THE BOOK OF ACTS
Lesson 6, Chapter 2 continued 2
Let us continue today in Acts chapter 2. We’re spending an inordinate amount of
time in this chapter because there is an inordinate amount of information
contained here concerning one of the most monumental events in human history:
the arrival of God’s Holy Spirit to indwell God’s worshippers. But also because
there are underlying Scriptures that form the basis for Peter’s thought provoking
argument to accept the deity of Yeshua and His position as Lord and Messiah. I
have no doubt that this elegant speech that Peter gives is a result of the training
that he received at the feet of Jesus; for only a Jewish scholar with intimate
knowledge of the Torah could have pieced this together, and Peter was no Torah
scholar; he was a common Galilean, a blue collar fisherman. We’re going to
examine some of that Scriptural foundation today that Yeshua must have taught
Peter so keep your Bibles handy.
Let’s review a few points from last week, if only briefly. First, what is called
Pentecost in English is Shavuot in Hebrew, and it’s the 4th in the series of the 7
Biblical Feasts that God ordained at Mt. Sinai. Originally Shavuot was an
agricultural feast that celebrated the harvest of the Wheat crop; but later Jewish
Tradition added the meaning that it was the day that Moses received the Torah
on Mt. Sinai (which is likely). The Jewish commentaries and
Rabbinic midrash about the giving of the Torah to Moses on Pentecost
(Shavuot) tended to focus on the elements that excited the senses: the fire and
flames, the ear-piercing noise, and the many voices of God (that represented all
human languages). This notion of the Torah arriving in this manner
on Shavuot 1300 years earlier had become a given in Jewish society; it was
universally accepted in Judaism as truth and woven into Jewish thought.
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Thus when we read Acts chapter 2 we can more readily see that Luke wrote
about the mysterious events of this particular Pentecost (Shavuot) that follows
Messiah’s ascension to Heaven within this understanding; and shortly I’ll point
out how Peter did the same.
Another point I made from last week was to understand that to Peter the advent
of Messiah and the arrival of the Holy Spirit to indwell humans signaled the
prophesied entry into the era of the Last Days and, with equal importance, the
arrival of the Kingdom of God. He quotes the Prophet Joel and some Psalms to
make his point. But he also has in mind the Prophet Isaiah, which although he
doesn’t directly quote, he borrows some of Isaiah’s prophetic thoughts.
Specifically he borrows from Isaiah 2, 55, and 56. Since we’ve already looked at
Isaiah 2, we’ll talk a bit about Isaiah 55 and 56 today.
Yet another matter we took up last week was for the purpose of defining a pivotal
Biblical term: lawlessness. Evangelical Christians immediately tend to think of the
coming Anti-Christ as the “Lawless One”, and so they envision a very bad man
who scoffs at societal laws or sees himself as above the law (somewhat like a
tyrant, an outlaw or a gang member). But that is an incorrect mental picture. In
fact Biblically speaking, this term “lawless” specifically applies to all who turn
their backs on God’s Torah. The Greek word for law is nomos, and for lawless
(without law, or outside of the law) it is anomos. I urge you to commit those two
Greek words to memory. It shouldn’t be terribly hard to do because English uses
similar grammatical word structure. Example: we call a set of agreed to ethical
principles “moral”; and the lack of adherence to proper ethical principles
“amoral” (without morals). Amoral however is not the same as immoral. Immoral
means a person recognizes the ethical principles but decides to break them.
However an amoral person recognizes no ethical principles as valid, binding or
pertaining to them. So nomos and anomos work exactly the same
way. Anomos doesn’t mean to break the law, it means to refuse to recognize
the law as valid or pertaining to oneself. But what is essential for us to remember
is that in the Bible the term law is always referring to either God’s law or to
Hebrew Traditions that purport to convey the underlying principles of God’s law.
And the only Biblical law that exists from God’s perspective is the Law of Moses,
the Torah. So lawless or lawlessness is not referring to the breaking of societal
laws or international law, or any set of laws that are manmade.
I don’t want you to think that this understanding that is a foundational belief and
teaching at Seed of Abraham Ministries concerning the continuing relevance of
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the Torah Law is a unique one for us. F.F. Bruce, in his New International
Commentary on the Book of Acts says this about the use of the word lawless in
the Bible: “…..lawless men (are meant) in the sense of being outside of the law of
Israel”. And what is the law of Israel? The Torah, the Law of Moses.
So before we re-read part of Acts chapter 2, let’s move from theory to practice
as I hit you right between the eyes with an inescapable and uncomfortable reality
that each Believer is faced with. Being labeled as anomous is always a wicked
negative thing in the Bible (Old and New Testaments). And, sadly (dangerously)
most of Christianity today (just like the Romans who crucified Christ) says that
God’s Torah, the Law of Moses, doesn’t pertain to them. Thus most of
Christianity today by every Biblical definition has classified itself, and proudly
proclaims to be, anomos. Without God’s Law. I’ll let you ponder that as we
move on.
RE-READ ACTS CHAPTER 2:22 – 36
Verse 22 begins with “Men of Israel, listen to this!” some Bibles say it only
slightly differently. Remembering that to Luke and to Peter the coming of the Holy
Spirit on Pentecost (Shavuot) is the 2nd coming of the Torah, accomplished in
essentially the same way that the Jewish religious leaders and teachers said that
it happened at Mt. Sinai with Moses, then we need to be alert to why Peter chose
the words he did to speak to this huge crowd of bewildered religious Jews who
were in Jerusalem (some journeying extraordinarily long distances) in obedience
to God’s commandment to come to the Temple for Shavuot.
Listen to the words of Moses as he recalls the events of Mt. Sinai in
Deuteronomy 5:1.
CJB Deuteronomy 5:1 Then Moshe called to all Isra'el and said to them,
"Listen, Isra'el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your
hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey
them.
2
ADONAI our God made a covenant with us at Horev.
And a few verses later in the same setting, during the same speech to the
Israelites, Moses said this in Deuteronomy 6.
Deuteronomy 6:3-5 CJB
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3
Therefore listen, Isra'el, and take care to obey, so that things will go well
with you, and so that you will increase greatly, as ADONAI, the God of your
ancestors, promised you by giving you a land flowing with milk and honey.
4
"Sh'ma, Yisra'el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra'el! ADONAI
our God, ADONAI is one];
5
and you are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, all your being
and all your resources.
And, by the way, even though we read the word Adonai in our CJB’s, and the
word Lord in virtually all English Bibles that I’ve ever come across, that is NOT
the original Hebrew. Rather the word is YHWH, Yahweh or Yehoveh. That’s
right; God’s formal name is used in every instance, not the rather generic “Lord”
or Adonai in Hebrew that we read in our modern Bibles.
It is common in all societies in all ages to invoke phrases and sayings that are
easily recognizable by every citizen; sayings that evoke memories and mental
pictures (cherished or solemn) of people and places and events. In America, and
I dare say in most of the world, one only has to invoke the words 911 or World
Trade Center and your audience fully understands your context and any
comparison you are making. And so it was for Luke as he quotes Peter. The
Jews hearing Peter instantly grasped the connection when Peter says in Hebrew
“Shema Israel” (Listen Israel!) and then goes on in paraphrase of Moses to
explain the very nature of God and His unity; only this time it is in relation to the
Son of God, Yeshua. Of course not all the Jews present agreed with Peter’s
proposed connection between God and Yeshua, or between Mt. Sinai and what
they just witnessed happen on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem.
And since we’re on the subject of Moses and the pattern of Mt. Sinai being
repeated at Pentecost, I’ll expound just a bit on something I quoted from last
week.
Numbers 11:25 CJB
25
ADONAI came down in the cloud, spoke to him (Moses), took some of the
Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy leaders. When the Spirit
came to rest on them, they prophesied- then but not afterwards.
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I pointed out last week that this event in Numbers 11 set the pattern for what
happened at Pentecost in Acts 2. What I failed to point out is just how nearly
identical the two events happened, both centered on the Holy Spirit. And
although this opens up its own theological can of worms, we’ll open that can just
a wee bit and hopefully close the lid before too many crawl out! Notice that the 70
Elders began prophesyinging (that is, speaking ecstatic speech), but then not
afterwards (meaning they spoke this way for perhaps minutes or hours and then
it ended). It was the same for the 12 Disciples and all the 120 Believers that were
there at Mt. Zion. That is, when the Holy Spirit came upon them they began to
talk ecstatic speech (in this case, employing different languages). But there is no
record in the Bible or elsewhere, not even a hint or implication, that all of these
Believers who were speaking in tongues (in foreign languages) in the immediate
aftermath, and as a consequence, of the Holy Spirit event continued to do so for
more than a few minutes or hours. That is, just like Moses’ 70 Elders, they
prophecied (using foreign languages), but not afterwards.
Paul says that speaking in tongues is one of several possible gifts that one can
receive as a result of the Holy Spirit indwelling.
CJB 1 Corinthians 12:1 But, brothers, I do not want you to go on being
ignorant about the things of the Spirit.
2
You know that when you were pagans, no matter how you felt you were
being led, you were being led astray to idols, which can't speak at all.
3
Therefore, I want to make it clear to you that no one speaking by the Spirit
of God ever says, "Yeshua is cursed!" and no one can say, "Yeshua is
Lord," except by the Ruach HaKodesh.
4
Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them.
5
Also there are different ways of serving, but it is the same Lord being
served.
6
And there are different modes of working, but it is the same God working
them all in everyone.
7
Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the
Spirit that will be for the common good.
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8
To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word
of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit;
9
to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by
the one Spirit;
10
to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the
ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different
kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues.
11
One and the same Spirit is at work in all these things, distributing to each
person as he chooses.
So speaking in tongues is one of a range of possible gifts from the Holy Spirit. It
is obvious from Paul’s perspective that the gift of speaking in tongues is not
universal among legitimate Believers and that the Holy Spirit chooses to whom
He shall give each particular gift. Not only in our day, but even in Paul’s, this
issue of speaking in tongues as a sign of having received the Holy Spirit evokes
great passion and strong disagreement. The Believer’s fellowship at Corinth
where Paul was, was struggling with this, no doubt with much dissention and bad
feelings towards one another. So in 1Corinthians 14 Paul attempts to give the
issue some balance and context.
CJB 1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love! However, keep on eagerly seeking the
things of the Spirit; and especially seek to be able to prophesying.
2
For someone speaking in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God,
because no one can understand, since he is uttering mysteries in the
power of the Spirit.
3
But someone prophesyinging is speaking to people, edifying,
encouraging and comforting them.
4
A person speaking in a tongue does edify himself, but a person
prophesyinging edifies the congregation.
5
I wish you would all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you would all
prophesying. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who
speaks in tongues, unless someone gives an interpretation, so that the
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congregation can be edified.
6
Brothers, suppose I come to you now speaking in tongues. How can I be
of benefit to you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or
prophecy or teaching?
7
Even with lifeless musical instruments, such as a flute or a harp, how will
anyone recognize the melody if one note can't be distinguished from
another?
8
And if the bugle gives an unclear sound, who will get ready for battle?
9
It's the same with you: how will anyone know what you are saying unless
you use your tongue to produce intelligible speech? You will be talking to
the air!
So my position on the challenging issue of speaking in tongues is this: speaking
in tongues is a real, valid, ongoing and valuable spiritual gift. But just because
this gift happened at a particular Pentecost to the 120 Believers and 12 Disciples
(and only lasted for a short time, apparently), that doesn’t mean that it is
automatic that every new Believer from then forward would speak in tongues. At
Pentecost it happened for a specific divine purpose: Jerusalem was filled with
Diaspora Jews coming from all over the Roman Empire, and they spoke different
languages. Most did NOT speak Hebrew or Aramaic. It is my speculation that if
all the Jews at Mt. Zion spoke Hebrew or Aramaic, the manifestation of the Holy
Spirit that caused this speaking in tongues would not have happened as it did
because it would have served no useful purpose.
Just as at Mt. Sinai when God wanted people of every language to understand
His Torah, so God wanted every Jew present at Pentecost to hear and perceive
what was happening in his/her own language. Thus speaking in tongues is one of
several unique and specific gifts of the Spirit, and having or not having this
particular gift has nothing to do with one’s level of faith or personal merit. It is a
sovereign decision of God for whatever purpose He has for you, or maybe in
whatever circumstance you find yourself. But the use of the spiritual gift of
speaking in tongues (and interpreting) must be proper and not contrived, and
should not ever be divisive. Nor should we judge one another on account of
having this gift, or not having this gift. And Paul goes to great lengths to explain
this to the Corinthians. In fact, Paul goes on to say that he feels that prophesying
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is a greater and more useful gift than speaking in tongues.
Let me also mention that in the New Testament the word “prophesy” takes on a
different meaning from the Old Testament. In the Old Testament most of the time
(not always) prophesying involved predicting the future and/or establishing new
Scripture. But in the New Testament predicting the future is the exception when it
comes to the meaning of prophesying. In Christ’s era prophesying meant to
teach, or to expound upon God’s Word (existing Scripture) in an inspired or
profound way. The belief in the era of Paul was that God’s Word to mankind was
complete and locked up. The Books that formed the Hebrew Bible, and especially
the Prophets, represented the entirety of God’s Word to mankind. Thus Bible
and Torah teachers were said to be prophesying when they taught; not predicting
the future but also NOT adding to the Holy Scripture. Usually it simply meant
interpreting what the Bible (the Old Testament) had to say about any matter,
including the future. And that was essentially what Hebrew midrash was
attempting to do. So in New Testament Bible speak, as your Torah Teacher, it
could be said that I am prophesying to you the congregation. In modern terms, I
am interpreting the Bible and teaching it.
In verses 23 and 24, Peter speaks of what man did versus what God did in
response to the signs and miracles that Yeshua used to prove who He was. Man
judged Yeshua and condemned Him. Many ordinary Judean Jews in conspiracy
with the High Priests and the Roman Governor had Yeshua nailed to a stake and
killed. But God reversed their decision. Humans killed Messiah; God put life back
into Him. Humans put Christ into the grave; God rescued Him from the grave.
Humans despised Yeshua and thought Him worthless; God exalted Him and
placed Him at His right hand.
But now Peter deals with a matter that Jews then, and modern Jews today
continue to wrestle with; the issue of the relationship between King David and
Messiah. Judaism has different takes on this matter, so there is no consensus.
Some hold that King David himself will either be resurrected or will be
reincarnated in a different body. And this is why Judaism in general works very
hard to find David a perfect man who never sinned (a happy fiction to be sure,
according to the Scriptures). So with that in mind, we can begin to comprehend
why there was great interest, but no doubt much disagreement, within the crowd
of Jews listening to Peter as he explains his view of the relationship between
David and Yeshua. So in verse 25 Peter begins the topic by invoking a Psalm of
David. Psalm 16:8 – 11 is quoted. And because in the New Testament everything
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is rendered in Greek, we find a few minor differences between this Old
Testament quote versus what we find in the original Hebrew quote. Here it is
from the Old Testament.
Psalm 16:8-11 CJB
8
I always set ADONAI before me; with him at my right hand, I can never be
moved;
9
so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices, and my body too rests in safety;
10
for you will not abandon me to Sh'ol, you will not let your faithful one see
the Abyss.
11
You make me know the path of life; in your presence is unbounded joy, in
your right hand eternal delight.
So the two are very close but not exact. The Hebrew speaks of eternal delight in
God’s right hand, which is not there in the Greek NT quote. But what is Peter’s
point of basing what he’s about to say on these few verses? The issue is as I
mentioned a few moments ago: much of 2nd Temple Judaism believed that King
David was the Messiah and thus would somehow return and reappear as the
Messiah during their day. Peter needed to explain that this was an incorrect
understanding of this passage, and he would use logic, history and some more
Scripture (even David’s own words) to prove His point.
So in verse 29 he lays it out: David died and he was buried. In fact Peter points in
the direction of David’s tomb that was likely on the eastern slope of the City of
David at that time and visited by virtually every Jew that ever made his/her way to
Jerusalem. So of this fact there was no dispute, and his tomb made it self-
evident. But, says Peter, David in addition to being a king was also a Prophet
(and Judaism certainly agreed with that) and so when there was prophetic
Scripture about the Messiah and David’s name was included, it was referring not
to David himself but rather to one of his descendants (a literal descendant, not a
reincarnation of David). So David could not possibly have been the Messiah; but
Yeshua, a descendant of David, is.
What is the proof of this? Again, Peter says David was buried and his body was
in a tomb that was visited every day in Jerusalem. Christ too was buried but His
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body came alive and He walked out of that tomb because the grave couldn’t hold
Him. Even more, while David’s bleached bones lay in that much-visited tomb,
Christ is nowhere to be found on earth because unlike King David, Yeshua bodily
ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of Yehoveh (and to this there were
many witnesses). Further Yeshua received “what the Father
promised”, the Ruach HaKodesh, and now has poured out this same Spirit on
His followers. And to this fact, thousands were (on this very day) witnesses to it.
So in Acts 2 verse 35 Peter quotes Psalm 110 verse 1, stating that the person
identified as “my Lord” in that passage will sit at God’s right hand. Much of
Judaism felt, and still feels, that “my Lord” is referring to King David. Yet, says
Peter, it can’t be King David because he didn’t ascend into Heaven; he’s dead
and buried. Therefore Peter says in verse 36 that the whole house of Israel
(meaning Judah and the 10 tribes of Ephraim/Israel) needs to recognize and
acknowledge that Yeshua is the Messiah the Prophets and King David spoke
about.
Now at this point I want to pause and change gears and discuss with you a
couple of chapters in Isaiah that Peter no doubt was using as a foundation for his
understanding of the relationship between David and Messiah Yeshua. Open you
Bibles to Isaiah 55.
READ ISAIAH 55:1 – 5
The key words in Isaiah 55 as pertains to our subject today are these: “I will
make an everlasting covenant with you, the grace I assured David.” The grace
(the chesed in Hebrew) that YHWH assured David was that a descendant of His
would rule forever. The best place I can think of where this everlasting covenant
that shows grace towards David is summed up is in Ezekiel 37. There we hear
this:
Ezekiel 37:24-28 CJB
24
My servant David will be king over them, and all of them will have one
shepherd; they will live by my rulings and keep and observe my
regulations.
25
They will live in the land I gave to Ya'akov my servant, where your
ancestors lived; they will live there- they, their children, and their
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grandchildren, forever; and David my servant will be their leader forever.
26
I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will
give to them, increase their numbers, and set my sanctuary among them
forever.
27
My home will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my
people.
28
The nations will know that I am ADONAI, who sets Isra'el apart as holy,
when my sanctuary is with them forever.'"
Since David is not immortal or eternal, then this has to be referring to a very
special descendant of David who became immortal and eternal. Otherwise his
rule forever was not possible. That descendant was Yeshua of Natzeret, Jesus
the Christ.
Let’s switch gears one more time and talk now about Isaiah 56. The reason I
want to deal with this now before we finish Acts 2 is because I mentioned last
week that as Jeremiah 31:30 so vividly explains this “new covenant” that is
sealed in the blood of Christ (that Christianity claims is the foundation for the so-
called New Testament Church) is actually explicitly said to be for the House of
Judah and the House of Israel.
30
"Here, the days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah.
The Church rightly points to this verse as the prophecy of a new covenant that
will be sealed in Christ’s blood. However the verse is explicit that this covenant is
for Judah and Israel; there is not a thing here about gentiles or foreigners. As I
have stated many times: there is no such thing in the Bible as a covenant
between God and gentiles. All divine covenants after Noah are between God and
the Hebrews.
And certainly this passage is emphatic that the new covenant is for Israel. Even
so the Church has got it right that gentiles can be included, grafted in. But the
Church has also gotten it wrong by making Christianity a new and separate
religion, whose God is Jesus, and this to the exclusion of the God of Israel,
Yehoveh, His Word, the Torah and even the Jewish people. God speaks in a
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number of places in the Bible about including gentiles in the blessings and
covenants He has given to Israel, but always there are caveats and
requirements. Among other things Isaiah 56 explains God’s view on this
eventual gentile inclusion into the Hebrew faith.
READ ISAIAH 56 all
So here are the key verses. First, a foreigner joining Adonai (it actually reads
YHWH) should not say “Adonai will separate me from His people”. Thus here is
a promise that God will freely accept gentiles who want to join…….who? Him. It
doesn’t say “join Israel”. This means that joining God is to make the God of
Israel your God. But then there is verse 6 that sets some stringent stipulations for
those gentiles who want to join HIM (not join Israel, not become Jews per se). He
says gentile foreigners must 1) serve Him, 2) love Him, 3) be His workers, and 4)
keep His Shabbats and not profane them. And if a gentile foreigner will do these
4 things his/her sacrifices will be accepted. And this is because God’s house will
be a house of prayer for all peoples. There are some other fascinating prophetic
words contained in Isaiah 56 that aren’t appropriate for our study today, but are
worth your time to consider alone and in prayer.
Let’s end today with this thought. Seed of Abraham Ministries,Torah Class has
never advocated for gentiles taking up Judaism in order to follow Christ; but we
have also never advocated against Judaism except as regards its rigidity against
accepting Yeshua as Messiah and essentially excommunicating Jews who do
accept Him. However Judaism and following God’s Biblical Torah are often not
on the same page, anymore than Christianity and following God’s Scriptures are.
This chapter in Isaiah 56 is a shining example to both Judaism and Christianity
that it is long past time to set aside our dubious manmade traditions and
doctrines and theological arrogance to rediscover God’s Word, from Genesis to
Revelation.
Here in Isaiah 56 we see the Lord emphatically stating His insistence
that Shabbat observance is mandatory for gentiles who wish to join Him (again,
it doesn’t say join Israel). I emphasize that part about who or what it is that
gentiles join because this makes it clear that while through faith in Yeshua
gentiles are grafted into Israel’s covenants, we who are gentiles are not grafted
into national Israel so we don’t become Israelites, or Hebrews, or Jews, or the
new Israel (that is, Replacement Theology). The Hebrew people, who later
became known as Israelites, will always be God’s precious treasure; a special
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people set apart from all others. They have endured more than any people group
on this planet for over 3500 years because of their connection and devotion to
the One God, the God of Israel, Yehoveh. Indeed they have stumbled and fallen
many times and paid dearly for it; only to get up, repent, and have God forgive
them and begin anew. And they will always hold a special place in the Kingdom
of God for that reason.
Do you want to come to God’s holy mountain? Do you want to be joyful in God’s
house of prayer in Jerusalem, soon to be the world capital with Messiah Yeshua
as King of the Kingdom? Do you want your sacrifice, who is Christ, to be
accepted by God the Father so that you can be clean and atoned for? Then God
says: serve Him, love Him, be a worker for Him, and keep His Shabbats. Not my
words, not my rules; they are God’s.
We’ll complete Acts 2 and move into chapter 3 next time.
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