The BIG Picture (Q&A)

"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." — Zechariah 8:23 (KJV) A Prophecy of Israel’s Future Prominence This verse reveals a profound prophecy concerning Israel’s restoration and role in the future millennial kingdom . It describes a time when people from all nations will seek out Israel , recognising that God’s presence and blessing are uniquely upon them . The image of Gentiles taking hold of the skirt of a Jew is symbolic of their desire to be associated with God's chosen people , acknowledging His divine favour upon Israel. The phrase "In those days" refers to a future period , distinct from the current dispensation. This is not a reference to our present age of grace , but rather to the time when Christ establishes His earthly reign as ...

Social Media Statement: Paul told us there is no division in 1 Corinthians 3. We are to submit to Christ above all teachers, including Paul himself. I have an issue with the claim that we are not expected to follow the commands Jesus himself spoke in Matthew. Are you saying we can ignore the law because Paul said we are free from the law. If I am not accurately reflecting your post, please elaborate. My Reply: The Bible clearly tells us that the earthly ministry of Jesus was to Israel only, as mentioned in Matt.15:24 and Rom.15:8. Jesus, a minister of the circumcision (Jews), promoted and taught according to the Mosaic law, which is a doctrine and dispensation we are not under today. Consider that we do not sacrifice animals. We do not have to do ritual washings. We are not under the Sabbath law/covenant. We do not have Kosher dietary limitations. All these and more are what Jesus taught during His earthly ministry. On the other hand, Paul was called and separated by God to be the apos...

The Bible defines faith with the following statement, Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In the physical realm, faith means placing your trust in something that belongs, or operates, in this realm, whether it be an object or a person, and hoping that your belief or trust will be validated through physical evidence or manifestation. For example, to sit on a chair, you need to believe that the chair will support you. Your faith in the chair, the substance of your hope in it, will become evident when you sit down, and the chair supports you. Faith that operates in the natural realm is limited to the constraints of this realm. But what about spiritual (or biblical) faith; which is the specific focus of this article? Well, spiritual faith means placing your trust in something that belongs, or operates in the spiritual realm, and hoping that your trust in it will be validated through evidence, or manifestation, of biblical truth...

The following discourse is commentary from a social media site based on reactions to one of my posts. The main context of this Q&A is concerning hearing God's voice and walking in righteousness. There are some important lessons to learn regarding how we hear God's voice and how we walk according to the Spirit and not according to our own 'works' or efforts. Questions or comments in the post are bulleted. "John 10 says “My sheep hear my voice and follow me.” Do you hear his voice and obey him?" The only way to 'hear' His voice is through the written word of God. It is the word of God within you, acquired through reading and studying it and gaining understanding in it that embeds God's Spirit within you. Jesus says in Jn6:63, "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." So, to get God's Spirit in you, you need to get into the written Word of God and get it into you. It is through the knowledge and underst...

COMMENT: It appears Peter was writing to the Christians in Gentile nations, not to the Israelites in Israel. Peter also preaches about the kingdom of heaven and not about the physical Israel. Have a look at these verses that attest to this: 2 Peter 2:1-3;  2 Peter 3:15-17;  1 Peter 1:1;  1 Peter 4:16. REPLY: Let's quickly start with a brief background of details for context. Peter started in the Kingdom program under law. This was the time when Jesus was on earth. The Kingdom gospel concerning Jesus' identity was ministered to Jews ONLY. Then we get the blinding of Israel, according in Rom 11:25. The Kingdom program for Jews ONLY was suspended and God converted Paul and sent him to preach the Grace gospel concerning Jesus’ cross work to all nations, both Jew and Gentile. This grace program ends with the Body of Christ being snatched up into heaven and this closes the period of grace through the cross work of Christ. So, we have the end of two very different dispensat...

COMMENT: Paul says that dead in sin we are saved by grace. That means even sinning your saved. Then in Hebrews which is accredited to Paul, he says after knowing the truth, if you sin, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin. Just damnation. The bible is a contradiction.  REPLY: You are not taking the following into consideration. Even if Paul wrote Hebrews, the point is that Hebrews is NOT written to the Body of Christ. You cannot take doctrine from Hebrews and mix it with Paul’s 13-other epistles, which are all addressed clearly to Gentile churches. The book of Hebrews is not concerning Gentiles, but concerning the new covenant for Israel. As "Romans" is the foundational doctrine for the grace believer today, "Hebrews" is the foundational doctrine for Jews in the 7-year Tribulation. The epistles could not have been named more clearly. RETURN COMMENT: Clearly that makes no difference that it's a contradiction. Paul contradicts himself which means there's a ...

How can God mean more to me? Assuming that you have responded in faith to the grace gospel, the only way (and means) to learn more about God is to gain knowledge of His Word. The whole reason why we have the Word of God is to know Him, and the more we know Him, the more He will mean to you. How do we study the Word? Paul gives us the way: Rom 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, (26) 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: First, we hear and respond to the gospel so we can be quickened in spirit, and we can start to perceive the heart of God, 1Co 2:11-16. Second, we study the preaching of Jesus Christ, but NOT his earthly ministry in the four gospels, but his teachings revealed in Paul’s 13-...

QUESTION: Can you lose salvation? YES. It seems fairly conclusive that you can indeed lose salvation by various means from this selection at least. Yes by doing an unforgivable sin. We agree with Jesus on this at least. Yes, Hebrews 6 4–6. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened … If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance” Yes, Hebrews 10:26 “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” Yes, Mark 3: 28–29 “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation”. ANSWER: If you choose not to rightly divide the scriptures (2Tim.2:15), and you don’t acknowledge the TWO programs (prophecy and mystery), contained in the redemption plan of God, then this is naturally what you’d conclude. However, since it is plainly clear that God’s Prophetic program for Israel, under the law, is different from God’s Mystery program for t...

The following is someone's response to this article which dealt with aspects concerning the Kingdom and Grace gospels and the fact that they have different content and are addressed to different audiences. I'm posting this to point out that if one does not rightly divide the Word and recognize the fact that there are TWO programs and TWO people groups in God's redemption plan, one will get terribly mixed up and confused, skewing doctrine and getting tangled up in confusing discrepancies when right division clears all things up so easily.  These comments below clearly indicate the struggle to make sense of the Word, trying to join things that are meant to be separate and distinct. The arguments made result in unusual interpretations and indicate a juvenile understanding of the Word. 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  (16)  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will ...

QUESTION: In Eph.2:7-13, Paul uses phrases like 'Time Past', 'But Now', and 'Ages to Come'. What I don't understand is time past. How could anyone say The Gospels are time past when most people are saying the Old Testament is time past. What I've been taught for years is that the Old Testament is for learning, the New Testament was the history of our One and true God, because of what He did on the cross, and through this I have hope. The only thing I'm waiting for is to be comforted in His arms when he returns. If I'm wrong please enlighten me. We all are here to learn. ANSWER: Thank you for your comment. I like the way you ended your paragraph above. I agree that we are all here to learn. When I publish these posts of mine, I trust that they will trigger the interest of some readers to ask questions and learn something new, but I also am open to learn from their comments. The Word says that we all know in part. I honestly believe that our edific...

QUESTION: If we look at the bible through the “three-fold division” of Ephesians 2, the Old Testament is the time past. However, I’m not sure if all the Gospels <Matthew, Mark, Luke and John> also fall under this time past. Can you please clarify? ANSWER: To answer this statement, one must bear in mind that when Paul wrote the passage, he used the words, “But now”, to indicate his current time. This means that everything before his writing “but now”, is in times past. Since Paul wrote his epistles long after Jesus had ascended to heaven, it effectively means that “time past” includes the content of gospels of Matthew to John, since their contents is all about Jesus’ earthly ministry. To take this further, the “but now” is currently still in operation. Why? Well, Paul’s writings introduce the mystery doctrine which is applicable for us as the grace believers in the Body of Christ. All of Paul’s writings is still valid today and will remain valid until we are caught up to h...

QUESTION: Dispensational models have a tendency to falls apart. There is no agreement on the number of dispensations. What is the full set of proposed dispensations with the triggers for their start and end points? ANSWER: I can agree that there are arguments on dispensational models; some say this, and others say that, but that doesn't mean that there aren’t dispensations. I too disagree with some over-the-top models where too much is read into scripture and things are twisted to fit man’s imagination, but again, even though some of these models are out these, it does not disqualify the fact that the bible does clearly mention dispensations, (as per the verses below). When God judged humanity and set up a covenant with Abraham, a new dispensation began. In other words, God would reveal Himself through a nation that He would raise up through Abraham. When God called Paul to go to the Gentiles, a new dispensation began where God would save Gentiles without the means of Israe...

QUESTION: I chose not to listen to Paul. I'm no scholar nor expert but here are a few scriptures from Jesus himself: Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. So, we are to still keep the commandments. Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ This shows that some people who consider Jesus Lord will be condemned because they were lawless. The answer to “I never knew you” is John 10:27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. For me, Paul is too hard to understand. Peter even mentioned it just after 2 Peter 3:14. ANSWER: God put the writings...

Fellow Pauline dispensationalist, if you are asked one question more than any other, it is the following: "If dispensational Bible study is true, why do not more people believe it? Why do so few people attend your church or Bible study group?" (The same  dumb  question is asked about the King James Bible—"If the KJV is the preserved Word of God, why do so few read it?") Rather than an inquiry asked by a sincere seeker, this is really an objection meant to intimidate you into silence. The assumption is that since dispensational Bible study is so rare and embraced by so few, it must not be true. If we are not recruiting thousands upon thousands (as in the "mega-churches"), then there must be something wrong with what we are teaching. Are these safe suppositions? Does the majority ever really determine what is true and what is not? Has truth ever had many adherents? We simply have to look in the Bible and conclude, "No, numbers do  not  matter when it...

The following is a forum discussion with someone who is clearly still trapped in the law dispensation. If you find yourself with this mindset today, then your views of the Bible and Christianity need to be adjusted as God is not working under the law today, He is working by grace.  Please note that I am not shooting down the law or the administration depicted in the Gospels. In actual fact, the person below has a very good understanding of the law dispensation, but what I am saying is that this dispensation is not in operation today. Today is the dispensation of GRACE, which is administered in a VERY DIFFERENT way! The purpose of this post is to compare law vs. grace. Comparisons, or discussions between these administrations can be a great way to learn both sides and properly discover how God is administering His will in the world today. Let's look at the discussing, paying close attention to the differences between law and grace.  LAW ARGUMENT A “kingdom” is a government ru...