Deception In The Last Days- 1

Subtitle: Jesus Warns Against Deception

This is a series regarding the warning of deception that is particularly powerful in the end times. 

The audio link appears at the end of the article which will be posted later.

Matthew 24:3-5, 9-14, 21-15.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty
Bonner on Sunday, October 18, 2026.

We are going to take some time to deal with the topic of deception particularly deception in the end times.  We are not to focus on setting dates.  However, there are many good reasons to believe that we are approaching, or are near, the end-times.  Of course, God is the One who is in charge.  He can keep things going for another hundred years.  Yet, these lessons are important for understanding deception and not falling under its power.

Today we are going to focus on the warning against deception that Jesus gave in Matthew 24.

Ultimately, I want to help us develop a way to see through powerful deceptions of any type.  That may be deceptions that come from occult circles, from religious cults, or even something as strange as an alien/UFO disclosure (now called UAPs- Unidentified Aerial Phenomena).

A recent movie called Disclosure Day has challenged whether such a revelation would shatter Christianity.  What if aliens arrived and said they had technology to fix our problems and, by the way, we created you!  I am not saying that this is going to happen.  I am saying that Christians need to be able to analyze any such things from a biblical perspective (from God’s perspective) and respond appropriately.

Let’s look at our passage.

Deception and the Beginning of Sorrows (v. 3-5)

In verses 1 to 2, the disciples are impressed with the temple complex and point it out to Jesus.  Jesus responds that not one stone will be left there upon another that will not be thrown down (presumably into the valley below). 

This sets the disciples aback.  It may be because they didn’t expect such an answer, or perhaps because they weren’t sure what he meant by it.  Regardless, in verse 3, they have moved across the valley on the Mount of Olives.  It is there that the disciples ask Jesus about his revelation that the temple would be torn down.

Their first question is clearly about the destruction of the temple.  “When will these things be?”  Yet, they also know that Jesus has been talking about being rejected, leaving and coming back.  They take opportunity to expand this question to reference this.  “What will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”  We won’t deal with whether this is two more questions or only one.  Yet, notice that the response of Jesus is not immediately an answer about timing.  Rather, Jesus warns of deception ahead.

“See to it that no one deceives you.”  This is a good warning in general.  I don’t believe God wants His people to become fodder for scammers and deceivers in general.  However, Jesus transitions this to the particular deception of people coming in “My name.” 

Coming in my name can mean using the name Jesus.  Yet, Jesus quotes them as saying, “I am the Christ.”  This emphasizes that they are coming in his position or reputation.  God the Father had made Jesus to be the Christ, or Messiah.  Though the nation as a whole was going to reject Jesus, this would not change God’s mind on who is the Messiah.  It was, it is, and will always be, Jesus. 

False christs would play on two things.  First, those among the Jews who had rejected Jesus as Messiah would still be looking for another person to be the Messiah.  This makes them good targets.  However, Christians also believe that Jesus is coming back.  So, they too can be targets for a wannabe false christ.

It can be understandable that non-Christian Jews would be taken in by false christs, but Jesus is giving a warning to his disciples (and us).  On top of this, there are several passages in the Old Testament and the New Testament that make it clear that, when Christ returns, he will come on the clouds of heaven with a contingent of angels and resurrected humans.  No false christ to this day has ever mimicked that.  Yet, some Christians are tempted to believe such claims, at least for a time.

The first person to claim to be the Christ after Jesus was a man named Simon bar Kokhba.  Simon was a military leader who led a revolt against Rome in AD 132.  He claimed to be the Messiah, the Christ.  On top of this, a well-respected Rabbi named Akiva supported his claim.  This revolt was quashed by the Romans by AD 135 and resulted in his death.

Several other things followed from the Romans.  The area of Judea was renamed Syria-Palestina.  Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina.  On top of this, a temple to Jupiter was built.  All of these things would help to erase Jewish connections to the area.

Today, from time to time, there are religious people, whether in Jewish circles or Christian, who gather a following of people who believe them to be Christ.  Of course, they are false christs.

In a way, all nations of the world are open to or looking for someone who can fix this world.  This is what God has promised Messiah would do.

In verse 8, Jesus called this the beginning of sorrows.  It is not the end, but a period that is more closely associated to labor pains.

Transition from the beginning of sorrows to the end (v. 9-14)

Though Jesus is still speaking about the beginning of sorrows period in these verses, verse 14 becomes a clear transition to the end of this age.  The end of this age is not a Hollywood production where the world is destroyed.  Rather, it is the end of the open door of repentance that God has given to the nations.  It will be time for showing which side you are on, that of Jesus or that of a false christ.

In this section, Jesus once again warns us against deception, but this time he points out false prophets (v. 11).  This may seem anticlimactic, but it is an error that we run into more often.  People claiming to have a word from God about the world and the end times happens more than people claiming to be Christ.

We can recognize that Muhammed was a false prophet from outside of Christianity.  We can also recognize some false prophets from within Christianity.  The word prophet generally means a religious approach, but I wouldn’t overlook that atheistic philosophers today proclaim that they have the answer the world should follow, much like a false prophet.

It is easy to recognize false prophets that are from outside of your nation and influence.  Westerners are generally not drawn to Muhammed.  But those who have been raised in eastern lands find it much harder to resist the social pressure and see through his words and life.

As we approach the transition to the end, Jesus warns that we will still have to deal with false christs and false prophets.

We should also notice that there are other factors that Christians must face.  In verse 9, Jesus says that we will be hated by all nations and delivered up to tribulation and being killed.

He warns that many will stumble (be offended), betray one another, and hate one another.  Of course, Christians can fall into these errors.  However, Jesus is showing us what the world will be like and what Christians will have to endure in order to keep faith. 

The word for stumble, or offend, has the idea of causing someone to be tripped up and fall.  In this case, it is clearly about a moral and spiritual stumbling.  We will be tempted to turn away from the way of Christ and turn towards betrayal and hatred.  We see this happening in our world today.  More and more society is infected with a viral tendency towards anger and fighting one another.

It is here that Jesus warns of false prophets who will deceive many.  Just like scammers are more prevalent when the economy is dire and people are desperate, so false prophets come forth like a scourge as the world becomes more and more hateful towards one another.

In verse 12, Jesus warns of lawlessness.  This is not about man’s laws, although people will flaunt those too.  Rather, the lawlessness here is that of rejecting God’s law.  God has made clear through Jesus the Christ what He expects of humanity, but we refuse to obey that.  As we cast off God’s law, the love of people grows cold.  There is a natural love between parents and children, family, people of a particular nation.  However, these bonds are coming under severe spiritual attack.  People are stumbled and tempted into loving themselves and not loving the people in relationship with them.

Christians are called to love everybody, even our enemies.  But it is hard to love people who love themselves and are cold towards you.  It is in this context that false prophets arise promoting a way that will appeal to the flesh of those who are perishing.  Thus, Jesus warns believers that only those who endure to the end shall be saved.  It will be a heavy load, but believers in Jesus need to remain in relationship with him and his commands in this difficult time.  Everyone of these things can threaten our steadfast faith in Jesus.

Verse 14 gives us a clear sign for this transitional period.  When the Gospel of the Kingdom has been preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, then the end will come.  It doesn’t say how quickly and how soon.  I believe we are in this transition from the Beginning of Sorrows period to the end of this age.

During the Great Tribulation (v. 21-25)

Jesus then moves to speak about this end.  I am going to focus on verses 21 through 25 because I want to highlight the problem of deception during this coming period.

In verse 21, Jesus points to a time that we call The Great Tribulation from this passage.  It will be a time of difficulty that has never been this bad before and will not be this bad after.  Many Bible commentators try to make this about AD 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem.  As bad as those days were for the Jews in Jerusalem, there have been worse days since, in numbers killed and in atrocities committed.  However, Jesus seems to be talking about the whole world in this passage.  This Great Tribulation will involve a series of Judgments from God ending with the appearance of Jesus to take over the nations of the world.  It also involves a series of actions by the Devil and his Antichrist.  This period can really be thought of as a time that forces everyone to choose a side: Team Jesus or Team Antichrist.

Jesus warns in verse 23 that we are not to believe those who says to us, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There!”  In some ways, Scripture makes it clear that no one will have to tell you when Jesus truly returns.  However, there will be powerful deceptions at play here as well.

Verse 24 speaks to this powerfully deceptive time.  False christs and false prophets will rise up and show great signs and wonders to deceive…  Some versions refer to them as lying signs and wonders.  Which begs the question.  Are these actually true wonders (miracles), or are they fake?

First, the idea of false is not connected to the signs and wonders other than they are done by false christs and false prophets.  Second, they do these powerful signs to deceive people, i.e., into following them.

This appears to be an amping up of the deception.  It wasn’t warned against earlier.  Of course, the devil is a trickster.  He will do what he can to separate you from Christ. Some have the mentality that says, “The devil can’t do miracles.”  We need to be careful with that statement.  The devil is not God, but he is a fallen angel.  Angels have powers that humans do not have.

There is an added angle to this.  Next week, we will look at a passage that speaks of a restraint upon the devil and his works.  In the end times, this restraint will be removed.  This means we will see far more powerful deceptive signs and wonders coming from his followers.

They will have enough wow factor to them to deceive possibly those who have been chosen by God, the elect.  Of course, Jesus ends this by warning, “See!  I have told you beforehand!”  Does the presence of a wonder or miracle necessitate that we believe the person doing it?  Jesus says, “Don’t be deceived.”

Jesus warns “if possible.”  It is up to each one of us.  We will be tempted but have been told in advance.  If we remember the words of the true Christ, we will not fall to such false prophets.

Maybe a part of you thinks that it would be impossible for our modern era to be wowed by false prophets.  We are not as easily deceived as people 2,000 years ago.  I wonder though.  Are we less manipulable or more?  We live in a day that has enormous manipulations happening all over the world.  Governments and smart people plan how they can manipulate large groups of people to do what they want.

In fact, it is good that Jesus came and spoke the truth 2,000 years ago.  Imagine if he waited until this highly manipulated age to come and speak.  How would we know he spoke truth?

Today, we have the words of Jesus and his apostles warning us against the deception of the Beginning of Sorrows.  We also have the Holy Spirit helping us to see through deceptions and grow spiritually.  Yet, a great deception is coming upon the earth that is intended to test every soul.  Make sure you are immunized and inoculated against it by knowing the true Christ’s words to you!

Jesus Warns audio

The Acts of the Apostles 19

Subtitle: A Powerful People

Acts 5:12-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 2, 2022.

What does it mean to be a powerful person?  If we use the world’s definition of a powerful person, then we are focused on someone who is in control of their life personally, who is financially powerful, and who has powerful social influence. 

It is easy for Christians to simply “christianize” these concepts rather than seeking God’s word for His definition of a powerful people.  The above concepts are focused on manipulating the world around us so that it conforms to our desires.  Using religion to do this is the very definition of witchcraft.

Don’t get me wrong.  God made us with a powerful ability to affect the world around us.  However, when we use those abilities for self-serving purposes, even to the point of co-opting religious garb to do it, we have prostituted God’s purpose in it.  Christians are those who wrestle with God in prayer over how to impact the world around them.  We don’t always perfectly understand it.  However, we must be convinced that He is the only leader that can teach us in this life.

Our passage today focuses on the powerful work that God was doing through the early Jewish believers in Jesus.  Let’s look at it.

Powerful things continue to occur (vs. 12-16)

So far in the book of Acts, we have seen some powerful things.  In Acts chapter two, we saw a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, followed up by Peter’s powerful sermon.  He challenged the people, “Be saved from this perverse generation...”  This led to 3,000 people being saved.

In chapter three, we saw the healing of the man in his forties who had been lame from birth.  Again, this was followed up with a sermon from Peter saying, “Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the LORD, and that He might send Jesus…”  Peter clearly saw a connection between the repentance of Israel as a nation and the return of Jesus.

In chapter four, Peter and John are arrested, threatened, and released.  However, they were not intimidated and continued to preach powerfully in the name of Jesus the Christ.

Chapter five explains the powerful deaths of Ananias and Sapphira.  This made sure that the believers and the unbelievers understood that God was at work in this group.

These verses here are another one of Luke’s summaries of how things were going with the Church of Jesus.  We are going to sift these verses into three categories: statements concerning the Apostles, statements concerning the believers, and statements concerning the others.

The Apostles-

After his death, Jesus sent his disciples to call all people everywhere to repent and believe on him.  He was God’s Anointed One, God’s savior for our sins.  He was also God’s anointed ruler for our world.  They are called apostles at this point because the term means “sent-ones.”  They are sent by Jesus to establish His Church, which means the “called-out-ones” by the way.  We are called out from among the world, but not to go away.  We come out from the spiritual prostitution of this world into the chaste life of a bride of Christ.  Our work is to pull others out from the cesspool of this sinning world.

Verse twelve reminds us that God did amazing signs and wonders through the hands of the apostles.  These are things that caused people not only to be amazed, but also to recognize that God was in them.  These apostles were just like Jesus, the same Jesus that was executed.

Healing was one of those ways that God got the attention of that first century.  Verse fifteen tells us that the apostles were healing people so much that others would bring their sick out to the street and lay them on beds, hoping that Peter’s shadow would touch them and make them well.  Now it doesn’t actually say that someone was healed this way, but that is what the people thought.  It is possible that something like this happened and word spread.  Desperate people will try anything that even has the faint odor of hope.

Yet, this is not about Peter, but rather about God’s call on his life, and his faithful, bold obedience to do what God’s Spirit led him to do.  If looking at Peter diminishes our understanding that it is the grace of Jesus that is doing this, then we need clarify the way we are looking at this.  Conversely, if we completely disregard that this is done through the hands of Peter, i.e., through his obedient faith, then we miss what God is showing us.  There are some things that God wants to do, but He has decreed that they would happen through the prayer of faith, and the actions of faith.  In short, Peter is cooperating with God, co-laboring with Jesus Christ, by the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Verse sixteen also tells us that people from the surrounding towns and villages were coming to Jerusalem bringing sick people, and some who were tormented by evil spirits.  “They were all healed.”  This is a sign in itself.  Jesus was powerfully healing people and then the leaders pushed to have him executed by the Romans.  Yet, his disciples were now doing the very same thing.  This was getting the attention of the people.

Let me just say that it is clear that God used the Apostles in a way that was greater than those who were believing in Jesus.  It is also clear that Peter was used to a greater degree than the other eleven.  The apostle Paul was powerfully enabled among the Gentiles similar to Peter.  As Pentecostals, we can overly focus on the power aspect while missing the more important point.  The goal of the Good News is not to get more and more people doing what Peter and Paul did.  The goal is to change your mind about your sin, and about who Jesus is.  It is about surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is about trusting him to cover your sins, and empower you to fight sin in your life, walking in his righteousness.  It is about that sorrowful pricking of the heart, where we turn away from rebellion against God, and turn towards faith in Jesus.  The one who believes in Jesus will walk as he did.  They will obey his word and the word of his apostles.  God will work powerfully through them, but it will not always look the same and be at the same scope.  We must quit worrying about the scope of His power in our life and simply cooperate with it.  Jesus did only what his Father had for him to do.  So, we too must not put our ego ahead of ourselves with dreams of parting Red Seas.  Instead, we are to be faithful and let God lead us in His powerful works expressed in our life.

The followers of Jesus-

Luke mentions the followers of Jesus, or the believers, in verse twelve.  We are told that they were in one accord.  We’ve seen this word before, and it means that they were focused with one passion as a group.  That passion was to live for Jesus and to do his work.  Luke uses this phrase of the believers seven times throughout the book of Acts.  It is not until the stoning of Stephen that it is used in a bad sense for the crowd who plugged their ears, seized him, and stoned him to death.  They were focused on the one passion of extinguishing the fire of Stephen’s preaching.

Can the Church of Jesus be of one accord today?  We might be tempted to say that the Church is too fractured to be of one accord.  However, remember that Israel was a fractured people at this time.  All of Israel was considered the people of God.  Yet, the ministry of Jesus had polarized society.  Those born of the Spirit were moving to one side of the Sword of the Lord, and those clinging to the flesh were moving to the other side.  Through Jesus, the Father was making a distinction between that which is holy and that which is unholy among His very people.  Thus, Luke is referring to those who are truly following the Spirit of God, not those who only had a profession of being the people of God. 

Can you not see how the Church has progressed to the same state that Israel was in so many years ago?  We have accreted millennia of fleshly institutions and people.  However, within this mass of the Church is a true, believing people.  The denomination doesn’t matter.  If a person is truly born again of the Spirit of God, they will quickly recognize the Spirit of God in another.  I put to you today that true believers across the world are of one heart and one mind to do the will of Jesus, rather than playing a religious virtual reality game.

The caution is that we must be careful about what spirit animates us, and what passion we are unifying around.  There is a sinful passion that operates in the crowd, the mob, this world even, to resist the will of God.  We must unify around the One True Lord, Jesus, and the One True and Holy Spirit of God.

Verse fourteen tells us that multitudes of men and women were being added to the Lord.  This is despite the fear that many felt when news of the death of Ananias and Sapphira was spread.  We should also note that they were “added to the Lord.”  All believers are ultimately added to the Lord within a local context.  No church belongs to the people there.  It will either belong to Jesus or it will not.  Let us strive to be a church that belongs to Jesus alone.

This was not a comfortable time for Christians.  In comfortable times, many people will join the Church, but they can simply be making a casual commitment.  They may join because there is a beautiful girl attending, and they hope to catch her attention.  They may join because they see a promising network of clients for their business.  They may see the potential of a place to amass social pride in religious matters.  The fleshly motivations are unlimited. 

Notice that no one casually becomes a true believer during times of persecution and difficulty.  This is part of the grace of God in it.  It is sometimes led by religious people who have no relationship with God at all.  Let me just say that you cannot have a casual relationship with the Creator of the universe.  You either take these things seriously or you don’t.  A serious believer doesn’t just read the Bible, but studies it as if their life depended upon it, as if it was actually a letter from your Creator to you.  A serious believer doesn’t just say their prayers, but seeks God for direction, wisdom, and guidance daily.  A serious believer goes to war against sin in their life, which begins in their heart and their mind, and affects their outward living.  I don’t know what you are going to do, but I’m going to serve Jesus seriously!

The others-

This brings us to the third group that Luke mentions here, the others.  Verse thirteen says that “none of the rest dared to join them…”  There was a hesitancy and a cowardice that kept them back.  Of course, there were some like the High Priest and others who were taking their stand against this group no matter what.  However, this is the group in between, the almost-persuaded group.

Let me just say that God is real, and therefore, it is a good thing to be careful about jumping on His side.  However, He is not some kind of psychotic parent who is beating people for no good reason.  If God disciplines us, it is to bring us to repentance so that we can have true life.  When we daily walk in repentance, we have fellowship with Him by His Holy Spirit.  It is a relationship that brings us healing from our sins and the sins of others, from the effects of those sins.  It gives us internal peace, true righteousness, and joy like a river in our soul!

The people who weren't joining them still had a respect for them.  They esteemed them highly, held them in high regard.  The word has a sense of honor in it so that the believers were seen as an honorable thing in their eyes.  Not everyone in the world is going to think that Christians are honorable.  It is not our job to focus on what the world thinks.  Instead, we are to live a life that is honorable by God's definition.  When a Christian casts off a lukewarm life and lets God transform their thinking and living, then they will be the hope of Jesus everywhere they go. 

If we are going to be despised, then let it be for following Jesus, not for following our own flesh and desires.  Every time a story comes out of sexual abuse, or financial embezzlement, it only shows that the mentality of Ananias and Sapphira is still with us.  You can't control other Christians, and shouldn't want to do so, but you can keep your eyes on Jesus, and live to honor him!  That will make you a person who is spiritually powerful.

Friend, no matter how bad a sinner you are, you can come to Jesus, that is if you are tired of struggling in those sins, and desire to be free.  Jesus can forgive you of your past, fill you with his Holy Spirit, and enable you to powerfully walk away from your sins!  Let’s be a people of power who are powerfully cleansing our lives of sin, powerfully guarding our hearts from the lies of this world, and powerfully doing the work that Jesus has given us to do!

Powerful People audio

The Acts of the Apostles 6

Subtitle: Peter Preaches to the Crowd II

Acts 2:22-24.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on June 26, 2022.

Today, we continue with Peter’s address to the crowd following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus almost 2,000 years ago.

As a quick reminder, Peter is essentially answering the question that the crowd has.  “What does this mean?”  He starts by countering the mockers who were saying that they were just drunk.  After this, he points them to the Promise of God in Joel 2:28-32.  There God promises to pour out His Holy Spirit upon all people in the last days.

Let’s look at our passage and continue Peter’s message.

The Holy Spirit Speaks through Peter (22-24)

In these verses, Peter explains how this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is connected to what happened with Jesus, especially the events concluding 50 days prior to Pentecost.

The religious authorities felt that they had dealt with the “Jesus-Problem” once and for all.  Of course, Jesus isn’t actually a problem.  Jesus is a solution, salvation.  Their true problem was that his activity and words kept highlighting how unrighteous they had become.  It is only a problem for the proud who refuse to admit that they need to repent.

Of course, within a matter of three days rumors began circulating in Jerusalem that Jesus had risen from the dead.  The tomb was empty and the guards had no helpful explanation of how Jesus escaped their watch.

During these 50 days, the disciples basically kept a low profile due to the fact that they were fearful of the authorities, and Jesus had been appearing to them.  Ultimately, he had told them to wait until this event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit before they proceeded to spread the Gospel.

Now, we have this strange event on the Day of Pentecost.  What gives?  Peter gives the crowd understanding of how all of these events are connected and what God is doing through them.  They are not just random strange events that make no sense, if you understand what God is doing.  So what was God doing through Jesus?

In verse 22, Peter reminds the crowd that Jesus of Nazareth was no ordinary man.  He had been “attested by God” to Israel.  The word “attested” has the sense of proving something through demonstration.  God had publicly demonstrated to Israel that Jesus was an exceptional prophet, and that they should listen to him.  These public attestations, or proofs, were not done in a corner and hidden from anyone, and they were not mere tricks that could pull the wool over the eyes of simpletons.

Peter mentions that God used miracles to prove Jesus.  Miracles are acts of supernatural power.  He also mentions wonders and signs.  These are essentially the same thing, but seen from a different purpose.  A wonder is that which leaves your jaw dropped.  It is an amazing thing that gets your attention.  However, God is not in the business of merely trying to impress humans with what He can do.  These wonders have purpose and meaning.  They are signs that are intended to point us in the right direction, and even explain God’s purpose to some degree.

Peter also makes it clear that these miracles, wonders, and signs were done through Jesus.  This is not just saying Jesus was only a conduit.  Jesus is the effective agent on the ground by whom these things are being done.  Jesus had done many spectacular healings of people who had been blind and lame since birth, and these healings were immediately upon command.  He powerfully cast out demons that plagued individuals who could not be handled by others.  He fed 1,000’s in the wilderness with only a handful of food.  Probably the most amazing was his resurrection of Lazarus.  A man who had died, was buried for 4 days, and was brought back to life by Jesus on command, and in front of a crowd.

I could add on top of this that many of the things Jesus did parallel what God did through Moses and the children of Israel.  For the sake of time, I will just mention that there is a contrast to the 10 plagues of Egypt.  The waters were turned to blood in judgment of Egypt, but Jesus turns water into wine as a blessing.  The flies, lice, and gnats seem to be symbolic of demonic hordes that Jesus dismisses.  The death of the firstborn in Egypt is countered by the death of the Son of God who becomes the Lamb of God protecting us from the destroying angel.  He fed the people miraculous bread in the wilderness.  All of these things are signs that tell Israel that Jesus is the prophet that Moses had told them would come.  He was publicly proved by God.

How could the religious leaders reject such proofs?  We should issue a caution that even the apostles highlight in the New Testament.  Satan does have supernatural power though it pales in comparison to God.  2 Thessalonians 2:8-11 makes it clear that people who reject the love of the truth that God is trying to give them will become deluded by lying signs and wonders.  Thus, it is important to note that the only “sin” the religious leaders could pin on Jesus was that he put himself on a level with God that they felt was heretical.  Of course, Jesus points them back to the Scriptures they claimed to follow and neutralized their accusation (see Psalm 82 and John 10:33 and following).  Jesus was pointing people back to proper worship of God the Father in spirit and in truth, not superficial actions that covered lives that were anything but godly.

Peter in verse 22 says that Jesus was “delivered” over to them.  He was handed into their power.  From a standpoint of authority, Jesus is essentially their higher authority, so they would have no authority to do what they did.  From a standpoint of power, Jesus could not be seized by them and held without his cooperation.  He who created the universe can only be arrested, tried, and crucified if he allows it to happen.  In this sense, Judas is immaterial.  Yes, he opens the door for Jesus to be arrested in secret, but it is the purpose and plan of God the Father that puts Jesus under their power.  This is why Peter mentions God’s foreknowledge (He knows what people will choose to do before they do it), and His determined purpose.

Of course, the test of putting Jesus in their power is to prove publicly what they would do with the God they claim to worship if He came down to their level.  It is easy to say that you love and worship and invisible being, but if He comes down and becomes visible in a way that we can’t control, we may find that we don’t love Him nearly as much as we put on, if at all.  The shocking reality that they had executed a man whom God had publicly proved to them is being highlighted.

We should notice that, even though they made it look like they were merely following the Law, their hands were “lawless” (vs 23).  No number of judges, prosecutors, police, lawyers, military, politicians, etc. can make something righteous that God has defined as unrighteous.  In the name of law, we can become a lawless people.  Whether these are actions that are done under the color of law, i.e., we make it look like we are only following the law, or we make up laws that are contrary to God’s Law, i.e., the laws we follow themselves are lawless against God’s law, God will always bring such actions to account.

They had put Jesus to death, a public execution.  However, Peter declares that God raised up Jesus from the dead.  Essentially, God had overruled their decision and Pilate’s decision.  Jesus was raised up and freed from the “pains of death.”  This is not talking about the physical pain of dying.  Jesus experienced that to the hilt.  It could be translated the sorrows of death.  There is a sorrow of being separated from loved ones, and the fact that even righteous souls were held in the grave, unable to directly enter the presence of God.

Peter even states that it is not possible that He should be held by death (i.e., death and the resultant residence in the grave-Hades/She’ol).  Jesus is not just able to give life.  He is the source of all life and by definition could not be held by death, or Hades.  We might say that it would be impossible for God to truly die, and yet through the incarnation, it became possible for God to die a physical death.  Jesus took on the nature of a man so that he could truly die.  Thus, God could truly die and enter Hades, but Hades had no power to hold Him.  The Lord of Life could not stay among the dead.  Those righteous souls who had been held in the grave could now enter into God’s presence because Jesus had paid the price for their sins, for the atoning of their sins.  Jesus is quite unique among the righteous because he was the only one to enter into Hades who had never sinned.

We are going to press pause on Peter’s discourse for now.  Peter is going to point forward from the resurrection to the fact that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and he is the one who is responsible for this outpouring of the Holy Spirit that they are witnessing.

Today, it may seem like this has no connection to our world, having happened so long ago.  However, we must ask what Jesus is doing now?  He is still pouring out the Holy Spirit upon those who believe upon him and want to serve him.  It is important for us as Christians to be focused upon the purpose and will of God, and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit he is giving.  However, if we are not expectant, repentant, and waiting upon the Lord, we can cruise through our life with a thin veneer of religiosity and not empowered by God’s Spirit.  Friend, don’t settle for being religious in your flesh.  Ask God each day to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and then share the good news of Jesus with a lost world that is in danger of judgment every day.

Peter Preaches II audio

The Acts of the Apostles 5

Subtitle: Peter Preaches to the Crowd

Acts 2:14-21.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on June 12, 2022.

Today, we pick up at the Day of Pentecost and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus.  As the Law was given at Mt. Sinai, so the Spirit of God was given in Jerusalem, or Mt. Zion.

A crowd had gathered due to the commotion caused by about 120 people speaking in foreign languages about the wonders of God.

Luke doesn’t clearly describe exactly what the scene looks like.  Are they still in the room with Peter speaking through a window?  Have they come out onto an open balcony?  Have they walked out into the outer courtyard around the Temple?  In the end, we have a large crowd that has gathered and Peter is given an opportunity to speak to the crowd, but now he is filled with the Holy Spirit.

We should be careful to recognize that the Holy Spirit does not take over people and control their body or speech.  There is a cooperation between the Spirit and the person He fills.

Let’s look into the passage.

The Holy Spirit speaks through Peter

Peter starts out by telling the crowd to “heed my words” (vs. 14).  The Holy Spirit had been giving the people languages to speak that many in the crowd had overheard and understood.  We can think of this as a particular way that the Holy Spirit can speak to people through believers.  Even more important, the activity itself is symbolic of things that would have meaning to those with eyes to see and minds to understand.

However, the event of mass speaking in tongues appears to be more about getting the attention of people in Jerusalem so that the Holy Spirit could speak to them in the regular language that would have been spoken in Jerusalem.  Peter is speaking by the Holy Spirit, but this time he is not speaking in a language unknown to him.  He is speaking with understanding of what he is saying.

How important it is for us to pay attention, to understand, and to properly respond when the Holy Spirit is speaking.  That may be in the occurrence of things that we do not understand, or when another person who isn’t perfect speaks to us.  In fact, sometimes the Spirit of God may speak to us through the unwitting words of sinners.  We must always be open and listening for what the Spirit is saying in the midst of what others say.

In John 16:14-15, Jesus said, “He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.”  (NKJV).  When the Holy Spirit is speaking, He is giving to us what Jesus is saying, and Jesus is giving Him what the Father is saying.  These are not merely words to hear and use for our own inspiration.  God has a purpose in those words and we should not co-opt His words for our purposes.

Thus, it is not enough to merely hear the words of God.  We should so thirst for the word of the Lord that we treat it all as precious.  I must understand these things!  Even then, it is not enough to merely understand the words.  I must live wisely in the counsel of those words.  In this life, we should put our faith completely in those words through willing obedience to the Spirit of God.

Now, we can get to Peter’s message.  He first counters the mockers who are saying that they are drunk.  Wherever God is moving, there will be mockers to ridicule it and put it down.  Don’t doubt that the devil and his spirits weren’t recognizing that this event of the Holy Spirit could really wreck their control on Jerusalem.  In this crowd, they find willing accomplices and assets that they can stir up and depend upon to do their will.  In fact, it is the opposite of what Peter is doing.  He is surrendering to the Holy Spirit, but the mockers are surrendering to the work of an evil spirit that seeks to thwart the good work of God.  We see this same spirit at work today, whether through false-believers, or non-Christians, whenever God is speaking.

Peter rejects the accusation that they are drunk.  He points out that it is the third hour.  In Hebrew reckoning, 6:00 AM would begin the morning hours, thus it was about 9:00 AM (+3 hours).  People who get drunk generally do so at night.  Of course, there are some who do get drunk in the day, but usually they are not up at 9:00 AM.

Those who give themselves to alcohol to the point of drunkenness are not following the Spirit of God.  Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18, “do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” (NKJV).  Drunkenness, or better intoxication, leads to the oppose of a life that is being saved, fixed, and healed.  The phrase in Ephesians, “in which is dissipation,” actually uses the word for saving something and then fixes a “not” in front of it.  Instead of leading to a life that is filled with healing and life, it is a life that is falling apart and leading others around them to do the same.

Let me just speak to a fad in some parts of the Church that act like and teach that being filled with the Holy Spirit is just like being drunk.  This passage is saying the exact opposite.  It is not a God thing for Christians to appear to be completely out of control and stumbling over themselves.  There is a contrast between being filled with alcohol and what it leads to, and being filled with the Holy Spirit and what it leads to.  When a person is truly filled with the Holy Spirit, they will be a spring of life, a spring of salvation, healing and restoration, and they will be all those things the people around them.  The mockers are the wicked ones in this setting, but they are trying to slander this righteous remnant of Israel that was following God.

Peter then points us to Joel 2:28-32.  This is the first of three Old Testament Scriptures (the only ones at that time) that illuminate what God has been doing in Jerusalem for the last 2 months.  This is a small part of a larger prophecy about God’s dealings with Israel and the nations.

Joel opens up in chapter 1 talking about a locust army that seems to have literally destroyed the crops of Israel in his day.  This then turns into a prophecy about the Day of the Lord.  It is called the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord in Joel 2:31. The literal locusts of Joel’s day were a portend of a spiritual locust army that will come in the last days.  We don’t have time to deal with it today, but suffice it to say that the wording and imagery of Joel 2 is all throughout Revelation 9 and the locust army that comes out of the Bottomless Pit.  Remember that the Bottomless Pit is a prison for rebellious spirit-beings who were so bad that God had them locked up until the Day of the Lord’s judgment on heaven and earth would come.  There is a recurring theme of a supernatural army of evil beings coming on the earth out of the north, really a spiritual or cosmic north.  They come to torment mankind, and they come to destroy God’s people, even Israel.  Only God can rebuke this supernatural army and save His people.

In the middle of this terrible vision and prophecy of the Day of the Lord, God calls Israel to repentance.  Yes, the Day of the Lord is coming, but what you are doing today sets the table for what you will be eating then.  Israel is called to repentance and is told of the good that God has for them when they do.  So, Joel 2:28-32 is God’s promise that He will pour His Spirit out upon all those who repent and turn towards Him.  This contrast of God pouring His wrath out upon some and pouring His Spirit out upon others is an important understanding of all prophecy.

Notice in Acts 2:17 that this pouring out of the Holy Spirit takes place in the last days.  We have technically been in the last days since that day 1,990 years ago (give or take a few years).  We are in the last age of God’s work before He brings in His kingdom under the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Day of the Lord is the conclusion to this age and the transition into the Kingdom Age.

Some may ridicule (mock) that if the last days last for almost 2,000 years then the phrase is meaningless.  That is not true.  It is a harbinger to every generation that we must make our decision because God is getting ready to wrap things up.  The Day of the Lord is a day of judgment upon all nations, and upon the spiritual powers that deceive the nations.  In fact, when Jesus the Messiah was rejected, God has him sit at His right hand until the day that He makes the enemies of Jesus his footstool (i.e., Revelation 19 and the Second Coming).  Meanwhile, we are in a time of harvest (the feast of Pentecost was a feast of harvest).

Yes, Jerusalem would be destroyed and Israel taken into exile completely, but God’s judgment was not complete then.  God put pause on continuing to pour out his judgment on the nations, and instead sent His terms of peace to anyone on the side of His enemies who wish to switch sides.  Can you imagine playing a game where it is almost over and a Champion walks on the court or field for the other team that spells your doom?  Then, imagine that time-out is called and it is announced over the loud speaker that any team member that wants to switch sides can do so and they will be considered a true member of the other team?  This is the grace of God.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon whosoever would choose the side of Jesus, the side of God the Father, is pictured as having no barriers.  Both men and women, old and young, free and slave would be full recipients of God’s Holy Spirit.  This Spirit would cause them to prophesy, and to have dreams and visions from God.  Everyone of God’s people would become prophets.  If all of God’s people would be prophets than who would they prophesy to?  They would be God’s voice to the nations of the earth.

O Christian, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit in these last days so that our mouths, hands, and lives will be full of the eternal life of God, so that it will flow out upon a dry and thirsty world that is lost under the power of the darkness of the devil and those humans who are in league with him.  We are closer to the Day of the Lord than they were in the first century.  Instead of asking how much longer is God going to offer terms of peace, we must be faithful to be His voice, His emissaries, holding out life to the lost saying, “Don’t die; choose life!”

Verses 19 and 20 of Acts chapter 2 speak of signs and wonders that will come before the Day of the Lord.   Some of these will be in the heavens and some will be on the earth.  Let’s be clear that the Day of the Lord culminates with the Second Coming of Jesus to literally reign on this earth as God’s King.

Now, there were signs and wonders that occurred at the birth of Jesus.  The magi came out of the East having seen a star that portended a special king in Israel.  Also, a glorious band of angels appeared to shepherd in the fields of Bethlehem.  The life of Jesus was full of signs and wonders as he did the miraculous over and over again.  At his death, a darkness filled the land that cannot be explained by a solar eclipse due to it lasting too long.  All of these are signs pointing us to the reality that the Day of the Lord is near, but so too that the promise of pouring out the Spirit is even now here.

There are still signs to occur.  Zechariah 14 is a prophesy about the Second Coming of Jesus.  Jerusalem will be nearly destroyed and Jesus will break the clouds and deliver them.  In verses 6-7 of that chapter, he speaks of a unique day.  During the day it will be dark and at evening time it will be light.  It is also described as “neither day nor night.”  It appears that the light of the sun will be diminished to the point that throughout the day there is darkness, but at evening time it will be light.  This light presumably coincides with the return of Christ to deliver Israel.  I would assume that all of this is in relation to Jerusalem time.  It is worth noting that Revelation 16 also speaks of the 5^th bowl being a darkness on the kingdom of the beast that causes pain.

Thus, the tribulation period will see these signs of blood, fire, vapors of smoke, the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood.  Those will be signs to those who are alive at that time just as the signs surrounding the life, death and resurrection of Jesus were signs to those alive back then.  The strange events of darkness and an earthquake that ripped the temple curtain had no doubt circulated among the visitors of Jerusalem.  They had been prepared to hear what the Spirit of God had to say, what Jesus had to say, through Peter on that day.

The key point of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Joel 2 and quoted here in Acts 2 is that it will introduce a time where everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.  The Hebrew word for “saved” can be translated as delivered, or even escaped.  Remember the context is about this looming judgment of the Day of the Lord.  Those who call upon the Lord will be delivered from that judgment and escape it.  This is what Jesus was saying in Luke 21:36, “Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.”  (NKJV).

Listen, friend.  God doesn’t just want to give you a golden ticket into heaven, or a badge of honor saying, “I’m saved!”  He wants you to escape that horrible day of judgment that is coming upon this world.  His promise is that all who put their faith in Jesus will prove worthy to escape that awful day.  No, we won’t escape persecutions and suffering in this life.  But we will escape the destruction that the powers of this age are orchestrating for humanity.  And, we will escape the destruction that God has determined upon them and those who stand with them as His wrath is poured out.

It is important to remain humble and understand the tension between being the survivors of this age and also being the overcomers.  Both concepts are critical for us as believers.  We are not victims.  We are those who will survive the most devastating things that will ever come upon the earth, and even more, we will be those who overcame the powers of the devil and his angels, and the kings and powers of this earth.  Amen!

Peter Preaches audio