End Time Insights

The End will not come until the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed to all nations – Matthew 24:14. When the subject of the Second Coming is raised, the question of what “sign” or “signs” will precede it is asked. Invariably, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, and similar catastrophes are proposed as the harbingers of that day. Yet Jesus himself gave us the  definitive answer  to the question, namely, the   completion of the mission of the Church  to proclaim his Salvation and Lordship to all nations.

With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The Apostle Paul called the Gift of the Spirit the “ Promise of the Father ” which he linked to the Abrahamic Covenant. The promises to Abraham and “ his Seed ” find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and with the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, the Age of the Spirit , the “ Last Days ,” began in earnest.

The outpouring of the Spirit signaled the start of the Last Days, the Era of the Spirit, and the Time of Fulfillment . The application of Joel’s prophecy to the events of the Day of Pentecost links the initial outpouring of the Spirit to the start of the “ Last Days .” The activity of the Spirit is essential for understanding the rapid spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the center of the Roman Empire as documented in the  Book of Acts . This process must continue until the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ (παρουσια) of Jesus.

The New Testament applies Temple language and imagery from the Hebrew Bible to the Body of Christ, the habitation of the Living God . Apart from contacts between Jesus and the early church with the priestly authorities, the New Testament shows little interest in the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem. Far more frequently, we find terms from the Temple applied to the New Covenant community inaugurated by Jesus. What the Temple and the Tabernacle foreshowed came to fruition in the “ Body of Christ .”

There is “ now no condemnation ” of anyone “ in Christ Jesus .” This happy condition exists because the “ law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death .” In Romans , the Apostle Paul links our salvation to the inheritance of Christ and the coming redemption of our bodies and creation itself.

The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of faith. God counted his faith as “ righteousness ” when he was uncircumcised. Thus, He justified the Patriarch apart from the “ works of the Law .” Therefore, he became the father of all men who are also “ from faith .” Circumcision was added after the promise as the “ seal ” of his justifying faith.

From the beginning, the activity of the Spirit dominated the life, words, and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth. He was “ Jesus, the one called Christ ,” the “ Anointed One ” and the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. When an angel informed Joseph that Mary carried a child “ conceived of the Holy Spirit ,” it indicated that something far more than a miraculous birth was about to unfold. He was and is the true Man of the Spirit.

The Gift of the Spirit is part of the New Covenant. It is the first fruits of the New Creation and the gathering of the nations . The history of Israel includes national sins that caused her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. God foresaw her failures and determined to institute a new covenant energized and characterized by His Spirit . It would include the salvation of the nations and culminate in the “ New Heavens and the New Earth .” With the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, the Age of the Spirit commenced in earnest.

The history of Israel includes national sins that resulted in her expulsion from the Promised Land. However, God foresaw her failures and determined eons ago to institute a  New Covenant  that would be energized and characterized by His Spirit, and a people,  singular , that would include the Gentile nations. This covenant would culminate in the resurrection of the righteous dead and the arrival of the “ New Heavens and the New Earth .”

Jesus declared, “ The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life .” His statement echoes the principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The “ flesh ” is not inherently evil, but it has no lasting life apart from the Holy Spirit. This principle was demonstrated at the original creation, and now the same Spirit is essential for the bodily resurrection of believers and everlasting life in the age to come.

With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The Apostle Paul calls the Gift of the Spirit the “ Promise of the Father ” which he links to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and “ his Seed ” find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. No longer are Gentile believers “ alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise .” By his shed blood, Christ has dismantled the “ middle wall of partition ” that once separated Jews and Gentiles.

The disciples of Jesus are the heirs of Abraham. The future possession of that inheritance is secured by the Gift of the Spirit . Israel’s possession of Canaan was an earlier stage in God’s redemptive plan, which always envisioned something larger than Israel or a small plot of land in the Middle East. With the arrival of the Messiah and the outpouring of the Spirit, the covenant promises began to find their fulfillment in the true “ Seed of Abraham ,” and consequently, in his “ brethren ” and “ coheirs .”

The use of Joel’s prophecy by Peter on the Day of Pentecost links the arrival of the Spirit to the start of History's final era. With the Spirit’s outpouring, the “ Last Days ” began in earnest.  The Gift of the Spirit is the “ Promise of Father ,” and an integral part of the  New Covenant  prophesied in the books of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel . Its arrival pointed to a fundamental change of eras - The time of fulfillment had commenced  - (Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:17-21).

On the day of Pentecost, the time of fulfillment arrived when Jesus bestowed the gift of the Spirit on his church  – Acts 2:1-4.  The second chapter of  Acts  lays stress on the theme of  fulfillment . The things foreshadowed in the Hebrew scriptures were actualized when the disciples were “ filled with the Spirit and spoke in other tongues ” on the Day of Pentecost. This was the seminal event that marked the inauguration of the Church and the age of the Spirit.

Between the ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit, the apostles pray and appoint Matthias to complete their number  - Acts 1:12-26. After the ascension, the apostles return to Jerusalem to wait for the “ promise of the Father .” In the meantime, they appoint Matthias to the apostolic office held previously by Judas Iscariot. As the leaders of the new covenant community, they need twelve representatives to demonstrate continuity with the people of Yahweh.

The  Book of Acts  begins  IN JERUSALEM  with the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit. It concludes with Paul preaching the Gospel in the heart of the  World Empire , the city of Rome. Following his resurrection, Jesus ascended to reign “ at the right hand of God .” He then bestowed the Gift of the Spirit on his Assembly to empower them to proclaim his Gospel to all nations.