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A further useful point to understand is that the New Testament was one of several new covenants in the Bible. James Jordan points out that there were several new covenants made as the history of the Kingdom of God unfolded:
- “The five books of Moses and the book of Joshua – These books gave history and doctrine and made a nice closed single book.
- Judges, Samuel, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Canticles (Song of Solomon) – These books came from the Davidic covenant period.
- Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos & Hosea – These books came from the prophetic period and were written like Paul’s letters and speeches.
- Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi – These books came from the Post Exilic period.
- Then in the New Testament, we see the Gospels, Acts, a series of letters and then one book of symbolic revelations (Revelation), like Zechariah” (Stiles, 1992).
In other words, the Bible is a seamlessly integrated book. The New and Old Testaments are not two separate and independent volumes. When we approach Acts and Paul’s missionary trips therein we should place them in their appropriate redemptive histroical context. This means coming to the book of Acts in a similar fashion as we would come to an Old Testament book.
In Acts’ redemptive context we find the structure of the Kingdom undergoing change as the climactic New Covenant was introduced and established. The Gospel brought the two men (i.e. Jew & Gentile believers) together in the one body of Christ (Galatians 3:28 ). Christ brought the Gentiles into a relational position as close to God as their Jewish counterparts. The degrees of relational closeness found in the Old Covenant (i.e. High Priest the closest via sanctuary access, the Priest next with Temple access, Levites, ordinary Jews, proselytes, God-fearers etc) were removed when Christ demolished the middle wall of partition (Ephesians 2:14-17 ) & entered the Holy of Holies (i.e. highest heaven) to sit at the Father’s right hand. Therefore, the Gentiles, who were once far off, were now made close to God in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-13 ). In the New Covenant established by Christ all believers have sanctuary access. The book of Acts records the cycles of how the Gospel was taken from Jerusalem to Samaria & all of Judea, & then to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8 ). As the Gospel went out the message went first to the Jew & then to the Gentiles. When Paul entered a city he went first to the Jews (synagogue) & once he was rejected the Gentiles were approached. Throughout Acts the Jews (i.e. sociopolitical Israel) reject their Christ and His Gospel. “Finally, in Acts 28:28 , Paul declared to the Jews that full judgment was coming upon them, & that the Kingdom had been taken from them” (Jordan, 1988, p. 275). Acts shows how the Jews were given a second chance to embrace the Gospel and come into the new structure/form of the Kingdom. This second chance to repent occurred after the giving of the Holy Spirit and once they rejected Christ, for this second time, the kingdom was taken away from them. This fulfills Jesus’ words in Matthew 21:43 ; “therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it”. In A.D. 70 God brought this final, covenantal, judgment upon (sociopolitical) Israel with the destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple. The Old World, with a special land & centralised Temple, had finally passed away & the New World was fully inaugurated. Paul played a major role in taking the Gospel, for a second time, to Israel & then out to the Gentile world.
Often in Acts we find the Church taking refuge in the vessel of the Roman Empire and being protected from the false church (i.e. apostate Jews, Judaisers etc) by the same Empire (e.g. Acts 18:14-15 ; 23:29; 25:18- 20; 26:32). This may seem strange today, as we usually view the state as the enemy of Christendom. However, in the Biblical record the false church was the enemy in Acts. Again, a historical redemptive context will help in understanding why:
- the early church sought refuge within the Empire and,
- the Roman officials defended the true Church in Acts.
In order to fully understand this context of Acts we must consider the redemptive historical flow/structure of the Kingdom of God through the Bible:
- In the Patriarch period the people of God were organised by clan and the Patriarchs (and the firstborn son) ruled the clan. This included an ecclesiastical rule/authority. This structured ended after the Exodus.
- In the time of the Judges the people were reorganised as a nation with judges and elders ruling over 10s, 50s, 100s and 1,000s. The clan princes yielded their sovereignty and dominion in Numbers 7 , where they come and give gifts to the tabernacle. During this time the nation was run by elders, who were instructed by Levites. The judges ran the nation in times of distress.
- During the first book of Samuel the period of the judges cam to an end and the rule of the Kings was instituted. These kings were constitutional monarchs, with various tribes confederated under them. The tribes were free to leave and the Bible records 10 tribes doing so.
- The Kingly period closes at the end of the book of Kings. Thereafter we find the Kingdom and the world administered within or under world emperors and their officials. Jeremiah announces this Empire period to Israel (Jeremiah 25 ) and the Israelites are instructed to give the Kingdom to Nebuchadnezzar (the first emperor). These empires are symbolised in the Metal Man of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream/vision (Daniel 2:31-49 ). The empire was to protect the Church against her enemies. Empires and Emperors are either beasts (i.e. rebel and do not protect the Church) or they are transformed into men (i.e. they do protect the Church, e.g. Nebuchadnezzar’s transformation in Daniel 4 , Cyrus who loved Daniel etc). These kingdoms are also symbolised as beasts (Daniel 4 ), who are either faithful to protect the Church or not. As the Empire fails to protect the Church it is judged and a new empire emerges. The Metal Man of Daniel 2 can be seen as the Babylonian (gold), Medo-Persian (silver), Greek (bronze) and Roman (iron and clay) Empires. Each Empire becomes progressively weaker (i.e. “spiritually” moving away from the Gold of the Holy of Holies to the bronze outside) but militarily more powerful, down to the Romans. In the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:13-16 etc) we find that Jesus is the ultimate Metal Man. It is in His body/vessel that the Church seeks her refuge.
- Acts is set within the historical context of the last Metal Man (Roman) Empire. The Empire period is coming to an end. Paul constantly appeals to Rome for protection and passage to stand before (Nero) Caesar. Throughout Acts the Roman Empire does what the Metal Man is supposed to do – protect the Church from the false church and thus advance the Kingdom. However, with Nero Caesar the Roman Empire “falls” and becomes a beast who turns to devour the Church. The book of Revelation depicts this beast with the harlot, Babylon, riding on its back. The beast with seven heads of Revelation is both Nero (the one) and Rome (i.e. the Roman Empire - the many). The harlot, Babylon, sits on seven hills (i.e. Rome). This harlot is Jewish Jerusalem (i.e. unfaithful reprobate Jews who reject the Messiah), who joins the Roman beast in persecuting the true Church. Points gleaned from Stiles (1992).
Paul’s “strategy” was to take the message of Jesus, the ultimate Metal Man to the Jews first and then on to the Gentiles. It is within Jesus, the true Metal Man, that all people were to take refuge. It is not the state (empire) who opposed Paul through Acts, but the false church (i.e. the reprobate Jews). Ultimately Paul is instrumentally used by God, in the book of Acts, to transform the Kingdom out of the Empires and into the body of Christ, the true Metal Man. Thus all people, whether Jew or Gentile, were to unite, in truth, in come the body of Christ.
Works Cited
Jordan, J. B. (1988). Through New Eyes - Developing a Biblical View of the World. Brentwood: Wolgemuth & Hyatt Publishers Inc.
Stiles, G. K. (1992). Lecture #s 1-5, Notes on Select Studies in Acts - Five Recorded Lectures of James B Jordan. Tyler: Biblical Horizons. You can obtain the notes when purchasing the lectures from WordMP3 or Biblical Horizons.
