God Opened the Door of Faith

The thought for this letter comes from the Acts of the Apostles in14:27 which says, “And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.” Easily enough it is seen that God could and did, open the door of faith, as mentioned in the verse. This makes it logical to say that when the “door of faith unto the Gentiles” closes, it will be the work of God that does it as well. Genesis 7:16 says, “And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.” This was speaking of Noah and the ark. The Angel of the Asian church, as recorded in Revelation 3:7 received this message, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens…” An overstatement is not intended in this open-shut matter, but let it be said that the thing God did for the Gentiles will be reversed in due time, by God, and in God’s time.

It is noted scripturally, at least four times, that the Gentiles as a people, have a limited position of exclusive access to God. According to Romans 11:22-25, occasion was given to the Gentiles to be “grafted into” God’s people through faith, when Israel was “cut off.”  It reads, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”  In this reference it also said of Israel, “they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” Of Israel it also added, “blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” For whatever reason, known only to God, the Jews and Gentiles are not going to have it their way, simultaneously. Yet, I for one am glad for the chance that God has afforded us through faith to be grafted in.

Jesus intended for us to know that there is a different code of values between Jews and Gentiles, by what he said in Matthew 6:31-33, “Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” You may think it is humorous to mention, but the Jews would prefer to sell ten items at ten cents each, rather than one for a dollar, provided he earns the same profit. At the same time, he will reduce the price of a one dollar item by two cents, and we will be nine times more likely to purchase it. We then rejoice in our savings.

Another matter that Jesus taught, defining the difference, is written in Matthew 20:25-27, “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.”

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Pope John Paul II apologized to the nation of Israel for the century’s old accusation by the Catholic Church against the Jewish nation. The Catholic position solidly held Judaism guilty for crucifying the Lord Jesus. That was changed with an apology, and Israel now has an invitation by the new Pope to join a coalition of ‘the peoples of faith.’ We can find it written in Mark 10:33-34 which says,  “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.” The question is, who killed who?

John, the gospel writer, recorded in John 1:11-12, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Israel did reject the Messiah, and subsequently, Jesus prophesied of Israel in Luke 21:22-24, “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Matthew 12:17-21 says, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he sends forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.” This resides in the prophecy given in Isaiah 42:1-4. I hereby apply a viewpoint to the mention of, “my servant.” It is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. These words you will find in phrases of the reading in Matthew 12. Here is another way to say what is taught in these verses; this was the Gentile nation’s view, that what happened at the hands of Rome in 70 A.D., was the demise of the nation of Israel over the whole earth. It lasted until Israel again declared its sovereignty among the nations.

Prophecy was given in Isaiah 11:10-12 saying, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” This speaks of the recovery of Israel from those nations of the world. Twice an ensign was given. One of those is said to be the son of Jesse, who we know as the Lord Jesus. An ensign can be defined as an emblem, banner, flag, badge, or something that genuinely identifies, and certainly the Lord Jesus does.

Of the first ensign, Jesus, it is thus written in Isaiah 11:10, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” Additional information regarding “his rest shall be glorious” is see in Isaiah 28:11-12, “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.” It is also found in Matthew 11:28 which says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And in John 7:37-39 we are told, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” The scriptures are replete with references identifying this with the latter day reign of the Holy Ghost that was first poured out on the day of Pentecost, which we read about in Acts 2:1-4 which says, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

The latter rain, being the outpouring of the Spirit in the last day, aka in our life time, undisputedly has roots beginning in San Francisco, California’s, Azuza Street phenomenon in the year 1901. Since then, the proliferation of Apostolic doctrine and the Apostolic experience, has spread world-over to reach according to analysts, twenty-eight percent of all Christianity. For generations, the identifying name was Pentecostal, from which now some refrain from using zealously, preferring to be identified as Apostolic. The primitive church was Jewish and held tenaciously to what they knew as the “Shama,” seen in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” And in Deuteronomy 4:39, “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.” Four additional readings about the early and latter rain, we can refer to James 5:7-8 where it reads, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” This precipitates the ‘Coming of the Lord,’ which James also mentioned in the text.

Let us read Isaiah 11:11-12 again, because this defines the second ensign. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” So, we can note here, that the first time the entire nation of Israel was restored to their homeland, was under the leadership of Moses, from Egypt to their own country.

These words are found recorded in Ephesians 1:10-14 which says, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Here again a distinction is made between the Jews and the Gentiles. It can be seen in these verses, that closure will come to the Gentile dispensation, also through the work of Christ.

A confirmation of a Gentile era reaching its extremity can also be found in the words of Acts 15:14 -19, “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God.” The plausible ‘beginning of the end’ of the Gentile’s dispensation would be with Israel’s recognition again as a nation in our modern world. This we have seen already in our lifetime as well. The ‘beginning of the end’ began on May 14, 1948.

To those in Christ Jesus, there is no cause to be fearful. It is written in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

We read in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortality must put on immortality. So, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” And 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 continues, “And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

There is no future event for God’s people to anticipate, that could possibly eclipse the grandeur, the glory, and the splendor of his coming suddenly to rapture his church, as a thief in the night. Therefore, be ye also ready!