44) The Book of Acts

ACTS is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Luke begins with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist and ends with the ascension of the Lord Jesus into heaven. The book of Acts begins with the ascension of the Lord Jesus and ends with the worldwide blindness of Israel and the acceptance of the gospel by the Gentiles; therefore, the book records a transition from the Jevs to the Gentiles. The five transitions are from the Jews to the Gentiles, from Judaism to Christianity, from Israel to the Bride of Christ, from Jerusalem to Antioch, and from Peter to Paul. The common saying is you rob Peter to pay Paul because the book begins with Peter as the Apostle to the Jews, but closes with Paul as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:7).

The fifth book of the OT records the second giving of the Law and the fifth book of the NT records the second opportunity of the Jews to receive their Messiah. The Lord Jesus requested the Holy Father to forgive the Jews for the crucifixion; therefore, the Israelites were allowed a second chance to accept their true Messiah. The theme of the messages of Peter and Stephen was repentance for the murder of Jesus Christ. National repentance for the murder of innocent blood could have been obtained through the sacrifice of a red heifer (Num. 19; Deut. 21), but the messages were rejected by the majority of the Jews and the blindness of Israel occurred in four steps as God made the transition from the Jews to the Gentiles (8:1; 13:46; 18:6; 28:28).

Matthew, Acts, and Hebrews are transition books that become cautious books for doctrines. The gift of the Holy Ghost was given through repentance and water baptism in Acts 2:38, but in Acts 8:17 the laying on of hands was required. Cornelius received the Holy Ghost by grace through faith in Acts 10:44 (Gal. 3:14), but Paul laid hands on twelve Jews for the reception of the Holy Ghost in Acts 19:6. These variations were the subject matter of a meeting of the minds in Acts 15. The conclusion was that salvation was dispensed by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ in the NT (Acts 15:11; Rom. 3:21-28; Eph. 2:8-9).

The author of the book was Luke who was a physician. Luke records the miraculous acts Of the Apostles, not Christians. The Apostles of God were given apostolic signs and wonders for the Jews (Mark 16:17-20; 1 Cor. 1:22; 2 Cor. 12:12), but these signs faded away as the Jews rejected the opportunities of repentance. These signs will not legitimately return until the time Of Jacob's Trouble, but the ministers of Satan counterfeit these signs and wonders in order to deceive (2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 2:2; 13:13-15). No Christians appear in the book until Acts 11:26; therefore, a prudent Christian cautiously applies any doctrinal truths, yet the practical information can be zealously applied to personal soul winning and the edification of born again believers. The book contams 28 chapters and 1,007 verses.