Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 10): Understanding God’s Timeline and the Gospel of the Kingdom

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 10): Understanding God’s Timeline and the Gospel of the Kingdom

The Division and Purpose of Time

Time is not an endless, directionless stream. God, who exists outside of time, created it with a definite beginning and has ordained a specific end toward which all creation moves. Throughout the ages, God has divided time into distinct dispensations—specific periods wherein He reveals His purposed will and deals with mankind under definite conditions. The scriptures declare that God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has meticulously ordered the ages according to His eternal purpose in Jesus Christ (Heb.1:1; Eph.3:11).

To understand the Bible, one must first recognize that chronology is central to divine revelation. There was a period from Adam to Moses where men lived without the written law, followed by a period where Israel was placed under the schoolmaster of the Law of Moses until the fullness of time brought forth the Son of God (Gal.4:4). Solomon observed that to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven, noting that God hath made every thing beautiful in his time (Eccl.3:1,11). The work of God spans from the beginning to the end, and when time has run its complete course, creation will rest in the eternal purpose established in Christ before the world began (Eccl.3:11; Eph.1:4).

Believers who handle the Word of Truth are expected to discern the times. Rom.13:11 instructs believers that knowing the time, now it is high time to awake out of sleep. Knowing where a passage sits within God's progressively revealed timeline prevents the confusion that arises when later revelations are forced back into earlier time periods. When reading the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, one must approach the text sequentially, understanding what was revealed up to that point without anticipating advanced revelations given only after Christ’s ascension.

The Prophetic Framework of Daniel’s 70 Weeks

A core pillar of God’s timeline regarding the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem is found in the prophecy of Daniel’s seventy weeks (Dan.9:24-27). God explicitly determined seventy weeks—periods of years—upon Daniel's people and upon the holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. This prophetic clock is divided into three distinct time segments.

The first segment comprised seven weeks, or forty-nine years, beginning with the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. During this initial period, the street and wall were built again, even in troublous times, fulfilling the first portion of the decree. Following this, a second period of sixty-two weeks, total listing four hundred and thirty-four years, ran its course leading up to the public manifestation of Messiah the Prince. Together, these sixty-nine weeks accounted for four hundred and eighty-three years of fulfilled prophecy on Israel’s calendar.

The final remaining segment is the seventieth week—a seven-year period reserved for a time of unprecedented wrath and trouble such as never was since there was a nation (Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21). Prophecy details a coming prince who will magnify himself above all that is called God, speaking great blasphemies and making war against the saints of the Most High (Dan.7:25, 11:36). This impending period of desolation was fully anticipated in Old Testament prophecy as the final stage preceding the establishment of the promised kingdom.

"From That Time": Christ’s Preaching in Matthew

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 5): Leviticus 26 and the Five Courses of Punishment

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 5): Leviticus 26 and the Five Courses of Punishment

The Neglected Foundation of Old Testament History

Leviticus is easily one of those books that believers dread coming across as they read through their Bibles. It feels like a rough, tedious read filled with measurements, sacrifices, and ritual details that seem far removed from modern life. Yet tucked away within this neglected book lies crucial information that acts as the key to understanding the rest of Scripture. When readers skip or ignore Leviticus, they end up completely lost when they arrive at Judges, Kings, and the Prophets.

Without this foundational knowledge, people even misunderstand the Gospels. Many assume that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John mark the sudden birth of Christianity, entirely detached from what came before. But when John the Baptist appears announcing One who will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire, he is speaking directly to a nation formed under God’s law. The fire he speaks of is not a spiritual blessing to be begged for in a modern service; it refers to divine purging and judgment upon a nation that failed its covenant. The axe was laid to the root of the tree, and every tree bringing not forth good fruit would be cast into the fire. To understand why such warnings were declared, one must return to the structural foundation laid down in Leviticus 26.

Leviticus 26 outlines what is known as the five courses of punishment. These chastisements formed a direct part of the Mosaic covenant established between God and Israel. If Israel refused to keep the covenant and obey God's law, five distinct periods of divine correction would follow to chasten and reform them. Understanding these five periods provides the historical blueprint for everything that unfolds from Joshua through Esther. The entire history of Israel’s kingdom and their temporary blinding can be mapped precisely according to these five warnings.

God’s Blueprint for an Earthly Kingdom

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 4): Divine Government and the Two Created Realms

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 4): Divine Government and the Two Created Realms

The Stated Reality: God's Communication in Time Past

To understand any passage of Scripture, the student of the Word must first establish who is speaking, to whom the words are directed, and the specific historical context governing the statement. The opening lines of the Epistle to the Hebrews present a clear, stated reality regarding how the Creator chose to communicate with mankind. God spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, and hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son (Heb.1:1-2).

This distinction between "the fathers" and "us" forms the foundational line of division. The fathers mentioned here are not the universal ancestors of all humanity, nor do they represent the Gentile nations. They are the patriarchs and ancestral leaders of the nation of Israel. When the text speaks of God addressing "us," it refers directly to the immediate descendants of those same fathers—the children of Israel. A quick look back at the historical record reveals why this focus exists. In Genesis chapter eleven, mankind collectively rejected the knowledge of God at the Tower of Babel. In response, God gave the Gentile nations up (Rom.1:24-28), scattering them across the face of the earth and suffering them to walk in their own self-chosen ways (Acts14:16).

From that point forward, divine revelation was narrowed to a single channel. God called Abraham out of heathendom to build a distinct nation, establishing a prophetic line that would communicate His direct words. This order was formally established under Moses, through whom the Law was given, and continued through the period of the judges for four hundred and fifty years until Samuel the prophet. Samuel marked a definitive turning point in Israel's history. Before his ministry, the word of God was rare and precious, with no open vision (1Sam.3:1). From Samuel onward, God maintained an active prophetic voice in Israel. All the law and the prophets prophesied until John the Baptist (Matt.11:13), who marked the absolute end of that Old Testament prophetic era.

When Jesus Christ walked the earth during His earthly ministry, He operated entirely within this national framework. His own testimony declared that He was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt.15:24). When a Canaanite woman approached Him pleading for mercy on behalf of her daughter, Christ initially answered her not a word (Matt.15:23). When He did speak, He stated that it was not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to dogs (Matt.15:26). In the divine economy, Gentiles were categorized as dogs—outsiders who had no legal claim to the covenant promises made to the fathers. The prophetic order mandated that Israel had to be blessed first, filled with the bread of God's kingdom, so that His blessings could subsequently overflow through them to the rest of the world.

The 70 Weeks and the Unprophesied Interruption