At Pentecost In Acts 2 Israel
Was Still Under the Law,
But the Birth of the Church
Came as Christ Abolished it!
At Pentecost In Acts 2 Israel
Was Still Under the Law,
But the Birth of the Church
Came as Christ Abolished it!
JAN LILLEBY
The important point shown us in this historical fact, is that the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement are entirely in error as they have said that the Church was born at Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon the assembled apostles at Jerusalem.
It is rather impossible that the Church can have been ‘born’ at Pentecost: Pentecost was one of the important feast days which God through the Law of Moses had charged Israel to keep each year. The fiftieth day from 14th of Nisan (Passover) – plus one day, makes fifty…thus from Greek we get ‘Pentecost’. IMAGE: Peter at Pentecost.
Actually, the assembly there in the Upper Room, was keeping the Law of Moses and thus celebrated Pentecost. This tells us that the Law was in full effect.
As Paul in 58 AD arrived at Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, it is very evident that the Law was STILL IN EFFECT. It had by no means been cancelled.
Just before he left Ephesus to get to Jerusalem for Pentecost, he had written the epistle to the Romans. And there he confirms to his readers that the Law of Moses was not only in effect – but the believers were together establishing and upholding the Law! Rom. 3:31-
“Do we then by (this) faith make the Law of no effect, overthrow it or make it a dead letter? Certainly not! On the contrary, we confirm and establish and uphold the Law.”
Same situation with the importance of the Law, as it was at Pentecost in Acts 2.
And when Paul arrived at Jerusalem, greeted by James and the elders, we read in Acts 21:20 – James’ and the elders’ response to Paul’s story of his ministry outside of Israel, in the Empire,
“...and they said to Paul, You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are enthusiastic upholders of the (Mosaic) Law.” (Ampl. Bible).
The Law was in effect in 28 AD as we have the Bible history of Acts 2 and Pentecost. And this was still so in 58 AD, 30 years later. Jews and proselytes had been turning to the faith by the thousands, inside Israel’s land. And they ALL kept the Law as well.
PENTECOSTAL/CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT ARE IN TOTAL ERROR,
FOR THE CHURCH CAME ON AS THE LAW WAS ABOLISHED.
THIS ALSO CRUSHES THE HERESIES OF ADVENTIST MOVEMENT
When Paul explain to us in Eph. 2:14, 15 that the establishing of the Church, ‘The One New Man’ – the Body of Christ, he explicitly wrote that the Church emerged from Christ first abolishing the Law with its commandments and ordinances – so making peace and have the two, Jews and Gentiles, made into that ‘One New Man’. The wall of partition which before stood separating these two, was torn down as Jesus ‘killed’ the Law sacrificing Himself for the believers.
“For He is (Himself) our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both (Jew and Gentile) one (body), and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us. – By abolishing in His own (crucified) flesh the enmity (caused by) the Law with its decrees and ordinances (which He annulled); that He from the two might create in Himself one new man (one new quality of humanity out of the two), so making peace.” Ampl. Bible.
This Bible truth was kept hidden, a secret – a mystery – in God before creation of the world, but He revealed this to Paul, as he explain this in Eph. 3:1-9. In other words, this was not a valid Bible truth before God revealed it to Paul. Yes, Christ died on the cross in Passover 28 AD, fifty days before the Pentecost reported in Acts 2. But even so, His death had not been made valid for us Gentiles freely at that time. God kept this a secret. It still was ‘Jews first, then Gentiles’ (Rom. 1:16). But Eph. 2:14, 15 let us look back 35 years (Paul wrote this in 63 AD) and told us that Christ had abolished the Law.
Had only the initiators of the infamous ‘Azusa-Revival’ in 1906 understood this clear Biblical fact, there would have been no ‘Pentecost Has Come’ – which was the used slogan of this early movement. See my article on this here at my site.
Pentecost was thus NOT the birthday of the Church, the One New Man, but it certainly was the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel of His Messiah Jesus Christ, the millennial King for God’s Kingdom on earth; which was rejected by Israel as seen in Acts 28:25-28.
Ending with Israel’s full destruction in 70 AD, since they ultimately had persecuted and killed the ‘King’s Servants’ as told by Jesus in Mat. 22:7.
THUS WE CAN HOLD AS A MATTER OF FACT
THAT THE TONGUES, MIRACLES AND HEALINGS
IN ACTS PERIOD, WERE FOR ISRAEL ONLY
These super-natural divine Holy Spirit power gifts (see 1 Cor. 12-14) were given ONLY TO THE BELIEVERS OF ISRAEL, represented by the apostles.
They were under the ‘Old Covenant’ which was the Mosaic Law, and they had been offered the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus. To secure forgiveness of sins and transgressions which had been committed when they had been under the Law….ref. Heb. 9:15. And Acts 13:39.
The Law with its decrees and ordinances had been the main doctrine of faith, together with the New Covenant, in the entire timeline of Acts history 28-62 AD.
This ultimately leads us to conclude that NO HOLY SPIRIT SIGN GIFTS WERE GIVEN TO ANYONE except he was a Jew, eventually a proselyte in the Messianic assembly. Paul explains this in 1 Cor. 14:21, 22 that the sign gifts (he used the tongues to tell of all these gifts as signs for Israel) – so that the unbelieving Jews could see and hear these signs and take to the faith in Christ.
That is also why Mark 16:17, 18 clearly refers to multiple signs, not only the sign of tongues,
“And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; They will pick up serpents; and (even) if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well.” Ampl. Bible.
When coming to Paul and Ephesians and Colossians, we cannot find any clues of these gifts in operation whatsoever. It is entirely changed due to the fall of Israel in Acts 28:25-28.
God no longer had a nation (Israel) on earth to which He had given the Law. And Rom. 2:14 says clearly that Gentiles HAD NOT THE LAW.
That is why we cannot find anything concerning the Law in Ephesians/Colossians. We have been given the free Grace Gospel of Christ, and the Law is abolished, it has been ‘littered’ and cast into the litter grinder…for good. It is never coming back.
But Christ, at His Second Advent, shall establish an entirely NEW LAW as He shall reign in the millennial Kingdom (Isa. 2:1-5).
If the Law of Moses has been abolished, then there are NO PACT OR COVENANT between the Church and God. Christianity has been in total error also in this matter. They have propagated that the Church has a covenant with God. But that is a lie. We are free and we are saved by faith alone, without any ceremonial works, it is a gift of God.
Eph. 2:8, 9 is Paul’s non-negotiable doctrine of faith for the Church,
“For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved, through faith. And this is not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God. – Not because of works (not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands), lest any man should boast.”
www.gracepano.com
