The supposition that the most important division of the
Bible is between the OLD and the NEW Testaments has often been expressed in the
statement: "The Old Testament is for the Jew; the New Testament is for
us." This is incorrect. First of all, the titles OLD and NEW Testament
are not accurate designations of the two sections of the Bible which they are
supposed to represent.
The covenant of THE LAW (later called the Old Testament or
the Covenant) was not made until 2500 years of human history had elapsed. The
Law was given by Moses (John 1:17). This was about 1500 B.C. and is recorded in
Exodus chapters nineteen and twenty. We are specifically
told concerning this period of time (i.e., "From Adam to Moses") that
there was no law (Romans 5:13-14), that is, the law had not as yet been given.
This means that there is not ONE WORD of the Old Testament
to be found in the Book of Genesis. Israel did not even emerge as a nation
until her deliverance from Egypt, which is described in the Book of Exodus. If
the Old
Testament is for he Jew and the New Testament is for us,
for whom was the Book of Genesis written?
As to the New Covenant; this was no made until the DEATH
of Christ (note Hebrews 9:15). This means the greater part of the four gospels
record covers OLD TESTAMENT ground rather than NEW TESTAMENT ground. It also
means that our Lord and His disciples all lived under the OLD COVENANT and were
subject to the Law of Moses. (Note Galatians 4:4 concerning this).
It should be noted that both the Old and New Testaments,
though they AFFECT us, were MADE with the THE NATION OF ISRAEL, and that the
New Covenant simply promises that Israel will one day render spontaneously the
obedience required of her under the Old Covenant
(Deuteronomy 5:1-3 & Jeremiah 31:31).
The most important division in the Bible is not between
the so-called OLD and NEW Testaments, but the most important division in the
Bible is between PROPHECY and the MYSTERY that was proclaimed by the Apostle
Paul.
It is interesting that in the beginning of our Bible we
read: "IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH." The
Holy Spirit could have said that God created the UNIVERSE, but He deliberately
made a distinction between THE HEAVENS and THE EARTH. This is because God had a
purpose concerning the earth quite distinct from His purpose concerning Heaven.
His purpose for THE EARTH and for Christ reigning upon it is the subject of
PROPHECY (Second Peter 1:16-19). His purpose concerning HEAVEN and our
exaltation there to be with Christ is the subject of THE MYSTERY (God's secret)
Notice this in Ephesians 2:4-10 and 3:1-4. Into these two great subjects is the
Bible divided. (Note Acts 3:21 and Romans 16:25).
Zechariah spoke concerning the Kingdom on earth in Luke
1:68-70. Peter also spoke of this earthly kingdom during his Pentecostal
ministry (Acts 3:21,24). But concerning the Body of Christ (God's Church for
this Dispensation), with its heavenly calling and position. not one word about
it is to be found in the pages of prophecy. God kept this great purpose for the
Heavens a secret until He was ready to bring the Body itself into being, and
then He revealed it first to the Apostle Paul. In his letter to the Romans,
Paul says that this Great purpose of God was "KEPT SECRET SINCE THE WORLD
BEGAN" (Romans 16:25. Notice what else Paul says about this Heavenly
program in First Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:5, 3:9 and Colossians 1:26.
Manifestly there is a great difference between that which
was "SPOKEN BY THE MOUTH OF ALL (of God's) HOLY PROPHETS SINCE THE WORLD
BEGAN" and that which was "KEPT SECRET SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN."
Prophecy
And The Messianic Kingdom
As we have seen, God's plan to establish the Messianic
kingdom was no secret to the Jews of Christ's day. The Kingdom is the very
theme of Old Testament prophecy and is described there in great detail. Some of
the principal facts to be noted in regard to it are as follows:
1. The Kingdom will be established ON EARTH (Psalms 2:8;
Isaiah 11:9; Jeremiah 2:5 & Isaiah 42:4). This was confirmed when, at
Christ's birth, the angels praised God in Luke 2:14. Our Lord, too, confirmed
it when He spoke in
Matthew 6:10.
The Kingdom which John the Baptist, our Lord, and the
Twelve apostles proclaimed as being "AT HAND" was "THE KINGDOM
OF HEAVEN" (Matthew 3:1-2, 4:17, 10:5-7) but it was to be set up ON EARTH.
Now, while its ESTABLISHMENT is held in abeyance, it is vested in Christ
Himself in Heaven (Colossian 1:13), but THE GOAL OF PROPHECY is the
ESTABLISHMENT of the Kingdom ON EARTH (Romans 11:25-29).
2. The Kingdom will be a THEOCRACY . God Himself will
reign in the person of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 9:6;
Zechariah 14:9,16).
3. The Kingdom will be centered at Jerusalem, Israel's
capital city (Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 24:23; Jeremiah 3:17 & Micah 5:2). This
was confirmed by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:32-33; by the Magi in Matthew
2:1-2 and by our Lord Himself in Matthew 19:28.
4. The Kingdom will extend to all the earth (Psalms 72:11;
Daniel 7:14; & Zechariah 8:22).
5. All Israel will then be saved (Jeremiah 31:34; Ezekiel
37:23 & Romans 11:26).
6. Israel's suffering and sorrow will then be over (Isaiah
40:2; 61:3 & 35:10.
7. Israel will then become a blessing to all nations
(Isaiah 60:3; & Zechariah 8:13,23).
8. Government will be purified (Isaiah 11:4;, 61:11 &
63:5).
9. War and bloodshed will be abolished (Isaiah 9:6 &
Isaiah 2:4).
It should be noted in connection with this promise that AT
THE END of this 1000 year reign of peace, Satan is "LOOSED FOR A LITTLE
SEASON." He will go out and deceive the whole world (that is, those who
were born during this 1000 years who never received the salvation Christ
provided for them) and will gather an army against Jerusalem. But, before they
can fire a shot. fire from heaven devours them and Satan himself is cast into
the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:7-10).
10. Health and long life will be restored to the human
race (Isaiah 35:5-6; 65:20). He who dies at one hundred years old will be
considered a child (he had the potential of living ten times that long) and
will have been accused because of sin (Romans 6:23) which will not be tolerated
at that time.
11. The animal creation will be tamed (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Wildness came into God's creation AFTER the Flood of Noah's day when man began
to kill them for food (Genesis 9:2-3)
12. The curse will be removed from the vegetable creation
(Isaiah 35:1-2; 6:7).
The
Prophetic Word And The Believers Today
All Scripture is equally important AS THE WORD OF GOD, and
all is profitable to the Man of God. Yet the thoughtful student of the Word
soon discovers that certain passages have a more DIRECT bearing upon other men than upon himself and are in that sense more important to
those DIRECTLY involved.
The command to keep the Passover, for example DIRECTLY
involved the Israelites under the law and was, in that sense, of greater
importance to them than to us.
In the same way prophecy (except Paul's) deals DIRECTLY
with Israel and the nations, not with the Body of Christ. While a deep interest
in the prophetic word is commendable, we must not forget that here is
never-the-less another great body of truth which more DIRECTLY concerns
us.
When God finally sat the nation of Israel aside, He said,
"BE IT KNOWN...THAT THE SALVATION OF GOD IS SENT UNTO THE GENTILES.."
(Acts 28:28). Therefore, Paul says, by inspiration, " I SPEAK TO YOU
GENTILES (Romans 11:13). Thus, while Israel and the Prophetic program are
temporarily set aside the Church of this age is made up pre- dominantly of
Gentiles in the flesh, with Paul as their Apostle. This is why the Apostle
speaks of "THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES" (Colossians 1:27) and
explains to the Gentile believers of today that blindness in part has happened
upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles come (Romans 11:25). When GOD'S
MYSTERY PROGRAM has run its course, God will again resume His dealings with
Israel and bring the prophetic program to a conclusion, as we see in Romans
11:26 and 27.
This interruption of he prophetic program must be borne in
mind in any consideration of the importance of the prophetic Word. While
prophecy is fully as important as any other part of the Scriptures, but we must
remember that it deals DIRECTLY with Israel and the nations, not
with the BODY OF CHRIST.
This is why it is PETER, not Paul, who speaks of Prophecy.
Note Second Peter 1:19. It is also interesting that it is JOHN who write about
PROPHECY in his introduction to the Book of revelation (Revelation 1:3)
Prophecy will always be a blessing to any individual who
studies ANY part of the Scriptures, but a special blessing will await those who
study the BOOK OF THE REVELATION and keeps in mind that its precepts pertain to
that day when the revelation of Christ, in His glory, will again be
"AT HAND" to be made manifest here ON EARTH .
Hence, it is important to remember that while all
Scripture is FOR US, Paul's epistles constitute our PRIVATE MAIL. It is Paul
who was specially chosen of God as the Apostle to the Gentiles and the one
through whom the Mystery was to be revealed.
What a pity that in this Dispensation of the Grace of God
the Church abounds with PROPHETIC EXPERTS, while "Experts" in
"THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES" are so rare!
(A 10 Minute Video)
How
God Saves Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read
Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
E-mail
this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends
No comments:
Post a Comment