Thunderings of an inner group

Under the heading “The Twelve Chosen,” Halley’s Bible Handbook (Henry H. Halley, 1927) reads, “Why Jesus chose Twelve we do not know. Of these three were an inner group . . .  Of the Twelve four were fishermen. One a publican. One a zealot. We do not know what the others were. All were Galileans, except Judas the betrayer. There was not one professional religionist in the group, not one who advertised his piety by the kind of clothes he wore.”

For the name James, Halley notes, “Older brother of John. Jesus named the two, ‘Boanerges’, Sons of Thunder. Doesn’t it indicate that possibly Jesus had a playful sense of humor? Not much is known of James. He was the first of the Twelve to die; killed by Herod, 44 A.D. Traditions are that most of the Twelve died as martyrs.

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The “little flock” from the Four Gospels was “the true Israel of God,” and was led by 12 leaders; the ones who will sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.

“The 12 princes that Numbers 1 and Isaiah 1 talk about being over the nation and restored in it; they were there, the princes in Israel, the leaders,” explains Jordan. “Peter, James and John represent those men and they later enter into an agreement that we will preach only to the circumcision; to the ‘little flock.’

“Reporting on Jesus’ choosing and commissioning of the 12 Apostles, Mark 3 says, [13] And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
[14] And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
[15] And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
[16] And Simon he surnamed Peter;
[17] And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

“Notice there are three of those 12 He gave special names. Now, it’s interesting that the three He surnamed are who? Peter, James and John. Who are we reading about in Galatians 2? Peter and John. Two of the guys He surnamed write I and II Peter; I, II and III John; the Book of Revelations and the gospel of John.

“Peter, James and John are that little triumvirate of guys who go with Christ; He takes them off  up into the Mount of Transfiguration and into the Garden of Gethsemane.

“J. Vernon McGee used to say these guys weren’t special; they just were extra-thickheaded and needed all that extra attention. That might be true, but they did get a lot of special attention.

“Now, you understand why Peter was surnamed. Matthew 16 reads, [17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
[19] And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

“The Messiah’s church is going to be built on a confession and on an understanding that Jesus is the Messiah. He’s the true vine and only those in Him are going to be the nation and get the kingdom.

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“James and John, as we’re told in Mark 3:17, ‘were surnamed Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder.’ What is thunder in the Bible? To be the son of something is to be the personification of it; the essence of it.

“When it says they’re going to be the personification of thunder, in the Bible thunder is a representation of the voice of God (Job 37 and Joel 3). Joel 3 says He’s going to roar forth; He’s going to thunder. In Revelation are the seven thunders.

“These two men are designed to be, set out especially to be, the voice of God. The literal personification of the voice of God to Israel.

“Acts 12 begins, ‘[1] Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
[2] And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

“Herod reaches out and takes James, who is the son of thunder. He’s the personification of the voice of God!

“Verses 21-22 say, [21] And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
[22] And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

“Who did Herod seek to be, by the way? HE wanted to be the voice of God. Herod, in rebellion against God, reaches out and strikes James down. Herod, a type of the Antichrist in the passage, is going to speak great swelling things, seeking to strike out against the voice of God, and literally seeks to destroy God’s message to Israel.

“After Herod killed James, it says, [3] And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

“He saw the Jews were pleased so he went out and got Peter and was going to do him in too, and in the rest of the passage you read about Christ coming and taking Peter and releasing him. Jesus Christ isn’t through with Peter. There’s something Peter needed yet to do.

“Also, John escapes death. There are two things left for John and Peter to do. One man, Peter, who represents the Rock, the foundation, and holds personally the keys, the authority of the kingdom, and the other who represent the voice of God speaking.

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“They do two things. One, they endorse Paul’s ministry in Acts 15. As Galatians 2:9 says, [9] And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

“Two, they write some very special instructions to those circumcision Believers living at that time, but living after their program had been interrupted. So, the things they wrote would have to be for the circumcision Believers once their program takes up again, which is future from where we are.

“They literally wrote some books in the one of the most unique periods of time in all of Bible history, the Book of Acts, where God had interrupted one program and started another program and yet the ‘little flock’ from that former program is still there.

“They write some books to prepare the people who are going to be in an exactly similar situation in the ages to come, after the dispensation of grace, but who are going to be aware there was a dispensation of grace.

“You understand, if all Israel had in the Bible to read and study was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, how in the world would they know how to explain Paul’s epistles and what happened for 2,000 years?! But all you have to do is read II Peter and see how he deals with it in great detail!”     

(new article tomorrow)