Finally, a Response

Finally, a reader has attempted to provide a biblical basis for the apostolic-prophetic movement, per my request in my post Sept. 27.Here was my original question:“Where, in the Bible, is there any concept of an end-times army of Christians — led by apostles (with great authority) and prophets (with new revelation) — that will subdue God’s enemies and establish His kingdom on earth?”Under the comments, one poster said:My guess is that event that you speak of is based on the following verses:Jude 1:14-15 [14] Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, [15] to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” While I appreciate this poster's desire to provide a biblical basis for the movement, I don't see how he got the apostolic-prophetic movement from this passage. The context of this passage — and the entire book of Jude — is a warning to Christians about false teachers who had slipped into the church. Jude was urging Christians to contend for the faith that had already been revealed -- not to embrace the new teachings of these false teachers. Verses 14 and 15 speak of the false teachers' coming judgment, by Jesus together with his "holy ones." Some commentators have suggested that the "holy ones" are angels, and others have suggested that they are Christians. Read Jude here.Other Scripture passages refer to Jesus' second coming to judge the ungodly with the help of the angels, like 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Matthew 13:40-42 and Mark 8:38.Whether the holy ones are angels or saints isn't the important point here. The important point is that the Jude 1:14-15 passage is referring to Jesus' judgment at His second coming. It, in no way, supports the apostolic-prophetic movement. Of course, there is Scripture that shows that Christians will have a part in the final judgment (for example, see 1 Corinthians 6:3) — but that's when Christ returns, not before. Yet, advocates of this movement often define their current roles by quoting passages that speak of Jesus' second coming and the millennium.It's ironic that the book of Jude, which was written to urge Christians to hold to the faith that has already been delivered to the saints, is being used by supporters of the apostolic-prophetic movement to promote new teachings and new revelation — the very thing the book was warning about.