top of page

Acts 2 - The Hub Of The Bible

eastsidecocsg

By bro Peter Kwan


The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a "hub" as "the center or main part of the place where most activities take place." The late James D. Bales wrote a book, analyzing Acts 2 and titled it “The Hub of the Bible." Acts 2 is central and very important because it is where all the spokes of the wheel come together at the centre. Without it, there would be no wheel. It is the fulfillment of Bible prophecies about the Church, found in the second chapters of three Old Testament prophetic books (“Spokes of the Wheel”), namely Joel 2, Isaiah 2, and Daniel 2.


It has been said that Christ is like the hub of the wheel. In Christ, they all come together to form a perfect circle of unity through which the church moves forward in its work of saving souls, helping the needy, and edifying one another in love. Without Christ, this could not happen.


If we understand Acts 2, we will understand the remaining parts of the Bible. It is a great chapter on the beginning of the church of Christ and its doctrine of conversion. It is so important that everything before Acts 2 in the Bible points toward its beginning, and everything after Acts 2 looks back to its beginning. And therefore, we should look at what the following prophets foretold concerning the church, centuries before it came into existence in the first century (AD 30 or 33).


1) The prophet Joel (790-760 BC) prophesied in:


Joel 2:28-32 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.


A) "It shall come to pass afterward/in the last days (Acts 2:17)" – a future time of the Messiah.

B) "Pour out My Spirit on all flesh" – the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the apostles / miraculous gifts to the church through the imposition of the apostles’ hands.

C) "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered/saved (Acts 2:21)" Salvation to all who obey.

D) Prophecy is quoted by Peter (Acts 2:17-22) and began to be fulfilled that day (2:1-16, 33).


2) The prophet Isaiah (750-695 BC) prophesied in:


Isaiah 2:1-4 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.


A) "In the last days" – a future time when the Messiah shall come.

B) "Mountain of the Lord’s house" – messianic kingdom / church of Christ.

C) "All nations shall flow to it" – open to Jews and Gentiles alike.

D) "The law/word of the Lord goes forth from Zion/Jerusalem" – gospel first preached in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8).

E) "Beat swords into plowshares" – the gospel of peace and reconciliation.

F) The fulfillment of this prophecy began in Acts 2, refer to Luke 24:47; Acts 2:5, 16-17a, 22-36, 38-39 (Ephesians 2:14-18).


3) The prophet Daniel (606-534 BC) prophesied in:


Daniel 2:44-45 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.


A) Nebuchadnezzar’s image = four kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek, and Rome (Daniel 2:31–42).

B) "In the days of these kings" – in the days of the Roman empire.

C) "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom" – messianic kingdom/church of Christ.

D)"Which shall never be destroyed" – not overcome by man (cf. Daniel 7:13-14).

E) In Acts 2, this prophecy is completed and fulfilled (cf. Mark 1:14-15; Luke 3:1; Acts 2:33-35).


In Acts 2, we have the culmination of God's plan for saving mankind. The church was in the mind of God long before the Law of Moses was ever established. It was God's eternal purpose to save man through the church which Jesus Christ would establish after his death, burial, and resurrection. Acts 2 is called the "Hub of the Bible" because important Bible prophecies point to that time and day when the kingdom / church of Christ was established.


But the true "Hub of the Bible" is Jesus, who was preached on that day of Pentecost and through whose name salvation is offered to all. The entrance to His kingdom remains open today for all who desire to be translated into it to have salvation and reconciliation with God (Col. 1:13). Have you entered it yet? Is Jesus the "hub" of your life?

20 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Roaming Christians (Part 2)

By bro Alvin Lin Who are Christians to stir up and encourage? In Heb 10:24-25, we are told to “consider one another to provoke unto love...

Comments


Commenting has been turned off.

We welcome you to visit us.
Eastside Church of Christ, Singapore

Other Questions/ Contact Us?

Leave us a message or contact us here

eastsidecocsg@gmail.com

Address:

63 Ubi Avenue 1, #05-04

Singapore 408937

 By filling in this form, you consent to us to contact you via all mode of communications
including but not limited to calls, text messages, emails and fax messages.

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Spotify
  • Location
Contact Us

Success! Thank you     

Copyright © Eastside Church of Christ, Singapore. All Rights Reserved.

FAITH • HOPE • LOVE

bottom of page