‘Mid-Acts-ers’ emphasize that Paul was the apostle who received ‘further revelation’ from the ‘risen, glorified Lord’. Although it is an undeniable fact that he did .... it is also true that, so did the other apostles, for it was the 11 that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection. Jesus’ 11 apostles also received ‘further revelation’ from the ‘risen, glorified Lord’ (being the ‘same’ ‘risen, glorified Lord’ that blinded Saul):
Matt 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16:14-20 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Although Paul was the last to see the ‘risen, glorified Lord’ .... he was, by far, not the ONLY one to see Jesus after His resurrection glory, as we will read in 1 Cor 15:8 below:
1 Cor 15:1-8 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received,
and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas (that's Peter), then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
After giving the gospel Paul received (1 Cor 15:1,3),
the gospel he delivered (1 Cor 15:3),
the gospel he preached (1 Cor 15:1),
the gospel that the Corinthians received (1 Cor 15:1),
the gospel they stood in (1 Cor 15:1),
the gospel they were saved by (1 Cor 15:2),
and the gospel they believed (1 Cor 15:2),
(which was that Christ died for our sins (1 Cor 15:3),
was buried, and rose again the 3rd day --- according to PROPHETIC scriptures ALREADY written) ....
and after giving the list of more than 512 men who had seen the ‘risen, glorified Lord’ (1 Cor 15:5-7) .... Paul said he, lastly, saw Jesus also:
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ elevate Paul to a ‘different’ apostle with a ‘distinct’ gospel message of salvation .... but Paul himself testified that he was the ‘smallest’ of them (not in size or stature) because of his awful history of such damage against God’s church:
1 Cor 15:9-10 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (Notice: The church of God existed BEFORE Paul.)
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Paul testified that it made no difference .... if it was him or any of THEM .... they all preached the ‘D,B,R’ (Death, Burial, Resurrection) of Christ .... and the result was that folks were saved:
1 Cor 15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’, listening to the Cunning Royal Jester and his Jokers, think Paul had a ‘unique’ gospel .... a gospel given solely to him by the ‘risen, glorified Lord’. They question (whether vocally or silently) anyone’s testimony if they claim to have been saved using scriptures other than the epistles Paul wrote. I shudder that I was deceived by ‘mid-Acts’ doctrine in ‘time past’, ‘but now’ I am so thankful that I am out of that mess. In ‘the ages to come’ I will try to prevent others from being ensnared by their paradigm. ‘Mid-Acts’ teaching can be defeated by believing the WORDS in the VERSES.
This is David Dowell saying, “Think about it!”
