Let the one who is wrong, continue to do wrong. Rev 22:11

 

“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book”

To dissuade me from talking or writing about Eschatology – the study of end times events, I had been admonished to NOT speak about the Revelation or anything related to the Revelation. Words like these are like daggers to my heart.

How does Jesus open the Revelation?

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
(Revelation 1:3 NASB)

How is anyone supposed to hear if you don’t open your mouth and preach truthfully?

“And he (the angel that was speaking) [further] told me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book and make no secret of them, for the time when things are brought to a crisis and the period of their fulfillment is near.”
(Revelation 22:10 AMP) Emphasis mine.

Suppose you are a church leader and feel it necessary to rebuke some enthusiastic attendee who is NOT interrupting your church service or life but merely sharing with individuals. HOW DARE YOU TRY TO DISCOURAGE THEM, especially when you openly admit that you do not understand Revelation and, therefore, DO NOT believe that anyone else can understand this book.

Most, reading Revelation 22:10, see the word seal and immediately assign their average definition, such as closing something to keep others out.

Seal is the Greek word sphragizō and means to stamp for security. by implication, to keep secrets.

Therefore, the emphasis is on the command NOT to seal up the words of the prophecy of this book. Imagine that, the Holy Spirit, knowing that it would be well over 2000 years until all things would fall into place and Jesus Christ would return for His church; yet, He wanted all of us to understand and live in that expectation throughout these many years. 

This scenario that we see in Revelation 22:10 where the scroll, or book if you must, was sealed until the appropriate time is comparable to Revelation 5:1

“I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.”
(Revelation 5:1 NASB)

We are at that time of fulfillment.

Note how the Amplified Bible translates the last half of verse ten.

• “for the time when things are brought to a crisis and the period of their fulfillment is near.”

  Look at this definition of time from the Word Study Dictionary. “kairós; gen. kairoú, masc. noun. Season, opportune time. It is not merely as a succession of minutes, which is chrónos (G5550), but a period of opportunity (though not necessity). There is really no English equivalent to the word kairós,”

Here is a quote representing the period of opportunity where things are brought to a crisis.

“The changes are so profound that, from the perspective of human history, there has never been a time of greater promise or potential peril.”
― Klaus Schwab, The Fourth Industrial Revolution

If you have been living under a rock, Klaus Schwab is the founder of the World Economic Forum. Nation members pay handsomely to attend the yearly forum and send several representatives to the meetings. Our American President, Donald Trump, went there and spoke. He told the attendees that the United States would not conform to globalism’s goals.

Do you know what happened after that?

The American governmental swamp rose against the President with all the false charges and accusations they could muster. As a result, even though the majority of Americans re-elected President Donald Trump a second time, he was effectively driven out of office through fraud.

So, the period of opportunity is upon us.

Moving on through the Revelation.

Revelation 22:11 AMP “He who is unrighteous (unjust, wicked), let him be unrighteous still; and he who is filthy (vile, impure), let him be filthy still; and he who is righteous (just, upright, in right standing with God), let him do right still; and he who is holy, let him be holy still.” [Dan. 12:10.]

No decent preacher would say, “He who is unrighteous let him continue to be unrighteous.” 

Why not?

Because even a mediocre pastor, trying to be like Father God, should want everyone to be saved, even if it is from myself.

“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
(1 Timothy 2:3-4 NASB)

As you can see above, the Amplified Bible is noted for giving you Old Testament references. For example, Daniel 12:10 nearly tells you the same thing as Revelation 22:11. Since prophecy to the Jew becomes validated through repetition, then John’s audience would have instantly recognized this pattern. 

“Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be tried, smelted, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but the teachers and those who are wise shall understand.” [Dan. 11:33-35.]
(Daniel 12:10 AMP)

I don’t know when the priests and elders banned the reading of Daniel; therefore, some may not have been familiar with the words of Daniel, so let’s try another prophetic author that may have been more familiar.

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.”
(Hosea 14:9 NASB)

If I were to attempt a challenge of the context of Revelation 22:10, Daniel 12, and Hosea 14, I would find that they are definitely speaking of the last days. So the context is that all of these references lean toward the time after the rapture.

The NASB translation of Revelation 22:11 reads like this, “and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” Having naively joined myself, for a short time, to a “man-cave” group. I found several attendees unrestrained with their foul tongues and used the excuse God gives us grace. If this is you, you are misinterpreting and ignoring scripture.

It is not up to God to keep you holy, nor is God trying to make you stumble and fall over your tongue.

“As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness; but my hand shall not be against you.” (1 Samuel 24:13 NASB)

The Greek word for holy is hagiazō, and it also means to purify or consecrate yourself.

By this time, most of you should know that you cannot make yourself holy, nor can you make yourself righteous; only Christ’s work on the cross could do that for you; but you can certainly accept that fact and, therefore, be made Holy by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the washing of the Word of God.

Let me throw a wrench into the works. Right now, pre-rapture, we live in the age of grace; this is defined as a time when God freely brings us into the kingdom through our uncomplicated acceptance of His Son, but that door will close soon, and so will the age of grace. 

Since millions will continue to come into the kingdom, how does that happen?

For those who desire a short answer, you will have to prove your loyalty to God through death.

Death will look a little different for many. Some will die by guillotine (some of us have been aware of these devices for over several years now), others will die by the sword as they behead you and a few will die by stoning (Both beheading and stoning are popular methods of punishment among the followers of Islam). Many more will be shot, or as we have witnessed in Northern Africa, trapped in their churches and burned to death. Since the number of people being killed is so large, it may be that faster methods will be preferable.

“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
(Matthew 24:21-22 NASB)

Another method of killing you off would be what the translators call pestilence. While Revelation 2:20-21 does not speak to pestilence, it does speak to a nation - Israel and the church – specifically Thyatira, tolerating that woman Jezebel. Watch for the parallels between the “harlot” Jezebel, who died several centuries earlier and yet shows up here in Revelation chapter two, and how similar she sounds to the definitions of Babylon.

‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.” (Revelation 2:20-21 NASB)

We do, however, see pestilence in Revelation 6:8.

“I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:8 NASB)

Verse eight falls under the wrath of God as the rider on the ashen horse goes about killing off a fourth of the earth. In this scenario, one of those methods is pestilence. Vines’ Expository on New Testament Words gives us the Greek loimos (G3061) and a definition of pestilence as “any deadly infectious malady.”

Revelation 18 speaks about Babylon but refers to what many think is a restoration of that City; although, in many places, it is referred to as she.

“and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”
(Revelation 18:23 NASB)

Sorcery = the Greek word pharmakeia, which primarily means medication, the use of drugs, potions, spells, or poisoning. From the “ask a professor website” https://www.massbible.org/exploring-the-bible/ask-a-prof/answers/pharmakeia

You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out that a group of people, apparently with more power than Klaus Schwab, are working hard at creating and taking advantage of this “period of opportunity.” They are effectively using pharmakeia to make it happen. Since we are NOT in the time of wrath as yet, then what we are seeing is just the warm-up period.

As a side note, for those who are looking for Babylon to be rebuilt, an American archaeologist, who is also a follower of Christ, recently did a segment on YouTube in which he showed you the ancient boundaries of the old City of Babylon and how that nothing of substance exists within those boundaries. (Some would tell you that excellent restoration progress was made under the rule of Saddam Hussein when all they did was restore portions of the Ishtar gate.)

And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come, And her days will not be prolonged.
(Isaiah 13:19-22 NASB)

The archaeologist made an interesting point during the filming that jackals were quite prolific among the historic ruins.

Let’s attack acts of immorality that we see in Revelation 2:20-21 for a moment.

Immorality is any act or practice which contravenes the divine commands or social duties. Injustice, dishonesty, fraud, slander, profaneness, gaming, intemperance, and lewdness, are immoralities. All crimes are immoralities, but crime expresses more than immorality.

I had to look up the word contravene.

Contravene means, literally, to come against. Hence, to oppose, to oppose in principle or effect; to contradict; to obstruct in operation.

So, for us to be immoral we have to come against or be in opposition to God in some manner. Well, what do you think sin is, but us thinking that we know better than God? By the way, Jesus took the payment for sin upon Himself so that we would not have to bear the penalty for that sin ourselves. In other words, all sins were forgiven.

Then how and why is anyone going to hell?

That’s a great question, and the answer really lies in another question,

What did you do with Jesus; did you leave him on the cross, or did you simply ignore Him?

Because going to hell is simply a matter of following your leader.

So who are you following?

I will leave you to answer that question on your own.

And then lastly, what about this aspect of Revelation 2:20-21, where you eat things sacrificed to idols?

Having learned years ago that meats sold in Costco were labeled as Halel for the Islamic buyers, I felt like I needed to make a decision, and that was NOT to buy anything with that green sticker.

What does it mean to me if it is Halel food?

It means the cow was pointed at the Kabbalah, slaughtered in a prescribed manner, and an Islamic blessing was said over the animal. In other words, it was blessed as it was killed. It was blessed; what a wonderful thing to do to an animal that is about to be viciously slaughtered. 

You should realize that I am mocking your purposeful naivete, which is a game you play because you don’t want to know that the cow is being offered up to a demon.

The question is, how would most of you know that if I had not told you?

You wouldn’t. When Paul wrote about this very thing, it became evident that these people had become aware and yet tolerated the practices surrounding the sacrificed meats.

Tolerate is the Greek word aphiēm. To tolerate something is to suffer it to be so or be done without any prohibition or hindrance; to allow or permit by not preventing or restraining. This is us yielding our rights to sanity. Our standard definition of tolerance looks something like this: “lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up.” In actuality, the word aphiēmi's primary understanding is to send forth. The implication is that we are advancing her cause.

You don’t think that is true, do you?

It was just in the last few days that I saw a video someone made inside their church, where the worship team was singing a song to God. All the references to Him were changed to “she.”

Is that all? 

Perhaps I should just tolerate it and mind my own business. 

Can’t you see how foolish that statement is?

No, that is NOT all. We have adopted the slaughter of unborn babies as appropriate behavior and given openly homosexual persons a regular place at the microphone in church. All of these things are in direct opposition to God, and we have helped to advance Jezebel’s cause by being friends with the world.

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4 NASB)

Is there a specific woman that we can refer to as Jezebel?

The answer is NO, and we are NOT looking for a woman as a central leader (the antichrist;) we are looking for a man. So, Jezebel has to be seen as a spiritual entity that, as the passage states, is leading “My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” So “it,” whether it be Jezebel or the Babylon system, is not leading the world astray; they are already gone. It is leading the church astray, people we thought were sane.

Another word the Holy Spirit used in Revelation 2: 20 was translated as leads; this is the Greek word planaō and means cause to roam (from safety, truth, or virtue.) It also means to seduce or deceive.

Albert Barnes' commentary says this, “Whether she herself practiced what she taught is not expressly affirmed, but seems to be implied in Rev. 2:22. It is not often that persons teach these doctrines without practicing what they teach; and the fact that they desire and design to live in this manner will commonly account for the fact that they inculcate such views.”

Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart lived Albert Barnes’ commentary out in front of us and got himself arrested several times.

So no, there is no she, as she represents the lusts and desires of this world. Sadly, there are those that wish to control people and the world and will reject no forms of violence to do it.

Has God rejected His own people? Romans 11:1-24.

We open our study of Romans 11 with the last three verses of Romans 10. Why?

Because chapter 11 is a continuation of thought, and, as you will see, opens with what seems like an important.

If we have some form of Christian world view, one that is aware of the angry tones which accompany the voices of those who say, God is done with Israel, and their fate is hell. Is this question that Paul asks, “did the people of Israel really understand,” a valid one? Paul tells us that they did understand, and he uses himself as an example, but, as he says in verse 21, “they were disobedient and rebellious.”

Romans 10:19-21 NLT  But I ask, did the people of Israel understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, “I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles.”  (20)  And later, Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, “I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for me.”  (21)  But regarding Israel, God said, “All day long, I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.”

When we open chapter 11, we immediately we see Paul using another rhetorical question. Watch how he answers it analytically and insight-fully.

”I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel?
Of course not!
I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.”
(Romans 11:1 NLT)

Far too many have tried to answer this question; however, they would tell you that God has rejected His own people. How and why would you do that, when the Holy Spirit has seen fit to put an answer there on the page for you to see. A man I sat under for a short time, would say things that conflicted with the Word of God. Called on his error by showing him the truth in the Word, he would respond with, “that's my opinion, and that is all that matters.”

So then, God has not rejected his people and the fact that Paul is speaking into our lives proves that point.

God didn't turn his back on his people. After all, he chose them. Don't you know what Scripture says about Elijah? He complained to God about Israel.
(Romans 11:2 NIrV)

Look at what Leviticus says,

But for all that, when they are in the land of their haters, I will not let them go, or be turned away from them, or give them up completely; my agreement with them will not be broken, for I am the Lord their God. (Leviticus 26:44 BBE)

I believe that 1Kings 19, beginning with verse 10, is what Paul is referring to when he speaks of Elijah's complaint.

"Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:18 NASB)

It is evident that Elijah felt very alone,

"Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE."
(Romans 11:3 NASB)

Paul pointed out in the ninth chapter of this letter to the church in Rome that only a remnant would survive; is God telling us, based upon the number that He gave to Elijah, that the remnant will equal 7000? I am not so sure, and here is why.

"It will come about in all the land," declares the LORD, "That two parts in it will be cut off and perish, but the third will be left in it. 

(Zechariah 13:8 NASB)

Even though Zechariah speaks of a third that does not perish, a significant number of passages speak of only a few surviving. As of October 2019, Israel claims a population of 9,108,500 inhabitants. If a third survived what is coming, we could potentially be looking at somewhere around 3 million people; a tenth would be 900,000. To only have 7000 walking into the millennial reign is a shockingly small number.

But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL."
(Romans 11:4 NASB)

Don't we also sometimes feel alone, especially when we see the truth in God's Word, and it conflicts with what is being taught from the podium and then professed by the lost sheep that we sit by in our churches? I have experienced this feeling on multiple occasions. A pastor of mine was trying to explain the communion, and it’s origins, in his closing comments to a men’s retreat. He said, “Jesus did not want to die for you.” Now, I can give the man some grace and say that he misspoke, but the damage was done, and he made no attempts to correct his error. If you are one of those lost sheep, and cannot, or will not read for yourself, then this conversation is pointless to you. However, I have studied my bible and know what it says,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NASB)

The Apostle John tells us this about God and His attitude toward us.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NASB)

Does that sound like someone who did not want to die for you? No, I didn't think so.

Now watch as Paul, speaking to an audience in which the majority are Jewish Christ-followers, says, it is not so different today. Remember, context is everything and may exclude me from applying this next verse to the time frame in which we live.

“In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.”
(Romans 11:5 NASB)

Just as the story about Elijah lamented what appeared to be his solitary efforts to promote God, we too are not alone, and, though you may not see them, the others are out there. Many, not needing the spotlight, pray their tears out before God; they pray in this manner because they too feel alone.

The NLT translation does a better job of moving us through Romans 11:5, so let's look at that.

It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them.
(Romans 11:5 NLT)

Note the phrase undeserved kindness.

And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For, in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
(Romans 11:6 NLT)

“And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works.” Who is the “they” in this sentence? The Jews, but as Paul already pointed out, anyone can jump on board.

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
(Romans 3:21-24 NLT)

• “God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law”
• “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.”
• “this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.”
• “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
• “Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in his sight.”
• He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

What is Israel seeking?

What then [shall we conclude]? Israel failed to obtain what it sought [God's favor by obedience to the Law]. Only the elect (those chosen few) obtained it, while the rest of them became callously indifferent (blinded, hardened, and made insensible to it).
(Romans 11:7 AMP )

So the question is, what is Israel seeking?

Some might say they are seeking a Messiah. Sadly, He came, and they would not recognize Him. Will they know Him when God's wrath is poured out on them once again?

Have a look at Eugene Peterson's translation.

Romans 11:7 MSG  And then what happened? Well, when Israel tried to be right with God on her own, pursuing her own self-interest, she didn't succeed. The chosen ones of God were those who let God pursue his interest in them, and as a result, received his stamp of legitimacy. The "self-interest Israel" became thick-skinned toward God.

Has Israel ever stopped trying to be right, pursuing her own self-interests?

If what Peterson sees is those who allow God to pursue His interests in them, do we see Israel as doing that? Apparently not.

2 Corinthians 3:15-16 NASB, But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

So Israel will have to turn to the Lord, and that day will come.

Romans 11:8 NET. as it is written,

"God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear,

to this very day."

Romans 11:9 NLT  Likewise, David said,

“Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve.

Romans 11:10 NLT 

Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”

Paul is quoting much of Romans 11:8-10 from Psalms 69, but he, like Jesus frequently did, is only taking a portion for Psalm 69 speaks of their homes being deserted. Now, this may be the destruction that is coming to Israel, but who would wish that on someone?

Psalms 69:22-25 NIrV  Let their feast be a trap and a snare. Let my enemies get what's coming to them.  (23)  Let their eyes grow weak, so they can't see. Let their backs be bent forever.  (24)  Pour out your anger on them. Let them feel its burning heat.  (25)  May their homes be deserted. May no one live in their tents.

Romans 11:11 CEV 

Do I mean that the people of Israel fell, never to get up again?

Certainly not!

Their failure made it possible for the Gentiles to be saved, and this will make

the people of Israel jealous.

Pay attention to this next verse.

Romans 11:12 CEV  But if the rest of the world's people were helped so much by Israel's sin and loss, they will be helped even more by their full return.

Another translation.

Romans 11:12 Williams  But if their stumbling has resulted in the enrichment of the world and their overthrow becomes the enrichment of heathen peoples, how much richer the result will be when the full quota of Jews comes in!

Consider this idea of a full quota. Quota means a just part or share; or the share, part or proportion assigned.

So God already has a number in mind, knowing full well that, regardless of the open invitation, only so many will come.

Paul now speaks directly to those who were among the nations, but are now a part of the flock.

Romans 11:13 ERV  Now I am speaking to you people who are not Jews. I am an apostle to the non-Jewish people. So while I have that work, I will do the best I can.

Other terms for this people group are the nations and the Gentiles; it all works. The GW translation puts it this way.

(GW)  Now, I speak to you who are not Jewish. As long as I am an apostle sent to people who are not Jewish, I bring honor to my ministry.

Question: was Saul/Paul an apostle to the Gentiles from the very beginning? 

No.

What evidence do we have that Saul/Paul was initially an apostle to the Jews?

(Acts 9:22 BBE)  But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.

Now some might try to argue that Paul was preaching to Greeks based on Acts 9:29, so let's look at that for a moment.

(Acts 9:29 NASB) And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death.

Two things to note from Acts 9:29: In the NASB, the word Jews are italicized, meaning it is not found in the original text, it was added for continuity and understanding. Based on the context, I would agree that the term fits the conversation. The other thing to pay attention to is that many of the audience were deemed Hellenists. The word Hellenistic means a Jew by birth or religion who speaks Greek; it is used chiefly of foreign Jews and proselytes whether converted to Christianity. That term, Hellenist might seem odd in Jerusalem, but there was a change, and under Roman rule, Greek became the acceptable language. 

Could this term Hellenists just as easily apply to a Gentile who had converted to Judaism? 

Certainly, because the definition of a Hellenist also includes those who are Jews by conversion.

Almost as though the writers of the CEV translation had been there in Jerusalem, they state,

(Acts 9:28-29 CEV)  Saul moved about freely with the followers in Jerusalem and told everyone about the Lord.  (29)  He was always arguing with the Jews who spoke Greek, and so they tried to kill him.

In Acts 11, we see an interesting transition that eventually includes Paul.

(Acts 11:19-20 NASB) So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. (20) But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Pay attention to verse 19, as it says, that those scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen, preached the Word to no one except for Jews alone. This persecution can directly be tied back to Saul (soon to be called Paul.)

And now follow verse 20, where it states, “But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.” Who or what gave them the freedom or thought to speak to the Gentiles about Jesus, the Jew that will return to rule the world, is not clear, however, I suspect the Holy Spirit's influence.

(Acts 11:22-26 NASB) The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. (23) Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; (24) for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. (25) And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; (26) and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year, they met with the church and taught considerable numbers, and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

At this point, there is no aversion on the part of Paul to speak to Gentile believers. The word church here is ekklēsia, and, in this instance, means an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting. (Thayer Definition)

The phrase, an assembly of Christians, has no stipulations on it, and may well have included Jewish and Gentile converts. If I am following this story, holding to a chronological timeline, I still find Paul headed to the Synagogue on the Sabbath.

(Acts 13:13-14 NASB) Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. (14) But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

(Acts 14:1 NASB) In Iconium, they entered the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

When did his mission change based upon what we see in Acts?

Acts 13:46-49 NASB Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. (47) "For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'" (48) When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. (49) And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.

So here in Acts 13:46-49, Paul says, because you (Jews) judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.

Was Peter prompted by the Holy Spirit to be an apostle to the Gentiles?

Yes.

Did Peter pursue his calling to the Gentiles? 

It would not appear so beyond the household of Cornelius.

So Paul made it his goal, “to make my fellow-countrymen jealous.”

(Romans 11:13-14 Williams)  Yes, I now am speaking to you who are a part of the heathen peoples. As I am an apostle to the heathen peoples, I am making the most of my ministry to them, to see  (14)  if I can make my fellow-countrymen jealous, and so save some of them.

What would possibly make them jealous? God is showing grace, mercy, and acceptance to the nations.

(Romans 11:15 Williams)  For if the rejection of them has resulted in the reconciling of the world, what will the result be of the final reception of them but life from the dead?

Since God has brought in the world under the same glorious terms He offered Israel, then life from the dead is also part of the deal.

(Romans 11:16 Williams)  If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the whole mass; if the tree's root is consecrated, so are the branches.

Then we are consecrated as well if we believe.

It is the rootstock that supports us.

(Romans 11:17-18 NASB) But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, (18) do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

Romans 11:19-24 NASB, Williams.

You will say then,

"Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."

Very well, but it was for lack of faith that they were broken off,
and it is through your faith that you now stand where you are. (Williams)
Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.
Behold then the kindness and severity of God;
to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness,
if you continue in His kindness;
otherwise, you also will be cut off.
And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in,
for God is able to graft them in again. (NASB)
For if you were cut off from an olive wild by nature,
and contrary to nature were grafted on to a fine olive stock,
how much easier will it be for the natural branches to be grafted on to their own olive stock? (Williams)

Consider, if this is something that could happen, such as being cut off, why then would anyone be comfortable saying such lousy things about Israel as God has cast them aside, losing out on His mercy?