As we’ve entered into Palm Sunday and Passion Week, it is appropriate that we focus our attention on the discourse that Jesus gave His disciples in the Upper Room—most of it after Judas left (John 13:30)—on the night before His death.

I asserted in the previous installment that Jesus took this opportunity to reveal many new truths associated with the church age to His apostles.

After all, it was these men who would become “the foundation” (Eph. 2:20) for the church. He was giving them advanced and intensive training in a realm that was brand new to them, and, amazingly, He was doing it at the most difficult time they had ever experienced in their lives.

It seems only natural that Christ would be thinking about the church during these moments, for He knew that within hours He would be going to the cross to die, bringing life to His church through His own crucifixion (see Eph. 5:25).

We remember that Jesus had given His disciples the first hints about this new church dispensation in Matt. 16:18 and 18:15-17. But here, in the Upper Room, He went far beyond that and spoke of the coming of a new era in God’s superintendence over the world—and gave that era a starting point (“at that day,” John 14:20). Then, He went on to speak about several features that would characterize this new dispensation, which we know as the church age.

Here are some of the astonishing things that Jesus revealed about this impending time as He spoke to His disciples:

• There would be “a new commandment” (John 13:34) in place—evidencing a transition to a new dispensation with regard to law.
• The disciples’ ministry focus would transition from following Jesus physically through Israel to leading a worldwide outreach, which they most certainly could not yet comprehend (John 14:12-14; 15:16).
• There would soon be this new “day” (John 14:20), namely Pentecost Sunday, which would usher in a greater level of understanding for the disciples. This would only be possible because of the arrival of “the Helper” (John 14:26; 15:26).
• This “day” would also involve a change of status for the apostles, who would be placed “in” Christ (John 14:20)—an introduction to the concept of “the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27).
• The disciples would now realize a different type of connection to Christ. Up to this point, they had followed Him physically. But now they would be united to Him spiritually (John 15:1-8), and their commitment must rise to an entirely different level. This again could only be accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit, who would empower them in a completely new way, by indwelling (John 14:17-18).
• The disciples would face an unprecedented level of opposition in their new ministries (John 15:18-21; 16:2).
• The disciples’ focus would involve conveying a “witness” regarding their time “with” Christ (John 15:27).
• This new dispensation would be marked by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-11).

Taken by themselves, these principles do not provide a comprehensive view of the coming church age. Looking back at them with the benefit of the completed revelation of the New Testament, however, we recognize how foundational and significant they are. They function somewhat like markers that guide us—that would have initially guided these apostles—through this new economy of the church.

Early on in this discourse, Jesus had taken His disciples straight to the end of the church age, revealing the rapture to them. He gave more general information about the structure of the church age throughout the four chapters that record His discourse.

But in order to carry out their new assignment, these disciples would need supernatural energy and encouragement—and much more intricate direction. And Jesus covered those topics, as well. In fact, He brought them together in a beautiful and reassuring fashion when He told them of “the Spirit of truth,” who was promised to “guide (them) into all truth” (John 16:13).

So, we will conclude this series next time by thinking about these closely intertwined subjects—the new ministry of the Holy Spirit and the new truths that He would use the apostles to communicate, which would govern God’s people throughout the entire age of the church.

***

Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

 

***There is a special message at the end of this article.

The prophet Daniel spoke of a rebellion that would come to its climax right before the arrival of the antichrist (Dan 8:23). Paul warned us about this same rebellion while, thankfully, making sure we understood that the faithful would also be raptured before the antichrist appears (2 Thess 2:7). This is because God wanted those of us who are alert and ready for His return to know just how near we are to the end of the age of grace. Thanks to the warnings of Daniel and Paul, we can know that the last generation to live in the age of grace will know that Jesus is coming very soon for His bride because of the fact that there is a worldwide ‘Rising Rebellion.’

For a rebellion to reach its fulfillment, it must have a period in which it rises just like homemade bread. Incredibly, the rebellion we are witnessing has been building for a very long time. In fact, Paul spoke of the mystery of iniquity taking place in his day (2 Thess 2:7). What sets this rebellion apart is the fact that it is global in scale, and this has not happened since before the flood of Noah. This indicates that the coming of the Lord is truly imminent. The words that Jesus spoke about the end of days resembling the days of Noah and Lot come to mind here (Matt 24:37; Luke 17:28).

The only thing holding back the culmination of this rebellion is the restrainer, who is soon to be taken out of the way. This will finally happen when the universal church, in which each member is filled with the Holy Ghost, is removed from the earth at the rapture, which cannot be many days hence. It is noteworthy that two groups long for the rapture, the faithful and the wicked. The faithful because they will finally be united with their long-awaited Lord and King, and the wicked because the faithful will finally be out of their way. Pause and think about this for a moment… for the first time since Christ ascended, there will be no Christians on earth, either in it or on it. In this vacuum, evil will truly have its way.

Rebellion’s Focus

The rebellion we are currently witnessing may seem to be against many things; however, it is actually against God, and it has been underway since the Garden of Eden.^[1] The reason for this? God is absolute in all aspects. He is absolute love. He is absolute truth. He is absolute… you get the message. This creates a great problem for the wicked because they cannot endure absolutes. Therefore, they must rebel against anything that is absolute.

Those of this nature could be deemed to be of the antichrist spirit; they are the metaphorical decedents of the many antichrists that had already gone out in John’s day (1 John 2:18). Thankfully, we are warned by two of the pinnacle eschatology preachers of both the Old and New Testaments, Daniel and Paul respectively, that the rebellion that is underway is what we can look for as a sign of the soon coming rapture.

The last statement about the closeness of the rapture can be validated by simply turning on any form of media these days. When one does this, the one thing that is immediately clear is the rebellious nature of the majority of the world’s populace. For sure, many antichrists had already gone out during the life of John; however, today, we can see those of this spirit everywhere, in every country, as demonstrated by the fact that there is an ever-increasing number of those who disagree with any form of government that desires to lead from a biblically conservative perspective. This is evidenced by the fact that as soon as the aforementioned conservatives gain control, great rebellion ensues, as seen in the recent events in both the United States and Israel.

We must remember, the root of this rebellion is the rejection of God and His absolutes. After all, God has instructed us to obey the government, good or bad, which He has allowed to come into existence:

Romans 13:1-2 (all emphasis mine)

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” ^[2]

[Here is proof that those taking part in rebellion against governmental leaders are actually rebelling against God…. Notice their actions bring damnation upon them.]

1 Peter 2:13-17

“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”

Paul and Peter make clear the fact that a Christian is not to rebel against the government because God has allowed every one of these leaders to come into power. You might be saying to yourself right now, “what about those who are incredibly wicked? Are we to remain peaceful and resist rebelling?” The answer is ‘yes,’ as highlighted above. Indeed, we must resist rebelling, for it is by our well-doing that we silence the ignorant and foolish. If we rebel, we act just like the world, and they have no reason to seek answers from us.

Consider this: God even allows those who usher in the antichrist system to come into power at the appropriate time so that they can do that which is appointed to them to do. While writing this last line, Judas, who betrayed Christ, came to mind. Jesus chose him, even though He knew he would betray Him (John 6:64, 70-71; 13:27).

Since it is clear that we are already witnessing the reshaping of the world for the coming antichrist, it is crucial that we maintain our walk of love even when persecuted by the wicked. After all, Christians are the only ones who can carry and share the gospel, and that is the only message that can set free those who have been made captive by the spirit of antichrist.^[3]

It is important to address persecution here, as we are beginning to see violence against Christians in the United States with the recent slayings carried out by members of the LGBTQ community against Christians who disagree with their religion. Yes, you read that correctly, those who are beholden to the LGBTQ agenda are participating in religion, and they are very adamant that all others serve their false god of rebellion.

Last year, I wrote two articles that deal with the issue at hand. These articles provide a great deal of information about one potential future. The first deals with the rebellion at hand as it depicts the continued rise of those who are proud to be anything other than what God made them.^[4] The second article includes a hypothesis of how the antichrist conquers by coming as the one who bears a rainbow flag which indicates he is the champion of the proud.^[5] 

Before leaving this point, it is crucial to point out that the proud want more than anything to agitate the Christian into actions unbecoming of a Christian, thus ruining their testimony that Christ is able to empower them to overcome the wiles of the devil (Eph 6:10-11). Sadly, many Christians are attempting to take over the world for Christ. This is a result of them falling for the deceptions of that old serpent, the master beguiler – Satan, who will lead many people to destruction.

When Christians, So-Called, Rebel

The article, “The Great Awakening – The Grand Deception,” ^[6] deals with a rebellion led by the proponents of the ‘kingdom now theology’ that is taking place in the name of Christ. Clearly, based on the fact that Christians are not to rebel, this movement is actually empowered by dark forces, and it is not of God. How can we know for sure? God has told us exactly how things will transpire during the last days, and the idea that the church will rise to the fore in the land is nowhere seen in Scripture. In fact, the exact opposite is the reality set forth in God’s Word.^[7] Thus, even Christians, so-called, are rebelling against, you guessed it, God.

With this in mind, if you are currently part of a church that is attempting to establish the physical kingdom of God on earth, I implore you to seek the truth of Scripture for yourself and disassociate from those who are misleading you. Indeed, many false apostles and prophets have arisen in order to beguile those who can be (Matt 24:11; 1 John 4:1; 2 Cor 11:13-15).^[8] Therefore, the best defense against this is a strong offense that comes from knowing the truth. This means that the best plan of action is to follow Paul’s admonition that every believer studies and learns the truths of God’s Word for themselves:

2 Timothy 2:15

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

If you follow the advice of Paul, you will soon come to realize that much of what is preached these days is man-centered, and you can rest assured that whatever is not of God will come to naught. Therefore, waste no time partaking in the fruitless endeavors of the false church. Secondarily, you will also begin to realize that “God’s way is the right way to do everything.” ^[9]

Dealing with Objections

While writing this article, some objections came to mind. I will attempt to deal with them here before concluding. The first objection may be that in Daniel 8:23, Daniel was not speaking of the rebellion of our day. This is easily cleared up by reading the passage in context:

Daniel 8:15-23

“And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

[The angel Gabriel makes it very clear that what Daniel has seen is for the end of time.]

“Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

“The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.”

[Notice that God has appointed an exact time for each of these events, and the latter will be at the end of the rebellion. Finally, Daniel is made aware that when the “Great Falling Away” of 2nd Thessalonians chapter two comes to the full, or reaches its full measure, then and only then will the antichrist arise.] 

The second objection may be that Daniel is not speaking of the same rebellion as Paul in 2nd Thessalonians chapter two. This objection has gained great momentum as of late because of the now prevalent, faulty claim that Paul’s warning about the great falling away is actually the rapture. I have dealt with this extensively in other articles.^[10] Therefore, here we will simply compare what Paul and Daniel said:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [Rebellion] first [before], and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (emphasis mine) [author’s comment]

Daniel 8:17…23

“So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision…And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.”

Clearly, Daniel and Paul speak of the same rebellion that precedes the arrival of the antichrist. Therefore, we can know that the rapture, which takes place before the antichrist arrives, is upon us because of the fact that we are witnessing a ‘Rising Rebellion,’ the likes of which has not been seen on earth since before the flood of Noah’s day.^[11]

Conclusion

Over the last few decades, we have witnessed a gradual uptick in the boldness of the rebellious. However, in the last few years, this gradual uptick has been replaced with a growth that, to borrow a phrase, has begun to grow at ‘warp-speed.’ This is a clear indicator that the rapture of the church is sooner than ever before.

Examples could be cited here, but doing so would unnecessarily lengthen this message. Suffice it to say, when people will not let the government govern, when all societal systems teach the populace to rebel against God, and when people cannot govern themselves by the rules and boundaries set forth by God, rebellion becomes necessary but woefully futile. This is true because of the fact that God is absolute, and His Word will not come back to Him void (Is 55:11). Therefore, all that He has said – will come to pass, no matter how much the wicked protest and rebel. Ironically, as demonstrated here, God is even in control of those who protest, for He said they would do so just before He sends His Son for His bride.

If you have come upon this article after the rapture, see the article, “Open Letter to Those Who Miss the Rapture.” ^[12]

Special Message:

The recent events in Israel and in Nashville are indicative of the ‘Rising Rebellion’ that was dealt with here. Unfortunately, this type of behavior will only increase in intensity and frequency as we draw nearer to the end of the age of grace.

At these times, it is very easy to allow our emotions to get the best of us, and our natural reaction is a desire for recompense. However, God has told us He is in control, and we must understand that He is fully capable of dealing with each situation that we will face in the coming days. Therefore, let us seek His face and strength during these trying times. Above all, let us remember that, for the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ (2 Cor 5:8), and our blessed hope (Titus 2:13), the rapture, will be a time of great reunion. Truly, God will wipe away every tear (Rev 7:17).

With all of this in mind, we must remain ready to meet Jesus at any moment via death, as demonstrated in the killings in Nashville, or the rapture we await (1 Thess 4:16-18; 1 Cor 15:51-57).^[13] Lastly, while we wait, ^[14] we must be a ‘Ready Remnant.’ ^[15]

Website: In His Commission

[1] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Greatest Lie Ever Told: The Origin of All Lies.”

[2] “Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the King James Version.”

[3] For greater understanding, see the article, “We Must Apologize.”

[4] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Coming False Flag of Pride.”

[5] For greater understanding, see the article, “The First Horseman of the Apocalypse.”

[6] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Great Awakening – The Grand Deception.”

[7] For greater understanding, see the article, “Vengeance Cometh – Make Room.”

[8] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Rise of Many.”

[9] For inspiration, here is the song, “God’s Way is the Right Way to do Everything.”

[10] For greater understanding, see the site, “rebellionarising.com.”

[11] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Fall So Great – That Only Eight – Entered the Ark.”

[12]For greater understanding, see the article, “Open Letter to Those Who Miss the Rapture.”

[13] For encouragement, here is the link to the song, “We Await.”

[14] For greater understanding, see the article, “While We Wait.”

[15] For more information, visit the site, “readyremnant.com.”