The BIG Picture (Q&A)

Social Media Question: Followers of Christ are grafted into the vine, correct? So that would mean that followers of Christ are Israel by faith, would it not? Jesus fulfilled the law. His disciples enter into the New Testament of Jeremiah 31, receive the Holy Spirit (Joel 2). So, under the new covenant we, gentiles, are technically Israel, sons of Jacob. Whereas the ethnic Jews who reject their Messiah are technically not God's Israel until they repent, like the rest of us. Do you agree? My Reply: One must take into account that there are two completely distinct programs in God’s redemption plan. The nation of Israel as per the Old Testament and gospels, and the Body of Christ as per Paul’s doctrine. Israel was under law, prophecy, and covenants. The Body of Christ is not under law or connected to prophecy and covenants. Thus, where many modern denominations today mix up and blend together all of the bible, thinking that since Israel has been blinded (Rom.11:25), that they are now t...

What is it about two programs, two agencies, two doctrines, and two destinations? I want you to spend a bit of your time considering these two bible passages, when you have a quiet moment to contemplate them. Read them carefully and attentively and see if you can spot the points of interest that I highlight in the small list below. First, read the passages....slowly 😉 Acts 3:19-25 (This is the apostle Peter speaking to Israel (Jews) on the day of Pentecost) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to...

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 ...

STATEMENT: Is it just me or does anyone else think it’s funny that “Paul is hard to understand sometimes” can be directly backed by scripture (2 Peter 3:16)? ANSWER: Let’s look at the whole verse, 2Pe 3:16 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. One must remember that we are dealing with two distinct programs, and both happened to be running at the same time in Peter’s day (ie: the Acts period). Peter serviced the Jewish church, under prophecy, the law, and the Kingdom program and doctrine. Paul serviced the Body of Christ, under mystery, and under the Grace program and doctrine. The epistle that Peter wrote was addressed to the Jewish church. Since they were under a different doctrine, it is natural to expect that the Jews found it hard to receive ‘the mysteries’, a doctrine that was so different and ...

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: As for Eph. 3:1-3,5,6 how can we claim that we will be fellow heirs of the same body, if we then claim that “WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST” and then there is the nation ISRAEL? Did Jesus not die for all of us? Are we not all Children of God partaking in the PROMISE OF CHRIST? How then can we claim that we are different? ANSWER: There are a whole lot of individual questions in your paragraph above. I will attempt to deal with each question individually. To all those who have turned their hearts to God by believing in His Son, they become the children of God and will partake in a promised inheritance. This is the guaranteed outcome for all who have responded in faith to Jesus Christ. However, this promised inheritance is detailed, and in order to understand the correct context of the promises of God, regarding heirship and inheritance within His full redemption plan, it is very important that we understand the details. In the great redemption plan of God, there are differ...

QUESTION: “Rightly dividing the Word” doesn’t mean to divide the word against itself, accepting some things, and rejecting others, (I guess because scripture is faulty). In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul is instructing Timothy to rightly divide the word of God. Scholars defines ‘right division’ as to handle correctly, to set forth truthfully. So, we are not to divide it up, but unite it together bringing it all in context. The correct understanding is that they must agree.   To do so, some people desperately need the Holy Spirit’s guidance as to how to do this, not throwing away Paul for Jesus, or the other way around. Both need to be united together to be produce correct doctrine. ANSWER: Dear reader, if scripture is faulty then it is in the faulty interpretations of the mind of man! Let God be true and every man a liar. I agree that dividing the word is not accepting some things and rejecting others. The whole Word is the full counsel of God and the whole Word provides us the full co...

QUESTION: You say that in Jesus earthly ministry he was preparing and saving Israel to inherit the earth. If Jesus was only preparing Jews for an earthly kingdom, why did he talk about the kingdom of heaven in Mat 5:19-20? ANSWER: Your scripture reference reads, Mat 5:19-20 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (20) For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Although (only) Matthew uses the phrase  “kingdom of heaven” , we can be sure, according to a myriad of additional prophecy in the bible, that this kingdom is the ‘earthly’ inheritance of God’s people when Jesus comes back at His second advent. This  “kingdom of heaven”  can easily be un...

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...

It is the Holy Spirit that teaches, not man!!! It is the Holy Spirit that reveals truth and insights into God’s Word, not man!!! What I can do via posts like these is to sow seeds that you can investigate and allow the Spirit to bring you to a fuller knowledge. We all know in part, so we can learn from each other, not under compulsion or coercion, but rather in love and respect for God’s Word and by the only teacher of it, the Holy Spirit. So, let me drop off a few seeds for you to consider and pray about in regard to dispensations. This is certainly not all the Bible mentions about it, but it is enough to prove a point that there is something here of note that one cannot dismiss. Seed #1: God separated out Israel for a specific purpose and His relationship with Israel is different compared to ALL other nations. Numbers 23:9 …lo, the people [Israel] shall dwell alone, and  shall not be reckoned among the nations . Exo.19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep ...

The following statement is a reply written by someone who was commenting on a post in which I described the framework of scripture; the dividing of the redemption plan of God into the dispensations. This comment argues that Gentiles are Europeans and do not constitute all people who are not Jews. In the rest of the post, I provide my understanding of who Gentiles are based on a rightly divided view of scripture. Comment made: Gentiles are not all nations outside of Israel. Gentiles are the sons of Japheth: Genesis 10:1–5. Trace Japheth's sons as they overspread the earth and you will find that they are merely Europeans, or what the world knows as white people. Remember Ham was also a son of Noah, but not Gentiles. Shem is the lineage which the nation of Israel comes through.  In Romans 11, Paul, being the apostle of the Gentiles, was speaking to Rome, who are Gentiles warning them not to try to take the church from Israel. Rome, even unto this day says that they are the mother ...

Answer Request: Is Christ's Church built on Peter or all living stones of truth? Did God reveal the truth to Peter that Jesus is The Rock? The Greek word translated "church" in the New Testament is ekklesia . A literal translation of ekklesia would be "a called-out assembly" . Thus, when God calls one out, to separate them, it is for a purpose. In other words, there is a specific function that this entity should fulfil. For example, God separated the nation of Israel for a purpose. Israel can be identified as an  ekklesia,  (or church in modern English). Deut.7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. Num.23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people [Israel] shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. The function that Israel was to fulfil was t...

Contradictions in Christianity stem from a failure to divide the Word between the two primary programs in the Bible; the prophetic Kingdom program and the mystery Grace program. The moment a person mixes these two programs, ignoring the division of these two programs and blindly assuming that everything in the Bible is about them, or in reference to them, this is where contradiction and confusion is born. The two programs are fundamentally different from each other. One can simple look at the primary differences to notice that you cannot mix or merge them. Let us consider the following; one is about law, and the other is about grace. One is addressed to the Jews alone, the other addresses the all nations. One is about the inheritance of the earth while the other is the inheritance of the heavens. One was proclaimed in prophecy since the world began and the other was kept secret since the world began, only revealed after the Lord saved Paul. I can go on and on listing more contrasting p...

Answer Request: How do today's Christians reconcile two baptisms to Ephesians 4:5 one baptism when Acts 10:44 and Acts 10:47 show water baptism (v47) and Holy Spirit baptism (v44) are two baptismal events? One has to rightly divide the Word according to 2 Tim 2:15 (KJV). The two baptisms are part of the Kingdom program relating to the salvation of the Jews. The program that you and I are in today is called the Grace program, relating to our salvation into the Body of Christ today. Baptism in the Kingdom program required water baptism (for the remission of sins) and Spirit baptism (as anointing of separation for priesthood (Ex.19:5-6)). These are part of the fundamental requirements of Jewish salvation based on the role they will hold in the Millennial Kingdom. Baptism in the Grace program requires only ONE baptism. It is not in water, neither in spirit. Our ONE baptism is BY the Holy Spirit. In other words, at the moment we are saved by responding in faith to the grac...

In order to understand the Bible in its true context, in order to avoid gross misinterpretation of scripture and seeming contradictions, and in order to recognize that although all the Bible is written FOR us (for our learning), not all of the Bible is written TO (directed to) us, it is critical to recognize these two programs; two distinct and separate parts of God's ONE plan to redeem mankind back to Himself and for His purposes.  The following is simply to draw your attention to these two programs and to make you consider that there is something deeper and more profound in the Word that a LOT of the modern church today has desperately overlooked!  The Prophetic Program It is an established fact that 3/4 of the Bible concerns the nation of Israel (God's chosen and separated nation to bring salvation to mankind through the birth and life of Jesus Christ). This greater part of the Bible is referred to as the "prophetic program" since all that God planned to do was fir...