The Pivotal Point.........

There is a pivotal point in the Bible where everything changes.  And before discussing this subject, let me say that most people, even Christians, do not have a good understanding of this.  But the whole Bible teaches the before and after of this pivotal point.  And I do not want to indicate that this is the main event of the Bible.  The main event could be the birth of Christ or the death or the resurrection, or the ascension of the Lord.  This is about the change that occurs with God's people, with the beginnings of Christianity.

To be clear, let me state that this turning point occurs with one event, this being the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.  The apostles are in Jerusalem at the instruction of Jesus, who has just left them to ascend into heaven and rule over His kingdom from the throne.  Before leaving, He said, "..you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  They waited in Jerusalem for days; the Holy Spirit came upon them, Peter rose to speak and said, "..this (event) is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.' "

Note these points:

*  As shown above, the prophet Joel, teaching hundreds of years before Jesus, looked forward to the "last days."  This same prophesy was made over and over throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Daniel 2, Isaiah 2).  The OT taught that one day the kingdom would come in its fullness with the coming and ultimate death of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  We learn in Acts 2 that this is the last days.

*  The Jewish Law was still in effect during the life of Jesus.  Jesus kept the Jewish Law throughout His time on earth.  After Acts 2, there was no more Jewish Law.

*  Worship was on Saturday until after Acts 2--Sunday thereafter.

*  Partaking of the Communion, the Lord's Supper, began after Acts 2, not before.

*  "Christians" only occurred after Acts 2.

*  "Church" only occurred after Acts 2.

*  Common practice of baptism for the remission of sins only occurred after Acts 2--actually, in Acts 2.

*  The taking of the "good news" to all the world only began in Acts 2.  Jesus made no attempt to do this; He stayed close around, traveling very few miles in His ministry.

In Acts 1, just before Jesus left the earth, "...when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'  And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.' " This shows that the "kingdom" is about to start, but has not yet.  Jesus had to leave and begin His reign on the throne in heaven.  The apostles had heard about the coming kingdom and were asking if this is the time.  He doesn't tell them, but tells them to wait in Jerusalem and they would see.  Indeed, they did see in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came upon them...just as promised.

Thank you for reading and for your open minded analysis of these important things.