`When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the

Gentiles granted repentance unto life' (Acts 11:18).

Peter, by his own mouth, himself confesses that Gentile salvation was never in his thoughts either at Pentecost or

after. To the seeking Cornelius he said:

`You know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or to come near to a

foreigner, but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean' (Acts 10:28 Author's

translation).

The word `reconciliation', which it has been suggested is the keynote of this new section of Acts is one of

intense significance, and is found only in the epistles of Paul. It is never used by Peter, James or John. It signified

that the exclusiveness of Israel's position among the nations was passing, and that the far-off Gentiles were being

brought back again into favour.

This is not the place to make the large digression necessary for an examination of the subject of reconciliation,

but two passages will suffice to suggest its importance in the Acts. The first is Acts 17:16-30, where the apostle

speaks of the long centuries of Gentile darkness during the period of Israel's ascendancy, but where he also indicates

that the time had arrived when the Gentile would come back into favour. Here are his words:

`God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in

temples made with hands ... hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,

and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation ... the times of this ignorance

God winked at (looked over); BUT NOW commandeth all men every where to repent' (Acts 17:24-30).

The second passage is Romans 11:

`I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come

unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the

diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? For I speak to you Gentiles, in as

much as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: if by any means I may provoke to emulation

them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the

world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?' (Rom. 11:11-15).

Here it is explicitly stated that salvation came to the Gentile through the fall of Israel. Further, it is taught that

the fall of Israel enriched the world, the diminishing of Israel enriched the Gentiles, and the casting away of Israel

brought about the reconciling of the world. In addition, Paul here claims to be the apostle of the Gentiles, and shows

that the Gentile was being enriched at that time to provoke Israel to jealousy. But not until we reach Acts 28 do we

know for certain that Israel would not repent. There, in the very last chapter, we find Paul sending for the chief of

the Jews and telling them that `for the hope of Israel' he was bound with a chain (28:17-20). Not until the chief of

the Jews there had refused his all-day testimony did Paul pronounce the judgment of which he had warned them in

Acts 13:40, quoting Isaiah 6:10, and declaring that the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles (Acts 28:28).

The last few verses of Acts 28 are associated with Rome. The keyword is rejection, for Israel now pass off the

scene; they become Lo-ammi, and salvation is sent to the Gentile, without reference to the Jew. This brings the book

to a close.

We can now visualize the Book of the Acts under three R's thus:

RESTORATION.

Jerusalem.

Jews only. Peter.

RECONCILIATION.

Antioch.

Jews and Gentiles.

Paul and others.

REJECTION.

Rome.

Gentiles only. Paul.

With the preparation afforded by this survey we can take up the opening section, and learn its lessons without its

being spoiled by the intrusion of matters that had no place during the period of this first section, but belong to

subsequent times and commissions.