Is Hyperdispensationalism Heresy? I & II

August 28, 2011

Is Hyperdispensationalism Heresy? I
by Shawn Brasseaux
[28 August 2011]

For nearly 2,000 years, Christendom has been adding to God’s Word in some shape or form. Using church tradition, human viewpoint, and even pseudepigrapha (apocryphal books), man has continually attempted to “correct” or “improve” God’s Word, which only polluted it. But the greatest failure of Christendom is that, overall, it has refused to study God’s Word, God’s way.

Actually, many of the dogmas taught in “Bible-believing” churches are “doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1-2), but the real shocker is that these teachings are sometimes found in the Bible! Furthermore, there are literally tens of thousands of “Christian” denominations, and yet they all argue as to what the Bible actually says. This is because they are not using God’s Word, God’s way. How can we make sense of all this contention and deception? What are we to believe? How would God sort out this shameful mess?

Understand that we can quote the Bible and still be completely outside of God’s will. How? All of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us. The Bible says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV). When we “rightly divide the word of truth,” recognizing the distinctions that God has made in His Word, we separate Scripture that is written to us and about us from the Scripture that is merely written for our learning.

God has designed His Word to be neatly divided (dissected) into various dispensations (or time periods during which God dispenses a certain body of information or directions). The Bible says different things in different places because it speaks to various groups of people at different times. Unless we “rightly divide the word of truth,” using dispensational Bible study, the Bible will become a book of contradictions and confusion. Christendom does not use God’s Word, God’s way. Rather than separating the parts of the Bible written to different group of people, Christendom combines all of the Bible into one big jumbled-up mess as though it was spoken to one group of people. This is why denominations hold to a variety of opposing dogmas and doctrines.

Satan does not want God’s Word to make sense to you, so since rightly dividing the word of truth is the key to understanding the Bible, Satan makes a great effort to keep you from understanding or employing dispensational Bible study (“right division”). The methods the devil uses to prevent you from rightly dividing the word of truth come in many forms.

Primarily, he uses some “Christians,” people who claim to be “Bible believers” when they actually do not believe the Bible—they only believe the parts of the Bible that they like! These individuals will discourage you from studying God’s Word, God’s way, because the knowledge you gain from God’s rightly divided Word will be a threat to their denominational teaching and their church tradition. They tell you that “hyperdispensationalism” is “heresy,” attempting to scare you away from right division. Do not be fooled by their weak arguments!

In this two-part series, we will examine and refute four very common objections made by those individuals who dislike Pauline dispensationalism. By the way, “hyperdispensationalism” is a derogatory term that refers to the belief system of individuals who believe the Bible and place the beginning of the Church the Body of Christ in the middle of the book of Acts with the conversion of the Apostle Paul. Hence, you may hear the terms “mid-Acts dispensationalism” and “Pauline dispensationalism” used interchangeably.

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OBJECTION #1:

There is only one church in the Bible, so the church could not and did not begin with Paul.

 

RESPONSE TO OBJECTION #1:

Whenever you see the word “church” in Scripture, do not automatically assume that it is the Body of Christ. People dispute the fact that Paul was the first member of the Body of Christ because they assume that “church” in Scripture is always the Body of Christ. Here is their line of thinking.

Paul writes that Andronicus and Junia were “in Christ before me” (Romans 16:7). Jewish churches were “in Christ” before Paul (Galatians 1:22-24). Paul writes that, before he was saved, he persecuted “the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13) and “the church” (Philippians 3:6). However, remember what we discussed earlier about “church” not always being a reference to the Body of Christ.

In the Bible, there are three churches, not one church. For example, the prophet Stephen spoke of the nation Israel under Moses’ leadership and he called “the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). That “church” is the Mosaic Church, Old Testament Israel. Would that “church” be a reference to the Body of Christ? Certainly not.

In Matthew 16:13-19 the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of another “church,” the Messianic Church. The Messianic Church is composed of believers from Christ’s earthly ministry and early Acts, heirs of Israel’s earthly kingdom—these believers trusted in Jesus as their King-Messiah/Christ (see Matthew 16:16).

Finally, the third “church” of Scripture is the Church the Body of Christ (Colossians 1:24), also known as the Mystery (Secret) Church (see Romans 16:25-26, Ephesians 3:1-9, and Colossians 1:25-27). Only Paul speaks of the Church the Body of Christ because it is strictly a Pauline revelation.

Traditional theology does not place the beginning of the Church the Body of Christ with Paul, as the Bible clearly teaches. Church tradition claims that the Body of Christ began in Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost (there are a number of reasons why Acts chapter 2 has nothing to do with the Body of Christ; send me an email and request our Bible study that explains this in great detail).

The Bible teaches that the Body of Christ began with Paul, so how can people argue that the Body of Christ began in Acts chapter 2, a year before Paul was saved? It all goes back to a misunderstanding of the word “church” in the Bible, which we briefly discussed moments ago. People who read Acts 2:47—“the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”—misunderstand this to mean the Church the Body of Christ. However, this “church” in Acts chapter 2 is the continuation of the “church” spoken of in Matthew chapter 16, the Messianic Church. Acts chapter 2 is Jewish, just like Matthew chapter 16 (see Acts 2:14,22,36).

Paul was the first member of the Church the Body of Christ. Notice what Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1: “15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief [first]. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

The Apostle Paul writes that that the Lord gave him “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2). The ascended Lord Jesus Christ revealed our Dispensation of Grace and the Body of Christ to Paul alone (Rom. 16:25-26; Eph. 3:1-9; 2 Pet. 3:15-16). Hence, God made Paul our “pattern.”

If the Body of Christ existed prior to Paul, and the Bible says Paul is the “pattern” for the Body of Christ, what “pattern” did the Body of Christ follow before Paul’s salvation? See, it makes no sense. It is only logical that if Paul is God’s “pattern” for the Church the Body of Christ, then he must be the FIRST member of the Body of Christ. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 that Paul is the “wise masterbuilder” and Paul “laid the foundation Jesus Christ.” Obviously something new began with Paul, for Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry occurred prior to Paul.

When a person trusts in Christ alone for salvation, he or she becomes a member of the same spiritual body in which God placed Paul! This is the Body of Christ, the “new man,” spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27-28, and Ephesians 1:22-23. Today, Jews and Gentiles have the opportunity to be saved apart from Israel’s kingdom by simply trusting in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour (Ephesians 2:13-22). Outside of Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, there is no mention of the Body of Christ, so obviously the Church the Body of Christ only belongs in Paul’s ministry (it does not exist outside of Paul’s epistles).

 

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OBJECTION #2:

Paul was water baptized and he water baptized believers, so if the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11:1 that we should follow Paul, then we should also be water baptized.

 

RESPONSE TO OBJECTION #2:

Indeed, the Bible makes it very clear that Ananias water baptized Saul of Tarsus (the Apostle Paul) in Acts 9:17-18 and Acts 22:11-16. Paul water baptized the Philippians jailor (Acts 16:27-33) and he water baptized some believers in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-5). In 1 Corinthians 1:14-16, Paul admits that he water baptized Crispus, Gaius, and Stephanas’ household (cf. Acts 18:8). Does that demand we be water baptized too?

The Bible teaches that God has made Paul our apostle because he is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). As we saw earlier, Paul is our “pattern” in this the Dispensation of Grace (1 Timothy 1:15-16). In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul writes, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

Paul was water baptized, so should we follow Paul’s example by being water baptized also? Well, the Bible also says that Paul was physically circumcised (Philippians 3:5), that he spoke in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18), and that he shaved his head (Acts 18:18). If we are to follow Paul in “believer’s water baptism,” then let us also follow Paul by shaving our heads, speaking in tongues, and being physically circumcised. Oh, not interested, are we?

The Holy Spirit through Paul writes that, today, “[there is] one Lord, one faith, and one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). What is that one baptism? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:13: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” That one baptism is not something performed by a priest or preacher, but an act of the Holy Spirit—clearly this is not water baptism. We follow the doctrine in Paul’s epistles, and Paul’s epistles tell us that water baptism has nothing to do with us. Water baptism belongs in Israel’s program.

Since water baptism belongs in Israel’s program, not in our Dispensation of Grace, then why did Paul water baptize at all? Paul was the first member of the Body of Christ, so why was Paul water baptized?

In 1 Corinthians 1:17 the Apostle Paul writes, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel….” If water baptism is important as most of today’s “Christian” leaders claim, then why did Christ not send Paul to water baptize?  Recall that Christ had sent the twelve apostles to water baptize “all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20). Obviously, the instructions Christ gave to the Apostle Paul are different from the instructions He gave to the twelve apostles.

Paul was water baptized because God had not yet revealed that water baptism was not for our Dispensation of Grace. Furthermore, the book of Acts is transitional, so water baptism was part of Paul’s early ministry. Just as Paul had the temporary gifts of healing, tongues, and raising the dead, he also water baptized. These were temporarily carried over from Israel’s program. In doing so, God was demonstrating to Israel that her program was falling away, and Paul’s ministry was replacing Peter’s. Peter water baptized (Acts 2:41; Acts 10:46-48), so Paul also water baptized.

To validate Paul’s ministry for the Jews’ sake, God temporarily granted Paul the gift of miracle working. Lest the Jews discredit Paul for not water baptizing, he did water baptize—i.e., they could have said, “Paul does not water baptize, so we should not follow him” or “Paul was not water baptized, so he cannot be a true apostle of God.” Paul water baptizing (and performing miracles) provoked the Jews to jealousy (Romans 11:11).

Eventually, water baptism became divisive within the Corinthian church, so Paul quit water baptizing: this is why he “thanked God” that he only water baptized some of the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:14-17). In fact, 1 Corinthians was written before Acts 28. In Paul’s latter epistles (his prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Titus, Philemon), he makes no more references to water baptism. By Acts chapter 28, Israel’s program had ceased and she had fallen. The Acts transitional period was over.

We will stop here for this week and next week we will look at two other common objections to rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

Is Hyperdispensationalism Heresy? II
by Shawn Brasseaux
[4 September 2011]

The 38,000-plus denominations of Christendom are the result of people refusing to use God’s Word, God’s way. God has “rightly divided” His Word; He has made distinctions in the Bible that we need to recognize. If we do not “rightly divide the word of truth”—that is, use dispensational Bible study—the Bible will not make sense, and it will even be contradictory.

Dispensational Bible study enables us to understand truth directed to one group of people in the Bible must be separated from truth given to another group of people in the Bible. Recall that all of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us: parts of the Bible are spoken and written to various groups of people other than us.

“Rightly dividing the word of truth,” using God’s Word, God’s way, is the key to understanding the Bible. The King James Bible says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). For example, we do not obey the instructions in the Old Testament or the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) because that was God speaking to the nation Israel. What was spoken to Israel belongs to Israel, not to us. Likewise, the part of the Bible written to us as members of the Church the Body of Christ belongs to us, not to Israel. The Bible says that Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). Paul is our apostle. God’s instructions to us as Gentiles are the information revealed in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.

As you would expect, since dispensational Bible study is God’s method for Bible study, Satan will oppose it every which way he can. Last week, in part I, we looked at two frequent objections to dispensational Bible study, statements people use in an attempt to discourage you from properly studying and understanding the Bible. They are:

  1. How could the Body of Christ begin with Paul if “the church” is found in Matthew chapter 16 and Acts chapter 2, some years before Paul’s salvation? The Body of Christ began in Acts chapter 2, right?
  2. If we should follow Paul’s example, then we need to follow Paul in water baptism, right?

In part I, last week, we answered those questions. This week, in part II, we will look at two additional frequent objections that critics of Pauline dispensationalism (mid-Acts dispensationalism) use to discredit right division.

By the way, because we do not adhere to Acts chapter 2 as the beginning of the Church the Body of Christ, our critics call us “hyperdispensationalists.” While I believe the Church the Body of Christ began with the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 9 (as indicated in Ephesians 3:2 and 1 Timothy 1:15-16), some believe the Body of Christ began in Acts chapter 13 or Acts chapter 28. The Acts chapter 28 people are termed “ultradispensationalists.” The terms “hyperdispensationalists” and “ultradispensationalists” are derogatory terms used to belittle those who disagree with the traditional “Acts chapter 2 view” of the Body of Christ.

Okay, now let us look at and refute two more examples of common objections to right division.

 

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OBJECTION #3:

Paul is a man, so I refuse to follow him. I go by what Jesus said, not what Paul said.

RESPONSE TO OBJECTION #3:

Those who are vehemently opposed to Pauline dispensationalism accuse us of “worshipping Paul.” Many Christians, when told that they need to follow the Apostle Paul, contend that we need to “follow Jesus” and “obey Jesus.” These dear church members are not only guilty of not following Paul, but they really are not following Jesus either! Who is really following Jesus today?

  1. Jesus said we must keep the commandments in order to inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:16-19; Mark 10:17-19; Luke 18:18-20).
  2. Jesus said minister to Jews only—we should have no ministry to Gentiles or Samaritans (Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24).
  3. Jesus said to sell all that you have and give alms to the poor (Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:33; Luke 18:22).
  4. Jesus said to cast out devils, speak with new tongues, take up serpents, drink poison, and lay hands on the sick (Mark 16:17-18).
  5. Jesus said that if you would ask His heavenly Father in His name to give you something, believing, He will give it to you (Matthew 21:22; John 14:13-14).
  6. Jesus said to teach the Law of Moses (Matthew 28:20 cf. Matthew 5:17-19).
  7. Jesus said that you are to preach, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” while healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, casting out devils, and NOT taking collections (Matthew 10:7-8).

Not one person today obeys all of the above statements that came from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. While many church members claim to be following some commandments of Jesus, they are not following all of His commandments: they only obey what they want to obey. In all actuality, the verses cited above are not spoken to us.

The Four Gospels are God’s Word, for “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). However, Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry was confined to Jews under the Mosaic Law (Romans 15:8; Galatians 4:4,5). We are neither Jews nor under the Law (Romans 6:14-15; Galatians 3:28). Jesus said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24; cf. Matthew 10:5-7). “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision [Jews] for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:” (Romans 15:8).

If we want to know what God has to say to us as non-Jews living in this the Dispensation of Grace, we will not look at what He told Jews. As non-Jews, God has given us an apostle, “the apostle of the Gentiles,” Paul. The ascended Lord Jesus Christ selected Saul of Tarsus, saved him, and made him Paul the Apostle. Jesus Christ sent Paul to us. Paul writes, “I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostles of the Gentiles; I magnify mine office” (Romans 11:13). The Lord Jesus told Ananias: “for he [Paul] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15; cf. Acts 22:21 and Acts 26:17-18).

The Lord Jesus said in John 13:20: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” The ascended Lord Jesus Christ sent Paul to us, so if we receive Paul, we receive Christ. If we reject Paul, we reject Christ. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:37: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” What Paul writes are the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ: when you obey Paul’s instructions, you are obeying Christ!

It is interesting to note that those who say “I go by what Jesus said” are actually oftentimes quoting Paul instead of quoting Jesus! Many of those who claim to “follow Jesus” do not quote Jesus’ instructions of “keep the commandments to be saved” (Matthew 19:16-19). NO! They quote Paul, where he writes, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9), or Romans 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,” or Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

Clearly, Paul and Jesus are preaching opposite messages, but they are doing so because they are preaching to different peoples. The Four Gospels are to the nation Israel what Paul’s epistles are to us—they are God’s messages to those respective peoples! Just as God revealed through Moses the Dispensation of Law, God through Paul revealed the Dispensation of Grace. To ignore Paul’s epistles and claim the rest of the Bible as yours is not only to steal something that does not belong to you, but also to ignore the man that God sent to minister to you as a Gentile in this the Dispensation of Grace!

We do not exalt Paul as God or Saviour, as our critics claim. Instead, we “magnify” the office given to Paul. Paul writes that “magnifies his office,” his God-given role as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). To cast away Paul as a nobody is to cast away Jesus Christ “according to the revelation of the mystery” as a nobody (Romans 16:25-26).

 

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OBJECTION #4:

There is only one gospel in the Bible, so there was no special gospel or unique ministry committed to Paul.

RESPONSE TO OBJECTION #4:

The Bible speaks of many gospels. For example, Matthew 9:35 says that the Lord Jesus Christ preached “the gospel of the kingdom” during His earthly ministry. According to Acts 20:24, the Apostle Paul preached “the gospel of the grace of God.” An angel in Revelation 14:6-7 preaches “the everlasting gospel.” Galatians 2:7 says, “the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto [Paul], as the gospel of the circumcision was [committed] unto Peter.”

“Gospel” simply means “good news.” The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ were not always proclaimed as “good news.” In fact, nothing in the Bible indicates that Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses knew anything about Calvary. The gospel God revealed to Noah was “build an ark because a global flood is coming” (Genesis 6:13-22). Abraham believed in the good news that he was going to have a son, Isaac, and Isaac would begin the nation Israel (Genesis 12:1-3). Why was Calvary not preached to them, as it is preached today?

 

A. THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM AND THE GOSPEL OF THE CIRCUMCISION

For nearly 2000 years, the Old Testament spoke of the nation Israel rising to kingdom glory, and salvation going to Gentiles through Israel (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18; Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23; et al.).  Israel would be a “kingdom of priests” that would minister to Gentiles (Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 61:6).

Jesus Christ was Israel’s King and Messiah, and He came to Israel to usher in their kingdom. So, as was afore mentioned, Jesus and His twelve apostles preached, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; et al.). This gospel is obviously called “the gospel of the kingdom.” Notice the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ was NOT preached as a gospel during Christ’s earthly ministry because Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection was hidden from the apostles, despite Him explicitly telling them that He would die, be buried, and resurrect (Matthew 16:20-24; Mark 9:9-10, 31-32; Luke 9:44-45; Luke 18:31-34; John 20:9).

As we know, Israel rejected her Messiah Jesus, and had Him crucified on Calvary’s cross. In the early Acts period, Peter and the eleven apostles preached “the gospel of the circumcision” (see Galatians 2:7). The “circumcision” refers to the nation Israel (an allusion to their physical circumcision). In Acts 3:25-26, Peter preached that Israel needed to repent, so that their kingdom could be established, and the Gentiles could be saved in that kingdom: this was the Abrahamic (Circumcision) Covenant promised in Genesis 12:1-3 (cf. Acts 7:8). Unfortunately, Israel rejected the preaching of the twelve apostles and the little flock (believing Israel) during the early part of the book of Acts. Unbelieving Israel ultimately stoned their prophet Stephen in Acts chapter 7. At this point, Israel had blasphemed against the Holy Ghost and fell (Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30; Luke 12:10).

 

B. THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD AND THE GOSPEL OF THE UNCIRCUMCISION

In Acts chapter 9, God saved Saul of Tarsus and made him Paul “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). According to Galatians 2:7, God committed to Paul “the gospel of the uncircumcision,” a gospel that taught that Jews and Gentiles could be saved apart from Israel’s kingdom program, which God was beginning to temporarily suspend. Remember, “the gospel of the circumcision” was the message of Israel rising to kingdom glory and Gentiles being saved through Israel. “The gospel of the circumcision” was the message that Israel had temporarily fallen, and salvation was going to Gentiles apart from Israel’s kingdom (Romans 11:11-12). God postponed Israel’s kingdom and inserted the Dispensation of Grace, a secret program/time period that He had now revealed. The Dispensation of Grace, previously hidden in the Old Testament, was committed to the Apostle Paul’s trust, and that time period would precede Israel’s kingdom (Ephesians 3:1-9).

In this the Dispensation of Grace, the Apostle Paul also preached “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), a message that involved Israel’s crucified, buried, and risen Messiah now becoming “the Saviour of all men, specially those that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). Paul preached that Jesus Christ “gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6). This is the gospel that we preach today: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The Apostles Peter, James, and John never preached that gospel. Paul called it “my gospel” three times (Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8).

According to 2 Peter 3:15-16, the Apostle Peter admitted Paul had “wisdom given unto him,” wisdom of which Peter wrote: “[Paul is] speaking in [his epistles] some things hard to be understood.” Paul knew some things that Peter did not, and Peter confessed that! Peter knew that Paul’s ministry was separate from that of the twelve apostles.

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CONCLUSION

  1. So, “church” in Scripture does not always refer to the Church the Body of Christ. There are three “churches” in Scripture, and they should not be confused as being one church. The “church” of our dispensation, the Church the Body of Christ, began with the Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 1:15-16). The Body of Christ is separate and distinct from the nation Israel.
  2. Paul was water baptized, but he was also physically circumcised, he spoke in tongues, and he shaved his head. He did these things during the transitional book of Acts for the Jews’ sakes. Eventually, Paul quit water baptizing, quit speak speaking in tongues, and quit shaving his head. We are to follow Paul as he follows Christ, as taught in 1 Corinthians 11:1, but we do not need water baptism (1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:5).
  3. Paul is a man, so we do not exalt Paul as Saviour or God. When we follow Paul, we are following Christ in this the Dispensation of Grace (1 Corinthians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). What Paul writes are “the commandments of the Lord” for this dispensation (1 Corinthians 14:37; cf. 2 Timothy 2:7).
  4. There are many gospels in the Bible, but there is only one gospel today. It is Paul’s Gospel, the gospel which the ascended Lord Jesus Christ revealed exclusively to Paul (this is “the Gospel of Grace,” as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Paul had a special ministry in that he ministered to Gentiles once God began to set Israel aside. The Apostle Paul ministered apart from Israel’s program, and he preached a special Gospel that taught that Gentiles could be saved apart from Israel by becoming members of the Church the Body of Christ.

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The Redemption of Our Bodies

August 7, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

*My outward man turns 23 today, so we want to look at the issue of the redemption of our physical bodies.

As the saint progresses in earthly years, he or she grows very discouraged. The skin loses its elasticity, and begins to wrinkle and sag. With hair white as snow, vision dims and hearing greatly diminishes. The memory fails. That once lively body grows progressively weaker and unable to perform the tasks it once did with ease. As a side note, the Bible gives a very interesting description of Moses on his deathbed: “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7). Despite being 120 years old, Moses’ vision was not poor and his body had the agility of a young man!

Short of the Lord’s coming in our lifetimes, our physical bodies will also go into the ground like all the billions who have died before us. While this is morbid, it is reality. Why did God save us? Just so we could grow sick and ultimately die? What is so grand about being a Christian, and yet dying like everyone else? Does the Bible not say that Christians live forever?

The Apostle Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 KJV:

“16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Notice how Paul alludes to the “outward man” (physical body) and its decay and ultimate death (“perishing”). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a)—because of sin, these physical bodies have nowhere to go but to the grave. Even though death may kill the physical body, the Christian has hope in that the spiritual body (the “inward man”) cannot be harmed and that God will one day replace this physical body with a totally new one!

Back in Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed Adam’s body of the dust of the ground, and the Bible says, “and [the LORD] breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Our physical bodies carry our souls around in this physical world. Your physical body (the “outward man”) is the dwelling place of your soul and spirit (the “inward man”).

The sufferings we endure in these physical bodies (sickness, weakness, death) is “a light affliction, which is but for a moment.” Enduring these troubles “worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The Christian has such a hope that there is more to come than this life, something that is currently unseen. Something that is eternal. What is it?

We continue reading, beginning at 2 Corinthians 5:1 KJV:

“1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

Either at the rapture or at death, you will lose your physical body (“our earthly house of this tabernacle”). Your soul will no longer be clothed by that frame of dust. One day, we will trade off these “tabernacles” (temporary tents) for “a building of God…. eternal in the heavens” (something permanent). As we live in this wicked, nasty world, “we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.” We are “burdened,” greatly anticipating the day when we will trade off these physical bodies for enhanced physical bodies that will last for all eternity and be fully functional in the heavens.

Let us go over to Romans 8:18-25 KJV:

“18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

The “redemption of our body” spoken of in verse 23 is the “day of redemption” mentioned in Ephesians 4:30. This is what we call the rapture, the day when living and deceased Christians (members of the Church the Body of Christ) will receive new, glorified physical bodies (you can also refer to 1 Corinthians 15:51-56). Back to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 KJV, where we read in verse 5: “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”

As a member of the Body of Christ, God has appointed you to a very special day. If you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, the Bible says that you have been sealed with and by the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). By giving us the indwelling Holy Spirit, God has promised us (with a down payment, an “earnest”) that He will one day resurrect our physical bodies. Our souls and our spirits have already been redeemed, but our physical bodies have not yet been redeemed. We cannot go to heaven in these physical bodies, for they are genetically related to Adam, and “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50).

“Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you” (2 Corinthians 4:14). Praise the Lord that we are not eternally confined to these weak, limited physical bodies! They will be resurrected one day, at the rapture.

It is for these reasons that the Holy Ghost through Paul tells us that we need to focus on the inward man (strengthening it by studying sound doctrine from God’s Word rightly divided). Our soul and spirit is our main focus because that is the real you and the real me. Let us focus on the state of the inward man, and less on the state of the outward man. You will be keeping that soul forever, so focus more on your soul than your outward body. And remember that this outward body is temporary, so it will one day be replaced with a new one.

_______________

SUPPLEMENT

What will our new glorified bodies be like? The Bible tells us in Philippians 3:20,21 KJV: “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

Our glorified physical bodies will be just like Jesus Christ’s resurrected body. Christ’s physical body, the one He had after resurrection, and the same one He has right now in heaven, is a body that is recognizable (can be seen) and it can be touched (Matthew 28:9; Mark 16:9,12,14; Luke 24:31,34; John 20:17,20,27; Acts 1:9,11; 1 Corinthians 15:5-8). That body is flesh and bone (no blood!), and it has hands, feet, and sides (Luke 24:39,40; John 20:20,25-29). It is a body that can eat physical food (Luke 24:30,42,43; John 21:12-15). That body can travel to heaven and back to earth, instantly appear, disappear, and reappear (Luke 24:31,36; John 20:17). It can travel through locked doors too (John 20:26)!! That body has a recognizable voice (John 20:16).

Wow! Beloved, be not troubled by the infirmities and sicknesses of these bodies of mortal flesh. They are temporal, but we look forward to that eternal body, that body eternal in the heavens. The body that God has promised us because we have trusted in His Son Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour.

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Ambassador IV: arC Ministries’ Fourth Anniversary

July 31, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” Those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we are “ambassadors for Christ.” We do not belong to this world. Recall that an ambassador serves in a foreign land. “Our conversation [lifestyle reflecting citizenship] is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). One brother aptly stated, “We are outposts from the third heaven.” God has temporarily left us in this world. Why?

When the ascended Lord Jesus Christ saved Saul of Tarsus, He saved him for a reason. God did not take Paul to heaven immediately after he was saved. In fact, for the next 35 years, the Apostle Paul labored on earth as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). One day, Paul finished his course, and God took him to heaven (2 Timothy 4:6,7). While the Apostle Paul died almost 2,000 years ago, his ministry is still having a profound impact on the world!

As members of the Church the Body of Christ, the ascended Lord has given us the same ministry He first gave to the Apostle Paul. Our Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:8-12 KJV:

“8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.”

For the same reason He left Paul on earth, God has left us here in this world. We too have been given the ministry “to make all men see…” (verse 9). Make all men see what? Within God’s Word, He gave us thirteen epistles (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon). God wants the whole world to know of the doctrine that is found exclusively in Paul’s epistles. The lost world and our Christian brethren need us to preach to them “the unsearchable riches of Christ” and “the fellowship of the mystery.” Oftentimes these are overlooked… even in many so-called “Bible-believing” churches.

 

BEHOLD, THE MANIFOLD WISDOM OF GOD!

As we study God’s Word, God’s way, we learn that the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ is doing something amazing in this the Dispensation of Grace. As “the ministers [servants] of Christ and stewards [servants] of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1,2), it is our responsibility to make this information known to all of the world. God wants to use us Christians to make known unto the angelic host and all men the plan that He had hidden in Himself since the world began, but the plan that He currently has in operation (Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 1:26,27). This is “the manifold wisdom of God” (Ephesians 3:10). What was God’s plan?

God finally revealed this secret plan to the Apostle Paul, so now, in the writings of Paul (Romans through Philemon), we can read this previously hidden information. According to 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, Philippians 2:5-11, and Colossians 1:16,20, God would use the merits of Jesus Christ’s finished work on Calvary’s cross to restore His authority not only in the earth (which is the focus of Israel’s prophetic program), but also in the heaven (the focus of our mystery [secret] program). By keeping that information secret until Paul, God demonstrated His “manifold wisdom.” Satan would crucify Jesus Christ, thereby participating in his own defeat, and would not learn about that secret until after he had killed Jesus Christ!

In this the Dispensation of Grace, God is forming the Church the Body of Christ, a spiritual group of believing Jews and Gentiles who will one day take over the heaven for His glory (just as God formed the nation Israel to take over the earth for His glory).

Today, anyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her personal Saviour—he or she trusts in the fact that “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again for our justification” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 4:25)—God has promised that person everlasting life and permanent salvation in the Church the Body of Christ. But salvation is just one aspect of the Christian ambassadorship…. the other is spiritual growth and maturity.

In 1 Timothy 2:3,4, we learn that God’s will is “to have all men saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.” We at arC Ministries also desire that all people would be saved. Moreover our will is that every Christian is firmly grounded and stabilized in the Holy Scriptures rightly divided. Our goals in this ministry can be summarized in two brief statements:

  1. Preach Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and raised again as the only means of salvation, and
  2. Edify/build up the Christian brethren using dispensational Bible study.

Salvation allows us to participate in God’s purpose and plan for the heaven and the earth. Spiritual maturity enables us to understand and appreciate God’s purpose and plan and our role in it.

After salvation God wants to establish you, to have your inner man (soul) firmly fixed on the truth of His Word rightly divided. This will only happen through your studying God’s Word, God’s way: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Now that you are saved in Christ Jesus, God wants to educate you as to why He saved you by using dispensational Bible study. Once you grasp a firm understanding of what God is doing, then God wants you to tell others what He is doing (that He wants to save them and that He also wants their participation in what He is doing).

 

BEHOLD, GOD’S “ETERNAL PURPOSE” AND THE “UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST”

We saw earlier in Ephesians 3:8-11 where Paul wrote that God commissioned him “to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” and “to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” God the Father has an “eternal purpose,” something that He has “purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (verse 11). God the Father’s manifold wisdom is expressed in this eternal purpose. What is the “eternal purpose of God?”

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 1:9,10 KJV: “[God] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”

God the Father has one overriding plan: He is determined to make His Son Jesus Christ the head of the governments of the heaven and the earth (Colossians 1:16-20). This will be accomplished in the ages to come (Ephesians 2:6,7)—“the dispensation of the fulness of times.” The “unsearchable riches of Christ” is a reference to what Christ will inherit one day: He will inherit the governments of the heaven and the earth as well as us the saints! How “unsearchable” is that! Furthermore, that information cannot be found in the Old Testament—it was not revealed at that time so no one could “search” it out (cf. John 5:39). God first revealed it to the Apostle Paul.

Ephesians 1:18 says, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” Not only is Christ Jesus going to inherit something, but we as members of the Church the Body of Christ are also going to inherit what Jesus Christ will inherit. Consider Romans 8:17: “And if [we are] children [of God], then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” As members of the Body of Christ we will share in ruling and reigning with Christ in the heaven. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:” (2 Timothy 2:12)!!

To prepare us for our role in heaven in the ages to come, God has left His preserved Word. In the form of the Authorized Version King James Bible, we have God’s preserved and perfect Word in English. In order to educate you in His purpose and plan for the ages, He has left you His Word, so it is critically important that you have the right Bible. You cannot trust the modern Bibles because their underlying manuscripts and translation philosophies are untrustworthy.

God wants “edified” (built up) and “perfected” (spiritually matured) saints (Ephesians 4:12), for only they can do the work of the ministry He has for them. Before we can share God’s Word with others, we must first know what God’s Word says. When we study God’s Word, rightly divided, understanding that all of the Bible is written for us but not all of the Bible is written to us or about us, and then we believe that sound doctrine, we are building inside our inner man a structure, an “edifice,” of sound doctrine.

This structure is to be built according to sound (dispensational) Bible teaching. It will not only enable you to share the truths of God’s Word with others, but it will equip you to function in the ages to come for God’s glory in the heaven.

God’s Word will “stablish” (stabilize) your Christian life and inner man via a three-fold process. The Bible says in Romans 16:25,26: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:”

God wants to “stablish” (stablize) us, His saints in Christ Jesus. He will bring stability to our Christian life using a three-fold process:

  • “my gospel”—Paul’s Gospel, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 is the foundation of the Christian life
  • “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery”—this is Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, the sound doctrine (building materials) which we use to build on that foundation
  • “the scriptures of the prophets”—this is all of the Holy Scriptures, in light of the doctrine revealed to Paul.

This is why rightly dividing the word of truth and studying the Bible are so important. We study all of the Bible, Genesis through Revelation, but we follow the design of Christian edification as laid out in Romans 16:25,26. This Bible study summarizes what arC Ministries is all about.

 

A FEW CLOSING WORDS

Saints and beloved in the Lord, as we reflect on the ministry this past year, we ponder the heartaches, the times of rejoicing, the friendships gained and lost, the enemies gained and lost, the spiritual growth, and the fellowship with you. We at arC Ministries consider it a privilege to work with you alongside the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ in allowing Him to accomplish His will in and through us. As we know, our work here is of great importance, for it holds eternal value.

How we thank God for your fellowship in the gospel. We thank you from the very depths of our hearts for praying for us. Your prayers have sustained us.

Like our Apostle Paul, we must finish our course. In the next year, we hope to see many more souls saved from hell, and many more souls saved from religion. Lord willing, we will continue seeking more ways to get the message of God’s grace published. Thank you for supporting us with your prayers.

 

To the praise and glory of the risen Christ, whom we serve in the ambassadorship,
Shawn Brasseaux

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John 3:16 – Its Forgotten Meaning

July 10, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

John 3:16 is the most translated, the most quoted, and the most memorized verse. It appears on bumper stickers, t-shirts, and tracts. In fact, even many non-Christians are familiar with it. Everyone knows about John 3:16, but seldom do people understand what it means. Sadly, the true meaning of John 3:16 has been lost amidst religious tradition (denominationalism). In this study, we want to examine John 3:16 and its context in order to discover its (rather fascinating) meaning.

The King James Bible says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Unfortunately, modern English Bibles have removed “begotten,” thereby destroying the correlation between Psalm 2:7, John 3:16, Acts 13:33, and Romans 1:4. According to the Bible, “begotten” refers to Jesus Christ’s resurrection, not Him being born in Bethlehem.) God has many sons, but only one “begotten” Son (see John 1:12; Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:6,7).

Beyond all question and doubt, John 3:16 is God’s inspired Word. However, John 3:16 is not sufficient to lead a person to salvation today. Let me show you how we know that. In order to understand John 3:16, we need to approach it God’s way. We are instructed to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV). God has made distinctions in His Word, so we need to recognize those distinctions and separate them with divisions. All of the Bible is written for us, but not all of the Bible is written to us or written about us.

According to Matthew 10:5-7, Matthew 15:24, John 4:22, and Romans 15:8, the Four Gospels record the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ to the nation Israel under the Law. We are not the nation Israel, and we are not under the Law of Moses (Romans 6:14,15; Romans 11:25; Galatians 3:28). It is clear that John 3:16 has nothing to do with us today. It belongs in Israel’s program because it is a statement spoken to Nicodemus, a religious leader of Israel (see John 3:1,10).

Furthermore, we understand that Jesus Christ never spoke of Paul’s Gospel of Grace during His earthly ministry (Romans 16:25,26; Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 1:25-29; 1 Timothy 1:11). The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ were never proclaimed as a salvation message until we get to Paul’s ministry. (More on this later.) If John 3:16 is not a reference to Calvary, then what does it mean? In order to answer this, we need to go back and briefly look at the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants.

 

“THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS” (Romans 15:8)

Firstly, let us look at the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3 KJV):

“1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

The first two verses refer to the establishment of a new race, the nation Israel (Jews). Notice the last portion of verse 3: “in thee [Abraham] shall all families of the earth be blessed.” To wit, God would use the nation Israel as a channel of blessing to reach the rest of the world with salvation. According to the Abrahamic Covenant, God promised to bless those who blessed Israel and curse those who cursed Israel.

In Exodus 19:5,6, some 500 years after Abraham, and just after the deliverance from Egyptian slavery, the LORD promised to make Israel a “kingdom of priests.” Nevertheless, God does not reveal the details of this kingdom until King David’s time, some 500 years after Moses and Exodus chapter 19. The LORD promised King David that one of his descendants would become the everlasting King of Israel (this is Jesus Christ).

Examine the details of the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7:8-17, where God speaks to King David through the prophet Nathan:

“12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever….
16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”

Understand from Abraham to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, the nation Israel had the hope of being a “kingdom of priests.” Israel was God’s covenant people, and Christ ministered to Israel to fulfill the promises made to Israel’s patriarchs, particularly the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants (cf. Romans 15:8).

Throughout the Old Testament when God dealt predominantly with the nation Israel, He was still concerned with the salvation of Gentiles. God had to first save all of Israel, and then He would send Israel to minister to the lost Gentiles. In that kingdom promised in the Davidic Covenant, every Jew would evangelize the world. Read from Zechariah chapter 8:

“20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”

Here the Bible says that once Israel was in her kingdom, the Gentiles would come to God’s light to receive salvation! Gentiles would follow the Jews to meet Immanuel, “God with us [Israel].” God in the Person of Jesus Christ would be ruling the planet from Zion in Jerusalem! Compare this to Isaiah chapter 60:

“1 Arise, shine; for thy [Israel’s] light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee [Israel].
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee [Israel], and his glory shall be seen upon thee [Israel].
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy [Israel’s] light, and kings to the brightness of thy [Israel’s] rising.”

You can also read Isaiah 11:1-9, Isaiah 61:5,6, Daniel 2:44, and Psalm 2:6-9 for additional insight regarding that kingdom. Throughout these verses and passages, the recurring theme is that Israel would rise to kingdom glory, and Gentiles would receive salvation and blessing through Israel.

Okay, so let us go back to John chapter 3 and sum it all up. In John chapter 3, Jesus Christ is speaking to Nicodemus, a religious leader of Israel (verses 1 and 10). Despite his religious education, Nicodemus is totally ignorant of the Old Testament prophecies (the promises we just discussed).

When Christ tells him, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” Nicodemus fails to understand this is a spiritual birth for Jews, and so inquires how a man can be born again of his mother’s womb (physically) (verses 3 and 4). Nicodemus “marvels;” verse 7 says he is puzzled. Jesus Christ has to explain to Nicodemus God’s original purpose in forming the nation Israel (verses 9 and 10).

In John 3:16, Christ tells Nicodemus (I paraphrase): “God loves the whole world! I am here because God wants to save Gentiles too. Before salvation goes to the Gentiles, ye [the nation Israel] must be born again! Your whole nation must trust Me as King-Messiah.”

John 3:3-5 makes references to “the kingdom of God.” What else could this be but a reference to the kingdom promised by the Old Testament prophets? The Lord Jesus Christ tells Nicodemus that every Jew must be “born again” (John 3:3,5). Every Jew must be saved in order for the earthly kingdom to be established. The Jews must be saved first, and then God can use them to minister to the whole world (Gentiles).

John 3:17 says: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” How would God save the world, as prophesied in the Old Testament? Through Israel!

 

PAUL’S GOSPEL OF GRACE

Now, notice why John 3:16 has nothing to do with us as people living in this the Dispensation of Grace. The Lord Jesus Christ knew that the Jews would reject Him and kill Him. He knew the prophetic program and the kingdom would be delayed for a time. Nevertheless, He kept that information secret from everyone during His earthly ministry. None of the Old Testament prophets, not Peter, not James, not John, or anyone else in the Four Gospels, none of them knew of this dispensation in which we live, the Dispensation of Grace.

God kept Calvary’s cross hidden from Satan so that he would willingly participate in his own defeat (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). I emphatically remind you that John 3:16 is not to be confused with our Gospel of Grace that we preach today. God did not reveal our Gospel until He revealed it to Paul (in Acts chapter 9). This is why Paul called it “my gospel” (Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8)—God first revealed it to Paul and entrusted it to him.

When we come to Paul, we come to a new Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God, as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV: “how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

Notice what Paul writes in Romans 11:11,12 KJV: “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”

In Paul’s ministry, salvation is going to the Gentiles without Israel—this is contrary to the Abrahamic Covenant! Recall that the salvation of Gentiles was no secret in the Old Testament. The secret was that Gentiles would receive salvation through the fall, NOT the rise, of Israel.

 

CONCLUSION

When the Lord Jesus spoke John 3:16 He spoke of the Old Testament promises regarding Israel rising in her coming kingdom. John 3:16 makes no reference to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not sufficient information to lead someone to Christ today.

No one can be saved today by simply understanding John 3:16 because it is not the Gospel by which we are saved in this dispensation! Like we stated before, Jesus Christ was God, and foreknew our present-day Dispensation of Grace was coming, but He did not reveal our Gospel until the Apostle Paul.

Paul never quoted John 3:16. Why do people quote John 3:16, yet seldom mention Romans 5:8? If you want a good verse to use to prove God’s love for the world, why not use Romans 5:8? “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

You always read John 3:16 in tracts, but you rarely see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, if at all—the Gospel of Grace is not John 3:16, it is 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. If you want to use John 3:16 to show someone the way to salvation, that is okay, but this verse in its context has nothing to do with Calvary’s cross.

It belongs in Israel’s program. Leave it there.

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Independence Day 2011 – “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land”

July 3, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

Exactly 235 years this Monday, on 4 July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted here in the United States of America. It was on that day that our Founding Fathers declared independence from Great Britain. On that most important day of American history, the Thirteen Colonies were freed from the British Empire.

But, as members of the Church the Body of Christ, we declare and rejoice in a greater independence.

* * *

THE YEAR OF JUBILEE IN TIME PAST

Every fiftieth year in Israel was referred to as the “Year of Jubilee.” Leviticus 25:8,9 explain why (the LORD speaking to Israel through Moses): “And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.”

Every seventh year Israel was to leave the land fallow. Jews were not to plant any crops during that sabbatical year. Israel was also to number seven sabbatical years, meaning a period of 49 years. On the fiftieth year, Israel was to celebrate the Year of Jubilee. Continue reading in the passage (verse 10): “And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.”

Later in Leviticus 25, we read that the Jubilee Year was also the year when Jewish slaves were released to their families (verse 10). We read in verses 53-55:

“53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
55 For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

The nation Israel rejoiced 3,500 years ago when the LORD delivered her from Egyptian bondage—she still does so today every Passover! The LORD freed Israel from her horrible slavery in Egypt so that the Jews could serve Him.

 

 

“OUR LIBERTY WHICH WE HAVE IN CHRIST JESUS”

Like Israel, we too can rejoice in God delivering us from an even greater slavery than physical bondage. We are free in Christ Jesus. God has rescued us, just like He has rescued Israel. Let us rejoice in our spiritual freedom in this the Dispensation of Grace!

“And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage” (Galatians 2:4).

 

1. Free from Satan’s control and the power of darkness

The Bible says: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Ephesians 2:2). Before we trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, we were under Satan’s control, living in opposition to God’s purpose and plan for us. The good news is: “[God the Father] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians 1:13). Saints, ye are free from Satan’s control and the power of darkness!

 

2. Free from sin’s dominion over our lives

The Apostle Paul tells us: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:6-7). “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6: 22). Our identity in Adam died when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary. He died not simply for us, but as us! We are dead to the old lifestyle. We have a new nature in Christ: “we are a new creature in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ, we have a high calling! “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:12,13).

 

3. Free from the condemnation of the Law

We are sinners by birth, but in Christ Jesus, the Mosaic Law does not condemn us because God has declared us innocent and without blame (1 Corinthians 1:8; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Romans 8:1,2 explains: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” The indwelling Holy Spirit empowers us to live a life pleasing in God’s sight. When we walk after the Spirit, letting Him live in and through us, we will fulfill the righteousness that the Law of Moses demanded.

 

4. Free from religious bondage

Galatians 5:1 KJV says: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The Galatian believers had been deceived by a false gospel. They were instructed to be physically circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved (Acts 15:1-5; Galatians 5:2-5). The Apostle Paul had to correct their doctrinal errors by penning the Galatian epistle. Never let someone force you under some legalistic system!

 

5. Free from self-righteousness

Religion gives man the ability to boast (brag) in his performance. The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 4:1-3 KJV: “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” Abraham could never brag of his salvation by works because Abraham was saved by faith alone (without works)! Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV say: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” We have no righteousness in ourselves! Our righteousness is that of God Himself (Romans 3:21; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

6. Free from hopeless and depression

Consider Romans 8:24,25 KJV: “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” We are waiting for the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will take us home to be with Him in glory! Our hope is in the day when we will receive new glorified physical bodies! Titus 2:13 says: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

 

7. Free from the penalty of sin, the everlasting lake of fire!

The Lord Jesus Christ has freed us from the eternal penalty of sin—the everlasting lake of fire! “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8,9). “The wages of sin is death [physical and spiritual death]; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

 

 

CONCLUSION

Indeed, we have such liberty in Christ Jesus. We rejoice that this precious liberty is ours, not because we did anything, but because God has given them to us freely by His grace through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. We are free, eternally free. Proclaim liberty throughout all the land! Tell others about the wonderful salvation that is ours in Christ Jesus. Tell them that they too can be set free by simply trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in His shed blood for their forgiveness and His resurrection for their justification! And above all, never, ever let anyone rob you of your freedom in Christ by forcing you back under Israel’s performance-based acceptance system.

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Who Will Reign With Christ During the 1000 Years?

June 27, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

The short answer is that all saints will reign with Christ during the 1000 years. However, as we will hopefully be able to demonstrate, they will not all reign with Him in the same place.

 

SOME FOUNDATIONAL MATERIAL

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Furthermore, God created governments in the heaven and in the earth. Read Colossians 1:16 KJV: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” The “all things” are offices of governments: all of these governments are to bring Jesus Christ glory and honor.

God the Father has one “eternal purpose”—to make His Son Jesus Christ the Head/Ruler of these earthly and heavenly governments (Ephesians 1:9,10; Philippians 2:9-11). Colossians 1:18,19 KJV say: “that in all things he [Jesus Christ] might have the preeminence [leadership, headship]. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;” The whole purpose of creation was God the Father wanted to make His Son Jesus Christ the possessor and ruler of heaven and earth. Genesis 14:19 uses the term “the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:”

Unfortunately, Lucifer (Satan) wanted to “be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Satan wanted to be the “most High God” of Genesis 14:19. He wanted to usurp God’s authority in heaven and in earth. Today, Satan has polluted and usurped both realms, the heaven (Ephesians 6:12) and the earth (2 Corinthians 4:4). God must restore the heaven and the earth (and their governments) to the Headship of Christ (overthrowing Satan’s power in both realms).

Colossians 1:20 KJV says: “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Again, the words “all things” refer to verse 16—“thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers.” That is, offices of governments.

Through Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary, God will restore the governments of the heaven and the earth to Himself. God will use two agencies to restore His authority—the nation Israel will establish God’s authority in the earth, and we the Church the Body of Christ will establish God’s authority in the heaven.

When we “rightly divide the word of truth,” we give to Israel what belongs to Israel. We only take the passages that apply to us (the Church the Body of Christ) in this the Dispensation of Grace. There are two operating programs in God’s Word, the prophetic program (Acts 3:21) and the mystery program (Romans 16:25,26). Obviously, there are two grand hopes: one for the prophetic program (Israel’s earthly kingdom) and one for the mystery program (our heavenly kingdom).

 

THE EARTHLY KINGDOM, ISRAEL’S HOPE

Okay, now we can answer the question: Who will reign with Christ during the 1000 years?

Throughout the Old Testament, a believer’s hope was to die and return to earth in a resurrected body in order to dwell in a literal, physical, visible, earthly kingdom and restore God’s authority in the earth. The oldest book in the Bible, Job, says in chapter 19: “25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”

No one had a hope of dying and going to heaven in the Old Testament. Instead, they hoped to return to earth to inherit an earthly kingdom with God ruling and reigning over them. So, from Genesis chapter 12 (Abraham, the father of Israel) to Acts chapter 9, the Bible focuses on God’s purpose and plan for restoring the earth: creating the nation Israel and making them “a kingdom of priests” in the earth (Exodus 19:5,6; Isaiah 61:6; Daniel 2:44; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10; et al.). This kingdom is the 1000-year kingdom (also known as “the millennial reign of Christ”). From these passages we see that believers in the Old Testament period will inherit the earthly 1000-year kingdom. But, that is only part of the answer to our question….

When we come to Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, we learn that that 1000-year kingdom is still the issue. Consider Matthew 19:27,28 KJV: “Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

So, the twelve apostles will also inherit Israel’s kingdom. All believers of Christ’s earthly ministry will inherit Israel’s 1000-year kingdom too. Jesus said to His Jewish followers in His earthly ministry, “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:31,32). There is more….

Revelation 20:4 provides further information about who will rule with Christ during the 1000-year kingdom in the earth: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

This verse occurs right after the seven-year Tribulation period. Those who become believers during the Tribulation (not us, we have been raptured out before the seven years) will endure intense persecution. Some will die by beheading for rejecting the mark of the beast (a religious mark). Those believers of the Tribulation period will inherit the earthly 1000-year kingdom too (because the Tribulation period is part of the Old Testament timeline).

So, putting this all together, let us look at Matthew 25:34, which will occur just before the 1000-year kingdom is set up. “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” (Matthew 25:34). Notice that God had planned that earthly kingdom “from the foundation of the world”—that earthly kingdom was God’s purpose ever since He put Adam on the earth. It was that kingdom He was forming with Israel through the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, and the early Acts period.

Who will be ruling and reigning with Christ during the 1000-year reign on earth? Every believer from the Old Testament, from Adam to the last person saved in Israel’s Tribulation. They will inherit Israel’s kingdom, and they will rule with Christ in the earth. This includes the twelve apostles, the believers of Christ’s earthly ministry, and all believers from the Tribulation period. This does NOT include us, members of the Church the Body of Christ, because we will not inherit Israel’s promise of the earthly kingdom.

BUT, THERE IS STILL MORE! We too (the Church the Body of Christ) will be ruling with Christ during that 1000-year period, just not on the earth!

 

THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM, OUR HOPE

From Genesis to Acts chapter 9, remember that the Bible focuses on God’s restoration of the earth. However, remember earlier that we discussed that Satan has polluted the governments of the earth and the heaven. The heaven needs to be restored.

Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke about using Israel to restore His authority in the earth. But, God never spoke about restoring the heaven until we come to the Apostle Paul’s salvation in Acts chapter 9. From Paul’s epistles we learn that God will use us, the Church the Body of Christ, to restore His authority in the heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 2:6,7; Colossians 3:1-3; et al.).

We will not be on the earth during the 1000-year reign of Christ, but we will still reign with Him during that 1000-year period… in the heaven!

The glorified physical bodies we will receive at the rapture will equip us to live in the heaven (see 1 Corinthians 15:47-55; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Philippians 3:20,21). We will be reigning with Christ too, but we will be reigning in the heaven because we as members of the Body of Christ have a hope in heaven, not earth (2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 3:1-4; 2 Timothy 4:18; et al.).

 

CONCLUSION

So, considering all that, we understand the following:

  1. All saints of all time will be ruling with Christ during the 1000-year-reign, but they will be serving in two different realms/spheres. Israel will be on the earth and us the Church the Body of Christ in the heaven.
  2. ISRAEL ON THE EARTH—The nation Israel is God’s earthly people and they are promised an earthly hope / kingdom in the earth (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 17:8; Deuteronomy 4:38; 2 Samuel 7:23-25). Believing Israel—called the “little flock” in Luke 12:32—will inherit the earthly kingdom promised in the Old Testament. This includes all Old Testament believers, all believers of Christ’s earthly ministry, and all those believers from the seven-year Tribulation.
  3. BODY OF CHRIST IN THE HEAVEN—Us, the Church the Body of Christ, will inherit the heavenly kingdom. Recall that we (the Church the Body of Christ) are God’s heavenly people, promised a heavenly hope / kingdom in the heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6,7; Colossians 3:1-4; 2 Timothy 4:18). Just as Israel will reclaim the earth for God’s glory, overthrowing Satan’s power here, we as members of the Body of Christ will take over the heaven for God’s glory, overthrowing Satan’s power there! Ephesians 2:6,7 explain: “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Remember that we are not given Israel’s promises (the earthly kingdom). We as members of the Church the Body of Christ have a promise of our own—the heavenly kingdom!

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Did Jesus Christ Go to Hell?

June 10, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

In Acts 2:31, the Apostle Peter preached to the nation Israel: “He [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” Did Jesus Christ really go to hell between the time of His death and His resurrection? Did Jesus’ soul really suffer the flames of hell after He died? To answer these questions, we need to look at the doctrine of hell from the dispensational standpoint. Hell is a greatly confused topic, and it should not be. Remember, dear friends, we will not make sense of any Bible doctrine if we do not “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

The doctrine of hell is a dispensational doctrine. In other words, it is presented differently throughout the time during which God’s Word was revealed and written in human language. Today, in the Dispensation of Grace, we know that no believers in Christ go to hell, yet King David writes in Psalm 16:10 concerning the Messiah: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (This is the verse Peter quoted earlier. He also quoted it in Acts 2:27.) David writes that he will go to hell and the Lord Jesus Christ will go to hell. We know, however, that both the Lord Jesus Christ and David never went to suffer in the flames of hellfire. Then, what is the “hell” spoken of in Psalm 16:10, Acts 2:27, and Acts 2:31?

Hell had two compartments in time past. In the Old Testament, those who had faith in JEHOVAH, the God of the Bible and the God of Israel, could not go to heaven after death because the atoning blood of Jesus Christ had not been shed (Hebrews 10:11-12). “Hell” is the Old Testament term given to the place where the souls of both believers and unbelievers would go, but they would go into their respective compartments of hell. In Luke chapter 16, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to His disciples regarding this matter. The following is not a parable—the next verses document a true story (a parable never contained names, but this one clearly contains a real man’s name, Lazarus). Here is Luke chapter 16 KJV:

“19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”

Again, in the Old Testament, prior to Calvary, the souls of the just (believers) and the souls of the unjust (unbelievers) went to a spiritual place called “hell.” At this time during the earthly ministry of Christ, prior to Calvary, “hell” was divided into two regions: (1) “paradise” (or, “Abraham’s bosom”) and (2) “torments” (or, “this flame”). Lazarus went to paradise because he believed God’s Word to him (he was a man of faith)—he did not go to paradise because he was poor. The rich man went to torments, not because he was rich, but because he died in his sins—he had faith in his wealth but not in God’s Word to him. Let us continue reading Luke chapter 16:

“24 And he [the rich man] cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”

The rich man is in torments; this is what we know today as “hellfire.” He is thirsty, and begs for water, but he is still in unbelief. Even after death, this lost man has no regrets for his unbelief and he has no repentance toward God! Now, please note that “Abraham’s bosom” is not a place of suffering and it is not purgatory. Notice that there is a great gulf fixed between the torments side and the paradise side of hell. The unbelievers could not leave the torments side and go to paradise, and the believers in paradise could not access the torments side. Here is a figure of hell to help you understand what we stated thus far:

WHERE IS HELL?

Where is hell? Scripture always defines “hell” as being downward (Job 11:8; Psalm 55:15; Proverbs 15:24; Isaiah 14:9, 15; Ezekiel 31:16,17; et al.). In fact, the Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:39,40 KJV: “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” According to Jesus, hell is in the center of the earth!

Compare that to Luke 23:43 KJV: “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The Lord tells the believing thief on the cross next to him that he will be with Him in “paradise”—notice the Bible does not say “heaven.” Jesus Christ, when He died, went to Abraham’s bosom, the paradise side of hell, the place where the souls of the saved had been kept (this place is called “Abraham’s bosom” because these believers died having Abraham’s faith, that is the faith in God that Abraham had).

“Paradise” does not describe hellfire; therefore Jesus Christ did not die and then go to hell to suffer the flames of hellfire. Everything that Christ suffered He suffered while hanging on the cross of Calvary. It was in the last three hours on the cross—the three hours of darkness—that Jesus Christ in His soul suffered God the Father’s wrath for our sins (Matthew 27:45,46; Psalm 22:1; Isaiah 53:10-12). All the suffering that Christ experienced happened on Calvary’s cross, not after He died: actually, it is heresy to say that Jesus Christ went to suffer in hellfire. Jesus Christ’s soul went into the “heart of the earth” for the three days and three nights during which He was dead, just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. Again, Jesus Christ’s soul went to hell, but it was the paradise side of hell, not the torment side.

What happened to the believers in the paradise side of hell after Jesus Christ arose from the dead? While it is often taught that Ephesians 4:8-10 describes Jesus removing the saints’ souls from hell/paradise, I no longer hold that view: Ephesians 4:8-10 has a context and removing saints from the paradise side of hell is not the context. Whenever Jesus removed those believers’ souls, we do not know. It was after His resurrection, but there are no verses to say exactly when. After He resurrected, He brought all of the souls from the comfort side of hell (the believers in Abraham’s bosom, paradise) straight up into the third heaven. We know that paradise is in the third heaven where God the Father dwells because Paul uses the terms “paradise” and “third heaven” interchangeably in 2 Corinthians 12:2,4. In this Dispensation of Grace, there is no divided hell; “hell” now only applies to the place where lost people go today when they die. The paradise side of hell is now in the third heaven (see Hebrews 12:22-24). Consequently, the great gulf disappeared, and hell was entirely transformed into a place of torments. This is how hell exists today (see figure of hell, above). As the Prophet Isaiah says, “hell hath enlarged herself” (5:14).

Today, anyone who dies as an unbeliever still goes to hell, and it is still in the heart of the earth as before. When a member of the Church the Body of Christ dies, he or she will go into the presence of the Lord in heaven, not to paradise like in the Old Testament economy. Let us see what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 KJV:

“6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

SHEOL, HADES, AND HELL

By the way, the King James translators have been heavily criticized for their use of the word “hell.” In fact, most modern English “bible” translations refuse to use the word in their text. Instead, they read, “the grave,” “sheol,” or “hades.” (This is also true of the NKJV.) These are nothing more than numerous instances of watering down God’s Word to make it more “politically correct.” The Qur’an mentions “hell” by name, and yet we are too afraid to have God’s Word, the Holy Bible, say it?! “Sheol” (Hebrew) is a transliteration; it is not a translation. “Hades” (Greek) is a transliteration; it is not a translation. “Hades” and “Sheol” are two meaningless words to the English reader; it does not help the English Bible reader to retain the Hebrew and Greek terms. The King James Bible is a translation; therefore it should have translations in it. We should not water down and soften God’s Word just so it reads nicer to English speakers. There is most definitely a hell, and when people curse, they use the word “hell” (not “Hades” and not “Sheol”). “Hell” is the correct term in English. The King James translators are right and they are unjustly censured.

CONCLUSION

Jesus Christ died and went to hell (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27,31), but He went to the paradise side of hell (Luke 23:43). Hell in time past was divided into two compartments: one for saved people (“paradise,” “Abraham’s bosom”) and the other for lost people (“torments,” “this flame”). Today, in this Dispensation of Grace, Abraham’s bosom (paradise) has been taken into the third heaven. Today, believers die and their souls go into the third heaven, not paradise (the heart of the earth) like in time past. Lost people still go to hell, the heart of the earth, when they die. In fact, Revelation 20:11-15 says that the “lake of fire” will one day replace hell. Eternal judgment will only be understood when we “rightly divide the word of truth.” Dispensational Bible study is critical to understanding and enjoying the Bible.

Everything that Christ suffered He suffered while hanging on Calvary’s cross. It was in the last three hours on the cross—the three hours of darkness—that Jesus Christ suffered God’s wrath for our sins (Matthew 27:45,46). All the suffering that Christ experienced happened on Calvary’s cross, not after He died. Again, Jesus Christ’s soul went to hell, but it was the paradise side of hell, not the torments side. He never suffered the flames of hell (that is heresy).

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

John the Baptist I & II

June 5, 2011

John the Baptist I
by Shawn Brasseaux
[5 June 2011]

John the Baptist is a very important figure in God’s dealings with the nation Israel. He is the first prophet God sent to the nation Israel since the prophet Malachi, who preached to Israel some 400 years earlier. During the “400 years of silence” between the prophet Malachi and John the Baptist, JEHOVAH sent neither angels nor prophets to speak to Israel. Now, God suddenly breaks that silence by sending John the Baptist to preach a message to Israel. In this two-part Bible study, we want to examine the special ministry of John the Baptist. This week, we will introduce you to John.

* * *

In the opening verses of Luke chapter 1, we read of Zacharias, a priest of Israel. He and his wife Elizabeth are elderly and childless (verse 7). While Zacharias is ministering as a priest in the Temple, the angel Gabriel appears to him, and reveals some rather shocking news: Elizabeth’s barren womb will give birth to her and Zacharias’ first child! Gabriel prophesies that the child’s name will be John (verses 8-14).

Gabriel also describes John and the special role God will give him. Consider Luke 1:15-17 KJV:

“15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zacharias doubts Gabriel’s prophecy, so Gabriel declares that Zacharias will be unable to speak for the next nine months (verses 18-23). Some time after Zacharias and Elizabeth return to their home, Elizabeth in her old age conceives. Six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her that she will be the mother of the physical body of God the Son (verse 26-35).

As it turns out, Elizabeth and Mary are cousins, making John the Baptist and Jesus Christ relatives! When the time has come to circumcise John the Baptist on the eighth day, Elizabeth’s family and neighbors want to name the baby Zacharias, after his father (verses 57-59). “Not so; but he shall be called John,” Elizabeth says (verse 60). In the following verses, Zacharias, who is still unable to speak, writes on a tablet that the baby’s name is John, remembering what the angel Gabriel instructed. The people are rather astonished to suddenly hear Zacharias speaking again. Through Zacharias, the Holy Spirit speaks (verses 76-79):

“76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The Holy Spirit has revealed that John the Baptist is going to prepare Israel for her coming Messiah-King, Jesus of Nazareth. Notice what we read in the first chapter of John’s Gospel:

“6 There was a man sent from God [the Father], whose name was John [the Baptist].
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light [Jesus Christ], that all men through him might believe.
8 He [John] was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew him not.”

According to the Bible, John the Baptist’s purpose is to bear witness of the Light, Jesus Christ. God the Father has sent John the Baptist to point Israel to Jesus as their Messiah-King. Six months after the birth of John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem: John is six months older than Jesus (Luke 1:26,36).

So, three decades later, by the time John the Baptist and Jesus Christ begin their ministries, they are aged 30 (Luke 3:23), the youngest age to enter Israel’s priesthood (Numbers 4:3). Notice the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry, as recorded in Luke 3:1-3 KJV:

“1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,…
2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;”

Let us compare that with Mark 1:1-4 KJV:

“1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”

Over 400 years before Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, JEHOVAH had spoken through the prophet Malachi: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me…” (Malachi 3:1).

The prophet Isaiah wrote circa 700 B.C. (40:3-5):

“3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”

Mark 1:1-4 explains that Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3-5 were prophesying the ministry of John the Baptist (cf. Matthew 3:3, Matthew 11:7-10, and Luke 3:4-6). Interestingly, the last book of the “Old Testament” in our English Bible is Malachi. The last few verses of the “Old Testament” are Malachi 4:5,6 KJV: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

Earlier, recall that we read that the angel Gabriel told Zacharias (Luke 1:17): “And he [John the Baptist] shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Matthew 11:7-14, Matthew 17:11-13, and Mark 9:12,13 all confirm that John the Baptist is the individual promised in Malachi 4:5,6. John the Baptist’s ministry is still on Old Testament ground, because the Old Testament prophesied his ministry. The only thing that is different between the “Old Testament” (Genesis through Malachi) and John the Baptist’s ministry is that now Israel’s King is in her midst!

Next week, we are going to examine the details of the message that John the Baptist preached.

 

John the Baptist II
by Shawn Brasseaux
[12 June 2011]

Last week, in part I, we were introduced to John the Baptist, a very important figure in God’s dealings with the nation Israel. In the Old Testament (Malachi 3:1), JEHOVAH said that just before He would come, He would send His messenger before Himself. The forerunner of JEHOVAH, Jesus Christ (Israel’s Messiah), is John the Baptist. Last week, we learned that John the Baptist would (Luke 1:17): “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” John was to prepare the nation Israel to accept her Messiah Jesus.

As we saw last week, John the Baptist’s birth was extraordinary because his parents were elderly. John’s father, Zacharias, had been mute for his wife’s entire gestation period (nine months). The angel Gabriel had visited Zacharias to foretell John the Baptist’s coming. These events should have gotten the attention of the nation Israel. Alas, as we will discover, Israel was too content in her lost state, and she, for the most part, refused to hearken unto John the Baptist. But, what message did John the Baptist preach to Israel? We will examine that issue this week.

* * *

In order to understand John the Baptist’s ministry, look at what Matthew 3:1-6 KJV says:

“1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.”

Recall from last week that John the Baptist’s father Zacharias is of the priestly lineage (Luke 1:5-9). John should be following his father by becoming a priest of Israel. He should be in the Temple! But according to Matthew 3:1, where is John? John is preaching in the wilderness of Judaea! Obviously, Israel is in apostasy, and her religious system (the Temple) is spiritually dead and worthless, corrupted by the traditions of the elders. God is using John to call His nation Israel away from the Temple, away from the satanic policy of evil, and out into the wilderness (see Hosea 2:14,15).

Notice what John the Baptist preached to Israel: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Recognize that this is not the message of salvation that we preach today (compare Matthew 3:2 with 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3, Acts 13:24, and Acts 19:4 refer to John’s message as “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” Mathew 3:5,6 tell us that Jews from all surrounding areas come to the Jordan River, being water baptized and confessing their sins.

God the Father has sent John the Baptist to prepare Israel to accept her Messiah-King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, God promised Israel a King and a kingdom (Exodus 19:5,6; Psalm 2:6-9; Isaiah 9:6,7; Isaiah 60:1-3; Jeremiah 23:5,6; Daniel 2:44; et al.). Now, as John the Baptist declares, their King is here, so the kingdom is “at hand” (near, about to be established). Luke 16:16 KJV says: “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” Every Jew had to repent (change their thinking) and place their faith in John the Baptist’s message. “Get ready for your King, Israel!!!”

By faith, these individual Jews were water baptized and confessed their sins (their national sin of breaking the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law): the only way that kingdom could be established is if every Jew had been saved, that is having trusted in Jesus as their Messiah-King/Christ (see Matthew 16:16; John 1:41; John 11:27).

In John 1:31 KJV, we read John the Baptist’s words: “And I knew him [Christ] not: but that he [Jesus Christ] should be manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.” Again, recall that the Bible terms this message “the baptism of repentance” (the Apostle Peter preached this same message three years later in Acts 2:38 on the day of Pentecost). Although we looked at it last week, you can re-read Mark’s account of John the Baptist’s ministry for comparison (Mark 1:1-5).

Let us consider Mark 1:7-8 KJV now: “And [John the Baptist] preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”

John is making a direct reference to Jesus Christ by warning Israel that someone greater than he is coming. That man will be the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the JEHOVAH of the Old Testament! Notice the warning John gives to the wicked, unbelieving Pharisees and Sadducees: “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7-12; Luke 3:7-9).

Any Jew that refuses to hearken unto the words of John the Baptist will face God’s wrath and judgment. Unless these Jews accept this water baptism, and the later baptism with the Holy Ghost (which took place in Acts chapter 2), they will perish with all the other unbelievers in the fire baptism (the Tribulation and subsequent Second Coming of Christ).

Now, it is awfully sad to learn that Israel was so steeped in unbelief that some Jews actually thought John the Baptist was their Messiah! This is evidenced by their indecisiveness in Luke 3:15: “And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;” The Jews were still mostly confused and persist in rank unbelief. So much so, they sent Levites and priests to ask John who he is (John 1:19). Furthermore, some Jews were so mixed up they wrongly thought Jesus Christ was the forerunner promised in Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, which was actually speaking of John the Baptist (Matthew 16:14). How sad! No wonder God called them “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6).

As John the Baptist is water baptizing repentant Jews in the river Jordan, Jesus Christ comes to be baptized of him. John the Baptist humbly refuses to baptize the Lord Jesus, saying: “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” (Matthew 3:14). The Lord Jesus had no sins to confess, for He is holy and sinless, so why did He need John’s water baptism? Christ explains: “Suffer [Allow] it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). In order to be Israel’s high priest and fulfill the demands of the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 2:17, 3:1, 4:14,15, et al.), Jesus Christ had to go through the washing the Old Testament priests had to have before entering the priesthood back in Exodus 29:4.

Also, by being water baptized, Jesus Christ identified Himself with those who had placed their faith in Him as their Messiah. The believers of Christ’s earthly ministry—the believing remnant of Israel who would inherit Israel’s kingdom—are collectively referred to as “the little flock” (Luke 12:32). The lost, wicked lawyers and Pharisees demonstrated their unbelief by rejecting John’s water baptism of repentance (Luke 7:29,30). John’s water baptism was how lost Jews were differentiated from saved Jews.

During the early part of Christ’s earthly ministry, John the Baptist had spoken out against King Herod marrying Herodias, Herod’s brother’s wife. Although Herod wanted to kill John, he feared the people, so he imprisoned John instead. Afterward, Herodias’ daughter requests that Herod give her John the Baptist’s head, so John is beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:17-29; Luke 9:7-9).

And thus concluded John the Baptist’s ministry. The Jews allowed the voice of God the Father, John the Baptist, to be silenced. This would be the first of three times Israel would blaspheme against the Godhead. They allowed the silence of God the Father (John the Baptist), they would later demand that God the Son (Jesus Christ) be put to death on Calvary’s cross, and finally they would refuse to obey the Holy Ghost (the little flock, especially the twelve apostles) during the early Acts period. Once Israel stoned her prophet Stephen in Acts chapter 7, she had rejected all three Persons of the Godhead.

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Beware of the Date-Setters! (The May 21, 2011 Controversy)

May 19, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

Throughout the past 2,000 years, there have been numerous (failed) attempts of trying to calculate and predict the return of Jesus Christ. One of the most notable (failed) predictions was the “Great Disappointment” of 22 October 1844. Others speculated various dates during the 1980s and 1990s, especially 1988 (the 40th anniversary of Israel becoming a nation in modern times). A number of Christians believed that Jesus Christ would rapture His Body in 1993 so that His Second Coming could occur in the year 2000. When 1993 came and went, some decided the rapture must be in 2000, so that became the “new year”… that prediction, by the way, fell through when 2007 passed with no Second Coming.

I remember uneasy souls wondering if Jesus Christ would return on 6 June 2006 (06/06/06). Actually, this was a misunderstanding of the “number of the beast (antichrist),” which is not a date but a reference to some type of personal identification that will be mandated in the future seven-year Tribulation, without which no one can buy or sell (see Revelation 13:16-18). We have all heard of that sensationalized claim that the world will end 21 December 2012, have we not?

Recently, 89-year-old American evangelist Harold Camping of has proposed a new date for the rapture—21 May 2011. Five months later, on 21 October, the world is supposed to end. This heresy is being spread worldwide via the internet, billboards, radio, and television. (In fact, I saw some of their “judgment day” vehicles passing by my college several weeks ago!)

Whenever supposed “Christians” set dates like the examples we have briefly discussed, the lost world sees it as additional ammunition to ridicule Christians and discredit the Bible. The Apostle Paul, God’s apostle in this the Dispensation of Grace, makes it absolutely clear that the rapture will occur before the seven-year tribulation period, but Paul never gave us the exact date of the rapture. If Paul never gave us the exact date, what authority does Camping have to set the date? Unsurprisingly, Camping claims to use the Bible! (We will examine Camping’s calculations at the end).

Let us turn to the Scriptures and see if what Mr. Camping says is so.

* * *

In this world, there are three views regarding Jesus Christ’s coming: (1) some believe He is coming but refuse to set dates, (2) others believe He is coming and attempt to set dates, and (3) still others believe He is not coming at all. A Bible student firmly grounded in the Holy Scriptures has view #1—the Bible absolutely declares that Jesus Christ is coming back, literally, physically, visibly, but we do not know an exact date.

In his second epistle, the Apostle Peter (3:3,4) writes of the scoffers who inquire, “Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming?” At the time of Peter writing this, it had been some 35 years since Jesus Christ had ascended into heaven. Christ promised that He would return, but the generation that saw Him in the flesh was now beginning to die. Decades after the Lord Jesus had resurrected and ascended into heaven, James, Peter, and John spoke of His Second Coming as if it were just moments away (James 5:8,9; 1 Peter 4:7; 2 Peter 3:3; 1 John 2:18). Why has Jesus Christ not yet returned to earth, even well beyond the time of the scoffers of Peter’s letter? That takes a detailed explanation.

Recall that during Christ’s earthly ministry, the seven-year Tribulation of God’s wrath and judgment seemed like it was in the near future, as if it would be in the first century A.D. Just prior to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, John the Baptist preached, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). To Israel’s religious leaders, John spoke (verse 7): “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Notice John warns the nation Israel that her kingdom is “at hand” (near) and God’s judgment and wrath is coming (the baptism with fire, Israel’s seven-year Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ in judgment). It was as if Israel’s tribulation period and kingdom would occur during the lifetime of John the Baptist’s audience (it would have occurred during their lifetime, but there is a reason why it has yet to occur).

When we come to the early Acts period, three years after John the Baptist spoke in Matthew chapter 3, the Lord Jesus Christ has since been rejected, crucified, buried, risen, and ascended to sit at His Father’s right hand in heaven’s glory. Notice that the message of receiving salvation from “the wrath to come” is still on the Jews’ minds. In the opening chapters of the book of Acts, God gave the nation Israel a renewed opportunity for repentance. They could trust in Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah-King, or they could face God’s impending wrath (Acts 2:22,36-38; Acts 3:18-20).

The Apostle Peter, preaching to the lost nation Israel, shouts on the day of Pentecost, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,… And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:” (Acts 2:16,17,19,20).

Here, Peter tells Israel that Old Testament prophecy is being fulfilled in Acts chapter 2. God is now pouring out His Spirit on these believing Jews. According to the calendar in Joel 2:28-32, the next event is the time of wrath and judgment. The “notable day of the Lord” is approaching. In other words, Peter is saying, “Jesus Christ is coming back in flaming fire, and He will judge His enemies—He will judge you Israel for your unbelief and disobedience, so you had better get right with Him now!” Check Psalm 2:4,5, which confirm that the seven-year Tribulation should have occurred after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (verses 1-3).

In Acts chapter 7, one year after Acts chapter 2, Israel’s religious leaders hear God’s prophet Stephen warn them of the coming judgment (just as Peter did earlier). At this point, Jesus is standing at His Father’s right hand, prepared to pour wrath and judgment on the rebellious Jewish people (cf. Psalm 110:1 with Acts 7:55-56; also see Psalm 68:1,2). In anger, the Jews stoned Stephen to death. The Second Coming of Christ should have occurred here in Acts chapter 7, but it did not.

Rather than Jesus Christ returning to earth in wrath, Jesus Christ returned to earth in grace, and saved Saul of Tarsus in Acts chapter 9. God made him Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). Also, God began a new program, the Dispensation of Grace (Ephesians 3:2). In Acts chapter 15 and Galatians chapter 2, Israel’s apostles James, Peter, and John, learn from the Apostle Paul that God is temporarily setting aside Israel and her prophetic program. Momentarily, God would institute the mystery program, a secret dispensation He never revealed in the Old Testament. Prior to revealing this information to Paul, God had kept this information secret in Himself (Romans 16:25,26; Ephesians 3:1-11; Colossians 1:26,27).

Israel’s kingdom program would be postponed for an indefinite period of time, and national Israel would temporarily lose her privileged position. In the meantime, God would form a new group of believers, the Church the Body of Christ, of the people of the world who would trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour (Acts 15:14-17; Romans 11:25; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:13-22; et al.).

Returning to 2 Peter 3:3,4, which we looked at earlier, the scoffers ask, “Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming?” Why has Jesus Christ not returned? After 2,000 years, Jesus Christ has yet to return to planet earth. Will He ever return? If so, when? Peter answers that question in verses 7-10:

“7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

The Apostle Peter reassures us that God’s wrath, that notable day of the Lord, is coming indeed (verse 7). Rest assured that God will do what He has promised He will do, but He will do it in accordance with His own timing (verse 9). God has interrupted Israel’s prophetic program. That Tribulation period of God’s wrath and His Second Coming has been postponed. Why? Verse 9 concludes: “but [God] is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God wants all people to be saved everywhere. He wants no one to suffer His wrath and judgment because His Son Jesus Christ already endured His wrath and judgment for our sins by going to Calvary’s cross!

The Apostle Peter continued in 2 Peter 3:15,16: “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” God is postponing Israel’s prophetic program and judgment because He is extending this the Dispensation of Grace one more day. Peter said that the information about the Dispensation of Grace and the postponement of Israel’s program can only be found in Paul’s epistles (specifically, see Romans chapters 9-11).

God is deliberately postponing His wrath and judgment on wicked mankind and He is giving man ample time to believe the Gospel of Grace. However, God will soon pour out His wrath on unbelieving mankind. God’s grace is withholding the impending wrath, yet our world finds it amusing to mock Him by abusing His grace and mocking the promise of His return. How sad, but remember, “Behold, I come quickly,” the Lord Jesus Christ said in Revelation 22:7. Surely, Jesus Christ is coming back, and we should be looking for His coming as instructed in 2 Timothy 4:8 and Titus 2:13, but we cannot set dates.

Maranatha! (Aramaic, “Our Lord cometh!”)

One day, this the Dispensation of Grace will conclude at the rapture. Then, God will resume His dealings with the nation Israel by operating her prophetic program. If Jesus Christ were to come today to take His saints home to glory at the rapture, would you be among those taken away to heaven? The Bible says that Jesus Christ died for your sins, to pay for everything that is wrong with you, to shed His innocent blood for your forgiveness. Jesus Christ was buried for three days and three nights, and He was raised again the third day for your justification so that you could have a perfect standing before God. This is the Gospel of the Grace of God of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Trust exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ today, and God will save you and keep you forever!

_______________
SUPPLEMENT: CAMPING’S CATACLYSMIC (MIS)CALCULATIONS

Harold Camping contends that the Bible gives us “absolute proof” that 2011 is the end of the world.

According to Camping, the flood of Noah occurred 4990 B.C., yet Bible chronologists date the flood of Noah to about 2350 B.C. (Camping’s date is off in excess of 2500 years!) We can dismiss Camping’s claims that Jesus Christ will come on 21 May 2011 because this flawed date serves as the linchpin for his calculations! If this date is wrong, then the whole argument disintegrates!

Harold Camping asserts that God’s judgment will occur exactly 7000 years after the flood of Noah. You may ask, “Where does Camping get the number 7,000 anyway?” From the Bible, or so he claims. According to Camping, Peter’s words of “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8) refers to God judging the world exactly 7,000 years from the time of the flood of Noah. How so? If God gave a seven-day warning before the flood of Noah came (see Genesis 7:4), then God is somehow hinting that judgment will occur exactly 7,000 years after the flood of Noah. As it turns out, that date is 21 May 2011.

Camping’s math is as follows:

4990 + 2011 – 1 = 7000
(The 1 is subtracted to adjust the calendar from BC to AD, since there is no year 0).

I remind you yet again that if Camping’s date of 4990 is in error—AND IT IS—the whole calculation collapses like a house of cards! Let us play a game of 52-card pick up, shall we? Camping places the Second Coming of Christ on 21 October 2011, exactly five months after 21 May 2011. You may ask, where does Camping get that five-month period? Oh, from Revelation 9:5. This verse, by the way, refers to Israel’s seven-year Tribulation. That five-month period of Revelation 9:5 has nothing to do with God’s present-day dealings with man and this the Dispensation of Grace (our current time period). Revelation 9:5 belongs in Israel’s prophetic program, not in our mystery program. Again, this verse has nothing to do with the time period in which we live!

According to the Bible, the rapture, the seven-year Tribulation, and the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth will all occur in a time span of at least 1007 years. Camping, going contrary to Scripture, alleges that all of these events will occur WITHIN A FIVE-MONTH PERIOD. That is absolutely ridiculous. Camping’s calculations are wrong for the five following reasons:

  1. his initial date of Noah’s flood is wrong,
  2. he wrongly assumes there is a connection between the seven days of Genesis 7:4 and the 1000 years spoken of in 2 Peter 3:8,
  3. he “steals” Revelation 9:5 from its context,
  4. he attempts to “squeeze” a 1007-year period of time into a 5-month period,
  5. he confuses Israel’s prophetic program with the Church the Body of Christ’s mystery program.

And so, someone needs to pick up the cards…. rest assured, others will soon come, pick them up, and build another house!

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Versus – Prophetic Program Versus Mystery Program

April 21, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

PROPHECY

MYSTERY

“spoken since the world began” (Acts 3:21)

“kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25)

focuses on the earth (Exodus 19:5-6)

focuses on the heaven (Ephesians 2:6-7)

the nation Israel (Deuteronomy 4:20)

the Church the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23)

Peter / the 12 apostles
(Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 16:16-19)

The Apostle Paul
(Acts 9:15-16; Romans 11:13)

Salvation goes to Gentiles through Israel’s rise to kingdom glory (Isaiah 60:1-3)

Salvation goes to Gentiles through Israel’s fall (albeit temporarily) (Romans 11:11-12, 25)

The Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 9:35)

The Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:24)

From Adam to Abraham, about 4004 B.C. to 2000 B.C., there was neither Jew nor Gentile (non-Jew). In other words, there was only one race of people. During this time period, there was global wickedness, which brought about Noah’s Flood (2350 B.C.) and the scattering/confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel (2175 B.C.). There were billions of people on earth, but there were only eight believers in the world at the time of Noah (2 Peter 2:5)! It was at the tower of Babel that God gave the nations up (Romans 1:21-32).

God selected one pagan, Abram, and renamed him Abraham. See the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-18, and 17:1-11. Through his future son Isaac, God would establish the nation Israel, He would set them in a geographic area of land (Canaan, Promised Land, the land of Palestine), and God would one day rule Israel in an earthly kingdom. God would set apart (“sanctify”) this one little nation Israel, and He would use Israel to evangelize the world.

The LORD repeated this covenant to Abraham’s son Isaac (Genesis 26:1-6). The Jewish race can be traced through Abraham, his son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons, which headed up the twelve tribes of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:8; Genesis 32:28; Acts 7:8). In 1500 B.C., God promises Moses that Israel would be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:3-6). Five hundred years after Moses, God made a promise to King David that a King would come through his bloodline, and this coming King would rule in an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:10-16; Luke 1:31-33).

Coming up through the Old Testament, we find more references to Israel’s kingdom (Psalm 2:6-8; Isaiah 9:6,7; Isaiah 42:1-3; Isaiah 60:1-3; Jeremiah 23:5-8; Daniel 2:44; Micah 5:2; et al.). In Zechariah 8:20-23, we learn that Israel would evangelize the lost Gentiles in her kingdom (cf. Isaiah 61:6). The word “judgment” in Isaiah 42:1 refers to “government,” Christ bringing government to the world, not just to Israel.

By the time we get to Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, we find John the Baptist water baptizing and commanding the nation Israel to repent (change their thinking), “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-6). The King, Jesus of Nazareth, is about to make His appearance to offer Israel the kingdom long promised in the Old Testament covenants. Jesus Christ performs miracles, proving who He claimed to be (John 4:48; 1 Corinthians 1:22; cf. Isaiah 35:3-10), preaching the “Gospel of the Kingdom” (Matthew 9:35): “Jesus of Nazareth is you Messiah-King” (cf. Matthew 16:16-18; Mark 1:14,15).

In unbelief, the Jews crucified their Messiah-King on Calvary, but He resurrects. The apostles asked Jesus in Acts 1:6,7, “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Soon after, the Lord Jesus Christ ascends to heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand, just after instructing them to fulfill the Great Commission. The apostles start evangelizing Jews in Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-49). Israel has to be saved nationally, and the twelve are hoping Jesus Christ will return soon. However, they also know they must go through seven years of Tribulation before the kingdom (remember Psalm 2:3-8?).

In Acts chapter 2, the Apostle Peter urged Israel to repent (change their thinking), and told them their King they crucified was alive and He would return one day to bring in that kingdom (Acts 2:22-38). They needed to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord, not reject Him like they did before. In Acts 2:38, the Holy Spirit leads Peter to speak God’s message to Israel: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” A year later, the prophet Stephen in Acts chapter 7 is still trying to turn Israel around, but with little success (there are a few believers in Israel, but not many).

The Jews beheaded John the Baptist (sent by God the Father), rejected God the Son (Jesus Christ), and they stoned Stephen (filled with the Holy Spirit). Israel has rejected all three Persons of the Godhead! They have committed the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31,32). Just as Stephen is stoned, God is ready to bring in wrath and vexation of the Tribulation. Psalm 110:1 KJV said: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” In Acts chapter 7, it was now time for God to pour out His wrath on the nation Israel, as promise in Psalm 2:4,5.

The prophetic program in Israel begins to diminish, as Israel refuses to cooperate with God. At the stoning of Stephen, we find a persecutor of those Jewish believers who embraced Jesus Christ—his name is Saul of Tarsus! Saul is religious, lost, and angry at Jesus of Nazareth because He was a threat to his religion Judaism (Acts 26:9-11; Galatians 1:13,14). This one Jew, whom God named “Paul,” would minister to the Gentile world now that Israel had fallen nationally (Romans 11:11-13). Instead of Israel ministering to Gentiles in their kingdom, the Lord would send Paul as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Acts 9:15,16; Acts 22:21; Acts 26:17; Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11).

As Saul is heading to Damascus to seek out more kingdom believers and persecute them, and/or put them to death, the Lord strikes the man to the ground in Acts 9:1-6, and Saul is now saved. God sets Israel aside, going to the Gentiles for a certain period of time. By Acts chapter 28, Israel’s program is fully set aside.

Paul received the “dispensation of the grace of God” (Ephesians 3:1-9). This is a special time, separate from Old Testament prophecy. The “revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25) involves our Gospel of Grace being preached (Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) to Gentiles, without benefit of the nation Israel being saved today. Israel’s prophetic program was based on the Old Testament being fulfilled: the Apostle Peter said in Acts 3:21 KJV that he was preaching that “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Yet, Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 16:25,26a KJV that he is preaching “according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest….”“Mystery” involves the Body of Christ, kept secret since the world began and not found in the Old Testament (it is only revealed when we get to Paul’s ministry). These two programs cannot be the same.

Today, Paul writes that Israel is “fallen,” “blind” spiritually, and “cast away,” until the “fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:11,15,25). Once God completes the Body of Christ with Gentiles (and some Jews), the Dispensation of Grace will conclude, the rapture will happen, and God will return to dealing with the nation Israel during the seven-year Tribulation. Old Testament prophecy—the period of Tribulation, Christ’s Second Coming, and the earthly kingdom—will continue to be fulfilled (Romans 11:26-29).

Finally, almost 4000 years after the promise, the kingdom offered to Israel is established on earth at the Second Coming of Christ.

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

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