Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest

13. Now James, the brother of our Lord and pastor of the Apostolic church at Jerusalem, rises
after Peter and proceeds, delivering a number of focalized statements, which speak volumes
appertaining to the gospel, church and human destiny.
14. “Simeon hath expounded how God in the first place interposed to take a people from the
Gentiles in his name.” It is a great mistake to suppose that the gospel is to save the world. They will
not have it, though it is free for them. This old fallen world is like a ship in mid-ocean, unseaworthy,
irreparable and destined to founder; while the gospel is the lifeboat, not to save the old wrecking ship
going down with her drunken crew and frolicking passengers, but to rescue every earnest fugitive,
who will leave the ship, with all his fortunes to sink to the bottom of the ocean, escape for life, get
aboard the old ship of Zion and sail away for glory. Here you see from James’s statement that the
work of the gospel is simply “to take from the nations a people in his name,” i.e., the elect, as none
others will receive the gospel.
15. “To this correspond the words of the prophets, as has been written:
16. “After these things I will return and build again the dynasty of David which has fallen into
decay, and will build again the ruins of the same and set it up” (Amos 9:11, 12). James quotes this
prophecy in the Jerusalem council, of course giving it full New Testament endorsement, plainly and
positively stating that our Savior will return to the earth after we shall have preached the gospel to
every nation, thus calling out the elect and getting the Bride ready for the return of her Divine
Spouse. James here positively certifies, in harmony with the old prophets, that, after we have
preached the gospel to every nation, our glorified Savior will return to the earth and restore again the
temporal kingdom of David, which at that time was in dilapidation and so continues to the present
day. “Tabernacle,” E.V., is skeenee in the original, and means dynasty, or the royal line of David.
[See Robinson’s New Testament Greek Dictionary.] David’s kingdom was not human, but divine,
i.e., the theocracy extended down on the earth, but centralized in heaven, on which our Lord was
crowned when He ascended (Acts 2:30), the lineal heir of David, and which He will encumber till
His Father shall make all of His enemies on the earth, i.e., royal rivals, political and ecclesiastical,
His “footstool” (Acts 2:35). Then He will return according to these prophecies of both Testaments,
restoring the interregnum of David’s kingdom on the earth and extending it throughout the
inhabitable globe, Himself crowned King of kings and Lord of lords to reign forever.
17. “In order that the remainders of men may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles, on whom
my name has been called, upon the same, saith the Lord, who doeth all things known from the
beginning.” Here we see the great and glorious harvest of souls, all saved during the preceding dark
ages of Satan’s reign, being but the “first fruits” adumbratory of the glorious millennial harvest when
our Lord returns. This is quite feasible, when we remember that the unsavable millions will fall in
the great tribulation (Daniel 7:9; Acts 3:23; Revelation 11:18) and Satan will be cast out (Revelation
20:2). Consequently with no devils on the earth to hold them back, millions of transfigured saints,
moving with the velocity of lightning, will return with the glorified Savior to preach the gospel to
“the remainders of peoples” who have survived the great tribulation, because God knows they will
not reject the salvation of His Son in the absence of the devil on the earth. No wonder they will “seek
out the Lord,” i.e., seek Him effectually till they find Him, and all get saved. That is the good time
coming, “when a nation shall be born in a day.” Do you believe in second probation? We are all