The Twenty-first Century will be an apostolic century! In spite of great resistance and spiritual warfare the governments and nations of the world will be brought under the government of God’s Anointed King and to the obedience of the Christian faith.

However, this will not happen without the restoration of ascension-gift apostles, the revelation of Christ and His Kingdom entrusted by the risen Lord to the apostles in the first century, and the reformation of the Church on the basis of this revelation, so that we can all function together as one, holy, apostolic Church in the earth.

Since the beginning of the Twentieth Century the Lord has been pouring out His Spirit mightily to revive the work of His Kingdom and to restore the foundations of His Church. The Modern Church has seen the Pentecostal Movement, the Latter Rain Movement, the Healing Movement, the Charismatic Movement, the Discipleship Movement, the Word of Faith Movement, the Worship Movement, the Prophetic Movement, the Prayer and Spiritual Warfare Movement, and even the Convergence movement. Today the Lord is in the process of raising up a radical new generation of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to work together in the power of the Holy Spirit and with each other to rediscover His Kingdom, restore the foundations of the faith, and reform His Church as one, holy, apostolic, Church throughout the earth, so that the Church of Jesus Christ might ultimately succeed in its mission to disciple the nations and fill the earth with the glory of God!

I. By the grace of God the Twenty-first Century will be an apostolic century!

It will be a century of unprecedented challenge and opportunity. But like the First Century, which in spite ferocious and beastly adversaries saw the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom and the conquest of His Church, the Twenty-first Century will be an apostolic century! All nations will be brought under the government of God’s Anointed King and to the obedience of faith.

Beginning with the great outpouring of the Spirit at the turn of the Twentieth Century and continuing to the present, the Lord has been progressively restoring the foundations, apostles and prophets, reviving and reforming His Church as One Holy Apostolic Church in the earth. Jesus is pouring out His Spirit so that the Church might ultimately succeed in its mission to light the nations and fill the earth with His glory.

At Caesarea Philippi Jesus boldly prophesied, “Upon this rock I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” that rock being Peter’s revelation that Jesus is the Christ, God’s anointed King. Jesus is building His Church upon the foundation of His Messianic Kingdom, and because of His absolute authority and power, the gates of hell, the principalities and spiritual powers of darkness over the cities and nations of the world, will not be able to withstand the march of His Church in its conquest of Satan’s kingdom. The Church will ultimately succeed in its Kingdom mission to defeat the principalities and powers of the Kingdom of darkness and disciple the cities and nations of the world! (Matthew 16:16-18)

After His triumphant resurrection, boldly proclaiming His Kingly authority, Jesus commissioned the apostles, “all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Apostles are Christ’s ambassadors, His governmental men, sent to the governments, cities, and nations of the world to represent His Kingdom and to offer the governments, cities, and nations of the world His covenant of peace, and upon the basis of that covenant establish His Church throughout the earth. (Matthew 28:19-29)

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed the good news that the oath made to David to seat David’s Son on David’s throne had been fulfilled in the resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus of Nazareth. According to the Apostle, the proof of this was the outpouring they had just witnessed (Acts 2:30-34). The heart of Peter’s Gospel was the good news that God’s promise to David has already been fulfilled in Christ’s resurrection, not postponed until the second coming. Peter doesn’t even mention the second coming in his entire message. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He raised David’s throne, the seat of government of David’s Kingdom, moved and firmly established it at His own right hand in heaven. He then installed Jesus of Nazareth on David’s throne at His own right hand as Lord and Christ! (Psalm 110:1,2 and Psalm 2:6, 7)

Contrary to modern preachers, who postpone Christ’s Kingdom until the Second Coming, Peter preached that Jesus is seated today on the throne of David! This was the Word of the Kingdom proclaimed by all the apostles of the first century, and this was the foundation of the Church Jesus declared He would build! This is the message that must be rediscovered and proclaimed by apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers today! This is the foundation of faith that must be restored to Christ’s Church in the apostolic reformation of the twenty-first century.

On the basis of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, the Father has established the throne of His Son at His own right hand where it can never be defeated or fail; He has given all authority and power, glory, dominion, rule and judgment to His Son in this present Messianic age, so that as King of kings and Lord of lords He might destroy the works of the Devil, discipline the nations, bring many sons into His glorious Kingdom, build His Church and ultimately guarantee the success of the Church’s mission and it’s victory over the Kingdom of darkness.

Paul preached this same Gospel, “And we preach to you the good news of the promise …that God has fulfilled this promise…in that He has raised up Jesus…” (Acts 13:32, 33). This great apostle confidently announces to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch that the promise God made to David and the fathers of Israel regarding Messiah’s Kingdom has been fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus. He purposely calls this “the good news of the promise…” Paul cites Psalm 2:7, “You are My Son; today I have begotten You,” David’s great prophetic reference to Christ’s resurrection.

It is crucial to note in verse 6 of this great Messianic Psalm, the Father proclaims, “I have installed My King upon Zion, My Holy Mountain,” prophetically declaring centuries before the time of fulfillment the installation of His Son on David’s throne at His own right hand in heaven.  And in verse 8 the Heavenly Father encourages His Son, “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.”

Like Peter, Paul preached Jesus has already been installed on the throne of David as Lord and Christ. Throughout Acts, Paul boldly proclaims Jesus as King! All nations have been given to the Lord; they belong to Christ and to His Church for a possession. In Romans, Paul explicitly affirmed that the purpose of his apostleship was to bring about the obedience of the nations to the King! (Romans 1:5)

To the Corinthians he confidently proclaims the purpose of Christ’s administration of the Kingdom is to abolish “all rule and all authority and power.” (I Cor. 15:24) According to Paul, Jesus is reigning now as King, and He must continue to reign until all His enemies have been subjugated and made the footstool of His feet. At Christ’s final appearing on the last day of history, the last enemy, death, will be abolished, and the Lord Jesus Christ will hand a perfected Kingdom to His Father and God will be all in all. (I Corinthians 15:24-28)

It is critically important to note that according to Paul, God’s special apostle to the nations, before the Lord’s final appearing on the last day to destroy death and to hand the perfected Kingdom to the Father the powers of the darkness of this present world must be abolished and put under Christ’s feet. The cities and nations of the earth must be delivered from the oppression of evil and brought to the obedience of God’s Anointed king.

Ern Baxter often proclaimed, “Every demonic prince must bow the knee to King Jesus!”

In spite of the sub-normality of the Church, with its many theological disagreements and aberrations and innumerable ecclesiastical divisions and schisms, the 20th century witnessed the collapse of Colonialism and the failure of Communism. The twenty-first century will witness the moral and spiritual defeat of the demonic prince behind Islamic fundamentalism and the liberation and conversion of the cities and nations presently under its oppression.

Bob Mumford perceptively proclaims Christ’s Kingdom as, “the Kingdom that keeps on coming!”

Before Jesus comes in His final appearing on the last day of history for the resurrection of the body and the final judgment of the world (See John 6:39-54, 11:24 and 12:48), all nations shall be brought to the obedience of God’s King, and come to the light of the Church’s rising! However, this will not happen without the restoration of ascension-gift apostles, the revelation of Christ and His Kingdom entrusted by the risen Lord to the apostles in the first century, and the reformation of the Church on the basis of this revelation, so that we can all function together as one, holy, apostolic Church in the earth.

II. The Twenty-first Century and The Apostolic Reformation

Since the beginning of the Twentieth Century the Lord has been pouring out His Spirit mightily to revive the work of His Kingdom and to restore the foundations of His Church. The Modern Church has seen the Pentecostal Movement, the Latter Rain Movement, the Healing Movement, the Charismatic Movement, the Discipleship Movement, the Word of Faith Movement, the Worship Movement, the Prophetic Movement, the Prayer and Spiritual Warfare Movement, and even the Convergence movement. Today the Lord is in the process of raising up a radical new generation of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to work together in the power of the Holy Spirit and with each other to rediscover His Kingdom, restore the foundations of the faith, and reform His Church as one, holy, apostolic, Church throughout the earth, so that the Church of Jesus Christ might ultimately succeed in its mission to disciple the nations and fill the earth with the glory of God!