21. Rapid Growth of the Work.—The knowledge once established in the minds of the apostles that God granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life, seemed to unshackle those who were to preach the gospel, and gave a broader meaning in their minds to their commission to go unto "all the world, and preach the gospel unto every creature." Evidently before this they did not comprehend it in its fullest sense.
22. The apostles appear to have remained in Jerusalem a number of years—twelve years, tradition says—presiding over the church and directing the labors of those preaching the gospel. Churches, or, more correctly speaking, branches of the church were built up in Antioch [An-ti-ok], Damascus [Da-mas-kus] and other cities of Syria [Sir-ia]. The work also spread into Asia Minor, Greece and Rome; and everywhere great success attended the preaching of the elders, until the gospel was firmly established in various parts of the Gentile world. So extensive was the preaching of the ambassadors of Christ in those early days of the church, that we have Paul saying (about thirty years after the ascension of Messiah) that it had been preached to every creature under heaven.[102] (See note 5, end of section).
NOTES.
1. Was Matthias Called of God?—In consequence of Matthias having been chosen by "lot," it may be a question in the minds of some as to his being called of God. A careful consideration of all that was done in connection with that circumstance will dispel all doubt in relation to it. It must be observed that after Joseph Barsabas and Matthias were nominated for the place in the quorum of the Twelve, the Apostles prayed, saying: "Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen." Before his ascension Jesus had said to these men, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. * * * Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you; * * * that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." Therefore when these Apostles asked which of the two men nominated God had chosen, and they gave their votes and Matthias was the one selected, God in that way answered their prayer, and Matthias was thus called of God. Again, to be called by a divinely appointed authority is to be called of God. No one can deny that the Apostles were a divinely appointed authority, hence to be called by them was to be called of God.—Roberts.
2. Pentecost.—Pentecost is the name given in the New Testament to the Feast of Weeks, or of Ingathering, celebrated on the fiftieth day from the Passover. It was a festival of thanks for the harvest. It was also one of the three great yearly festivals, in which all the males were required to appear before the Lord at the place of his sanctuary. Josephus in three places in his writings, viz., in the fourteenth book of "Antiquities," ch. xiii,4; Ibid. xvii, ch. x,2; and in his second book of the "Wars of the Jews," ch. iii,2—speaks of this festival as bringing together great numbers of the Jews from all parts of the world, and sustains the statement in Acts ii, that there were in Jerusalem at Pentecost "Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven," who came running together on hearing that the disciples of Jesus were speaking in unknown tongues. We cannot refrain from remarking that it was a most opportune time for such a demonstration, since these men would carry the rumor of these things and the substance of the remarkable sermon they heard to the distant lands from which they had come, and thus the news of the gospel would be spread abroad.—Roberts.
3. Joel's Prophecy.—It is very generally supposed among Christians, that this outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, that is, its complete fulfillment. A careful examination of the prophecy, however, will clearly demonstrate that this is not the case. The prophecy will be found in Joel ii,28–32, and the particulars enumerated in it are as follows: The spirit of the Lord is to be poured out upon all flesh. At Pentecost it was poured out upon a few of the disciples of Jesus only; the sons and daughters of the people were to prophesy; we have no account of their doing so at Pentecost; old men were to dream dreams and young men see visions; there is no account of this taking place on the occasion in question; wonders were to be shown in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke, the sun is to be turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come, yet on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem deliverance was to be found. These things unquestionably point to the glorious coming of the Son of God to judgment (see Matt. xxiv); and certainly they were not fulfilled on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on a few of the disciples of Jesus. Still Peter said, referring to the Spirit poured out upon the disciples: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel," and then quoted the passage. He doubtless meant: This Spirit which you now see poured out upon these few men, is that Spirit which Joel spoke of, and which will eventually be poured out upon all flesh, not only upon men and women, but upon the brute creation as well, so that the lion and lamb shall lie down together and a little child shall lead them, and they shall not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy mountain. I have deemed it necessary to make this note, first, because of the very general belief among Christians that the prophecy of Joel was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost; and second, because the prophecy is one that was quoted by the angel Moroni on the occasion of his first visit to Joseph Smith, concerning which he said, it was not yet fulfilled but soon would be (Pearl of Great Price, page 90), hence, since this heavenly messenger puts its fulfillment in the future, it could not have been fulfilled on the day of Pentecost two thousand years ago.—Roberts.
4. Description of Paul.—He is about five feet high; very dark hair, dark complexion; dark skin; large Roman nose; sharp face; small, black eyes, penetrating as eternity; round shoulders; a whining voice; except when elevated, and then it almost resembled the roaring of a lion. He was a good orator, active and diligent, always employing himself in doing good to his fellow-man.—Joseph Smith, at the organization of a school for instruction, Jan. 5th, 1841.
Paul was small in size, and his personal appearance did not correspond with the greatness of his soul. He was ugly, stout, short, and stooping, and his broad shoulders awkwardly sustained a little bald head. His sallow countenance was half hidden in a thick beard; his nose was aquiline, his eyes piercing, and his eye-brows heavy and joined across his forehead. Nor was there anything imposing in his speech, for his timid and embarrassed air gave but a poor idea of his eloquence. He shrewdly, however, admitted his exterior defects, and even drew advantage therefrom. The Jewish race possesses the peculiarity of at the same time presenting types of the greatest beauty, and the most thorough ugliness; but this Jewish ugliness is something quite apart by itself. Some of the strange visages which at first excite a smile, assume, when lighted up by emotion, a sort of deep brilliancy and grandeur.—Renan—"Life of the Apostles," p. 165.
5. Travels of the Apostles Uncertain.—The ambassadors of Christ on leaving Jerusalem traveled over a great part of the world, and in a short time collected numerous religious societies in various countries. Of the churches they founded, not a small number is mentioned in the sacred books, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. Besides these, there can be no doubt they collected many others, both by their own efforts and by the efforts of their followers. But how far they traveled, what nations they visited, or when and where they died, is exceedingly dubious and uncertain.—Mosheim.
6. Divine Aid in Propagation of the Gospel.—The causes must have been divine which could enable men destitute of all human aid, poor and friendless, neither eloquent nor learned, fishermen and publicans, and they too Jews, that is, persons odious to all other nations, in so short a time to persuade a great part of mankind to abandon the religion of their fathers, and to embrace a new religion which is opposed to the natural dispositions of men. In the words they uttered there must have been an amazing and a divine power controlling the minds of men. To which may be added miracles, prophecies, the detection of men's secret designs, magnanimity in the midst of perils, contempt for all the objects of ordinary ambition, a patient and cheerful endurance of sufferings worse than death, as well as of death itself, and finally, lives of the purest and most unblemished character. That the ambassadors of Jesus Christ were in fact thus furnished for their work, is a truth perfectly clear and obvious. And if we suppose them not to have been so furnished, no probable reason can be assigned for so rapid a propagation of Christianity