A third feature of dispensational importance is his saying in Acts

`For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain'.

The hope of Israel is expressed in Acts 1:6, it is repeated in Acts

26:6,7, and it is still prominent in Acts 28.  Can this hope of Israel, the

fulfilment of the promises made unto the fathers, the fulfilment of Isaiah 11

(see Rom. 15:12,13), can it be at the same time the hope of the church called

under new terms, into a new sphere, and entirely dissociated from the

`covenants', `the commonwealth of Israel', the promises to Abraham, Isaac and

When the apostle met the chief of the Jews, he expounded and testified

the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning `Jesus', both out of the law

of Moses, and out of the Prophets, from morning till evening, but after the

setting aside of Israel, he preached the kingdom of God, but taught those

things which concern `the Lord Jesus Christ' (not `Jesus' now), with all

confidence, no man forbidding him; no longer `expounding' and no longer

drawing from Moses and the Prophets, for the simple reason that the `secret'

was never disclosed in Moses or the Prophets, but had been `revealed' to him

as the prisoner of Jesus Christ.  (See Eph. 3:1 -13).

Moreover, the quotation of Isaiah 6:9,10 affected Israel of the

dispersion in the same way as the quotation of the same passage in Matthew 13

affected Israel in the land.  Matthew 11 and 12 reveal the rejection of

Christ and the failure of Israel to repent, even though they had seen

so many miracles.  This first rejection is followed by `mystery', the

mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.  In Acts 28 Israel again reject their

Messiah, and the rejection this time being complete, miraculous gifts cease,

the hope of Israel is deferred, and for the first time since the call of

Abraham in Genesis 12 the salvation of God is `sent' to the Gentiles

independently of Israel, a feature unique in the testimony of Scripture, and

not appreciated as it should be.  We submit that there are abundant signs of

a change of dispensation consequent upon Israel entering into their `lo -

ammi' state.

For positive testimony we have but to read Ephesians 3:1 -3:

`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

And again in Colossians 1:24 -27:

` ... for His body's sake, which is the church: whereof I am made a

minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for

you, to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid

from ages and generations, but now is made manifest to His saints ...

Christ in (among) you (sent to the Gentiles) the hope of glory'.

Here we must pause.  Further items of importance come before us in our

next criticism.  We believe that no one can ponder the teaching of the Word

as written in Acts 28, Ephesians 3 and Colossians 1, without realizing that a

great and drastic dispensational change took place.  We believe that the