Jesus Rules

Jesus stated, “Your house is left unto you desolate,” and ” There will not be one stone left upon another.” These are prophesies  of the coming destruction of the temple, which occurred in 70AD. The temple is where they worshiped and offered sacrifices, paid tithes, and offerings. This was church to the old covenant Israelites. Jesus claimed his rule and authority to the temple priest,scribes, and pharisees. They rejected his rulership and crucified him. After his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus established a new covenant in which his followers could worship God in spirit and truth. No more temple made with hands.  No more tithes and offerings. No more sacrifices. Jesus also commanded his followers not to take a title, not to take money, not to elevate oneself but to treat each other as brothers. A true follower of Jesus would obey his commands.

If the modern church is obeying his commands, then he would endorse it. They have built buildings with their hands, set people in authority, took titles, elevated themselves, took tithes and offerings, and set themselves as shepards over God’s people. Teaching false doctrine and commandments of men. Taking wages for their services in direct opposition to the commandments of Jesus. The very system that Jesus brought down and condemned has been set up again in modern Christianity.

You can have a personal relationship with God through Jesus, who made a new covenant signed with his blood. His commands can be found in the Bible under the New Testament writings. The Old Covenant or Testament has been abolished along with its buildings and priests and practices. True worship is done in the spirit, inwardly, not outward at an altar call. Seek, and you will find.

I was told early in my walk towards Jesus, not to worry about what the adversary was doing, just go to church and follow what God is doing. I’m not sure if that was good advice. Knowing what the opposition is doing seems to be a better choice. The Apostle Paul says to put on the full armor of God to  quench the fiery darts of the enemy. If someone is throwing fiery darts at me, it seems reasonable to want to know when and where they are coming. Satan’s main weapon is deception. The Bible says he can deceive even the elect. If you think that you are not being deceived on every level, you are deceiving yourself. Our adversary is far more intelligent than we are. Paul says not to have fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness but expose them. How are we to expose them with our head in the sand. Satan has infiltrated our churches, government, schools, and medical systems,music industry, and movies. If you think he only targeted the less fortunate in society, you would be sorely wrong. People have seriously underestimated the scope of Satan’s control. We all have to answer to God Almighty someday, and ignorance of these matters won’t be acceptable. Choosing to follow Jesus is denying the world and what the world has to offer. Satan runs the show now, but his time is limited. Knowing his trickery and deceptions are crucial. If it didn’t matter, why would he go through so much trouble to deceive us. It definitely matters.

Knowing your enemy is your only way of exposing his tactics and protecting yourself. There is a war going on, and our eternal destiny is at hand. I don’t think it’s wise to take this lightly or trust other people, like religious leaders, to direct our paths.  We need to listen to Jesus and follow his commands. He made many rules for righteous living and says, ” I will know you’re my disciples if you follow my commands,” and,”You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Chapter 10

The second chapter of the book of Acts records a prophesy concerning the end of time. Not the end of time, literally, but the end of the age. This end is the complete fulfillment of the ministry of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross fulfilled the requirements of the Old Covenant and issued in a New Covenant or contract. This new covenant would include the imminent return, the marriage supper of the lamb,the rapture, the destruction of Jerusalem, the resurrection of the saints, and the 1000 year reign of Christ. Also, this came with new commands from Jesus, what I call Jesus Rules. I’m getting ahead of things. Let’s look at the prophesy read by Peter from the book of the prophet Joel.

(It will be in the last days, say the Most High God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and they will prophesy.)Peter then says, this Jesus God raised up, to which we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God and having received from the Father,  the Holy Spirit, which you now see and hear. Peter is claiming that this prophesy about Jesus is literally coming to fruition at the time of Pentecost. He obviously believes this to be true and even confirms that they sold everything they had and were waiting for his return. Again, they believed it was at hand,the end of the age,the last days.

This would be a weird thing to say if it wasn’t true. How were they speaking in different languages previously unknown to them. They converted many followers that day. Were they all in on it. The great hoax,the cruel joke. What would they have to gain? Everyone who joined gave them their possessions. Maybe for the money? Maybe because they believed Jesus and really experienced the supernatural. I haven’t seen anything like this in 2024. If we’re in the last days, like the church claims, I would love to witness something extraordinary like this! I would recommend reading this whole chapter in Acts. There are more prophesies,some about the sun and moon that would have to soon  follow if this was a legitimate fulfillment of prophesy. He also exhorted them,saying, “Save yourself from this crooked generation!”

If someone were to ask me if I believe in the supernatural, I would say… Did Jesus? He certainly performed supernatural miracles all the time. He fed 5000 people with no more than a handful of fish and bread. Healed people with various diseases and caused a man’s hand to grow back. He raised the dead on more than one occasion. He healed a soldier who had his ear cut off by Peter.

Moses was also performing supernatural miracles. Parting a sea is impressive. Not to forget the plagues of Egypt. The prophet Elijah brought fire down from heaven multiple times. The disciples of Jesus were casting out demons and healing all kinds of various diseases and also raising the dead.

So why is it so hard to believe in the supernatural today. If you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and you are going to be raised incorruptible, just as he was, why wouldn’t you believe in the supernatural. People will laugh at someone for believing that Satan has control over this world. His main goal is deception. He also has supernatural abilities.  He can disguise himself in supernatural ways, not just a costume. He took Jesus to various places during his temptation, and he didn’t need a plane ticket. How can we believe this story but deny supernatural activities today? The whole Bible is supernatural. All the stories, a virgin birth, talking donkey, hardened hearts, star of Bethlehem, pillars of smoke, talking snake, giants, writing on the wall by the finger of God. And on and on.

I almost forgot the angels. They can burn your town to the  ground in a very short time. They ministered to Jesus in the wilderness, let Peter out of prison, fought heavenly and earthly battles. Although they were unseen by most. The people who did see them were terrified!

So if someone asked me, I would say YES. I most certainly believe there is more going on here than meets the eye. So, if someone says they think the Bible is supernaturally changing or there are demon possessed people around or we might be living in Satan’s little season, I don’t disregard it. And if you’re a Christian and believe you’re going to die and be resurrected or raptured or translated, and the New Jerusalem is going to desend out off Heaven, that ain’t natural.

Chapter 6

The next prophesy Jesus gives is that he must suffer and die, and on the third day, be raised from dead. Peter wasn’t accepting this at all. He couldn’t believe it, so Jesus rebuked him. Then he told them that whoever tries to save his life will lose it,and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Jesus also said,”If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself , and take up his cross and follow me.”

Jesus is telling his followers to deny themselves and give up their lives, just as he is going to do. Again, Jesus is convincing them to leave everything, including their lives. This is a remarkable command but not as striking as the next prophesy!

Jesus claims that he will come in the glory of his Father and his angels, and he will reward everyone according to their faithfulness in this command. Then he stated,”Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste of death until they see me coming in my kingdom.”He just said that some standing there wouldn’t die until his return. That is, no doubt, imminent. If he hasn’t returned yet, are they still alive today?  Or did he just speak a false prophesy. It can’t be both. Either he returned, or they’re still alive.

He couldn’t have been talking about dreams or visions. He wasn’t talking about the transfiguration. The transfiguration was about the law and the prophets being fulfilled. He was prophesying his return in their lifetime. Is he a liar or a false prophet? Maybe he  got it wrong, Oops. Maybe he did return. He certainly believed this to be true. If it was a cruel joke, was he willing to die for it? I’m sure there’s more to the story, let’s see.

Chapter 8

Jesus sends out his disciples to preach to the lost sheep of Israel. He instructed them to preach, “Repent,for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” At hand sounds imminent. He goes on to say that they, his disciples, would be persecuted for their words. If they don’t listen to you or receive you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than that city. Jesus is prophesying that the Kingdom is coming in their lifetime and  those cities that they are speaking to will be judged.

Jesus literally sends his friends out as sheep among wolves.  They are going to be scourged,beating, and brought before governors and kings for his name’s sake. And even put to death! These things he told them would happen, and their reward would be great. For he who endures till the end will be saved. This is serious stuff. If he isn’t a prophet and has no authority to do this, he just sent these men out to die.

I can see that he’s not speaking to anyone else except to the lost sheep of Israel. He told them not to preach in any city of the Samaritans or of the Gentiles. This is a prophesy directed at Israel. Plain and simple. Telling them to repent,for the Kingdom of God, is at hand or imminent.

This most certainly would be considered a cruel joke if he doesn’t follow through with his words of prophesy. Telling everyone the kingdom is being ushered in and giving your life for it. These men had families. I have to add that they were given power to heal the sick and even raise the dead, which would really strengthen your faith. I don’t know of anyone today who’s doing that. If this prophesy was for us, today, who is raising the dead! No one. If this is an end time prophesy and we are living in the end times like the church teaches today, I want to see the lame walk, lepers cleansed, and the dead raised to life! Maybe we’re living in the age of deception, Satan’s short season spoken of in Revelation 20? I need more evidence. Let’s look at some more prophesies.

#6 Sin is the transgression of the law. The Torah is the law. The requirements of the law include animal sacrifice, lunar sabbath observance, tithes to priests, sin offerings, peace offerings,and trespass offerings. 613 laws in total.  To break even one is  transgression of the law. The wages of sin,”transgression of the law, or Torah,” is death. You can follow the law,but you are bound by it and judged by it. You can’t just follow some of it.  Jesus fulfilled the law and established a new covenant. Now we can be free from the law and bound by grace and faith in Jesus. This is the good news of the gospel.

Chapter 7

This next chapter is quite long,so I’ll condense it. The disciples asked Jesus for a sign of his coming and the end of the age. He replied to them with a lot of information and signs. What is notable is he addressed everything to them specifically, what they should look for. He wanted his disciples to know and be ready. If it wasn’t for them, he would have said, “They,” not “You.” Jesus seems to be a smart guy, I’m sure he knew the difference between “You” and “They” or “Them.”

Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. Then they will deliver you up to oppression and kill you. You will be hated by all nations for my names sake. When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, standing in the Holy place,let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Even so, you also,when you see all these things ,know that it is at the doors. Most certainly, I tell you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things are accomplished.”

Jesus often addressed this sinful and adulterous generation. Speaking of the scibes and pharisees. He describes Jerusalem as the whore of Babylon. He even stated that the men of Nineveh would stand up in judgment against this generation and condemn it. So he prophesied a great deal here, and it looks like he knows exactly what’s going to happen to this generation. Not some other generation. He had a real issue with their generation and said the temple would be thrown down. Not one stone left on another. He is clearly addressing them,not us today.

This prophesy did come to pass in 70 AD. The Romans destroyed the temple in 70AD, confirmed by historians. We can say he was talking to them, and he was accurate in his statement. I would dare say that everything he prophesied in Matthew 24 happened just as he said. We still have more to look at, but this is an amazing prophesy! But what about his return?

Chapter 9

Jesus had made many prophesies before the cross. He even made some after. In the book of Revelation, he continues to make prophetic statements, spoken through the Apostle John. As an overview, Jesus preached the good news that the kingdom was at hand. Sell all your possessions, preach the message, suffer, and maybe die, while entering great tribulation and wait patiently for his return.

There’s no question Jesus said he would return in their lifetime. I don’t know of anyone who would dispute this. Even the church today would agree. They say ‘the modern church ‘ that he didn’t know. He hadn’t ascended yet. Only the Father knows the day and hour. So why make such audacious statements and deceive his disciples. The day and hour are far from a specific year. Did he know the year? He claimed that their generation wouldn’t die until he returned and ended the temple system.

We can still look at more from Jesus and his disciples while they were waiting.  Jesus speaks to the churches in Asia Minor,which were real churches in his time, and spoke to them directly, through prophesy. If this was a cruel joke, he had accomplices, like John and Paul. Either that or they were delusional. They have things to say,so let get to it!

Chapter 5

You will be hated by all men for my names sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee to the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man has come.

Jesus is prophesying that he will return before they can go through all the cities of Israel. He claims that , most certainty, this will happen. This is a statement of imminence. He leaves no room for added time. Not unless it takes thousands of years to go through Israel? I wouldn’t think so.

Jesus is speaking to his followers in front of him. In their generation. He is also telling them they are going to go through tribulation. He who endures till the end sounds like it could be intense persecution. History tells us they did suffer severe persecution. So half of this prophesy definitely came to pass. This definitely proves he was talking to them, not some far off ,in the future generation.