Modern Apostles?

In the Roman Empire, a person who was given the power to speak on behalf of the Emporer was called apostolos, or "apostle," meaning "sent one."  Likewise, an apostle of Jesus Christ was given the authority to speak the very words of God.

To disobey the word of an Apostle was to disobey God, and that's still true today. When we read the New Testament, we're reading the words of the apostles as given by God. Ephesians 2:19-20 says that the church has been "built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone."

An apostle had the power to speak in other languages, heal diseases, cast out evil spirits, and were given prophetic visions. The word of an apostle was the word of the Lord, equal in authority to the Old Testament Scriptures. And an apostle established and governed the church under Christ.

To be called an apostle, one had to meet two qualifications. They had to have been a witness to the risen Lord, and they had to have been personally appointed as an apostle by Christ himself.

Today many false teachers will claim to be apostles or that God will appoint new apostles. They'll say they've seen the risen Lord and were personally appointed by God. Some might not use the word apostle, but they will claim to have seen Christ and been given new revelation you won't find in the Scriptures. Avoid such liars and heretics.

The office of apostleship is closed. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:8 that he was the last apostle to be appointed. No others would come after him. When the Apostle John died at the end of the first century, the apostolic age came to an end. But their authority remains as having given us the word of God when we understand the text.

"For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." Galatians 1:11-12

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone..." Ephesians 2:19-20  

Divine Personal Encounters With God?

 

Jesse Duplants: "Jesus is between 5-11 and about 6-foot-one. He's taller than I thought he was! ...And he put his hand on this shoulder. And he looked at me. He said, 'Go tell my people I'm comin'.'"

Mike Bickle: "I stood there, and uh, I was at the Lord's left hand, and this was not a dream, it was as real as life here... And he said, 'Young man!'"

Kim Walker-Smith: "I can feel him, like, it's like he's walking up to me across the room and just tapping me on the shoulder, 'Kim.' ...And I'm standing with Jesus. And I see God the Father in front of me."


There are teachers who will claim to have had a face-to-face conversation with God himself. But it's a lie. How can we know that? For lots of reasons. But in short, because Jesus warned that false teachers would claim such things.

"If anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.

"For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man" (Matthew 24:23-27). The next appearance of Christ will be seen by the whole world -- not a select few in secret.

Joseph Smith claimed God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him the church had become an abomination. So Smith started his own church full of destructive heresies. He was a charlatan, and so is every other modern day false prophet claiming to have had a personal audience with God. We will hear in their teaching many other lies when we understand the text.

This Is My Bible, I Am What it Says I Am?

"This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I will never be the same, in Jesus name."

That's how Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church begins every sermon. So let's go back through this and break it down. "This is my Bible." Yeah, which he never opens and reads from, but I digress. We'll come back to that. "I am what it says I am." It says you're a sinner, an enemy of God, spiritually dead. The only person that can give you life and repair the relationship between you and God is Jesus Christ. So as long as you understand that, we're on the right track.

"I have what it says I have." If you have Christ, you have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, peace with God! If not, you're still under his wrath. "I can do what it says I can do." Correct. And the only thing you can do is sin. Unless the Holy Spirit is in you, and then you can please God.

"Today, I will be taught the word of God." Meditate on it day and night, Psalm 1. But unless the Spirit has changed you to receive it, you can't understand it, for the natural person can't discern spiritual things.

"I boldly confess my mind is alert." Now we're gettin' wonky. I boldly confess I have a million bucks. That doesn't make it true. "My heart is receptive." Again, only the Spirit can do that, not your declaration. "I will never be the same." And again, only if Christ has changed you.

"In Jesus name." Selfishly using  God's name is taking it in vain, also known as blasphemy. So about that first declaration: "This is my Bible." And you should read it. You don't declare anything over the Bible. The Bible declares authority over you, when we understand the text.

Praying In Tongues?

[Various audio clips of individuals praying in tongues...]

What you're hearing is commonly referred to as speaking in tongues. But it's not. It's just gibberish. No where in the Bible are we told to pray like this. In fact, there's not one verse in the Bible that encourages prayer in tongues.

What about the book of Acts? Well, the gift of tongues was given to share the gospel, so everyone could hear it in their own language.

What about in 1 Corinthians 14? Well it's there Paul says, "If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also." That's not encouraging prayer in tongues, it's discouraging the practice.

But verse 39 says don't forbid speaking in tongues! Right, and the context is to prophesy, not private prayer. What is the gift of tongues for? It is "a sign not for believers but for unbelievers," to hear the gospel spoken in their own language. Read every passage on tongues with that understanding. It's not a prayer language, and it's especially not incoherent babbling.

Jesus said, "When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the pagans do. Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Jesus prayed clear prayers, and so should we, when we understand the text.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders Said an Unborn Child Is a Person?

Hillary Clinton: "The unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights."

Bernie Sanders: "I do agree with the Secretary. I don't believe there's any constitutional protection for the unborn."

For decades we have been arguing: Is a child in the womb a person or not? Those who are pro-abortion have justified killing babies by denying they're babies at all. They call them "fetuses" and "tissue," avoiding any words that might attribute personhood.

But that's over now. It's out in the open, in print and on TV. A child in the womb is a person who deserves no rights. They claim their cause is noble, defending women's rights or health care, while denying rights and murdering those they acknowledge are people. How is this not an oppressive, murderous holocaust?

The Bible warns that in the last days, people will be lovers of self, proud, arrogant, abusive, unholy, heartless, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning -- even understanding these children are people! -- yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

Proverbs 31:8 "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute." The unborn are people, and even their enemies know it. Speak loud on their behalf. Call for repentance and preach the gospel of Christ, our only salvation from our murderous sins, when we understand the text.