Acts, General Epistles, and Revelation in Clear English

By Ron Banuk

In clear English, using as much traditional biblical vocabulary as possible, and using between-the-verse notes where appropriate, the reader is able to discern the interaction in Acts among the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Herodians, Romans, native Jews, Hellenistic Jews, and Hebrew Christians, both native and Hellenistic. Peter's foundation and Paul's four journeys for the kerygma of the Kingdom of God are made easy to understand. James with his exhortive Decalogue on worldliness is shown to be the best written book in the NT. Jude, Jesus's other half brother, also shows genius as an author. John the theologian couples love to keeping God's commandments, while Peter, with authority, lays out the foundations of our faith. The multilevel metaphors of Revelation are explained in clear English. The story is shown to be the story of the Father and the Son with the power of the Holy Spirit interacting with four women: Jezebel, the wife of Yahweh, the Bride of Christ, and the Mother of Harlots. Notes reveal the reasons for and the timing of the Great Tribulation. The notes also discuss the timing of the Rapture and OT descriptions of the Anti-Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098005368

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Acts, General Epistles, and Revelation in Clear English

Ron Banuk

Copyright © 2019 by Ron Banuk

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22––Epilogue

James

1 and 2 Peter

1, 2, and 3 John

Jude

Revelation

Proofs that John Wrote Revelation

Introduction

With this book (Acts, General Epistles, and Revelation in Clear English), the reader now has the entire New

Testament and the book of Proverbs in clear English.

Books on this theme include:

Paul in Clear English

One Gospel in Clear English

Acts, General Epistles, and Revelation in Clear English

Proverbs in Clear English

Psalms in Clear English (in work)

Foreword

In Acts, General Epistles and Revelation In Clear English, Ron Banuk has once again done an outstanding job of presenting the biblical books clearly and simply. His detailed notes allow the reader to interact with the material and understand not only the first century context in which the biblical books were written, but also their connection to the Old Testament Scriptures. Acts is a great resource for those wishing to study the Scriptures more in-depth for themselves or simply to read the Scriptures for greater enjoyment and insight. Ron is a great lover of the Word, an enthusiastic student of the Bible, and one who not only hears, but does it

Matt Dumas, Senior Pastor, Central Christian Church.

Book of Acts Amplified Meaning

Chapter 1

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I, (Luke) dealt with all that Jesus began to do and taught from the beginning

Note: The phrase from the beginning is often used by the NT writers to indicate the time Jesus began to teach. The author is Luke, who wrote his account of the Gospel and the book of Acts, and was at Paul’s side during his imprisonment in Rome. Theophilus is Luke’s publisher or benefactor.

until the very day of His Ascension into Heaven (on the 40th day after His Resurrection) after He had left instructions with His chosen Apostles guided by and under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit now assumes a prominent role in Scripture. Jesus, ascended or was taken up (assumed) into Heaven forty days after His death on the cross (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50, Acts 1:9). Fifty days after His death on the cross on Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks, the Holy Spirit or Helper or Paraklete was sent to the church. Jesus was the first Paraklete or Helper. The Holy Spirit takes Messiah’s place as the second (another helper, John 14:16). Messiah was the promise of the OT. The Holy Spirit is the promise of the NT.

To these same Apostles, He presented Himself (in His glorified body) after His passion (before and on the cross), with convincing proof, appearing to them (ten times) over a period of forty days discussing the Kingdom of God, (i.e. the euaggelion or doctrine of the Gospel and the kerygma or means of spreading the Gospel for the expansion of the church).

The book of Acts deals with the continuation of the Mystery Kingdom of the church (Mat 13) as revealed in the Parabolic Decalogue wherein Jesus foretold with ten parables the mystery of His church, the single pillar (stulos) representing truth upon which the Christian faith is supported (1 Tim 3:15).

Matthew, writing to the Jews, speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven, while Mark, Luke, John, and Paul speak of the Kingdom of God. Even Matthew on four occasions used the term: Kingdom of God. This is one of the two topics that were on the eleven Apostles’ minds at this time.

Gathering the eleven Apostles together (under one roof), He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem (for the time being), but to wait for the Father’s promise: "Remember when I said:

John baptized with water, but you shall baptize under the power of the Holy Spirit (Mat 3:11 and Luke 24:49). And then Jesus added: This shall happen not many days from now."

The Great Commission and Ascension

(When the Apostles had assembled at the mountain in Galilee, because the last things they discussed were the Kingdom of God [v. 3] and the coming of the Holy Spirit [v. 5, Isaiah 32:15–20],) they asked the Lord: Are You going to restore the kingdom of Israel right now?

Verse 6 picks up right after Luke 24:49.

While in the upper room in Jerusalem, the eleven Apostles were discussing (1) the church (or Kingdom of God or Parabolic Decalogue) and (2) the coming of the Holy Spirit. After nominating Matthias, the twelve Apostles then relocated to Galilee where seven went fishing on the Sea of Galilee and met Jesus, and then all twelve met on the predetermined mountain to receive the Great Commission and witness the Ascension into Heaven.

The Apostles knew that the Kingdom would be preceded by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit leading to Israel’s salvation. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit was foretold in Isaiah 32:15–20, 44:3–5, Ezekiel 39:28–29, Joel 2:28, 3:1, and Zechariah 12:10, 13:1—consequently the question above. The Apostles wanted to know if the Times of the Gentiles were over and the reestablishment of the Davidic Kingdom would begin. This was very important because in the Gospel (Mat 19:28 and Luke 22:30), the Apostles were promised to sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

But Jesus replied: "It is not for you to know the times or dates which the Father has set by His own authority.

But you shall receive (divine) power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses not only in Jerusalem, but also in all Judea, and Samaria, and in the remotest parts of the Earth.

This is the Great Commission. It is also expressed in Matthew 28:18–20 and John 17:18. They were told to make disciples for Jesus Christ (via kerygma) while going, baptizing, and teaching the Gospel. The command here is to the whole world, but that would come in stages to the Jews (Acts 2), the Samaritans (8), the Gentiles (10), and the Diaspora (19).

Right after Jesus said these things, He was lifted up and received (hupolambano) by a cloud as He disappeared from their sight while the people were looking on.

Jesus had prophesied His Ascension in John 3:13, 6:62, and 20:17 where three represents divine completion.

As the crowd was gazing intently at the cloud into which He was enveloped, two men in white clothing appeared before them.

They said: "Men of Galilee, why are you looking at the sky. This man Jesus who has been taken up from you into the heavens will return in the same way in which He departed (at the Rapture and Second Coming).

The Upper Room Gathering

Then the Apostles returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem about a mile away.

They returned to the upper room where they were staying (which was the site of the Last Supper and some of Jesus’s post Resurrection apparitions). Peter, John, and James (the Greater from the inner circle of three) were there, as were Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James (the Lesser) the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

These (eleven men) devoted themselves continually to prayer along with some women (possibly their wives, Jesus’s two sisters, and Mary the mother of Mark) and Mary the Mother of Jesus and His (four) brothers.

The Greek Scripture does not say wives but women. These women could only have been the wives of the eleven Apostles, the two sisters of the four mentioned brothers of Jesus, and the person who, according to church history, owned the room, Mark’s mother, named Mary, also called the mother of John Mark. It is interesting to note that Jesus’s brothers are now believers.

Note that it is Luke who pays more attention to the women than any other author. See Luke 8:1–3.

Peter’s Upper Room Speech to Replace Judas

Gathered together in the upper room were about 120 people. Peter stood up to speak:

"Brothers in Christ, Scripture had to be fulfilled. It was prophesied by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David that Judas would lead the arresting party to Jesus.

Judas was one of The Twelve and shared in our ministry."

The money Judas received for betraying Jesus was used to buy a field. (After killing himself), he fell on his face and spilled his guts on impact.

The description here is either an adjunct to Judas’s hanging (Mat 27:5) where the noose slipped and he fell to the ground, or that because of his profane act on the morning of the Passover service, his body was ignominiously dumped into the valley of Hinnom where his guts were spilled. A similar incident of a dishonored corpse being thrown face first (headlong) in judgment from God is told in the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom 4:19.

Because everyone in Jerusalem was talking about it, the lot became known as Akeldama or Blood Acre.

In the Book of Psalms, it is written: May his lot be desolate, and may no man live there (Psalm 69:25). Elsewhere it says: Let another man take his place (Psalm 109:8).

We are looking for men who were with us all the time the Lord Jesus was instructing us,

beginning with the Baptism of John the Baptist until the Ascension. One of these men will join us in becoming a witness to His Resurrection.

The point is not that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, but that He underwent the baptism of John the Baptist. At that time, there were three baptisms: the baptisms of the Jews, John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ. Luke is specifying which of the three.

Simply put, Peter is saying that he wanted as candidates those men who were present from the beginning to the end of Jesus’s earthly ministry or from His Baptism to His Ascension. Nowhere does it say that they must be witnesses to His Baptism, but rather that they be a witness to His Resurrection. And to be a witness to His Resurrection, they must have seen at least one of His ten post-Resurrection apparitions. The Apostle Paul was actually a witness to a post-Ascension apparition, but he was not with Jesus from the beginning to the end. Hence, it is usually said The Twelve and Paul.

Note when Jesus attended the wedding in Cana immediately after His baptism and temptation in the desert, He was accompanied by six soon-to-be Apostles. Of these, only John and Andrew were definitely at the Baptism in the Jordan in February of AD 30. It is also possible that Peter, Andrew’s brother, was a witness since Andrew was able to find him quickly after meeting Jesus in the presence of John the Baptist.

So the group nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also called Justus by his Roman name), and Matthias (meaning a gift of God).

Those gathered prayed saying: "Lord, who knows the hearts of men, show us which of these two men You have already chosen

to be a part of this ministry and apostleship, which Judas rejected to go his own way."

So, the eleven Apostles drew lots (Lev 16:18) and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles (to become one of The Twelve).

Chapter 2

Pentecost

The Twelve Authenticate the Holy Spirit to the Jews Using the Power of the Keys

And when the day of Pentecost had come, The Twelve were gathered together in the Upper Room

when suddenly from the gates of Heaven what sounded like the roar of a rushing wind filled the room (and surrounded the house) where they were reclining;

then (we saw things) that looked like tongues of fire floating in the air; and one tongue of fire positioned itself over the head of each Apostle.

At that moment, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and each began to talk in tongues as motivated by the Spirit.

There is a modern-day occurrence of the tongues of fire related in Om Saleem. See http://ronbanuk.com. The Holy Spirit is authenticated via the power of the keys here to the Jews (2:1–4), later to the Samaritans (8:14–17), the Gentiles (10:44–48), and the Diaspora (19:4–7).

News Travels to the Surrounding Area

At this time of the year, there were foreign Jews from the diaspora temporarily residing in Jerusalem who chose to remain from the Passover clear through the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.

When these visiting Jews from the diaspora gathered together, they were confounded because each could understand what The Twelve were saying each in his own dialect.

This amazed the Jews from the diaspora, because they said: "Aren’t the twelve speakers (by accent) all Galileans?

How is it that we each hear them in the language we learned at mother’s knee?

Parthians and Medes and Elamites and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia,

Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and the visitors from Rome including Jews and proselytes,

Cretans and Arabs. We hear them all in our own tongues speaking of God’s mighty deeds.

The Jews from the diaspora were baffled saying to one another: What can this mean?

On the other hand, some were mocking The Twelve saying: They are full of sweet wine.

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and Mesopotamians were descendants of the Ten Tribes and spoke Aramaic. The Judeans understood Hebrew and spoke Aramaic. Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia were from Turkey and spoke Greek. Egypt and Libya were in North Africa where the people also spoke Greek. The Romans spoke Latin. The Cretans spoke Greek, but the Arabians probably spoke Nabetean. These people heard not only in their official languages but also in their own local dialect.

Sweet wine is usually a port or sherry or German spaetlese (late vintage) that is high in alcohol content.

Peter’s First Sermon

Peter, with the eleven Apostles beside him, raised his voice to speak, saying: "Men of Judea and Jerusalem, listen well to my words.

These eleven Apostles beside me are not drunk as some of you suppose, for it is 9 AM (the time for the morning hour of prayer).

Yes, it was too early to drink according to Jewish custom, but this was not on Peter’s mind because the word only in only 9 AM is not in the Greek, meaning that Peter was thinking about the prayer hour for the Feast of Weeks. If Luke were a Gentile, he would have used the word ‘only’ in the original meaning that is was too early to drink, but being a Jew he did not use this word because he thought that his Jewish readers would understand that the hour of prayer was the issue here.

What you have heard was (an application of that) spoken of by the prophet Joel:

"It shall come to pass in the last days—declares God the Father—that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams.

In those days, I will pour out My Spirit even on My servants, and they shall prophesy.

I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the Earth below: blood, fire, and billowing smoke.

The Sun shall be turned to darkness and the Moon to blood before the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

Then everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:28–32)."

Note that Peter does not say in v. 16 that Joel’s prophecy had been fulfilled, but rather this is what the prophet spoke. This is because Joel’s prophecy will only be fulfilled in the End-Time, and what happened here was only a similar application of the outpouring of the Spirit. In fact, there was no speaking in tongues in Joel’s prophecy, and the Sun did not darken, nor the Moon turn red for Peter.

Peter Epitomizes the Story of the Gospel

Men of Israel, listen to what I am saying: "Jesus the Nazarene was verified by God the Father (to be who He was) by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God worked through Him when He was among you as you are well aware.

This Man who was sent to Earth as part of God’s foreknowledge and divine plan, you (Jewish leaders) crucified and put to death by men not bound by the Law of Moses.

We know that Peter is referring to the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians here because he subsequently says that they were godless or not bound to Torah or the Law of Moses. Being bound to Torah did not apply to the Romans who had their gods. Jesus forgave the Romans.

Here Peter clearly blames the Jews for Messiah’s death, but later during the Apostles’ prayer for divine help in kerygma (4:27), Peter blames the Gentiles for having a part in Messiah’s death after quoting Psalm 2:1–2 which prophesies the same event.

Then God the Father resurrected Him quelling all pain from death and rebirth, because Messiah could not be kept dead forever.

Note that the Hebrew word for pain is related to birth pangs, indicating that Jesus was now free from the pains of death and resurrection.

Peter Says that Messiah is Jesus, Raised from the Dead for All to See

(King) David said the following concerning Messiah: "I always kept the Lord close to me, for while He is at my right hand, I cannot be frightened (Psalm 16:8).

Consequently, I was happy and praised the Lord because I had hope (Psalm 16:9),

because You will not send Me to Hell nor allow me to disintegrate (Psalm 16:10).

You have shown me the path to life. I will be joyful in Your presence (Psalm 16:11)."

Brothers, I am confident when I say to you that the patriarch David died and was buried such that his tomb is known to us to this day.

Because David was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on the Throne of David (2 Samuel 7:12),

he looked ahead and spoke of the Resurrection of Messiah in that He was neither abandoned to Hell, nor did His body decay (Psalm 132:11).

This Jesus, God the Father resurrected and we are all witnesses to this.

Peter Describes Jesus as Lord and Messiah

Jesus was exalted to sit at the right hand of God the Father who gave Him control of the Holy Spirit. Jesus then poured the Holy Spirit out upon His Apostles, which you can both see and hear.

Remember, it was not David that ascended into Heaven, but Jesus said: "The Lord said to My Lord,

sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies underfoot (Psalm 110:1)."

Therefore, the whole house of Israel can be certain that God the Father has made Jesus whom you (Jews) crucified both Lord (with dominion over all things) and (the promised) Messiah.

First Conversions on Pentecost

When the crowd heard (that Jesus Christ was both Lord and Messiah and that they were guilty of His crucifixion) they were heartbroken, and replied to Peter and the eleven Apostles: Brethren, what shall we do?

So, Peter said to them: "All of you must repent and each of you must be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and then all of you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Here the Jews were told to rethink (repent) their view of Jesus Christ and then to be baptized not via Jewish proselyte baptism or the baptism of John the Baptist, but via the baptism of Jesus Christ. They already were heartbroken and were grieving their sin (rejecting Messiah). The emphasis in the Greek sentence construction is that repentance is given more weight than baptism.

The essence of salvation is that through humility, one recognizes that he has sinned and needs to be saved, then one follows through by embracing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The salvation that a person envisages at this critical moment is both physical (at least psychologically) and spiritual.

Remember, the promise (of the Holy Spirit) extends to your children and to those in the diaspora and to as many as God calls to Himself (Isaiah 44:3).

Peter continued with a lengthy speech solemnly testifying about Messiah and exhorting them to be saved from that perverse generation.

So, then the Jews (from the diaspora that had been gathered in Jerusalem for the feasts between Passover and Weeks) who heard Peter’s first sermon were baptized—three thousand souls.

And these converts began to spend their waking moments devoting themselves to the teachings of The Twelve and to (Christian) fellowship by breaking bread and praying.

Christian: Note that early Jewish believers were a sect called Nazarenes (24:5) and met in synagogues and the Temple. Later, after the Gentiles became accepted converts, the shock was so great that the name Christian (26:28) was applied, and the early Nazarenes were renamed Christians and excluded from the synagogues and Temple. Those who followed God’s word followed the Way (9:2) both in the OT and NT. The term Christian was first used in 11:26. The term disciple meant follower of Jesus Christ or the Apostles up to 6:1 at which point disciple became synonymous with the saved saints and brethren following the Way. The author, rather than refer to early believers as Nazarenes up to 11:26, chooses to use the retronym Christian throughout to avoid confusion. The word church (ecclesia) although used first in 5:11 is used earlier as a retronym.

The Establishment of a Post-Pentecost Community

There was a sense of awe in the community, and signs and wonders prevailed at the hands of the Apostles.

And all who believed (that Jesus Christ was Messiah) formed a community that held all property in common.

And each sold their property and personal possessions and shared them with whoever in the community might be in need.

They worshiped together on the Temple compound, they broke bread in private homes, and they ate their meals together joyfully and in good conscience,

while praising God and keeping in good favor with the local population. And the community of the saved continued to grow.

Chapter 3

Miracle of the Lame Man

As Peter and John were going to the Temple at 3 PM, the hour of prayer,

a man who had been lame since birth was being carried to the Temple gate, named Beautiful, so that he could be set down and beg alms from all who were entering the Temple.

And as Peter and John were about to pass him by and enter the Temple, he asked them for alms.

Then Peter and John stopped. They looked at him. Peter said: Look at us.

He then gave them his attention in anticipation of alms.

But Peter said: I do not have silver or gold, but this is what I can give you: In the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!

Then grabbing him by the right hand, Peter began to help him up. As he did so, the man’s feet and ankles were healed.

And he leaped to his