In this installment of Guidance for the End Times, we pick back up in the first chapter of the book of Acts at the 12th verse. In this installment, we will discuss the rest of chapter one. We encourage you to read the previous installments for admonition.
Return to Jerusalem
In verse 12, we see the disciples returning to Jerusalem as Jesus commanded them. Let us not lose sight of this important point. At this point, Jesus had ascended to heaven. His disciples had to decide whether or not they would be faithful to what He called them to do. Likewise, we must decide whether or not we are going to be faithful to what God has called all His children to do. Keep in mind that we are all called unto repentance (turning to God and His way of living); however, some of us will be called to more specialized work. Either way, you will be blessed if you are doing what the Lord requires until your death or until His return (Luke 12:43)
Take the time to read Luke 12:41-48. The Lord Jesus Christ requires us to carry out His orders until He returns. Those who are given more responsibility and knowledge of the truth are required to produce more, but we all are expected to produce based on what we know. Though the disciples fled when Jesus was arrested, they became truly faithful to Jesus. They could have walked away from their calling just like Judas. Instead, they went to Jerusalem as commanded.
Are you faithful like these disciples? If Jesus told you to stay somewhere, would you follow through or go your own way? In these end times, some may be compelled to flee to safer places without consulting God first. Please do not make this mistake. Some during the time of Jeremiah the prophet wanted to flee to Egypt out of fear of the king of Babylon, but God was against this endeavor (read Jer. 42 for proof). God has warned His servants of coming danger in the past and is still able to do so. Be humble enough to ask the Father where He wants you to be and how you can be of service to His work.
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” (Isa. 59:1) God is fully capable of saving your physical life if it is His will, but know that fear and faithlessness is sin. Read the second verse of this chapter and acknowledge that sin separates us from God. Do not be fearful of what is to come. Be faithful unto death if it is His will.
Also, notice that the disciples did not have to stay in Jerusalem forever. They were to stay until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Read Acts 1:4-5 for confirmation. Sometimes, God wants us to wait on Him before moving forward. God the Father will give you the power to carry out His will if you faithfully wait on Him!!!
With One Accord
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” (Acts 1:14)
Many read the previous verse and power through it as if it is insignificant. This verse contains powerful messages for the end times. Let’s identify some of the key points made in this verse.
- The word continued is translated from a Greek verb which has the same meaning as to be. It is about a state of being. The verse could read “These all were with one accord in prayer and supplication. Their state was of being in one accord.
- With one accord is translated from a Greek word meaning unanimously. This word is a compound of two other words meaning passion and at the same place or time. With one accord could have been translated passionately together. The disciples weren’t merely in agreement; they expressed the same passion simultaneously!
- Prayer and supplication are two different ways of communicating with God. Prayer is defined in the Greek as worship. Supplication is defined in the Greek as petitions. These men and women were praising God and making their requests known.
- The disciples, the women, and Jesus’ biological family were passionately together in worshipping God and asking Him to grant their requests.
It is important to point out that this was the behavior of the church before persecution started. They passionately gathered themselves together to worship God the Father and to ask Him to grant their requests. Persecution of the church ramps up after thousands of members were added (Acts 2:41; Acts 4:4; and Acts 8:1).
Please read Acts 1:15. It shows us that there were 120 people gathered passionately in prayer and supplication. Have Christians lost this passion? The early church behaved this way prior to persecution and continued to do so after persecution arose. Christians today seem to only come together when there is trouble. We must learn to be more like the early disciples who came before God passionately in times of peace and times of trouble. As the great tribulation approaches, the disciples in these end times must learn to assemble in passionate prayer and supplication for love, joy, peace, patience, and all the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25)
If you truly believe we are in the end times, then you should be gathering with believers more and more as you see the day of Christ approaching!! This is what the early disciples did because they were anxious for the return of Jesus Christ. Their eyes were on the coming kingdom of God!!!
Let God Decide
The end of the first chapter of the book of Acts teaches another important lesson that many gloss over when reading. Read Acts 1:15-26.
Peter stood up in the middle of the group to quote the book of Psalms. Many who read Psalms recognize that there are verses that apply to Jesus but they do not realize there are prophecies contained in the Psalms. Remember, Psalms were written by the prophets of God. The book of Psalms is not merely a book of hymns filled with praise and veneration of God. It is also a book of many prophecies, some to be fulfilled in the end times!
Sidenote: Because this series is focused on the book of Acts, we will only cover prophecies written in the book of Psalms as they pertain to the things written in the book of Acts. I encourage readers to study the prophecies of the book Psalms independently, as they a very inspiring and faith strengthening.! Read Psalms 2 as an example.
Peter quotes Psalms so that he could bring up the need to replace Judas. If you read these verses carefully there is a two-part decision made to select Judas’ replacement. This decision also came with the qualification of being present from Jesus’ baptism to His resurrection (verses 21-22). The first decision was made by the 120 disciples who were gathered (verse 23). The final decision was made by casting lots (verse 26).
The first instance of casting lots appears in the 16th chapter of the book of Leviticus, but to really understand how casting lots works you must read chapters 18 and 19 of the book of Joshua. The implication of these chapters is that an object (a small rock or piece of wood) is labelled in a way that represents a personage. This is a lot. These lots are combined in a vessel to be drawn or poured out one at a time.
During Joshua’s time, this system was used to assign divided land areas to each tribe of Israel. It appears that the purpose of using lots is to create an unbiased method of choosing. Most importantly, the lots system leaves the decision to God rather than man. In the case of dividing the Promised Land, using lots created a visual system in which all the tribes could see that the land was divided fairly and that God was responsible for the order in which the lots came out of the vessel (Josh 18:6-10). In the gospel accounts, it is recorded that the soldiers divided Jesus’ clothes and used lots to determine which soldier would receive a given portion of the clothing. Consequently, we can see this system was maintained for centuries.
When we look at the book of Acts, this same system is employed to determine who would replace Judas. The significance of using lots to make this decision is that the disciples left the decision to God. It is recorded that they prayed before casting the lot in Acts 1:24-25. Be sure to read these verses. This prayer shows the humility of the gathered disciples of Jesus Christ. They did not presumptuously decide for God who would become an apostle (one who is sent forth) of Jesus Christ. Remember, it was Jesus who chose the original twelve, but only after praying all night (Luke 6:12-13). Likewise, 120 of Jesus’ disciples were gathered praying prior to this decision being made. The choosing was left to God and not man!
What can we learn from their example and how does it apply to living in the end times? The obvious lesson to learn is humility. We must be wise enough to discern when a decision should not be left to the discretion of men! Our loving Father knows better than we do. We must be humble enough to come to Him in prayer when great decisions are to be made. In these trying times, many great decisions will need to be made, but we must go to God the Father and request Him to make the choice. To be clear, this does not mean sit around and wait for the answer. The disciples still had to cast the lots for the decision to be made; however, beseeching God to direct the decision is a critical step that many ignore.
Contemplate on the following examples:
The jurisdiction that you live in is becoming more unsafe or less free. You acknowledge that you need to move, but how do you choose a location?
A church leader has died and someone must continue the work. How is the next leader chosen? Is it through heritage or a vote? Is the selection process biblical?
A relative has died, leaving no will. How will that relative’s possessions be divided? What would be the fairest way to do so?
In the examples provided above, the method of making a decision could lead to catastrophe without consulting God the Father. Asking God to move in your life is a critical step that many Christians skip because they think they have a handle on the situation. You may have an idea of how to handle a situation but you do not know all of the possible outcomes for your actions neither do you truly have the power to make your plans come to pass. God can and will support your endeavors(if aligned with His will), but you must go before Him humbly to make your request known. Then you must leave the major decisions to His discretion, not your own. Many have experienced untold chaos due to leaving God the Father out of their decision-making process.
This example of the early disciples going to God and leaving the decision to Him appears several times in the book of Acts. Read Acts 6:1-6 and Acts 13:1-3 as two strong examples of this point.
Acts Chapter 1 Conclusions
For your edification, let’s review some of the lessons we have learned so far in this study of the book of Acts. Keep in mind that we want to apply these lessons in terms of the end times.
- The job of a Christian is to maintain the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Jesus preached that there is a kingdom coming that will rule the entire world with justice and judgment. Jesus is will be the King of that kingdom and the saints of God will rule under Him as prophesied in dozens of verses in your Bible. As things grow darker, Christians must maintain and promote this hope-filled message. This requires a Christian to maintain character and behavior consistent with this good news. There will be abundant peace and love in this world, but only when the kingdom of God is established on this earth!!! For more on this lesson, reread Guidance for the End Times: A Study of the Book of Acts (Part 1)
- Be eager to see the establishment of the kingdom of God!!! After learning more about the kingdom God will establish on this earth, the disciples asked Jesus would He be establishing the kingdom at that time. This was after spending 40 days learning from Jesus. Their faith was in the teaching of Jesus and they desired to see the kingdom. Christians in the end times should be just as eager, especially since we are able to see many of the end time prophecies come to pass. For more on this, reread Guidance for the End Times: A Study of the Book of Acts (Part 2)
- While keeping the kingdom of God at the forefront of our minds, Christians must guard against material distractions and personal desires. It is normal to have concerns and goals, but these things should not take precedence over the kingdom of God. Jesus taught “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” (Matt. 6:33) in regards to material concerns. Jesus warns us in the parable of the Sower and the Seed that some Christians will allow the word of God to be choked out by their lusts and material concerns. Do not allow this to happen to you or you will become unfruitful. Those that become unfruitful will be cut out by God the Father (John 15:1-2). For more on this, reread Guidance for the End Times: A Study of the Book of Acts (Part 2)
- God the Father requires that all Christians are fruitful in His word. Being fruitful is mostly about character development (read Gal. 5:22). Many ignore that character and behavior are symbiotic. The actions of a person originate from the character in his/her heart (Matt. 12:34-35; Matt. 15:18-19). If a Christian is fruitful, that fruit can be used to plant a seed (the word of God) into others. The word of God cannot be planted into others by unfruitful Christians!!! Read through the book of Acts to see the fruitfulness of the early church and how it was used to bring thousands unto God.
- Prophecy is given so that the saints of God can take comfort in the fact that God is in control of the outcome. Christians are given early warning of the things to come for our own benefit. Despite this fact, God has not given us every little detail about the events to come. Christians must accept that their loving Father knows best and will provide information as needed. We should learn to focus on what He asks us to do rather than speculate about details He did not give us. For more on this, reread Guidance for the End Times: A Study of the Book of Acts (Part 3).
- In conjunction with maintaining the gospel message preached by Jesus, Christians are responsible for preaching the same message. Jesus boldly preached that men must repent because the kingdom of God is coming and those who refuse to live a life pleasing to the Father will not enter that kingdom!!! It is good news that God will remove evil from this world and restore the harmony He originally established. This is what Jesus preached. Read Jesus’ parables!!! Christians should preach no other message!
- Jesus is the faithful and true witness!!! He preached the words that the Father told Him to preached. Likewise, Christians must preach the same words that Jesus preached. Christians do not have the discretion to change the message of the Father which was given to us through Jesus Christ. Prayerfully reread Guidance for the End Times: A Study of the Book of Acts (Part 3). Be sure to read all Bible verses listed.
- Christians must study what the return of Jesus will be like in order to avoid the coming deception concerning this event. Jesus warns of two deceptions lead by false christs and false prophets. The details of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ are discussed in Guidance for the End Times: A Study of the Book of Acts (Part 4). Please do not limit your study of the return of Jesus to that study. Personal Bible study time is your responsibility!!!
I have prayed that this series of Bible studies is a blessing to those who are reading. It is my purpose to strengthen the resolve of Christians in the end times. There are many lessons from the book of Acts that we can apply to the times we are living in! If you are watching and praying as the Lord commanded us in Luke 21:36, then you are aware that things are bad in this world and are prophesied to become worse than any other time in history (Mark 13:19). Jesus also warned us that many will fall away in the end times (Matt. 24:10-12). Each individual Christian must take responsibility for staying steadfast in the faith. Remember, he that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matt. 24:13).
The 2 Olive Trees 