Apostles vs Super Apostles

A comment from ‘searching_sound_doctrine’ about Apostles, speaking in tongues and salvation:

“1) Do apostles still exist today or was that only for the 12 apostles that witnessed the first hand death and ressurection of jesus christ?
2) Are speaking in tongues for people today and is it always a heavenly language or can it mean something else?
3) I believe im saved but I still continue in my sins that ive been in since before becoming born again. i know that its impossible me not to sin, however how can i know for sure from scriptures that i am saved?

Deborah’s reply

Right let’s answer your questions and we will look at scripture to find the answers.

Q1. Do apostles still exist today or was that only for the 12 apostles that witnessed the first hand death and ressurection of jesus christ?

Eph 2:17-21 (KJV)
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

You, me and everyone else are “fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God”. The bible says Acts 2:42 “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Notice it’s past tense, we continue in the biblical doctrine presented to us by the Apostles.

The apostles and prophets are those mentioned in the bible and today we have the written record of their work in the Scriptures. It was the 12 Apostles and Prophets of the Old Testament who penning the Word of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus Christ’s resurrection.

We do not have modern day prophets and apostles because the church was built on the Apostles with Jesus Christ the Son of God as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-22) and after the Apostles, prophecy was done away with – it ceased. (1 Corinthians 13)

The office of Apostle ended with the Apostolic Age

Years ago we just had false teachers and preachers, now every false teacher has turned into an Apostles or Prophet giving themselves special authority in the Church. A heresy in which Satan and his ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) deceive believers through new revelation that attacks the direct authority of the written Word of God.

Acts 1:20-26 20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. 21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. 23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, 25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. 26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

The one and only requirement to be an Apostle was to be a witness to Christ’s resurrection. It is impossible for anyone to be an Apostle today. No one today has witnessed Jesus Christ resurrection. Matthias took the vacant office of Judas as a fulfillment of prophecy regarding Judas Iscariot. There are no other examples in the Bible of anyone succeeding as an Apostle. Even James the brother of John, who was the first Apostle to be martyred, was never replaced by anyone else.

Apostle Paul: Gifts of prophecy will be done away with.

The Apostolic age was a unique time of revelation when the New Testament Scriptures were written and prophetic utterances were given to the Twelve Apostles as well as some other believers for instance like the Apostle Paul. With the end of the Apostolic Age and the completion of the last book of the Bible, the written Word of God was perfectly complete and so all prophecy ceased.

1 Corinthians 13:8; 10 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

The last chapter of the Bible ended all prophecy.

Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

“The Revelation to the Apostle John is the final book in the Bible. It was written around 90AD. All the other Apostles had died and only the Apostle John was still living. When John penned the last sentence of Revelation, the Apostolic age was over. And with these last words he closed the canon of Holy Scripture; but with verse 22:18, he also soundly ended all prophecy and revelation. As it plainly states, no one is allowed to add to the prophecies of the book of Revelation. All Divinely revealed truth given to the Church concerning prophecy, revelation, doctrine, teaching, knowledge and practice was ended. Anyone who attempts to add to the written Word of God by claiming to have a new prophecy or revelation of any kind is a false prophet, a liar and a heretic. The Bible, understood through the counsel of the Holy Spirit, as it explains and interprets itself, is everything the man of God needs to be complete. Anything added is a false doctrine.”

http://freestockphotos.com/COMING1/ProphecyTodayFalse.html

2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Jesus defined false religion as adding or subtracting from the Word of God

Matthew 15:6-9 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. ( Isaiah 29:13)

The above is a definition of false teachers and their religion according to Jesus Christ Himself. By the time Jesus Christ had appeared, Judaism had virtually become a heathen religion. So much was added to it and subtracted from it by Rabbinical teachings, traditions and the so-called “oral law” that it barely resembled the faith that the godly men and women of the Hebrew Scriptures once believed in. The Lord sharply rebuked this type of apostasy and pointed out these heresies time and time again.

Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

This harsh condemnation was reserved for those who subverted the written Word by adding their extra Biblical teachings, practices and traditions. It shows the vital importance that Jesus Christ Himself put on keeping the Word of God unaltered, unfiltered and exclusive.

Matthew 7:15-16 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Please read this article: Are Prophets for Today or has Prophecy Ceased?

Does Jesus Christ mention who the church is built on?

Absolutely BY NAME:

Jesus Christ actually names his Apostles by person, who are the ones who were to establish the church and do miracles.

Matthew 10:1-8

Matt 10:1-8 (KJV)
1 And when He had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Then Jesus Christ appeared in a bright light (not in person) to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-43). The Apostle Paul was to go and preach to the Gentiles.

Today’s Apostles are what the Apostle Paul calls ‘super Apostles’ they want to be Apostles but they can’t be. ‘Chiefest Apostles’ or “Super-apostles” is the sarcastic title Paul gave to the false apostles who were troubling the Corinthian Church. Perhaps it was even a name they had taken for themselves, like C. Peter Wagner from the NAR who calls himself ‘Apostolic Ambassador’.

2 Corinthians 11:1-6

1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
6 But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.

As you can see false Apostles is not a new thing, they troubled the church 2000+ years ago.

So, listen to what the bible says not what some ‘super Apostle, wannabe Apostle’ tells you.

We do not need apostles living on earth today any more than we need Jesus Christ living on earth today! We have the Written Word of God, Jesus Christ in published form.

Apostolic succession is part of the Catholic church, they claimed the Apostle Peter as the first Pope. The Roman Catholic church who hijacked Peter’s name and called St Peter’s church after him, is not the Apostle Peter but Simon Peter Magus the magician.

These “Pentecostal” churches today are tentacles of the Roman Catholic church with it’s apostolic succession; with their apostles and prophets giving us NEW Revelation that is nowhere to be found in scripture. At Boshoff, Harold Weitsz, Mark Bredenkamp, Leon du Preez, et al, take a verse and create a whole new doctrine around one verse. That is not how you study and read the bible.

Please read this article: False Foundation of Five-Fold Ministry

Every Tom, Dick and Harry, Sally and Mary wants to be an apostle or prophet, they puff themselves up! If you are not speaking in tongues, trying to healing someone, or claiming to be a self appointed apostle or prophet because of some or another made up ‘mantle’ that now covers you, then there is something supposedly wrong with you? Well I say this, “there is something wrong with you if you think you are an apostle or prophet, because the real Apostles were witness to Jesus Christ’s resurrection – if your name is not in the Bible, then you are not an apostle/prophet.” End of story.

The utter confusion and blatant deception by “prophets and apostles”

If new revelation, new prophecies, dreams and visions are true today, then it means that any Christian who does not listen to them is rejecting the words of God. This in fact elevates these false teachings above the written Word of God and lets modern day false teachers claim special authority. This will of course leads to undermining the power and authority of the written Word as these false apostles and prophets introduce deceptive and totally destructive heresies; resulting in believers being led down another path to another Christ.

Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

Q2. Are speaking in tongues for people today and is it always a heavenly language or can it mean something else?

Please read article on speaking in tongues  and holy spirit vs unholy spirit of fire.  And PLEASE read all comments under both articles.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

That ‘perfection’ has come with the finished canon (that being the Bible) and thus prophecies (foretelling the future) and tongues have now ceased. The Apostles and Prophets mentioned in scripture laid the foundations for us – we have the Word of God, Jesus Christ (who is perfect) who is the Word (that is perfect) is with us. We only need preachers and teachers to preach the unadulterated truth of the Perfect Word of God and the Holy Spirit in each born again individual teaches us and leads us into all truth as well and gives us discernment.

Q3) I believe im saved but I still continue in my sins that ive been in since before becoming born again. i know that its impossible me not to sin, however how can i know for sure from scriptures that i am saved?

Only scripture can help you understand; this is from our Statement of Faith:

A Christian’s Walk
– By reason of Christ’s victory over sin and of His indwelling Spirit, all of the saved may and should experience deliverance from the power of sin by obedience to Romans 6:11.
– We deny that man’s sinful nature is ever eradicated during this life.
– As saints and members of the true Church we are to maintain a Christ-honoring testimony, separate from all forms of worldliness and apostasy, and to demonstrate obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and love to all men.
– Rom 6:6-14; Gal 5:16-25; Rom 8:37; 2 Cor 2:14; 10:2-5; Rom 12:1,2,9; 2 Cor 6:14-18; Eph 5:11; 1 Tim 6:20,21; Rom 6:13‭-‬14

See article: Latter Rain: Sons, Daughters Will Prophesy, But Not Yet…