This study is a continuation of our house church study in the book of Acts that I posted earlier. As I receive these insights, I will continue to post them.
Acts 1:15-26
15 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, [It’s interesting that 12 (disciples) of the 120 gathered is 10%.]
16 "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide [3595- “a leader of the way, a guide”] to those who arrested Jesus. [See Psalm 55:12-15]
17 "For he was counted among us and received [2975- “to obtain by lot, to receive by divine allotment”] his share [2819- see def. below in verse 26] in this ministry."
18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.
19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) [See Matthew 27:1-10]
20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'LET HIS HOMESTEAD [1886- “a farm, a dwelling, habitation”] BE MADE DESOLATE [2048- “desolate, deserted, lonely, uninhabited”], AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT'; and, 'LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE [1984- “oversight, office, charge”].' [Psalm 69:25]
21 "Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us —
22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us — one of these must become a witness [3144- “a witness, a martyr”] with us of His resurrection." [Notice that it’s not a newcomer, but someone who had been there from the beginning.]
23 So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus [“just” or “upright”]), and Matthias [“gift of God”].
24 And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen [Have you ever wondered how Justus might have felt?]
25 to occupy [5117- “a spot, place, room, opportunity”] this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside [3845- “to go contrary, to go aside, to go beyond, to transgress, fall”] to go to his own place."
26 And they drew lots [2819; same Greek in verse 17; see the section Casting Lots below] for them, and the lot fell to Matthias [“gift of God”]; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
NASU
The Gathering Of 120 (Acts 1:15)
2 Chronicles 5:1-14 – The ark of the covenant is brought into the finished temple of Solomon in verses 1-10. It was a “prepared place” for the Lord to inhabit. Verses 11-14 describe what happened next. I see a definite similarity to Acts 2 when the Spirit was poured out on the 120 gathered disciples.
The priests “who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions.” It will be the same for the “holy priesthood” of believers at the end of this age that God is preparing as He did the 120 disciples who gathered together as one in the upper room (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:4-6, 5:8-10, 20:6). As the 120 priests were blowing trumpets (shofars; see Isaiah 58:1) “in unison” (“united; i.e. one”), along with “the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen,” the cloud of glory filled the house of God (much like the glory of God that filled the disciples in the house they had been gathered into by the Lord in Acts 2).
11 When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions),
12 and all the Levitical singers, Asaph [“gatherer”], Heman [“faithful”], Jeduthun [“praising”], and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen [see Lev. 16:1-4, Rev. 19:7-8], with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets [see Isaiah 58:1]
13 in unison [259- “united; i.e. one”] when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one [259] voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, "He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,
14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
NASU
(From the article “And I heard the Lord say, ‘The number 120 has great significance!’”)
“Years ago, the Lord spoke to me regarding the importance and significance of the Number ‘120.’ And He said, ‘The number 120 signifies the passing away of the age of the flesh, and the beginning of the age of the Spirit.’
Each time you see the number 120 in the Bible, you will see how this ‘Definition’ will apply and enhance your perception of what is taking place in that particular passage.”
Examples:
“My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3)
Moses lived 120 years and died just prior to the Hebrews entering into “The Promised Land.” (Deuteronomy 34:7)
120 Priests were with King Solomon when they brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 5:12)
120 people were gathered in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
A Jubilee is a 50-year Jewish cycle that removed every man out of captivity and into his own land. 120 of these Jubilees (50 years) = 6,000 years of man.
(The following insight is from My Journal Of Healing. It refers to the “new thing” of the Lord that He declared we would partake of this year, in abundance.)
February 7, 2025
Early this morning I woke up and looked at my alarm clock next to my bed. It read 4:44am [I saw this again on 3-2-25]. I looked up the number 4 per the Hebrew in “Hebrew Linguistics & The Bible” (https://www.gods-abcs.com/numbers-1-to-40-defined);
“The number 4 (daleth) The Earth, Material Creation
Daleth is a door in Hebrew. In biblical numerology, four is the number of the earth, or the material creation of God. On the fourth day of creation the material world was finished (Gen. 1:14-19), thereby allowing God to furnish it with living creatures… At the end of Psalm 4, we find that it is “to the chief Musician upon Nehiloth,” which means inheritances. It has to do with inheriting the earth (Matt. 5:5), beginning with our own “earth,” our own “Canaan,” our Promised Land, the glorified body. Yet before the righteous can inherit the earth, they must be trained and disciplined in the earth, often suffering to test their faith. Thus, Israel had to be tested in the wilderness (Ps. 95:8; Heb. 3:8) before they could inherit the land of Canaan.”
[A Christian’s “lot” on earth is determined by the Lord. The fulfillment of that lot is also determined by the Lord, per our response to His calling in our lives. (See Proverbs 16:33 in part 2 of this study.)]
Lord, as You have over and over during this journey through the wilderness of Your choosing, thank-you for this word of encouragement. This is another confirmation of what You revealed to me on January 1, 2025; “…What I believe I saw, and then heard from Him, was that we too, this year, would partake of the ‘produce/fruit of Canaan,’ the new provision of the Lord, with abundance.” Amen. May it be according to the word of the Lord.
Judas; A Guide (“a leader of the way”) For The Binding Of Jesus (Acts 1:16)
“[Peter speaking] Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide [3595- “a leader of the way, a guide”] to those who arrested Jesus.”
Judas led others to Jesus, but obviously not for the right reasons. There are leaders in the church today that do the same per their heart’s negative response to the lordship of Christ over them. The Lord’s grace over them has been overcome by a fleshly craving. If they desire to have preeminence over God in their walk with Him, then they too will end up with the same spirit of betrayal that overcame Judas.
John gave us an example of someone with this spirit in the church in one of his writings;
“I wrote something to the church [1577- “a calling out, gathering of those summoned”]; but Diotrephes [1361- “raise/nourished by Zeus”], who loves to be first [5383- “to be fond of being first, i.e. ambitious of distinction; to aspire after pre-eminence”] among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.”
NASU (3 John 1:9-11/NASU)
Preeminence means “the highest place of ascendency, above all, over all, surpassing all, to the point that nothing and no one else can even come close.” It’s “the state of being preeminent—extremely distinguished, outstanding, or superior to all others.”
In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul speaks of the superiority of Christ in the church;
“[Jesus] is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place [4409- “to be first, hold the first place, to be preeminent”] in everything.”
(Colossians 1:18/NASU)
This is what every Christian must aspire after; that Christ would come to have “first place” in every area of our life.
Judas And Ahithophel; Brothers Of Betrayal
Matthew 26:47-50 – Judas guides those who hated Jesus to Him. Jesus’ response to Judas, calling him “friend,” is very interesting. In Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-14), a picture of His future wedding feast, He spoke of a man who was in the wedding hall, but not dressed in the appropriate wedding clothes. The king said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?” He too was referred to as friend, but like Judas, was cast out of the king’s presence. These friends of the world would prove themselves, by their actions, to not be His friends. Because of his selling out of Jesus, Judas lost his “share” (same Greek [2819] for “drew lots”) in Christ. How many disciples of the Lord are gambling with their “share/lot” in Christ today?
47 While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him."
49 Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
50 And Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.
NASU
John 13:16-18 – See the note below.
16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
18 "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'
NIV
In this passage, Jesus had just washed His disciple’s feet, including Judas, in what most refer to as “The Last Supper.” It was during His last Passover seder meal before His crucifixion that He said these things. In telling them that they would be blessed in serving one another (i.e. the picture of foot washing), He let them know that not all of them were clean (v.10-11). Referring to Judas’ betrayal that would soon take place, and was in fact already in progress, Jesus quotes from a psalm of David, saying, “He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.” (Psalm 41:9) To lift up your heel against someone is “to exalt yourself over someone else.” It’s a metaphor for betrayal and treachery. David’s experience with the man who betrayed him is similar, in some respects, with Christ’ betrayal by Judas. The lives of both of the men who betrayed them ended in like manner.
In Psalm 41, David is speaking to the Lord of how his enemies are treating him. He says in verse 9;
“Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”
It is believed be many, even though David doesn’t name him, that he is referring to a man named Ahithophel.
In 2 Samuel, chapter 15, David’s son Absolom conspires to take his father’s throne. Ahithophel, David’s close counselor, defected from him, joining together with Absalom in his rebellion against his father. It was said that the advice of Ahithophel “was as if one inquired of the word of God.” (2 Samuel 16:23)
After aligning himself with Absalom, thereby betraying King David, Ahithophel went as far as to present his plan to Absalom of pursuing David in order to kill him. Remember, Judas also had a plan to pursue and capture Jesus through which He would be crucified.
Earlier, as he had fled Jerusalem with his loyal servants, David had prayed, “O Lord, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.” (2 Samuel 15:31) Interestingly enough, his name means “brother of folly,” or “my brother is foolish.”
A man named Hushai was intending to leave with David, but he told him to stay in the palace as an informant, letting him know what was happening within it. After Ahithophel gave his advice to Absalom in regards to chasing after David, he called for Hushai to see what advice he would give. He said something much different, stating in his advice that Absalom should personally go into the battle with David’s men. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said;
“‘The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.’ For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom.”
(2 Samuel 17:14/NASU)
David was then informed of the plan so that he would be ready for them.
When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, “he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father's tomb.”
(2 Samuel 17:23/NIV)
This treacherous spirit of betrayal against the king is alive and well today in the church. There are those in the body of Christ who are also conspiring against their Father, choosing to relinquish His throne within them to the enemy within, like Absalom. Their betrayal will openly display themselves as being God in their own eyes, It will be their final act of self-exaltation. They are “sons of destruction” that lift up their heel against Christ, resulting in their being struck down when He appears at His return.
Paul describes all of this in detail in 2 Thessalonians, chapter two. He said;
“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy [646- “defection from truth, a falling away”] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God [we are His temple], displaying himself as being God.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-4/NASU)
These Christians Paul describes right before the return of Christ, who partook of the Bread of Life, are the sons of betrayal that have chosen, to their destruction, to seat themselves on the throne of their hearts, in His inner temple of their bodies, displaying themselves as being God. It will cost them their lot, their destiny in Christ.
Crucifying Christ, Again
Matthew 27:1-2 – See the note below.
1 Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;
2 and they bound [1210- “to tie, bind, fasten, to forbid, prohibit”] Him, and led Him away [520- “to take off, to lead away”] and delivered [3860] Him to Pilate the governor.
NASU
NT:3860 paradidomi (par-ad-id'-o-mee)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:3844 and NT:1325; to surrender, i.e yield up, intrust, transmit:
KJV - betray, bring forth, cast, commit, deliver (up), give (over, up), hazard, put in prison, recommend.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to give over
1. properly, to give into the hands (of another)
2. to give over into (one's) power or use: tini ti, to deliver to one something to keep, use, take care of, manage (Matthew 11:27)
3. equivalent to to commit, to commend (Acts 14:26)
4. to deliver verbally: commands, rites (Mark 7:13)
5. to permit, allow: absolutely hotan paradoo or paradoi ho karpos, when the fruit will allow, i. e., when its ripeness permits (Mark 4:29)
This passage speaks in regards to the binding of Jesus by His enemies. (See the Bible study Binding And Loosing.) It’s important to note here that Judas, one of Christ’ own disciples, would be their guide (Matthew 26:47-50). There are leaders in the church today who, like the chief priests and elders in Jesus’ day, have bound Him and led Him away from themselves and those under their care.
As I read this one day, the Lord spoke to me and said, “My people have done this to Me today; they have bound Me and led Me away.” The religious leaders of the Jewish people led Christ away from them to crucify Him, to put Him to death. It would cost them, and their children, dearly. In fact, when Pilate gave the people their choice of releasing the criminal Barabbas or Jesus they said Barabbas. When asked what then should be done with Jesus they cried out, “Crucify Him!” (Matthew 27:11-23) “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves.’ And all the people said, ‘His blood shall be on us and on our children!’” (Matthew 27:24-25/NASU) Their bloodguiltiness would cause the destruction of Jerusalem, themselves, and their temple, as predicted by Jesus (Luke 19:43-44), in 70 A.D. by the Romans who were led by Titus. Their rejection of Him as their Messiah, shedding His innocent blood on the cross, would cause their guilty blood to be shed by the Romans.
Hebrews 6:1-8 – See the note below.
1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do, if God permits.
4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened [5461] and have tasted [1089- “fig. to experience, partake of”] of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers [3353- “participant, sharing in, partaking of, a partner”] of the Holy Spirit, [see Hebrews 3:1; “holy brethren, partakers [3353] of a heavenly calling…”]
5 and have tasted [1089] the good word of God and the powers [1411- “strength, ability, (miraculous) power”] of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away [3895- “to fall away (i.e. fig. to apostatize; turn aside, wander”], it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify [388- see def. below] to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame [3856- “to show alongside (the public), to expose to public disgrace, to set forth as an example”].
7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;
8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless [96- “not approved, i.e. rejected; not standing the test”] and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. [See the Bible studies Reprobate, and Worthless Men.]
NASU
NT:5461 photizo (fo-tid'-zo)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:5457; to shed rays, i.e. to shine or (transitively) to brighten up (literally or figuratively):
KJV - enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light, make to see.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. intransitive, to give light, to shine (Revelation 22:5)
2. transitive,
a. properly, to enlighten, light up, illumine: tina (Luke 11:36)
b. to bring to light, render evident (1 Corinthians 4:5)
c. by a use only Biblical and ecclesiastical, to enlighten spiritually, imbue with saving knowledge: tina (John 1:9)
(Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
anastauroo (ana, again) is used in Hebrews 6:6 of Hebrew apostates, who as merely nominal Christians [but still a “Christian”], in turning back to Judaism, were thereby virtually guilty of “crucifying” Christ again.
When God’s people rebel against His lordship over them, we are acting just like those of “God’s People” (i.e. the Jews) who bound Jesus and led Him away to be crucified at His first coming. They put Him off from themselves (i.e. taken Him off), instead of putting Him on, and keeping Him on (Romans 13:12-14). Like Judas, he who was once His friend, that He broke the Bread of Life with has now become His enemy. As it was the first time, He came unto His own and they rejected Him as their Messiah, not wanting Him to reign over them (Luke 19:14). By so doing today, you are handing His power in your life over to the devil to do as he pleases. Your actions are in agreement with those who rejected Him as their Messiah, binding Him and leading Him away from you to the chant of, “Crucify Him!”
Today, many in the church, through their open disobedience to His lordship over them, have bound Him in their lives, putting Him to “open shame” before others who are watching. Like the religious leaders among the Jews in Christ’ day, they have now become His enemy, after becoming His friend, and are figuratively nailing Him on a cross, ridding themselves of Him, for all to see. By binding His transforming work within them, they are revealing their apostate hearts, thereby insulting Him before the world. By their rejection of Him, they are shaming Him publicly, revealing Him as someone who must be done away with. Again, like His enemies, these people (i.e. Christians) have bound Him from becoming their Messiah, after turning to Him (Hebrews 10:26-31), and have led Him away from themselves. They have handed Him over to the power of his enemies, which is also now over them (see the Bible study Hearing God Through A Clear Channel which speaks of a Christian coming under the devil’s power after being raised up with Christ through their unconfessed rebellion). It says to the public that his enemy is more powerful than He is, bringing glory to them. This is the heart of a deserter, like Judas.
As a young Christian, I listened to a preacher, while trying to defend his position of salvation (i.e. once saved always saved), say that this wasn’t referring to a Christian, but someone who only tasted a bit of the Holy Spirit, but never actually took Him fully into their lives. Even back then what he was offering didn’t “taste” very good in my spirit. Even worse, those who were drinking the poisoned waters he was pouring out for them would, like Him, come under the spell induced by the doctrines of demons;
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…”
(1 Timothy 4:1/NASU)
Without repentance those he was supposed to be protecting were in danger of becoming a wicked, lazy Laodicean Christian who will be spit out of God’s mouth, cast out of His kingdom. (See the Bible study Outer Darkness for more on what will cause a Christian to be cast out from God, “disqualified” from the race, as Paul wrote, never to receive the prize of salvation.)
Verse 4 makes it VERY CLEAR who the writer is describing. First of all, they were “those who have once been enlightened.” The Greek for “enlightened” is defined as “to give light, to shine, enlighten, illumine, to enlighten spiritually, imbue with saving knowledge.”
Next, it says they “have tasted of the heavenly gift.” The Greek for “tasted” means “to eat; figuratively, to experience, to cause to taste.” This same Greek word, interpreted as “taste,” is used earlier in Hebrews while referring to the death of Jesus. It says;
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
(Hebrews 2:9/NIV)
No one would dare say that He only took a small portion, but did not fully partake of death for mankind.
The other phrase within verse four is “and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit.” The Greek for “partakers” is defined as “participant, sharing in, partaking of, a partner.” No one can be called an unbeliever (i.e. not a Christian) who is in partnership with the Holy Spirit.
These words make it clear that the one being describes having “fallen away,” now being “impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame” is none other than a Christian who started the race with Christ, but then fell away from following Him with an apostate, rebellious heart. This proves that there is a time when it’s too late.
Here are some interesting interpretations of Hebrews 6:4-6 in a couple different versions;
“After people have left the way of Christ, can you make them change their lives again? I am talking about people who once learned the truth, received God’s gift, and shared in the Holy Spirit. They were blessed to hear God’s good message and see the great power of his new world. But then they left it all behind, and it is not possible to make them change again. That’s because those who leave Christ are nailing him to the cross again, shaming him before everyone.”
(The ERV version)
“But what about people who turn away after they have already seen the light and have received the gift from heaven and have shared in the Holy Spirit? What about those who turn away after they have received the good message of God and the powers of the future world? There is no way to bring them back. What they are doing is the same as nailing the Son of God to a cross and insulting him in public!”
(The CEV version)
Hebrews 12:14-17 – This is an extremely strong warning that many in the church, because of their acceptance of the devil’s lies as truth, totally miss. Esau found “no place [“opportunity, power, occasion for acting”] for repentance” because he treated his “right of the firstborn” with disrespect and careless negligence. See The Inner Struggle right below for more.
14 Pursue [1377- “to run after, to follow after, to seek after eagerly”] peace with all men, and the sanctification [38- “purification, consecration, holiness”] without which no one will see the Lord.
15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God [which means it is possible, which is why the writer of Hebrews, throughout his book, is warning Christians]; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled [3392- “to dye with another color, to stain, to defile, pollute, sully, contaminate, soil”];
16 that there be no immoral [4205- “a man who indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse, a fornicator”; see 1 Cor. 5:9-13 in which Paul gives us instructions how we should deal with a Christian who is a fornicator] or godless [952- “heathenish, wicked, profane”] person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place [5117- “opportunity, power, occasion for acting”] for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
NASU
(Continued in part 2...)
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