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(1)
The position of Jerusalem with respect to worship (4: 19-24).
(2)
The relationship of John's "tarrying" to the Second Coming (21: 20-23).
(3)
The presentation of the Holy Spirit's ministry (14: and 16:).
Further to the second point may be observed the remarks of the Lord (not recorded by
the other Evangelists) on His "coming to them" (chapter 14:).
(1)
The position of Jerusalem with respect to worship.
"The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem,
worship the Father . . . . . the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and truth" (4: 21, 23).
When was this hour to be? All the expectations of the Acts period were centred in
Jerusalem. During the coming age all nations were to flow there to worship:
"And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came up
against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of
hosts . . . . . unto Jerusalem" (Zech. 14: 16, 17).
The reader is urged to read the whole of Zech. 14:, when it will be seen that this
"worship" at Jerusalem is presented after the Second Coming to the Mount of Olives
(verse 4).
To what period then does the prophecy in John 4: refer? The Apostle clarifies the
position by the insertion of the words "and now is" (verse 23), i.e. "at the time of writing
(post Acts 28:)". In recording this prophecy of the Lord (no other Gospel writer
does), John indicates that a time had now arrived when Jerusalem was no longer to be
looked upon as a centre of worship; the "hope of Israel" had been succeeded by another
hope, the prior position of the Jew had gone. Without actually intruding into the
exclusive ministry of Paul, John seeks to explain that the overthrow of Jerusalem was a
consequence of the rejection by Israel of their Messiah ("His own received Him not"--
1: 11), an event suggested by the Lord in His conversation with the Samaritan woman,
and an evidence that a new dispensation now obtained in which the `true' replaced the
typical (4: 23, 24). This dispensation concerned the `world' irrespective of the Jew; the
`children of God' were `as many as' received the "True Light" (1: 9-12).
(2)
The relationship of John's "tarrying" to the Second Coming.
The Lord had suggested the possibility that John might remain alive unto His coming
again. This had led to the false assumption that this was necessarily so. There was
however an "if" attached to the Lord's words.
"Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come" (21: 22).
Any who have appreciated the position during the Acts period will realize that an "if"
conditioned the Lord's return at that time, the "if" of repentance on the part of Israel (see
Acts 3: 19, 20). The "coming" was imminent and expected throughout the Acts, as an
examination of the epistles written at that time will reveal. When after constant rejection