – RH

    In speaking of the Resurrection, from John 16 & 14, Spurgeon relates:

    He would not leave those few poor sheep alone in the wilderness. He would not desert His children and leave them fatherless. Before He left, He gave soothing words of comfort.

    Spurgeon then goes on to introduce the paraclete or comforter

    Jesus had told them that the Father would give them ‘another comforter[helper or advocate] to be with them forever.

    Peter, our Pentecost preacher today, certainly felt this comfort once Jesus asked him if he loved Him AFTER the Lord once again appeared to them. Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, with His Power to convict.

    First, God the Holy Spirit is our very loving Comforter.

    C.S. Spurgeon

    Two: THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

    Our focus for Peter's Pentecost Sermon response
    Quoting Spurgeon Chapter 2, pg. 27
    

    All power is the special and peculiar prerogative of God and God alone.

    (Quoting Psalm 62:11 KJV)

    God is God, and power belongs to Him alone.

    He delegates a portion of His power to His creatures, yet it is still His. (Quoting Psalm 19:4-5)

    C.S. Spurgeon – Holy Spirit Power
    Just take this in for a moment .. before we return to the crowds converted by Peter's Pentecost Sermon. - RH
    Spurgeon goes on to explain three ways he will look at the Power of the Holy Spirit.
    1. The outward and visible displays of it,
    2. the inward and spiritual manifestations of it,
    3. and the future and expected works of it.

    Three: THE HOLY SPIRIT – THE GREAT TEACHER

    We will not get there today as we observe the crowds of Pentecost, but the teaching of the Apostles will become immediately evident as the church grows throughout Acts.
    
    To READ HOLY SPIRIT POWER click here to order.

    Repent!

    “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

    Acts 2:37b NKJV

    Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,

    and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

    For the promise is for you and for your children,

    and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

    Acts 2:38-39 CSB

    IT’S AN AMAZING PROMISE!

    But this is not the promise of Peter, nor is it an appeal to those who have NOT ASKED ‘What shall we do?’

    Peter’s promise of the Holy Spirit is from the Holy Spirit Himself.


    Next: We will see evidence of the Spirit growing the Church from the moment of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost.

  • Miracles, Wonders & Signs: Peter’s Amazing Answer

    Miracles, Wonders & Signs: Peter’s Amazing Answer

    Peter’s Answer to the Acts of Pentecost

    How does the anointed follower of Jesus Christ answer the unanswerable questions from the multitudes? Luke records not only the truly awesome events of Pentecost and bewilderment by the crowds, but also the Apostle Simon Peter’s amazing answer to thousands gathered in Jerusalem.

    Acts 2:

    And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind..

    Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

    Acts of the Apostles 2:2a,6 KJV
    Previously: We witnessed the Holy Ghost in a crowded upper room.

    (I spoke last time how we might more appropriately [from the KJV] view the Holy Ghost and cloven tongues like as of fire lighting on each one.)

    One hundred together as one in prayer in the upper room in Jerusalem receive the Holy Spirit!

    We now join the Twelve as they move on into the crowds on the busy streets of Jerusalem and multitudes in the Temple.

    Acts of Perplexed Jerusalem Crowds on Pentecost

     Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

    Acts of the Apostles 2:5 NASB

    (Not so different from the crowds of a single Sunday of a 21st century Christmas or Easter festival, is it?)

    NOTE on Population of Jerusalem [~80,000, possibly swelling above 100,000 during the three festival weeks]
    - Jewish historian Josephus, who would know because he had lived there during the 60s AD, estimated the number of Pharisees alone to be 6,000 (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 17.42) - * recommended source

    Amazed and Astonished

    Image an extended and formal debate between two devout religious officials (perhaps a Pharisee and and Sadducee) wondering how Simon Peter and these other lowly uneducated followers of Jesus from ‘up north’ could possibly speak to others in another language.

    And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another,

    Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

    Acts 2:7 KJV

    Of course earlier Luke showed us debate with Jesus by perhaps some of the same ‘devout men’ who some attend these very public festivals just for the wine, prestige or public parties.

    They were amazed (beside ones self to explain it, as I pointed out last time) and astonished G2296)].

    This is the same reaction of Peter and others to the risen Christ, which Luke records in his first account.

    And when He [Jesus] had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they [the Apostles] still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment G2296, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”

    Gospel of Luke 24:40-41 NASB20 – Strong’s G2296 thaumazō

    Luke describes the reaction of these men on Pentecost with this same adjective which John employs for an earlier debate of Jesus’ with Nicodemus about the same Holy Spirit which had anointed the Apostles this day.

    “Do not be G2296 amazed G2296 that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

    “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

    Gospel of John 3:8 NASB20

    The HOLY Spirit – The Directed WIND of ACTS

    Luke uses the same word πνεῦμα that John records from the words of Jesus [John 3:8] as ‘wind‘ and ‘Spirit,’ [pneuma] 70 times in Acts of the Apostles.

    As Jesus had told Nicodemus,

    “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit G4151, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit G4151 is spirit G4151.

    Gospel of John 3:5-6 – Jesus teaches Nicodemus on the Holy Spirit [G4151]

    Debate about Peter & the Apostles

    • “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?
    • —we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”
    • “What does this mean?”

    But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!”

    Acts of the Apostles 2:13 NASB

    14 But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven [now including Mathias], raised his voice and declared to them:

    “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day [that is, 9 o’clock in the morning]..

    As Luke has already told us, the crowds include hundreds of ‘devout men from every nation under heaven.’

    Certainly these religious leaders had been led to the Apostles by the sound of the Spirit. Although you may not recall the words of ‘this Galilean,’ these devout Jews will know the Scriptures Peter is about to preach.


    Peter preaching from a balcony in Jerusalem on pentecost

    .. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

    Joel 2:

    Blow a trumpet in Zion,
    And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
    Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
    For the day of the Lord is coming;
    Indeed, it is near,
    2 A day of darkness and gloom,
    A day of clouds and thick darkness..

    21 Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice,
    For the Lord has done great things..

    The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
    23 So shout for joy, you sons of Zion,
    And rejoice in the Lord your God;
    For He has given you the early rain for your vindication..

    The Promise of the Spirit

    Hebrew link above is CJB & WLC only

    28 It will come about after this
    That I will pour out My Spirit on all [flesh] mankind;
    And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
    Your old men will have dreams,
    Your young men will see visions.
    29 And even on the male and female servants
    I will pour out My Spirit in those days..

    For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    There will be those who escape,
    Just as the Lord has said,
    Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

    The Prophesy of Joel 2:28-29, 32b *2:28 begins as v.3:1 in Hebrew

    Acts 2:

    17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
    ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
    And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
    And your young men will see visions,
    And your old men will have dreams;
    18 And even on My male and female servants
    I will pour out My Spirit in those days,
    And they will prophesy.
    19 And I will display wonders in the sky above
    And signs on the earth below,

    Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke.
    20 The sun will be turned into darkness
    And the moon into blood,
    Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
    21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’


    Peter’s Amazing Answer from Scripture

    Jesus’ Apostle Simon Peter speaks to his fellow faithful Jews, many men gathered to hear from the place of this loud noise some explanation for this amazing sign.

    Do you recall the interchange between Judeans near Jesus’ trial and Peter? The Apostle knows first hand how they associate Galileans (and Samaritans) as lesser Israelites of David’s line.

     “Men of Israel, listen to these words:

    Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested [proven] to you by God [theos] with miracles [dynamis, power], and wonders [a prodigy, portent or omen] and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over [to enemies, or to the power, the will, of some one] by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

    The astounded men in the crowd must have wondered:

    • Do these men have this same Power [dynamis] which they have just heard?
    • Will this Disciple of Jesus now addressing so many continue with his opening indictment?

    Yes, and Peter continues with yet another amazing witness of these historic events:

    But God raised Him [the man attested, Jesus of Nazareth] from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

    Acts of the Apostles 2:24 NASB

    THIS SPEAKER [PETER] HAS JUST TOLD MEN WHO NAILED JESUS TO A CROSS JUST FIFTY DAYS AGO THAT THIS MAN [JESUS] COULD NOT BE HELD BY THE POWER OF DEATH!

    Peter then returns to Scripture in order to present the Jews an understanding of the Lord and their Messiah, Jesus.

    Son of David

    Luke has already told those who have read in his Gospel account:

    He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

    Gospel of Luke 1:32-33 KJV

    The Apostle Simon Peter begins here by addressing the house of Jacob by saying, “men of Israel.”

    “For David says concerning Him:

    ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face,
    For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.

    Acts 2:25 NKJV

    Psalm 16

    Mikhtam. By David:

    Protect me, God,
    for you are my refuge.
    I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
    I have nothing good outside of you.”

    I bless Adonai, my counselor;
    at night my inmost being instructs me.
    I always set Adonai before me;
    with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;

    Acts 2:25-

    Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue was overjoyed;
    Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;

    Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

    Acts 2:27 KJV, quoting Psalm 16:10
    [NASB]- For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
    You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

    Tehillim 16:11 (LXX 15:11) ἐγνώρισάς μοι ὁδοὺς ζωῆς πληρώσεις με εὐφροσύνης μετὰ τοῦ προσώπου σου τερπνότητες ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ σου εἰς τέλος

    תּֽוֹדִיעֵנִי אֹרַח חַיִּים שֹׂבַע שְׂמָחוֹת אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ נְעִמוֹת בִּימִינְךָ נֶֽצַח׃

    “You have revealed the paths of life to me;

    you will fill me with gladness

    in your presence.

    Acts 2:28 CSB, Peter, quoting David from Psalm 16:11
    Certainly, the Apostle must have paused here..
    Peter no doubt would have surveyed the eyes of those men in the crowd revealing the impact of the Spirit through these Scriptures upon their hearts.

    Brothers

    Peter, this lowly Galilean addressing multitudes of devout men (with their wives and families gathered beside them for this Jewish festival celebrated fifty days after Passover), now addresses these Judeans, Israelites and faithful pilgrims in Jerusalem endearingly as ‘brothers.’

    ἀδελφός - Strong's G80 - adelphos
     -  From ἄλφα (G1) (as a connective particle) and delphus (the womb) -  a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote i.e. a fellow believer, united to another by the bond of affection

    Don’t miss the personalness of the Apostle’s appeal to those convicted by the Spirit.


    Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

    Acts of the Apostles 2:29 KJV

    Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne.

    Seeing what was to come, he [David] spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah:

    He [the Christ] was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.

    Acts 2:30-31 CSB [also linked above with KJV & NASB]

    Luke’s account here in the King James Version brings to mind the familiar genealogy from the opening of his Gospel.

    “..that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh [that is: from David’s descendants], he [Yᵊhōvâ] would raise up Christ to sit on his [David’s] throne..”

    The Apostle Peter reveals to the multitudes through Scripture they know well:

    DAVID, King over a United Kingdom of Israel a thousand years ago — David who was also a PROPHET — predicted the resurrection of Israel’s Messiah.

    Then Peter, with the eleven other Apostles who have also shown the crowds signs of speaking in their own native languages standing at his side, confirms their own personal witness to ALL:

    We witnessed Jesus’ resurrection!

    [Brethren, Peter has already addressed them]:

    “It is this Jesus [iēsous] whom God [theos] raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses.

    Acts of the Apostles 2:32 NASB20

    Just picture what some men and women among the multitudes must have thought hearing this!

    Peter has already restated David’s prophesy, in addition to quoting the prophet Joel. Now the Apostle proceeds to the logical conclusion:

    Therefore, since He [Jesus] has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.

    Acts of the Apostles 2:33 NASB

    34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:

    Peter quotes David to affirm his conclusion from PSALM 110:1

    The Lord declared to my Lord,
    ‘Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies your footstool.

    110:1  לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר נְאֻם יְהוָה לַֽאדֹנִי שֵׁב לִֽימִינִי עַד־אָשִׁית אֹיְבֶיךָ הֲדֹם לְרַגְלֶֽיךָ׃

    Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

    Acts of the Apostles 2:36 NASB – Conclusion of Peter’s sermon

    THIS IS THE END OF PETER’S SERMON.

    “No it’s not,” you say.

    "This can't be the end of Peter's sermon, because the Apostle has more to add."

    While it is true that Luke adds an important interaction between Peter and someone from the crowd, allow me to ask you this:

    Doesn’t your pastor END the words of his sermon without interchange or response from his church audience?

    (We don’t hear Peter say, “Let us pray,” or “Amen.”

    The crowds did not see Peter walk away from the pulpit as his praise band begins a song.)

    NEXT:

    Like some moments following contemporary sermons in the Spirit, worship continues in the hearts of some. The Apostle’s speech certainly is guided by Scripture, but primarily Peter preaches by the HOLY SPIRIT. So the question which follows from the crowd, also the work of the Spirit in the hearts of men, will bring Peter to continue with a powerful answer.

    Next, we will hear Peter’s answer to pierced hearts.

    To be continued...
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