My journey away from the Mid-Acts position began when a Mid-Acts Bible teacher I deeply respect began insisting that "the mystery" gospel Paul preached can be found in the Old Testament and that Paul himself says so over and over. With
Ephesians 3:8-9 firmly in my mind, I set out to disprove what this teacher was saying, even though he had on his side
Romans 16:25-26 ("by the scriptures of the prophets"),
Acts 26:22 ("none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come"), and
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ("according to the scriptures" - 2 x). I turned to "Dr. Google" for some help finding the answer and the very first link that came up was to a site called
BibleUnderstanding.com hosted by Brian Kelson. To my complete surprise - and horror - the answer to my dilemma is answered completely and fully by the Acts 28 dispensational position! I contacted Brian who graciously gifted me with a copy of his manuscript, "
The Appearing of Christ - Exposing the Traditional Rapture;" and I began a wild ride into the truth about what Paul was really commissioned for and doing during the Acts period. What I've learned from Brian Kelson (
testimony), who did not conceive of this evidence by himself but was fortunate to have been introduced to it many years ago in Australia by a Bible expositor, Stuart Allen, is that the Mid Acts position for the beginning of the "church, Which is his body" (
Ephesians 1:22-23) is based on a faulty premise; to wit, that when Paul was called and commissioned in Acts 9, that he received the revelation of the mystery (as it is revealed by him in his letter to the Ephesians) which he then began to preach to the Jew first and then Gentiles on an equal basis due to God's temporary setting aside of Israel's kingdom program following the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. Mid Acts, of course, recognizes the fact that Paul went to the Jew first and made known to them that the Lord Jesus Christ was their prophesied Messiah who shed his blood for sin, was buried and rose again according to prophecy; but Mid Acts does not agree that Paul was also preaching along with Peter and the twelve that if Israel nationally showed repentance toward God they would receive their kingdom promises at that time.
Mid Acts dispensational teaching has had to come up with explanations for those odd Jewish bumps and lumps, such as all those references to faithful Abraham as being now our "father" in Romans and Galatians, the sign gifts and miracles in Paul's churches (and their sudden cessation following the Acts period), the heavenly Jerusalem being "
the mother of us all," and Paul's hundreds of allusions in his Acts period epistles and the Acts narrative to the fact that he was preaching things found in the Old Testament prophets. There are 70 OT quotes in the letter to the Romans alone – and only 8 in Paul's post-Acts epistles (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon).
For those who would rather listen than read, I highly recommend Brian's
audio page and just begin listening to them from the top down. If any readers can disprove or discredit the points being made, please feel free to comment. Keep in mind that attempts to discredit "the messenger" have no bearing on the authority and authenticity of the message but only serve Satan's policy of evil against the truth of God's word.
I maintain a lasting gratitude to all of those wonderful Mid Acts believers who have taught me to recognize Paul as our apostle for this dispensation of the grace of God and the fellowship of that mystery which he preached to us Gentiles. It's my prayer that my Mid Acts friends will delight in this further understanding of God's awesome outworking of his plan to redeem both the heavens and the earth with his people. If my move to an Acts 28 position results in a break in fellowship with any other grace believer, it will not be at my instigation as I love and respect you all as fellow mystery saints who love his appearing; and I look forward to a long and eternal fellowship with you all.
