Some Stuff They May Not Have Covered in Christianity 101  Part VII

Age of Grace/Age of Gentiles/Church Age

Anyone who doesn’t understand the everlasting nature of the Abrahamic covenant can never see that there are separate programs in play, for the Nation of Israel and for the Gentile world, both of which will be fulfilled toward one unified end result.  The terms of the promises to Abraham are still in effect and yet to be fulfilled.  The Mosaic Covenant (law) was not done away-with, but rather fulfilled by Christ, and now the “New Covenant” of this present age, is one of Grace.  The New Covenant applies only during the Age of Grace/Church Age/Gentile Age (interchangeable terms) which spans the centuries from Pentecost to the Rapture.

Between the fall of Adam and the birth of Christ, the altar was a means of both pointing back to the fall of Adam (and thus all mankind) and pointing forward to Christ-the ultimate sacrifice.

Anyone who wants to understand the still-future events which are spoken of in prophecy,  Must realize that the time when Jesus walked the Earth as Himself the cornerstone of the church, was a singular, limited, and most of all, transitional phase of the history of God’s dealings with mankind and certain remarkable events and phenomenon’s took place for purposes that pertain solely to the Jews.

The reason this was so, is because for centuries, the Jews had lived under a certain “program” of maintaining right standing with God based on required rituals (circumcision), sacrifices, and feasts, and yet that was all about to change in ways which would not be easy for faithful Jews to comprehend and accept.  They did not all understand that those rituals, feasts, and sacrifices were just a (fore) shadow of what would, in the fullness of time (when the time was right) actually purchase their right-standing with God (which  of course was Christ’s own death).  In the same way communion now looks back, their sacrifices, feasts and rituals “looked forward”.  Jews had known for centuries to expect a Messiah, but they weren’t expecting for Him to die at the age of 33, only a few years after they (those that actually did so) discovered Him.  They knew only that He was to some day rule over them in perfect righteousness and end their persecution, but they didn’t know that wouldn’t happen just yet.  Had the Nation of Israel accepted Jesus as their Messiah when He came the first time, He would have set up His Kingdom then, but the rejection took place due to Israel’s “blindness in part”, which facilitated for the gospel to go out to non-Jews.  It was the plan all along.

The earliest Christians, being Jews, were  the only believers in history whose lives briefly straddled between two “programs” that encompass this transition. *If you do not hold this fact in your mind as you read Revelation, the Olivet Discourse and Daniel, it will result in the erroneous conclusion that the church will be in the tribulation*. 

The fact is; that the Apostles were this small handful (remnant) of  Jews who had not become blinded by legalism and self-righteousness (as the Scribes and Pharisees were), and the church is founded upon first Christ (the first-fruits), then the Apostles and Disciples- a faithful remnant of the Jews who did recognize the Messiah (Please see Romans 11:7-8) -all of this has huge bearing on why Jesus says certain things as he addresses these men because He is speaking to Christians-who- are -the -Jewish- remnant- faithful, both as Jews, and as members of the body of this new thing called the church.

 This is  the very KEY to understanding what future events apply to the Age of Grace (Jews and non-Jews in the present age) and which ones apply to the Seventieth Week-  (and thus NOT to the church, who will not be here during that time!

This is part of the meaning of “rightly dividing”.  We live in an age now where it is not appropriate as Christians, to go sacrifice animals in a temple.  It’s not that hard to differentiate the Old and New Testament differences, but there are also these differences within the New Testament and particularly as it relates to Revelation.

Romans 1:16 points out this order (Jew first, then non-Jew) when Paul says “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (or non-Jew).  Salvation through grace in this present age, was offered first to the Jews, and then to non-Jews.

The Jews-who-were-the-first-Christians, early on still saw themselves as superior to non-Jews, and their thinking still ran along the lines of keeping the law and their exclusive monopoly as “the elect”.  They had been conditioned to see non-Jews as fuel for the fires of hell, those “non-elect” Gentiles.  Let that sink in a minute.  Now think of Peter when he resisted going to the house of Cornelius.  Think of the way that the Angel of the Lord had to take a bit of a harsh tone with him, when he told Peter it was not his prerogative to call “unclean” what the Lord hath made clean.  This is all because a change was in effect, after hundreds of years doing things one way, now it was to be “another way”.

Transitional

This transition was a major, huge shift in “the way things are done” so much so that even Peter, who clearly loved Christ with his whole heart, was slow on the taking it in, just like all the others.   This is the reason the Bible says that “an evil generation seeketh after a sign”, and that signs were given “for the unbelieving Jews” who were always seeking a sign (Matt. 12:38, 1 Cor. 1:22)  The sign-gifts purpose was not for proving to these early Christians-who-were-Jews, that this change in program was legitimate and of the Lord, but rather for condemnation of the unbelieving Jews who considered themselves so knowledgeable and yet  wouldn’t recognize their Messiah who was standing right in front of them.  They already had their sign.  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you A SIGN; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name IMMANUEL. Isaiah 7:14

It wasn’t that they couldn’t see, it was that they wouldn’t.

Just as the law cannot save, but can only condemn, these signs merely underscore the unfaithfulness of the unfaithful Jews.

Only those without faith, require/desire a sign.  Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Through faith we are saved in this age of Grace, NOT through obedience and works.

The Divisions of Revelation

Dr. Oliver B. Green said “There are 66 books in the Bible, and every one has a key verse.  Sometimes the key is hanging on the very entrance of the book, and this is true of Revelation”.

1. “Write….the things which thou hast seen.” What John had just seen is recorded in verses 10-18.  Christ in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks (or lampstands) is the central object of these verses, and this is past tense.
2. “Write the thing…which are.”  These things are recorded in chapters 2 and 3.  In these chapters the professing church is traced throughout its stay upon this Earth from Pentecost to Rapture.  This is present tense and has been in progress since the Day of Pentecost.
3. “Write the things…”which shall be hereafter.”  The literal translation reads, “after these things,” or “the things which will happen after the church age.”  This third division begins with chapter 4 and continues through chapter twenty-two, verse five.  It is essentially the prophetic part of the book of Revelation.  The third division is all future.  The seals, the trumpets, the vials, Babylon, the marriage of the Lamb, the reign of the Antichrist, the Battle of Armageddon, the one thousand year reign of Christ (The Millennium), Satan’s imprisonment in the pit for that period of time…all these are future.  Everything from Revelation 4:1 throughout the rest of the book is yet to be fulfilled.

In this present hour (in 1970 when Pastor Green wrote the above statement, and even now in 2013 when I am writing about it) we are living between Revelation 3:7 and 3:20.  Even now Jesus is still knocking, wanting to come in, offering to be your Savior extending grace.   But the expiration date on that offer is drawing nearer every day.

The next thing that must happen before the fulfillment of the rest of Revelation, is the Rapture.

The difference between the visible church, and the Body, and “The Bride”

The rapture is not a reward.  It is a time of separating.  Christ will take out of this cursed Earth a “people” which is rightfully HIS. (For ye are no longer your own, for you have been bought with a price).  The dead first, then the living saints will be changed, wheat will be separated from chaff, children of God will be separated from children of the devil, husbands will be separated from wives, and babies in wombs will be separated from mothers, instantaneous! Like lightening, in the twinkling of an eye!

The rapture of this body is not partial.  All who belong to Christ will be taken up. For by one spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have all been made to drink of one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many. (1 Corinthians 12: 12-14)  We are all bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh. (Ephesians 5:30) and just like the first wife was bone of Adams bone and flesh of Adams flesh, and just as the traditional Christian wedding ceremony depicts the two flesh becoming one, we  become one flesh with Christ in the very instant that we are born again.  All born-again believers are baptized into one body through one baptism of one Spirit.  If the dead in Christ shall rise and meet Him in the air, they certainly can’t have been “looking for Him”.   Thus Hebrews 9:28 is not to be construed as meaning that only some “particularly prepared and waiting” members of the Body will go up in in the rapture, while others will be left to endure the tribulation.  Many members of the “visible and professing church”, will remain. (Those who believe in the same way that the devil does, practicing a form of godliness that denies the power thereof).  All spiritual-minded believers (that is, the mind that has been regenerated by spiritual re-birth, the mind of Christ having been formed in them) are looking for His coming, though granted, some are looking more eagerly than others.

If there is to be any kind of differentiation, merit, or special recognition of those who are true Christians, this will not be addressed by “raptured verses not raptured” but rather at a judgment that will take place in Heaven.  It is not a judgment to determine salvation, but for rewarding of “fruitfulness” by passing all the sum of our Earthly walk, through fire, to find out what, if anything, of eternal value we did with our lives. (More on this later in the series).

The distinction which is being made in Hebrews 9:28 is not about who is going to heaven based on how much effort they have put in, it is clearly established through out the New Testament that our works have nothing to do with our salvation itself.  The distinction in view here, as to who goes up in the rapture and who doesn’t, is predicated upon the mustard seed which grows to be a mighty tree in whose branches many birds of prey will nest.  The tiny beginnings of the visible church on earth, started there in Jerusalem with the 12 called apostles, and the other disciples in the immediate area, that is the tiny seed.  Even within the first 12 there was one bird of prey (Judas). The gospel went out, in obedience to the Great Commission, to the uttermost parts of the earth.  It was made clear from the beginning that  this “new thing” beginning in Jerusalem, would become huge, span the whole earth, and harbor those who would be present not because they knew they needed a savior, but for their own gain or even for opposition.  Birds of prey are exactly that.  They prey upon other living things.  Like scavengers and like parasites.  They will profess Christ.  They will teach, preach, “heal”, “cast out demons” in the name of Christ, and yet they will hear “depart from me I never knew you” when they do finally face Christ at the second resurrection.  They will not go up in the rapture (the first resurrection).  Because they are not, nor where they ever, a true part of the Body.  They are the birds of prey nesting in the branches, also known as “tares among the wheat”, which no one is qualified to sort out, but Christ Jesus Himself, and THAT is what He will do at the Rapture.  He will take the Wheat, and He will leave behind the chaff on the threshing floor to be burned.  The language of the New Testament does not overtly make a distinction for the readers benefit, strictly because the distinction has not yet been made and will only be made by  Christ Himself. 

The birds of prey sitting in the branches are those members of the church NOT looking for the Lord’s return.  They carry the label, they are members of the (visible) church in this world, but they are not members of the true church, they are merely there for whatever gain they can get, be it social interaction, upstanding reputation, a pool of business contacts, a feeling of power and influence or admiration, and even those who “make merchandise of the Gospel“.

In the parable of the Ten Virgins, the Ten virgins are not all Christians. The number ten represents power and authority in scripture.  All ten of these maidens potentially have the “power to become sons of God”: (John 1:12) , they are all eligible to be Christians.  Some may even be posing as Christians.  The whole ten represents the fact that all people during the age of grace are freely offered salvation by Grace.  The  Wise Virgins are simply and straight-forwardly the ones who accept the proffered grace.  The Foolish Virgins, then, are the ones who reject it and choose to remain condemned.

All were invited to the wedding, only five were found “worthy” and that was only because they had placed their faith in Christ, and accepted the unmerited favor purchased for them by Christ, and those five have the Holy Spirit dwelling within.

We cannot even recognize our need of Grace, except the Holy Spirit reveal it to us.  Thus, each of the maidens is “eligible” to be among the maidens waiting for the bridegroom.  But those who defy the Holy Spirit’s convicting witness of their sinful state before a Holy God, commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, essentially calling Him a liar. That is the unpardonable sin in the Age of Grace (Matthew 12:31).  The Holy Spirit then departs from them.  Many are called, few are chosen.  A covenant is an agreement between two.  In the Covenant of Grace, God provided His son as the sacrificial Lamb to buy your salvation.  Some choose to enter into the Covenant with God, and others don’t.  Both parties have to agree to the terms, but the terms of any Covenant with God, are set by God. Period!   It is the utmost of arrogance and foolishness for someone condemned to hell already (he that hath not the son is condemned already-John 3:18), to reject this gift from God of His very own only begotten Son.  Of course He is not going to take lightly the rejection of that gift purchased with Christ’s very blood!

I am going to be frank and blunt right here.  I have readers of this blog whom I care about, whom I know love the Lord, but who are confused on this point.  There are people who claim that the Holy Spirit must be received in some separate transaction, and will further contend, without scriptural support, that anyone who denies this separate “baptism of the Holy Spirit” such as myself, are the ones who are blaspheming the Holy Spirit.  This is how badly confusion has begun to prevail within the visible church.   I reiterate, for the record, the Bible speaks of being filled, as in “be continually filled”, an ongoing process wherein the Spirit eventually prevails over you and in you, in every aspect.  But when Jesus ascended, He sent the Holy Spirit to take His place and dwell with His people.  The early disciples were instructed to wait until that happened before they left to take the gospel out.  They received the Spirit in a “separate transaction” only because Jesus Himself had been with them in person previously.  It was a transitional and isolated time in history.  It is the Holy Spirit Himself who regenerates the inner man.

Those who preach a “receiving of the Holy Spirit” by some second post-salvation experience, cannot see the parable of the Ten Virgins for what it is.  And it contributes to the misconception that some Christians go up in the rapture while others do not.  But that teaching (of a partial rapture) does not line up with “the whole counsel” and the rest of what the Bible teaches about the purpose of the Tribulation.

There is a difference between having the Spirit within, and being FULL of the Spirit.  When one is full of the Spirit, the Spirit controls their thoughts, actions, speech, attitudes, and their walk. The Christian is more edified, as they feast on the Word, seek out time with the Lord, studying, praying, keeping their mind full of Christ.  New Christians have to learn to deny the flesh, die to self, and allow the Spirit to have pre-imminence in all these areas.  The fuller you are of the Holy Spirit, the more Christ-like you will become.( *)  Some Christians do experience this fullness sooner in their life, than others.  The wider one opens oneself up to the Holy Spirit, the more the Holy Spirit will fill him or her.  New Christians may not always realize that the relationship with Christ is a continual feast.   The more one seeks, knocks and asks, the more the Lord gives.  In all things, those who believe on Him must first believe that He is (Whom He says He is) and that He is the rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.  I went through many years of my life not at all aware that this richness and closeness of fellowship and communion with the Lord in Spirit, was available. It has been the very trials and tribulations of my life that have shaped my understanding of this.  The Christian has tribulation in this age of Grace, as a means to perfect (make complete) our faith.  The Tribulation of the Seventieth Week has a different purpose, specific to the Nation of Israel, God’s elect.

By the way, the oil which was used in lamps in that time when Jesus gave the Parable of the Virgins was olive oil, which is referred to as “illuminating oil”.  If you look up the Strong’s definition of the word for oil used in this passage, you will indeed see olive oil is the truer meaning of it.  Olive oil was also used in perfume (a sweet savor), and for medicinal purposes, (healing, comforting, sanitizing).

Did you know that Gethsemane means “oil-press” or “olive vat” in Hebrew?  Gethsemane, the garden Jesus specifically chose to pray in, asking for the Lord to prepare Him for what was ahead, was at the foot of the Mount of Olives.   Christ ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives. He also will return to the Mount of Olives when He returns at the end of the Tribulation!  The Olive Press is a symbol of Christ and His suffering, poured out for our healing!  So this oil has as much to do with Christ Himself, as the Holy Spirit.

The tribulation is not about the true church.  The birds of prey ( nestled in the branches of thevisible church) will remain here and become the core of the Harlot church, which will be dealt with by God (via the Antichrist) during the Tribulation.  The primary purpose of the tribulation is about the refining (purifying) of the Nation of Israel, in that Seventieth and final Week Daniel spoke of.

Read about the Jewish Wedding Customs and see the parallel to Christ and His bride- the Church HERE for some insight on the Bride and marriage as it was in the days these passages were written.

An important distinction to note: The tree that came of the tiny mustard seed (faith) is the Church.  The Fig Tree is always indicative of Israel. (Jeremiah 24)

Relationships between Daniel, Revelation, and the Olivet Discourse

When you compare Daniel 9:24-27 carefully with the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24: 1-35, you see that both passages are talking about the same period, and it has to do with the Jews.  Jesus in the Olivet discourse, is talking to these new Christians AS JEWS.  The program hadn’t changed yet, because  Messiah had not been cut off yet!  If you compare those passages to Revelation 6-18:24, you see all three passages are referring to the same period!

Daniel was given just a glimpse of the seventieth week, the disciples were given more detail, and then a much more complete Revelation was given to John on Patmos.

The book of Daniel deals with the Time of the Gentiles.  However, Daniel does not foresee the church, nor did any other Old Testament Prophet.  The church was a mystery, not revealed until it was revealed to Paul.  (See my previous post on Secrets and Mysteries revealed)

Stay tuned for more on Daniel and Revelation in coming installments of this series!

—————————————–

*Recommended post on this topic: Do You Look Like Jesus?