‘Mid-Acts-hyper-dispensationalists’ compare 2 verses as the foundation for their claim that "Prophecy Versus (Vs.) Mystery."
This is where they drive in a lightning rod by saying,
"Something that has been spoken since the world began -- and --
something that has been kept secret since the world began ....
cannot be the same .... and therefore, are 2 different things."
Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ take off from here .... and run to 2 Tim 2:15 to pick up ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’.
Then they say, "Since PAUL told us TO rightly divide .... we need to let PAUL show us HOW to rightly divide .... turn to Eph 2, to see ‘Time Past (Eph 2:11-12) .... But Now (Eph 2:13) .... and the Ages to Come (Eph 2:7)’. There you have their base for creating 2 (or more) of nearly everything .... 2 programs (earthly and heavenly), 2 groups of saints (Israel and the body of Christ), 2 kingdoms, 2 Jesus’, 2 methods of salvation (law-works and grace-no works), 2 eternal destinies (earthly kingdom and heavenly kingdom), several different gospels, 3 resurrections, and on and on the divisions continue.
If you could ever STOP their rambling, before they get this far .... maybe you could get them to "think about it!" Let’s examine the structure for their building .... for it is really on sinking sand (Matt 7:24-29) .... not on the Rock (Deut 32:4, 2 Sam 22:47, Psa 18:31, Matt 16:18, Rom 9:33, 1 Cor 10:4, 1 Peter 2:8).
Let’s go back to the context of Acts 3:21, to find out ‘what’ has been made known since the beginning. ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ don’t back up far enough. They just go to verse 19. But when we go to verse 18, we see ‘what else’ God spoke ‘by the mouth of ALL His prophets’.
It was written in the scriptures about Messiah’s suffering, which, at the time, the prophets did not understand (1 Pet 1:10-12). His suffering was unto death (Isa 53:12, Matt 26:38):
Acts 3:18-23 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ don’t want to include ‘repentance’ in ‘Paul’s program’ for what-they-call ‘the body of Christ’. They put repentance back in time past with John the Baptist (Matt 3:1-2), ‘earthly’ Jesus (Luke 13:3), and His 12 disciples (Mark 6:7-12). Here PETER preaches it:
Acts 3:19-a Repent ye therefore,
But ‘mid-Acts-ers’ close their eyes to PAUL’s preaching of repentance ....
and it’s in a ‘but now’ statement, to boot:
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at;
but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Back to Acts 3, Peter continued:
Acts 3:19-b and be converted,
Paul taught many of the SAME things that Peter taught, but ‘mid-Acts-ers’ won’t admit it. The Greek word [epistrepho] is translated ‘converted’ 6 times, and ‘turn’ 29 times. PAUL used the same Greek word as PETER used, regarding the Gentiles being ‘converted’ or ‘turned’:
Acts 26:18-20 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Back in Acts 3, Peter prophesied:
Acts 3:19c-20 that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ,
which before was preached unto you:
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ try to maintain 2 distinct programs regarding ‘WHEN’ sins are ‘wiped away’. They focus on the word ‘when’ .... which they use as meaning, "at the time" that ISRAEL’s sins will be blotted out.
Well, the Greek word [hopos], translated ‘when’ 1 time (here in Acts 3:19) ....
is translated ‘that’ 45 times. So it could be understood to say, "that your sins may be blotted out, ‘that’ the times of refreshing shall come ...."
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ make it a point to say that THEIR (Israel’s) sins won’t be blotted out
UNTIL the times of refreshing (when Jesus Christ returns) ....
UNTIL the times of restitution (which all the prophets spoke since the beginning of the world).
Daniel’s prophecy teaches that it is at the END of the 70th week ‘when’ God will make an end of ALL sins .... not JUST Israel’s sins. Yes, it will be at the end of the world, when Jesus comes (Matt 24:3):
Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,
to finish the transgression,
and to make an end of sins,
and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness,
and to seal up the vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most Holy.
Daniel’s prophecy concerning the 70 weeks upon ‘God’s people’ .... initially applied to just Israel .... but now includes all the saints that are His people. Paul took the prophetic scriptures .... originally written for Israel .... and applied them to "the church of God" .... "with all the saints" (2 Cor 1:1). PAUL included ALL saints now as being ‘God’s people’:
2 Cor 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Again the teaching of scripture is consistent, that Christ’s suffering (His death) was prophesied (spoken, foretold) ‘since’ the world began. Then is another ‘but now’ statement, that also includes the ‘ages to come’ --- when sin will be ‘put away’ for good .... in the end of the world .... when Jesus appears .... the second time:
Heb 9:26,28 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Back in Acts 3, Peter testified that when Jesus returns from heaven, it will be time to restore everything .... which is what all the prophets have said all along:
Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things,
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
God made known His secret to His prophets .... and they passed it out to the people .... but it stayed 'secret' because no one understood it. This has been His process throughout all of history:
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
That’s the same principle as John wrote about in the end of the Holy Book .... about ‘the end’ .... when Jesus returns at the last trump (1 Cor 15:52):
Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound (the 7th angel will sound the 7th .... ‘the LAST’ .... trump), the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
This is the same ‘mystery of God’ (and of Christ) that PAUL (Col 2:2), also a servant and prophet, wrote about .... the times of restitution of all things (Acts 3:21):
Eph 1:9-10 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times
he might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
PAUL explained how the mystery of Christ was kept secret even thought it was written .... and the prophets greatly desired to understand about ‘the grace’ they knew would come. But in time past, they did not understand. Years later, ‘when’ the grace did come, then the apostles and prophets who were alive then, did understand. It had not been revealed before in a way they could understand it .... as it was revealed in the age in which Paul and his companion apostles and prophets lived:
Eph 3:4-5 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Yes, the prophets wrote about the grace that would come (John 1:17b, Eph 3:2) .... as they wrote about the sufferings of Christ (which was His death) .... and as they wrote about the glory that follows suffering --- but they didn’t understand it clearly. They knew it was ‘future’ from where they were:
1 Peter 1:10-12 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Back in Acts 3, Peter related Christ, the mediator of the new testament (Heb 9:11-22), to Moses, the deliverer of the old testament (also see Heb 3:1-7):
Acts 3:22-23 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. (also see Acts 7:37-38, the church in the wilderness)
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. (also see 2 Thess 1:7-9) (FYI, PAUL made those same comparisons between the old and new testaments in 2 Cor 3:6-18)
Prophecy verses Mystery?
If it was a ‘mid-Acts’ ballgame, they would be opponents.
But in the scriptures, not so!
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
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