Acts
Bible Study
Lesson 31
Acts 19:8—10 Paul in Ephesus
¥ After PaulÕs encounter with the 12 men who had been baptized with the baptism of John, he stays in Ephesus and is found preaching in the synagogue.
- He is able to use this time in the synagogue to reason and persuade the Jews of things pertaining the Kingdom of God.
- There were some who hated Paul and put pressure on him to leave the synagogue.
- After three
months of training Paul left and went to the school
of Tyrannus to continue his teaching.
¥ He stayed in Ephesus for two years so that everyone in
Asia heard the Word of the Lord.
¥ On PaulÕs second missionary journey God forbade him from entering
Asia but instead directed him directly to Troas and into Macedonia and Greece.
¥ He probably wrote 1 & 2 Corinthians (1 Corinthians
16:8) and possibly Galatians while in Ephesus (55 A.D.). It would take as long
as 15 more years before the sign gifts would completely end when God is done
dealing with Israel. We know He was done dealing with Israel at least by the
time of the destruction of the temple (70 A.D.).
The Kingdom of God
¥ We see in verse 8 that Paul was teaching things about the Kingdom of God. This raises the question about what Kingdom did Paul teach. Was it the Kingdom that Jesus taught in the Gospels? Was there another Kingdom separate from the Millennial Kingdom?
¥ There are three phrases that we need to study:
- Kingdom of Heaven
- Kingdom of God
- Kingdom of Christ
¥ The Kingdom
of Heaven is a phrase used only in Matthew and refers to the heavenly rule of
Christ on earth that will occur at the Second Coming and usually called the
Millennial Kingdom.
Revelation
11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
" The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His
Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."
- Entrance
into the Millennial Kingdom seems to be performance based
Matthew 5:20 "For I say to you
that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you
will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew
7:21
" Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
- The Kingdom
will be on earth and the old Testament Saints will be a part of it.
Matthew
8:11
"I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the
table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
- Those
entering the Millennial Kingdom include Old Testament saints, believers and
martyrs coming out of the Tribulation and ÒsheepÓ nations.
Matthew 25:33—34 33and He
will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34"Then
the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
-- These sheep nations include people who are not necessarily believers. Not everyone in the Kingdom will be a believer, which is why Christ will be ruling with a rod of iron.
-- ItÕs interesting to note that the Kingdom was prepared AT the foundation of the world. We in the Church, the Body of Christ were chosen BEFORE the foundation of the world. Israel is in sight when the view is looking at the foundation of the world but the Body of Christ is in sight when the view is before the foundation of the world.
- Peter and
the twelve will have a ruling function in the Millennial Kingdom. This function
would not be needed if everyone in the Kingdom were a believer.
Matthew
16:19
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind
on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall
have been loosed in heaven."
Luke 22:30 that you (disciples) may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging
the twelve tribes of Israel.
- It appears, then, that those alive at the Second Coming and have done works of righteousness (but are not saved) along with those who were declared righteous (are truly saved) will enter the Millennial Kingdom. Also those who have died before the Second Coming and are saved will be able to enter the Millennial Kingdom. This does not apply to those in the Body of Christ who have already experienced the Rapture. At the end of ChristÕs 1,000-year reign those who follow Satan in his rebellion will be cast into hell and only true believers will remain to go into the Eternal State.
Matthew 25:45 seems to say the goat nations will go away into eternal punishment and the sheep nations to eternal life, however, there are certainly individuals within the goat nations who will be saved and see eternal life and there will certainly be individuals within the sheep nation who will go away into eternal punishment. This would be likened to the evil nations who were to be destroyed by Israel in the Old Testament. There were certainly some saved within these evil nations who will see eternal live. Nations are judged in a different manner than individuals.
God has
judged nations in the past. Old Testament history is replete with instances of
God's judgment upon Babylon, MedoPersia, Greece, and
Rome. His judgment of nations does not necessarily affect the personal
salvation of people within those nations. There may have
been some saved people in Babylon when it was destroyed. And there doubtless
will be some saved people in those nations which will
be classified as "goats" in this coming judgment. God is going to
save Israel as a nation, but there will be many apostate rebels in Israel who
will be destroyed. In the present dispensation God's direct dealings are with
individuals and only with nations in a providential way. In Old Testament times
He dealt with the nations directly as well as with individuals and He will do
so again in the coming Kingdom. The "sheep" nations do not receive
personal salvation simply because they were kind to the Jews, for no sinner
will ever be justified by his works: these nations are permitted to enter into
the earthly Kingdom of Christ as nations because of their treatment of Israel.
As to individuals, no doubt all out of every nation who oppose and reject the
Lordship and Kingship of Christ will be destroyed from off the face of the
earth. Charles F. Baker A Dispensational
Theology pp 609—610
¥ Paul is the
only one who speaks of the Kingdom of Christ. This particular kingdom refers
specifically to those who are in the Body of Christ.
Ephesians
5:5 For
this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man,
who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Colossians
1:13
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the
kingdom of His beloved Son,
- Just as the Day of Christ (Philippians 1:6, 10) refers to the Rapture of the Body of Christ, the Kingdom of Christ is referencing those who are in the Body of Christ and distinct from those who will be in the Kingdom of heaven.
¥ The term Kingdom of God is used 65 times in the Gospels, 6 times in Acts and 8 times in PaulÕs epistles. The Kingdom of God is more general in nature and includes the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Christ.
The
invariable use of the phrase Òkingdom of God,Ó never Òkingdom of heavenÓ
suggests that, for the most part in this area of Biblical history, the teaching
deals with the Kingdom in its more universal aspect, i.e., as including the
Mediatorial [Millennial] Kingdom and the Church, both of which must be regarded
as within the Kingdom of God.
Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of
the Kingdom, page 425
-
In Matthew, Mark and Luke the term Kingdom of God often refers specifically to
the Millennial Kingdom.
Mark 9:1 And Jesus
was saying to them, " Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing
here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has
come with power." (The
Transfiguration)
Mark 1:15 and saying, " The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the
gospel." (Compare
with Matthew 3:2 where the same Kingdom is called the Kingdom of Heaven).
Luke 6:20And turning His gaze
toward His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who are poor, for
yours is the kingdom of God. (Compare with Matthew 5:3)
Luke 9:2 And He sent them out to
proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. (Compare with
Matthew 10:7)
-
In the book of John, the Kingdom of God is referred to in a spiritual sense.
The unbeliever is able to physically enter the Millennial Kingdom but only the
spiritually regenerated person can become a part of the spiritual kingdom of
believers called the Kingdom of God.
John 3:3, 5 3Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say
to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
- PaulÕs usage of the tern Kingdom of God is usually in the spiritual sense.
-
He does use it in the physical sense a couple of times.
2 Timothy 4:1—2 1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who is to judge the living and the dead, and
by His appearing and His kingdom: 2preach
the word; be ready in season and out of
season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience
and instruction.
I
believe Paul is telling Timothy that manÕs time is short, that there is coming
a final judgment so be faithful in your preaching.
2 Timothy 4:18 The Lord
will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly
kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
As Paul is anticipating the end of his life on earth he is looking forward to his life in heaven. Those in the Church, the Body of Christ have a heavenly hope (Philippians 3:20 Éour citizenship is in heaven).
¥ Conclusion: The term Kingdom of God can have at least three specific meanings.
- The physical Kingdom that will be set up on earth with Jesus Christ as King (Millennial Kingdom).
- The spiritual realm of Kingdom believers (those who were saved under the Kingdom program beginning with John (Luke 16:16).
- The spiritual realm of Body believers (those who were saved under the Mystery program beginning with the conversion of Paul).
Note: There is also the Eternal State at the end of all time when heaven, the world and Jerusalem are reformed and made perfect. In this Kingdom Christ will rule forever and all those in this Kingdom have been declared righteous. This particular Kingdom does not seem to be in view in the Gospels, Acts and the Pauline Epistles but it is mentioned in Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13.
Acts 19:11—20 Paul continues in Ephesus
¥ PaulÕs ministry in Ephesus continues to build momentum. There were tremendous miracles of healings and exorcism. That got the peopleÕs attention and gave Paul an opportunity to share Christ.
¥ Along with these exciting events were seven sons of a Jewish Chief Priest trying to gain their own power among the people by imitating PaulÕs power of exorcism. Unfortunately for them the demons did not recognize their authority and the evil spirit overpowered these seven, beat them bloody and stripped them naked. This further glorified God and caused a fear among the people because of this power demonstrated in the person of PaulÕs preaching.
¥ It was because of this incident that those who were practicing magic (sorcery) renounced what they were doing and burned their books of magic. The total value of these materials was 50,000 pieces of silver (one piece was approximately a dayÕs wage).
Acts 19:21—22 PaulÕs plans after Ephesus
¥ Paul yearned to go to both Jerusalem and Rome. I believe Paul purposed it in his own spirit and not overtly by the Spirit of God, although the Holy Spirit certainly could have planted this desire within Paul.
¥ He had sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him so he would be able to minister to those in the region of Asia a little longer. (See 1 Corinthians 4:17—21)
¥ He was then going to go back to Jerusalem and from there go to Rome. Little did he know that his trip to Rome would be courtesy of the Roman military.
Acts 19:23—41 Riot in Ephesus
¥ Paul ended up in the middle of a riot while in Ephesus. He was preaching the true God and taking business away from those who made moneymaking idols of Artemis (Diana).
¥ The town clerk finally calmed the crowd down and Paul went on his way.
Originally taught at Bethesda Sunday School June 6, 2009
For previous notes and additional mid-Acts materials please visit www.MidActsTruths.com