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

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
CHAPTER III.
1-10. Mt. Zion, where the Holy Ghost fell on the disciples, is in the southwestern part of the city,
which is, throughout, the most densely built I ever saw; the streets eight to sixteen feet wide, and
frequently arched over, and a house directly over the middle of the streets; while in front of the
Temple, on Mt. Moriah, in the southeastern part of the city, there is a large area, said to contain
thirty-five acres, and nicely laid with stone, the constituted receptacle of the vast multitudes which
convene during the great annual camp meetings, Passover in April, Pentecost in June, and
Tabernacles in September. From these considerations the afternoon meeting is moved from Mt. Zion
to Mt. Moriah, where they avail themselves of the temple campus for the accommodation of the
countless multitudes. The Beautiful Gate stands in the east wall of the city, directly eastward of the
temple, in full view of Solomon’s porch. When I was there in 1895 I gave especial attention to this
gate. I found it closed and fastened with such quantities of iron that nothing but battering rams and
dynamite could open it. My Arab guide told me that the Moslem prophets lifted their warning voices
when Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem, A.D. 637, solemnly warning him to close the Beautiful Gate
and keep it closed, as he could only hold the city while that gate was closed; consequently it was
promptly closed and made as sure as iron and brass could fasten it; and the Mohammedans, who
think their salvation depends on holding Jerusalem, have kept it closed during this wonderful
prophetic period, 1,260 years. As a confirmation of this statement of my guide, he pointed me to the
tombs immediately outside the gate, jammed up against it. They looked as old as the great rocks of
Mt. Moriah. While Mt. Olivet is covered with Jewish tombs, the Mohammedans bury on Mt.
Moriah, outside the wall of Jerusalem. All these facts corroborate the testimony of my guide, i.e.,
that the Beautiful Gate has been closed 1,260 years. According to the same prophecy, it will certainly
soon be opened as the prophet period of the Moslem power, according to Bishop Ussher, expired in
1897. Totten and Bimbleby say it is too short, and the true period will expire in 1899. Rest assured,
Turkdom is tottering and liable to fall any moment. Daniel (8:25) says: “He shall be broken without
hand,” i.e., not by military power, but by the power of the Almighty. This throws light on the
tardiness of Islam’s fall. Is she not fallen already, and merely kept in status quo by her Christian
neighbors for state policy? Jerusalem swarms with beggars. Yet every beggar has his place. When
I was there I went to the exchangers twice a day and got a supply of beggar money, so I could pass
them. The Turks have about a half-dozen coins ranging from one-fourth of a cent to five cents, very
convenient to give to the beggars, as I could not afford to give them the large coins. A man can live
fat at Jerusalem on goat’s milk and barley bread bought from the Arabs for five cents. This beggar,
more than forty years old, had his regular place at the Beautiful Gate, where his friends carried him
every morning and set him down to beg through the day, no doubt they sharing in the benefactions.
Doubtless he had seen Jesus pass through that gate ever and anon. He had heard Him preach and
believed on Him (verse 16). Why was he not healed? God makes no mistakes. He is reserved for this
important occasion. He is the best-known man in the kingdom. All of the people come to the temple
and at the same time pass through this gate. Hence they all get acquainted with him. Peter says,
“Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, the
Nazarene, arise and walk.” In a great ecclesiastical council, one of the popes came along and saw
wagon loads of money poured into the coffers of the church. Pausing, he observed, “No longer can
the church say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” Thomas Aquinas, his eccentric cardinal, standing by,