Jesus noted in John 4:34-38 that He had come to “FINISH THE FATHER’S WORK”–to reap the harvest God had begun in the Garden of Eden, the first part of which culminated in the formation of the “Church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). The second part of the work began on the Day of Pentecost, 31 A.D. with the establishment of the New Covenant Church. Jesus would complete the Father’s work through the ministries of the apostles and their disciples which would continue until the end of the age–His return to earth to rule and reign with His saints in the Kingdom of God. God’s true ministers–the prophets–had pointed His people toward eternal life while showing them how to attain it through their teachings and examples. Christ’s apostles picked up the mantel and carried it into the New Covenant era by emulating the ministries and lives of those prophets. This is brought out in Ephesians 2:20 where we are told that God’s church is built on the foundation (teachings) of the apostles AND THE PROPHETS. The apostles were tasked with building on the salvation foundation established by the “holy men of old” (2 Pet. 1:21). Jesus highlighted the importance of the prophets’ work in the church by stating that He had not come to destroy the Law or the (teachings of) the prophets (foundational doctrines), but rather to fulfill them (Mat. 5:17). That the Lord viewed the words of the prophets as equal to all future Scriptures is brought out by the following passages written to and about the New Covenant Church, passages which the Counterfeit Church rejects to her peril.

In 2 Peter 3:2 we are told that the words of the HOLY PROPHETS AND THE APOSTLES ARE THE SAME IN VALUE, TRUTH, ETC. Revelation 11:8 states that the prophets were God’s servants. First Corinthians 10:11 declares that what was written by the Old Testament prophets was written for “OUR (New Covenant Church’s) INSTRUCTION.” Paul backs up this statement by telling Timothy that “ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED BY GOD” and profitable for teaching, correcting, reproving and TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (2 Tim. 3:16). The “Scripture” Paul was referring to was the Old Testament–the New Testament would not come into existence until long after Paul and the other apostles had left the scene. These were the same “Scriptures” learned and obeyed by Timothy’s grandmother and mother (2 Tim. 1:5;3:15,16). In sum, the Old Testament prophets had prepared the field and sown the seed that Jesus had come to harvest and into which He sent His apostles as “lambs among wolves” (Mat. 10:16). Now let us identify the “seed” the prophets had sown that, by the time Jesus and His apostles arrived, had become the WHITE FIELDS READY FOR HARVESTING into which He was sending them.

In the parable of the sower, the sower sowed the Word of God (Mk. 4). His seeds were the Words that, if believed and obeyed, would lead to eternal life. Adam and Eve rejected the Lord’s seeds and believed Satan’s seeds. Their spiritual descendants (the Institutional Church), have followed in their footsteps. God’s seed-embracing, seed-obeying Hall of Fame is populated by such spiritual luminaries as Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, Abednego, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul and John the Baptist. The list, though short, continues to grow, though slowly. Though many are called (Israel) to walk the strait and narrow way of God’s Word (seed) that leads to eternal life, “few” are chosen by Him for doing so. “Many” prefer to walk through the wide gate and along the broad way (institutional Christendom) that leads to death (Mat. 7:13,14;11:14). The apostle’s job was to find those Israelites who hungered for righteousness, who would hear, believe and obey God’s Word of righteous- ness when it was declared to them. Having a history with God through their Israelite ancestors, they would recognize His Word when they heard it. A remnant of these would continue with Him until the end. In today’s world, these are the “few” who refuse to compromise with Satan, who have come out of his church system and are walking the way of obedience to God’s word/seed. These are those found in the WHITE FIELDS Jesus and His apostles came to harvest; these are the “sheaves” who populate His New Covenant Church.

It was to scattered Israel that the apostles were sent during the first two decades or so of their ministries. This is clearly brought out in Acts 2:36,39 where Peter instructed that the gospel go out first and foremost to “… all the house of Israel” whom he was referring to when he said that “… the promise (of salvation) is to you (Jews) and to your children and to ‘ALL WHO ARE AFAR OFF'” (all other Isralites). He went on to say (vs 40) that they had to save themselves from those who would keep them from com- to the Lord by obeying Him. The meaning is clear–the gospel was to go to the Jews first (the ministry of Jesus) (Rom. 1:16;2:9), then to scattered Israel. Jesus Himself ministered to the Jews; now He was sending His apostles out to tell “all the house of Israel” that their Messiah had come. A point of confu- sion revolves around the word “Greeks” in the Scriptures. As was pointed out earlier, these were Greekized/Helenized Jews who had adopted the life-style of the conquering Greeks under the leader- ship of Alexander the Great who had overtaken and subdued most of the Middle East in earlier times. These “Greeks” still attended Temple and synagogue services where many of them heard the Apostle Paul speak. In Acts 17:2 we find that it was Paul’s “manner” (custom) to preach in the synagogues on God’s Sabbath wherever God sent him. In the Temple and the synagogues he spoke to “Jews” as well as those referred to in verse 4 as “devout Greeks”–Jews who lived according to the Greek social culture. In verse 12 we are told that many Jews believed him, along with many honorable “Greeks.” In verse 17 we note that Paul faced resistance from both Jews and Greeks when preaching in the Temple and the synagogues. They, like their modern church counterparts, did not like what God was saying through His “apostle to the Gentiles.” To be continued. L.J.