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I have been asked what this 'being saved' business is all about. It was not something I planned or contrived. I simply came to see that the Bible was
suddenly hugely more believable once I was taught how to view it dispensationally. The mid-Acts dispensational position has beauty, simplicity and truth.
Once I saw it, a major reorganisation of everything I thought I knew about the Bible and God, started rumbling through my brain like a rapidly melting
glacier.
A new dispensation of God was introduced through the apostle Paul mid-way through the historical book
of Acts. Critics of mid-Acts dispensationalism point out that you have to “read between the lines” in
the book of Acts to come to such a conclusion. No you don’t. You just need the tiniest little bit of
common sense. Paul told us that the dispensation of the grace of God was given to him, by the revelation
of Jesus Christ, to pass on to us Gentiles. Paul was saved in Acts 9 so the dispensation of the grace
of God CANNOT HAVE BEGUN PRIOR TO ACTS 9.
“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither
received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12 AV)
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery;
(as I wrote afore in few words,” (Ephesians 3:1-3 AV)
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Mid-Acts dispensationalism led me to the word of God that is intended for us Gentiles in this era - the preaching of Christ according to the revelation of
the mystery, given only to the apostle Paul, sent specifically to us Gentiles by the risen, glorified Christ. The moment I heard and believed the gospel of
my salvation I was saved by the grace of God. I am still learning about my new position but the most immediate and noticeable change was a sense of totally
undeserved righteousness. I have been saved from a most deserved trip to hell and can look forward to a future in heavenly places.
The lyrics of my songs and the content of my writings below owe a great deal to
those from whom I initially learned about mid-Acts dispensationalism. Firstly John Aldworth, my local teacher
here in Hamilton, New Zealand. I also learnt a great deal from the writings and other material from several
sources in the U.S., including Terry McLean, Cornelius Stam, C.F. Baker and the Berean Bible Society. Although
I have been led to challenge some of the strongly held views of former teachers, there is no progress without
friction. A certain amount of argument and debate seems to have been integral to our apostle's ministry and I
would never have been saved in the first place if my local teacher had not been tough enough to calmly respond
to my initial, angry objections to mid-Acts dispensationalism.
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PROGRESSIVE REVELATION AND THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY (Oct 2008. Major update Jun 2009)
Soon after the stoning of Spirit-filled Stephen there was a flurry of heavenly activity.
The risen and glorified Lord returned to earth to recruit a new apostle and then through
heavenly visions arranged a very important meeting between his chief apostle and a Roman
centurion called Cornelius.
These heavenly interferences in the normal course of events
mark stages in the Lord's introduction of the new mystery dispensation of grace.
He later revealed to Paul what it all meant. I fully realise that some mid-Acts experts
will disagree with some of my conclusions regarding the introduction of the new dispensation.
I would appreciate the opportunity to persuade or be persuaded. The June 2009 update places
greater emphasis on Paul's involuntary and unmerited salvation as being the first of its kind.
(This is a stand-alone version of chapter 7 of "Salvation for the Belief-Challenged")
Progressive Revelation and the Revelation of the Mystery (PDF)
Progressive Revelation and the Revelation of the Mystery (HTML)
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WHY NO SIGNS AND WONDERS? (Aug 2008. Last updated Feb 28th, 2010)
This is a short study which reflects my current understanding of the absence of signs and wonders. The scriptures that declared what Christians would be
able to do once the Lord had ascended to the Father were a major cause of my disappointment and unbelief in Christianity. (See Mark 16:17-18 and John
14:12-13)
If Israel as a nation had recieved the Holy Ghost after the Lord's ascension then Mark 16:17-18 and John 14:12 would have come to pass. Believers would be
walking on water and keeping dangerous snakes as pets.
Because Israel rejected the Holy Ghost, the risen and glorified Lord put the whole prophetic program on hold and instead introduced his mystery dispensation
of grace. The signs of Mark 16 persisted among believers in some measure for as long as the Lord (through Paul) persisted in trying to persuade Israel to
come on board.
Why no signs and wonders? (PDF)
Why no signs and wonders? (HTML)
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DAY SIX IS NEARLY OVER (Dec 2008)
My interest in this topic was rekindled by a production I watched recently on JCTV. I had often
thought that it was very interesting that if you add the years of the Old Testament
up until Calvary (about 4000) to the years that have passed in this current grace
dispensation (nearly 2000) and the years of the millennial kingdom (1000), you get
7000 years. Connect this to Peter's declaration in his second epistle that 'a thousand
years is as a day with the Lord' and it is hard to resist the significance of that
number SEVEN. My calculation puts the rapture and the tribulation less than sixteen
years away.
Day Six is Nearly Over (PDF)
Day Six is Nearly Over (HTML)
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WHY PAUL, NOT PETER, IS OUR APOSTLE (July 2008, last updated Nov 13, 2009)
In answer to an email regarding the requirement or not of water baptism, I found it helpful to first establish from scripture that Paul is our apostle, not
Peter. The scriptural thread of my case can be read at one of the links below. This is a major rewrite of my first effort in November 2007.
Why Paul, not Peter, is our apostle (PDF)
Why Paul, not Peter, is our apostle (HTML)
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SALVATION FOR THE BELIEF-CHALLENGED (Dec 2006. Last updated June 12th, 2010)
This is a major rewrite of my first effort to expound my salvation understanding in December 2006. It is a much longer work with actual Bible quotations
rather than references. I am still a relative novice in my Bible knowledge and would greatly appreciate it if you could contact me regarding any errors you
detect. There are areas of both mystery and prophecy that I still don't fully understand and I have tried to avoid 'wresting things I don't understand to my
own destruction (2 Peter 3:16)'
Salvation for the Belief-Challenged (PDF)
Salvation for the Belief-Challenged (HTML)
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