Two Different Mid-Acts Views
This article is a continuation of the article titled “The Rebuttal
(12 in or 12 out)”
Over the years I have learned that visual aids really help out when
it comes to teaching and understanding the word of God. While covering
brother Stam’s article on the 12 in or 12 out situation, I decided
to put his teachings in chart form so that they can be easily compared
to other teachings in chart form.
From what I can tell, it seems that most grace believers take most of
brother Stam’s teachings as they are and some see things a little
differently than brother Stam. For instance I know many grace preachers
that agree with him on there being a transition period from what he
calls the kingdom program to what he calls the body program but they
do not take his position on the 12 eventually becoming part of the body
program.
So what we are going to do is compare these teachings with another teaching.
Once again, my attempt here is not to compare brethren with brethren
but rather to compare the teachings themselves. We can leave the brethren
out of the comparison.
I have made two separate charts each detailing the teachings commonly
used among grace believers today. One much more common than the other.
We are going to label these different views, “View A” and
“View B”.
I did the best I could by taking brother Stam’s teachings and
putting it in chart form. Some of the missing info was taken from other
grace teachings I have heard in the past that were very similar to brother
Stam’s, so if you see an error in this view, please let me know
and I will change it right away.
We will call this first view, “View A”. Because I had to
squeeze in some small lettering I decided to make two versions of each
chart, a low definition and a high definition chart. Here is the high
definition chart:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/View-A-HD.jpg
And here is the low definition chart:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/View-A-LD.jpg
They are exactly the same, one was just rendered at a higher resolution
for clarity.
This chart shows the typical grace teachings taught not only by brother
Stam but by many others also, so I really can’t say this is Stam’s
chart. Just call it what you will. In this article I will refer to it
as View A.
Now let’s look at a completely different chart which I will refer
to as “View B”. Here’s the high def:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/View-B-HD.jpg
And the low def:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/View-B-LD.jpg
Now these two charts, “View A” and “View B”
are both mid-Acts charts but they are not the same. Both believe the
One New Man came with Paul but they have many differences between them.
As we compare these charts and these teachings we will take one item
at a time and go into detail of the differences between View A and View
B.
Quick Summary
If you notice on the charts View A shows a transition
period whereas View B does not. Also View A teaches that the 12 Apostles
became members of the body program (one new man) where View B teaches
otherwise.
View A teaches that the saints of the one new man will have an eternal
location in the 3rd heaven where View B teaches they will come back
to the earth with the Lord.
What I have found is the transition period is the cause of numerous
division problems in the body of Christ. We will cover this in detail
as we move along. So let’s start covering the differences.
1. THE END OF DANIEL’S 69TH WEEK.
View A:
This view puts the end of the 483rd year right at the cross or the same
week of the cross. This view does not acknowledge Luke 13:6-9. This
leaves a time gap of about 1 year between the end of the 69th week and
the start of the Dispensation of Grace and the giving of the making
of the one new man if they start this with Paul’s conversion.
View B:
This view acknowledges Luke 13:6-9 and therefore puts the cross on the
14th day of the first month of the 483rd year of Daniel’s prophecy.
This gives us the end of the 483rd year when Jesus stands up in Acts
7 and judges Israel in unbelief and saves Paul in Acts 9. See this article
for details:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/daniels69thweek.htm
2. CHRIST DIED FOR SINS
View A:
This view does not believe that Christ told the apostles in Luke 24:44-46
that he died and paid for sins. This view believes that Christ only
gave the apostle Paul this information and the apostle Paul revealed
it unto the apostles at a much later date.
This view teaches that Christ dying for sins was just part of Paul’s
gospel, not Peter’s gospel and that Peter did not teach this or
started teaching this after Paul taught him.
Because of this, some brethren believe that Peter and the apostles never
taught that Christ died for sins.
View B:
This view teaches that Christ taught Peter and the apostles in Luke
24 that he died and paid for sins and that Christ also taught the apostle
Paul.
Christ dying and paying for sins was the foundation to both Peter and
Paul’s gospels.
Even though Peter and Paul’s gospels had different doctrines,
they also had similarities and Christ dying and paying for sins was
one of them.
**NOTE**
Luke does not record in the book of Acts where either Paul or Peter
taught that Christ died for sins. To find the details of what they preached
you have to go to their epistles. For more details on this subject please
read this article:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/FoundationOfTheGospels.htm
3. GENTILES PARTAKERS WITH ISRAEL WITHOUT THE ONE NEW MAN
View A:
This view teaches that it was not necessary for the one new man for
the uncircumcised Gentles to be partakers with the nation of Israel.
An uncircumcised Gentile was allowed to be partakers with Israel’s
blessings just by living good life and believing the gospel of the circumcision.
On the chart this is shown by the kingdom church being Jew and Gentile,
the body church being Jew and Gentile, and after the body church is
raptured, the kingdom church during the 70th week will be Jew and Gentile.
View B:
This view teaches it was not possible for uncircumcised Gentiles to
be partakers with Israel without the one new man. God made the one new
man so that he could join the Jews and Gentiles together into one body.
The uncircumcised Gentiles were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, and without God in the world as Paul clearly states
in Ephesians 2. It is through the making of the one new man in himself
did the Lord join the uncircumcised Gentiles with the Jews into the
same body.
Paul said in Colossians 2 that it was the uncircumcision of their flesh
that made them dead. The one new man gave them the circumcision made
without hands therefore allowing the uncircumcised Gentiles to be partakers
with the Jews in the same household of God. For more detail on this
subject please read the following articles:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/CovenantOfCircumcision.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/Israel%27sNewCovenant.htm
3. TRANSITION PERIOD
**NOTE**
Teaching a transition period causes many divisions in the body of Christ.
For starters “When did the one new man begin?” (commonly
known as when did the body start). Numerous division problems come from
this one topic.
View A:
This view teaches that there was a transition period to where at one
time you could either go into the kingdom program or the body program
based upon which gospel you believed which I call “The Rule”.
There is much controversy of when this transition period started and
when it ended and everything in between.
For this cause, on this chart we show different starting points anywhere
from Acts 9 to Acts 13 and teachings of it ceasing from Acts 28 to when
Jerusalem was destroyed.
The teaching of the transition period causes confusion to who was in
the body and who was in the kingdom, when did Paul get his gospel, did
Peter ever teach Paul’s gospel, when did Israel become Loammi
and such.
This view teaches that the middle wall of partition was gradually broken
down, the kingdom program gradually ceases, the body was gradually formed,
the twelve eventually became members of the one new man (body church)
and “The Rule” applies during this time.
View B:
This view teaches that there was no transition period. At the moment
the one new man was made everyone from that time forward that trusted
Christ as their Saviour was put into the church through the one new
man, regardless of who led them to the Lord.
The circumcision (Jews) that were already in the church, including Peter
and the apostles, did not move into the one new man, they stayed right
where they were. The kingdom program ceased and the circumcision started
to die off causing them to diminish (Romans 11).
From this point the church grew by adding members through the one new
man. Just as it is today, there were not two different programs running
side by side. For more details on this subject please read these following
articles:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/WhenIsraelBecameLoammi.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRulePrimer.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleGospels.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleKingdomCeased.htm
4. TWELVE IN OR TWELVE OUT
View A:
This view teaches that the twelve apostles were eventually put into
the body program (one new man). The reason is because they believe that
Peter and the apostles in the beginning did not know that Christ had
died and paid for sins. They believe that the apostles got this from
Paul in Acts 15 rather than the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 24.
Since they believe that the apostles got it from Paul and that Christ
dying for sins was only included in Paul’s gospel, their conclusion
is that Peter and the apostles started preaching Paul’s gospel
and therefore they believed Paul’s gospel and therefore believing
Paul’s gospel put them into the body of Christ (one new man).
View B:
This view does not teach that Peter and the apostles were put into the
one new man. Peter and the apostles learned that Christ died for their
sins from the Lord Jesus himself when he sat them down and opened their
understanding to the scriptures of why he had to suffer in Luke 24.
They knew this before Paul, therefore they did not get this from Paul.
The apostles knowing that Christ died for their sins did not put them
into the one new man.
Peter and the apostles were still teaching a different doctrine than
the apostle Paul. Peter’s doctrine was for the original Jews that
were in the church that had seen the Lord in the flesh. Paul’s
doctrine was to the believers after the one new man was made.
5. JAMES
View A:
This view teaches that the twelve apostles eventually were put into
the one new man because they started teaching that Christ died for sins,
which they got from Paul in Acts 15.
View B:
James the brother of John the apostle was killed in Acts 12 before Paul
taught the apostles that gospel which he preached among the Gentiles,
therefore James never knew what Paul taught them. This is a major flaw
in the “12 in” doctrine. If it takes knowing that Christ
died for your sins to get into the body program as they teach, then
according to what they teach James could not have been put into the
body program.
This is a contradiction to their teaching and their belief. They seriously
need to fix this. The “12 In” doctrine wasn’t very
well thought out. At the most it could have only been “Eleven
in and one out” according to their doctrine, which causes more
problems.
6. WHEN THE BODY (ONE NEW MAN) STARTED
View A:
This view causes serious division in the body of Christ. This view teaches
that you have to know that Christ died for your sins in order to be
able to get into the one new man. They claim this was given to only
Paul, but then it causes controversy on when Paul received it.
Luke never records in the book of Acts about Paul preaching that Christ
died for sins so this makes the situation even worse.
Therefore brethren are divided when the one new man began because they
cannot decide when Paul got this info. Some say Acts 9, some Acts 11,
some Acts 13. None of these views can prove when Paul received that
Christ died for sins. Using what Paul knew at what time as a basis for
this doctrine, the division is there to stay.
View B:
This view teaches that Paul was not the first one to receive that Christ
died and paid for sins. Peter and the apostles got that information
in Luke 24. So this is not the basis for the starting point.
This view teaches that the one new man was given when Christ judged
Israel in unbelief and called Paul to send him to the Gentiles in Acts
9. Israel fell and the door was opened unto the Gentiles. Through their
fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles. (Romans 11:11) This was done
by the giving of the one new man as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2.
So the timing of the starting of the one new man is based upon Israel’s
fall, not when Paul found out that Christ died for his sins. That has
nothing to do with it. Israel’s fall is easy to pinpoint and the
first uncircumcised Gentile that got saved happened in Acts 10 so the
one new man had to be given before Acts 10.
7.THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE
View A:
This view does not teach that the dispensation of grace separates Daniel’s
69th and 70th weeks. The starting of the dispensation of grace is dependent
on where the one new man starts which is controversial.
Because of the teaching that the body was gradually formed, there is
no clear cut way to pinpoint the dispensation of grace starting.
Also because of the transition period and things involved with teaching
the transition period there is also a teaching of the dispensation of
grace starting at the end of the transition period in Acts 28.
Therefore we leave a question mark on the chart for the starting point
of the dispensation of grace.
View B:
This view teaches that the dispensation of grace separates the 69th
and 70th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy. Cut and dry.
When the 69th week ended the dispensation of grace began and when it
is over the 70th week will resume. Once again, cut and dry.
The dispensation of grace goes hand in hand with the one new man. When
the one new man was made the dispensation of grace was given to the
Gentiles and when he is taken out of the way the dispensation of grace
will be finished.
The Gentiles were grafted into the good olive tree when it began and
they will be broken off of the good olive tree when it is finished.
8. NUMBER OF CHURCHES
View A:
This view teaches that there are two separate churches, the kingdom
church and the body church.
We know there was a church in Acts 2 because verse 47 tells us very
plainly. This view teaches “the rapture of the church” which
is referring to the one new man commonly known as the body of Christ
which is taken out of the way that the 70th week may resume, then there
will be the kingdom church starting up again.
Therefore this view teaches two separate churches.
View B:
This view teaches that there is only one church, which began no later
than Acts 2. The one new man was made into or inserted into this church
in Acts 9 so that the Lord could join both Jews and Gentiles into the
same body.
At the end of the dispensation of grace the one new man will be taken
out of the way. Paul calls this the adoption in Romans 8:23. So instead
of “the rapture of the church” we have “the adoption
of the one new man”.
The church will continue through Daniel’s 70th week commonly known
as the tribulation period without the one new man. The saints in the
church that were not in the one new man will be resurrected at the second
coming of Christ. For more detail, please read these articles:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheAdoptionPart1.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheAdoptionPart2.htm
9. “THE RULE”
The Rule:
If Peter preaches to you then you go into the kingdom church and if
Paul preaches to you then you go into the body church.
View A:
This view accepts this rule and applies it to the transition period.
When the transition period is over, the rule no longer applies and everyone
goes into the body church.
Once again, the controversy is based upon when Paul received that Christ
died for sins and the fact that Peter did not preach that Christ died
for sins.
There is controversy on when the rule started and how long the rule
was in effect (when did the rule not apply anymore, it definitely doesn’t
apply at this present time).
This is called the, “What you know determines where you go”
doctrine.
View B:
This view does not accept this rule for several reasons. Uncircumcised
Gentiles could not be partaker of the kingdom church without the one
new man according to the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2.
Paul told the Corinthians that they were in the body of Christ and it
did not matter whether it was himself or the apostles that preached
to them as long as they believed. (1 Corinthians 12 & 15)
Peter and the apostles received that Christ died for sins in Luke 24,
well before Paul was told.
This view teaches that everyone that trusted Christ as their Saviour
from the time of the giving of the one new man went into the one new
man regardless of who led them to the Lord.
What you know does not determine where you go. When you trust Christ
as your Saviour he puts you where he made a place for you. For more
detail on this topic please read these following articles:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRulePrimer.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleTesting.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleGospels.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleNewCovenant.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleKingdomCeased.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleCornelius.htm
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheRuleMidActsDilemma.htm
10. “THE SWITCH”
View A:
This view teaches that you can switch from the kingdom program to the
body program based upon your understanding – what you know.
If all you know, understand and believe is Peter’s doctrine (gospel
of the circumcision) then you are held to being in the kingdom church.
In the event that you learn Paul’s doctrine (gospel of the uncircumcision)
then you automatically switch to the body church.
According to some teachings, you don’t have to know all body truth
but rather just that Christ died and paid for your sins.
This also brings up the question: Can they switch back?
This causes some brethren to believe that Peter and the apostles switched
to the body church because they believed and taught that Christ died
for their sins even though they did not teach other body truth.
Once again, this is based upon the “What you know determines where
you go” doctrine.
View B:
This view teaches that you do not switch back and forth. Peter and the
apostles already knew and taught that Christ had died for their sins
and it did not switch them to the one new man.
What you know does not determine where you go.
Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are they which have not seen and yet
have believed”. The difference between the church and the one
new man has very much to do whether they saw the Lord in the flesh or
not. There is not enough detail in this article but it will give you
the basic principle of the teaching:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/NameTags.htm
11. THE RETURN OF THE SAINTS
View A:
This view teaches that the saints of the one new man will stay in the
3rd heaven for all eternity (eternal heavenly inheritance).
This view is taken to show that we do not have an inheritance with Israel
which has an earthly inheritance.
View B:
This view teaches that all the saints in heaven at the time of the return
of Christ at the second coming will return with him according to Zechariah
14, 1st Thessalonians 3, Ephesians 1 and other places.
This view teaches that the Gentiles have become partaker of Israel’s
spiritual things according to what Paul said in Romans 15.
The eternal heavenly inheritance is an Acts 28 doctrine that teaches
that we are no longer partakers with Israel.
CONCLUSION
So what we have here is two different mid-Acts views. In comparing
these views please understand that I mean no harm to any brethren that
take these views. This was for comparison of the different teachings
only, it has nothing to do with any teachers. It was not meant to condemn,
put down, make fun of, or anything harmful to my brethren whatsoever.
Please understand that in my past I agreed with view A except for the
apostles being put into the one new man. This is what I was taught back
when I first got saved many years ago.
View A is really a pretty good basic understanding of rightly dividing.
It shows the difference between Peter and Paul’s doctrines, the
split between the 69th and 70th weeks, teaches we are under grace and
not law, and so on. Really good for the beginner and I was happy that
I was taught it.
But there were many scriptures that gave me problems with view A. I
was taught as a beginner to believe the bible means what it says, as
it says it, where it says it. This has always been my rule of thumb.
But I noticed by believing View A, it would not allow me to believe
what the bible said in many different places. So what I had to do was
drop some of my beliefs that didn’t match the bible and change
my beliefs to match the bible.
For instance, in my early years I believed “The Rule” that
if someone believed Peter’s gospel they went into the kingdom
church and if they believed Paul gospel they went into the body church.
But believing this, I could not believe 1st Corinthians 15:11 which
says,
“11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach,
and so ye believed.”
Paul clearly teaches here that it did not matter who preached the gospel
and led the Corinthians to Christ as long as they believed, whether
it was him or the apostles.
My belief would not allow me to believe this verse. Yes, it bugged me
for a while, but I figured if the Lord was going to give me understanding
on the verse I would have to believe it means exactly what it says.
So I changed my belief to believe it means exactly what it says, and
today I teach that it didn’t matter whether it was Paul or the
apostles that led the Corinthians to the Lord and they were still in
the body just as Paul said.
I also taught for 25 years that Paul was the first one to know that
Christ had died and paid for sins, but there were a few verses that
always gave me trouble teaching that. In Luke 24 it says,
“44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in
the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ
to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:”
These scriptures clearly teach that Jesus taught the apostles why he
had to die and be raised again and Peter acknowledges this in 1st Peter
3.
So once again, after 25 years of teaching it differently, I changed
my belief to match the bible.
I now teach that Christ taught the apostles that he died and paid for
sins and it was not the apostle Paul.
It’s amazing how you think you understand something so clearly
and then the Lord shows you something completely different.
These are just a few examples of scriptures that at one time I did not
believe they meant what they said, but now I have changed my belief
and now I believe they mean exactly what they say.
I am not scared to change my belief. If my belief does not match the
bible then I change my belief to match the bible. Many people try to
change the bible to make it match their belief. That is not going to
work at the judgment seat of Christ.
Hopefully, by comparing these two different mid-Acts views you can see
that there is more than one way to look at the way the Lord set things
up.
View A is a very popular view but it does have its flaws. The transition
period causes many divisions in the body.
Of course, you might see flaws in View B. That’s fine by me. Show
them to me, I’m not scared to change my beliefs. I’ve done
it plenty of times before to make my beliefs line up with the scriptures,
and I am actually looking forward to making my beliefs line up even
more and more with the holy scriptures as I move into the future.
But with being able to see two different views and comparing them, maybe
someone can come up with a different view that takes the best of both
views. If there are flaws in View B, I am blind to them at the moment
until the Lord opens my eyes to something better, just as many brethren
are blind to the flaws in view A.
But maybe, by comparing these two views will help us all see things
in a different light and help us work just a little closer on being
of the same mind and the same judgment and speaking the same thing as
the Lord beseeches us to do. |
