The BIG Picture (Q&A)

QUESTION: I see nothing in the Old Testament that foreshadows Jesus. This foreshadowing idea is just a teaching made up by men; it is not biblical. As a believer, can you provide Scriptures that demonstrate I'm mistaken? ANSWER: The claim that Jesus is absent from the Old Testament is not only mistaken, it is directly contradicted by Scripture itself. Jesus declared, “Search the scriptures…they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39), and Paul affirmed that the law was “a shadow of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). The Old Testament is not a random collection of ancient stories; it is a divinely woven tapestry where Christ is foreshadowed in events, institutions, and lives long before He came to fulfil the law and the prophets. These shadows are not inventions of men, but God’s own testimony pointing forward to His Son. When we look carefully, we see Christ everywhere in the Old Testament. The beloved son rejected, the lamb slain, the priest interceding, the king reigning—all ...

Jeremiah 29:11 is often quoted as a personal promise: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” But did you know this verse wasn’t written to individuals—or even to the Church? Context matters    This promise was given to Israel , specifically to the Jewish exiles in Babylon (Jer 29:1, 4, 10). God assured them that after 70 years, He would bring them back to their land. It’s a national, time-bound promise rooted in Israel’s prophetic program—not a universal life verse for believers today. Israel and the Church—two distinct programs    God’s dealings with Israel follow a prophetic program, revealed through the Old Testament prophets and centred on earthly promises. Israel was promised a land, a kingdom, and a Messiah who would reign from Jerusalem. Their timeline is visible, their covenants are physical, and their hope is tied to the earth. In contrast, the Church—the Body of Chr...

Consider the following question: Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11 that Christ "gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers," as gifts to the Body of Christ. Yet in 1 Corinthians 13:8, he says, "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away." Don’t these verses contradict each other in regard to prophecy? At face value, these verses seem to conflict —how can prophets and prophecy be both a gift given to the Body and something that eventually ceases? Well, the answer is quite simple. When we rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15), we see they’re speaking to different contexts and purposes within God’s unfolding plan. Ephesians 4:11 – Gifts for the Edifying of the Body “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” This verse describes g...

"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 ...

QUESTION: “Christ was the end of the first program and has become the only way to the Father. But I'm not sure about your telling about the going back to prophecy/law. Please can you explain and provide some scriptures.” MY REPLY: The Seventy Weeks (of Years) Prophecy The most thorough way to prove that the prophecy/law program reactivates is to look at prophecy itself, using one of the most powerful prophecies in the Bible: Daniel’s 70-weeks prophecy, found in Daniel 9:24-27. This prophecy outlines a timeline of God’s plan for Israel. The prophecy is divided into three parts: 7 weeks, 62 weeks, and 1 week, totaling 70 weeks of years (490 years). Interruption by Paul’s Mystery and Grace Dispensation The prophetic program for Israel was interrupted after the 69th week (7+62 sevens = 483 years) with the arrival of Jesus Christ, who was “cut off” (crucified) as prophesied in Dan.9:26. This interruption is often referred to as the “gap” or “parenthesis” in the prophecy. During this gap...

It's always interesting to line up end times events that we see prophesied in the Bible with current events. It triggers hope and excitement of faith for us as believers today. This is good and keeps us motivated and expectant for our Lord, but we must also not become too excited and pull things out of context based on the truth in the Word. Remember that none of these prophetic signs and their fulfillment in Revelation is going to happen while we are still here on earth. In the scripture reference below, Paul says we are not to be concerned or shaken in mind by news or rumours or what people say. 2Th.2:2-3  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.  (3)  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Notice Paul says the day of Christ (the tribulation and...

SOCIAL MEDIA STATEMENT: I’ve read some of Martin Zenders books and one of them, called, ‘The First Idiot in Heaven’ speaks of the differences of these two ministries. Martin is a Bible scholar and is well learned. He teaches that the gospel of the circumcision (given to Peter) v the gospel of the uncircumcision (given to Paul) was both separate and quite different. The Bible seems to distinguish between these two gospels. interesting as I’ve never been able to understand the book of James against the pure grace spoken of by the Apostle Paul. I'm unsure about all of Martin’s teachings but I do enjoy reading some of his literature. MY REPLY: When one studies the scriptures, rightly divides between these two programs, it is plain and clear to see in the scriptures for oneself that Peters ministry and gospel to the circumcision was very different to Paul’s ministry and gospel to the uncircumcised. The bible, and all characters and the things they did and taught become clear and simple....

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 ...

Well, according to Col 1:14-19, and other similar scriptures, there is no way that Jesus got cancelled. Since the referenced scripture tells us that, “by him all things consist” , we can logically deduce that if Jesus got cancelled, then we all won’t exist. However, I can extend this reasoning to the fact that a specific part of His ministry did get suspended. Let me explain. In Jesus’ first advent, He came to prepare Israel for the reception of His kingdom. Jesus preached to the Jews saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. According to prophetic scripture, if Israel received Jesus and believed in Him, they would rise to pre-eminence, and inherit the earthly kingdom, reigning as kings and priests in the world, and would be the light and salvation of the Gentile nations. Since the Jews did not receive Him as their Messiah and did not believe in His message, God blinded Israel and suspended the Kingdom program, Rom 11:25. With this suspension, Paul’s ministry got activated, ...

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 ...

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: 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...

Comments from an anonymous party based on the following scripture: 1Cor.13:8-12 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. Dear reader, what I wrote afore becomes clearly evident when you understand and apply the requirement of right division in the Word, according to 2Tim.2:15. Israel is to be merged into or blended with the doctrine of Grace. They are separate programs and doctrines altogether. Let me point to some things that you write: COMMENT: Acts 2:39...

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 ...