Upon This Rock, Revival of the Five-Fold Ministry

Upon This Rock I will Build My Church

Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, 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. It was this divine

revelation of Jesus being the Christ (Messiah, Anointed One),

Son of the Living God, which gave Peter access to the keys of the

kingdom. It is by this same revelation that a young monk named

Marin Luther would declare and understand that the just shall

live by faith, thus beginning a reformation of the church.

This book is designed to continue the process of reformation,

as in the 16th Century, where a partial reformation began to take

place. Martin Luther, who we now realize was a prophet in his

own right, was given a doctorate of theology at the University of

Wittenberg (Germany) by the Electon Frederick, Duke of Saxony.

This degree Staupitius was conferred upon him in October 19,

18 Dr. Michael P. Sterling

1512. This divine revelation caused him to speak boldly against

certain indulgences, such as one could buy a soul from purgatory

for ten shillings and not a farthing less. This indulgence was

prefabricated in pretense by Pope Leo X, who succeeded after

Julius II. This Pope Leo X imposed such ridiculous practices on

the pretense of raising money for war against the Turks. Martin

Luther began to oppose the Pope, much like a latter day Amos,

who came to Bethel and heralded against King Jeroboam, King

of Israel, and Amaziah, the Priest of Bethel. This prophet, Martin

Luther, began the genesis of reformation. Martin Luther also

was the first to translate the New Testament into the German

language, which was September 1522. He studied the works

of Desiderius Erasmus who prepared important new Latin and

Greek editions of the New Testament. Martin Luther also finished

the Pentateuch in 1523, thus completing the entire bible and

publishing it in 1530. As we examine history we find that Martin

Luther was a step ahead of William Tyndale. His great defiance

was enacted as he nailed the 95th Thesis of Contention to the

Wittenberg church door, as he declared his intolerance against

the Roman Catholic corruption on Halloween night 1517. Martin

Luther died of natural causes although he was branded a heretic

by the Catholic Church. William Tyndale was not so lucky, and

was burned at the stake in the public square (1596).

Upon This Rock, Revival of the Five-Fold Ministry 19

As we examine church history we see a clear picture of

martyrdom. And in its wake men like John Wycliffe, who was

called the morning star of the Reformation era, who 200 years

prior criticized abuses and false teaching in the Catholic Church.

Yes, John Wycliffe, a professor at Oxford University, was expelled

from his teaching position by the Pope, who also after his death

exhumed his bones and had them burned. This is the price of

Reformation. Let us examine for a brief moment John Huss, using

Foxes Book of Martyrs as our source. John Huss was chosen as

the pastor of the Church of Bethlehem in Prague. He also held a

position as the Dean of Students and Rector at the University. He

along with John Wycliffe were known as the pre-reformers. His

teaching and revelation upset the pope, and he was also burned

at the stake like so many spirit filled saints of the time period. It

is noted in historical data that John Huss was heard singing in

the midst of the flames as he went on to glory.