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Two Works of Christ in Acts 1-12, part 2

Acts 3:1 tells us,

¹ Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.

There were two daily sacrifices in the temple, the first at the third hour and the second at the ninth hour. Many people came to the temple at those times to pray.

These two daily sacrifices speak of the two works of Christ in the same way as the two sets of feast days—Spring and Autumn. Therefore, the ninth hour prayer forecasts prayer in our time that will bring about an outpouring of the Spirit necessary to complete the second work of Christ. The third chapter in Acts, then, though on the surface it occurred in the wake of Pentecost, prophesied of things to come in our time. In other words, the actions of Peter and John was a historical account of the first outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2, yet at the same time on a deeper level it prophesied of events in the second work of Christ.

Note that in Elijah’s showdown, the prophets of Baal had their opportunity to win at the third hour of the day, while Elijah’s opportunity came at the ninth hour (1 Kings 18:29). It suggests that the prophetic fulfillment of this victory would not occur until the second work of Christ. Yet too, the prophets of Baal failed, even as Christ’s resurrection caused them to fail when they crucified Jesus.

In the story of Acts 3, neither Peter nor John were killed, so we ought to view them as playing the role of two witnesses in the time of the second work of Christ. However, these are not the two witnesses in Revelation 11:3 and 7, because in Acts 3 they were not killed. Instead, they represent the saints of the Most High at the end of the age, those who pray for the outpouring of the Spirit.

The Gate Beautiful

Acts 3:2 says,

² And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful [horaios], in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

This event took place at the gate called Beautiful. There were two gates in the city wall leading to the temple. One was the Huldah gate, name for the prophetess in 2 Kings 22:14. Her name is derived from heledh, “time or age.”

The word translated “Beautiful” in Acts 3:2 is from the Greek, horaios, which literally means, “belonging to the right hour or season (timely).”

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5611/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/

Both names have to do with time or being timely. About the gate called Beautiful, Dr. Bullinger tells us in his notes:

“Beautiful. Probably the East Gate which, Josephus says, ‘was of Corinthian brass and greatly excelled those that were only covered over with silver and gold’.” (Wars, V, 3)

The east gate (figuratively speaking) is a factor in the second coming of Christ and of His glory filling the temple of our body. This is the temple described in 1 Corinthians 3:16, which is the only latter-day temple that is fit for His glory. So we read in Ezekiel 46:12,

¹² When the prince [Christ] provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, the gate facing east shall be opened for him.

Again, we read in Ezekiel 43:4,

⁴ And the glory of the Lord came into the house [temple] by the way of the gate facing toward the east.

The lame man came to this gate where Peter and John encountered him, as we will see shortly.

The Beautiful gate connects to the second goat in Leviticus 16:21,

²¹ Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness [itee, “timely, ready”].

The Hebrew word itee carries the same meaning as the Greek word horaios. This connects the event in Acts 3 with the second goat, which prophesies of the second work of Christ.

The Resurrection Sign

Acts 3:3-8 says,

³ When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. ⁴ But Peter, along with John, fix his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” ⁵ And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” ⁷ And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. ⁸ With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

The people at the temple recognized the beggar and were amazed that he was walking and leaping. They gathered around Peter and John. Acts 3:12-15 continues,

¹² But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant, Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. ¹⁴ But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.

We see here how Peter used the healed beggar as an opportunity to testify about Christ’s death and resurrection. When the beggar stood to his feet, it represented his resurrection from the dead. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead had caused the beggar to rise up and walk.

The story in Acts 3, then, prophesies of the resurrection of the overcomers in the time of the second work of Christ. We know from Scripture that the feast of Trumpets prophesies of this resurrection (Numbers 10:1-4). Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that when the trumpet sounds, the dead are raised.

Paul says that “with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God” the dead are raised. The question is whether these two things are the same. It is assumed that Gabriel blows the trumpet, although the text is unclear. The priests on earth blew the trumpets in ancient times, obeying the command of God and perhaps responding to “the voice of the archangel.”

We cannot say for sure, but I have long pondered whether or not there will be those on earth who will have a hand in raising the dead by the power of the Spirit. The law says that all things are established by two or three witnesses. Heaven and earth are the ultimate witnesses, and we on earth are called to bear witness to the voice of God in heaven. This is how heaven is brought to earth. Will the resurrection require two witnesses, the archangel in heaven and the overcomers on earth?

We will see.