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Acts 8 – The Great Reversal
The Great Reversal
“The Great Reversal” begins in Acts 8:1. The scattering after the persecution is the exact opposite of Acts 2, wherein there people gathered on Jerusalem. While that is a significant evangelism shift needed today, from people coming to us (i.e., our church buildings), to us going to them, that is not “The Great Reversal” of which I speak.
God’s people first were exiled from Eden. Then the Tower of Babel caused another scattering. God’s people were again scattered after their nation divided. The Northern Kingdom was forcibly relocated by Assyria while the Southern Kingdom got defeated and removed by Babylonia. The cause again was sin.
As years passed, God’s people continued to live throughout what came to be the Roman Empire. This scattering, due to sin and punishment, became known as “The Diaspora”. Literally, the dispersed.
In Acts 8:1, no longer is a physical nation God’s people. Now they are those who follow Jesus, God’s Son and King. Persecution causes them being scattered. The Greek word here is “diaspeiro” from when comes the word Diaspora.
The new Diaspora is not God scattering and punishing His people for their sins. The new Diaspora is God’s people spreading out, while spreading the message of forgiveness through the gospel. Today, we continue to be blessed by “The Great Reversal”.
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