Paul Was An Apostle Twice,
Both Before And After Acts 28,
That Leaves A Number Of Questions
If Paul preached only one message in the course of his ministry here on earth, and that message was concerning the Dispensation of The Mystery, we are led to wonder about a few things.
For instance, when on the Damascus road, Paul was given the order to preach the things which he had seen (Acts 26:16). The last record that we have of Paul seeing anything he could preach prior to his trip to Damascus was the sermon of Stephen (Acts 7:58 and Acts 8:1). Was Stephen preaching the Dispensation of The Mystery? Just wondering!
Again, in Acts 28:23, Paul is preaching that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel, and he does so from Moses and the prophets. Now is this a part of the Dispensation of the mystery?
If Paul never preached concerning the King and The Kingdom, how did the people at Thessalonica get the impression that he was preaching to another King besides Caesar? Just wondering!
In Romans, the last epistle of Paul before the events of Acts closed, it is proclaimed that the Gentiles are partakers of the spiritual things of Israel. Are we to believe that the Dispensation of the mystery is where Gentile believers share in the hope of Israel?
In Gal. 4:26, Paul speaks of Jerusalem, which is above, as the mother of us all. Is this the hope of the Dispensation of The Mystery? This is also the hope of the seven synagogues of Asia in Revelation, and it comes down to the earth.
Paul had received sign-gifts from The Spirit, as did The Twelve Apostles. In fact, every believer received a sign-gift during the Acts period up until Acts 28:28. Are these sign-gifts also a part of The Dispensation of The Mystery? Could it be that the faith healers and the folks who speak in tongues today are the real body of Christ? Just wondering!
In Romans 7, Paul speaks of the law as being holy and the commandment holy and just and good. Is this speaking to those who belong to The Church of The Dispensation of The Mystery?
After Paul had preached for some time and had on several occasions turned to the Gentiles, he stood before the council in Jerusalem in the defense of his Gospel. Peter stood up in his defense and declared that he had done this (preached to Gentiles) first (Acts 15:7). If Paul preached nothing but The Mystery, then Peter must have proclaimed it first in the house of Cornelius. But here we have trouble. After all, was it Peter, or was it Stephen who preached it first?
At Athens, Paul declared that there was One coming Who had been raised from the dead and that He would judge the world. Is this One The King of kings (and The King of Israel), or is it The Head of The Church, which is His Body that will judge the world? Just wondering!
On his last visit to Jerusalem, Paul shaved his head, made a vow, and worshiped in The Temple. Is this a part of the Dispensation of The Mystery?
In Romans 11 the Gentile is described as being grafted into the olive tree. Was this a secret?
