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salvation of God was "heard" and that believingly. And so the structure leads us step by
step to the crisis, the quotation of Isa. 6: 10, the Dispensational Landmark of the N.T.
Our next investigation must be the peculiar place that Isa. 6: 10 occupies in the
development of the purpose of the ages, and its association with "Mystery" and
"Gentile".
#57.
The Dispensational Landmark (28: 23 - 31).
The critical importance of
Isa. 6: 9, 10 demonstrated.
pp. 57 - 61
We have seen that the hope of Israel, with its accompanying evidential miracles,
continued throughout the Acts to the last chapter, and that Paul associated himself and the
Gentile believers entrusted to his care with that hope and kingdom. What we must keep
in mind, however, is that the kingdom of Israel had two phases, one earthly, the other
heavenly, and that it is with the heavenly phase that Paul associates the believing Gentile,
as Gal. 3: 28, 29; 4: 26; Heb. 3: 1 and 12: 22 reveal. That this heavenly phase is,
nevertheless, closely linked with the earthly portion of the kingdom Rom. 15: 12, 13
makes clear. We are not now attempting proof of these statements, but simply indicating
to the reader that we are fully alive to the fact that the churches under Paul's care were
not expecting to participate in the restored kingdom of Israel, even though their own
heavenly hope could not materialize until Israel was restored. For this reason the Apostle
used the wider, all-comprehensive, term "The kingdom of God", which we have seen
from Acts 1: 3 and 6 could be used to indicate the kingdom of Israel only, yet is wide
enough to include not only the heavenly phase of this kingdom (Acts 28: 23), but the
mystery itself, when the hope of the lower aspects of the kingdom went into abeyance
(Acts 28: 31). Again, we remind ourselves and our readers that these fragmentary
references cannot be considered as proof, but as our immediate concern is the general
teaching of this part of the Acts we pass on to consider the peculiar place which
Isa. 6: 9, 10 occupies in the dispensational teaching of the N.T.
The first quotation of this passage in the N.T. is in Matt. 13:, and an examination of
the context and what leads up to its quotation by our Lord will throw light upon its use by
Paul in this great climax of the Acts. The Gospel according to Matthew is purposely
limited in its scope. In face of the unambiguous words of Christ in Matt. 10: no one who
believes the inspiration of Scripture can deny this:
"Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not;
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10: 5, 6).
This limitation was reaffirmed in Matt. 15: where the Lord said in the hearing of the
Syro-phoenician woman:
"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15: 24).