God was dealing only with the Jews because Israel was still His covenant people — and their unbelief was about to bring that exclusive dealing to an end.
Acts 11:19 records that believers scattered by Stephen's persecution 'preached the word to none but unto the Jews only' — even seven or eight years after Pentecost. Les Feldick teaches that God had not yet given instructions to go to the Gentiles; He was still working with Israel. But Israel kept rejecting the message in unbelief, just as they had in the wilderness, and that unbelief — not their sins — was the problem God held against them.
Acts 11:19 — The plain biblical record that the scattered Jewish believers preached the Word to none but Jews only.
Acts 11:19 states: 'Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.' This followed the scattering recorded in Acts 8:4: 'Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.' In the early chapters of Acts, Peter's message was directed to Israel itself: 'Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know' (Acts 2:22). Hebrews 3:18-19 gives the underlying spiritual reason for Israel's failure: 'And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.'
Les Feldick emphasizes that the book of Acts plainly shows the early believers — even seven or eight years after Pentecost — going 'preaching the Word to none but Jews only' (Acts 11:19). The Word they preached was the Old Testament, because the New Testament had not yet been written; their message was to prove from the Old Testament that the One Israel crucified was the Christ. Les explains that God was still dealing with His covenant people Israel. He had not yet given them instructions to go to the Gentiles, and His promises to Israel had not been breached. But Israel kept rejecting the message in unbelief — the same unbelief that kept their fathers from entering God's rest in the wilderness. Les points out that Israel's problem was never that their sins were too vile, for God could forgive even the golden calf worship and immorality; their problem was unbelief. Because Israel rejected God's offer again, God was about to do something totally different.
Les notes that these events took place seven years after Pentecost, and the New Testament had not yet been written. The only Word of God available to them was the Old Testament, and they used it to prove that the One Israel had crucified was the Christ. That message was still going out to none but Jews only.
Les draws attention to Hebrews 3:15-19. God was grieved with the generation whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, and He swore they should not enter into His rest. Les asks whether the verse says it was because they worshipped the golden calf — and observes that it does not. Vile as the golden calf worship and pagan practices were, God could forgive them. What God held against Israel was unbelief: 'they could not enter in because of unbelief' (Hebrews 3:19). Les applies this to the early church period: Israel was again rejecting the message in unbelief, just as at Kadesh-Barnea.
Les explains that throughout 2,000 years of God dealing predominantly with Israel, there were exceptions — Nineveh, Rahab, Ruth, the Syrian general Naaman, the Canaanite woman, and the Roman centurion. But otherwise God was dealing with the nation of Israel, right up through Christ's earthly ministry and into the early Acts period.
According to Les, Israel rejected God's offer in unbelief again — just as they had at Kadesh-Barnea and many other times. When Israel rejected the message after Stephen's persecution, God's response was, in effect, 'then we do something different.' The Jewish-only phase of the early church was the final stage of God's dealing with Israel before that change came.
Unbelief, Not the Golden Calf
Les shows from Hebrews 3 that God held Israel's unbelief against them, not their golden calf worship or immorality — for God could forgive those sins; unbelief was why they could not enter into rest.
None But Jews Only
Les points to Acts 11:19 to show that believers scattered by Stephen's persecution preached to none but Jews only, even seven or eight years after Pentecost, because Israel had again rejected God's offer in unbelief.
Preaching the Old Testament
Les explains that seven years after Pentecost the believers had no New Testament and so preached the Old Testament to prove the crucified Jesus was the Christ — still to none but Jew only.
God Still Dealing with Covenant Israel
Les shows that at Pentecost — and as late as Acts 7 — God was still dealing with His covenant people Israel; Peter's address to 'ye men of Israel' reflects a Jew-only message because God had not yet sent them to Gentiles.
Scattered Jews Preach to None But Jews Only
Les repeats the record of Acts 11:19 — Jews scattered by Stephen's persecution reached Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, but their Old Testament message went to none but Jews only.
A 2,000-Year Jew-Only Pattern
Les places the early church within 2,000 years of God dealing predominantly with Israel, noting the rare exceptions: Nineveh, Rahab, Ruth, Naaman, the Canaanite woman, and the Roman centurion.
The Jewish Mentality of Exclusive Access
Les notes that Jews believed they alone had access to God, making the inclusion of Gentiles anathema to them — background that helps explain why the early church's outreach remained Jewish-only.
Old Testament Only, Jews Only
Les shows the scattered believers had only the Old Testament and preached it to none but Jews only, confirming the Jewish boundary of the early Acts period.
Acts 11:19: Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
The direct scriptural record that early Jewish believers preached the Word to Jews only.
Acts 8:4: Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Describes the scattering from Jerusalem that carried the Jewish-only preaching outward.
Acts 2:22: Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Peter's Pentecost message was addressed directly to Israel, showing God's continued dealing with the Jewish nation.
Hebrews 3:18-19: And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Identifies unbelief as the reason Israel was barred from God's rest — the same unbelief Les applies to Israel's rejection in Acts.
Yes. Acts 11:19 states plainly that those scattered by Stephen's persecution 'preached the word to none but unto the Jews only.' Les Feldick emphasizes that this was still true seven or eight years after Pentecost.
Les Feldick explains from Hebrews 3 that God did not mention the golden calf worship or the immorality that accompanied it; God could forgive even that vile sin. Israel's problem was that they would not believe what God said — 'they could not enter in because of unbelief' (Hebrews 3:19).
They preached from the Old Testament. As Les points out, the New Testament did not exist yet, so the Old Testament was used to prove that the One Israel had crucified was the Christ.
Les notes rare exceptions over 2,000 years — Nineveh, Rahab, Ruth, the Syrian general Naaman, the Canaanite woman, and the Roman centurion — but otherwise God dealt predominantly with the nation of Israel.
Watch the Teaching: The Unpardonable Sin: What It Really Means for Israel