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