"21st Century Apostles, Israel, and Latter Rain

Revelation“Part 1

The Lord’s Kingdom will Endure Forever 

1. Origen... It is evident that every form of worship will be destroyed except the religion of Christ, which will alone prevail. And indeed it will one day try them, as it principles take possession of the minds of men more and more every day.

2.  John Wesley... All unprejudiced persons may see with their eyes, that he God is already renewing the face of the earth; and we have strong reason to hope that the work he has begun he will carry on into the day of the Lord Jesus: that he will never increment this blessed work of his spirit until he has fulfilled all his promises, until he hath put an end to sin and misery, and infirmity, and death; and reestablished universal holiness and happiness, and cause all inhabitants of the earth to sing together "hallelujah"

The Disciples Asked Three Questions 

Matthew 24:1-3—Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down." 3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 

 1. When Will These Things Happen2. What Will Be the Sign of Your Coming3. And of the End of the Age

A.   Eusebius concurred that the Lord's prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. saying, "all this occurred in this manner in the second year of the reign of Vespasian (A.D. 70), according to the predictions of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Those Who Survived 

1.  Clementine Recognitions (I, 36 and 39) is sometimes thought to be the oldest reference to the flight from Jerusalem by Christians at the time of the first century war with Rome. I:39 says, "Everyone who, believing in the Prophet who had been foretold by Moses, is baptized in His name, shall be kept unhurt from the destruction of war which impends over the unbelieving and the place itself." The problems with this identification are (1) the uncertain date of the Recognitions and the sources which underlie them and (2) whether or not these words do in fact refer to an exodus by Jerusalem Christians.

2.  John Wesley recorded, "this was most punctually fulfilled; for after the Temple was burned, Titus, the Roman general, ordered the very foundation of it to be dug up; after which the ground on which it stood was plowed... This generation of men now living shall not pass till all these things be done... Expression implies that a great part of that generation would be passed away, but not the whole. Just so it was; for the city and Temple were destroyed 39 of 40 years after that."

3.   Eusebius, one of the early church fathers wrote: "The whole body, however, of the church of Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella. Here those that believed in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself, and the whole land of Judea; the divine justice, for their crimes against Christ and His apostles finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of these evildoers from the earth." Ecclesiastical History, 3:5:3

False Christs 

1.Eusebius recorded, "after the Lord was taken up into heaven the demons put forth a number of men who claimed to be gods."

2. Cited in Thomas Aquinas Golden chain... For many came forward when destruction was hanging over Jerusalem, saying that they were Christ's.

3. Charles Spurgeon said "a large number of impostors came forward before the destruction of Jerusalem giving out that they were the anointed of God.

4. Jerome recorded, "at the time of the Jewish captivity by Rome, many Jewish elders claimed to be the Christ. There were so many, in fact, that there were three distinct camps of them when the Romans besieged Jerusalem."

That Generation Would not Pass Away 

1. Since we have an event in 70 A.D. that perfectly fulfills the prophecy then we are to take the fact literally that he was speaking directly to that generation. Matthew 23:36 also affirms this—Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

2. Matt 24:34—I tell you the truth, this generation will          certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 

 3. Luke 23:28-29— But Jesus turning to them said,        "Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for 

yourselves and for your children.  29 "For behold, 

the days are coming when they will say, ' Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.'  30 "Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, 'FALL ON US,' AND TO THE HILLS, 'COVER US.'  31 "For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" 

4.  The predictions of Matthew 24 are directly related to Jerusalem and Judea. Answering the question about the destruction of the Temple. The description of housetops etc. implies that specific region of Judea.

 5. Luke 21:5-20.—Things to Come

The Abomination of Desolation 

1.  John Chrysostom wrote, "The abomination of desolation means the Army by which the holy city of Jerusalem was made desolate.” Corresponding with Daniel 9:26.

2.  The destruction of Jerusalem was focused on the city and the region. It was a very intense tribulation affecting between 1.5-2 million people. It produced cannibalism, a woman cooking and eating her own son etc. the barbarism was unparalleled. Jews would swallow diamonds and other precious stones for safekeeping. They would be caught and cut open searching for anything of value.

3.  500 men were caught each day and whipped, tortured and crucified. 97,000 were taken as slaves.. Not only that the surrounding region continued the mayhem. Josephus recorded, “there was not any one Syrian city which did not slay the Jewish inhabitants, and would not more bitter enemies to us than were the Romans themselves."

4.  Titus pressed the siege of Jerusalem, which was crowded with people because of the paschal festivities, cutting off the water and food supply. The besieged were terribly hard pressed by these tactics, as well as by the insufferable heat. Those who tried to escape were captured and crucified before the very walls as an example to others. According to Josephus, such famine that a mother actually ate the flesh of her own small son. He tells of 2,500,000 assembled at the last Passover just before the city was taken by Titus. 1,000,000 perished in the siege, 347,000 perished in other places. Of the remainder, 97,000 were carried into captivity and 11,000 starved through neglect or sullen refusal of food. On July 17th the daily sacrifices were interrupted.

5.  After bitter fighting and frightful massacres, in September of 70, after a stubborn and desperate resistance, the city fell and the national existence of the Jews came to an end. The Holy City was taken and burned, and the Tenth Legion encamped in the ruined temple. The temple was leveled to the ground and utterly destroyed. Only the Roman garrison was left.

 6.  Josephus states that the Romans, having taken the city, brought their standards into the court of the temple, and placed them opposite the east gate, where they offered sacrifices to them. Many who survived were sold into slavery or taken to Rome for the wild beasts. The seven-branched candlestick, the golden table of the shew-bread and the golden trumpets were carried through the streets of Rome in triumph. 

The Emperor Hadrian dealt the final blow in 132, as a result of another revolt led by a so-called Messiah, Bar Cocheba (son of the star), the Jews were again massacred leaving another million victims. From then on, the Jews scattered over the face of the earth, became the wandering people, without temple or sacrifice, as predicted by the prophets

7.  It was also marking the destruction of the nation, their religious system, their identity and the better part of that entire generation.

Subsequent Persecutions 

1.   Other events have been horrific with terrible persecutions including the Holocaust. Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 2.5% of the world population in WW2.  But none with the far-reaching implications of this with Jerusalem.

2.  Australia 40,500; Austria 120,000; Belgium 88,000; Burma 272,000; China between 10 and 20 million; Germany 6.628 point 6 million; hungry 580,000; Italy 457,000;Japan 2.6 to 3.1 million; Korea 400,000. Poland 5.6 million; Romania 800,000; Soviet Union 23,400,000; United Kingdom 450,000; United States 418,000.  Israel wasn't  a recognized nation, but 6 million were brutally murdered.

3.  Charles Spurgeon wrote, “the destruction of Jerusalem was more terrible than anything that the world has ever witnessed, either before or since. Even Titus seemed to see in his cruel work the hand of an avenging God. Truly the blood of the martyrs slain in Jerusalem was amply avenged when the whole city became a veritable field of blood.

4.  After 70 A.D. the Jewish population was decimated. Another revolt ensued around A.D. 132-135 the Romans crushed the rebellion killing another 580,000 Jews and Israel no longer existed as a nation.

Subsequent Signs As Recorded By Josephus

1. "A meteor, resembling a sword, [7] hung over Jerusalem during one whole year." This could not be a comet, for it was stationary, and was visible for twelve successive months. 

2. "On the eighth of the month Zanthicus, (before the feast of unleavened bread) at the ninth hour of the night, there shone round about the altar, and the circumjacent buildings of the temple, a light equal to the brightness of the day, which continued for the space of half an hour." 

3. "As the High Priest were leading a heifer to the altar to be sacrificed, she brought forth a lamb, in the midst of the temple

4. "'About the sixth hour of the night, the eastern gate of the temple was seen to open without human assistance." When the guards informed the Curator of this event, he sent men to assist them in shutting it, who with great difficulty succeeded. -- This gate, as hath been observed already, 'Was of solid brass, and required twenty men to close it every evening. It could not have been opened by a "strong gust of wind," or a slight earthquake;" for Josephus says, it was secured by iron bolts And bars, which were let down into a large threshold; consisting of one entire stone." 

5. "Soon after the feast of the Passover, in various parts of the country, before the setting of the sun, chariots and armed men were seen in the air, passing round about Jerusalem." 

6. "At the subsequent feast of Pentecost, while the priests were going, by night, into the inner, temple to perform their customary ministrations, they first felt, as they said, a shaking, accompanied by an indistinct murmuring, and afterwards voices as of a multitude, saying, in a distinct and earnest manner,

"LET US DEPART HENCE." "LET US DEPART HENCE." And accordingly, before the period for celebrating this feast returned, the Jewish war had commenced, and in the space of three years afterwards, Jerusalem was surrounded by the Roman army, the temple converted into a citadel, and its sacred courts streaming with the blood of human victims.

7. As the last and most fearful omen, Josephus relates that one Jesus, the son of Ananus, a rustic of the lower class, during the Feast of Tabernacles, suddenly exclaimed in the temple, "A voice from the east a voice from the west -- a voice from the four winds- a voice against Jerusalem and the temple -- a voice against bridegrooms and brides -- a voice against the whole people !" These words he incessantly proclaimed aloud both day and night, through all the 

streets of Jerusalem, for seven years and five months together, commencing at a time (A. D. 62) when the city was in a state of peace, and overflowing with prosperity, and terminating amidst the horrors of the siege. This disturber, having excited the attention of the magistracy, was brought before Albinus the Roman governor, who commanded that he should be scourged. But the severest stripes drew from him neither tears nor supplications.

I Will Restore Saith the Lord1.  Joel 2:25-26—And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten — the hopping locust, the stripping locust, and the crawling locust, My great army which I sent among you.  And you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord, your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you. And My people shall never be put to shame. 

2.  Zechariah 12.8—In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.  "And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 

"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.  3.  Ezekiel 36.24-37.4.  Zechariah 9.8-17

Part 2Notes

The Fourfold Commissioning of Paul

1. Triumphant Eschatology2. William Branham Prophecy

3. Moses & Elijah4. Apostolic Hubs

Zechariah 4:10-14For who has despised the day of small

things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel— these are the eyes of the Lord which range to and

fro throughout the earth.”

11. Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” 12.

And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two

golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”

13. So he answered me, saying, “ Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14. Then

he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by

the Lord of the whole earth.”

1. In 1867, Mark Twain – Samuel Clemens, the famous author of “Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer”, toured the Holy Land. This is how he described the land: “There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent; not for thirty miles in either direction… 

One may ride ten miles hereabouts and not see ten human beings … Nazareth is forlorn… Jericho lies a mouldering ruin… Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and humiliation… untenanted by any living creature…

… A desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given over wholly to weeds. A silent, mournful expanse. We never saw a human being on the whole route. There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”[11]

In "A History of the Jews" Paul Johnson writes on page 321: "Between 1827 and 1839, largely through British efforts, the population of Jerusalem rose from 550 to 5,500 and in all Palestine it topped 10,000 - the real beginning of the Jewish return to the Promised Land. In 1838 Palmerston appointed the first western vice-consul in Jerusalem, W.T. Young, and told him 'to afford protection to the Jews generally'."

Acts 20:27-29For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

Acts 22:14-16and he said, ' The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. 'For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'

A: The Mystery of His Will

1. Ephesians 1:9-10 He made known to us the mystery of

His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

2. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 but just as it is written, "THINGS

WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

B: To See the Righteous One 1. Isaiah 60:5—Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and tremble with joy [at the glorious deliverance] and be enlarged; because the abundant wealth of the Sea shall be turned to you, unto you shall the nations come with their treasures.

C : Hear Utterances From His Mouth

1. Galatians 1:12—For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

2. Acts 26:16—But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 3. 1 Peter 1:12—It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.

D : Testify of What’s Seen and Heard—Martus 1. Revelation 1:1-3—The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

2. 1 John 1:3-4—What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 3. John 3:32-34—What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. "He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.

4. Malachi 2:5-8—True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. "For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

E: No More Delay—Cooperating with Heaven 1. Revelation 10:5-7—Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.

F. Samuel is a Type of This Apostolic Reformation

1. The Lord let None of His Words Fail. 1 Sam. 3:19-21—Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail.

All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 2. He Did Not Use His Gift for Personal Gain

1 Samuel 12:2-5Now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray, and behold my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. "Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand

have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you." They said, "You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand." He said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."

True Apostolic Doctrine is the Revelation of Jesus.

Real authority is relational and functional

not by some official document..

Part 3

A. There are Five Doctrines that must the restored in their proper balance through the Apostolic Hubs: 1. Government and Authority.     A. Jeremiah 1:9-10—Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 

“See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break 

down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant."

B. Contrary to what some may believe, government and discipleship are two totally separate doctrines.  Discipleship is intended to equip leaders.  

 

C. Jeremiah 15:19-21—Therefore, thus says the Lord, " If you return, then I will restore you — Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them.  "Then I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you," declares the Lord. "So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent."

2. Discipleship. Producing Instructed Ones in the Ways of the Kingdom Isaiah 50:4-5—[The Servant of God says] The Lord God has given Me the tongue of a disciple and of one who is taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He wakens Me morning by morning, He wakens My ear to hear as a disciple [as one who is taught].  The Lord God has opened My ear, and I have not been rebellious or turned backward. 

3. Faith Galatians 2:20—When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego no longer lives. But the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in my body I live by the same trusting faithfulness that the Son of God had, who loved me and gave himself up for me. 

4. Kingdom/Dominion Now—Light Vs Darkness Matthew 10:7-9—And as you go, preach, saying, ' The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 

A. Teaches that a perfected, glorified Bride/Church will usher in the kingdom of God by exercising dominion while in the world. To this end, the church must be placed in order by coming under the authority of present-day apostles and prophets.  A Spiritual Kingdom.

B. Revelation 5:9-10— And they sang a new song, saying, " Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth." 

 

The Kingdom Defined—On Earth as in Heaven  1. Holman New Testament Commentary: God’s kingdom means his sovereign rule in heaven and on earth, most particularly in and through the life of the individual believer. To seek his kingdom is to seek to ensure that his righteousness is done in heaven, on earth, and, most particularly, in and through our lives.

2. Charles Finney: The simple idea of this kingdom is that Christ himself reigns in the hearts of his people, securing the perfect submission of the will, and the consecration of every power to himself. Thus his kingdom is within; it is invisible. It puts on no outward glare. In the hearts of men he writes his laws by his Spirit, and thus rules over them to deliver them from Satan and sin, and translate them into his own kingdom of peace and love…The subjects of this Kingdom are shut up to no particular location. Each in the sphere where providence has called him to reside and to his master’s will, may there be truly a member of this invisible kingdom.

Three Foundational Beliefs for Dominion

1. Satan usurped man's dominion over the earth through the temptation of Adam and Eve;2. The Church is God's instrument to take dominion back from Satan; 3. Jesus cannot or will not return until the Church has experiences restoration of all things.  Acts 3:21.

Hebrews 10:12-16—But this one, after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from then on to wait until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet.  14 For by a single offering he has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy. And the Ruach HaKodesh too bears witness to us; for after saying,  16 “‘This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days,’ says Adonai: ‘I will put my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds . 

Five Criticisms of This Biblical Position 

1. Neglect of the word.2. Misuse of the Word.3. Exaltation of man.4. Lack of Accountability5. Neglect of Christ. Placing the phenomena of God over the Person.

Ephesians 1:22—And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

 5.  Manifestation of the sons of God 

A. Romans 8:19-21—For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship]. For the creation (nature) was subjected to frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration), not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who so subjected it — [yet] with the hope That nature (creation) itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption [and gain an entrance] into the glorious freedom of God's children.

B. Matthew 13:37-40—And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;  39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.  

 

B.  Quote From Wade Taylor 

To the church: whomsoever hears and believes.To the kingdom; whomsoever overcomes. To the church the goal is heaven.To the kingdom the goal is the throne. The desire of the church is: Jesus abiding within.The desire of the kingdom is: Jesus taking his place as the head of the body or government.

The testimony of the church is: I have Jesus.The testimony of the kingdom is: Jesus has me.

 The church operates through: grace.

The kingdom operates under: government. 

To enter the church requires: a message of salvation.To enter the kingdom requires: a message of preparation.

 The church functions through: gifting and the fivefold 

ministry.The kingdom functions through: relationship and the 

seven spirits of God.

 

C.  We must celebrate the spiritual realities associated with The Feast of Dedication.  The prophetic truths associated with this feast must be made real in the church through the cleansing of the Temple so that God’s light can dwell with us fully.

John 10:22-24—At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.  1. This feast is a post Mosaic festival to celebrate the cleansing of the temple During the days of the Maccabees. A statue of Jupiter have been placed in the holy of holies and swines blood was offered as sacrifices providing the ultimate insult to God and the Jewish nation.

2. Following their military victory there was a "cleansing of the sanctuary" and the lighting of the menorah. 1. Christ is the Temple cleanser. (Cleansing)2. He is the illuminator of the Temple. (Illumination)3. It is the feast of dedication. (Dedication)

1 Corinthians 3:16-17—Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. 

Ephesians  2:19-22—So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,  21  in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.