Introduction

So far, we have studied the following

1. The Holy Spirit Is Here To Lead Us Into All Truth  (Part 1, Part 2)
     a. Aspect 1: To lead individuals to develop a relationship with the Truth 
     b. Aspect 2: To lead the church into all Truth 

Now after having the understanding of Entering Into The Truth. Lets move from individual into the church.

Pt 1.2: The H/S Is here to Lead The Church Into All Truth

The Holy Spirit is here to guide the church into all truth. That is to develop a deeper understanding of the truth. This is best seen in how they understood and explain the scriptures. In this example, we will look at how they explain the prophecy regarding the rebuilding of the temple.

“After this I will return
  And will rebuild the tabernacle
  of David, which has fallen down;
  I will rebuild its ruins,
  And I will set it up;
   So that the rest of mankind may
  seek the Lord,
  Even all the Gentiles who are called
  by My name,
  Says the Lord who does all these things.’”
  Known to God from eternity are all His works.
  Therefore I judge that we should not
  trouble those from among the Gentiles
  who are turning to God, “- James (Acts 15:16-19)

James was quoting the old testament scriptures and during the discussion about circumcision  during the counsel at Jerusalem. James quoted the scriptures regarding the rebuilding of the temple. His usage of the prophecy tells us that the apostles viewed the rebuilding of the temple to be more than a physical event. It also concern the establishment of the church.

Today many non believing or half believing Christian will discredit the new testament by accusing the apostles of quoting the scriptures out of context. But many of them do so because they were unable to understand how the Apostles was lead to the truth.

Let us examine how the apostles explained the prophecy of rebuilding the tent of David.

The basic textual understanding and the truth led by the Spirit

In its raw form, the prophecy was made by Amos. In its context, Amos was talking about the time after the first temple was destroyed. God was prophesying that the temple will be rebuilt. As far as the textual fulfilment of this prophecy, it is already fulfilled.

For we know as a historical fact of how God led the Jews to return from the Babylonian captivity.  Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah return to Jerusalem and the temple was rebuilt.

But the Holy Spirit lead the disciples to look at this prophecy at a deeper level. The Apostles saw a dimension into the truth regarding the prophecy. the prophecy is also about rebuilding of the temple in the latter days. That is the apostolic church built by the Holy Spirit.

For the old prophecy of Amos contains something else which was unfulfilled. That prophecy talks about the Gentiles coming in to the temple to worship God after it is rebuilt.

The fact is that after the Jews rebuilt the temple, there are not a lot of gentiles coming to follow the Lord. That part of the prophecy was not fulfilled. It is only fulfilled after the apostolic church is established by Jesus.

For God said he will rebuild the fallen tent of David, and this rebuilt tent is the Church. Through the church, God will save Israel as well as the gentiles. When Peter first  preached to the gentiles, he understood it, the apostles understood that as well. That is why they quoted the prophecy about rebuilding the fallen tent of David.

There understand that the gentiles who will enter the rebuilt tabernacle of David (that is the church). That understanding is not created out of thin air, they did not come up with the concept because they woke up on the wrong side of the bed . They took that understanding from the words of Jesus.

“Destroy this temple, and in
  three days I will raise it up.”- Jesus (Jn 2:19)

Initially the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant. Especially about the part that he will raise the temple. As far as they know, the temple was ready rebuilt. They extended the temple later and it took 46 years to complete that extension. How could the temple be destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days?

At that point of time, they are unable to understand or link that to the prophecy on Amos. 
But after  Jesus ascended to heaven, and poured the Holy Spirit onto the first Christian. Not long later the gospel is preached to the gentiles and the Holy Spirit fell on them even though they did not keep the Law of Moses. They finally understood and believed the scriptures.

For now indeed the gentiles are able to call onto the name of Jesus and be saved just like the Jews. That is when they understood what Jesus meant.  That is why John wrote this in his gospel. 

“But He was speaking of the
  temple of His body.  Therefore,
  when He had risen from the dead,
  His disciples remembered that He
  had said this to them; and they
  believed the Scripture and the word
  which Jesus had said.”- John (Jn 2:21-22)

At point of time, the scriptures referred to the old testament. These Christians believed in the scriptures as well as the words of Jesus. That is why you see them arriving at this understanding of the prophecy of Amos. 

 Was The Apostles Understanding Wrong?

So now we understand that Jesus was raising a spiritual temple which is the church. Today it is through the church God will save all of mankind. The Church must be built on the truth an dthe Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to both Jews and gentiles who did not follow the Mosaic covenant. The church is the body of Christ. These are all basic understanding  that the early Christians had as they preached the gospel.

Today many feel that this prophecy concerns us in the last days. But how do we fit into these prophecies?

We know as the matter of fact, the Apostolic Church did not last beyond the first century. By the beginning of the second century, the church had already departed from the truth.  Heresy had already crept in even at the time of Paul. And today anyone who believes in prophecies understood that the temple must be rebuilt before Christ will come. 

But now Jesus had not come, yet the temple was no longer true, so are the disciples wrong?

The Early Church And Her Belief About The End Times

To understand this, we need to consider another prophecy quoted by the Apostles.

“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
  ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
   That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
   Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
   Your young men shall see visions,
   Your old men shall dream dreams.
    And on My menservants and on My maidservants
   I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
  And they shall prophesy.” – Peter (Acts 2:16-18)

When The Holy Spirit first came on Pentecost, Peter quoted Prophet Joel. He claimed that the prophecy was fulfilled on the church. For in the end days, God will pour his Spirit onto his children. When that happens than the great and awesome day of the Lord will come.

At that point of time, the disciples felt that last days were close at hand, for the Holy Spirit had established the church. God is able to saved those who believe and they believed that the judgement day will come soon.

This is especially so as they have experienced the Holy Spirit that was given to them on Pentecost.  When Peter shared the prophecy, the Jews were cut to their heart,  they understood the prophecy and they saw the Holy Spirit poured down fulfilling that prophecy. They believed  that the great and awesome day of the Lord is at hand.

That is why in Acts we see them repenting, selling their earthly procession and went out to preach. For they believe that since the Holy Spirit is here, and the end of the world is coming. They wanted others to repent and believe in Jesus .

But today we know, the end of the world had not come, close to millennial had past, and Christ is not here yet. Who would have expected that the prophecy will span 2 millennial and still unfulfilled.

So is the prophecy Wrong? Are their understanding incorrect?

We know that the prophecy are true, but its just that they have not entered into that truth yet. Even at the time of Peter they have not entered into that level.

The Deeper Understanding Of The Descent Of The Holy Spirit

The deeper aspect that they have not seen, is the fact that the Holy Spirit will come in 2 periods. The first was at the time of the apostles, and the second time that is close to the end of time.

Why do I have the audacity to make such a proclamation? 

Let us go back to the Prophecy of Joel.

“Be glad then, you children of Zion,
  And rejoice in the Lord your God;
  For He has given you the former rain faithfully,
  And He will cause the rain to come down for you—
  The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.” – Joel  (Joel 2:23)

Joel talks about the 2 periods of rain. The Autumn rain starts from October to November, it is the time for sowing. After that comes the Spring rain which is March to April and its called the latter rain.

Joel is not talking about ordinary rain, for we know that as long as the earth moves, the rain will always come on time. There is little need to be joyful. But why did the prophecy say that they will rejoice?

Joel is not referring to the blessing of rain, but the Holy Spirit being poured out.  They will receive spiritual life.  Joel 2:28 was used by Peter in his sermon.  It says in Joel 2:31 the sun will be darkened, and the moon will be as blood  Then the great and awesome day of the Lord will come.

That is why we know that there are 2 period of rain, it will come, and the spiritual temple will be rebuilt. It will save those in the last days, then the great and awesome day of the Lord will come.

The Prophecy And Us Today

In our modern Era there are many churches, many of them teaches from the scriptures. their belief were all different, and they are all taken from the bible. How do we know if we are really in the right church?

Only by comparing our belief with the teaching of the apostles can we find the right church. Only if we open our hearts to God then the Holy Spirit can lead us to enter into the truth. On the personal level, we ought to esteem the leading of the Holy Spirit and continue to seek the truth. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and to compare the teaching of the church to see if what she teaches is according to the words of God.

But Will There Be Another Revival And Another Descent Of the Holy Spirit?

Some who are reading my point here will wonder, will there be a 3rd descent of the Holy Spirit? What if we are wrong? how can we be sure? If the revival is now, why is it that the churches are not perfect?

I am personally certain that there will not be a 3rd aspect. For so far I have based all my belief of the Old Testament prophecy based on the explanation of the apostles. So far we know that the apostles regarded the temple as the church. And Prophet Joel’s rain refer to the down pouring of the Holy Spirit.

We know as a matter of fact, there are 2 temples. One built in the time of  Solomon and one built in the time of Zerubbabel,. This is similar to the fact that Joel only mentioned 2 periods of rain. One was during the Apostolic Era (Autumn Rain) and today we are in the spring rain.

The Parallel In The Story Of Noahs Ark

Interestingly, there is a similar typology given in the story of Noah. Personally I do not believe in using prefiguration often. For I understand how prefiguration can be abused by men to push incorrect teaching. Before I share this I would like to emphasise this.

Prefigurations or typology should never be used to define belief or doctrines. Prefiguration must not be a result of imagination, it should be base according to the words of Jesus.  

With that understanding, let us examine the story of Noah.  

In Gen 8 Noah sent out the dove to check if the waters had resided. The order in which the animals were sent out coincides with the 3 period of times where the Holy Spirit work on the earth.

The dove is often used to refer to the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:16, Mk 1:10,Luke 3:22, John 1:32).

Jesus himself once said.

“ But as the days of Noah were,
  so also will the coming of the
  Son of Man be.”- Jesus (Matt 24:37)

It seem that the story of Noah had a deep connection with the last days. For in those day the people was evil and God had to judge the world. To save Noah, Noah had to build an ark according to the dimension and specification given to him by God. The ark is also a prefiguration of the salvation of God, and the need to adhere to the command and instruction of God for salvation.

As the story unfurled, Noah released the Dove 3 times.

On the first time, the waters were not cleared (Sin was still present) The dove was unable to find a place to rest. This is referring to the time of the Old Testament under the Mosaic covenant. The water had not resided, God salvation is not established fully and sin was not forgiven. The Dove was able to fly around but was unable to rest on anything. It could fly around but eventually it had to return to the ark.

The second time, the waters had partially resided, that coincides with the apostolic era. At that point of time the work of salvation is completed. The dove is able to bring back an olive branch, but yet it returned to the ark. This is similar to the Holy Spirit bringing the first fruits back to heaven. These are the first believers 

Now the third time, the dove is released, this time it did not return.  It will continue to work until the plan of salvation is complete. 

Conclusion

Usually i would choose not to share prefiguration’s, but I decided to share this today as i find that the typology matches the entire study that we have seen. I hope that readers will understand that my understanding is not built base on the prefiguration.

My understanding is first built on the words of Jesus and the apostles as well as the understanding of the prophet. When everything ties together,then it could be tied to a prefiguration.

In this case, it is the apostles who linked Joel with the pouring of the Holy Spirit, they were the ones who link the rebuilding of the temple to the church.  The link between Noah to the end days comes from Christ and if we believe in the words of Christ, we know that everything will happen according to what he had said. 

  Jesus once tell us

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree:
  When its branch has already become tender     
  and puts forth leaves, you know that summer
  is near. So you also, when you see all these things,
   know that it is near—at the doors!”-Jesus (Matt 24:32-33)

Jesus was talking about a geographical fact, that if the fig tree ripens, than summer is near. But what are the signs he is referring to?  He was referring to the signs of the end days which he had shared from Matt 24:1 onwards. If we really look at the signs we know that the time is near.

Revelations tell us that Jesus is at the door knocking and the time is running out. We need to open our hearts to God and allow him to lead us. Let us all prepare , and allow the Spirit of God to guide us. Let us pursue spiritual growth.

May God help us.