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!
Posted on Wed, October 15, 2008
by Eric Granata