Socialism in Acts

Socialism in Acts

By Richard P. Joseph

2/3/2019

Socialism and/or communism is, and always was, a failing system.  Socialism as
a form of government is a measure that guarantees that the human condition will
not be improved beyond a near poverty level.  Socialism/communism is a system
that punishes anyone who dares to improve his lot in life therefore crushing all
incentive for prosperity or even decent living conditions.  Once the incentive is
removed, poverty ensues.

So why would the apostles bring the church into a socialist system if it was bound
to fail?

In Acts chapter four we read about the new church giving up their own
possessions for the good of the church.  They sold lands and property and laid
the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. First of all, why did they do this and
second of all what were the practical results of what they did?  

My grandparents were from Lebanon.  They came to the United States
around 1900.  In the 1960’s one of my uncles wanted to visit Lebanon and
he looked up some of our relatives.   When he found them, they suddenly
became suspicious of the reason for his visit. That, according to our
modern westernized thinking, was quite unnecessary but to them, in their
Middle Eastern culture was actually very necessary.  According to Middle
Eastern law, the land is always passed down to the oldest male as far as I
can understand it. In other words they wanted to make sure that he was
not there to make a claim against the land that he very well may have had
a right to do.  He agreed to sign a legal agreement that he just wanted to
visit with no strings attached. I still have a copy of those papers. This is
how it was in ancient Israel also. Land was kept in the family. If it was
sold then it would return back to the family during the year of jubilee which
was on every 50th year after seven sets of sevens.  Land was vital to the
Jewish and ancient economies as farming was the most important
business. So what does this have to do with the seemingly socialist policy
that the apostles took part in?

The Apostles never displayed a good understanding of the return of Christ
all the way up until Pentecost AD 30.  In most of their pre-Pentecost
statements, it appears that they were looking for a physical restoration of
the old order.  It was not until Pentecost that these misgivings disappeared.

Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not
to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,
“which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with
water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from
now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying,
“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said
to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has
put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Once the Holy Spirit had enlightened them, something changed.  They
began to preach as if the Parousia was imminent. And they no longer
thought of it as a purely physical transformation.  There were, however,
two main things that they were sure of; that the Parousia would occur
within their generation and that Jerusalem would pay a heavy price for her
unfaithfulness.  That translated into: “our land will be worthless before the
next Jubilee”. In fact, in Paul’s later epistles, he encouraged the
Christians not even to marry because the time of the Parousia was so
close.  This of course is something that Jesus warned about in Matthew
24.

That is why Peter allowed them to adopt a temporary socialist type policy;
because it was temporary.  This policy was never intended to be a permanent
way of life by any means. It was simply because the second coming of Christ
was absolutely going to occur within their lifetime so why hang onto land that
you will not be able to keep because of the coming doom or because you would
be killed or raptured.  The tribulation that the Christians went through between
AD 63-66 would put an end to land use and that is not to mention the wrath that
was poured onto Jerusalem from 66-70. This devastation was like no other in
history. It left the house of Israel desolate.

Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See!
Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more
till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

That is why the apostles were only worried about the temporary physical needs
of the church.  They were more interested in their spiritual being at that point.
Good thing because the socialist aspect had its toll on them.

Acts 6:1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying,
there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,[a]because their
widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

It didn’t take long for people to start complaining about getting free stuff
(sound familiar?).  Since socialism is a completely failed system, the Christians
in Jerusalem were running out of food.  They did not know how long Jesus
would take to return so they wanted to be ready at any time and wanted to grow
the church as much as possible before it occurred.  Can you imagine if it didn’t
happen yet? It would be a complete disaster. But as Jesus had promised, it
took place in AD 70 which released them from all of their pre-AD 70 constraints.
 But as it was they were beginning to feel the pain of socialism and the Apostles
had to choose seven men to handle those complaints. Not only that, in Acts 11,
we see that there was a famine approaching and a collection was taken up by
the gentiles and foreign Jews in order to send to the Church in Jerusalem.  
This relief money had more than one effect on the Church but at least one of
them was physical. I believe the Jerusalem church was not only devastated by
the famine but also by their socialist policy. Ed Stevens points out that the
money also assisted in helping the Jews to accept the gentiles as brothers in
the Lord.   Once you understand the Judaizer problem in its fullest, that
becomes a very reasonable conclusion.

The Wedding at Cana

The Wedding at Cana

By Richard P. Joseph

12/24/2018

Early in Jesus’ ministry when he was first gathering his disciples he and his
mother were attending a wedding, probably of a relative, in Cana. As the festivities
went on, they obviously ran out of wine, or did they?  Next, a weird conversation
between Mary and Jesus transpired in which I do not believe I have ever found
a satisfactory explanation for. I still think there is more to it than what I say here
but hopefully we can have some fun trying.  

First of all, remember that Jesus and his disciples were invited guests, they
were not the host.  Mary was probably helping the host herself but Jesus was
not. Mary then says to Jesus (a guest) that “they have no wine”.  She didn’t say
“they ran out of wine” she just said “they have no wine”. This could be pure
semantics but it might not be either.  If I threw a party and ran out of food or
beverages, I would not ask a guest to supply it, I would run to the store myself
and get it.  Do you see my point. Also, by her statement that “they have no
wine”, it is almost like saying that they are lacking in some vital thing that they
should know about.  Jesus picked up the “code” that Mary was talking in and
responded with “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour
has not yet come.”  

If you were asked to provide wine what would you do?  If someone asked me
that same question (or statement really) I would run to the corner store and buy
a couple bottles of wine; right?  Why didn’t Jesus do that? In other words he
understood this had nothing to do with natural wine, it had to do with a new
covenant approaching.  This theme about a new covenant approaching to
replace the old one started right off the bat with John the Baptist and continued
to the last word in our New Testament.  It is the idea that the old law was to be
replaced with a new “law”. The old covenant would be completed and a new
covenant would ensue. The new covenant would be superior to the old.  When
Jesus turned the water into wine the master of the wedding proclaimed  “Every
man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well
drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”  Jesus is that
new wine.  

In Matthew chapter 9 Jesus was questioned about “why he and his disciples
were not often fasting but the Pharisees and John’s disciples fasted”.  Jesus
immediately compared his ministry to a wedding. Sound familiar? Jesus was
plainly proclaiming the arrival of the Messiah and comparing it to a marriage.  
The marriage to the church was upon them and they did not realize it. Jesus
then told them 17 “...Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the
wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put
new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

The old wineskins is the old covenant.  The old covenant can not contain the
New Covenant; it would burst.  The old covenant (old wineskins) would be
replaced with new wineskins (the church) and the church (the called out
assembly) would contain the new wine (Holy Spirit).  This New Covenant was
given at the Last Supper.

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it
to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink
from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of
the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s

kingdom.”

There are two parts to this statement.  First, they are to drink from it showing
they are entering into a new blood covenant and second, there appears to be a
transition period where he would not drink with them again until they are together
in his Father’s kingdom.  In other words there was going to be a period of time
to accomplish and consummate this covenant. Almost like God telling Noah to
build an ark but it took many years to build it and finally to enter into it. But
how long would it take?

Well, if you are a futurist then you are still waiting.  However, if you have a
thorough understanding of scripture and history then you would conclude that
the consummation occurred  within 40 years of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
If we are still waiting then we are most miserable among people. That is why it
is vital to study biblical history as well as biblical teaching.  According to modern
futurist teaching, we are in a state of nothingness. Almost like nirvana. A place
that has no real description or borders. An undefined drifting toward nowhere.
God did not leave us in this state, it was invented by fault or by ignorance.  The
fall of Jerusalem was the time of consummation. The first Christians are at the
table of Christ in his eternal kingdom. Us on earth are spiritually connected with
that kingdom and will upon our leaving this earth be at his table also. If the
kingdom was not established in AD 70 then we would still be drifting aimlessly
amidst the waters of confusion.  This is not the case for those that understand
the historical timing of the Parousia.

The wedding at Cana was just one part in a consistent theme that runs
through the entire New Testament.  It is one of transition from old to new,
from law to grace, from ineffective to effective from sin to glory, from
incomplete to completion.     

Why was a rapture necessary?

Why was a rapture

necessary?

By Richard P. Joseph

10/8/2018

There is an ongoing argument between some preterist

groups concerning an actual rapture event.  One

camp takes the bible literally while the other attempts

to spiritualize the subject into fuzzy dogma that

nobody can ever really figure out.  In this article I

am not going to analyze the whole rapture scenario

but I am only concerned with why it was a necessary

event that had to occur at an exact period of time and

for an exact reason.  If you want to learn more about

the event, I highly recommend getting a copy of

“Expectations Demand a First Century Rapture”

by Ed Stevens at www.preterist.org .  

There are several places in scripture where a

rapture is mentioned.  The English phrase would be

“caught up”, the Greek would be ”harpazo” and the

Latin, “rapio”.   I only mention that because there is

someone out there that is going to say that the word

“rapture” isn’t even in the bible.  Well, if you read it in

Latin, then it is.  It depends on which language you

are reading it in.  So, my question is; “Why did

there have to be a rapture anyhow?”   To answer that

question we need to delve into what was happening

during the first century.

As we know, Jesus was crucified in the year

AD 30.   After his personal resurrection he

returned for 40 days to instruct his disciples

on their personal mission which would last for

almost 40 years.  In acts 1:8 Jesus informed

them that they will be receiving power to become

His witnesses.  

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy

Spirit has come upon you; and you shall

be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all

Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This power, or “inspiration” set the apostles apart from all

other human beings as they had power to loose and

bind and to produce scripture and miracles such

that no others had.  While others also received the

Holy Spirit, they did not have the power of inspiration

that the apostles held.  Daniel predicted this very

time, and time limits were set on it.  

Daniel 9:24“Seventy [e]weeks are determined

For your people and for your holy city,

To finish the transgression,

[f]To make an end of sins,

To make reconciliation for iniquity,

To bring in everlasting righteousness,

To seal up vision and prophecy,

And to anoint [g]the Most Holy.

My focus is on the last sentence where

Daniel is told that vision and prophecy would

be sealed up.  The true message of God

has always been a controlled substance.  As

you make your way through the bible from beginning

to end you find that certain people called prophets were

given special insight into the spiritual realm.  That is why

they were often called seers.  This prevented “just

anyone” from speaking the word of the true God or

from performing miracles.  Once Jesus arrived he was

a prophet and of course more than a prophet. 

Once the Messiah finally appeared and his message

established there would be no more reason for inspiration. 

Jesus predicted an end to Judaism and gave his

disciples the power to be witnesses of Him until that

mission was complete.  Jesus clearly told them that it

would occur before that generation fully passed away.  

When the time came for Jesus to return in glory

and put an end to his unfaithful wife, Judaism, and

to marry a faithful wife, the Christian Church, he

created an absolute delineation point by rapturing

up his inspired apostles and Christians of that period

and at an exact point in time which we now know was

in AD 66 (see my article “The Day and Hour Revealed”). 

This put an end to inspiration such that the apostles

had.  This is an important event because it now

prevents anyone else from adding to or subtracting from

scripture.  For example, Mohammed, Buddha, Hare

Krishna,  Joseph Smith Jr., Charles Taze Russell,

and anyone else has absolutely no right to claim prophet

status.  It puts them all into the cult category. 

Because people do not understand this simple doctrine,

they fall for all sorts of false teachings.  They are still

waiting for a future rapture and end of the world event

that isn’t going to happen.  This ignorance opens them

up to be deceived by any smooth talking scam artist.  

However, once you familiarize yourself with the truth

of a first century rapture and, close of the age, you will

no longer be subject to liars.