Can you perform all 5 of the signs, miracles and wonders Jesus lays out in our NTEB Mark 16 Challenge? We invite you to try it and see how well you do!

Let’s get right into it, shall we? In the beginning of the Church Age, when the last of the apostles died, they were not replaced. The Bible was finished being written around the year 96 AD, and there has been exactly zero new biblical revelations from God since that time. Boatloads of revelation, wisdom and insight on what He spent 1,500 years to write, but no new revelation. There are no prophets, there are no apostles, and signs, miracles and wonders are not for believers in the age of grace.

“(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJB)

The main people promoting this false gospel of signs, miracles and wonders are a branch of the Charismatic Movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, and a more deluded bunch you have never seen. They stand on stage telling people to not pray when they or a loved one are sick, but to ‘claim your healing’ and all will be well. But sadly, real life in the Church Age doesn’t work like that. Bethel shaman Bill Johnson found that out when his ‘co-pastor’ wife Beni got sick with cancer. Despite years of teaching that Christians can just ‘claim their healing’, she was unable to claim hers. Does that make Bill Johnson a false teacher? It sure does, and a dangerous one at that.

Maybe you are one of those people who believe that signs, miracles and wonders are for today, and that reading this article is making you mad. If that’s you, take this little test and see how well you do. Remember that we are scoring on the 5-point must system, and that you must be able to do all 5 things Jesus says the people He is talking to can do. Buckle up and let’s take the test!

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Take The Mark 16 Challenge:

Doctrinally speaking, Jesus is addressing His disciples who are awaiting the installation of the literal, physical and visible Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. Prophetically, Jesus is speaking about the 144,000 witnesses that show up during the time of Jacob’s trouble. The people He is not speaking to is me and you living here in the Church Age, hence the whole point of taking this test in the first place.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:15-18 (KJB)

1. CASTING OUT DEVILS: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils” Start with that, can you cast out devils from the body of the afflicted person? To the people Jesus is speaking to, they absolutely can. First you have to be able to discern between demon possession and mental illness, can you do that, doctor? You might want to tread lightly with this one. But please feel free to take a shot, this is a favorite of Charismatics and Roman Catholics. In fact, back in 2019, the Vatican started giving courses in exorcisms to Christian pastors, what an amazing coincidence! (insert eye-roll here)
2. NEW TONGUES: “they shall speak with new tongues;” When was the last time that you, in the Spirit, were able to speak in a foreign language you did not know? I am not talking about the made-up nonsense of Kenneth Copeland and Rodney Howard Browne, I am talking about the biblical gift on tongues which, as Acts 2:5-12 shows us, is the ability to speak a known foreign language not previously known to the speaker. Comment below with story of when you did this, and what was said by you after the biblically-appointed interpreter – 1 Corinthians 14:26-30 – has translated what you said.
3. SNAKE HANDLING: “They shall take up serpents;” Can you handle venomous snakes, get bit and shake it off like Paul does in Acts 28:5? Why not? This is one of the signs, why can’t you do it? Pastor Jamie Coots of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church died after handling a snake because, well, snake handling is not for the Church Age. But please, feel free to prove me wrong. (seriously, don’t do it).
4. DRINKING POISON: “and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;” The snake handling and the poison drinking are both under the banner of “it shall not hurt them”. That said, how well would you fare with cyanide in your Diet Coke? Come on, man! So far, if you’re honest, you are 0-for-4. But the passage is talking about Revelation 8:11.
5. HEALING THE SICK: “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” I am still waiting for anyone to be able to do this, and if you can please email me, I have a few sick friends who could really use your gift. Of course, Jesus is referring to James 5:13-15, passages fulfilled during the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Who could do these things when Jesus said them? Why, the apostles of course, and Paul did them as did Peter and all the rest. We call this the ‘apostolic signs’, and to have them you have to be an apostle. No exceptions. These signs were used to bring in the Kingdom Age which did not happen after the murder of Stephen in Acts 7. These signs were also used to show the people that the apostles were who they said they were as the New Testament was being written. During the time of Jacob’s trouble, the 144,000 witnesses from Revelation 7:1-8 will have all of these signs, and will ‘finish the job’. You will notice that our modern-day false prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation healed exactly no one during the COVID pandemic, and the few that attempted to prophesy failed miserably. So the next time you are introduced to ‘Apostle So-and-So’, and ‘Prophet Fair-thee-well’, send them this link and ask them to take the test. Please be sure to post your score in the comments section so we can all see how much of an apostle you are. I’ve always wanted to meet one!

Meet some of the ‘apostles and prophets’ of the Charismatic Movement

These are the people who tell you that ‘signs, miracles and wonders’ are for today, watch them in action and tell me if you believe them. 

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

The beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 comprise the constitution of the coming Millennial Kingdom of King Jesus.

You can take any part of the Bible, Old or New Testament, and find some kind of a spiritual application you can make from it. But when it comes to doctrinal teachings, something that can be applied to born again Christians who are part of the Body of Christ, living in the Church Age, this is where Paul’s command in 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJB) to ‘rightly divide’ the scripture is so very important. The Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount are one of those great passages that have much spiritual benefit to souls living in the Church Age, but cannot be applied doctrinally as you will soon see.

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,” Matthew 5:1,2 (KJB)

At His First Advent, Jesus came to make a payment on the cross, as the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. At His Second Advent, He returns as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS with His Body the Church riding on white horses. This begins a dispensation known as the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, and as the name tells you, lasts for a 1,000-year period of time. It is then and there where the Kingdom of Heaven is established on the earth, finally, a literal, visible kingdom in Israel with Jesus on the throne in Jerusalem.

“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32,33 (KJB)

The blessings mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount constitute what life will be like during that time period, it is a constitution of that kingdom as prophesied in the Old Testament. It is not doctrine for Church Age believers, but a wonderful promise of what is to come when King Jesus is ruling in perfect righteousness.

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Beatitude #1

• “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 (KJB)
• “For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Isaiah 66:2 (KJB)

This first beatitude, or blessing, is for the ‘poor in spirit’, they are promised the Kingdom of Heaven which is the literal, visible and physical restored Israel where King Jesus will rule from the throne of David. In Acts 1:6, the Jewish apostles were looking for that Kingdom, and wanted to know when they might expect to receive it. Jesus told them to “wait”, and in 7 short chapters that wait was over, the Jews blew it, and the Church Age under the leadership of the arch-enemy Paul was ushered in. At the Second Advent, the Jews who are ‘poor in spirit’ after 7 years of Antichrist will finally get that kingdom.

Beatitude #2

• “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (KJB)
• “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” Isaiah 61:2 (KJB)

The first two verses of Isaiah 61 are some of the greatest verses anywhere in the Bible to show rightly dividing, giving you both Advents of Jesus Christ and using a comma after the word LORD to show the 2,000 period of the Church Age. Compare to Luke 4:18-21 and you will see what I mean. The Jews and Tribulation Saints that make it through that mess will indeed be mourning, knowing they missed the Rapture because of their rejection of the gospel of the grace of God. King Jesus will return and comfort them while at the same time stomping His enemies.

Beatitude #3

• “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 (KJB)
• “When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.” Psalm 76:9 (KJB)

In this third beatitude, Jesus is talking about the meek inheriting the earth. Is that what happens to the meek in 2023? Nope. In our day, the all-too trusting meek lose their life savings in email scams, get passed over for promotion on the job, and basically get the short end of the stick the majority of the time. Not so when King Jesus is on the throne! Psalm 76 shows you the Lord rising up to return to settle accounts, in that day the meek who trusted in Him wind up on top. You will also note that beautiful, little word ‘Selah’, denoting it takes place after the Rapture and during the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Beatitude #4

• “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 (KJB)
• “Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” Psalm 96:13 (KJB)

During the time of Jacob’s trouble, evil is ruling as the whole thing is handed over to Satan for a 7-year period, and true righteousness is quite hard to find. People in this time will be crying out for the Lord to step in and fix things, and He will but it won’t be till the Second Advent when He comes to judge the earth. See Revelation 6:9-11 for more context.

Beatitude #5

• “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (KJB)
• “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;” Psalm 18:25 (KJB)

In the Millennium, it will be a combination of faith plus works, if you want mercy you have to show mercy. In the time of Jacob’s trouble, showing people mercy will likely not have mercy returned unto them. The merciful will not obtain mercy until Jesus returns. Christians living in the Church Age do experience the mercy and grace of God, because we are living in the age of Grace. That said, the context of this fifth beatitude is certainly the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Beatitude #6

• “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 (KJB)
• “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” Psalm 24:4 (KJB)

Jesus here is telling of a day when the pure in heart will see God with their eyes, He will be standing right in front of them. That obviously is a Second Advent passage. Christians in the Church Age see Jesus through the eyes of faith only now, and must wait until death or the Rapture to see the Lord Jesus face to face.

Beatitude #7

• “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9 (KJB)
• “Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” Isaiah 27:5 (KJB)

Isaiah 27 is Second Advent all the way, starting off right around Revelation 12 and following. The ‘peace’ in view here is Israel and the Jews being restored when Jesus returns as verse 6 says “He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” That’s the peace that’s in view, for contrast see 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

Beatitude #8

• “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 (KJB)
• “And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.” Deuteronomy 30:7 (KJB)

Another great passage foretelling of the time when the Jews and Israel shall finally be regathered and restored under their true Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus was persecuted for righteousness sake, persecuted by the very people He came to save, the Jews. All through the gospel Jesus teaches the disciples that they will encounter much the same treatment that He did, and guess what? They sure did. Peter was crucified, Paul was beheaded, James was killed, and the list goes on and on.

Beatitude #9

• “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:11,12 (KJB)
• “Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.” Jeremiah 17:18 (KJB)

One of the main themes of the prophets all the way through is the mistreatment the children of God receive at the hands of others including from the fellow Jews. Jeremiah talked about that a lot because he was on the receiving end of it. Stephen in Acts 7:52 asks “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” Great question! Jesus says that people who endure that mistreat receive a reward, a reward paid when King Jesus is on the throne in Jerusalem.

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Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

CLICK NOW TO HELP US SEND THOUSANDS OF KING JAMES BIBLES INTO JAIL, PRISONS AND DETENTION CENTERS ALL ACROSS AMERICA!!

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

In Acts 13:48, the Bible shows us how God ordained and appointed the gospel to go to the Gentiles as prophesied in the Old Testament that they might believe, this is not a proof text for Calvinism.

I read an article earlier today called The Bible Verse That Made Me a Calvinist and it’s sad little story about a man who reads one verse in the book of the Acts of the Apostles and has the stunning revelation that yes, John Calvin was right about everything. So right, in fact, that the author decides, as John MacArthur teaches, that it’s John Calvin and not Paul who is actually the apostle to the Church Age, and it’s Calvin’s doctrine we are to follow. This type of result is typical of shallow study and sloppy exegesis, the antithesis of 2 Timothy 2:15.

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48 (KJB)

Someone once remarked that ‘a text without a context is a pretext for a proof text’, and that’s pretty much ‘right on the money’ as the Bible is filled with verses that, removed from the safe mooring of their context, yield wildly differing results. In Acts 13:44-52, the context is the hardness of the Jews hearts, and their refusal to believe the gospel. The Bible doesn’t say they can’t believe, it says they refused to believe, and because of their refusal, God turns to a group of people who will believe, the Gentiles. That the Gentiles would one day hear and believe the gospel is an Old Testament prophecy found in places like Isaiah 49:6 and Isaiah 60:3 in your King James Bible.

“Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” Acts 13:46 (KJB)

Calvinism may teach, and it does, that no one gets saved until God ‘regenerates you’ in order for you to be able to believe, and then you become born again after God ‘flips your switch’. But this is not what your Bible teaches, it says the opposite of that. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus calls out the Jews for refusing to believe Him and His teachings, clearly showing they could believe if they had wanted to. In Acts 28:23-27, our apostle Paul speaks something very similar to what Jesus said in Matthew, again placing all the responsibility for the disbelief of the Jews on themselves, and not on God for not ‘regenerating’ them. Then in verse 28, Paul gives us a key to unlock Acts 13:48 as we see here:

“Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.” Acts 28:28 (KJB)

What did God do? He ordained the gospel to go to the Gentiles, just like it did to Cornelius in Acts 10:1-44, He appointed them the opportunity to have the gospel preached to them that some might believe. The Bible is not saying that God ordained and appointed individuals to salvation before they believed the gospel, rather that He was no longer dealing just with Israel. Romans 10:9-17 is quite clear that a person becomes saved when they call upon the name of the Lord and confess Him as Saviour after they’ve had the gospel preached to them. Paul repeats this theme again in Ephesians 1:10-14 where he shows us that a person gets saved after they hear the gospel preached, they believe it, receive it, and then are “sealed unto the day of redemption“ by the Holy Spirit.

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Remember Cornelius? The Bible says that he was a ‘just man’ and one that ‘feareth God’, who had a ‘good report’ among all who knew him. But there was something pretty huge that Cornelius did not have, he wasn’t saved. So, God appeared to Peter and ordained him to go and give Cornelius the gospel on an appointed day, and that’s exactly what happened. Peter preached the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to Cornelius, and the man got saved after he believed what Peter preached. What does Calvinism have to say about any of this? Nothing, because there is not one iota of Calvinism anywhere needed to bring this about. Now let’s wrap this whole thing up, shall we?

“Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.” Acts 11:14 (KJB)

The Greek word used for ‘ordained’ is tetagmenoi which means ‘to put in order, to station, to place in a certain order, to arrange, to assign a place, to appoint’. This is just what God did when He turned to the Gentiles, as Paul says, and ordains or appoints them the opportunity to hear and believe the gospel. To come to any other conclusion is simply bowing to the filter of Calvinism, and being ‘willing ignorant’ of the abundance of scripture, rightly divided and in context, showing Calvin to be in grievous error. Don’t you make the same mistake.

John MacArthur Led 3,500 Pastors To Believe On John Calvin

This is typical MacArthur garbage. You will notice that Mac doesn’t defend Calvinism from the Bible, which you can’t do, but instead appeals to the “suffering and study” of Calvin as the reason why we should accept the private interpretation of Calvinism.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

CLICK NOW TO HELP US SEND THOUSANDS OF KING JAMES BIBLES INTO JAIL, PRISONS AND DETENTION CENTER ALL ACROSS AMERICA!!

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB