And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
the word of God continue to increase - "That is, it became more widely diffused, particularly as the apostles were freed from other duties for the work of preaching. Cf. Acts 12:24; 14:20, where practically the same phrase occurs. In all these instances it will be seen that the expansion of the work followed on a definite attempt of Satan to mar and hinder it. In each case he overreached himself, and God's Holy Spirit overruled the opposition for good." (Walker)
a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith - "The tearing of the veil in the Temple at the time of Christ's death may have been a factor in the conversion of these priests. See Matthew 27:51...the veil or curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple (Ex 26:33); 38:18; Heb 9:3) was torn in two from top to bottom, showing that God did it, not man." (Ryrie)
"Who can read this passage with an unbiased mind and content that it records the breakdown of the Pentecostal program? That program broke down later and was superseded by another, but as to the Hebrew assembly dying out during the Acts period, let us look at the record:
Acts 2:41: 3,000 added to the original group
Acts 2:47: Believers added daily.
Acts 4:4: The number has grown to about 5,000 men.
Acts 5:14: More added; multitudes both of men and women.
Acts 6:1: The number is multiplied.
Acts 6:7: The number is multiplied greatly and a great company of the priests become obedient to the faith.
"Thus, while the apostles are threatened and imprisoned and beaten by the rulers, the cause for which they stand continues to grow steadily.
"Even the fierce persecution led by Saul after the stoning of Stephen, while it drove this multitude temporarily from Jerusalem (Acts 8:1) did not by any means diminish its numbers, for 'they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word' (Acts 8:4). Moreover, God saved Saul, the flaming leader of the persecution who, misunderstood and distrusted on every hand, had to be sent back home to Tarsus (Acts 9:30).
"And now see the result:
"'Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were MULTIPLIED' (Acts 9:31).
"All the enmity and persecution of the rulers had proved fruitless. The enemies of Christ had been defeated. God had crippled the opposition by saving Saul! From this point on the high priest and the rulers went into bitter seclusion, staying practically out of sight until, toward the close of Acts, we find them leaping like a viper out of the fire to attack Paul, but, like the symbol in Acts 28:3-5, this 'generation of vipers' was shaken back into the fire, while Paul and what he stood for remained unharmed.
"Meanwhile, in Acts 15 we find the multitude back at Jerusalem again for the great council there, which is apparently held without opposition from the rulers. And before we have closed the Book of Acts we find the believing elders there saying to Paul:
"'...thou seest, brother, how many thousands [what myriads] of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law' (Acts 21:20).
"This does not mean, of course, that either the majority in Israel, or the rulers in Israel had turned to Christ. As a nation, Israel still remained unrepentant.
"We bring this all in here because it is so important to understand that the present dispensation of the mystery was not ushered in, nor the kingdom postponed, because of the failure of the Jewish believers (whatever their failure may have been) but because of the grace of God to His enemies." (Stam)
the word of God continue to increase - "That is, it became more widely diffused, particularly as the apostles were freed from other duties for the work of preaching. Cf. Acts 12:24; 14:20, where practically the same phrase occurs. In all these instances it will be seen that the expansion of the work followed on a definite attempt of Satan to mar and hinder it. In each case he overreached himself, and God's Holy Spirit overruled the opposition for good." (Walker)
a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith - "The tearing of the veil in the Temple at the time of Christ's death may have been a factor in the conversion of these priests. See Matthew 27:51...the veil or curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple (Ex 26:33); 38:18; Heb 9:3) was torn in two from top to bottom, showing that God did it, not man." (Ryrie)
"Who can read this passage with an unbiased mind and content that it records the breakdown of the Pentecostal program? That program broke down later and was superseded by another, but as to the Hebrew assembly dying out during the Acts period, let us look at the record:
Acts 2:41: 3,000 added to the original group
Acts 2:47: Believers added daily.
Acts 4:4: The number has grown to about 5,000 men.
Acts 5:14: More added; multitudes both of men and women.
Acts 6:1: The number is multiplied.
Acts 6:7: The number is multiplied greatly and a great company of the priests become obedient to the faith.
"Thus, while the apostles are threatened and imprisoned and beaten by the rulers, the cause for which they stand continues to grow steadily.
"Even the fierce persecution led by Saul after the stoning of Stephen, while it drove this multitude temporarily from Jerusalem (Acts 8:1) did not by any means diminish its numbers, for 'they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word' (Acts 8:4). Moreover, God saved Saul, the flaming leader of the persecution who, misunderstood and distrusted on every hand, had to be sent back home to Tarsus (Acts 9:30).
"And now see the result:
"'Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were MULTIPLIED' (Acts 9:31).
"All the enmity and persecution of the rulers had proved fruitless. The enemies of Christ had been defeated. God had crippled the opposition by saving Saul! From this point on the high priest and the rulers went into bitter seclusion, staying practically out of sight until, toward the close of Acts, we find them leaping like a viper out of the fire to attack Paul, but, like the symbol in Acts 28:3-5, this 'generation of vipers' was shaken back into the fire, while Paul and what he stood for remained unharmed.
"Meanwhile, in Acts 15 we find the multitude back at Jerusalem again for the great council there, which is apparently held without opposition from the rulers. And before we have closed the Book of Acts we find the believing elders there saying to Paul:
"'...thou seest, brother, how many thousands [what myriads] of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law' (Acts 21:20).
"This does not mean, of course, that either the majority in Israel, or the rulers in Israel had turned to Christ. As a nation, Israel still remained unrepentant.
"We bring this all in here because it is so important to understand that the present dispensation of the mystery was not ushered in, nor the kingdom postponed, because of the failure of the Jewish believers (whatever their failure may have been) but because of the grace of God to His enemies." (Stam)
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