• Churchwork

    by Published on 11-04-2010 12:17 PM     Number of Views: 2612 
    1. Categories:
    2. Regeneration

    “They shall never perish,” says the Lord (John 10.28). Eternity exists before the creation of the heavens and the earth, and it extends beyond the events of the book of Revelation. In between these two is the temporary period which can also be called time. Between creation and the events of the book of Revelation Christians may receive punishment during this period.

    In 2 Corinthians 5 we read: “we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (v.10). Some will receive bad recompense. If this is not punishment, what is it?

    Likewise, Luke 12 states: “And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more” (vv.47-48). The beating is both b efore and after the judgment seat. It incurs not only the loss of reward but also the possibility of being beaten.

    With regard to the words “suffer loss” in 1 Corinthians 3.15 someone has said that any loss without the inflicting of suffering cannot be reckoned as the suffering of loss. The consequence of “abide not” is to “cast them into the fire” (John 15.6). This without a doubt speaks of punishment. Revelation 2.11 declares: “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death”; in other words, he who does not overcome will be hurt of the second death. Who shall reign with Christ for a thousand years? The answer: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev. 20.6).

    According to the original rendering of John 10.28, “they shall never perish” should be translated “in no wise shall they perish for ever”*—in other words, if believers should sin and fail to repent, they will suffer temporarily what the unbelievers will suffer eternally.

    *The Englishman’s Greek New Testament with Interlinear Translation ...
    by Published on 10-21-2010 10:12 AM     Number of Views: 21425 
    1. Categories:
    2. Generations and Jubliees

    There are 120 jubilees from Adam to the second coming of Christ Jesus comprising 6000 years total.

    First would be the 50 jubilees from Adam's expulsion from the garden of Eden to the death of Moses, 30 jubilees from entry to promised land to Jesus Christ, then 40 jubilees from destruction of Herod's temple to the gathering of the seeds of Abraham to the future temple in Jerusalem in 2015.

    The Temple will be completed in 2016 by the 220th day with 2300 days left into the seven year tribulation.

    The second coming of Christ Jesus is called His parousia and commences with the first rapture according to readiness Sept. 14, 2015 (Matt. 24.40-41,42, Luke 21.36, Rev. 3.10 at 7.9 "before the throne," before the trumpets, 8.7ff, of the Tribulation) on the feast of trumpets.

    Once the tribulation is completed 2,520 days later on Aug. 7, 2022, Tisha B'Av, there are 30 days more to the 1290th day, then 45 days more to the 1335th day.

    The 1000 year rule follows to complete the 7th Sabbatical 1000 year.

    Age
    Birth date
    Bible
    1
    4004
    Adam
    2
    130
    3874
    Seth
    3
    105
    3769
    Enos
    4
    90
    3679
    Cainan
    5
    70
    3609
    Mahalaleel
    6
    65
    3544
    Jared
    7
    162
    3382
    Enoch
    8
    65
    3317
    Methuselah
    9
    187
    3130
    Lamech
    10
    182
    2948
    Noah
    11
    502
    2446
    Shem
    12
    100
    2346
    Arphaxed
    13
    35
    2311
    Salah
    14
    30
    2281
    Eber
    15
    34
    2247
    Peleg
    16
    30
    2217
    Reu
    17
    32
    2185
    Serug
    18
    30
    2155
    Nahor
    19
    29
    2126
    Terah
    20
    70
    2057
    Abram, Abraham
    21
    100
    1956
    Isaac
    I prayed to the Lord to give me an explanation how some of the names in the list could have lived so long or had children at such a late age, and God revealed to me the answer. The answer is that since we are talking about long periods of time and records are hard to keep, a name would represent a set of individuals with emphasis on the person named because of the spiritual application.

    "And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt" (Ex. 12.41).

    1956 Isaac's birth
    430 years after Egyptian influence
    1526 Exodus from Egypt
    "And the people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land; they ate the manna, till they came to the border of the land of Canaan" (Ex. 16.35).

    1526 Exodus from Egypt
    40 years walking to the promise land
    1486 End of 40 years in the Wilderness
    "And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years" (Lev. 25.8).

    1486 End of 40 years in the Wilderness
    49 = 7 years x 7 sabbaths of Years
    1437 End of 49 Years
    "And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his family" (Lev. 25.10).

    1437 End of 7 x 7 sabbath of Years
    1 50th year
    1436 1st Jubilee Year
    1436 1st Jubilee Year
    1036 End of Samuel, start of Saul
    400 years apart
    "In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD" (1 Kings 6.1).

    1436 1st Jubilee Year
    480 years - Israelites counted it from the Jubilee
    956 4th year of Solomon
    1036 Saul as King
    40 years of Saul
    996 End of Saul
    40 years of David
    956 End of David, also 4th year of Solomon
    Solomon began to rebuild the Temple
    "And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it" (1 Kings 6.38).

    956 Start of Temple
    7 years building it
    949 Finished rebuilding the Temple
    "Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house" (1 Kings 7.1).

    949 Finished building the Temple
    13 years building the Palace of Solomon
    936 Finished both Temple and Solomon's house
    "At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own house," (2 Chron. 8.1).

    956 4th year of Solomon, start of the Temple
    20 years building both Temple and Palace
    936 Finished both Temple and Solomon's house
    1436 1st Jubilee
    1386 2nd Jubilee
    1336 3rd Jubilee year
    1286 4th Jubilee year
    1236 5th Jubilee year
    1186 6th Jubilee year
    1136 7th Jubilee year
    1086 8th Jubilee year
    1036 9th Jubilee year, Saul as 1st king of Israel
    986 10th Jubilee year
    936 11th Jubilee year, Temple dedication
    49 Years = 7 Sabbatical years
    50 th year = 1 Sabbatical year
    Total = 8 years of rest for the Land
    Missed Sabbatical years from 1036 BC -
    1036 Saul as first king of Israel
    986 10th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    936 11th Jubilee - missed 6 years
    7th year and dedication of the Temple = 2 years
    886 12th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    836 13th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    786 14th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    736 15th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    686 16th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    636 17th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    586 18th Jubilee - missed 8 years
    TOTAL YEARS MISSED 70 years
    586 BC - Babylonian captivity
    70 years for total Sabbatical years missed
    516 BC - End of Babylonian captivity
    586 BC - 18th Jubilee
    50 years
    536 BC - 19th Jubilee
    Foundation laid for the 2nd Temple
    536 BC 19th Jubilee - Foundation set for the 2nd Temple
    486 BC 20th Jubilee
    436 BC 21st Jubilee
    386 BC 22nd Jubilee
    336 BC 23rd Jubilee
    286 BC 24th Jubilee
    236 BC 25th Jubilee
    186 BC 26th Jubilee
    136 BC 27th Jubilee
    86 BC 28th Jubilee
    36 BC 29th Jubilee - Herod the Great took Jerusalem
    515 BC - Dedication of the 2nd Temple
    -70 years
    445 BC - 1st 70 years
    444 BC - Declaration to rebuild Jerusalem over 7 sets of seven, then 62 sets of seven more were needed for when the Messiah would enter Jerusalem and be "cut off" (Dan. 9.26) so His triumphant entry into Jerusalem was on March 30th, 33 AD (Julian) on Monday for the 4 days of inspection of the Lamb then Jesus died on the cross on April 1st, 33 AD, Friday (Gregorian), April Fool's Day (April 3, 33 AD Julian).
    -70 years
    375 BC - 2nd 70 years, end of Malachi
    400 years - No prophet in Israel
    26 AD
    29 AD - start of John the Baptist
    30 AD - start of Jesus' Ministry
    33 AD - Jesus died on the cross April 1st, 33 AD, Friday (April 3rd Julian calendar) at the age of 37 1/2
    36 BC - 29th Jubilee, Herod the Great took Jerusalem
    29 BC - 1st Sabbatical year
    22 BC - 2nd Sabbatical year
    15 BC - 3rd Sabbatical year
    8 BC - 4th Sabbatical year
    6 BC - Coming of the Magis to Jerusalem and Bethlehem
    when Jesus was born.
    1 BC - 5th Sabbatical year, death of Herod the Great
    "The Jews then said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?'" (John 2.20).

    19 BC - Start renovating the 2nd Temple (end of 19 BC)
    18 BC to 1 BC = 17 years
    1 BC to 1 AD = 1 year
    1 AD to 29 AD = 28 years
    30 AD - Jesus started His ministry TOTAL 46 years
    30 AD - Start of Jesus' Ministry
    65 AD - 31st Jubilee
    70 AD - Destruction of the 2nd Temple
    30 15 AD 30th Jubilee - Jesus was 20 years old
    31 65 AD 51 1065 AD - 51st Jubilee
    32 115 AD 52 1115 AD
    33 165 AD 53 1165 AD
    34 215 AD 54 1215 AD
    35 265 AD 55 1265 AD
    36 315 AD 56 1315 AD
    37 365 AD 57 1365 AD
    38 415 AD 58 1415 AD
    39 465 AD 59 1465 AD
    40 515 AD 60 1515 AD
    41 565 AD 61 1565 AD
    42 615 AD 62 1615 AD
    43 665 AD 63 1665 AD
    44 715 AD 64 1715 AD
    45 765 AD 65 1765 AD
    46 815 AD 66 1815 AD
    47 865 AD 67 1865 AD
    48 915 AD 68 1915 AD
    49 965 AD 69 1965 AD
    50 1015 AD 70 2015 AD
    40 (trial) Jubilees - 2000 years from 15 AD to 2015 AD.

    2015 AD - Sept. 23, 2015 Day of Atonement ushers in the Year of Jubilee, and First Rapture according to readiness (Matt. 24.40-41,42; Luke 21.36 and Rev. 3.10 at 7.9 "before the throne" before the trumpets of the Tribulation commence, 8.7ff) takes place on Sept. 14, 2015 Feast of Trumpets. Sept. 23 is exactly 49 years x 360 days/yr from June 7, 1967 when Israel entered Jerusalem (17,640 days).
    2016 AD - Third Temple completed 220 days into the Tribulation by April 20 with 2300 days left into the Tribulation period (April 21, 2016 to Aug. 7, 2022). The Red Heifer and lamb are inspected for four days from April 18-21. Passover is April. 22.
    2019 AD - Peace treaty is broken (Rev. 9.1) on Feb. 25 - the first woe is 5 months but does not kill people. The 2nd woe is 5 months starts 5 months later on July 25, 2019.
    2020 AD - Nuclear holocaust (Rev. 9.16,18), the 2nd woe lasts 13 months, 3rd woe commences Aug. 18.
    2021 The last trumpet of the Tribulation or 3rd woe lasts 24 months, the armies of v.16 fight
    2022 Jesus steps down on the mount of olives Aug. 7, 2022 (Zech. 14.4, Acts 1.11, Rev. 1.7). To the 1290th day Jesus administers his judgment over the nations, and by the 1335th day He sets up Israel as the center of all nations from where He will reign in the Third Temple (Oct. 21 is the 133th day and Oct. 22 is the first day of the millennial kingdom. After Tabernacles is completed then the 2 holidays take place, the second of which is Simchat Torah when Torah Scroll is taken out to be read for four days on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st.
    Compare:
    Sept 23, 2015 -Autumnal Equinox - Day of Atonement, Wednesday
    Sept 23, 2015 -Eid-al-Adha, holiday marking of Haji, Festival of Sacrifice
    Israeli and Islamic holidays will be celebrated together at Temple in Jerusalem.

    4004 BC - Birth of Adam 1436 BC - 1st Jubilee
    less 1436 BC plus 2550 years
    2568 years 3986 BC - Adam at 18 (Adam & Eve fall)
    divided by 50 years per Jubilee 3936 BC - 1st pre-Israelite Jubilee
    51.4 Jubilees (18 years more) 1436 BC - 50th Jubilee - free manna
    It looks like Adam was 18 years old when he was driven out of the Garden of Eden, the 2nd Paradise, after they sinned against Yahweh.

    The first 50 Jubilees from Adam's walk from Paradise to the Promise Land
    3986 BC Adam at 18 fall from Paradise
    3936 BC 1st Jubilee
    1986 BC Abraham at 70 and the 4000 years promise to 2015
    1536 BC 49th Jubilee of Jubilees
    1526 BC Exodus from Egypt - free manna - no sowing
    1486 BC End of Wilderness walk - 50th Jubilee
    The 30 Jubilees from entry into the Promise Land to to Jesus' Adulthood
    1436 BC - 1st Jubilee
    1036 BC - 400 years until Saul, the first king
    936 BC - 100 years, dedication of the first Temple
    586 BC - Babylonian captivity (18th Jubilee)
    536 BC - 400 years from first Temple (19th Jubilee)
    Foundation for the first Temple
    516 BC - End of 70 years of Babylonian captivity
    515 BC - Dedication of the 2nd Temple
    445 BC - End of first 70 years with Yahweh in the Temple
    375 BC - Another 70 years, Malachi stops preaching
    400 years of silence, no prophet in Israel
    36 BC - 500 years from 2nd Temple dedication
    Jerusalem was destroyed by Herod the Great
    6 BC - Jesus was born on Tishri 15
    The 40 Jubilees from Jesus' teenage days to His Second Coming
    15 AD - 30th Jubilee, Jesus is 20
    26 AD 400 years of silence broken from 375 BC
    29 AD - Beginning of John's ministry
    30 AD - True temple - start of Jesus' Ministry
    33 AD - Jesus died on the cross Nisan 14, April 1st (Gregorian)
    or April 3 (Julian), age of 37.518 (13703 days/365.2425)
    33 AD - His ascension was 2 (Sat+Sun) + 39 = 41 days (on May 12) after crucifixion
    or May 14 (Julian), and is called Ascension Thursday
    33 AD - Pentecost - Acceptance of the offering May 22
    or May 24 (Julian), fellowship on resurrection Sunday
    65 AD - 1st Jubilee
    Satan knows if he can destroy the Jews he can ruin God's plan and promise to them. The Jews are highly persecuted. In 597 BC the Babylonians deported Jews and marched against Judah when the city fell eleven years before their captivity. 597 - 1 = 596; 596 + 1 (1 BC and 1 AD) + (70 - 1) = 666 years from Babylonian to Roman destruction. There are two 70 year periods from 606 to 536 and 586 to 516, and both valid describing different events.

    1349 the Jews were massacred and blamed for the Black Plague. In 2015 will be the rise of the Antichrist in the Temple in the 40th Jubilee. 2015 - 1349 = 666.

    3986 BC - 1486 BC = 50 Jubilees
    1486 BC - 15 AD = 30 Jubilees
    15 AD 2015 AD = 40 Jubilees
    = 120 Jubilees 6000 years
    by Published on 10-20-2010 05:07 AM     Number of Views: 1979 
    1. Categories:
    2. Prophecies

    The most important prophecy in the Bible with regard to the return of Christ is when Israel become a nation again. Fit that with your shoe horn.

    There has been 5 Total Lunar Tetrads on first and last feast days since Christ and the Red Blood Moon of Rev. 6.12 is the key indicator the Tribulation is about to commence. In fact, the 21st century is the reddest century we have on record with a total of 8 total lunar tetrads.

    Only once did two of the five occur in the same century since Christ. The probability of two occurring again in the following century is 5%. The probability one of them would fall on the vital key date of 1949/50 and on 1967/68 is 2% times 1%, so 5% x 2% x 1% is a 1 in 100,000 chance. This is a 99.999% probability therefore the Tetrad on feast days in 2014/15 which won't happen again for centuries is God's promise to us that Jesus will return soon after Israel becomes a nation again.

    Therefore, the Tribulation is 2,520 days from Sept. 14, 2015 Feast of Trumpets to Aug. 7, Tisha B'Av, 2022 a very important date commemorating the destruction of the first and second temples. Why is this so important to Jesus? Because when He steps down on the mount of olives He will reign on earth for 1000 years in the nation He kept His promise to.

    Only after the 1000 years on earth is completed does the New City or New Jerusalem in the New Earth commence.

    There is only one other Total Lunar Tetrad on all four feast days in the 3rd millennium after Christ and that's 2582-83. In that case Jesus wouldn't return for over 600 years after Israel became a nation. That's ludicrous!
    by Published on 10-19-2010 04:11 PM     Number of Views: 22707 
    1. Categories:
    2. Prophecies
    Article Preview

    Ezekiel’s Vision of the Rebirth of Israel in 1948

    Ezekiel’s prophecy of the rebirth of Israel in 1948 and its precise fulfillment in our generation on May 15, 1948 is one of the greatest fulfillments of Bible prophecy in history. Twenty-five centuries ago, while he was a slave during the Babylonian Captivity, (606 – 536 BC), the Lord revealed to the prophet Ezekiel, the precise year – 1948 – when Israel would finally be restored to the Promised Land.. The Jew’s eternal relationship to the Holy Land is a major theme of Bible prophecy. In the Bible, times were specified in precise detail regarding the duration of the time when the Jews were to be exiled from the Promised Land and when God will allow them to return to the Holy Land.

    The First Captivity – (Egyptian) – 430 years

    The Lord prophesied to Abraham precisely when the Jews would return from Egypt from their First Captivity that lasted 430 years of captivity in Egypt (Genesis 15:13; Exodus 12:40-41).

    The Second Captivity (Babylonian) – 70 years

    Similarly, the Second Captivity of 70 years in Babylon, as prophesied in Jeremiah 25:11, ended precisely in 536 BC when the Jews returned to Jerusalem as decreed by the Persian king Cyrus the Great.

    The Third Captivity (Worldwide) – 2520 years

    The Scriptures contain numerous prophecies about the final return of the Jewish exiles to their Promised Land in the "last days." Ezekiel was taken to Babylon as a captive. Ezekiel was aware of Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11) that the Jew’s captivity in Babylon would last seventy years.

    However, Ezekiel received another prophecy concerning God’s judgment upon the Jew’s disobedience and the precise duration of the remaining Jewish exile from their Promised Land. "This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year" (Ezekiel 4:3-6).

    As Ezekiel lay on his right side for a few hours for 390 days and then for 40 days on his right side the Jews in Babylon learned of God’s remarkable prophecy. God revealed that every day stood for one biblical year. Therefore, Israel would be punished for a period of 390 years plus an additional 40 years as a result of their disobedience to God’s commands, totaling 430 years. God declared that Israel would be punished by a worldwide exile for 430 years (390+ 40 years = 430 years). However,
    ...
    by Published on 10-18-2010 07:26 PM     Number of Views: 3579 
    1. Categories:
    2. Dead Sea Scrolls

    If someone had asked a minister in 1947 to prove that the original Hebrew Scriptures from the Old Testament were reliably copied without error throughout the last two thousand years, he might have had some difficulty in providing an answer. The oldest Old Testament manuscript used by the King James translators was dated approximately A.D. 1100. Obviously, that old manuscript from A.D. 1100 was a copy of a copy of a copy, etc. for over two thousand years. How could we be sure that the text in the A.D. 1100 copy of the Scriptures was identical with the original text as given to the writers by God and inspired by Him? However, an extraordinary discovery occurred in the turbulent year before Israel became a nation. A Bedouin Arab found a cave in Qumran near the Dead Sea which ultimately yielded over a thousand priceless manuscripts dating back before A.D. 68, when the Roman legions destroyed the Qumran village during the Jewish war against Rome.

    An Arab shepherd boy discovered the greatest archeological finds in history in 1947. When the ancient Hebrew scrolls from these caves were examined by scholars they found that this Qumran site contained a library with hundreds of precious texts of both biblical and secular manuscripts that dated back before the destruction of the Second Temple and the death of Jesus Christ. Once the Bedouins recognized the value of the scrolls they began searching for additional documents in every valley and cave near the Dead Sea. The most incredible discovery was the immense library of biblical manuscripts in Cave Four at Qumran that contained every single book of the Old Testament with the exception of the Book of Esther. Multiple copies of several biblical texts such as Genesis, Deuteronomy and Isaiah were found in Cave Four. Scholars were able to reach back a further two thousand years in time to examine biblical texts that had lain undisturbed in the desert caves during all of the intervening centuries. The scholars discovered that the Hebrew manuscript copies of the most authoritative Hebrew text, Textus Recepticus, used by the King James translators in 1611, were virtually identical to these ancient Dead Sea Scrolls. After carefully comparing the manuscripts they discovered that, aside from a tiny number of spelling variations, not a single word was altered from the original scrolls in the caves from the much copied A.D. 1100 manuscripts used by the Authorized King James Version translators in 1611. How could the Bible have been copied so accurately and faithfully over the many centuries without human error entering into the text? The answer is found in the overwhelming respect and fear of God that motivated Jewish and Christian scholars whose job was to faithfully copy the text of the Bible. In a later chapter dealing with the Hebrew Codes beneath the text of the Bible, I will share how the Masoretic scribes meticulously copied the text of the Scriptures over the centuries.

    The Essenes were ...
    by Published on 10-18-2010 03:27 AM     Number of Views: 2596 
    1. Categories:
    2. Elders

    How God Appoints Elders

    How does God appoint elders? In a gathering, there will be a few brothers who appear to be more advanced spiritually than the rest. They seem to have a better testimony, and they do desire to perform the work of an eldership. They begin to function as elders would. Accordingly, an apostle will make them elders to serve the local brethren. The church at Ephesus can serve as a good example of this. At first there were only saved believers in Ephesus because elders had not yet been appointed. But on the second visit of the relevant apostle (in this case, Paul), we find elders are there. The first apostolic trip which Paul took out from Antioch was for the purpose of preaching the gospel and saving souls. Later on, he established elders in each city previously visited (Acts 14.23). Before an assembly is established, the saints are weak, and therefore they need support. But when individuals are raised up to take the responsibility of elders, the apostle concerned will appoint them.

    In other instances, however, the apostles were unable to go to places to appoint elders, and so they sent special envoys to perform the task. Timothy, Titus and others were such persons sent by the apostles. They went to different cities and appointed elders to take local responsibility in the church according to the order of the apostles.

    Since the appointment of elders is for the purpose of representing the authority of God, these elders should understand that Christ is the Head and that He desires to express His will in the Church. They need to seek the mind of the Lord in order to manifest His authority in the assembly. For God uses these men to make decisions on matters as to whether to proceed or to stop. All the other brethren in the assembly need to learn to submit to them. Naturally we do not expect anyone to control us, but these elders do not lord it over us; they simply represent God’s delegated authority, to which we submit ourselves.

    What God has ordained from eternity are both authority and submission. Yet many believers do not like to submit to authority. The world today is full of lawlessness, and I am afraid "the mystery of lawlessness" (2 Thess. 2.7) has already infiltrated the Church. How greatly children criticize their parents without fear, how often wives dominate their husbands, how much students attack their principals and teachers, and how laborers freely strike against their companies! Such things are rampant in our time. Even as the Scriptures predict, now is the time when "the lawless one shall be revealed" (2 Thess. 2.8). If we Christians are not careful, we too will be following after the Antichrist instead of Christ himself. How can we ever expect others to submit to authority if we ourselves do not submit to it? If God should be pleased to place some in the position of authority, we others should learn to submit to them: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account" (Heb. 13.17). In the light of this, we need to submit to the elders.

    The Title and the Appointment of Elders

    To briefly sum up, then, (1) elders are bishops, (2) elders are plural in number, and (3) elders are appointed by apostles or those specially sent by them. Today we know that the question of apostles (as to whether they exist) is unresolved. How, then, will the elders be chosen? From a study of God’s word, we would agree to the following deduction: Since the question of apostles is still unsettled, there is no way to appoint elders officially. We cannot give the title of elder to anyone. If we were to do so, we would have to ask where the apostle is who can appoint the elders. Having said this, however, we do not mean to say that there are not men today who can function as elders. Though there may not be the title of elders today, there nevertheless are men in every place who are like elders and who do the work of the eldership. They act as informal or unofficial elders. Yet the question still remains, How are they raised up? Who asks them to act as elders informally? We must answer that they are appointed by the informal apostles.

    Though this question of apostles remains controversial, there is nonetheless a class of people today who are performing the works of apostles—such works as preaching the gospel and establishing churches. They confess that they fall short of the holiness, power, victory and labor of the apostles because they can only do a small portion—perhaps one thousandth—of the works of the early apostles. Yet God uses these people in our day to labor in various places just as He used the apostles in the earlier days. Formerly it was these apostles who established churches everywhere, but now it is these informal apostles who do such work. We admit they are far inferior to the early apostles, that they are not worthy to be called apostles; nevertheless, we cannot but acknowledge them as doing part of the apostolic work. These men are those whom God uses in today’s ruinous state of the Church as apostles.

    God uses these servants to save sinners and to gather believers together. They are therefore the most qualified persons to help those believers whom they lead and to know who among them should receive honor and act as elders. We who labor in apostolic work are only helping the brethren to submit to these local men. We must be careful lest we fall into the traditional concept of apostolic succession or the special teaching that bishops have apostolic authority. Suppose, for example, that brother Chu is laboring in Potung and that he has led people to Christ. If he asks brother Wang to come to appoint elders, the latter will not know whom to appoint, for only brother Chu knows the local condition. He has led them and nourished them. He knows their spiritual state because he cares for their souls. He alone can help the brethren there to submit to those few among them who function as elders.

    We cannot but submit to authority. May God give us humility. If we are not to act as elders, then we are to submit to people who are
    as elders. We need to learn to be submissive people. If our flesh has been deeply judged, we will view submission to be something easy, beautiful and sweet. But wherever the flesh is not judged, the church will never be built there. If the brethren have their flesh dealt with, there will be no problem in submission. Hence those who do the work of apostles ought to assist the brethren to see who should act as elders and how they should submit to these men.
    by Published on 10-18-2010 03:20 AM     Number of Views: 2245 
    1. Categories:
    2. Boundary of Local Assembly

    What Is Authority in the Church?

    How is divine authority in the Church delegated? The authorities which God sets in the Church are the elders and the apostles. God appoints the first in a local assembly, He appoints the second in the midst of many assemblies. The authority of an apostle is over various assemblies, whereas the authority of an elder is in the local assembly. In order to manifest His authority in the Church, God sets up elders in local assemblies to represent His authority. Hence the other name used in Scripture for elder is "bishop," which carries within its meaning the sense of authority in his "overseership." The Bible instructs us to submit to the elders because they have authority. And because all authorities initiated by God are representative in character, so the authority of the elders is also representative—to manifest the authority of God. Irrespective of how well the elders represent divine authority, a Christian must nonetheless learn to submit to them because all authorities are of God.

    At the inauguration of any gathering of believers in a locality, there are no elders. But gradually some people who commence to function like elders will begin to be manifested within the group. As was mentioned already, elder and bishop are different names for the same office. The term elder points to the person, while bishop points to the service. Furthermore, the elders in the Bible are always plural and never singular in number. For things are less likely to go wrong when the spirits of two, three, or more persons are receiving the same guidance. Individualism is never a biblical principle; it can easily lead to error.
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