The day of Christ, “The end of the church age, the rapture of the Body of Christ is taken out of the way of the wrath which is to come” reference is found only in Paul’s epistles, were as The day of the Lord starts in Isaiah chapter 2 goes through almost all the books being mentioned through the Gospel’s skipping Paul’s epistles picking back up in Peter and in Revelation.
Dispensationally keep information where it belongs and don’t combine these things
Day of Christ
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant,
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Co 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Tit_2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; [Jesus is God]
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. “The rapture”
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. “The rapture”
2Co 1:14 As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. “The rapture”
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Php 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. “The rapture”
The Day of the Lord
1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1Th 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
1Th 5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
1Th 5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
1Th 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
1Th 5:16 Rejoice evermore.
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1Th 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
1Th 5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Jesus was God (Jehovah, YHWH) in the flesh for the BIBLE says He WAS. (If a=c and b=c then a=b) compare what Jehovah says to what Jesus says and you will see for yourself.
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(Act 17:24 KJV) God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:24-25
God that made the world and all ... therein — The most profound philosophers of Greece were unable to conceive any real distinction between God and the universe. Thick darkness, therefore, behooved to rest on all their religious conceptions. To dissipate this, the apostle sets out with a sharp statement of the fact of creation as the central principle of all true religion - not less needed now, against the transcendental idealism of our day.
seeing he is Lord — or Sovereign.
of heaven and earth — holding in free and absolute subjection all the works of His hands; presiding in august royalty over them, as well as pervading them all as the principle of their being. How different this from the blind Force or Fate to which all creatures were regarded as in bondage!
dwelleth not in temples made with hands — This thought, so familiar to Jewish ears (1Ki_8:27; Isa_66:1, Isa_66:2; Act_7:48), and so elementary to Christians, would serve only more sharply to define to his heathen audience the spirituality of that living, personal God, whom he “announced” to them.
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:24
God that made the world, &c.] Better, The God, &c., which is specially needed when the neuter pronouns are read in the previous verse.
This was no Epicurean god, who dwelt apart and in constant repose; nor was the world a thing of chance as those philosophers taught, but God’s own handiwork, and all things in it were of His creation.
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth] And therefore supreme possessor and disposer of all that is therein.
dwelleth not in temples made with hands] Of which Athens had some of the most renowned in the world. A special interest attaches to these words as being so like those of Stephen (Act_7:48). If true of the temple at Jerusalem, a fortiori, it is true of all Christian churches.
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:24
God that made the world - The main object of this discourse of Paul is to convince them of the folly of idolatry Act_17:29, and thus to lead them to repentance. For this purpose he commences with a statement of the true doctrine respecting God as the Creator of all things. We may observe here:
(1) That he speaks here of God as the Creator of the world, thus opposing indirectly their opinions that there were many gods.
(2) He speaks of him as the Creator of the world, and thus opposes the opinion that matter was eternal; that all things were controlled by Fate; and that God could be confined to temples. The Epicureans held that matter was eternal, and that the world was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms. To this opinion Paul opposed the doctrine that all things were made by one God. Compare Act_14:15.
Seeing that ... - Greek: “He being Lord of heaven and earth.”
Lord of heaven and earth - Proprietor and Ruler of heaven and earth. It is highly absurd, therefore, to suppose that he who is present in heaven and in earth at the same time, and who rules over all, should be confined to a temple of an earthly structure, or dependent on man for anything.
Dwelleth not ... - See the notes on Act_7:48.
(Act 17:25 KJV) Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:25
Neither is worshipped with men’s hands - The word here rendered “worshipped” (θεραπέυεται therapeuetai) denotes to “serve”; to wait upon; and then to render religious service or homage. There is reference here, undoubtedly, to a notion prevalent among the pagan, that the gods were fed or nourished by the offerings made to them. The idea is prevalent among the Hindus that the sacrifices which are made, and which are offered in the temples, are consumed by the gods themselves. Perhaps, also, Paul had reference to the fact that so many persons were employed in their temples in serving them with their hands; that is, in preparing sacrifices and feasts in their honor. Paul affirms that the great Creator of all things cannot be thus dependent on his creatures for happiness, and consequently, that that mode of worship must be highly absurd. The same idea occurs in Psa_50:10-12;
For every beast of the forest is mine;
And the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountain;
And the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee;
For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Seeing he giveth - Greek: he having given to all, etc.
Life - He is the source of life, and therefore he cannot be dependent on that life which he has himself imparted.
And breath - The power of breathing, by which life is sustained. He not only originally gave life, but he gives it at each moment; he gives the power of drawing each breath by which life is supported. It is possible that the phrase “life and breath may be the figure hendyades, by which one thing is expressed by two words. It is highly probable that Paul here had reference to Gen_2:7; “And the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” The same idea occurs in Job_12:10;
In whose hand is the life (margin) of every living thing;
And the breath of all mankind.
And all things - All things necessary to sustain life. We may see here how dependent man is on God. There can be no more absolute dependence than that for every breath. How easy it would be for God to suspend our breathing! How incessant the care, how unceasing the providence, by which, whether we sleep or wake - whether we remember or forget him, he heaves our chest, fills our lungs, restores the vitality of our blood, and infuses vigor into our frame! Compare the notes on Rom_11:36.
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:25
neither is worshipped with (served by) men’s hands] The verb implies the sort of service yielded by a steward to his master, or a minister to his King, a service in which the superior is not independent of his inferior, and could not well do without him. This is seen in the next clause. God is not like earthly masters and kings. He gives all, and men can only offer to Him themselves in return. Cp. Psalms 50, 51 for like teaching.
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:25
Neither is worshipped with — ministered unto, served by
men’s hands, as though he needed anything — No less familiar as this thought also is to us, even from the earliest times of the Old Testament (Job_35:6, Job_35:8; Psa_16:2, Psa_16:3; Psa_50:12-14; Isa_40:14-18), it would pour a flood of light upon any candid heathen mind that heard it.
seeing he — He Himself.
giveth to all life, and breath, and all things — The Giver of all cannot surely be dependent for aught upon the receivers of all (1Ch_29:14). This is the culminating point of a pure Theism.
(Act 17:26 KJV) And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:26-27
and hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth — Holding with the Old Testament teaching, that in the blood is the life (Gen_9:4; Lev_17:11; Deu_12:23), the apostle sees this life stream of the whole human race to be one, flowing from one source [Baumgarten].
and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation — The apostle here opposes both Stoical Fate and Epicurean Chance, ascribing the periods and localities in which men and nations flourish to the sovereign will and prearrangements of a living God.
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:26
And hath made of one blood - All the families of mankind are descended from one origin or stock. However different their complexion, features, or language, yet they are derived from a common parent. The word blood is often used to denote “race, stock, kindred.” This passage affirms that all the human family are descended from the same ancestor; and that, consequently, all the variety of complexion, etc., is to be traced to some other cause than that they were originally different races created. See Gen. 1; compare Mal_2:10. The design of the apostle in this affirmation was probably to convince the Greeks that he regarded them all as brethren; that, although he was a Jew, yet he was not enslaved to any narrow notions or prejudices in reference to other people. It follows from the truth here stated that no one nation, and no individual, can claim any pre-eminence over others in virtue of birth or blood. All are in this respect equal; and the whole human family, however they may differ in complexion, customs, and laws, are to be regarded and treated as brethren. It follows, also, that no one part of the race has a right to enslave or oppress any other part, on account of difference of complexion. No one has a right because:
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not colored like his own; and having power
T’ enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause to
Doom and devote him as his lawful prey.
For to dwell ... - To cultivate and until the earth. This was the original command Gen_1:28; and God, by his providence, has so ordered it that the descendants of one family have found their way to all lands, and have become adapted to the climate where he has placed them.
And hath determined - Greek: ὁρίσας horisas. Having fixed, or marked out a boundary. See the notes on Rom_1:4. The word is usually applied to a field. It means here that God “marked out,” or “designated in his purpose,” their future abodes.
The times before appointed - This evidently refers to the dispersion and migration of nations. And it means that God had, in his plan, fixed the times when each country should be settled, and the rise, the prosperity, and the fall of each nation. The different continents and islands have not, therefore, been settled by chance, but by a wise rule, and in accordance with God’s arrangement and design.
And the bounds of their habitation - Their limits and boundaries as a people. By customs, laws, inclinations, and habits he has fixed the boundaries of their habitations, and disposed them to dwell there. We may learn:
(1) That the revolutions and changes of nations are under the direction of infinite wisdom;
(2) That people should not be restless and dissatisfied with the place where God has located them;
(3) That God has given sufficient limits to all, so that it is not needful to invade others; and,
(4) That wars of conquest are evil.
God has given to people their places of abode, and we have no right to disturb those abodes, or to attempt to displace them in a violent manner. This strain of remark by the apostle was also opposed to all the notions of the Epicurean philosophers, and yet so obviously true and just that they could not gainsay or resist it.
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:26
and hath made of one blood] All the best MSS. omit the word “blood.” And this seems to bring out more fully what the Apostle desires to dwell on; the Fatherhood of God. It is not that men are all of one family and so all equal in God’s eyes, and ought to be in the eyes of one another. But when we read “they are made of One” we are carried back to the higher thought of the prophet (Mal_2:10), “Have we not all one Father?” This was a philosophy not likely to be acceptable to the Athenians among whom the distinction between Greeks and Barbarians was as radical as that which has grown up in America between white man and “nigger,” or between Europeans and natives in India.
for to dwell on all the face of the earth] For His children the Father provided a home.
and hath determined the times before appointed] The word προστεταγμένους has more authority than προτεταγμένους and gives a better sense. The times (rather seasons) are appointed unto men, but it is not so clear what “before-appointed” could mean. Read “And hath determined their appointed seasons.” (So R. V.) The “seasons” referred to are those which God has ordained for seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, day and night, which are fixed by his decree and make the earth a fitting abode for men.
and the bounds of their habitation] i.e. where they can dwell and where they cannot.
(Act 17:27 KJV) That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:27
That they should seek the Lord — That is the high end of all these arrangements of Divine Power, Wisdom, and Love.
if haply they might feel after him — as men groping their way in the dark.
and find him — a lively picture of the murky atmosphere of Natural Religion.
though he be not far from every one of us — The difficulty of finding God outside the pale of revealed religion lies not in His distance from us, but in our distance from Him through the blinding effect of sin.
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:27
that they should seek the Lord] The best authorities read “seek God.” This was the lesson which God meant His creation and providence to teach, that through His works men should see Him.
if haply they might feel after him, and find him] The world was to be man’s book in which he should read God’s power and love; thus stimulated, a desire to know more might grow, and by efforts, which the graphic word of the Apostle compares to the exertion of one groping in the dark, more knowledge would come, and at last the full discovery would be made. God would be found. He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
though he be not far from every one of us] And so can reveal Himself according to the measure of zeal shewn by those who seek Him.
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:27
That they should seek the Lord - Greek: to seek the Lord. The design of thus placing them on the earth - of gang them their habitation among his works - was, that they should contemplate his wisdom in his works, and thus come to a knowledge of his existence and character. All nations, though living in different regions and climates, have thus the opportunity of becoming acquainted with God, Rom_1:19-20. The fact that the nations did not thus learn the character of the true God shows their great stupidity and wickedness. The design of Paul in this was doubtless to reprove the idolatry of the Athenians. The argument is this: “God has given to each nation its proper opportunity to learn his character. Idolatry, therefore, is folly and wickedness, since it is possible to find out the existence of the one God from his works.”
If haply - εἰ ἄρα γε ei ara ge. If perhaps - implying that it was possible to find God, though it might be attended with some difficulty. God has placed us here that we may make the trial, and has made it possible thus to find him.
They might feel after him - The word used here ψηλαφήσειαν psēlaphēseian means properly “to touch, to handle” Luk_24:39; Heb_12:18, and then to ascertain the qualities of an object by the sense of touch. And as the sense of touch is regarded as a certain way of ascertaining the existence and qualities of an object, the word means “to search diligently, so that we may know distinctly and certainly.” The word has this sense here. It means “to search diligently and accurately for God, to learn his existence and perfections.” The Syriac renders it, “That they may seek for God, and find him from his creatures.”
And find him - Find the proofs of his existence. Become acquainted with his perfections and laws.
Though he be not far ... - This seems to be stated by the apostle to show that it was possible to find him; and that even those who were without a revelation need not despair of becoming acquainted with his existence and perfections. He is near to us:
(1) Because the proofs of his existence and power are round about us everywhere, Psa_19:1-6.
(2) Because he fills all things in heaven and earth by his essential presence, Psa_139:7-10; Jer_23:23-24; Amo_9:2-4; 1Ki_8:27. We should learn then:
(1) To be afraid of sin. God is present with us, and sees all.
(2) He can protect the righteous. He is always with them.
(3) He can detect and punish the wicked. He sees all their plans and thoughts, and records all their doings.
(4) We should seek him continually. It is the design for which he has made us; and he has given us abundant opportunities to learn his existence and perfections.
(Act 17:28 KJV) For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:28
for in him we live] i.e. through or by Him. All our existence is through His care, therefore He must be near to all of us. The preposition is rendered by in Act_17:31, “By that man whom he hath ordained.”
and move] More literally, are moved. The word does not refer to the motion of persons from place to place, but to those internal movements of the mind and spirit of which the outward actions are the effect. St Paul means that the feelings of men are acted on by God, who speaks to the heart through all nature if men will but hearken. This is the truth of which Pantheism is the caricature.
your own poets have said] The words are a quotation from Arâtus, Phænomena, 5, and are also found in Cleanthes, Hymn to Jupiter, 5. Arâtus was a native of Cilicia, and St Paul may in consequence be supposed to have known of his writings as of those of a fellow-countryman. By quoting from their own literature to the Athenians, St Paul illustrates his own declaration that in his labours “he became all things to all men.” Such a quotation was also very well devised for arresting the attention of these cultivated hearers, and winning it may be some consideration for the speaker, as also being a man of culture.
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:28
For in him we live - The expression “in him” evidently means by him; by his originally forming us, and continually sustaining us. No words can better express our constant dependence on God. He is the original fountain of life, and he upholds us each moment. A similar sentiment is found in Plautus (5, 4,14): “O Jupiter, who dost cherish and nourish the race of man; by whom we live, and with whom is the hope of the life of all men” (Kuinoel). It does not appear, however, that Paul designed this as a quotation; yet he doubtless intended to state a sentiment with which they were familiar, and with which they would agree.
And move - κινούμεθα kinoumetha. Doddridge translates this, “And are moved.” It may, however, be in the middle voice, and be correctly rendered as in our version. It means that we derive strength to move from him; an expression denoting “constant and absolute dependence.” There is no idea of dependence more striking than that we owe to him the ability to perform the slightest motion.
And have our being - καὶ ἐσμέν kai esmen. And are. This denotes that our “continued existence” is owing to Him. That we live at all is his gift; that we have power to move is his gift; and our continued and prolonged existence is his gift also. Thus, Paul traces our dependence on him from the lowest pulsation of life to the highest powers of action and of continued existence. It would be impossible to express in more emphatic language our entire dependence On God.
As certain also - As some. The sentiment which he quotes was found substantially in several Greek poets.
Of your own poets - He does not refer particularly here to poets of Athens, but to Greek poets who had written in their language.
For we are also his offspring - This precise expression is found in Aratus (“Phaenom.,” v. 5), and in Cleanthus in a hymn to Jupiter. Substantially the same sentiment is found in several other Greek poets. Aratus was a Greek poet of Cilicia the native place of Paul, and flourished about 277 years before Christ. As Paul was a native of the same country it is highly probable he was acquainted with his writings. Aratus passed much of his time at the court of Antigonus Gonatas, king of Macedonia. His principal work was the “Phoenomena,” which is here quoted, and was so highly esteemed in Greece that many learned men wrote commentaries on it. The sentiment here quoted was directly at variance with the views of the Epicureans; and it is proof of Paul’s address and skill, as well as his acquaintance with his auditors and with the Greek poets, that he was able to adduce a sentiment so directly in point, and that had the concurrent testimony of so many of the Greeks themselves. It is one instance among thousands where an acquaintance with profane learning may be of use to a minister of the gospel.
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:28
For in him we live, and move, and have our being — (or, more briefly, “exist”). - This means, not merely, “Without Him we have no life, nor that motion which every inanimate nature displays, nor even existence itself” [Meyer], but that God is the living, immanent Principle of all these in men.
as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring — the first half of the fifth line, word for word, of an astronomical poem of Aratus, a Greek countryman of the apostle, and his predecessor by about three centuries. But, as he hints, the same sentiment is to be found in other Greek poets. They meant it doubtless in a pantheistic sense; but the truth which it expresses the apostle turns to his own purpose - to teach a pure, personal, spiritual Theism. (Probably during his quiet retreat at Tarsus. Act_9:30, revolving his special vocation to the Gentiles he gave himself to the study of so much Greek literature as might be turned to Christian account in his future work. Hence this and his other quotations from the Greek poets, 1Co_15:33; Tit_1:12).
(Act 17:29 KJV) Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:29
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think — The courtesy of this language is worthy of notice.
that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device — (“graven by the art or device of man”). One can hardly doubt that the apostle would here point to those matchless monuments of the plastic art, in gold and silver and costliest stone, which lay so profusely beneath and around him. The more intelligent pagan Greeks no more pretended that these sculptured gods and goddesses were real deities, or even their actual likenesses, than Romanist Christians do their images; and Paul doubtless knew this; yet here we find him condemning all such efforts visibly to represent the invisible God. How shamefully inexcusable then are the Greek and Roman churches in paganizing the worship of the Christian Church by the encouragement of pictures and images in religious service! (In the eighth century, the second council of Nicea decreed that the image of God was as proper an object of worship as God Himself).
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:29
we ought not to think, &c.] As man is of more honour than material things, how far above these must the Godhead be. The Athenians, the Apostle would teach them, had formed not too high but too low a conception of themselves.
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:29
Forasmuch then - Admitting or assuming this to be true. The argument which follows is drawn from the concessions of their own writers.
We ought not to think - It is absurd to suppose. The argument of the apostle is this: “Since we are formed by God; since we are like him, living and intelligent beings; since we are more excellent in our nature than the most precious and ingenious works of art, it is absurd to suppose that the original source of our existence can be like gold, and silver, and stone. Man himself is far more excellent than an image of wood and stone; how much more excellent still must be the great Fountain and Source of all our wisdom and intelligence.” See this thought pursued at length in Isa_40:18-23.
The Godhead - The divinity (τὸ Θεῖον to Theion), the divine nature, or essence. The word used here is an adjective employed as a noun, and does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament.
Is like unto gold ... - All these things were used in making images or statues of the gods. It is absurd to think that the source of all life and intelligence resembles a lifeless block of wood or stone. Even degraded pagan, one would think, might see the force of an argument like this.
Graven - Sculptured; made into an image.
(Act 17:30 KJV) And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:30
And the times of this ignorance - The long period when people were ignorant of the true God, and when they worshipped stocks and stones. Paul here refers to the times preceding the gospel.
God winked at - ὑπεριδὼν huperidōn. Overlooked; connived at; did not come forth to punish. In Act_14:16 it is expressed thus: “Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways” The sense is, he passed over those times without punishing them, as if he did not see them. For wise purposes he suffered them to walk in ignorance that there might be a fair experiment to show what people would do, and how much necessity there was for a revelation to instruct them in the true know edge of God. We are not to suppose that God regarded idolatry as innocent, or the crimes and vices to which idolatry led as of no importance; but their ignorance was a mitigating circumstance, and he suffered the nations to live without coming forth in direct judgment against them. Compare the notes on Act_3:17; Act_14:16.
But now commandeth - By the gospel, Luk_24:47.
All men - Not Jews only, who had been favored with special privileges, but all nations. The barrier was broken down, and the call to repentance was sent abroad into all the earth.
To repent - To exercise sorrow for their sins, and to forsake them. [Change your thinking change your mind.]
Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Eph 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Put On the New Self
Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Col 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Col 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Col 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
If God commands all people to repent, we may observe:
(1) That it is their duty to do it. There is no higher obligation than to obey the command of God.
(2) It can be done. God would not command an impossibility.
(3) It is binding on all. The rich, the learned, the great, the frivolous, are as much bound as the beggar and the slave.
(4) It must be done, or the soul lost. It is not safe to neglect a plain Law of God. It will not be well to die reflecting that we have all our life despised his commands.
(5) We should send the gospel to the pagan. God calls on the nations to repent, and to be saved. It is the duty of Christians to make known to them the command, and to invite them to the blessings of pardon and heaven.
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:30
And the times of this ignorance] There is no pronoun in the original, and the conjunctions are feebly represented by “and.” The sense is more nearly conveyed by “Having however overlooked the times of ignorance.” (Cp. Rom_3:25.) “To wink at” is now used with the meaning of “to connive at.” St Paul, however, only means that God has not imputed to men the errors which they committed in ignorance, but now the case is changed. Men cannot plead ignorance, who have heard of Christ. (Cp. Luk_12:48.)
but now commandeth] If the translation of the first clause be taken as above, the conjunction “but” (which has no Greek representative) is not needed. The best Greek text would be literally translated “He now commandeth men that they all everywhere should repent” (as nearly R. V.). “Repentance” means that they shall amend the lives which hitherto they have lived wrongly through ignorance. (Too change their minds and their thinking)
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:30
the times of this ignorance God winked at — literally (and far better), “overlooked,” that is, bore with, without interposing to punish it, otherwise than suffering the debasing tendency of such worship to develop itself (compare Act_14:16, and see on Rom_1:24, etc.).
but now — that a new light was risen upon the world.
commandeth — “That duty - all along lying upon man estranged from his Creator, but hitherto only silently recommending itself and little felt - is now peremptory.”
all men every where to repent — (compare Col_1:6, Col_1:23; Tit_1:11) - a tacit allusion to the narrow precincts of favored Judaism, within which immediate and entire repentance was ever urged. The word “repentance” is here used (as in Luk_13:3, Luk_13:5; Luk_15:10) in its most comprehensive sense of “repentance unto life.”
(Act 17:31 KJV) Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) Acts 17:31
Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world — Such language beyond doubt teaches that the judgment will, in its essence, be a solemn judicial assize held upon all mankind at once. “Aptly is this uttered on the Areopagus, the seat of judgment” [Bengel].
by that man whom he hath ordained — compare Joh_5:22, Joh_5:23, Joh_5:27; Act_10:42.
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead — the most patent evidence to mankind at large of the judicial authority with which the Risen One is clothed.
(Cambridge Bible) Acts 17:31
because he hath appointed, &c.] The day of judgment had long ago been appointed in God’s foreknowledge, but through Christ man’s resurrection and immortality have been made more clear. He knows now, who knows of Christ, that the Son of Man has been raised up, as the first-fruits of a general resurrection. The rising of Christ proved Him to be divine and stamped His doctrine as true. But a part of that doctrine is (Mat_25:32) “Before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats.” By the resurrection of Jesus, God has given to men assurance that what Jesus taught was true, therefore because of the judgment which Christ foretold, men should repent everywhere, for the whole world shall be judged.
It is worth while to notice how St Paul’s argument advances through its various stages. He speaks first of God as the Creator of the world and of men, and of the ordinances which He has made for man’s abode on earth. Then he argues that all this should inspire men with the thought that as they are more worthy than material things, so God is far exalted above men. This ought to have led them to seek after Him, and even in the darker days those who sought could find Him. But now the days of God’s revelation through nature are at an end. He has spoken through that Son of Man whom the resurrection proved to be the Son of God. Through Him will God judge the world, for which judgment men should prepare themselves by repentance.
It may be that at this point the Apostle’s speech was stopped. Neither party among the hearers would have any sympathy with the doctrine of a resurrection and a final judgment. Had the address been completed, St Paul would have probably spoken in more definite language of the life and work of Jesus.
(Albert Barnes) Acts 17:31
Because he hath appointed a day - This is given as a reason why God commands people to repent. They must be judged; and if they are not penitent and pardoned, they must be condemned. See the notes on Rom_2:16.
Judge the world - The whole world - Jews and Gentiles.
In righteousness - According to the principles of strict justice.
Whom he hath ordained - Or whom he has constituted or appointed as judge. See the Act_10:42 notes; Joh_5:25 notes.
Hath given assurance - Has afforded evidence of this. That evidence consists:
(1) In the fact that Jesus declared that he would judge the nations Joh_5:25-26; Matt. 25; and,
(2) God confirmed the truth of his declarations by raising him from the dead, or gave his sanction to what the Lord Jesus had said, for God would nor work a miracle in favor of an impostor.
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
God changed His thinking, He changed His Mind that is the Bible meaning of REPENTANCE and nothing else for all other explinations is made up by man.
Sovereign is a political word God would not stoop to be sovereigh HES GOD a John Calvan and Augustine word.
Immutable is a word that says …unchanging over time or unable to be changed. GOD CHANGED HIS MIND AND CAN AT ANY TIME.
Exo 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Exo 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
GOD IS GOD and will do HIS WILL, even when His friend asks Him to rethink something GOD IS GOD!!!!
Repentance is not turning from sin. Repentance is not sorry for sin; it’s changing the direction of ones thinking in the mind and then doing it. Refocusing your direction singularly never looking back.
Act 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Tells of His Conversion
Act 26:12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
Act 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
Act 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Act 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18 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. Act 26:19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
Act 26:20 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.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; [in the gospel of GRACE]
God's Wrath on Unrighteousness
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
It’s not stopping the bad things you’re doing, it changing your thoughts to do them, change your thinking of those things. You turn from that reprobate mind that produces the thoughts to do them, change your thinking.
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. [bad thinking process going on]
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
(JEWS as well as the GENTILES) The Jews have fallen from Gods protection at the stoning of Stephen. for they are Jesus Christ enemy, yet God is not through with them because of the covenant promise to Abraham; therefore they at this time are in Gods eyes the same as the lost Gentiles {unrighteous} for if they die without The Spirit of Christ in them just as the lost Gentiles then all are on the broad road to destruction forever, and salvation for them, at this time in this dispensation of Grace, must come the same way as it does to the Gentiles, as in 1st Corinthians 15:1>4
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (Those without the risen Christ)
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Those with the Spirit of the risen Christ)
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Believers are in the Body of Christ by His Spirit and sealed by the Father), if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
No One Is Righteous without Christ
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Rom 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Rom 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Rom 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Rom 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
Rom 3:17 And the way of peace have they not known:
Rom 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [not through repentance or water baptism]
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not (doing things to earn your salvation), but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [Believe only + nothing]
Mankind has made a mockery out of God and His WILL for LOST People of the world, Yes God chose a man to make covenant/contract with if he did certain things then God would do certain promises yet out of man’s pride he became self-righteous, stiff-necked and hard-headed in their position with Him, God. They did everything their way, ignoring the Will of God. After having their sent Messiah / King, killed by the Romans they had One Last Chance to repent from their rebellion from God as a nation, and that was at the Stoning of Steven by the people representing their nation. their for they had fallen from Gods's Righteousness and became as another people called Gentiles with great sin over them which could only be removed by Paul’s Gospel of GRACE for their own law had condemned them all. The Jews as a nation had become just as any lost Gentile.
When Stephen saw Jesus in heaven stand up, this was the beginning of a new era of time set in motion by The Risen Christ. Christ called the worst enemy of His Jewish converts of Believers in Jesses Gospel of the Kingdom of God a blasphemer of that Jewish church of believers.
The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus was the beginning of the New Dispensation of the Grace of God outside of the Mosaic Law. Changing the dispensation of law to that of the Grace of God was unknown to the Jews who were steeped in the Law of Moses so deeply for the legalistic views of the Jews in their eyes had to be paramount in their religion and nothing could be a hindrance to that lifestyle of their nation.
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