Hi, we're in the Book of Acts, Chapter 1. Welcome to those listening by other means on the internet. Give us a call if you wish, or an email, and simply questions at vftbc.org, or give us a call at 856-261-9018. Glad to hear from you, glad you're here with us. We started with verse 11 last Thursday. So let's begin, we'll just read 11, 12, and 13. We'll take 11 a little bit more, just sort of review it very briefly. Let's read that together. Acts 1, 11, 12, and 13. God, you read 11. Which also say, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Verse 12. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from a mouth called Oliveth, which is from Jerusalem on the Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode was both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, and Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, and James, the son of Matthew, and Simon, the locust, and Judas, the brother of James. All right, in verse 11, Who did the witch refer back to in verse 11? Witch also said. Who would that refer to? Witch also said? The men in white apparel. The men in white apparel. Apparently these angels. These angels. And they talked about the men of Galilee. Now where is Galilee? North. North of Jerusalem. North of Jerusalem. And apparently these men were from Galilee. They were Galileans. And what was the question that the angels asked these eleven men. Why are you staring at the sky? Why am I looking up at the sky? That's right, gazing up. And then, what was the announcement? Yes, Dan's got something. Go right ahead, Dan. Well, dear Pastor Brady, hello to everyone at BFTBC. Thank you for tonight's Bible study from Joe and Norma Fossey. Oh, Norma, let's wave our hands to Joe way over in California, a long ways away. Thank you, Joe and Norma. Alright, so what affirmation did the two angels give to these eleven apostles? First number, 11. So the Lord Jesus Christ was going to return. He was going to return. And what does it mean, the same Jesus? The one that you saw go up to heaven. The one you saw go up to heaven. What kind of a body did he have at that time? Resurrected body. Resurrected body. It was different than his incarnation body. It was a resurrected body. Would that body be similar to other bodies in heaven? Well, that body of the Lord Jesus that was resurrected, would it be similar to others in heaven? He was the first fruit. The first fruit. The resurrection. What would the same born-again Christians look like? Jesus. A body similar, like the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Like him, well-beaten, Jesus, but with a similar resurrected, glorified body. And so the same Jesus whom you see There are witnesses that he went in and had the ascension. Very important. Taken up from him, shall so come. What does it mean, so come? So. As, I guess. As, in the same way, in light manner, as you see it. What light manner would it be? What type of ascension was it? Bodily. Bodily. And the soul, light manner would be bodily. returned, ascended bodily, and came back bodily. That's one of the lies that the Bishop Westcott and Professor Hort denied. The book that Westcott wrote on the Gospel of John, for example, he denies the bodily ascension of the Lord Jesus. Bodily resurrection denies, also bodily ascension as well. This is not Act Step 1, honey, would you take a seat, please? I want the flowers shown. I want them special to be shown. Okay, honey, this is Susan. Susan, you're in the audience. So, the light manner as you go in, you have your soul calm and light manner as you see and go. So this is a very important attestation and pronouncement of the return of Christ. Now will this be at the rapture or will it be at the second phase of this coming? I don't know. Oh my God, I don't know. Will what be at the rapture? Will this come in light matter? Will it be at the rapture or at the second phase? Second phase. Will the rapture be down on Earth? No. No. Where will it be? In the clouds. In the clouds. Up in the clouds. So this is the second phase of the second coming. to this earth. He sent him both from Mount Olives. He came back from Mount Olives. In fact, in verse 13... What's your question about the rapture? Well, which phase of the coming is it? So, coming like man or just seeing him go up? Is it the coming of the rapture or the coming of the second phase? That's the question. He will come back in like man if he's seen him go. Alright, I don't know. Go ahead. Honey, if you get your mind off the flowers, it'd be easier to get back on verse 11. I'm thinking about the mess in there, I don't know. It's making me a nervous wreck. Hold it, please. All right, verse number 12. What did the disciples, the apostles, do, these 11, after the angels met them and talked about the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ? What did they do then? They returned to Jerusalem. Returned to Jerusalem. Where were they before? Where were they according to verse 12? Where did they go? They were in Mount of Olives. Mount of Olives. And how far away is Mount of Olives from Jerusalem? 7 days journey. How many? 7 days? Sabbath day journey. Verse 12. In verse 12? Yes. I believe close to a quarter of a mile. Quarter of a mile. I mean that's a rough number. So we could get a more precise number by number of feet and so forth. It's not far. So they had to go a certain about a quarter of a mile. That was all they could do. I believe that's what it is. What was the requirement of the Jews, the Old Testament law of Moses, about the Sabbath day's journey? What was the rule of that? You could only go so far. Only go so far. On the Sabbath. On the Sabbath? What day of the week was the Sabbath? Saturday. Saturday. Has the Sabbath ever changed? No. It's always been Saturday. Now, are the Christians today, in this age of grace, obligated to worship and follow the Sabbath and all the requirements? No. None of them. we don't worship on the Sabbath, we can walk all we want on Saturday, and these people are Saturday Adventists, and they're wrong, they're unscriptural. We can also walk all we want on Sunday. We can walk all we want on Sunday, absolutely. Now, there's some people who used to come to our church, they were Sabbatarians, and they believed that Sunday was the Christian Sabbath. And they wouldn't do certain things, because they're under the law of Moses. I know one man, for example, he would never go anywhere on Sunday because it wouldn't drive, it wouldn't walk. I know some people wouldn't eat, they wouldn't buy anything. And whether it was one of these or anywhere else, because it was Sunday. They had worship on the Sabbath. Did they come to church on Sunday? Pardon me? Did they come to church on Sunday? They came to church on Sunday, but they didn't want to buy a shop. You said there was somebody that wouldn't drive or wouldn't go anywhere. No, that was a different person. So they didn't come to church then? No, there's other people. I'm just curious. Yeah, that's right. There's other persons that were sabotaging. And so my wife's father was a sabotager. He was very strong on Sunday, being like the Sabbath, and so he wouldn't do certain things on Sunday, but this was, many people hold it. He believed that Sunday was like a Sabbath. He had rules. He never said that. We weren't supposed to do certain things. Well, that's what I mean. On the Lord's Day, we can do anything we want. My standing with my children when they were growing up... We couldn't even sew a button. We couldn't even sew a button. We couldn't even sew a button. So he's like the sun. This is a special thing. Her father was very strict on Sunday being like the sun, but not completely, but like it. Was I going to say something about that? Sorry. I mean there is some value to like the concept of taking the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, and trying to sort of prepare for the week ahead, and think on spiritual things so that you're prepared spiritually for the coming week. I mean, perhaps it's taking to an extreme, but I mean, I don't think we should just treat it like any other day, and necessarily, and As we were bringing up our sons—Diane wasn't born yet, but Don, Dave, and Dick—in Newton, Massachusetts. Okay, I guess she wasn't. As we're bringing up our children, I told them that this is a day we come to services, Sunday school, morning service, evening service, and that's the main thing. We worship the Lord on Sunday. Now, the boys used to play out in the yard on the swings on Sunday. Our neighbor across the street said, this is sad, you shouldn't be doing this. They called up and they were really mad at me. So I said, boys, come in. We've been to other people, they don't like us, they think it's different. Just stay in the house on the Lord's Day. That's what I told them. You know, if it's against the fact of the church, let's go ahead and do it. But the main thing was, keep the Lord's Day for the Lord's services so you don't be deterred from other things for worship. Yeah, Tammy? Well, and that goes along with what Anna said. I don't believe that we're held to any obligation on Sunday, yet I think there are things in the Old Testament that Israel did that we can take as an example so that we can set our heart more toward the Lord in preparation. I don't necessarily like to be real busy doing things Saturday night because it keeps me from really preparing for the services. It's very hard for me to be too busy anyway. I can also see where someone might not want to go to a restaurant because then that means that somebody has to work and can't go to church. We all have reasons for the views we hold. I guess the scripture says, let everyone be persuaded in their own mind. But I mean, it's not legally required. We know that from the scripture. But from the vantage point of how we handle it. I think there is not very much emphasis on holiness today. And I think because we disregard or make light of coming to church, then we're not really prepared to be here. We don't live our life each day. the proper way either, you know, because it all just spills over. Yes, I agree. We must prepare ourselves for the worship of the Lord on His day, the Lord's day, and it's very important that we prepare in any way we can to be properly ready for the Lord to be blessed. Blessing our hearts and lives. So, different people have different areas, but as far as changing the first day of the week from Saturday to Sunday, that's not scriptural. It's changing the Sabbath. It changes Saturday to Sunday, yes. The Sabbath is always Saturday, but making the Sunday the Christian Sabbath and using all the requirements of the Old Testament, that's not scriptural either. A lot of people say, well, we worship on Sunday because of the Roman Catholic Church. We mentioned it last Thursday. They go as they worship, though we do, see? That's not the reason. Why do we worship on the first day of the week? Because the Lord arose on the first day of the week. That's number one. And the early church met. The early church met on the first day of the week. And remember it says in 1 Corinthians 16, on the first day of the week, lay aside as God prospers you. And what did the early disciples do? On the first Sunday night and the second Sunday night, what more were they? All together they're meeting, remember, in the upper room and they met. So we believe that the first day is the day of worship. All right, so... Oh, Dan, go ahead. Dan, go ahead. Yes, the people that sometimes mix the... have to have a Sunday Sabbath, they don't abide by it entirely. They're selective in what they want to not do or to do. They're selective. They are It's inconsistent because they want to pick and choose what they can do and what they can't do on what they are perceiving as the Sabbath. If they're calling it the Sabbath, if they understand it's not the Sabbath, if they understand it's the first day of the week, if they understand it's the Lord's day, and they want to refrain from doing things because that's what they believe they should do, for personal conviction, then they should do it that way rather than having to use the Sabbath clause. Right. Because as soon as they use the Sabbath clause, they can't even drive a car. That's right, they can't go to court of remand. I mean, the car is working. It lights a fire. It's working. They can't have shoes with nails in them. What about a person gathering sticks? Can't gather sticks. What happens to them? It started. It started. So if they really want to work to the south, boy, it's very, very severe. Do they have to turn the furnace off? Yes, that's right. No, they can't start a fire, but the fire's already going. They have to stoke it up a lot on the night before. But then they have to turn the heat up then, because the furnace kind of cycles on and off. All right. Yeah, fine. But they're not doing it themselves. It's just automatic. I do think there is something, having Sunday be a different day, You know, Sunday shouldn't be the day some people go shopping. On the way home from church, they leave their car at the garage or else they go shopping. The day is no different. They work church in with their things. So I think Sunday should be a different day. A different day, especially with the emphasis on worship of the Lord, services of the Lord. timely rest. Some people have to work. Pastor, sending greetings to you and all the BFT church family. We thank you for tonight's Bible study. I also want to thank Mrs. Wade for the birthday card she had sent me. God bless and His love, Carl and Vicki. Way up in the state of Maine. Thank you, Carl and Vicki. Appreciate that. Now, as a Navy chaplain years ago, five years in active duty, We studied Navy regulations. I was very glad because in Navy regulations, no crews of any kind, except the wartime, can begin on Sunday. It's interesting. They had it set aside, separate day. It's a good thing. Now, they don't follow it anymore, but it's in Navy regulations. I was very sad that when I was in Okinawa for 12 months, Separated from my family, we went to the Philippines on maneuvers. They had work hours just the same as everything on Sunday, and they couldn't even come to the service. They were firing and different things, and it was very diminished because they didn't follow the Navy regulations. It's a sad thing. So it's good to have that separation. They used to have the blue laws, as you say, nothing open on Sundays, which is fine because people can go to church if they want to. Now we've just scrambled them all up. But as we zeer in on worship of the Lord and prepare for the worship on the Lord's day and make it His day, that's a great thing and we ought to continue through that. All right, Sabbath day's journey. Then in verse 13, where did they go after they left? They went to Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives. By the way, where will the Lord Jesus return on the second phase of His coming? Mount of Olives. What will happen to the Mount of Olives when His feet touch it? It'll split. It'll split. North or south, east or west? North and south. So in east and west, the waters would come through. East and west, through the desert would blossom as a rose. Fresh waters, a miracle we have. So from Malavit, in verse 13, where did they go after they left Mount of Olives and back to Jerusalem? Where did they go? An upper room. And who was staying there? The disciples, all the Jews. How many of them were there? Eleven. Who are the Ames? Peter, Peter, James, and John. Those are the three, the big three. Who else? Andrew, the brother of Simon. Who else? Thomas. Philip. First, Thomas was there. Bartholomew. Bartholomew. Matthew. Matthew. James. James, the son of Alphaeus. Simon Zolothes. Simon Zolothes. And the other Judas. And Judas, the other brother of James. So all 11 were there. We probably should stop here. What James is that? Well, it's called Alpheus. James the Wise. No, it's this brother of James. There are four different Jameses in the scriptures. And I'm not sure just how he was written. There's another James right there. It's Peter, James, and John. But it wouldn't be that, because we would know that he was both of their brothers, wouldn't we? If he was James and John's brother. That's right. It's not Alpheus. Maybe he was the brother of James the last, the son of Alphius. I don't know. So there's four different Jameses I recall. Okay, yeah, James the son of Alphius, maybe. Would it be his brother? We don't know. We don't know who that James is. There's four different Jameses. I can't remember right now. All right, any other comments on that? I think we'll stop right here. We had a different discussion. We had a request for a song. Oh, that's right. It was a 99? All right, 99. I remember another prayer request. Okay, what is it? Vicki Black. She's a friend of mine. She's a pastor's wife in Pennsylvania, and she had a serious surgery, and she's recovering. Okay, Vicki Black. I remember her also. Number 99. The shelter at the time of the storm. Isaiah 25, verse 99. Oh, Jesus, that's the rock we're wearing now Let us close in prayer. We thank Thee, Father, we can discuss these things from the Book of Acts. And as a directness, we thank Thee our Savior has been promised by these angels to come back in the same manner. One day to set his foot upon the Mount of Olives in triumph and victory. over all the false people that are having the battle of Armageddon. He'll put it down and reign and rule for 1,000 years. Help us as we proceed, as we come on the Lord's Day. Guide us and direct us. Help us to live for Thee on the Lord's Day and to worship in spirit and in truth. We pray in Jesus' name, before His sake. Amen.