Governing authorities are gathered against the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the “Chief Cornerstone”.

Acts 4:5-12

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.” Acts 4:5-6

Peter and John were imprisoned overnight by the Jewish leaders for saying Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead by the power of God, as described in the previous post on Acts 4:1-4. In the morning, all of the Jewish leaders, and the family of the high priest, gathered at Jerusalem. Today, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are “imprisoned” to keep the Gospel of Jesus from spreading through the community. All of the governing authorities are gathered against Christianity from a local, state, national, and global level. That’s because they serve the beast that governs through their thoughts, words, actions, and feelings and they have no room in their heart for faith in Jesus Christ.

 “And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Acts 4:7

People who govern by power and might always see themselves as being the authority that all others must follow. The leaders of the Jewish people were exactly that way as they saw their authority as being above even the laws of Judaism that they said they represented. They made their authority more important than the word of God, and above the authority of Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter 23 is a whole chapter describing their corruption.

The Jewish leaders questioned Jesus directly about His authority, as quoted, “Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Matthew 21:23-27

Those who live and govern for today’s culture recognizes no other authority except the beast that gives them what to speak, do, think, and feel. When we speak of the testimony of Jesus Christ, they are quick to let us know that we have no authority to speak to them of their need to believe in God, to accept the forgiveness of Jesus Christ for unbelief, or to embrace the presence of the Holy Spirit. They are quick to say, “I know”, “I see”, or in any other ways boast, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelations 13:4

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.” Acts 4:8-10

Peter healed a crippled man and enabled him to walk into the temple, for all to see, as described in the posts on Acts 3:1-12. Peter, speaking from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, asked the Jewish leaders if he and John were being judged for doing that good deed for the helpless man. As followers of Jesus Christ, we spread the Good News for one purpose only, to enable people to walk in the Spirit and to leave the lifestyles rooted in gratifying the flesh and for materialistic gain. Are we being judged and “imprisoned” by today’s culture for doing that good deed in the name of Jesus? Yes, we are! They expect all people to be converted and to walk by the beastly entity that gives people what to speak, do, think, and feel.

When the Jewish leaders wanted to know by what power and whose name Peter and John enabled the cripple man to walk, Peter plainly said that the healing was done in the name of Jesus Christ, whom they crucified but God raised from the dead. As followers of Jesus Christ, that is our testimony, that in the name of Jesus we have been born-again, made whole by the Spirit and now walk with God by our faith in Jesus. Our born-again experience is the Gospel of Jesus written on our heart. The same One who made us whole is He whom today’s culture, which is global, puts to death. Even so, God has raised Him from the dead and will resurrect us from the dead into eternal life as well.

 “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’” Acts 4:11

Referring to the Jewish people, Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone of the Old Testament Scriptures, whom they rejected. The Scriptures prophesied about the coming of Jesus and His coming is the fulfillment of those prophesies. Without the Chief Cornerstone, trying to make sense of the Old Testament is like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle with a piece missing. Better yet, it is like trying to build a Jewish culture on the promise of the coming of their Messiah, without Jesus Christ, which is futile. That house will never be built without Jesus Christ; He is their Messiah whom they rejected.

Nowadays, many do not have a clue what a chief cornerstone is when talking about a building, that’s because the chief cornerstone is usually not used. That’s the same as not having a clue what it means for Jesus Christ to be the Chief Cornerstone of our soul. A chief cornerstone is the one building block on a corner of a building that all other blocks are aligned to. In that way, all the walls are in perfect alignment. In the same way, Jesus Christ puts our soul in perfect alignment with the will of God through the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the temple of God [our body] becomes skewed with fleshly and materialistic pursuits and we begin to crumble spiritually. Without Christ, people become misaligned by following the beast that replaces the spirit and opposes the Holy Spirit in order to give people what to speak, do, think, and feel.

The global government is trying to build a global culture without the Chief Cornerstone of Jesus Christ. This is like building the Tower of Babel, as described in the post on Genesis 11:1-9.

Below is an image of a chief cornerstone. The blocks to the left and right align with that cornerstone and so does the block on top. In that way, all the walls are built together in alignment.

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

If the Jewish people could accept Jesus as being the chief cornerstone of their Old Testament Scriptures, then they would be able to accept Him as the Christ and their Lord and Savior. For us who are born-again in the name of Jesus, and living in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we know Him as the source of Salvation. The laws of Judaism are definitely not the source of Salvation nor the giver of the Holy Spirit!

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11