Greetings Everyone! The Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries and our
affiliated churches are pleased to bring you our latest free no-obligation
online PDF booklet "END-TIME PROPHETS" by Minister Michael C. Garrett.
If you prefer listening to audio? Then click the play button.
0:00: 'now we see in a mirror, dimly'
9:07: What we’ll be discussing
12:30: The apostles were ‘agents of miracles’
Michael C. Garrett About
Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they
should rest a little longer, until both the number of their fellow servants
and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed –
Revelation 6:11
Chapter 1: The Apostles Were ‘Agents of Miracles’
Note: This book was created from a series of sermons starting in November
2016 by Mr. Garrett. This book consists of 6 chapters reflecting the eight
sermons published of the same title. This book is for convenience of having
all eight sermons in one easy-to-read format and download.
These sermons are on our YouTube channel - Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ - YouTube
‘now we see in a mirror, dimly’
I want to point out – the “end-time prophets” – the Two Witnesses, it is
indeed in the realm of prophecy. And we’re told in the Book of Peter ‘that no
prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.’ And
that prophecy must be interpreted by what other pages in the Bible say. “For
precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon
line, here a little, there a little” - Isaiah 28:9-10. And you have to sort of
glean it from all these different places and try to put it together. And, that
is what we’re going to try to do. But like Paul said in 1st Corinthians 13
–It’s a good principle to keep in mind. Anytime you hear some man or woman
that claims to be gifted with special knowledge, and they start to tell you
that they know what’s going to happen, or you’ll see some of these television
evangelists who actually say – and I hear this quite often on different
“Sunday Morning Comedy Hour” shows – they will say, “Well, the Lord spoke to
me,” or “the Lord showed this to me,” or “I heard a voice and it came from the
Lord.” And you’ll hear those phrases quite a bit. And then they’ll go on and
try and say, “this is gonna happen!”
Keep in mind 1st Corinthians 13. Verse 9 – “For we know in
part and we prophesy [or we preach] in part.” Meaning – not with total
knowledge. Because none of us – no human being – is imbued with perfect
complete total knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. He went on to
say, verse 10 – “But when that which is perfect has come, …” – meaning Jesus
Christ, His return and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. “ … then that
which is in part will be done away.” Then our limited knowledge will be
removed and replaced with total knowledge. Verse 11 – “When I was a
child, I spoke as a child, I understood [or, I reasoned] as a child, I thought
as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
Unfortunately, I know some men who have not put away childish things. And
that’s something completely different, isn’t it!? He says in verse 12 - “For
now we see in a mirror, dimly, …” And that’s so very important to keep in
mind. Now, in our present human state, we see vague shapes – like someone who
has a vision problem – they don’t see with crystal clarity. My mother –
unfortunately – for the last twenty or thirty years of her life suffered from
severe vision problems brought on by a horrible disease – known as
histoplasmosis. And because of that, the last part of her life – a good third
of her life – her vision was deeply restricted. And she could sort of vaguely
see you. In fact, for her, she couldn’t see in the center part of her vision.
And continuing, Paul says, “ … but then …” – remember verse 10 – “when that
which is perfect has come,” when Jesus Christ returns, when we are resurrected
from mortal to immortal with the establishment of the Kingdom of God “ … but
then face to face. Now I know in part, …” – and that includes prophecy.
If you get somebody saying, “This is exactly what’s gonna
happen, and there’s no doubt about it!” be extremely leery! You’re probably
hearing a con artist. You’re probably hearing a charlatan. You’re probably
hearing somebody who’s attempting to get your money – by false means and false
pretenses. Paul says, “Now I know in part, but then …” with the establishment
of the Kingdom of God “ … I shall know just as I also am known.” Then will be
complete knowledge. We – who are afforded the great gift of immortality and
eternal life, and a complete total establishment of our spiritual bodies
living on the same plane as God Almighty and Jesus Christ. Then we will know
completely!
We’re going to talk about these Scriptures, and we’re
going to make the best sense we can out of them. And I’ll be the first to say
– what I believe and teach today about these prophetic events – who knows, a
week from now, a month from now, a year from now, a decade from now – maybe I
will come to realize that I didn’t quite understand it as thoroughly as I
thought I did. And I am perfectly willing to admit that. I have no problem
admitting, “Whoops, that was a mistake.” Well, isn’t repentance just admitting
that you made a mistake!? Shouldn’t that also apply to our biblical knowledge
– if you find out, “Whoops, I didn’t understand that”? Now, I meet people who
are not willing to even accept that their church teaching – that their church
doctrine – could be wrong. And so you have all these different people – and I
don’t care if you’re talking about the Catholics, or the Baptists, or the
Methodists, or the Presbyterians, or the Mormons, no one will concede
and say, “Whoops, I was wrong!” And the
Intercontinental Church of God (ICG), bless their hearts, they are
wedded with whatever Garner Ted Armstrong said. Now, Mr. Armstrong has been in
the grave for sixteen years. And so, the understanding of the Bible should
have progressed over the last sixteen years. But the ICG is stuck in a time
warp. Their understanding is stuck in the year 2003. And I don’t see any
indication that they’re going to break forward from that. Now, I tried to show
them about the concepts of the New Covenant – when I gave a sermon entitled
“Look To Jesus, Not Moses.”
And friends, it was the last time I was ever invited back! And just a few
weeks later, I was fired! “Sayōnara, get lost! We loved you, but now we hate
you!” Well, what love – notice verse 13 – “And now abide faith, hope, love
[godly love], these three [exist and are important principles]; but the
greatest of these is love.” And I don’t think loving somebody on day one and
hating them on day seven is love. Because love is eternal. If you say you love
someone you’re supposed to say that with the idea that, “I love you
eternally.” Well, God does. Jesus Christ does. But human beings – and the ones
you really have to watch are the church people who say they love you. Because
the people who one year are coming up to give you a hug, sometime down the
road may come up to give you a hug and place a knife in your back. And that’s
sadly the way it is. “It's a sad, sad situation” – to quote Elton John.
What we’ll be discussing
One of the most salient things about the end-time prophets – and we’re going
to read this as we get into Matthew 10 – is a promise of future
miracle-working power. The end-time prophets – I don’t know who they are and
you don’t either. I don’t know how old they are. They could be forty years old
right now, they could be sixty years old right now, or they could be eight
years old right now. I don’t know – and nobody knows. Because nobody knows
when the end of the age is coming. And if anyone tells you they do – WARNING,
WARNING, WARNING! They are attempting to manipulate you. Jesus Christ says, “’
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My
Father only.’” And at that time when He said it, He didn’t even know. Now I
have to surmise that at this point in time, God the Father has shared that
with Jesus Christ. But again, we don’t know. Is the Kingdom of God three years
away!? Probably not. Is it ten years away!? Possibly. Is it twenty years
away!? Could be. Is it fifty years away!? Could be. Anyway, we don’t know the
time. But we know it’s going to happen. The question is – when?
The work of the end-time prophets has many different
levels. One thing that they’re going to do is to provide a powerful witness to
this world by being agents of miracles. God the Father and Jesus Christ are
going to work through them to perform miracles the like of which the world has
never seen before! The end-time prophets are also going to be deliverers of
Messages to kings and governors and church leaders. The end-time prophets are
also going to be – especially the Two Witnesses – the announcers on behalf of
God Almighty and Jesus Christ of horrible plagues which will come upon the
earth. The end-time prophets will also have the job – I believe, and we’ll be
talking about this, and we can glean this information from the Book of Ezekiel
– of going to different church groups who have been put into captivity when
the United States of America completely falls. The Two Witnesses will also
have the job of directly confronting the ‘two henchmen’ of Satan the devil.
The Book of Revelation calls them the ‘beast’ and the ‘false prophet.’ So,
these end-time prophets have a lot of different jobs. Again, in full
disclosure, you will not find the phrase end-time prophets in the Bible. It’s
a phrase that I created to help describe the things we read about in the
Bible.
The apostles were ‘agents of miracles’
If you would turn to Acts 4. Verse 29 – now, keep in mind, what just happened
– it’s a part of the story. The Book of Acts begins with the disciples being
told – as Jesus Christ is being taken up into a cloud and disappears, they’re
told in verse 11 of chapter 1 – “ … ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing
up into the [sky – that’s what the word ‘heaven’ there means, the clouds, the
atmosphere]? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into [the atmosphere],
will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into [the atmosphere].’” And
we’re told in verse 15 – ‘altogether the number of names was about a hundred
and twenty’ at that departure. And then at the end of chapter 1, it talks
about naming another disciple – because remember Judas obviously lost out.
Judas Iscariot. So, they name another disciple, and his name is Matthias –
verse 26. And, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first and the last
time we read the name, Matthias. And then, chapter 2 begins with the Day of
Pentecost. Where the disciples – soon to be called apostles – give testimony
so powerful that the people in the crowd think – how can this be!? They must
be drunk! They’re up there saying things they don’t even know what they’re
saying! Well, they knew exactly what they were saying because God Almighty and
Jesus Christ were speaking through them. And the people in the crowd – notice
verse 6, chapter 2 – “ …because everyone heard them speak in his own
language.” Verse 11 – “ … ‘we hear them speaking in our own [language]
the wonderful works of God.’ 12) So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying
to one another, ‘Whatever could this mean?’ 13) Others mocking said, ‘They are
full of new wine.’”
Here’s the one thing – the disciples, and here mainly
Peter, he wasn’t speaking in foreign languages. He was speaking in his native
language – probably Aramaic. But all of the people in the crowd heard Peter
speak in their language. So the miracle wasn’t what was coming out of Peter’s
mouth, the miracle is in the hearing of the people who were in the crowd. And
that is one thing that the people from the Pentecostal charismatic movement –
I don’t think they’re being very honest with their parishioners about. And so
you have some of these people – and I’ve gone through the television channels
before and seen Jimmy Swaggart in the background babbling – and they’re
babbling in some “unknown” tongue. No, it’s just babble. It’s just all for
show. And, that’s not what occurred on the Day of Pentecost. The people heard
them in their own language.
Notice verse 22 – “’ Men of Israel, hear these words:
Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and
signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know –
23) … you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.”
Well, Peter gives this powerful sermon, and we’re hearing parts of it, and
verse 38 is maybe the most powerful part, where he says, “ … ‘Repent, …’ – be
willing to change. Be ready to change – be wanting to change! “ … ‘and let
every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39) For the PROMISE
is … to all …’” – the promise is that eventually everyone would be given God’s
Spirit unto all –
Be sure to read
Notes Concerning the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.
Everyone who has ever lived – and anyone who didn’t actively squeeze the
Spirit of God out of themselves cf. Matthew 12:31-32; Ephesians 4:30 – will be
given another chance to live. And so “ … ‘the promise is to you and to your
children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will
call.’” Verse 41 – “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and
that day about three thousand [lives] were added to them.” Verse 47 –
“praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the
church daily those who were being saved.”
Be sure to read for additional information
Who Are the 144,000?.
Remember, God had a goal of 12,000 people from each of the twelve tribes of
Israel – the 144,000. Many of those people were added to the rolls back in the
1st century A.D. At the present time, I don’t think there are that many people
left that God is still adding to the Church. Which means – if you’re reading
this book and it is somehow intriguing to you, stimulating to you, and
creating curiosity within you, and you’re wanting to learn more – there’s a
real good chance that Jesus Christ is attempting to open the door of knowledge
to you and is allowing you to become one of these people that knows the truth
of God! If you’re in this situation, PLEASE DON’T TURN YOUR BACK ON THIS
OPPORTUNITY!
Chapter 3 – “Now Peter and John went up together to the
temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.” Now, that would be three
o'clock. When they talk about in the Bible – six o’clock in the morning would
be the first hour. The third hour is nine o’clock. The ninth hour is three
o’clock in the afternoon by the way that we reckon time. Verse 2 – “And a
certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at
the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who
entered the temple.” So, this is a man who is disabled. And, not in the same
way – but with the same effect – like that beautiful young lady that I saw at
a Pentatonix concert – who was without hips or legs. And the only thing this
man could do to earn a living – to have money to feed himself and buy clothing
– was to beg. Verse 3 – “who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the
temple, asked for alms.” – an expression of soliciting money. Verse 4 – “And
fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, ‘Look at us.’” – and I’m sure
he said it with a very distinct commanding voice. Verse 5 – “So he gave them
his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6) Then Peter said,
‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’”
Try to put yourself in this situation. And, we read our
Bible and say, “Well, this happened one thousand, nine hundred and
eighty-eight years ago! And we can’t even imagine what it was like then!” And
it’s really hard in our “modern” society with our fancy gadgets, computers and
television, and recording devices, and fancy cell phones, it’s hard to imagine
what life was like back then. But just try to imagine that you’re a man who
has been lame from birth, and the only way that you can survive is to beg for
money. And you’re sitting on some sort of mat or pillow, and these two men –
who at first you don’t notice, they’re just passing by – and you did your
typical ‘alms for the poor’ routine. And then one of them with piercing eyes
looks upon you and says, ‘Look at us!’ And then this piercing man says,
‘I don’t have any gold or silver coinage, but the one thing I do have which I
can give to you is the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the blessing of Jesus
Christ and a miracle from Jesus Christ!’ And then Peter says, “ … ‘rise up and
walk.’” Try to put yourself in that man’s position.
Peter put a hand down towards him – verse 7 – “And he took
him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle
bones received strength.” – he had never walked before. Here’s a man whose
legs had never worked – but because of a miracle from Jesus Christ – verse 8 –
“So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them –
walking, leaping, and praising God.” – sadly, I know some people in the ICG
who are offended by that phrase, ‘praising God.’ Well, ‘that sounds too much
like the Baptists,’ they claim. I’ll tell you, God Almighty and Jesus Christ
are not ashamed of this phrase and had it inspirationally written in this Book
– yeah! This man is PRAISING GOD and giving thanks to – probably - everyone in
the neighborhood! He was probably hugging people, kissing, and high-fiving!
Verse 9 – “And all the people saw him walking and praising
God. 10) Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful
Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had
happened to him.”
Try to put yourself in that scene! Here is a man that you
know has been lame since birth – you’ve walked by him scores of times and
possibly even ignored him. And, what was so distressful to me at that
Pentatonix concert concerning this beautiful young lady, is the people who
were standing in front of her were not aware enough to know that they were
blocking her view as she sat in her wheelchair. At times I saw her get out her
cell phone and begin looking at it – she was like in a forest of people. And
you would have thought that somebody would have said, “Hey, make a little path
here. Give this young girl a couple of feet to be able to see them on stage.”
Yes, it’s easy to ignore people who have problems. And these people had
probably ignored him many a time. Now, maybe on occasion, they might have
reached into their pocket and had thrown him a shekel (one silver shekel was
probably worth less than a U.S. dollar in today’s market) or a denarius (a
Roman silver coin worth about 15 cents). But most of them had probably ignored
him.
Verse 11 – “Now as the lame man who was healed held on to
Peter and John, …” – and I’ll bet he gave them the biggest bear hug that Peter
and John had ever received! And, I’ll bet you that Peter – in the final
moments of his life when he was facing execution – remembered the day there in
Jerusalem when God’s Spirit was poured out, and that lame man, “and we spoke
the words of Jesus, and this man was miraculously healed, the great bear
hug he gave John and me!” I’m sure that Peter remembered that. And, it might
have helped him buoy up his strength and faith. “ … all the people ran
together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12)
So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people …”
The crowd was starting to look upon Peter and John as if
they were some kind of magicians or holy men. Peter immediately, sensing what
was going through their minds says, “’ Men of Israel, why do you marvel at
this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or [holiness]
we had made this man walk? 13) The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God
of our fathers, glorified His Servant [His Son] Jesus, whom you delivered up
and denied in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let Him go. 14)
But you denied the Holy One and the Just [One], and asked for a murderer to be
granted to you, 15) and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the
dead, of which [you] are witnesses.’” – everyone in that crowd knew that Jesus
Christ had been crucified to death – tortured to death. “’ And His name, …’” –
and WHAT NAME IS THAT!? The name of JESUS!
Jesus is His name – Christos is His title. Christ –
meaning the Anointed One. Christ the Anointed One – but His name is Jesus!
Which is why – again I fired up my computer – and went to
the ‘Weekly Update’ to the so-called leader of the ICG down in Tyler, Texas,
and once again (and I was sort of hoping that maybe something would have
happened during the Feast that would have given him an epiphany and would have
opened his eyes and allowed him to turn a new leaf) I was saddened to find not
one mention of Jesus Christ. And, in over two years, I have not seen the name
Jesus Christ in his articles.
Verse 16 – “’ And His name, through faith in His name, has
made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes
through Him [Jesus Christ] has given him this perfect soundness in the
presence of you all. 17) Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in
ignorance, as did also your rulers.’” – you didn’t know what you were doing.
Verse 18 – “’ But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His
prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.’” – the Plan of
God worked out! But now, for those of you who had a hand in His torture and in
His death – verse 19 – “’ Repent …’” – just like he says in Acts 2:38 – “ …
‘therefore and be converted, …’”
What does the word convert mean!? It means to be changed.
It means to be changed from being human-oriented to being godly-oriented.
Instead of having your life focused on just things of humanity, having your
life focused on things of God the Father and Jesus Christ! And so the question
we must all ask ourselves – how much of my life is focused on Jesus
Christ, the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God!?
“ … ‘that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of
refreshing may come …’” – that’s the SEVENTH TRUMP, the return of Jesus
Christ, your change from mortal to immortal. “ … ‘from the presence of the
Lord, 20) and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21) whom Heaven [here the third heaven] must receive until the times of
restoration of all things [meaning the establishment of the Kingdom of God
upon this earth at the blowing of the seventh trump at the return of Jesus
Christ], which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the
world began.’” This is the one constant refrain from the prophets of God!
The Kingdom of God will be established, and Jesus Christ
will be your Savior and great High Priest – that is the Gospel. And the means
by which your life is converted – we might call the New Covenant. That new
contract with Jesus Christ.
Verse 22 – “’ For Moses truly said to the fathers,
‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your
brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23) And it shall be that every [person]
who will not hear that Prophet …’” – well, what about those who won’t
even write or say His name!? “ …
‘shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24) Yes, and all
the prophets, from Samuel and those who [followed afterward], as many as have
spoken, have also foretold these days. 25) You are [the children] of the
prophets, …’” – meaning, the tribe of Israel. “ … ‘and of the covenant which
God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham,
‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26)
To you [Israelites, and to you people of Jerusalem who had an active hand in
betraying Jesus Christ and demanding His death. To you people who are partly
responsible for His blood] first, God, having raised up His [Son] Jesus, sent
Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.’” –
giving you a pathway to having your sins forgiven – which is the New Covenant.
Chapter 4 – “Now as they [Peter and John] spoke to the
people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon
them, 2) being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached
[that through] Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3) And they laid hands on
them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.”
Remember, this all started at 3 o’clock. And, this healing
miracle and Peter and John talking about it – pointing the Way to Jesus
Christ. And this took – probably – another three hours.
The temple elite thought that they had destroyed Jesus,
and they thought they had buried this religious movement – but they hadn’t.
They did everything within their power to destroy them - but they hadn’t.
Because now it’s starting to spread.
Verse 4 – “However, many of those who heard the word
believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.” – think
about that! One man is healed – it in itself is a powerful miracle! But before
the afternoon and the evening was over five thousand people had heard the
story about Jesus Christ and had been saved – as we often hear that phrase!
They heard the word and they believed the word! Verse 5 – “And it came to
pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6) as well as
Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of
the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7) And
when they had set them [Peter and John] in the midst, they asked, ‘By what
power or by what name have you done this?’”
Peter, who was by far the most bombastic, aggressive, and
forward of all the disciples – verse 8 – “Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9) If we
this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he
has been made well, 10) let it be known to you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom
God raised from the dead, …” – and I’m sure that must of struck their nerves!
Because remember, they’re trying to tell the story that Jesus wasn’t
resurrected, someone just came and stole His body away. They even started a
rumor to that effect. But they couldn’t stop the truth. Because the truth was
greater than them! “ … ‘by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11) This
is the
‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief
cornerstone.’
Verse 12. And for you – all of you who think that
spiritual leadership comes from someone who will not – or cannot – write or
say the name Jesus Christ, and is apparently ashamed of it hear this – “’ Nor
is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must [ or can ] be saved.’
Verse 13 – “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John, and perceived that they were uneducated …” – remember, Peter was a
fisherman. They were “blue-collar” workers. They were not highly educated men.
“ … and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized …” – they noticed and
thought – how could these country bumpkins know all this!? How are they able
to speak this way!? “ … And they realized that they had been with Jesus. Verse
14 – “And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could
say nothing against it.”
The miracle of healing – that lame man – gave Peter and
John complete authority to say, “We represent God.” And, keep in mind where
we’re going with this book. The end-time prophets – and the final two, the Two
Witnesses – they too will have these miraculous powers being granted unto them
by Jesus Christ. So that they too will have authority – backed up by miracles.
And, you can’t fake miracles – you can’t fake a man who was lame for
thirty-eight years - and now he’s dancing around as if he is in a ballet!
Leaping, walking, praising, jumping! That’s proof!
Verse 15 – “But when they had commanded them to go aside
out of the council, they conferred among themselves, …” – they had to have a
pow-wow – ‘What’s going on here!?’ Verse 16 – “saying, ‘What shall we do to
these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is
evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.” And, I bet they
wished they could have – but too many people had seen it! Remember, at least
five thousand people had been converted that afternoon! And who knows how many
more people were in the crowd that gathered!? They didn’t have smartphones and
social websites – but they had word of mouth. And in those three hours, I’ll
bet that spread all across Jerusalem – and many people said, “I gotta go see
this!” And went to the temple and saw and heard and witnessed. Verse 17 – “’
But so that it spreads no further among the people, …’” – they’re saying,
‘We’ve got to stop this! We’ve got to do everything within our power to
destroy those men!’ “ … ‘let us severely threaten them, that from now on they
speak to no man in this name.’
Verse 18 – “So they called them and commanded them not to
speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” – the sermon entitled “Look To
Jesus, Not Moses” was killed and kept from being published. They didn’t want
that Message heard. And then, when they discovered that I had reproduced the
sermon and published it─ and it’s available to all on the internet, they had a
conniption! Are you able to see a similar trait here between the temple elders
in Jerusalem and the church elders of the ICG!?
Verse 19 – “But Peter and John answered and said to them,
‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God,
you judge. 20) For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and
heard.’ 21) So when they had further threatened them, they let them go,
finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, …” – they had too
many people in what they (Peter and John) were doing. “ … ‘since they all
glorified God for what had been done. 22) For the man was over forty years old
on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.”
Verse 23 – “And being let go, they went to their own
companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to
them. 24) So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one
accord and said: ‘Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea,
and all that is in them, 25) who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26)
The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered
together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’”
And, that is yet to happen at the battle of Armageddon.
Verse 27 – “’ For truly against Your holy [Son] Jesus,
whom You anointed, both Herod [Herod Antipas] and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28) to do whatever
Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29) Now, Lord, look
on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may
speak Your word, …’”
And that’s a prayer that I ask right now from Jesus
Christ and God Almighty.
Verse 30 – “ … ‘by stretching out Your hand to heal,
and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy [Son]
Jesus.’ 31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled
together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they
spoke the word of God with boldness. 32) Now the multitude of those who
believed were of one heart and one [mind]; neither did anyone say that any of
the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” –
they became so ecstatic, they just wanted to be a part of one mass family.
Verse 33 – “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”
That’s a marvelous account! And yes, this happened in
approximately A.D. 31! And the Church of God then – the representatives of
Jesus Christ, the Body of Christ – had twelve main spokesmen. We call them the
apostles. And I believe that by that example that we might very well in the
end-time – at the end of the age – have twelve people raised up and granted
the mission and the job of representing the Word of God, the Truth of God, and
the Plan of God – and of speaking boldly the truth of God! And in doing so
also being given the gift of healing.
The end-time prophets are going to shake the world like
it’s never been shaken before! We’re going to read later in the Book of John
where Jesus says of these people, ’the works that I do he will do also; and
greater works than these he will do.’ And He raised people from the dead! I
can’t imagine how exciting, thrilling and powerful, and amazing this is going
to be!
Chapter 1 Next >
Publication Date: 2023
11-5-2016 - End-Time Prophets - Part A
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