Usually, when people speak of the "great deception,” they refer to 2 Thessalonians 2:11, which predicts that God will, in an end-times judgment, send "a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” This great deception is associated with the satanic work of the Antichrist and his “displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie” (verse 9). The same passage in 2 Thessalonians also speaks of a great apostasy that will take place before the man of lawlessness is revealed. Similar apostasies are predicted elsewhere: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Of course, people are complicit in the deception, for they reject the truth and prefer lies: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3–4). Jesus spoke about a time to come when the deception will be especially great when false messiahs and false prophets will appear. Even the people of God could be deceived if it were not for God’s providential protection: “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24, see also Mark 13:5–6, Luke 21:8). All of these deceptions are instigated by the devil. However, 2 Thessalonians 2:11 also speaks of the deception as God’s punishment on people who refuse to believe the truth. The context seems to be similar to that of the gospel passages above and speaks of one to come who will be especially deceptive: The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9–12, ESV). In this passage, after people have refused the truth for so long, God causes them to believe what is false—a “strong delusion.” This is not an instance where God actively deceives people; rather, God is simply giving those who reject the truth what they really want. We see a similar pattern in Romans 1:18–25 where people reject God’s truth for so long that He simply abandons them to their own sinfulness. They have, as it were, crossed the point of no return: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” Much the same thing happened to Pharaoh after he refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt, and God hardened his heart. It was not as though Pharaoh would have been an obedient follower of the Lord if God had not hardened his heart. Pharaoh set his heart against the Lord, and God simply confirmed for all time Pharaoh’s decision (see Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34; 10:1). The deception spoken of in the Gospels has to do with false prophets and/or messiahs who appear and seem to be authenticated by miracles. Taking the futurist position, we see the great deception spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2 as a future event associated with the coming of the Antichrist after the rapture of the church. “Those who are perishing” will willingly embrace the imitation and follow the beast of the end times; they will perish “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (verse 10). We don’t know exactly what the great deception will be, only that it will be a strong delusion capable of swaying the world’s allegiance toward the Antichrist. The Bible says that, in the time of the Antichrist and false prophet, there will be many signs to bolster their lies. The false prophet “performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 13:13–14). It is hard to imagine, but the deception during the tribulation will be worse than all of Satan’s other deceptions. The Antichrist will have a deadly wound healed, his “image” will breathe and speak and give orders, etc. (Revelation 13:12, 15). In the broader sense, anyone who rejects the truth of God is being deceived, and at some point, God may simply abandon him to the deception that he has willingly embraced. There are plenty of false teachers today who claim to teach God’s Word. Some claim to be Christians, and some claim to bring a word from God from outside of the Bible. It is vitally important that every Christian compare every teaching with what the Bible says and spend the time necessary to evaluate what is being taught. This is the mission of Got Questions, and in keeping with that mission, we would encourage every reader to compare what we say with Scripture as well. THEODORE HERZL’S CHRISTIAN MENTOR ONE FOR ISRAEL Theodore Herzl was a man with a plan But what many people don’t know is that he had an advocate and a mentor who was a committed Christian. Herzl may be the face of modern Zionism, but William Hechler is an unsung hero who also played an important role in helping to recreate the Jewish homeland. A MATTER OF TIME… Spurred into action by the Dreyfus crisis1 and the merciless pogroms in Russia, Herzl worked hard towards the goal of changing the reality for the Jewish people, for purely pragmatic reasons. He was an atheist who nonetheless understood that persecution of the Jewish people was not going to stop, and that a homeland in which to find refuge was critical. In August 1897 he gathered key people in the city of Basel for a congress on the establishment of a Jewish state. In the wake of their congress he declared, “In Basel I founded the Jewish State…. If I said this aloud today, I would be answered by universal laughter. Perhaps in five years, and certainly in fifty, everyone will agree.” ~ Theodore Herzl, 1897 His statement proved accurate – after 50 years he was well and truly vindicated. In 1947 Israel was on the very brink of reestablishment following the UN partition plan in November, and the tragedy of the Exodus ship in July that year was a brutal confirmation of the need for a Jewish safe haven. The SS Exodus brought 4,515 Jewish refugees, desperately trying to escape the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe, to the shores of the Holy Land. At that time, the British had control of the land, and were severely restricting Jewish immigration. Thousands upon thousands were refused entry when they most needed it, and the ship was turned back to Europe. Whether we look back 50, 70, 100 or 120 years, 2017 was a particularly significant year for anniversaries in Israel. 50 years of Jerusalem being back in the hands of the Jewish people. 70 years since the Dead Sea Scrolls were found to prove the Bible’s record of Jewish history in the land was no work of fiction – and since the UN partition agreement which the Jews soon turned into the modern state of Israel. It is 100 years since Israel was liberated from centuries of Muslim control and since the Balfour declaration promised to establish a homeland for the Jewish people. And this month it is 120 years since the Basel Declaration, where the call to reestablish Israel was formally sent out at the end of August 1897. THEODORE HERZL’S CHRISTIAN MENTOR Born in Germany but growing up for the most part in the UK, William Hechler was trained in the Anglican church and sent to be the chaplain to the British Embassy in Vienna. Like a great many of his fellow clergymen and contemporaries,2 he saw great import in the year 1897. It was a well-known date among students of prophecy based on the rich numerical symbolism found in the books of Daniel and Revelation. While there, he came across Herzl’s book "The Jewish State”, and determined to seek out the author. Here is Herzl’s impression of their first meeting: “A likeable, sensitive man with the long grey beard of a prophet. He waxed enthusiastic over my solution. He, too, regards my movement as a ‘prophetic crisis’ – one he foretold two years ago. For he had calculated in accordance with a prophecy dating from Omar’s reign (637-638) that after 42 prophetical months, that is, 1,260 years, Palestine would be restored to the Jews. This would make it 1897-1898… Hechler declares my movement to be a ‘Biblical’ one, even though I proceed rationally in all points. He wants to place my tract in the hands of some German princes. He used to be a tutor in the household of the Grand Duke of Baden, he knows the German Kaiser and thinks he can get me an audience.”3 Because of his connections, Hechler was able to arrange for Herzl an audience with the German Kaiser, who became very supportive, and who had significant influence with Turkey, then rulers of Palestine. However, the Turkish Sultan would not hear of an independent Jewish state in the Holy Land. Nonetheless, the friendship and partnership between Herzl and Hechler continued to grow. “He gives me excellent advice”, wrote Herzl of Hechler, "full of unmistakably good will. He is at once clever and mystical and naive. His counsel and precepts have been excellent to date.” Hechler was even with Herzl to the end, where the Jewish leader bid Hechler to “Greet Palestine for me. I gave my life’s blood for my people”. A BADLY NEEDED SAFE HAVEN Herzl called Hechler a “Christian Zionist”, due to his great love for Jewish people, and determination to see Israel restored once again. Hechler was not only concerned with the prophetic and political ramifications relating to Israel, but was eager to align with God’s heart and plans for the people themselves, that they would be protected from danger and evil, and restored to the land as God ordained in his word. However, even after their dreams were becoming reality with the Balfour Declaration of 1917promising to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine under the British Mandate, Hechler was frustrated that many Jewish people were not eager to move there. He was concerned about the prophecies of “Jacob’s troubles” in Jeremiah 37, and was certain that Europe would soon be awash with “rivers of blood” that only a few would escape. He warned that the calamity to come “would make the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition look like child’s play”. He died in 1931, just before Hitler’s rise to power, and before he could see the tragedy he was warning about come to pass. The summer of 2017 marks 120 years since Herzl’s Basel Declaration, and 70 years since the disastrous turning away of the SS Exodus which highlighted the need for the Jewish homeland. Grave mistakes were made during those years, the tragedy of the Exodus being just one of them. British Christians have since held ceremonies on the shores of Israel to repent for those grievous decisions made during the time of the British mandate, and to ask for forgiveness. Recently, there was a dedication ceremony for the monument to the Exodus at Haifa Port attended by Yonatan Halleli of the Yad Ezer L’Chaver Home for Holocaust Survivors, along with Dr. Jürgen Bühler, executive director of International Christian Embassy, Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Gallant (whose mother Fruma was on the Exodus) and Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky. Kulanu Member of Knesset, Yoav Gallant, whose mother was on the ship said, “The Exodus has become a symbol of the transition from Holocaust to resurrection. When we choose to remember the heroes who founded the country, I feel that there is something to fight for.” Dr Bühler of ICJ added, “The Exodus is a symbol not only for Jews but for the millions of evangelical Christians all over the world who stand by Israel and recognize the need for a Jewish state.” Secular Zionism is not racism, but as Herzl rightly saw, it is necessary because of racism. Christian Zionism is not primarily about politics, but about great love for God, for his people, and a willingness to align with his prophetic plans made long ago, as William Hechler demonstrated. “Your people will be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) "As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath" (Acts 13:42) I've actually heard people say the Old Testament is boring. To be honest, whenever I've hear it being taught as a book filled with irrelevant facts and outdated laws, I fall asleep too. Paul's sermon definitely did not put anyone to sleep (at least in this case). It left them begging for him to return the following Shabbat. Why? Because Paul demonstrates through its stories, prophecies, and poetry that the Torah, Prophets, and Writings (Tanakh) has an intelligent design, a master plan, and a trajectory that leads true seekers to Jesus. One of the greatest privileges of my life was to study the Hebrew Bible with John Sailhamer (may his memory be blessed), a man who constantly mesmerized his students through his teachings and writings, by showing us time and again that the Hebrew Bible is not an ancient artifact that belongs behind a showcase in a museum. It is a book we must devote our entire lives to study because we not only want to understand our New Testament better, but also because we really want to know Jesus! ' They said to one another, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:32). The concept of
“blasphemy against the Spirit” is mentioned in Mark 3:22–30 and Matthew 12:22–32. Jesus has just performed a miracle. A demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus, and the Lord cast the demon out, healing the man of blindness and muteness. The eyewitnesses to this exorcism began to wonder if Jesus was indeed the Messiah they had been waiting for. A group of Pharisees, hearing the talk of the Messiah, quickly quashed any budding faith in the crowd: “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons,” they said (Matthew 12:24). Jesus rebuts the Pharisees with some logical arguments for why He is not casting out demons in the power of Satan (Matthew 12:25–29). Then He speaks of the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: “I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (verses 31–32). The term blasphemy may be generally defined as “defiant irreverence.” The term can be applied to such sins as cursing God or willfully degrading things relating to God. Blasphemy is also attributing some evil to God or denying Him some good that we should attribute to Him. This particular case of blasphemy, however, is called “the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” in Matthew 12:31. The Pharisees, having witnessed irrefutable proof that Jesus was working miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit, claimed instead that the Lord was possessed by a demon (Matthew 12:24). Notice in Mark 3:30 Jesus is very specific about what the Pharisees did to commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: “He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’” Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has to do with accusing Jesus Christ of being demon-possessed instead of Spirit-filled. This particular type of blasphemy cannot be duplicated today. The Pharisees were in a unique moment in history: they had the Law and the Prophets, they had the Holy Spirit stirring their hearts, they had the Son of God Himself standing right in front of them, and they saw with their own eyes the miracles He did. Never before in the history of the world (and never since) had so much divine light been granted to men; if anyone should have recognized Jesus for who He was, it was the Pharisees. Yet they chose defiance. They purposely attributed the work of the Spirit to the devil, even though they knew the truth and had the proof. Jesus declared their willful blindness to be unpardonable. Their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was their final rejection of God’s grace. They had set their course, and God was going to let them sail into perdition unhindered. Jesus told the crowd that the Pharisees’ blasphemy against the Holy Spirit “will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:32). This is another way of saying that their sin would never be forgiven, ever. Not now, not in eternity. As Mark 3:29 puts it, “They are guilty of an eternal sin.” The immediate result of the Pharisees’ public rejection of Christ (and God’s rejection of them) is seen in the next chapter. Jesus, for the first time, “told them many things in parables” (Matthew 13:3; cf. Mark 4:2). The disciples were puzzled at Jesus’ change of teaching method, and Jesus explained His use of parables: “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. . . . Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matthew 13:11, 13). Jesus began to veil the truth with parables and metaphors as a direct result of the Jewish leaders’ official denunciation of Him. Again, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit cannot be repeated today, although some people try. Jesus Christ is not on earth—He is seated at the right hand of God. No one can personally witness Jesus performing a miracle and then attribute that power to Satan instead of the Spirit. The unpardonable sin today is the state of continued unbelief. The Spirit currently convicts the unsaved world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). To resist that conviction and willfully remain unrepentant is to “blaspheme” the Spirit. There is no pardon, either in this age or in the age to come, for a person who rejects the Spirit’s promptings to trust in Jesus Christ and then dies in unbelief. The love of God is evident: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And the choice is clear: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). Jesus, in response to the Pharisees’ question "Who do you think you are?” said, “ "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.’ ‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ the Jews said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds” (John 8:56–59). The violent response of the Jews to Jesus’ “I AM” statement indicates they clearly understood what He was declaring—that He was the eternal God incarnate. Jesus was equating Himself with the "I AM" title God gave Himself in Exodus 3:14. If Jesus had merely wanted to say He existed before Abraham’s time, He would have said, “Before Abraham, I was.” The Greek words translated “was,” in the case of Abraham, and “am,” in the case of Jesus, are quite different. The words chosen by the Spirit make it clear that Abraham was “brought into being,” but Jesus existed eternally (see John 1:1). There is no doubt that the Jews understood what He was saying because they took up stones to kill Him for making Himself equal with God (John 5:18). Such a statement, if not true, was blasphemy and the punishment prescribed by the Mosaic Law was death (Leviticus 24:11–14). But Jesus committed no blasphemy; He was and is God, the second Person of the Godhead, equal to the Father in every way. Jesus used the same phrase “I AM” in seven declarations about Himself. In all seven, He combines I AM with tremendous metaphors which express His saving relationship toward the world. All appear in the book of John. They are I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51); I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12); I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9); I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14); I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25); I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6); and I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5). God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and told him to go to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery. In response, Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13). God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). The phrase translated “I am who I am” in Hebrew is ehyeh asher ehyeh. The word ehyeh is the first person common singular of the verb to be. It would be used in any number of normal situations: “I am watching the sheep,” “I am walking on the road,” or “I am his father.” However, when used as a stand-alone description, I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish. When God identified Himself as I AM WHO I AM, He stated that, no matter when or where, He is there. It is similar to the New Testament expression in Revelation 1:8, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” This is true of Him for all time, but it would have been especially appropriate for a message in Moses’ day to a people in slavery and who could see no way out. I AM was promising to free them, and they could count on Him! Moses and Aaron delivered the message to Pharaoh: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:1–2). Pharaoh stood in opposition to the LORD. Pharaoh was not willing to concede that there was a power higher than himself. He was not willing to yield his plans to the One who was all-powerful and all-sufficient. In essence, Pharaoh was saying “I am who I am, and therefore I will not yield to another.” This seems to be the besetting sin of humanity. God is “The Great I AM,” but we continually want to be our own “I AM.” We make plans and determine that we will fulfill them no matter what. Even evidence to the contrary does not readily convince us of our weakness and contingency. One of Frank Sinatra’s signature songs was “I Did It My Way.” The final lines of the song, written by Paul Anka, express a common refrain of mankind: For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels The record shows I took the blows And did it my way. Likewise, the final stanza of the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley expresses much the same sentiment: It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. God is the only One who can accurately describe Himself as “I AM.” Jesus claimed the title I AM for Himself in John 8:58. For the rest of us, “I am” is a false claim to self-sufficiency. We are not eternally constant or ever-present. Our only hope is to abandon claims of our own sovereignty and sufficiency and cast ourselves upon the mercy of I AM. The aseity of God is His attribute of independent self-existence. God is the uncaused Cause, the uncreated Creator. He is the source of all things, the One who originated everything and who sustains everything that exists. The aseity of God means that He is the One in whom all other things find their source, existence, and continuance. He is the ever-present Power that sustains all life. There is no other source of life and none other like Him: “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me” (Isaiah 46:9). The aseity of God is expressed in Exodus 3:14. When Moses asked the Lord about His name, God replied, “I AM WHO I AM.” God is the eternally self-existent Being who always was and always will be. The aseity of God is related to His complete independence. God has no need. He is complete in and of Himself and always has been. God did not create man because He was lonely or because He needed to create. He is and always has been complete and self-sufficient in and of Himself. God’s name I AM embodies the concept of God’s eternality and immutability, both of which are linked to His aseity. God is eternal (Psalm 90:2). He did not have a beginning. He has always been. God is unchangeable (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17), always the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will be what He is forever. All of God’s attributes—His love, power, wisdom, etc.—are eternal and unchanging. They are as they have always been and will never be any different. God’s aseity assures us that His autonomy is absolute. He alone decides what to do, and nothing can ever thwart His purpose to keep His promises. What He promises to do, He will do. What He predicts will come to pass. When God says, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isaiah 46:10), He is emphasizing His aseity and sovereignty. Jesus Christ, being God in flesh, shares the aseity of God with the Father. Jesus claimed the name I AM for Himself (John 8:58; 18:6). Speaking of Jesus, Paul declares, “In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16–17). Jesus is not a created being. He came to earth as God in flesh and after His resurrection ascended back into heaven to take His rightful place as Creator of the universe. In the Old Testament, God declared to the Israelites that He is “the First and the Last” (Isaiah 44:6b). Jesus made the same declaration about Himself in Revelation 1:17. Because of the aseity of God, we can depend upon Him as the independent One who is able to deliver, protect, and keep those who trust in Him. Those whom God has purposed for salvation will come to Christ, and nothing can hinder them: “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). If we understand the biblical doctrine of the aseity of God, we will be kept from the error of thinking that God is finite, that He grows weary, or that He will ever be insufficient to meet our needs (see Psalm 23:1). First and last There are so many prophecies and promises in the Bible concerning Israel that have come true, especially in the last 200 years, that no one could possibly have predicted or imagined. It shows that God can see the future, foretold it in His word, and has been utterly faithful in keeping His promises! More than 300 years ago, King Louis XIV, the ruler of France, asked the famous philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, to prove the existence of God. Pascal replied: “Well, Your Majesty, the Jews! The Jews!” Their remarkable story of survival and their journey through history till today reveals that time after time, God’s word is true. PERSECUTION – DEUTERONOMY 28 Exactly as Moses predicted in Deuteronomy 28, the Jewish people have suffered greatly, and been persecuted wherever they have gone. They have been repeatedly conquered by various empires and regimes, and while in exile they have suffered numerous violent persecutions. Thousands were slaughtered in the Crusades and millions in the Holocaust. They suffered the evils of the Inquisition and the repeated trauma of being forcibly expelled from country after country. The persecution of the Jewish people has been relentless and really quite extraordinary. If you are not sure about this statement, just do a Google search, and you’ll see what I mean. Yet somehow, they are still alive to tell the tale. A DIVINELY PRESERVED PEOPLE – JEREMIAH 31 History books show that when people groups are dispersed from their homeland, they gradually lose their ethnic identity and are eventually assimilated or lost after a maximum of five generations. But somehow, the people of Israel have maintained their Jewish identity for thousands of years in exile. This, too, is extraordinary. But not surprising, if we believe the Bible. Why? Because God promised in Jeremiah 31:35-36 that as long as the sun and moon are still in place, Israel will never cease to be a nation before him. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Last time I checked, all three were carrying on just fine. Because God’s word is faithful and true, even though we are not. Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day … the moon and the stars for light by night… "If this fixed order departs from before me… then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” Jer 31:35-36 A REGATHERED AND RESTORED NATION – ISAIAH 49, JEREMIAH 16 AND 31, EZEKIEL 36, AMOS 9, ZECHARIAH 12, AND MANY, MANY MORE! Against all odds, Israel was declared a state once again in the land of Israel, on May 14th, 1948. Immediately following the re-establishment of The State of Israel, five armies gathered against the brand new country to destroy it, and remarkably (miraculously), despite very little in the way of soldiers, training, or weapons, all of which had been forbidden under the British Mandate, Israel somehow won. This miracle was repeated again in the wars of 1967 and 1973. Each time it seemed almost inevitable that Israel would be finished, but to everyone’s surprise, the exact opposite happened: Israel survived and thrived. Since then, the Jews have continued to return to their homeland from all over the world. At the founding of the state, only 6% of all the world’s Jewish population lived in Israel; today it is almost 50%, and steadily growing. This is a testimony to the truth of God’s word-- He promised over and over that he would bring his people back to the land, and he has done it, just as He promised. The Jewish people are back in Israel despite their unfaithfulness, because God has promised, and He remains faithful even when we are not. A RESURRECTED LANGUAGE – ZEPHANIAH 3:9, JEREMIAH 31:23 Just as God promised, the Hebrew language was brought back to life after being a dead language for thousands of years. It is the only time in history that this has ever happened. Back in the 1950s, Israel’s streets were full of many languages as people were coming from all corners of the earth, with many languages and dialects, but today, the vast majority of Israel’s population grew up speaking Hebrew as their mother tongue. The remarkable story of the restoration of the Hebrew language started in 1877, with a young man called Eliezar ben Yehuda, who said, “I heard an inner voice calling to me: ‘Revive Israel and its language in the land of the fathers’” His story is not an easy one by any means, but God used this young man to bring his word to pass. Today in Israel, for the first time since the early church, thousands of Messianic Jews read the Scriptures in the original language-- in their mother tongue: Hebrew! Now, with the help and insight of the Holy Spirit, believing Israelis are uncovering wonderful insights in the text that are not visible to those who cannot read Hebrew. This too is a mighty work of our faithful God. THE LAND OF ISRAEL RESPONDS TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL – ISAIAH 27:6, 35 He also promised to send rain to sustain his people, and remarkably, meteorological data shows that every time there was a wave of Aliyah--Jewish people returning to Israel—there was a corresponding increase in rainfall to keep up with them! The land of Israel has flourished and blossomed, and supplies the world with fruit. Just as God said it would. Shops all over the world carry fruit, vegetables and other produce from Israel, much of which was grown in the desert! Israel’s technological developments have enabled them to find creative ways of making even the most barren places fertile and productive. The cherry tomato was invented in an area close to the Dead Sea, and desalination systems and the revolutionary drip-irrigation method have been developed in Israel, which has changed farming in hot climates for many around the world. On top of all that, there have been many great breakthroughs in science and medicine as the people have been living and thriving back in their own land again. A LAND GIVEN BY GOD – GENESIS 12-13 About 4,000 years ago God commanded Abraham to leave his country and assured him: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3); “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northwards and southwards and eastwards and westwards, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:14-15). Some today are unsure if this promise still stands, but ask yourself-- when has God ever broken His word? It is no accident that the people of God are back in the land God promised to their forefathers—their restoration, though fraught with challenges and sorrows for many people, is a fulfilment of God’s word. Because God is faithful and true, even though we are not. Here is what Charles Spurgeon had to say on the matter: “I think we do not attach sufficient importance to the restoration of the Jews. We do not think enough about it. But certainly, if there is anything promised in the Bible it is this. I imagine that you cannot read the Bible without seeing clearly that there is to be an actual restoration of the Children of Israel.” God promised he would do it, and he has done it. Not because Israel is in any way better than any other nation – in fact, God says the opposite! “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.” (Deuteronomy 7:7) From Father Abraham to the streets of Israel today, the story of the people of Israel at every corner proves that while we fail God over and over, He is faithful and His word is true. As we celebrate the promised reestablishment of Israel, let’s recognize the epic story of God’s faithfulness as demonstrated not only in the pages of the Bible, but in the same piece of real estate that He promised to the forefathers thousands of years ago. He is the same God, yesterday, today and forever. The God of Israel keeps his promises! If He has done all this for Israel, you can count on His faithfulness to you too. The Law, Prophets,
and Writings The Hebrew Bible is often known among Jews as TaNaKh, an acronym derived from the names of its three divisions: Torah (Instruction, or Law, also called the Pentateuch), Neviʾim (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). The Torah contains five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In Paul’s great defense of salvation and growth by faith rather than by works, Paul asserts that “the law is not of faith” (Galatians 3:12, ESV). Paul rebukes the Galatians for acting as if their growth (or sanctification) would come from works or obeying the law. He challenges them with a rhetorical question: “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?” (Galatians 3:2). They knew the answer. They had been born again and received the Spirit of God by grace through faith. The next step in Paul’s defense of faith-over-law is a series of logical follow-up rhetorical questions. If they had begun their new walk by the Spirit of God (whom they had received by faith), then why are they expecting their growth and maturing would be accomplished by the works of the flesh (Galatians 3:3)? Had everything they had been through to that point been in vain (Galatians 3:4)? Does the One who provides the Spirit of God accomplish His work among them by works of law or by faith in the gospel (Galatians 3:5)? The point is that it is contradictory to acknowledge the role of faith at the beginning only to turn back to works and obedience to law. The law is not of (or from) faith (Galatians 3:12). In case the Galatians had forgotten, Paul reminds them that Abraham, who lived long before the law was given, was justified by God by faith. Abraham believed in God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Galatians 3:6; referencing Genesis 15:6). Those who share Abraham’s faith are his “children” (Galatians 3:7). The Galatians were counting themselves as Abraham’s children, perceiving their need to uphold their ancient heritage. Paul reminds them that the legacy of Abraham was not obedience to law or works of the flesh; it was faith in God. Paul adds that salvation by faith is nothing new. God had announced it long beforehand to Abraham (Galatians 3:8). Just as God had promised, people from all the families of the earth would be saved by faith and would ultimately be blessed with Abraham (Galatians 3:9). On the other hand, all who try to obey the law are under a curse, because they have to obey all of the commandments perfectly (Galatians 3:10; James 2:10). In fact, the Law of Moses was never intended to provide righteousness—which has always and only come by faith (Galatians 3:11). Paul points out that the law is not of (or from) faith (Galatians 3:12). The law was about works to demonstrate the need for faith. Paul explains that “the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:22, NLT). Before people believed, they were in the custody of the law, as a child is under a guardian (Galatians 3:23). Law, then, helps make clear the depth and severity of our falling short of God’s glory. The Law of Moses, in particular, serves as a tutor to show us the need for salvation by faith in Jesus (Galatians 3:23). The law is not of faith, but the law helps us to see the need for faith. By the works of the law no one can be righteous in God’s sight. We must rely on His righteousness, which He freely gives to all who believe in Jesus Christ. One way we recognize that the law is not of faith is in the fact that the Law of Moses was a conditional covenant requiring obedience from the people of Israel to receive God’s blessing on the nation (Deuteronomy 28—29). All of the other covenants God made with humanity are unconditional. The gospel pre-announcement that Paul cites in Galatians 3:8 was part of God’s unconditional covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:2–3). The good news of righteousness has always been by faith and never by conditions of obedience. The law is not of faith. In Galatians 3:13, the apostle Paul states that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” When Paul refers to “the law,” he means the Mosaic Law found in the first five books of the Bible, which instructed the Israelites how to properly worship and honor God through various commands and requirements. The first five books are the books of Law, also called the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Moses is traditionally accepted as the author of all five books, and the Pentateuch has an essential role in how we understand the rest of Scripture. The Greek word for “redeem” in the Bible is exagorazo. It was a financial term that referred to the process of purchasing a slave’s freedom. When a slave was “redeemed,” he or she was no longer bound to the rules and expectations of a slave’s life. So, to be redeemed from the curse of the law means to be set free from its rules and regulations. In other words, those who are redeemed from the curse of the law are no longer required to observe the law’s commands as the Israelites were. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. That is, His sacrificial work on the cross purchased our freedom from the law. Jesus fulfilled the original intention and purpose of the Mosaic Law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17; Romans 8:34). What we could not do in perfectly obeying God’s will laid out in the law, Christ did for us. In that way, He fulfilled the law and accomplished what God intended. This doesn’t mean we completely ignore everything in the Mosaic Law. There are many commands in the law that all people from all time should always obey. For example, Exodus 20:13 says, “You shall not murder.” Even though Christ fulfilled the law, God’s people should still observe the command not to take another human’s life. Though we are redeemed from the curse of the law and set free from its rules and regulations, it’s still important to observe the moral and ethical commands found within the law. Of the Ten Commandments, nine are repeated in the New Testament as commands for us today. To be redeemed from the curse of the law also means that we no longer have to face the judgment of God. The law was perfect, and, as sinful beings, the Israelites could not perfectly observe the law. They were considered “cursed” whenever they disobeyed the law or failed to live up to its expectations. God’s judgment rested on all of those who did not live according to His ways. And since, according to Romans 2:14–15, God has placed the moral requirements of the law on all human hearts (not just the Israelites’), we are all under a curse and deserving of God’s judgment. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). So, when Paul says in Galatians 3:13 that we are redeemed from the curse of the law, he means that we no longer will receive the judgment of God because of the way we fall short of His holy standards. In the same verse, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 21:23 in referring to Jesus’ death on the cross. Through Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, He became that curse for us in order to receive the judgment of God on Himself. He died in our place so that we wouldn’t have to experience the wrath of God (see 1 Peter 2:24); instead, we could receive the gift of His Holy Spirit (see Galatians 3:14). To be redeemed from the curse of the law means to be freed from followings its rules and regulations and from experiencing the judgment of God. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, becoming a curse for us and purchasing us from the slavery of sin through His death on the cross. There have always been those who balk at the idea of God’s salvation being offered freely to those who believe. They reason that such a grand gift as forgiveness from such a holy God must require some kind of payment from us. We thank God for His grace, but we understand that He expects us to somehow earn that grace—in other words, there must be something that we can do to pay off the debt we owe to God. In the early church, those who taught a combination of God’s grace and human effort were called “Judaizers.” The word Judaizer comes from a Greek verb meaning “to live according to Jewish customs.” The word appears in Galatians 2:14 where Paul describes how he confronted Peter for forcing Gentile Christians to “Judaize.” A Judaizer taught that, in order for a Christian to truly be right with God, he must conform to the Mosaic Law. Circumcision, especially, was promoted as necessary for salvation. Gentiles had to become Jewish proselytes first, and then they could come to Christ. The doctrine of the Judaizers was a mixture of grace (through Christ) and works (through the keeping of the Law). This false doctrine was dealt with in Acts 15 and strongly condemned in the book of Galatians. At the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, a group of Judaizers opposed Paul and Barnabas. Some men who belonged to the party of the Pharisees insisted that Gentiles could not be saved unless they were first circumcised and obeyed the Law of Moses. Paul made the case that, in Christ, there was no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile, for God had purified the hearts of the Gentiles by faith (Acts 15:8–9). He said it plainly in Galatians 2:16: “A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” To add anything to the work that Christ did for salvation is to negate God’s grace. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, not by returning to the Law. “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing” (Galatians 2:21). There are many groups today with beliefs/practices very similar to those of the Judaizers of the New Testament. The two most prominent would be the Hebrew Roots Movement and the Roman Catholic Church. The teachings of the Hebrew Roots Movement are virtually identical to those of the Judaizers whom Paul rebuked in Galatians. A primary focus of the Hebrew Roots Movement is to put followers of Christ back under the bondage of the Old Testament Law. The Roman Catholic Church teaches a doctrine similar to that of the Judaizers of the New Testament in this way: its doctrine is a mixture of law and grace. At the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Catholic Church explicitly denied the idea of salvation by faith alone. Catholics have always held that certain sacraments are necessary for salvation. The issues for the 1st-century Judaizers were circumcision and Sabbath-keeping. The issues for modern-day Catholics are baptism, confession, etc. The works considered necessary may have changed, but both Judaizers and Catholics attempt to merit God’s grace through the performance of ritualistic acts. First Timothy 4:3 says that, in later times, false teachers will “forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” This sounds suspiciously close to some of the teachings of Roman Catholicism, which requires priests to be celibate (“forbidding to marry”) and proclaims some food to be off-limits during Lent (“abstaining from certain foods”).The Judaizers upheld the Mosaic Law as necessary for salvation; Catholics uphold man-made tradition as necessary; both view Christ’s death as being insufficient without the active and continued cooperation of the one being saved. The Bible is clear that the attempt to add human works to God’s grace overlooks the very meaning of grace, which is “undeserved blessing.” As Paul says, “If by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6). Praise the Lord, “Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). The incident at Antioch, recorded in Galatians 2:11–14, involved two apostles, Peter and Paul; a misrepresentation of the gospel; an unwarranted separation of Jews from Gentiles; and a public rebuke In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he exhorts the believers spread throughout the region of Galatia to understand that, just as their justification was by faith and apart from works of law, so was their sanctification. After Paul explains how he received the knowledge of that truth directly from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11–12), he describes his early ministry and how he first engaged with the other apostles, including Peter, whom Paul refers to as Cephas (or Kephas), Peter’s Aramaic name (see Galatians 1:18; John 1:42). While Peter and Paul were both remarkably used by God as apostles, Paul records an incident at Syrian Antioch in Galatians 2:11–14 that reminds us that even God’s apostles were only human and could make serious mistakes. When Cephas came to Antioch, Paul opposed him (Galatians 2:11), because Cephas had stopped engaging with Gentiles out of fear of the Jewish leaders (Galatians 2:12). He had been eating with the Gentile believers, but when a contingency of Jews arrived from Jerusalem, Peter withdrew from the Gentile crowd. Many of the Jews in the region, along with Barnabas, fell into that error, following Peter’s example. Paul branded that as hypocrisy (Galatians 2:13). Seeing that this segregation was not consistent with the gospel, Paul rebuked Peter openly, saying, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?” (Galatians 2:14). Peter knew that he had been justified by faith and not by law, but he was still requiring that others live like Jews (as under the law, Galatians 2:14). It appears Peter was motivated by fear of what the Jewish believers would say about his fellowshipping with Gentiles. That fear led to hypocrisy. Peter had received the gift of justification by faith and then, in essence, required others to pursue sanctification by works. It is worth noting that, when Paul refers to Peter’s apostolic work, he calls him Peter (Galatians 2:7–8), using the name Jesus affirmed when commissioning Peter (Matthew 16:18). Paul acknowledged that Peter was an apostle sent primarily to the Jewish people (Galatians 2:7). But Paul uses the name Cephas when challenging Peter for hypocritically leading people back to bondage under the law (Galatians 2:18–19, 21; 3:1–3). It is possible that the incident at Antioch in Galatians 2:11–14 preceded Acts 15:5–12, which records Peter’s standing up to those who would place Gentile believers under the law and require circumcision. If so, it is evident that, after the incident at Antioch, Peter became a champion of grace. If, on the other hand, the incident at Antioch in Galatians 2:11–14 took place after Acts 15:5–12, then it is apparent how far Peter had fallen from his knowledge of God’s grace and the freedom provided in Christ. Either way, the incident at Antioch is a cautionary tale and reminds us that anyone who thinks he stands should take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:12)—we are never too big to fail. Peter learned that lesson on more than one occasion (recall his insistence that he would never deny Christ right before he did just that). After what must have been a painful lesson in the incident at Antioch, Peter wrote extensively of God’s grace (1 Peter 1:10, 13; 4:10; 5:10, 12; 2 Peter 3:18, etc.). In his epistles, Peter affirms that sanctification is a work of the Spirit of God (1 Peter 1:2) and not a result of works or obedience to the law. Peter also affirmed Paul, referring to him as a beloved brother to whom God gave wisdom (1 Peter 3:15). He referred to Paul’s letters as Scripture, even if sometimes they were hard to understand (1 Peter 3:16). Despite the failings of both Peter and Paul, both men faithfully presented God’s message of grace, and Peter closes out his own writings by encouraging his readers to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). False apostles are people who masquerade as Christian leaders, get other people to follow them, and then lead them astray. A true apostle is one who is “sent” by God as an ambassador of Jesus Christ with a divine message. A false apostle is a pretender who does not truly represent Christ and whose message is false.
In 2 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul addresses the problem of false apostles invading the Corinthian church. He describes the false apostles as “those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about” (verse 12). The book of 2 Corinthians is one of Paul’s more “sarcastic” letters, as he contends with the church to recognize the error that had crept into their midst. He contrasts his selfless service with that of the “super-apostles” (verse 5) who were seducing the church with their smooth speech and apparent wisdom. These impostors were pretending to be true servants of Christ, but they did not know the Lord. They were deceivers, preying on gullible Christians in Corinth to profit themselves and boost their ego. Paul chides the church that they “even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face” (verse 20). He even compares these impostors to Satan himself, who also “masquerades as an angel of light” (verse 14). Paul warned the Ephesian elders about false apostles as well: “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29). They must have heeded his words, because in Revelation 2:2, Jesus commends the church at Ephesus for spotting the false apostles in their midst and rejecting them. False teachers and false apostles have been plentiful throughout the history of the church. They still infiltrate unsuspecting churches and have even led whole denominations into heresy and apostasy (see 1 Timothy 4:1–4). Scripture gives us clear warning if we will pay attention. First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” The following are some ways we can identify false apostles: 1. False apostles deny any or all truths about the identity and deity of Jesus Christ. In 1 John 4:3–4, John warns his readers against Gnostic teaching; the test, he says, is Christological: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” There are many ways a spirit may deny that Jesus is the Christ. From demonic cults to denominations that have veered away from the gospel, evil spirits are always behind the slander of Jesus. Any teacher who attempts to take away from or add to Jesus’ finished work on the cross for our salvation is a false prophet (John 19:30; Acts 4:12). 2. False apostles are motivated by their greed, lust, or power. Second Timothy 3:1–8 describes such teachers in more detail: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. “They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.” Jesus said that an identifying mark of a false apostle/prophet is sinful behavior: “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16, 20; cf. Jude 1:4). 3. False apostles distort or deny the Bible as God’s infallible, inspired Word (2 Timothy 3:16). In Galatians 1:8–9 Paul counters legalismwith these strong words: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” The inspired writings of the apostles are part of the Word of God, and no one has a right to change their message. 4. False apostles refuse to make themselves subject to spiritual authorities, but consider themselves the final authority (Hebrews 13:7; 2 Corinthians 10:12). They will often adopt lofty-sounding titles for themselves, such as “Bishop,” “Apostle,” “Reverend,” or “Father.” This does not mean that every person carrying such titles is a false prophet, only that evil impostors love lofty titles and will self-title to gain a hearing. False apostles can arise anywhere the Word of God does not reign supreme. From organized churches to home Bible studies, we must always be on guard against “new teachings” or “revelations” that are not subject to the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). The word apostle means “one who is sent out.” In the New Testament, there are two primary usages of the word apostle. The first is in specifically referring to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The second is in generically referring to other individuals who are sent out to be messengers/ambassadors of Jesus Christ. The twelve apostles held a unique position. In referring to the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:14 states, “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” The twelve apostles are also referred to in Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:14; 4:10; 6:7; 9:35; 14:10, 17, 20; Luke 6:13; 9:1; 22:14; John 6:71; Acts 6:2; and 1 Corinthians 15:5. It was these twelve apostles who were the first messengers of the gospel after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was these twelve apostles who were the foundation of the church—with Jesus being the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). This specific type of apostle is not present in the church today. The qualifications of this type of apostle were: (1) to have been a witness of the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1), (2) to have been explicitly chosen by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:15), and (3) to have the ability to perform signs and wonders (Acts 2:43; 2 Corinthians 12:12). The responsibility of the twelve apostles, laying the foundation of the church, would also argue for their uniqueness. Two thousand years later, we are not still working on the foundation. Beyond the unique twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, there were also apostles in a generic sense. Barnabas is referred to as an “apostle” in Acts 13:2 and 14:14. Andronicus and Junias are possibly identified as apostles in Romans 16:7. The same Greek word usually translated “apostle” is used to refer to Titus in 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25. So, there definitely seems to be room for the term apostle being used to refer to someone besides the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Anyone who was “sent” could be called an apostle. What exactly would be the role of an apostle outside that of the twelve apostles? That is not entirely clear. From the definition of the word, the closest thing today to an apostle, in the general sense, is a missionary. A missionary is a follower of Christ who is sent out with the specific mission of proclaiming the gospel. A missionary is an ambassador of Christ to people who have not heard the good news. However, to prevent confusion, it is likely best to not use the term apostle to refer to any position in the church today. The vast majority of occurrences of the word apostle or apostles in the New Testament refer to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. There are some today who are seeking to restore the position of apostle. This is a dangerous movement. Frequently, those claiming the office of apostle seek authority equal to, or at least rivaling, the authority of the original twelve apostles. There is absolutely no biblical evidence to support such an understanding of the role of apostle today. This would fit with the New Testament’s warning against false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13). In a sense, all followers of Jesus Christ are called to be apostles. We are all to be His ambassadors (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). We are all to be “ones who are sent out” (Acts 1:8). We are all to be preachers of the good news (Romans 10:15). Note – for a discussion on whether Matthias or Paul was the twelfth apostle, please read the following article: Was Matthias or Paul God’s choice to replace Judas as the 12th apostle? An apostle (“one sent on a mission”) is one whom God has sent on an errand or with a message. An apostle is accountable to his Sender and carries the authority of his Sender. An apostleship is the office an apostle holds. Jesus Christ Himself has an “apostleship.” He wears “Apostle” as one of His descriptive titles (Hebrews 3:1). He was sent to earth by the Heavenly Father with God’s authoritative message, which He faithfully delivered (John 17:1–5). While Jesus was here on earth, He personally selected from His many followers twelve men and gave them an apostleship—special responsibility to receive and spread His message after He returned to heaven (John 17:6–20; Matthew 10:1–4; Mark 3:14–15). These chosen and sent ones were His apostles. During the time Jesus was training them, He did not explain the criteria that He used to choose them. One of the twelve was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus to His enemies. In agony of conscience, Judas hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). Thus, when Jesus returned to heaven, He left behind only eleven apostles. Some days later, the remaining apostles were in Jerusalem praying with Jesus’ mother, His brothers, and other believers. The group totaled about 120 (Acts 1:12–26). Simon Peter addressed the group and told them that Psalm 69:25 predicted Judas’ desertion and Psalm 109:8 predicted that the defector’s place among the apostles should be filled. The apostleship must fall to someone else. Peter proposed choosing a new apostle and set the qualifications. Not everyone could be considered for an apostleship. Candidates needed to have been with Jesus during the whole three years that Jesus was among them. That is, he needed to be an eyewitness of Jesus’ baptism when the Heavenly Father validated Jesus’ person and work. He needed to have heard Jesus’ life-changing teachings and been present to see His healings and other miracles. He needed to have witnessed Jesus sacrifice Himself on the cross and to have seen Jesus walk, talk, and eat among the disciples again after His resurrection. These were the pivotal facts of Jesus’ life, the heart of the message they were to teach, and personal witnesses were required to verify the truth of the good news. The prayer group in Jerusalem nominated two who met these qualifications for apostleship: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. Then the disciples asked God to guide them to know which one was to fill the post. Using a method of determining God’s will that was common at that time, they cast lots, thus giving God freedom to make His choice clear. The lot fell to Matthias, and he became the twelfth apostle. On repeated occasions, the apostles gave witness of their personal observations of Jesus, making such statements as, “We are witnesses of everything Jesus did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen” (Acts 10:39–40). Months later, Saul, one of the Pharisees, was trying to stamp out the new “cult” of Christianity by killing and jailing some of Jesus’ followers. While Saul was on one of his deadly errands to Damascus, the living Jesus personally appeared to him. This undeniable encounter with the resurrected Lord revolutionized Saul’s life. In a vision to another believer in Damascus, Jesus said that He had chosen Saul “as My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15; cf. 22:14–15). Following his conversion, Paul spent some time in Arabia, where he was taught by Christ (Galatians 1:12–17). The other apostles recognized that Jesus Himself had appointed their former enemy to be one of them. As Saul went into Gentile territories, he changed his name to the Greek “Paul,” and Jesus, who gave Paul his apostleship, sent many messages through him to His churches and to unbelievers. It was this apostle, Paul, who wrote over half of the books of the New Testament. In two of his Epistles, Paul identifies the office of apostle as the first that Jesus appointed to serve His churches (1 Corinthians 12:27–30; Ephesians 4:11). Clearly, the work of apostleship was to lay the foundation of the Church in a sense secondary only to that of Christ Himself (Ephesians 2:19–20), thus requiring eyewitness authority behind their preaching. After the apostles laid the foundation, the Church could be built. While Paul never claimed to be included among the original twelve, believers have recognized that Jesus appointed him as His special apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1; Acts 26:16–18). There are others in the early church referred to as “apostles” (Acts 14:4, 14; Romans 16:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:6), but only in the sense that they were appointed, authorized, and sent by churches on special errands. These individuals bore the title “apostle” in a limited sense and did not possess all the qualifications of apostleship that the original twelve and Paul did. No biblical evidence exists to indicate that these thirteen apostles were replaced when they died. See Acts 12:1–2, for example. Jesus appointed the apostles to do the founding work of the Church, and foundations only need to be laid once. After the apostles’ deaths, other offices besides apostleship, not requiring an eyewitness relationship with Jesus, would carry on the work. |
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