The BIG Picture (Q&A)

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait [narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [narrow] is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. When Jesus spoke these words, He was speaking to the Jews who were under the law of Moses. The narrow gate was in reference to living by the Mosaic law. The law brought about many constraints that made life challenging and 'narrow' . The wide road represented a way of life with no constraints, no demands, and no expectations. Those who ignored the law lived as they pleased and hence the road was wide and easy, but the end of it was destruction. The concept of the narrow gate and the wide gate is trans-dispensational and still applies today in this present age of grace, however the circumstances that determine the narrow from the wide have changed. Today, it is not the Mosaic law that determines the...

The information in the shaded area below is the end portion of a more comprehensive study, written by Arthur Licursi, called, " The Real Meaning of 'The Rich Man and Lazarus' " on his website here . Of particular interest to me, at this time of writing this post, was the Q&A section where Arthur answers some interesting questions about the fate of the wicked at the end of God's final judgements.  The contextual answers that Arthur provides may surprise you when you weigh it up against traditional Christian teachings and understanding. I encourage you to read through the information and come to your own conclusions based on the interpretations and context of the scripture references that Arthur provides. The proper Bible hermeneutic (interpretive) rules tell us we should always interpret the words of the Bible literally, unless the context clearly makes it otherwise. That's how God intended His Word to be understood and interpret...

The bible clearly lists various things as sins and therefore it is easy to know that these things are morally wrong. Things like, idolatry, greed, covetousness, lying, gluttony, complaining, murder, bribery, stealing, gossip, jealousy, adultery, etc. These and many more are either a violation of God's moral laws or a violation of moral and ethical laws set out by an authority like a government or ruling entity. Violating these causes you to fall into sin and probably face some form of consequences. But what about things that are not so obvious? Is smoking a sin? Is drinking a sin? What about anger, or not giving to the needy, or hurting someone's feelings? Do I sin if I choose not to go to church or if I want that extra piece of cake? What happens if I get a speeding ticket? Have I sinned in God's eyes for violating a law on the road? The list can go on and on, so the question remains, how do I know when something is a sin , especially if it is not as obvious, and not neces...

Sanctification, or in its verb form, sanctify, literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose" , that is, to make holy or sacred (compare Latin: sanctus) . This word is in description of one who has heard and received the gospel of the grace of God . In believing the message of the gospel, one is saved, and in that moment is set apart as sanctified, having been clothed with Christ's garment of righteousness. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy" , as a vessel, full of the Spirit of Christ. But note that there is more to sanctification than this incredibly gracious gift of God. Read on to also learn about practical sanctification. 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some [oversee] that they teach no other doctrine , 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now ...

Consider this practical analogy.  Both a pig and a sheep can fall into a mud hole. The pig remains perfectly content in the mud because it is its nature to roll in the mud. The sheep is not content to roll in the mud because it is contrary to its nature. It wants out as quickly as possible because living in mud is uncomfortable, unpleasant and weighty when the mud saturates its wool. Similarly, if a believer truly possesses the divine nature within them, they will be uncomfortable around sin, and sin will be unpleasant and feel weighty on their spirit because it is contrary to their new nature. Dealing with the inevitable question: What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Shall we sin knowing that we are entirely justified through Christ in the sight of God? Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more , 21 so that as sin reigned in death, ...

A simple guideline to remember is the following, "The whole bible is written for us, but not all of it is written to us." Put another way, "All the bible is for our learning, but not all of it is for our application." Let's consider our first example. We cannot just take what Jesus says to Nicodemus (in John 3:3-8) and think it applies to us directly. Jesus was a minister of the circumcision (Romans 15:8) and everything He taught was for the Jews only and applicable in the Kingdom program .  We are NOT in the Kingdom program today! So, if you take what Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and apply it to yourself, it will be as if you raid someone else's postbox and read their mail, and then apply all the advice in that mail to you. What happens if their mail was about the need to take heart medication for their weak heart? Would you then receive that advice as your own and go and take the heart medication? Absolutely not! You ...

Without the knowledge of right division between Israel's program of prophecy and law and the Paul's program of grace and mystery, one will find many supposed discrepancies or contradictions in the Bible. These, however, are easily explained when you understand that the two passages below each come from one of the two separate programs, in which life, faith, conditions, and divine instructions were very different. In the same way, the cross was seen as a very different object between the two dispensations. The following scripture is based on Israel's Kingdom program (before the revealing of the Grace program given to Paul by the glorified and risen Jesus Christ). In this passage the apostle Peter is preaching to Jews and mentioned that they killed their Messiah, allowing Him to be nailed to a cross, which was one of the most shameful and cursed positions to be placed in during those days (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:22-23). (See the appendi...

The Bible is very clear that Jesus will appear in the clouds at the END of the 7-years of Tribulation . Read the following verses carefully: Revelation 1:5-7; Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:29-31; Matthew 26:64; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-27. When Jesus appears in the clouds, it will be for the following reasons, To save the remnant of Israel in the wilderness To destroy the kingdom of the Antichrist To judge the false prophet, the Antichrist and cast Satan into the pit for 1000-years To judge the Gentile nations (aka, the sheep and goats judgement) To set up His Millennial Kingdom Since the above list of events is clearly presented in the Bible and synonymous with Christ's second coming, at the END of the 7-year tribulation , it is surprising that so many 'pre-tribulation' believing Christians think that the rapture of the Body of Christ will occur with Jesus appearing in the clouds. Now, just to make sure you und...

In the dispensation of Grace, God has changed a lot of the details of life, or the rules of living, as opposed to those for Israel under the law. We do not live in the law dispensation, so we cannot expect to experience life in the same way that we read in the Old Testament or the Gospels. We also cannot expect God to respond to us today as He did in the old ways under the law. Where the old ways of law were focused on the external , the way of grace today puts focus on the internal .   Under the old law dispensation, Jews required signs (1 Cor.1:22), God's glory was present behind a veil in a stone temple, signs and miracles were visible in the natural realm, bodies were healed, prison doors were opened, etc. In other words, the focus was on the physical because God was working according to the rules of life defined under this old law dispensation. Today, the rules of the grace dispensation do not focus greatly on the physical and the exte...

The world today, compared to pre-2020, has changed. This is a fact that is evident on so many levels as are listed below. For those who have some insights into Bible prophecy, and are aware of the signs, these things are pointing to an imminent change in dispensation, (Maranatha) , but for the majority of humanity who sadly remain blindly uninformed, their responses are either one of ignorant support for a united world order who offer a false peace and safety, or one of fear due to ominous repercussions ahead. The Bible has a lot to say about these 'last days' . If you know what the Bible predicts, you will see a clear and undeniable pattern of events occurring right before your eyes. These events are converging increasingly and their effects on the world and humanity are becoming more frequent and more intense. This following webpage, containing a  compilation of prophetic scripture passages , provides a brief understanding of what is happening in the world today and of the ...

One might hear others say, "What is all this talk of prophecy and mystery in the Bible?" Isn't the whole Bible the word of God and for us? And what is this mystery anyways? I've never known of a any mysteries? Well, remove all the hard theology, and the denominational boxes, and the preconceived mindsets, and the answer becomes surprisingly simple and clear when we follow our apostle, Paul's sound advice, 2 Tim.2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Prophecy and mystery is one of the primary divisions in the Bible and is clearly identified in the Word. Throughout the Bible we find references to prophecy, which are proclamations and instructions of future events that have been spoken by prophets since the world began. But, it is only in Paul's 13-epistles where we find the revealing of mysteries , which are proclamations and instructions that have been kept secret since the wo...

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten [born, birthed] us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Peter mentions the fact that 'us' , in reference to the Jews (Israel), have been begotten (or birthed) AGAIN! Born again? Firstly, what exactly does Peter mean by this, and second, does it line up with what the modern church and many Christians say today? So, in other words, what does 'born again' REALLY mean in the true biblical context, and does it REALLY have any significance in this grace dispensation? You might be very surprised at the findings. In the scripture passage below, Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus. We are all familiar with this well-known piece of dialogue as Jesus mentions to Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom, one must be born again . As always, it is crucial to read and understand any scripture in a rightly ...