The Holy Spirit Promised

On the same day Jesus ascended back to heaven, he met for the last time with his apostles. “He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now'” (Acts 1:4-5). Jesus commissioned his apostles as witnesses to His ministry, resurrection, and coming ascension and to spread the gospel throughout the world. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

I believe this is a prophecy by two angels in regard to the Rapture and not the Second Coming. There are two reasons for this view.

1. The angels merely said He will come the second time in a similar manner. They were not saying that the apostles would be gazing up into the sky watching His return, only that He would come again the second time in a like manner (in the clouds) as what they had just witnessed.
2. Jesus Christ, in all His glory, will return to the earth at the Second Coming riding on a white horse with the armies of heaven. This spectacular event is described in Revelation 19:11-16 and doesn’t sound similar to Acts 1:9-11.

The Upper Room Prayer Meeting

“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:12-14).

Matthias Chosen as the 12th Apostle

“And in those days [a day or so before Pentecost] Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry” (Acts 1:15-17). Peter went on to discuss the reason why they should cast lots for a replacement for Judas amongst the 120 disciples. After praying, they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And Matthias became the 12th apostle.

There were two qualifications for being a member of the twelve apostles according to Acts 1:21-22. The first qualification was the man had to have been a witness of Jesus’ ministry from the beginning of John’s baptism of Jesus to the day he was taken up. The second qualification was he had to be a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.

The 120 disciples mentioned in Acts 1:15 were all men that were followers and believers of Jesus and met the qualifications mentioned above. They were probably a core group of the 500 eyewitnesses whom Jesus appeared to after his resurrection, as mentioned by Paul. Matthias and Joseph (called Barsabbas) were probably among this group. Other disciples might have included the brothers of Jesus, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathaea, and some of the 70 disciples mentioned in Luke 70:1.

Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all [12 apostles] with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them [12 apostles]. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).

During the Feast of harvest known as Pentecost, Jews from all over the known world came to Jerusalem, as it was one of the three annual Feasts of the Lord where all adult males were required to attend. Of course, the Jews spoke the language of the nation, kingdom, or tribe where they resided. When these Jewish pilgrims heard the great sound of the Holy Spirit, the multitude came together and was confused because every man heard an apostle speak in his own language. It was like a reverse Babel incident. Instead of separating the people by making them speak different languages, this time, God brought them together by allowing them to speak the same language. This was done so the apostles could better communicate the gospel of Christ with the Jewish pilgrims who had dutifully gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Lord, known as Pentecost.

I was always led to believe that the Holy Spirit filled 120 disciples that day, but after carefully studying and meditating on the book of Acts, I now realize the Holy Spirit filled only the 12 apostles. There are several reasons for this belief.

1. The word “they” is used three times in verses 1, 2, and 4 in chapter 2 of Acts. The word “them” is used twice in verses 3 and 4. When a pronoun is used, it refers to the preceding noun. The preceding noun is “apostles” and is last found in Acts 1:26. As a matter of fact, all the pronouns in Acts 1 (they, them, these, you, their, us) refer to the apostles.
2. When the multitude heard the 12 apostles (not 120 disciples) speak in their own language, they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, “Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?” (Acts2:7). Eleven of the original twelve disciples/apostles were from Galilee. Judas was from the region of Judea, around Jerusalem. I presume Matthias was also from Galilee.
3. After amazement came doubt for the multitude, and some said the apostles were full of new wine (as if that explained it!) “But Peter, standing up with the eleven [not the 119] lifted up his voice” (Acts 2:14) and began to preach. Peter compared this act by the Holy Spirit to a future time (the last days) before the 2nd Coming of Jesus when the prophet Joel said of God, “I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old man shall dream dreams” (Joel 2:28). Peter was not saying that this filling of the Holy Spirit to the twelve was the fulfillment of Joel but was only a foretaste of the great outpouring that would be given to all the righteous Jews at the end of the age.
4. Peter preached regarding David and some of his prophecies concerning Jesus and ended it with the following: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart. “They said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?'” (Acts 2:37). Notice they did not say unto Peter and the rest of the 119 disciples. Whenever the word apostle is used, it is referring to the twelve. However, later in Acts, Paul and Barnabas are called apostles. They were the first apostles to the Gentiles.

The Church of Jesus Christ is Born

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, 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. For 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.’ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:38-41).

This was the fulfillment of the great catch of fish (153) caught by Jesus, Peter, and the apostles on that day before the resurrected Jesus ascended back to heaven. Peter cast his net preaching the word of God under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the 3,000 souls caught on that Pentecost day were a great catch indeed. The Church of Jesus Christ was born on this day, almost 1,988 years ago. This is 12 years shy of the benchmark age of 2,000 years (since Jesus was last on the earth). Of course, 12 is one of the perfect numbers of God and signifies governmental perfection and all that has to do with rule. It is especially significant regarding the children of Israel. After the Rapture, God’s focus will shift from the Church to the Jewish people (all 12 tribes) before Daniel’s prophecy of the 70th seven resumes.

The Greatest Catch of All – The Rapture

When the Rapture occurs, it will be the greatest catch of souls ever in the history of mankind. This supernatural event will be the end of the church age as we know it, for Christians who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit will be removed from the earth. The Holy Spirit’s role upon mankind will change after the Rapture. Here is how the late Bible teacher, Jack Kelley, explains it: “After the Rapture, I think the Holy Spirit will return to earth in a ministry similar to His Old Testament assignment. He’ll convict people of their sins and bring them to the Lord as He always has. He’ll be with believers and come upon them in power when needed, but He won’t be sealed within them to guarantee their salvation. That blessing belongs to the Church alone. Revelation 14:12 and Revelation 16:15 give hints that post-rapture salvation will be contingent upon obedience and faithfulness like it was in Old Testament times.” {1}

Romans 11:25 says that when the “fullness of the Gentiles” (a term for the Rapture) has come in, then Israel’s blindness will be removed. What is the number of this fullness? No human knows, but the number is huge. Consider that the world’s population is currently at approximately 7.8 billion people. It is estimated that there are 2.5 billion Christians in the world. That is 32-33% of the population. I personally believe this percentage is greatly exaggerated as many of these so-called “Christians” are Christians in name only.

Let’s be a little more realistic in our estimation and drop the percentage by 13% (number for rebellion and apostasy). That would place the percentage at 19-20% of the world population or approximately 1,530,000,000. If you break it down into a mathematical format, it looks like this: 153 x 10^7. If you believe this number of Christians to be raptured is still too high, you need to remember that all the young babies/children and those who don’t have the mental capacity to make a qualified decision for Christ will also be included in the Rapture.

This great number of souls only accounts for the living believers being taken up but doesn’t take into consideration the dead in Christ. They will be resurrected with a new heavenly body and will meet the living believers (who are translated also) in the air where Jesus will be. The dead in Christ consists of all those believers who have died since Sivan 7/May 22, AD 33, on the day of Pentecost, and up until the moment of the Rapture.

The living and dead in Christ, who will meet the Lord in the air at the Rapture, will be an astronomical multitude of souls. They will come from every nation, race, color, age, Christian denomination, and ethnicity. This multitude will include males and females, rich and poor, young and old, free and slaves from every age (1st century to 21st century) and background you can imagine. The one thing every one of them has in common is: “they obeyed the Lord their God and believed in the One He sent.” All of the redeemed will have new spiritual bodies made for eternity. Jesus Christ will then take his betrothed bride, the Church, to their new home in heaven, the New Jerusalem, and we will be with the Lord forever.

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Randy Nettles

nettlesr@suddenlink.net

Endnotes: {1} www.gracethrufaith.com

An Exposition

Luke 23:26-56: “The King, Crucified and Buried”

“And as they led Him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. There followed Him a multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for Him. But turning to them Jesus said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed! Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us, and to the hills, cover us!’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’

“Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Him. And when they had come to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on His right and one on His left. And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide His garments. The people stood by watching, but the rulers scoffed at Him, saying, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, His Chosen One!’ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up and offering Him sour wine and saying, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over Him, ‘This is the king of the Jews.’

“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at Him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember Me when you come into your kingdom.’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’

“It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice said, ‘Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit!’ And having said this, He breathed His last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this Man was innocent!’ And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, went home beating their breasts. All His acquaintances and the women who had followed Him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.

“Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision and action and he was looking for the kingdom of God.

“This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid Him in a tomb of stone where no one had been laid. It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with Him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath day they rested according to the commandment” (Luke 23:36-56, ESV).

In 2004, a motion picture premiered in theaters across the country and overseas that caused a great deal of controversy, bringing criticism for the subject matter from individuals who either derided it, mocked it, or labeled it as a derogatory portrait of a particular nationality and its religious practices. There were thousands who watched the film in movie theaters across the nation and the world, however, who had their faith renewed, or had the reality of what was portrayed on the screen sink into their souls and brought them before the presence of God for the first time in their lives. Many who saw it were content to see it one time due to the graphic violence and the conclusion thereof.

When I took my family to see this picture, the audience did not leave until the credits had finished playing, and even then, they stayed silent for ten or more minutes before departing in silence, tears, and thought. It was the first “R” rated movie I had decided to let my children view. And for my son, who is autistic, the central character of the film was instrumental in starting him on his journey with the LORD, which is still going strong today in his adult years. This film became the year’s biggest hit, earning over $600,000,000, yet it was all but ignored by the Academy Awards the following year, which came as no surprise to me.

Specials were produced by cable and satellite networks on how the movie changed people’s lives, and for one individual, to confess to a crime that had occurred years ago and to let justice have its way with him. He had told reporters that he had been burdened and convicted within his spirit to make things right and bring peace and closure to his victim’s family. In turn, the family forgave him for his crime and got on with their lives in accordance with the faith they had renewed by seeing the same picture earlier that year.

The film was Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which has been shown on religious networks every Easter and is currently part of the lineup of movie channels on the internet and other outlets. Those of you who saw it know why the movie received the “R” rating. If you have never seen it, the story centers on the last hours of Jesus as He undergoes the unspeakable agony, brutality, and excruciating pain of being beaten with a whip and His skin being torn to shreds, being made the subject of mockery and insults from soldiers, the religious leaders, and the local rulers such as Herod.

He is barely alive, with visible and horrific wounds everywhere, and is finally nailed to the cross he had been forced to carry to the hill of the skull, where He lingers in pain and agony and endures the wrath of God as the sins of humanity are poured out on Him. His distraught mother, Mary, the young Apostle John, and Mary Magdalene, who had been delivered from the grip of demons by Jesus, is also there, weeping bitter tears. Judas has been tormented by the fiends of hell and has hung himself in shame and remorse over betraying Jesus. Peter has run off after denying that he knew Him, and the other apostles have gone into hiding.

Every mother who watched this film began crying at the scene where Jesus, as a little boy, falls and apparently injures Himself. Mary sees this and immediately runs to Him, picking Him up in her arms and reassuring Him that she is there. The scene then goes to the present time, where the LORD is carrying His cross, falls in exhaustion, and Mary gets through the crowds to be at His side and tell Him that, again, she is there. Jesus looks at her lovingly and lets her know that He is making all things new. Little wonder that tears fell from both women and men as they watched this scene.

The account of the crucifixion, as recorded in all four gospels, presents a diverse, hostile, grieving, and indifferent cast of players in the drama of redemption. There are the Pharisees, who had instigated the entire affair with the aid of the reluctant governor Pontius Pilate, all of whom now look upon Jesus with scorn and then leave to return to Jerusalem and the affairs of the temple. They hear one of the thieves who is suffering the agony of crucifixion cry out to them that even in His own pain and suffering, Jesus has prayed for them. The disdain and hatred that these Pharisees and officials have for Jesus is so engrained in their hearts that this does not even seem to faze them as they ride away.

The Roman soldiers who have flogged and ridiculed Him have placed a crown of sharp thorns on His head that causes profuse bleeding in His scalp. He has become a source of grim and sadistic amusement as they watch Him and the other two criminals writhe in untold pain and sheer physical agony and slowly die from a combination of blood loss, shock, and the onset of suffocation. Their heartbeats are erratic and fluctuating and starting to decrease.

Death may not come for two to three days for most victims. Even then, their bodies are usually pierced with a spear to verify that the victims have not merely passed out or are pretending to be dead in order to be taken off the cross. The two criminals’ legs will soon be broken to hasten their demise, and then the carrion will come to feed on the corpses. What is left of them is then cast into the burning garbage pit outside of Jerusalem known as Gehenna, which Jesus used as an illustration of the horrors of eternal hell.

The women of Jerusalem are told by Jesus as He heads to Golgotha that their weeping should not be for Him but for the oncoming destruction of Jerusalem and its horrific aftermath for the nation of Israel. He had prophesied that this disaster would come upon Israel as a judgment from God for their deliberate rejection of the Lord Jesus as the Promised Messiah.

The two criminals have also taken cheap shots at Jesus as they curse and ridicule Him. One thief stops his insults and realizes that he is totally unprepared for what awaits him after his death (Luke 16:19-31). He is faced with the unknown and turns to Jesus, asking in what little faith he can muster if he will even be remembered when Jesus enters His kingdom. It is a desperate cry for redemption. He hears the unexpected pardon from the Lord Jesus, assuring this dying thief that he will be in Paradise alongside Jesus when he draws his final breath. He has been forgiven, redeemed, and is the benefactor of gracious mercy from the One who created him and now welcomes him to a place that neither he nor any of us deserve, yet is freely given. That includes you, friend.

Jesus is undergoing this brutality of body and spirit willingly for our redemption and salvation from the sins that should rightly place all of us on crosses to pay for our wickedness and sins before a Holy God, who will not tolerate any sin in His presence and will not overlook anyone. We cannot atone for our sins by doing “good works” or some other self-centered task. The Scriptures tell us that we are redeemed through faith in Christ and not by our own works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It is the finished work of Christ on the cross – bearing our sins and enduring the wrath of God as the perfect, sinless Lamb, sacrificed for our atonement once and for all, never to be repeated again (John 10:27-30, 14:6; Acts 4:12, 16:31; Romans 5:6-11, 6:23, 8:31-39; Hebrews 7:25; Revelation 1:1-18) – that saves us, and He is the ONLY way that God has provided for redemption and forgiveness of sin. When Jesus cried out, “IT IS FINISHED!” our salvation was secured, and we are now able to approach God and be the recipients of eternal life in heaven, forever free from the bondage of sin and death.

A righteous man, Joseph of Arimathea, came forward to help friends and family take Jesus’ body off of the cross and prepare it for burial in his personal tomb as a gesture of respect and love for the Master he had up to now followed in secrecy. He approaches Pilate and requests Jesus’ body that He might have a burial place. The body is wrapped in linen, prepared with spices to prevent the stench of decay, and put in the rock-hewn tomb, the stone rolled over it, and the followers of Jesus return to their homes to observe the Sabbath with grief and sorrow. Three days pass, and the world will never be the same when Sunday approaches. The King will return.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com