4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.

4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

All right, chapter 4: “And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus — “ watch this: “ — the resurrection from the dead.” Now, the Sadducees would have objected to any kind of a resurrection, because the Sadducees didn’t believe in a resurrection.

Take your Bible and turn a little bit later in the Book of Acts, and pick up Acts chapter 23. And in Acts chapter 23, notice in verse 8, the Sadducees didn’t believe in any resurrections. Acts 23:8: “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,...but the Pharisees confess both” resurrection and angels, or spirits. So, if they just preach the resurrection, the Sadducees would get upset. But they’re upsetting the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

And, in Acts chapter 4, verse 2, the thing they’re upset about is this: “Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” Now, that’s the thing they don’t like.

Turn to the Book of Mark, and notice that up till this time, nobody understood what the resurrection from the dead was. Mark 9. Mark 9:9. All Jews understood a resurrection, and all Pharisees understood a resurrection of the dead. But what nobody understood was the resurrection from the dead. Mark 9:9. Mark 9:9: “And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.” Now, “the rising from the dead” — and Christ comes up from the dead — is the surest proof in the world that if you’re premillennial, you have your doctrine right, and if you’re not a premillennialist, you have your doctrine wrong.

And so none of us should be taking Bible lessons from A.T. Robertson or Machen or Warfield because none of them were premillennial. Premillennialism is as important as the virgin birth of Christ and the deity of Christ.

Now, here’s why. Here’s Christ dying on the cross, and here’s everybody waiting for a resurrection of the dead. One general resurrection, one general judgment. When I was in a Southern Baptist church this weekend, I picked up a little pamphlet called “The Baptist Faith and Message,” which I’ve been wanting to get ahold of for a good while. And got me ahold of about five copies of it and brought ‘em back with me, and put ‘em in my files, and it teaches that there’s one general resurrection, one general judgment. And when a Southern Baptist joins the association, they have to subscribe to that creed. That’s called the New Hampshire Confession of Faith. And it’s the teaching that you go along with one general resurrection and one general judgment.

Now...if Christ comes up from the dead, He doesn’t wait for that. He’s up ahead of it. If He’s up ahead of it, then He must be different from the rest of them, see? Now, see how that thing works? You can’t even separate premillennialism with the virgin birth and the resurrection of Christ. If Christ is like any other human being, He’d have waited for the last resurrection — but He didn’t!

Now, if you trust Christ, you know what’s going to happen to you? You’re going to come up ahead of time! You’re going to come up from the dead. You’re not going to wait for the dead to come up.

John says, “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened.” Now, if you trust Christ, you come up from the dead, because your Saviour came up from the dead.

Which means that if you trust Christ, you have so much righteousness, you don’t even have to mess with the last judgment.

Now, that’s what folks hate. Because every unsaved man out there who’s counting on his righteousness to save him is counting on coming up at the end and trying to justify himself, see? So, when you start preaching premillennialism, you’re condemning every unsaved man in the world. Because you’re saying, “I’m gonna come up before the Judgment!”

Well, who do you think you are?

Well, I’m a son of God — who are you?

See?

So, when you get to preaching the resurrection from the dead, you get in hot water. And the disciples are now in hot water. What they’re saying is that the Man they’re following is so righteous, He doesn’t have to wait for the Judgment.

Now, tell that to a Pharisee and see how many friends you make.

All right, Acts 4:2: “Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, — “ that’s no ordination! “ — and put them in hold.” And that’s the slammer; that’s the clink. “Put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.”

Boy, that’s a message! Five thousand converts!

4:5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,

6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

“And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, — “ kinfolk; going to have a business meeting “ — were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day...” look at that thing, man! That’s not the same ol’ Simon Peter that left the fire that night.

QUESTION: Nicodemus isn’t mentioned anywhere in here; is he evidently cut off from Jerusalem, after His friend died and rose again?

ANSWER: He’s not mentioned. He went and begged the body. They probably blackballed him. If you went and got the body of a condemned criminal, they probably threw him out of the Sanhedrin.

QUESTION: What does it mean when it says “filled with the Holy Ghost”?

ANSWER: It means right then, when he opened his mouth, the Lord just gave him a filling. The Lord will do that at times. I think it happens a lot in street preaching. Did you ever notice when you get to preaching on the street what a dizzy thing it is, you know? I mean, you start out, and you’re nervous, it doesn’t look like anything’s going to happen, and you’re scared — nobody’s going to pay a bit of attention, you feel like a blank fool saying anything, you know. Because you know they’re not going to hear it. And you start, and open your mouth, and suddenly, you know, you kind of get stirred up and get going, and the first thing you can’t shut your mouth, and you’re just, “Blah blah blah!” just getting yourself hoarse, man!

And I’ve noticed, too, in preaching, I don’t notice it so much any more, but down on Palifox in the old days, that used to be jam packed down there. And what I’d do sometimes, I’d go down there by myself, and park my car, and then get out in that space, climb the car by myself, and just start. I’m telling you, you’d do that, you feel something around you like a wall of fire. I don’t know what it is, but I never feel it in a pulpit in a church. Never feel it.

But it’s just like somebody just drew a circle around you, and you’re just invulnerable. It almost seems like a guy fired a bullet and hit it, and it just bounced off. Strange thing!

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole.” He didn’t answer their question! They said, “What name have you done this?” He preached them a message.

“Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel.” He addressed the whole bunch of them.

“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel” — see that business? I mean, he’s raising his voice there at all of them, not just the leader.

“That by the name — “ he probably yelled this “ — of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified.” Look at that thing stuck in there! Personal, pointed, preaching, boy! It isn’t like this stuff you hear in these FM stations, you know. “Our sins killed Christ, and if we want to show our love for God, then we should accept Him, and if we receive Him, then we are born again, for the Bible says that we are — “

YOU KILLED HIM!

So that, “You crucified Him!” see? That’s the kind of stuff that makes friends and influences people!

“Whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead.” There’s that resurrection from the dead. They said, “Why are you preaching the resurrection from the dead?”

“Well, we’re supposed to preach it; God did it!”

“Even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.” Of all the things to quote, Simon Peter, the Lord Jesus’ old cussin’, fishin’ buddy had to quote that one! Do you realize what must have happened when he quoted that thing?

Go back to Matthew. Let me show you something. Do you realize what must have happened when he quoted that thing? Of all the things he could have quoted to him, he quoted the stone the builders rejected. Come back to the Book of Matthew, and look what happened when Christ gave that story that Peter quotes. Back here in Matthew chapter 21, 21:42. Of all the things to quote, Jesus read to them, “Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.” Forty-four: “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.” Do you know what the context of that parable is? Verse 41: “He will miserably destroy those wicked men.” Verse 39: “They ... slew him.”

Of all the things Simon Peter quotes, he pulls out the passage where Christ accuses them of getting ready to murder Him, and they knew it. He pulls that one right out and lays it on them.

Acts chapter 4, verse 11: “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Now, it’s all right to use that verse in leading people to Christ; I’d use it, so I could preach off that verse for eternal salvation. All Scripture is given by inspiration; it’s profitable. But in the context in which Peter uses it, he’s talking about political deliverance and deliverance from sin and deliverance from sickness. That fellow was lame from his mother’s womb.

“There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” It’s a good doctrine, though.

4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.

17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.

18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.

20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.

22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.

“Now when they saw the love of Peter and John.” “Now when they saw the nice manners of Peter of John.” “Now when they saw the 2,000 in Sunday school and 100 buses.” “Now when they saw the great church of Peter and John.”

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter of John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Do you know what marks a man as “been with Jesus”? It’s his boldness. Somebody said, the other day a Christian said, “Behold how they love each other!” You didn’t get that from the Bible; you got that from some Roman Catholic book on the history of Rome. You never read that in the Bible.

The thing that marked those early disciples was their boldness. And we got a funny kind of Christianity today that takes all the boldness out, and makes you think the marks of the Spirit-filled person are other things. They’re sweetness, they’re niceness.

A lady here in town said, “You shouldn’t go to Brother Ruckman’s school. He’s not a nice Christian!”

And Brother Rice says, “You shouldn’t go with Ruckman. Good Christians don’t go with him.”

What a slanderous thing to say about the Body of Christ! “Good Christians don’t hang around with Brother Ruckman.” I’ve had a lot of good Christians who were good friends of mine — real good Christians. A lot of them are as good a Christian as John R. Rice or any of his buddies.

The idea of saying, “Good Christians don’t fool with Brother Ruckman”! Roy Clipper is one of the finest Christian men I’ve ever known in my life. He’s been a close friend of mine for twenty-seven years. I resent that dirty, black heart lying about the brethren in Christ like that! Say, “He’s not a nice Christian!” Where’d you read in that Bible you’re supposed to be “nice”? I think you should be, but where does it say it? I mean, you should be, but where is the Scripture that says you should be a “nice” Christian — be “nice,” be “nice”, be “nice”?

Where do you find that word? That’s like that word “fun.” You can’t find that word “fun” anywhere in the Bible. Or that word “nice.” “He’s not nice.”

Well, now, listen, if they had been with Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ was not a butterfly collector, He was a lion tamer! And I thank God that the Lord saved some nice, gentlemanly people, some sweet, refined, kind people, I’m sure — but He saves all kinds! He doesn’t save and call to preach just some nice folks who were raised in a Christian home and had all the breaks coming up. Oh, the Lord, He saved some bums and called them to preach. Ol’ Cyclone Baxter McClinton, gambler 30 years, ol’ Paul Kerkendall, con man, knife fighter, gun fighter 25 years, ol’ Valentine Burke, safe cracker and a thief — saved those kinds! An ol’ wire tapper, Jim Voss — He saves all kinds! Like ol’ DeNopp, an ol’ bootlegger and gangster, up there with Jack “Legs” Diamond and that bunch. The Lord just doesn’t collect nice folks. He collects folks that aren’t nice. There is no respecter of persons with God. The Bible said, “Publicans and harlots go into the Kingdom of God before some of you do.”

Now, if you’re nice, and raised right, and have the breaks and are clean cut, and been living clean all your life, I thank God for you, and more power to you! But don’t get proud about it! Don’t get proud about it. When, but for the grace of God, you could have been a drunken bum and in an insane asylum.

Now, that’s the trouble with some nice folks, they’re so aware of the fact that they’re nice, they start looking around to see who’s nice and who’s not nice. And, as far as sin is concerned, brother, there’s no difference: all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

The only difference between Ted Kennedy and Charles Manson is, Kennedy’s name was Kennedy and Manson’s was Manson. That’s the only difference between them. As far as their sin goes, they’re both sinners.

QUESTION: I was listening on the radio to somebody talking to Billy Graham. And he was telling that Eldridge Cleaver got saved.

ANSWER: Is that right?

QUESTION: He came back from France, and he’s going to take his punishment, and he’s going to jail.

ANSWER: Well, praise the Lord, man! That’d be great. Be great.

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived.” Paul used to pray, and Paul used to say, “Pray for me, that I might open my mouth and speak the word of God with boldness as I ought to speak.” He used to ask for prayer for that.

And “when they saw the boldness of Peter and John.” I mean, that’s quite something to accost a religious leader in your day and put your finger right on them and say, “You’re a bunch of murderers!” That takes some nerve, brother!

Bill Maher is one of those fellows. I mean, that guy just makes me tremble, man! You know what happened to him? You know Bill Maher? He’s got cerebral palsy, he couldn’t speak or handle himself until he was 18 years old intelligently. He couldn’t speak at all until he was about eight years old. And he still bears the marks of cerebral palsy; his hands are a little bit twisted, you know, and he talks out of the corner of his mouth; his tongue lulls. You have to listen to him real carefully to hear him talk. And he’s been preaching now for 25 years.

He’d get up there in the pulpit and say { hardly intelligible} “Take your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter 9.” And you’d think, well, “Boy, God wouldn’t call a guy like that to preach!”

He’s been preaching twenty-five years!

He’s led about 2,000 people to Christ in twenty-five years.

And they called him up to Washington, D.C., the Health, Education and Welfare Department did, to meet with all the Catholic priests, and all the National Council of Churches, to get a welfare program going for cerebral palsy. And, if there’s any man they shouldn’t have called, it had been Bill Maher.

And Bill Maher got up there with 200 Catholic priests and liberals in the National Council of Churches in one of those government buildings, and flew up there — they flew him up there and flew him back — he came in there, and opened his Bible to Matthew 23. { Lots of laughter.} And that bird read that passage. And when he got to read, I mean there wasn’t any discussion of cerebral palsy or nothing. He got through that passage and he said { hardly intelligible} , “Now I want to tell you folks who have come here, you fellows here like to be called ‘Father,’ wearing those long robes, that Bible said you’re twofold the child of hell!”

I’m telling you, brother, they took him bodily out of that building, and took him bodily to the airport and put him on that plane and packed him off! That thing, oh man, they got him out of the building and down in the cab and took him to the airport, and sent him on his way, man!

He don’t care. He don’t care. Go run ‘em down preaching.

Wild, man!

I’ve often thought to myself, what a contrast with Billy Graham. What a contrast, man! Now, Billy Graham’s a nice fellow, and Bill Maher’s not! But I just wonder at the Judgment how those two are going to come out.

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John.” Alex Dunlap was that way. I sure hated to see him die. I’ll tell you, Alex Dunlap had more guts than anybody I had ever seen in my life. I’d drive all over in the car, and he’s got nerve, man! Boy, I’ll tell you, he was preaching in Henniger’s church up there on television, and got up on that little ol’ wafer, and dropped it on the floor and said, “Pardon me, sir!” And then he took off his clothes in front of the camera — Henniger liked to have had a heart attack! And he was showing him this Mormon underwear that he was wearing. And he got down and showed him this Mormon underwear where they bind themselves with a curse and everything. They didn’t invite him back either. That’s the last time he ever came to camp!

But you know, that took nerve, you know that?

Ol’ Alex and I — I was going along in the car one day with Alex, and we were talking about this and that, and he said, “Well, how about this fellow that graduated from your school?” He said, “Would you recommend him?”

I said, “Well, he’s a nice kid, and he loves the Lord, and he’s zealous.” But I said, “I couldn’t trust him with something, personal, private, I couldn’t trust him.”

I said, “Now, I don’t say that about the fellow.” I said, “That’s how I feel about it.”

He said, “Well, don’t talk that way behind his back.”

I said, “Phone him up. And I’ll talk to him with you and me over the same phone.”

And he said, “OK, OK.” He said, “I just want to make sure.” He said, “I don’t ever like to have a guy say something about a guy he wouldn’t say to his face.”

I said, “OK, get the guy, and I’ll say it to his face.”

And that ended the conversation.

But, you don’t find many men that will bring that thing up, you know, when you talk to them. That boy’s got nerve.

We had a meeting in a little church out there across from Philadelphia, over in — I never can remember which side is Pennsylvania and which side is New Jersey, the one side or the other — and we had a meeting in a church out there, and a couple of Catholics got saved. At the end of the service Alex came down and stood up and said, “All right, now, some of you are saved now. You’re born again. Now you’re born again — what’s the first thing you’re going to do? That’s right, you’re going to leave the Catholic Church. That will be the first thing you’re going to do. Now, you’re saved now, and you know Christ. He’s the way, the truth, and the life. And you won’t be a member of a church where the head was a liar, would you? And the Pope is a liar, and you don’t want to be in any church where the head is a liar, do you? Of course you don’t!”

I thought, what a thing to say to a new convert, man! Tell him to get out of his church!

But, who knows, man? Maybe at the Judgment, maybe that’s how it will come in. Billy gets the Catholic convert down there and says, “Join the church of your choice” — go back where you came from. Alex says, “You don’t belong in a church where the head’s a liar — get out!”

Man!

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled.” Now that’s what they’re going to have against you, brethren. What they have going against you is you’re unlearned and ignorant.” { A loud “AMEN” from the class.} That’s what they have against you. They’re going to say, “What right do you have to stand up and talk the way you talk when you ain’t got no education, no book learning?” That’s what they’re going to say. And they’re going to say, “Yes, but it doesn’t mean that. In the original Greek, it means...”

And you tell them, “In the original Greek it means I’m right and you’re wrong!” Tell them that!

And understand that’s why here we try to give you a little refinement. It ain’t much, you know, but you know. We try to put a little English on you, you know, and get you a little culture to you. And make you memorize a little Greek, you know, and work at it, and try to pound through your thick head. And one of the reasons why we try to do that is so, when the chips get down and the cards are stacked, and you get up against it, you’ll be able to give some kind of an account for yourself!

Now, you sure ain’t going to be able to give any account waving a degree in the face. Because, soon as you say, “Pensacola Bible Institute,” they’re going to spit and vomit and have a heart attack and ulcers and the palsy, man! So that ain’t going to do you any good. You’re going to have to defend yourself and defend the word of God, what God gives you.

The thing about it is, nobody’s going to believe you’re learned or educated if all you had was three years at Pensacola Bible Institute. They’re not going to accept it. And they’re not going to accept it unless you have a degree from an accredited institution set up by their people! See? And that’s why you don’t want to worry about it. Because if you went to Springfield, you wouldn’t accepted, because you didn’t go to Tennessee Temple. And if you went to Tennessee Temple, they wouldn’t accept you, because you didn’t go to Bob Jones. And if you went to Bob Jones they wouldn’t pay any attention to you, you know, because you didn’t go to Arlington. And if you went to Arlington, they wouldn’t pay any attention to you, if you didn’t go to Dallas. So it isn’t going to make any difference. Your only hope, brother, is learning that word of God from cover to cover, including the cover, and staying in fellowship with the Lord. And when you got that, then you can stand up and read them the riot act. If they don’t like it, they can lump it.

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men.” In the sense of formal education. They were commercial fishermen.” “They marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Then the thing that marked or characterized a man that had been keeping company with Jesus Christ was his boldness. And they knew it. They knew it.

“And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” Well, then, why not go along with it? That bunch of hypocrites! They had the evidence there, they had the proof — then look what they did!

“But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men?” Why, believe them! That’s the obvious thing to do.

“For that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.” Well, then, why not go along with it? If you can’t deny it and you can’t argue against it, and the proof’s there, and the evidence is there, then why don’t you believe?

But, you’re always up against the Pharisees; no matter how much evidence they get, they still won’t believe.

“But that it spread no further among the people,...” that’s what they’re worrying about... “let us straitly threaten them,...” that’s a fine way to respond to the truth! “...that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.” So, you present the evidence for a King James Bible, and the evidence conclusive, they’re not going to accept it. They’re going to say, “Well, we can’t deny it. That’s right. But I’ll tell you what let’s do. Let’s threaten them! Let’s call them church-splitters and hell-raisers and troublemakers and say, ‘You won’t get a church if you keep on preaching that stuff.’”

See? It’s the same crowd.

“But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” Now, notice back there in verse 7, “By what power and what name have you done this?” The issue is always authority. Did you ever notice that? “By what power and what name?” that kind of business. They don’t want to know the truth; they want to know who sent you, how you qualify, where did you graduate from, have you got your credentials? Are you a qualified authority? Are you a recognized scholar?

“And they ... commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” That’s a great verse for a Christian for a witness: “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” A witness has seen something, and he’s heard something, and he’s not going to be able to keep his mouth shut about it, if it’s from God.

“So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.” Good! The more glory God gets, the better! Right?

“For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.”

4:23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:

25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

“And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said,...” quoting the Psalms... “Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?” Second Advent reference. “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.” Second Advent reference. And they apply it to the First Advent.

“For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.” Now, we’ve got to close here, because there are two things here you need to get, and it will take a little bit of time.

The first one is, notice in verse 26 this expression, “Against the Lord, and ... his Christ.” You see that? You go down there, possessive, “His Christ.” Which implies there might be another one.

Turn to Luke 1, and look at verse 59. Luke 1:59. The word “Christ” is a Greek word “kristos,” which means “anointed.” And the devil is called “the anointed cherub that covereth” in Ezekiel 28. Now, in Luke chapter 1, verse 59 — no, I don’t want that. I want, what is it? 2:26? Maybe that’s it. Yeah, what I want is 2:26. That other one has to do with the child. All right, Luke 2:26: “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” See that? Now the devil has a Christ, and he’s an anointed messiah, and the Lord has a Christ, and he’s Jesus Christ. They’re both Christs. But one of them is the Lord’s, and one of them is the devil’s.

All right, now, the other reference in Luke 1:59 was to show you that Luke, when he writes, often refers to Jesus Christ as a child.

QUESTION: There are two Jesus Christs, right?

ANSWER: Well, there’s another “Jesus,” that’s mythological, that people made up. And the devil is another “Christ;” he’s the devil’s Christ. But I don’t know if he called himself Jesus Christ. I think he will. Yeah, I think he will.

QUESTION: I always thought the devil couldn’t say the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

ANSWER: Why’d you think that?

QUESTION: Oh, I don’t know.

ANSWER: Well, the verse like that says, “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord except by the Holy Ghost.”

QUESTION: So he could say that? He could say that “I am Jesus Christ”?

ANSWER: Yeah, he could pretend to be, or fake to be, and he could say that and lie. That’s saying that no man can honestly say that Jesus is the Lord. No man honestly can state that Jesus Christ is the Lord, God manifest in the flesh, unless the Holy Ghost is putting that thing in his mouth. Even an unsaved man. That’s the Holy Spirit putting it out of his mouth. The devil doesn’t want that information to be disseminated.

QUESTION: Over there in 1 John 4, where it says try the spirits and see if they answer that Christ has come in the flesh, if they can lie, couldn’t he answer yes to that or something, maybe?

ANSWER: Yeah, and then you want to ask the Lord if that spirit confesses. The spirit that just spoke to you. And wait on the Lord to check him right down.

QUESTION: The proper answer is, “Yes, Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.”

ANSWER: Yes. That passage you’re quoting over there in 1 John, that may have a very direct bearing in the Tribulation. It may be when a guy is falsely led and says Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, they’ll be trying to tell you the Antichrist, when he shows up, is Jesus Christ. But the Holy Spirit will witness that Jesus Christ has already come in the flesh and gone. And that isn’t the real one.

What I was talking to you about, brother, was prayer. When you pray, and say, “Lord, the spirit that’s leading me to do this, does that spirit confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Lord, that spirit that just said, ‘Yes,’ does that spirit confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh?”

And sometimes you get a real loud “No.” All right, it’s a lying spirit.

All right, now, on Luke’s use of the word “child,” turn to Luke chapter 1, and look at verse 59, and notice, “They came to circumcise the child.” Luke 1:66: “What manner of child shall this be!” Luke 1:76: “And thou, child.” Luke 1:80: “And the child grew.” Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2, verse 40: “And the child grew.” Luke 2:43: “The child Jesus.” See that business?

Now come back to Acts chapter 4 and look at verse 27. Luke wrote Luke, and Luke wrote Acts. And Acts 4, verse 27, says, “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus.” That word “child” has been altered in all the new bibles to “servant,” to get rid of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.

And the same man who used the expression in his Gospel used it in the Book of Acts. Anybody got an ASV here? A New ASV? How about reading us some of that slop? 4:27, erase the word “child” and write “servant” in that passage. I don’t even have to look it up. I mean, he’ll read “servant” when he reads.

{ Someone from the class reads the verse from the New ASV, and clearly uses the word “servant” instead of “child.”}

There it is! There it is!

Now, read me verse 30, and see if he didn’t do it again. { Reads aloud Acts 4:30 from the New ASV, and again it says “holy servant.”} See that? That’s attacking the virgin birth of Jesus Christ in all the new bibles, including all the ones recommended by John R. Rice and Bob Jones. And not only violates the principles of the fundamentals, it violates the principle of a writer’s style. The use of the word “child” by Luke is used in reference to Jesus Christ more than any other writer, and Luke writes both of these works. Therefore, undoubtedly it is “child,” and the King James is right, and the rest of them are wrong.

QUESTION: Would you run through that “the Lord and his Christ” just one more time please?

ANSWER: Well, I was saying that if it says the Lord and His Christ, it implies that there could be a Christ who wasn’t the Lord’s Christ. And there is a Christ who is not the Lord’s Christ, and that’s the Antichrist. And this word “christ” in the New Testament looks like this in Greek, “kristos,” and in the Old Testament it looks like this, and it’s spelled this way. { Drawing on the board.} Now, both those words in English — see, that’s the Hebrew transliterated { Messiah} , that’s the Greek transliterated { Christ} — and here’s the English: { Drawing on the board “anointed.”} That’s what the word means. So you’ve got “the Lord’s anointed.” Well, the devil is anointed! The devil is called “the anointed cherub that covers” in Ezekiel 28. So the Antichrist is a Christ. He’s just the wrong Christ; he’s not the Lord’s Christ.

QUESTION: How does the word “servant” attack the word in here?

ANSWER: Well, a fellow could be God’s servant without being God’s child. Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant. Abraham was God’s servant. David was God’s servant. But none of them were children of God.

QUESTION: And, by that, the Antichrist will have the name “Jesus”?

ANSWER: I don’t know. I think he’ll probably profess to be Jesus. He’ll profess to be the Lord’s Christ. I’m not sure about that. I’m just guessing. But, I imagine, if I were the devil and really wanted to fool them, I’d come down and show ‘em holes in my hands and holes in my feet. And say, “Be not afraid; it is I.”

When it wasn’t!

QUESTION: Don’t they think of the Lord’s Christ when they hear “servant,” like His divine grace, like this guy from India, this Krishna guy, they call him “His divine grace.”

ANSWER: What’s that got to do with “servant”?

QUESTION: When they say “divine grace,” they’re going to think it’s the Lord’s Christ.

ANSWER: “Divine grace”? Oh, they might. I imagine the Antichrist, when he shows up, he’ll just profess to be God manifest in the flesh. He’ll just say, “I’m God.” That’s it.

QUESTION: Where is a “corner stone” on the Temple?

ANSWER: A corner stone should be on the foundation of one of the corners. The first stone laid, it ought to be on the bottom of the building, on one of the corners. Yeah, but the trouble with that is, this corner stone is called the headstone. And the only building that a headstone could be a cornerstone is a pyramid. Has to be the top. Has to be the capstone. What Christ is saying, He’s saying, here’s a building like this. And you’ve got this building built up all the way up like this, and all you need up here at the top is one more block. And the Lord sends them the block, and they throw it in the river. So, He says, “Next time that stone comes up, it’ll drop straight down; if it hits anybody, it’ll grind them to powder.”

All right, that’s all for tonight.

4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Chapter 4, verse 31. Now, it’ll go a little faster for awhile. it’ll go a little faster through Acts 4, 5, and 6, and slow down in 7, and then it’ll pick up in 8 and 9, and it’ll slow down in 10, and then it’ll pick up in 11, 12, 13, and 14, and slow down in 15. Then it’ll pick up in 16, 17, 18, 19, and then it’ll slow down in 20. There are a number of chapters there that are outstanding, and then some of them, they’re just a narrative.

All right, chapter 4, verse 31.

QUESTION: I’ve got 27 as the last verse you did.

ANSWER: Is it? Now, you all got it marked? Twenty-seven? All right, verse 28: “For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.” There’s the matter of predestination, determinate foreknowledge of God. They were gathered together to do what God’s hand and God’s counsel had determined before to be done.

Now, God determined before that His Son would die on the cross. And God had determined before His Son would be crucified. And that’s apparent by the Old Testament. And God was determined His Son would die for sinners. That’s apparent by the Old Testament. But the whole thing is, it must needs be that offenses come, but woe be to the man by whom they come! So in this case the “woe” is Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles.

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.” That’s what you have to pray for, that is, boldness to speak the word at times. And later on it’ll really get rough.

“By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders” — signs are for Israel — “may be done by the name of thy holy child” — not servant — “child Jesus.” That verse has been changed in all the new Bibles.

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” Now, in Acts chapter 2, the filling was the baptism. Here, it’s not. Now, in Acts chapter 2, the filling and the baptism and the enduement of power were all the same thing. Here, they’re not. And that goes to show there’s one baptism but many fillings. When Paul says, “Be filled with the Spirit,” you can be filled with the Spirit more than once. They were filled with the Holy Ghost in Acts chapter 2. And they’re filled with the Holy Ghost here. Now, a little later, Peter’s speaking up, it says, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said such-and-such.” So there’s one baptism. There’s one initial act of the Holy Spirit that puts you into Christ, but then after that there’s many fillings.

It’s easier to talk in tongues than be filled with the Spirit. And it’s easier to talk in tongues than preach the word of God with boldness. It’s very easy to get in a church full of people like yourself, and “Hubbledy, gubbledy, hobbbly, bobbly, blu-blu-blu-blas-to-la-shantae-ble-ble-ble-ble-ble-bless-the-Lord,” and go out and wait for some new Christian to sack him. That’s an easy way to make a living, brother. That’s a lot easier than getting out there and dealing with those old fellows head on and telling them how to get saved. And you know that from dealing with them.

Now, the Christian should be put in the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit when he’s saved; that’s his baptism. Spirit baptism — one Lord, one faith, one baptism. But there are many fillings. And this time, when they’re filled with the Holy Ghost, they do not speak with other tongues. When they’re filled with the Holy Ghost this time, they spake the word of God with boldness.

“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” Now that’s the verse that Karl Marx used for his doctrine — communism. And, from that verse, he claimed Biblical authority for it, although he wasn’t a Bible believer himself. They have to go to the Bible to get proof texts. And from that comes from communism and communal, and commune and common market, and all that stuff. There are some of those words you want to look out for; they’re all aimed towards the Antichrist, all those words like that.

And the difference between this communism and Karl Marx’s is, Karl Marx’s was forced, this is voluntary. Karl Marx is for race and classes; this is for Christians. Every person who shared his property here did it voluntarily, and every person here believed the Bible and was saved. That isn’t Marx. That isn’t Karl Marx, and that isn’t Lenin, and that isn’t Trotsky and Engels and the rest of the meatheads.

“And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet.” Now the Bible doesn’t speak anywhere directly about the New Testament church being the storehouse. And so I don’t make the New Testament church the Old Testament storehouse. But, still it is a point of collection. And the point of collection here is the local church.

“And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite,...” they knew what tribe he was from... “and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Now the thing that’s so significant about that is that fellow’s tribe. What tribe was that? That’s the priest that took care of the Tabernacle. Now, you know what he is doing? He’s coming just like anybody else, and putting in like anybody else, and join up like anybody else. You know what that shows an intelligent reader? The Old Testament priesthood is gone! That’s the end of it.

That fellow comes up there and shares just like anybody else, like a man in the congregation. And that shows from here on, the priesthood are Christians — not a priest tribe. There’s no special priest class from here on.