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If you look carefully at the timeline in
the image, something is missing. You might even be able to identify the missing
part without taking the clue from the books of the bible indicated in the
bottom row.
Did you identify the missing part? Well, if
you don’t know about rightly dividing (2Tim.2:15), and you are not familiar
with the mystery doctrine of Paul, you would have needed the clue using the
book names in the bottom row. If this is you, then I want to encourage you to
take note and learn from this series of posts, as this will improve your interpretation
of scripture, and provide you a deeper and more profound understanding of the
Word of truth.
Now, let me start with the very first verse
in the bible. Believe it or not, but it contains a very important key to
understanding scripture,
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Answer Request:
Is Christ's Church built on Peter or all living stones of truth? Did God reveal the truth to Peter that Jesus is The Rock?
The Greek word translated "church" in the New Testament is ekklesia. A literal translation of ekklesia would be "a called-out assembly". Thus, when God calls one out, to separate them, it is for a purpose. In other words, there is a specific function that this entity should fulfil. For example, God separated the nation of Israel for a purpose. Israel can be identified as an ekklesia, (or church in modern English).
Deut.7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
Num.23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people [Israel] shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
What is my purpose for discussing this topic? Well, it is certainly not primary doctrine that we need to know and that can save us. But, it can inspire us and provide us with some sense of the greatness of God and His multi-layered creation. We know from scripture, and from our knowledge of the physical realm, that God is ordered and structured, so we can easily accept that when it comes to the invisible and metaphysical realms, this same order and structure would be maintained. We cannot measure and fully understand the nature of things in the spiritual realm, but the principles that govern that realm can be related to by our understanding of the realm in which we live. If we project our knowledge from this realm into the invisible, knowing that the physical realm is a mere shadow, or reflection, of the invisible realm, then we can only stand in awe and wonder at what we can expect to find when we, as the body of Christ, pass over into that realm at our call to come home (Romans 8:23). Remember, you and I have a heavenly destination. Our eternal purpose, as the body of Christ, is to govern this realm. So, this is why it is motivational and insightful to delve into this topic, even though we cannot even fully fathom the basics of it yet.
Genesis 1:1 famously starts with the statement, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...". In the context of this verse, we know that the heavens and the earth are the physical realms that God created. However, as we progress through this study, and in context with the verses we will target, you will notice that the words, heaven and earth, as well as starts, sand, spiritual and physical can represent different things. The context of the verse is important and will clarify whether the meaning represents the physical creation, or angels (demons) or actual celestial bodies, or even two different people groups. This will become evident as we progress. I'm simply giving you a heads up.
In the last two lessons, we've had a look at the necessity (or importance) of understanding and exercising right division in the Word. In this short post I simply want to ask the question, "Why is there a dual purpose in God's plan?" What is the reason why we have to split up the content in the Bible?
The answer lies in the design of God's plan. As in the image below, you'll see that the end of the plan involves two realms. The lower part (in blue) represents the 1000-year Millennial Kingdom, in which Christ will reign on earth. The part above that represents the heavens. We will look at these two realms in greater detail in the next post, but it is the fact that we have two realms that requires us to divide the Bible between two distinct and unique programs.
Two Programs for Two Realms (Part 3)
There have been so many revelations in my dispensational journey, and one of the first (and biggest) that I learned of was the understanding of TWO programs in God's great plan of redemption. One will not see, let alone understand, this concept of two programs unless one recognizes the divisions in scripture, 2 Tim.2:15. Without the divisions, everything will seem to flow into each other and merge with each other and then you miss the entire revelation all together!
Have you ever noticed that Old Testament and Gospel saints were NOT PROMISED HEAVEN as a destination? Instead they were promised an everlasting kingdom on earth. As a matter of fact, these saints never even had a concept of "going to heaven" when they died. The reason is because all through the Old Testament and prophecy it was spoken of a glorious new earthly kingdom; one which would be restored and refreshed as it was before.
