Saturday Nov 27 730 8pm William Bell The Spirit and Last Days Part 3

Hello and welcome to the All Things Fulfilled broadcast right here on the NOW Network. This is William Bell. I'd like to express my sincere appreciation for each of you for tuning in this Saturday, but also encourage you to tune in every Saturday from 6.30 until 7 p.m. Central Time, 7.30 until 8 p.m. Eastern Time for the All Things Fulfilled broadcast right here on the NOW Network. What we're going to do today is continue in Part 3 of our message on whether or not we have living apostles today, whether we have living prophets today, based on the teaching of the Word of God. Now I understand that people may call themselves an apostle. And there's a sense in which you can be an apostle from the perspective of being sent. Because that's all the word means. It means to be sent from. It's a compound word, apa, which means from, and stelo, which means to send. And so it's like if you send your son to the store, if you're a parent, you send your son to the store where you can say that's an apostolic action because he was sent from, but sent from you, sent by your authority. And so those who might have been sent from a particular congregation to another one could be categorized as apostles from that perspective. However, that is not the meaning of apostle that we're talking about. We're talking about the men who were handpicked by God, who were chosen because of various qualifications that they had. And you'll find the qualifications in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Acts. You can see that. And you can also see in the book, well, particularly in the book of Acts, for example. But you can also see it in the Gospels where Jesus selected them. But he tells you what the requirements are in the book of Acts. So from that point of view, we're talking about the men who were inspired of God, men who spoke by the inspiration of God and have the authority of God in carrying out their work and their will. Some people think that we still need apostles of that nature today. We really don't because they were the foundation. Now, you know, it's one thing the Bible talks about, and this is an interesting point when you think about it. From Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians 2, beginning in verse, let's say 19, he says, Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Now, the Bible says they were built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Now, foundation is that which you lay in the beginning of a building and then afterwards you put the superstructure. Well, the apostles were a part of that foundation, just like Christ was a part of that foundation. And we can't lay any more foundation than what has already been laid. And from that perspective, you can't add any more apostles to that. Just a quick thought on that. But it's very important because people are claiming to be apostles and they are claiming that they're giving you a message from God. And the message that they give you, in many cases, is a message that is totally contrary to what the Bible teaches. And because people are unsuspecting and because people, you know, maybe dress themselves in a certain garb and they, you know, give certain types of messages and speeches, people tend to assume, well, they must be an apostle, they must be in a prophet. They come to you telling you, let me speak this word of prophecy into your life and into your heart. Let me tell you this word from God, etc. And a lot of times it's all about how much money you're going to get and what kind of brand new car you're going to get and what kind of house you're going to get and what kind of husband you're going to get, what kind of wife you're going to get, etc., etc. Now, I'm not saying that there is not some validity to people speaking into existence what they want, but we can all do that. That's just a law of the mind. You know, there's a lot of science out there that's called the law of attraction. James Allen has a very famous book that he published called As a Man Thinks. And he talks about thoughts are things and bring about certain circumstances as well. You know, our parents talk to us about, and my grandmother used to do this all the time, but about self-fulfilling prophecy. Things that you think about and say over and over and over in your mind eventually come to pass. I think it was Job who also said, the thing which I feared has come upon me. So you have to be careful about the thoughts that you carry in your mind. If they are negative thoughts, but also understand that you can change those negative thoughts into positive ones and you can do all the things that these people who claim to be apostles are doing for you, all these things that people who claim to be prophets are doing for you. And the only reason it works most of the time is because the individual who is receiving that is too weak in their own thinking to make confident assertions and affirmations about what they want to accomplish for themselves. And so they need somebody else to tell them what they want or what they should want, or to tell them what they already want, but just don't believe that they can have it. Anyway, those are just perhaps some of the reasons why this phenomenon goes on other than the fact that maybe people want to set themselves apart from others as well. But what we're going to do is look at the scriptures because what we've been talking about is the relationship between soteriology, which is the study of salvation, pneumatology, which is the study of the spirit, and eschatology, which is the study of the end time, to show how all of those things come together and that you cannot separate one from the other. There are people out there who believe that they can have the Holy Spirit apart from the end time or that it's separated from the end time. Others believe that it's separated from the doctrine of salvation, and then they believe that eschatology is separated from the spirit and from salvation, and we have been showing that that is not the case. It is all connected together. We started out with Joel, chapter 2, 28-32, in the first lesson. In the second lesson, we went to Daniel 9, verse 24, where we talked about the 70 weeks that were determined for your people in the holy city, and within those 70 weeks was the sealing up of vision and prophecy. In other words, the sealing up of the office, which means there could be no more prophets, and the vision, meaning that which was uttered by the prophets. Why? Because we have all things written in the scriptures for us, therefore no more need to bring about any more prophecies. That's why the Bible isn't getting any bigger than what we have it already. If these men and women who claim to be were truly inspired of God, their words would be in the scripture, but they're not. And if they're telling you things that are in the scripture, that just means you still don't need them, other than to have them say them, but the point would be you can still read them out of the scripture, so they're not telling you anything that you couldn't go and read for yourself. Alright, so now let's take a look at a passage that we want to focus on that will show the interconnection between the pneumatology, the soteriology, and the eschatology. And this is being denied by some, but the passage I want to look at today is Ephesians Ephesians 1, verses 13 and 14. Now here's what the Bible says in this text, and you know it would be good, perhaps even before we read this text, to give a little bit of background on the church at Ephesus, which you can find in the 19th chapter of the book of Acts. So in Acts 19, let's read it, it's just six verses, let's go ahead and introduce that into the subject for today. The Bible says, And it happened while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus, and finding some disciples, he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So they said to him, We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said to them, Into what then were you baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism. Then Paul said, John indeed baptized, with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, that is, on Christ. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. First of all, if these were valid apostles who are claiming, and prophets that they are claiming, particularly the ones who are claiming to be apostles, if they were authentic and genuine and valid, they wouldn't have to be doing the prophesying for you. They could simply lay hands on you, and you could prophesy for yourself. That's what the text says. It says, And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now, where did he get that from? Or where does the Bible get it from? It comes straight out of Mark chapter 16, verses 17 through about verse 18 or 19, where when the Lord gave the commission to the apostles, his 12 apostles, 11 at the time because Judas had fallen, but when he gave the commission, and actually you could say, yes, he tells them that go into all the world, preach the gospel to all the creation he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs, now watch, will follow those who believe. These signs will follow those who believe. If you are a believer, and these miracles and wonders and signs could still be performed, then all you would need is an apostle to impart the gifts to you, and you could do your own prophesying. As a matter of fact, ask them if it were the case to give you the spirit of discernment, which was one of the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, so you can determine whether the person who claimed to give you the gift is telling a lie. I wish it were true. Then you could show that all of those people claiming to have these gifts would be lying. But because it's not true, you can't get the spirit of discernment, and they don't have the ability to even pass the gift on to you because they are not apostles. But nevertheless, the Bible says, and these signs will follow those who believe, in my name, they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, new languages, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. You won't need to call anybody to heal the sick. As a matter of fact, you could go down and wave your hand and deliver a lot of these people from COVID, right, if you really had that gift. But when these apostles come to you, find out if they're wearing a mask, see if they've had the vaccination shot, and then ask yourselves how much power do they really have, and see if they will go into a crowd of people without a mask. I'm not saying that just to make fun of them or anything, I'm just telling you the reality that they don't even believe in the power that they claim that they have. See if they can prevent some of these deaths that are taking place, or even discern, because there are a lot of people who have doubts about what's going on with this whole situation, see if they can discern who's telling the truth and who's not. But nevertheless, let's move on. So you can see from the foundation in the book of Acts that the Bible says when Paul laid hands on them, the Bible says that they spoke in tongues and they prophesied. So here you have the result of the laying on of the apostles' hands. But now, let's talk about Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, verses 32 and 33. Ephesians 1, 32 and 33. So the text tells us, I'm sorry, Ephesians 1, 13 and 14, not 31 and 32. So let's talk about that. Okay, in verse 13, the scripture says, in him you also trusted. Let's back up one verse, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory. Now, he's talking about the Jews there, because they were the first to trust in Christ, because the Bible says the gospel was to the Jew first, and also to the Gentiles. So that's what he's referring to when he says that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory. But then when he says in verse 13, in him you also, he's now referring to the Gentiles. And he says, in him you also, just like those he found at Ephesus, you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. So they received the Spirit after they believed. Now watch verse 14. In whom, or who is rather, the guarantee of our what? Of our inheritance. So the Holy Spirit was given as a guarantee of the inheritance. What's the inheritance all about? That's an eschatological goal. That is a point to which they were arriving, or were hoping to arrive. And of course they were arriving as well, as long as they remain faithful to the Lord. Now let's put a text together with that very quickly. The Bible says in 1 Peter 1 and verses 4 and 5, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith, for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. So if this was their inheritance, it was the salvation that was ready to be revealed. When? In the last time. Look at the connection between the inheritance and the last time. The inheritance for salvation. Through faith, for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. So their inheritance, their incorruptible inheritance, their undefiled inheritance, was the salvation that would be revealed in the last time. So that connects salvation and eschatology right there in that text in 1 Peter 1 verses 4 and 5. But not only that, in Ephesians 1, that is the inheritance. Is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory. Until the redemption. Now it's interesting, when we talk about redemption, we're talking about an Exodus motif. Because the word comes out of the Exodus where God redeemed Israel, where Yahweh redeemed Israel out of Egypt. Out of bondage. Out of the house of bondage. That He might lead them into the land of Canaan to freedom. And that's what that text is all about. But let's look at something regarding that. That relates to the power of the Spirit. In Micah chapter 7 and the verse is 15. Micah 7 and the verse is 15. The Bible says this and notice the connection to the signs and wonders in the passage. Verse 15 says, as in the days when you came out of Egypt. Out of the land of Egypt. I will show wonders. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt. So he's talking about Israel here. I will show them wonders. Now God is promising to do something just as He did during the time of the Exodus where there was a 40 year trek in the wilderness from Egypt to the land of Canaan. And if we turn to the 7th chapter of the book of Acts, we will see precisely what He did in Egypt and what He was going to do with the Holy Spirit that was poured out in the last days. The scripture says in Acts chapter 7 and the verse is 36. He brought them out. Well, let's back up and get 35. I like to get context. So the scripture says, here's 34. I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt. He's talking to Moses. I'm going to send you Moses to Egypt. This Moses whom they rejected saying who made you a ruler and a judge is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out after He had shown what? Wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness 40 years. Now, did you note that? The Bible says that He brought them out after He had shown them wonders and signs in the land of Egypt. Those were the plagues that He did with Pharaoh and those He performed before Israel and in the Red Sea when He parted the waters and they walked through on the dry ground and in the wilderness where He brought water out of the rock and fed them with the manna from heaven. All of those wonders and signs that were performed, but He said it or said that He did it for 40 years. Now, look, if you miss anything else, don't miss that. The miracles, the wonders and the signs were performed for 40 years. Four zero. And then He said in Micah 7 15, as in the days of your coming out of Egypt, I will show wonders or miracles or signs. That means for 40 years, these things were going to be shown just like He did redeeming them out of the land of Egypt. When He begins to redeem them out of the land of sin and death, He was going to perform these miracles for 40 years. And He did them beginning in the ministry of Christ and during the time of the apostles from Pentecost forward. And that was a period of about 40 years. So friends, those of you who are conscientious for the word of God and who are interested in being led by the scripture, then God is telling you the miracles only lasted for 40 years and they don't extend beyond that because that was according to the days of their coming out of Egypt. So let's look at the connection between Ephesians 1 13 and 14 as a context of redemption joined to the concept of miracles as a pledge, as an Erebon until they were redeemed. But let's look at when they were redeemed. And we only have a couple of minutes left. The scripture says that the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee, which is the Erebon, a pledge where one thing is given in lieu of something else to be received later. It was the guarantee of the inheritance that was coming at the last time until the redemption of the purchase possession. It would only be given out until that purchase possession was redeemed. And he says to the praise of his glory. In Ephesians four and verse 30, the Bible speaks more specifically about the day of redemption because it says and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. So what were they sealed for? The day of redemption. But when did that day of redemption arrive? In Luke chapter 21 and the verses are 20 through 22 and also verse 28. Notice what the text says. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the midst of her depart and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled. So in connection with the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D., the Bible says that's when all things written would be fulfilled. But in verse 28, he says now when these things begin to happen, look up, lift up your heads for your redemption has drawn near. And then he closes the chapter in verse 32 or at least this point by saying it's not the end of the chapter, but this point in verse 32. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation, the one living at the time would by no means pass away till all these things take place. That means the day of redemption came about within that 40 year period because the destruction of the temple was 40 years after the prophecies were uttered. And that is the fulfillment of the office of the apostles and prophets because it's the city and the sanctuary were destroyed. That was the 70 years determined for the people. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am out of time. It's been a pleasure being with you. Tune in next week for the All Things Fulfilled broadcast from 630 to 7 p.m. right here on the NOW Network. Until that time, this is William Bell saying you have a very pleasant.