Jehoshua is on the throne of David in New Jerusalem and He is the King of a New Israel
The Gospel preached in the book of Acts part 1
The book of Acts is a Church manual as far as a way of life for the Church as a community and also in terms of what gospel preaching looks like and the contents thereof. Let's dive into some of the sermons preached in the book of Acts: Acts 2:14-39 (ASV) 14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words.15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is [but] the third hour of the day.16but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel:17And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams:18Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.19And I will show wonders in the heaven above, And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:20The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of the Lord come, That great and notable day.21And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.22Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know;23him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay:24whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.25For David saith concerning him, I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:26Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope:27Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption.28Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance.29Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day.30Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set [one] upon his throne;31he foreseeing [this] spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.32This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses.33Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.34For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,35Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.36Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.37Now when they heard [this,] they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?38And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.39For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. This is the first sermon preached after the resurrection and ascension of Jehoshua Messiah into heaven. This sermon preached by Peter took place on the day of Pentecost, celebrated 50 days after the first Sabbath that falls after the Passover feast. Jews and proselytes from several nations were in attendance in Jerusalem to keep the feast. This was 10 days after Jehoshua's last appearance to His disciples. The Son of God had instructed the disciples that they should not depart Jerusalem in order to wait for the promise of the Father which was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. One of the main purposes of this Holy Spirit baptism was to preach the gospel throughout the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). Verses 1-13 detail the Pentecost experience resulting in the gift of tongues being given to the disciples. It is clear that these tongues were foreign languages as the men from every nation under heaven understood the preaching in their own languages. After the accusation of drunkenness, Peter addresses the multitude who had gathered together after hearing this miraculous occurrence. Peter cites Joel chapter 2 letting the crowd know that what they were witnessing was a prophetic fulfillment of Jehovah God's very own words by the prophet Joel. In quoting Joel 2, Peter is acknowledging that the last days has begun and that Jehovah is now pouring His Spirit out on all flesh both men and women. Jehoshua was referring back to Joel 2 when He told His disciples to wait for the promise of the Father. That promise was that the Father (Jehovah) would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Now going to verse 22, Peter starts his gospel discourse and the first thing he says is that Jehoshua was a man approved by God. He makes no mention of the hypostatic union or Jehoshua being some kind of God-man. He said that the miracles, signs and wonders which were a part of Jehoshua's ministry were wrought by God who did them through the Messiah. It was God doing the works through the Son of God. This is the first gospel sermon after the resurrection and ascension of Jehoshua Messiah so we must pay attention to what Peter preaches as being the actual gospel truth. First important truth is that Jehoshua is a man. Again, no mention of Him being a God-man or God or a hypostatic union. We also know that God approved of Jehoshua and that the miracles that Jehoshua performed were actually wrought by God the Father. In other words Jehoshua didn't do them on His own. These points are essential to highlight when we preach the gospel. The reference to Jehoshua being approved by God refers to His baptism. Our gospel preaching must speak of Jehoshu's baptism and subsequent ministry. Verse 23, Peter hearkens to Psalm 2:1-3 by saying that Jehoshua was delivered up to be persecuted and killed and that it was by God's foreknowledge and counsel that this took place. There are a few scriptures that we can go to that speak of what Peter is talking about in verse 23. Psalm 2:1-3 (ASV) 1Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing?2The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, [saying],3Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. David had prophesied long ago that Jehoshua would be opposed by the rulers and kings of the earth. In doing so, these rulers would actually be going against Jehovah God. 1 Peter 1:18-21 (ASV) 18knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers;19but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, [even the blood] of Christ:20who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of times for your sake,21who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God. Just as Peter said in verse 23 of Acts 2, Jehovah had predestined these events of Jehoshua's persecution and death before the world began. Ephesians 1 11in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; Jehovah God works all things according to the counsel of His own will including the persecution and death of His Son. In Acts 4 verses 25-27 the Church repeats Peter's sentiment in verse 23 of Acts as they in worship to God qoute Psalm 2:1-2. Acts 4:24-28 (ASV) 24 And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, O Lord, thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is:25 who by the Holy Spirit, [by] the mouth of our father David thy servant, didst say, Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things?26 The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together, Against the Lord, and against his Anointed:27 for of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together,28 to do whatsoever thy hand and thy council foreordained to come to pass. The above is being sang in worshship by the Church. The early Church was being taught by the apostles that Jehoshua's sufferings and death and exaltation were all connected to the Davidic dynasty and covenant. There was no mention of the virgin birth, trinity or Jehoshua being God. This is important to understand as it shows us what the true gospel is and exposes the mainstream Church as preaching a false gospel (Galatians 1:8-10). The persecution and death of Jehoshua is an essential part of the gospel message. And also it's important to mention that it was lawless men who killed Him, both the Jews who gave Him up and the Romans who did the execution. Verse 24 of Acts 2: "whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." The resurrection of the Messiah is the hope of the gospel and also making it clear that it was God who raised Him from the dead. It was the Father who raised Jehoshua from the dead not Jehoshua raising Himself. Peter later says in His letter that we have been begotten by God to the lively hope of the resurrection. 1 Peter 1:3 (ASV) 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, The resurrection of the only begotten Son is the hope of every believer. Paul also states this: 1 Corinthians 15:12-23 (ASV) 12Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised:14and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain.15Yea, we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised.16For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised:17and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.18Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.19If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.20But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep.21For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead.22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ`s, at his coming. Paul basically said that if Messiah is not resurrected from the dead then we as Christians are of all men most miserable (1 Cor 15:19). Paul said all preaching was vain if Messiah has not been raised from the dead. Paul states that by Adam came death and by man (Jehoshua) came the resurrection and that all (dead saints) will be made alive by resurrection who are in Messiah.
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