'The present prayer of the disciples clearly answers to the second

Psalm, as a comparison shows:

Pontius Pilate

The Gentiles

The peoples of Israel'.

The problem though faced is not resolved.

The facing of this apparent difficulty brings its reward in a clearer

understanding of Psalm 2:1.

'Why do the heathen rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing?'

It is usual, and in measure excusable, to take the word 'peoples' as a

parallelism with the goyim or heathen, as in Psalm 44:2, but a deeper

teaching awaits us here.  If we accept the inspiration of the speakers in

Acts 4, then the 'peoples' of Psalm 2:1 are the peoples of Israel, and they

are thus denominated and mingled with the heathen because they act like them!

The very unusual departure from customary usage is a vivid witness of the sad

condition of the people of Israel at the time prophesied in Psalm 2,

foreshadowed in Acts 4 and fulfilled in the day of the Lord.

Just as hatred to Christ made the erstwhile enemies, Pilate and Herod,

friends (Luke 23:12), so rejection of their Messiah caused the separate and

chosen people to be classed with the heathen; they were all 'gathered

together against the Lord and against His Christ'.  We now pass

to the one occasion where Paul uses the word laos in the plural and that is

in Romans 15:11, where, in his endeavour to prove that the Gentile nations

had some share in the hope of Israel at that time, he quoted as a proof text

the words of Psalm 117:1, 'Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud Him,

all ye peoples' (Rom. 15:11).

The remaining five occasions where the word 'people' is plural are contained

in the book of the Revelation (Rev. 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 17:15 and 21:3).

'There are some commentators of standing and repute who have,

notwithstanding the definite statement of the early part of Revelation

7, interpreted the 144,000 of the tribes of the children of Israel as

of the Church.

'It will be remembered that we considered this passage in our last

article, and gave evidence that the statements of the chapter were to

be taken literally.  We now approach the second part of the chapter,

and the questions arise, "Is the great multitude the Church?  Are they

Gentiles?"  By far the great majority of writers take it for granted

that this company is composed of saved Gentiles.  This we question, and

ask the reader to reserve his judgment until we have examined the

Scripture together.  It is no argument to produce Scripture to show

that the Gentiles will be blessed through Israel; that is a blessed

fact, but it does not prove anything here.  The words of verse 9 are

taken to indicate the Gentile character of the great multitude: