7
`And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God
unto our fathers' (Acts 26:6).
This refers to the character of the hope which was in operation
during the Acts period, and which is to be found in the epistles
of that time.
While we are dealing with the question of Paul's defence, let
us turn back to the preceding chapter and read his statement
before Festus:
`... Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet
against Caesar, have I offended anything at all' (Acts 25:8)
Before Felix, in the previous chapter, the apostle had said:
`This I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so
worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in
the law and in the prophets: and have hope toward God, which they
themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of
the just and unjust' (Acts 24:14,15).
On the surface it appears that the apostle intended to convey
quite literally that up to the time of his imprisonment in
Caesarea his ministry had been but the legitimate expansion of
Old Testament prophecy, whether with reference to the gospel,
the hope, outpouring of spiritual gifts, or the inclusion of the
Gentiles. None of these things has any reference to the Mystery
as made known for the first time in the epistles to the Ephesians
and Colossians.
If in all Paul's ministry up to the date of Acts 26 he had said
`none other things than those that the prophets and Moses did
say should come', then it is both vain and unbelieving to look for
the Mystery in these early epistles. If upon examination it
should be found that the early epistles do contain truth which