Does it not seem from this that these men, having committed the infamous act of crucifying Jesus, or consenting to His death, although they may have done it ignorantly, could not at that time, even by repentance and conversion, be placed in a state of salvation, but that they would have to wait until Jesus Christ should come again before their sins could be blotted out; when Jesus Christ should be sent, who before was preached unto them and whom they had crucified? Is not this the same condition that the antediluvians were in, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, when they were cast into prison and remained there until the time when Jesus went and preached to those spirits in prison? In their day they rejected the offers of mercy through the atonement of Jesus Christ, as the Jews did in their time; but afterwards they had the same Gospel preached to them by Jesus, and those Jews who had participated in those deeds, or who had consented thereto, to whom the Apostle then spake, even if they then repented, would have to wait for forgiveness and salvation until Jesus should come again. Furthermore, the Jews who will live in the times of the restitution in the last days, after the testimony of the Gospel shall have gone to the Gentiles through this same atonement, and the introduction of the Gospel, will again have it preached to them on the earth, and will, through Him, the Elias, or restorer, be gathered again to their own land.
"Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone, which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."—Acts, iv, 10-12.
"But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."—Acts, vii, 55, 56.
"The place of the Scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth."—Acts, viii, 32, 33.
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."—Acts, xx, 28.
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! "—John, i, 29.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."—Rom., iii, 23-25.
"But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."—Rom., iv, 24, 25.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."—Rom., v, 8-12.
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."—1 Cor., xv, 3-9.