Monday, October 27, 2014

Just going over a few basics...

Our bible today was set up by the prophets in Paul’s day, the way God wanted it.  The old testament that the Jews used were the same books, but not in the same order as we today have it.  Ours is Genesis to Malachi and their’s was Genesis to Chronicles without breaking up the books into ‘first and second’ Samuel, Kings, or Chronicles.   Our bible was not set up by some men in a church council of men during the first century, but by prophets in the body of Christ that put the bible together in the order that we have it today. 

Paul breaks it down in Ephesians 2 as ‘time past’ (Genesis through early Acts) where God is dealing with people through a man named Moses and prophets (the Law and prophets); the people is the nation Israel, and the Davidic kingdom which is a real earthly, visible physical kingdom.  But, in the ‘but now,’ through the cross of Christ with the raising up of the Apostle Paul in his 13 books (Romans thru Philemon), the man who wrote more books of the bible than any other to magnify his office, it is not a message of Law, but of grace.   It is a free gift.  No works are involved.  In time past, Law (a performance-based acceptance of works) was what was required to be right with God.  But now, no works!

Ephesians 2: 8-9
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.

Today it is the mystery of Christ.  It has to do primarily with the gentiles.  All people are gentiles today, even the Jewish people are gentiles—they are now part of the nations. 

Acts 10:34
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

What God is doing today is raising up a people for the heavenly kingdom where we are seated with Christ. 

Ephesians 2:6
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

But when you come to the next part of your bible after you leave Paul’s epistles, you come to the book of Hebrews.  Romans are gentiles, Hebrews are Hebrews—the language and race of the Jewish people. Those books of Hebrews through Revelation have a future context, the day of God’s wrath, the tribulation period, and the Law, the performance-based acceptance program is again the issue. 

Prophecy is what God has made known, the mystery is what he kept secret.

Acts 3:21
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Romans 16:25
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,

When you rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), you understand that God is doing something different today from how he dealt with Israel in time past. 


Transcribed and edited excerpt from 
The Battle of the Ages  
Found in Bro Ron Knight’s studies in Romans

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