Come midnight, the world hadn’t ended. But there was still time … New Zealand is 12 hours ahead of GMT! I went to bed … and then I woke up. And the world was still here.
Was I surprised? No. I never thought for more than a moment that the world would end on 27 May 2012. Who would? Well, perhaps some of the visitors to The Prophesied End-Time Revealed. When I wrote my earlier post I thoughtfully kept a copy of the page as it was on 27 May. The opening paragraph read
The year 2008 marked the last of God’s warnings to mankind and the beginning in a countdown of the final three and one-half years of man’s self-rule that will end by May 27, 2012.
The opening paragraph now reads
The year 2008 marked the last of God’s warnings to mankind. The final countdown to the end of man’s self-rule began on May 27, 2012, and will end on Pentecost of 2013.
Now, that’s a bit dodgy. The end of the world isn’t nigh. It’s been indefinitely postponed. Since 2008.
In fact, Jesus says that no one will know at what hour the Son of Man will return (not even he does!), and Paul tells us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When I looked up chapter and verse, I found that this message is repeated over and over in the New Testament. Really, it is inexcusable for a Christian to claim he knows the specific date of Christ’s Second Coming!
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter —asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV)
Me: Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)
C: And that’s supposed to tell me what? That God had legs? God was the creator of the Universe, apparently, so he was around before there was any need for legs, before there even was legs.
I find it hard to get my head around the idea of a disembodied consciousness. I’m pretty sure that my consciousness can’t be disembodied and remain … conscious. As for the mind of God … I have absolutely no idea.
But I reprise this snippet of a conversation to make the point that the label ‘Christian’ makes people assume all sorts of unwarranted things. It gets annoying after a while. I’m not given to angry outbursts and acts of homicidal violence, but please don’t push your luck with, “You’re a Christian, so you must be a socialist!”
Anyway, in an apparent synchronicity, blogger Glenn Peoples posted an excellent post today on something he calls minimalist Christianity. Here are a couple of paragraphs (but do make sure to read the whole thing).
A number of times the Apostle Paul warned first century Christians about getting into foolish controversies over doctrine. This isn’t to say that they shouldn’t believe what they find most convincing about a whole range of things, but they were taking it further, making those things points of contention that threatened to divide the church. When writing to Timothy, a young church leader, Paul urged him no fewer than five times to stay away from – and to urge others to stay away from – unproductive quarrels over such things. But this is what really grabbed my attention recently, prompting this blog post: When Paul was in Athens preaching the Gospel, a number of philosophers asked him to come and speak to them because, here it comes, they wanted to know what the Christian faith was. They were accustomed to examining different worldviews but they had not yet heard of Christianity, so they said to Paul, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean” (Acts 17:19-20). Every evangelist and apologist reading this passage should be on the edge of their seat: They are about to get a bona fide New Testament example of what it actually looks like to sum up the Christian faith. And what does Paul say? I assume that Luke’s record is not intended to be verbatim, and only sums up what he thought was important (which in a way helps me to make the point even clearer). Here’s the whole talk as recorded in Acts 17
Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for
‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Every time I have made this observation, I have been met with almost immediate misunderstanding, so let me labour the point: Nothing that I have said here implies that Christians should believe as few things as possible – or even that it’s a good thing to only believe the bare essentials. I think holding a lot of bad theology is bad for you. It has “knock on” effects into other things you believe and do. When I talk about theology at the blog and podcast, hopefully I make it obvious that I do care about what I believe – and what others believe too – beyond the bare essentials (just as a dietician cares about what you eat beyond the bare necessities needed to keep you alive). There is much growth, intellectually, spiritually and practically, in moving beyond the bare essentials of Christian thought and into the riches of biblical theology. But I have become convinced of this: The acceptance of the Christian faith does not require that anyone shares your convictions (however important they might be to you) on everything you believe that you have found among those riches.
The post in its entirety is well worth reading. Thanks, Glenn.
Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.
Letter from Birmingham Jail was penned by Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1963. It was a response to an open letter by fellow clergymen critical of King’s participation in civil rights demonstrations.
Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?
The letter is long, but here are some excerpts. Click here to read the letter in its entirety.
I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.
I [am] compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.
I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham.
We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: “Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?” “Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?”
My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”
Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.
One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.
In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn’t this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Isn’t this like condemning Jesus because his unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing devotion to God’s will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion? We must come to see that, as the federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber.
[T]ime itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained.
I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . .” So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?
I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America’s destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation—and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.
In the early part of the First decade of the New Millennium, The New Zealand Objectivists at The Free Radical Foundation invited one of their most revered Clerics to New Zealand. Tibor Machan. Joy and I traveled up to Auckland to hear him speak.
After everything had finished there was opportunity to have one on one conversations with him over a coffee. I had a question I wished to ask.
When my chance came, I introduced myself and asked him “ Do you think it is possible to live in perfect accord with Objectivist values?”
After a moment he said “Yes,… Of course.” He said he believed that was one of Objectivism’s most important attributes.
Now, as a Free thinking Christian, That answer has always provoked contemplation within me. It must be nice to have a system of values and ethics which is not only attainable, but also leaves you with an absolutely clear conscience, and faith in the perfectibility of Humanity… Indeed faith in ones own self- perfection.
When one understands ‘The Egoism’ which is the central tenet of Objectivism, it is easy to draw the inference that such a Religion requires one to think of one self as ‘The ideal Human Being’.
Now when this system is compared to the Judeo-Christian world view of Man as a Fallen and sinful being, guilty before God, One can see the appeal of such a faith, and the Temptation involved in wanting this world view to be true… by those whom seek to ‘shrug off’ Guilt, and a Code of Morality which says Man has moral obligations beyond self-interest, and that ultimately we must all give account of ourselves before a supreme Moral Judge.
This is what freedom means to the Atheist. They think obligation to a moral code set by a Higher Power is a form of slavery. (I wonder if they also think of themselves as slaves to the Law of gravity!)
Now to me these notions smack of subjectivity! Of whim. How convenient it is to invent your own code of values that magically sanitizes all your selfish actions and absolves you of Sin!
It also occurs to Me that Objectivism is a Patent rejection of Objective morality… which if they exist at all… are not merely a system of convenient sanctions that justify self interest… but are true whether convenient or not, even if their truth convicts us of evil.
“There are two types of people. Righteous Men whom think they are sinners, and sinners whom think they are righteous”. Pascal
From my perspective Objectivism far from truly being Objective reeks of Psychological motivation, and may be clearly seen as just one more revolt from Christian/ theistic values. What is interesting about this is that Ayn Rand cherry picked many Theistic values such as Human rights, limited Government etc as suited her, and attempted to cloak them in atheist Garb.
This is a laughable ploy because an Atheist reality is an Objectively Amoral reality… the only codes of ethics and values of necessity being merely subjective conventions, and not Obligatory upon anyone.
There is good reason why I have started my post with this stab against Objectivism. It serves as a good back drop for contrasting my own beliefs and the dilemmas that they involve… and how My Christian world view causes me to humble myself, and confess my many short comings as a sinful Man.
It is my experience that the Biblical story of Humanities fallen Nature is tragically real…indeed it is one of the most established facts of Human Nature. This being so it becomes clear how far from the truth the ideas of Objectivism are Though they may appear to have very pleasant ‘opiate effect’ for the conscience… They are nonetheless a flight into pure self delusion.
Now I was born in 1967, into a world in which The King James Bible is a reality.
I did not write it. I did not invent the God of the Bible. I did not invent Christianity.
These were objective realities that existed independent of me, just as other realities like Beautiful woman, and Murder, and War.
How is a Man like myself supposed to treat this Objective reality called ‘The Bible’?
The decision to embrace it as truth, or reject it as simply one of many deceptive fabrications, requires a thorough and impartial investigation.
Though there are Millions of man made false religions in the world, and many things contained within the scriptures that are cause for alarm, esp the News that I am a sinner and that my sin puts me at variance to the Holy God …creator of the Universe… These things are not grounds enough to reject it.
Ie Just because the world is flooded with Primitive superstition, and the world is wracked by religious conflicts, does not mean Religion is evil, or that All Religion is merely the fruit of Human imagination. To reach that conclusion is a very shallow pitfall that sadly many people are quick to leap into. They do it with glee… thinking they are escaping Moral obligation… the self flagellation of guilt, and the eternal fires of Damnation.
It is my testimony that when the Bible is considered Objectively, that like a Man passing through a Labyrinth, with Dead ends, Booby traps, and even a Minotaur or two… that there is one route trough all the confusion, and that, though battered and brused, it is possible to make the traverse that establishes the Bible as believably the Revelation of God to man. It is via such a quest for truth… such a voyage of perseverance and discovery, that the Older man may contemplate his pilgrimage, and realize all the Snares and pitfalls were laid down by those of malicious mind, or of weak intellects overcome by the fashions of their times, and by those whom despise the implications that arise when one accepts the bible as truth. The world is filled with such Naysayers whom desire to halt the Pilgrim in his tracks, and to deceive them into thinking their journey of faith is a lost cause.
I will soften this a bit, as I know but by the Grace of God there go I also.
I marvel that The gracious God has seen fit to reveal himself to me!
So thick are the groves of the Labyrinth, and so prone to selfish whims that I am, I wonder how I managed to become a vessel so filled with the Magnificent mysteries of God Almighty!
I too am a creature of my Time. I have the luxury of Living today in New Zealand.… the luxury of hindsight. Thus I do not equate the luminosity I have received as a sign of my own genius, Indeed I wonder that I have received it, in spite of my manifold weaknesses and folly.
And perhaps this is the greatest secret of it all! God looks to the heart of a Man, rather than his intellect, and in this age of Grace God calls a man to his service, not because of his personal piety, but for His own Divine purposes…
“Who [God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2Tim1vs9)
This is where My story as a morally weak and insignificant human being connects with the Divine plan, and is an example of how Christianity is diametrically opposed to Rands Ideals of Egoism.
What is incredible to realize is that because of our fallen Nature, our intellect can easily be trained to think diabolically and to vain imaginations and Grand delusions.
Yes Intelligence is no safeguard to avoiding error! It can be the source of great vanity and foolishness! It is prone to inventing false accusations against God… and thereby exacerbating our alienation from him, and keeping us from a knowledge of the truth. This is why the Christian is told to avoid vain janglings of philosophy, and beware science falsely so-called. Thus it is when a philosophy or scientific assertion is made that contravenes the scriptures it must be thoroughly examined.
It is my experience that such assertions will inevitably prove to be vacuous. Or expose a false doctrine regarding the interpretation of scripture. Ie we must be careful not to simply throw out the assertion simply because it conflicts with our current ideas. I have learned mountains of truth from the critics of the Bible and Christianity!
They have helped me correct many errors.
Being a Christian does not mean shutting your mind.
Indeed though I am a man full of weakness and vice, yet still it appears to suit God’s Divine purposes to use such a weak vessel as I.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that in the wisdom God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe… For ye see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; The Base things of the world, and the things which are despised, hath God chosen… And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified….And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of Man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God…” (1Cor1vs19- 2vs5)
Let us hear what St Paul says about himself…
7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
St Paul (2Cor 12vs 7-10)
Here St Paul confesses to his own spiritual imperfection… his sinfulness… his inability to live up to Gods Holy standards. Moreover he says that he glories in this because God uses his weaknesses, to achieve his ends… and thus we see that Paul is humbled by his knowledge of his own weakness, That he keeps his intellectual vanity in check, knowing that he is not saved…. Not raise to a higher plateau by his own genius, but rests in the grace of God Almighty, and the simple truth of The gospel… That Christ Died on the Cross for our sins, and was buried, and rose again for our justification.
There is no space for Egoism in the gospel!
The Gospel is not the preserve of Human genius!
And it is for this reason that many Vain intellectuals despise it!
Christianity is no elitist club… no Utopian enclave like Galt’s Gultch!
According to the Bible any Plonker can go to heaven! Indeed Christ seems to busy himself saving the simpletons and scum of the Earth!
And Happily… I am one of them.
The Bible is clear that as a fallen race of beings we cannot live up to Gods Holy (Objective) Moral standard. Though we can learn and reform ourselves… and become better people…We cannot perfect or Save ourselves.
Confession time. I am a man whom has many short comings. I am very Carnal… full of thorns in my flesh.
The words of St Paul ring true for me…
“For what I would, That I do not, but what I hate…that I do… Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”…. (Rom 7vs14-25)
Yes I assert the doctrines of St Paul to be 100% true!
When a Person receives Christ they are ‘Born again’ and are sealed by the Holy Spirit. They begin a new Life, and yet they are still carnal, Mortal…still sinful.
They have in fact become two people. Described as the Old man and the New Man, and will not become spiritually perfected until a special day called ‘The Day of Redemption’ when God creates us new bodies that are no longer full of evil lusts.
Until that day Life involves a struggle between our two Natures, between our sinful carnal Nature and our new spiritual Life from Christ.
And what a struggle it is! Depending which Nature we ‘feed’ the most determines which Nature rules in our lives.
And I confess to being hopelessly carnal. This is my Achilles Heel! For all my knowledge of the scriptures, my lusts and carnality consume me to such a degree that I am unworthy to minister over others. I could never be the pastor of a congregation because I don’t know how to live a Godly Life. If holiness is the measure of Christian success…I am a complete failure! A part of me is so ashamed that sometimes I wonder if I ought to stop preaching about Christ and go and hide somewhere… yet when I read st Paul I realize That apart from Jesus Christ, God has never had perfect servants working for him. All of his children have had to function under his benevolent grace and forgiveness.
I rest in his Grace, and stand fast in the liberty of Christ! (Gal5vs1kjv)
I trust in the Gospel truth that I have been deemed righteous by Faith without works, and that I have the righteousness of Christ, whom took upon himself my sins. (Eph 2vs8,9kjv)
Before I understood dispensationalism, as a young Christian I was taught that God only saves the Good people… that I must repent of all my sins and forsake them to be saved, and that if I ever returned to my old ways I would loose my salvation.
That was to fail to understand the gospel of grace and to be literally enslaved to the Jewish Law again…’the yoke of bondage’ (This is not the same type of ‘slavery’ that atheists think of when they condemn religion…This is talking about having to do works for salvation, not as atheists think… a system of Human subjection and control)
I was told Sex, Drugs, and rock and roll were all of the Devil, so I Tried to quit them all… burned my records, and avoided many of my old Lost friends… yet always ended up relapsing.
I failed to maintain my promises to God to be a good boy.
Thus I learned never to make such promises to God, and thankfully though I struggled to live a godly life, I never abandoned my faith, and eventually I discovered the dispensational truth that I was completely under Gods grace, and Free from the Law.
Thus being set free myself, and knowing my own short comings this led me to having grace upon others as God has grace upon me.
My own personal struggles with life have helped me to be more understanding, more compassionate, and more tolerant of the struggle and sins of my fellow human beings.
Gods grace towards me has made me a Libertarian, because I see the hypocrisy of being full of vise myself yet calling the Law and government to persecute the vices of others.
Gods has shown tolerance and forgiveness of my sins, and calls me as a Christian to preach this ‘Good News’ to other lost sinners… not lobby the State to persecute them.
Thus I am humbled before God, and the thorns in my flesh have helped me to see the glory of Gods grace clearly, and the true libertarian nature of Christianity.
Today though I am no Pastor, I am a witness for Christ and the truth of The King James Bible to anyone who will listen.
I wont caste pearls before self righteous Christ hating swine. As a Guy who Grew up in Glen Eden West Auckland, I have always Been a Bogan Westy and alway will be. I write this Blog with Richard in Bogan style, preaching a very Bogan Gospel.
I dont preach self-righteousness.
I despise Pharisaic Hypocrisy.
Putting my faith into practice, I busy myself in Libertarian Activism, standing up for justice and the rights of the oppressed minorities like Prostitutes and Drug addicts.
I don’t reject the Holiness of God simply because in the light of it I fall short.
I hold it to be objectively true in spite of the fact that such an acknowledgement means I must confess my own sinfulness.
This is an intolerable thing for an Objectivist to contemplate.
In their own eyes… to have self esteem… they need to delude themselves of their own perfection.
Tim Wikiriwhi.
Christian Libertarian.
AV King James Bible believer.
Dispensationalist.
My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (KJV)
… “For Christ sent me not to Baptize, but to preach the Gospel:…” (1Cor1vs17)
Paul clearly teaches that he was not sent to baptize.
Now compare this with Christs commission to Peter and Co…
“Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned…” (Mark 16vs15,16).
We see this is also recorded in Matthew “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost…” (Matt 28vs19)
Thus Christ *Did send Peter to Baptize!*
This distinction between Paul and Peter ought to be enough to show you God had different Commissions for each of them…
In Luke 24 vs 46-49 Peter is told to “Begin at Jerusalem and to ‘tarry’ there until they recieve the ‘Power from on high’.”… and in the first chapters of the Book of Acts , having been taught by the risen christ 40 days ‘The things pretaining to the kingdom’ (1vs3) We find Peter obediently Staring his ministry in jeruselem, preaching to the Jews ‘That it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again the third day, and that repentance, and the remission of sins sould be preached in all nations…(compare Luke24vs46,47 to Acts 2 esp14-47)
Note in this chapter The Death of Christ on the cross is not preached as a glorious attonement for sins, but as a terrible act of sin and rebellion against God! (read Acts2vs22-23 KJV)
“Ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:”
Note that He preaches the Cross and resurrection of Christ …not as salvation but as prophetic evidence the Christ is Lord… and that By his resurrection they stand in Judgment of God…and God would render the Enemies of Christ ‘his footstool’
“Let all of the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts2vs36
“What shall we do?”… cry those Jews whom were pricked in their hearts by peters Preaching of Condemnation?
“Repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of Sins” (vs 38)
“Save yourselves from this untoward generation” (vs40)
Then the believers sold all their possessions and had all things common. (vs44,45)
(They did this in expectation of Christ eminent return and setting up of his kingdom)
And We find Peter again Preaching The Cross *as Murder…not salvation* in Acts 3vs 13-18 …and most importantly in vs 19,20 he says “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his prophets since the world began.”
Note that Peter is tell Israel to repent of their Evil rejection of their messiah…Christ.
Note that Peter does not preach that Salvation occurred by the work of Christ on the cross, but would occur at a future time.
And if you read the rest of the Passage of Acts 3 you will see that Peter is specifically preaching to the Jews in respect to the Covenant God had with their fathers.
When you put all this together you realize that Christ Sent Peter to Re-offer the kingdom to Israel using the Death , Burial, and resurrection of Christ as evidence that Jesus was indeed the REAL DEAL , and that after they had repented and received their messiah the disciples were to spread out throughout the world and preach the gospel of the kingdom for a witness unto all Nations (Mat24vs13,14…) Then the end would Come with the Return of Christ as King of Kings and Lord of lords, destroying the antichrist and the enemies of Israel…. And that those whom had not received the mark of the Beast, those whom had endured unto the end…they would be saved… the rest would be thrown into the Winepress of the Wrath of God. (Rev19, Rev 14vs 18-20)
Then Christ will establish his millennial kingdom in Israel. (Rev20vs4)
Yet The Jews rejected the preaching of Peter… and his commission did not get passed the first stage… Did not go out into all the Earth….. thus the end did not come (Mat24vs13,14). Instead a great persecution of the disciples sprang up and though Peter continued in Jerusalem, many were scatted into the regions about yet preached to Jew only. (Acts 8vs1, Acts 11vs19).
And because Israel failed to repent, the Kingdom of Christ was postponed and the Nation of Israel was reserved unto Judgment. Thus began 2000 years of persecution and slavery for the Jews. “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles, untill the times of the gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke24vs24)
And it is during this dispensation of the Judgment of Israel, that god raised up Paul to Preach Free Salvation to the gentiles. It Is to Paul The God reveals the secret mystery that was previously hidden…that the Death, burial, and resurrection of Christ was the divine atonement for the sins of Mankind.
It was to Paul that God sent to preach this Gospel of salvation…without works. (Eph2vs8,9)… thus with Paul’s Gospel the act of Baptism is not necessary. When we believe the Gospel we receive the righteousness of Christ (Pil3vs9, Rom5)…and he took upon himself our sins.
When Christ was Baptized…we were Baptized…we receive his righteousness.
“Christ’s Baptism by John” is part of the series of sacred paintings made by Woonbo Kim Ki-chang. / Courtesy of Heaven’s Door Gallery
I have got to leave off here as I’m off to see my Family for xmas. I post this Sunday message a day early. It is by no means exhaustive yet I am out of time. I hope it at least show you that Paul’s commission was different to Peters commission, that Paul’s view of the Cross was very different to Peters…. Paul Loves the Cross! Peter preached it as murder. I hope you see the difference between The Gospel of the un-circumcision (No Works…not a part of the Covenant of Circumcision), fro Peters Gospel of the Circumcision (The preaching Of Christ as King of the Jews). (Gal 1vs11,12, 2vs7,8)
Ask yourselves why those Christians whom deny the truth of Dispensationalism do not today sell all their possessions and have all things Common…as the followers of Peters Preaching did in the early Book of Acts?
They are hypocrites! ( I will be putting a message about this dispensational aspect soon.)
Anias and Sapphira struck Dead for trying to decieve the Apostles regarding selling all their posessions and laying the money at the Apostles feet. (Acts 4vs32-37, 5vs1-12)
May The Lord Bless those of you with the eyes to see and ears to hear this message.
Tim Wikiriwhi Libertarian Dispensationalist Christian…Sinner saved by Gods Grace.
Praise the Lord for his mercy unto me.
My Old Pastor and teacher of Dispensational Truth, The Late Dr Dennis Spackman. One of New Zealands greatest theologans.
Two weeks ago I posted an introduction to the doctrine of dispensationalism which may be described as ‘Rightly dividing the word of truth’ (2Tim2vs15).
This is necessary to distinguish changes in doctrine that have occurred with the process of time as God has made new covenants with mankind, and with the outworking of his purposes … each ‘stage’ and ‘Milestone’ being understood as Dispensationally relative.
Today I want to jump in boots and all.
I chose my title (why I follow St Paul… not Jesus) to provoke thought.
I have no doubt that a majority of readers will have already torn their shirts, accused me of heresy, … and are now not even reading these words that I’m typing.
They have already switched off.
How dare this Upstart Wikiriwhi teach people to follow Paul…not Jesus????
He must be deranged!
For those of you whom are still reading let me tell you that I am about to show you one of the most important…yet least understood biblical truths… Indeed nothing less than the ‘Revelation of the mystery’ *Which was given to St Paul to reveal*
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
And to make all [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”
Ephesians 3vs1-9.
The Apostle of The Dispensation and Gospel of Grace, St Paul in prison for his service to The gospel of Gods grace.
The Irony.
Thus I am about to show you that Paul was given his special ministry By Jesus Christ, and that by following St Paul… *we are being obedient to Christ.* to refuse to follow St Paul… is to reject the Doctrine that Jesus Christ Specifically gave to Paul…for us.
Note that this mystery revealed to St Paul *Was Hidden* in other ages. Thus St Paul opens up hidden truth unknown in other ages, and ironically not to follow St Paul is to be both ignorant and disobedient to Christ!
Paul said …” Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” 1Cor11vs1.
*We do not worship Paul. He is not our savior…Christ is yet Paul is our God appointed Apostle, minister, teacher whose authority comes from Christ himself*
Why God saved the Antichrist Saul.
Most Christians are blind to the primary reasons God saved St Paul and made him an Apostle. They think he is just a late comer to the faith, virtually a tag a long. This is because they have been taught to think that Jesus ministry is the most important part of the Bible, and that Christ made St Peter the Chief Apostle. This is a gross error, founded upon poor teaching, false assumption, and ignorance. I pray that the Lord uses my testimony here to open your eyes to the mystery he revealed to St Paul and made him the Chief minister.
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
(1Tim 1vs 15,16.)
Here we Read that there was something very special about Paul’s salvation.
1. It was a demonstration of absolute grace.
2. It was for a pattern of Salvation for those whom would believe afterwards.
Thus Pauls conversion is a Dispensational milestone. A Marker for a dispensational change. A change from what you may ask? I will attempt to show you. If you do not harden you hearts to what I am saying, the Lord may grant you understanding. Ultimately this will open up to you the realization that the purpose of the Book of Acts is not merely to record the history of the deeds of the apostles, but to show the dispensational change and transition from the God’s Jewish ministries through Christ and St Peter to that of an outpouring of Grace upon the Gentiles via St Paul.
Do not loose track of the fact that Paul *preached Christ* yet I hope to show you he preached Christ in a completely new way via *a completely new Gospel.*
Are you still with me? I know for many of you the news that Paul preached *a different Gospel* than was preached by Jesus or by St Peter is a mind blowing thing to contemplate… and that many of you will flat out refuse to consider it. Such people have blinders over their eyes. I will continue my message for the sake of those bold readers whom at least wish to see where I am coming from.
Enter Saul of Tarsus.
Before St Paul became the Apostle of the Gospel of Grace unto the gentiles he was a Zealous Jewish Pharisee of very high standing, and he was the chief persecutor of the Jewish followers of Christ. He was an Anti-Christ, whom rejected the notion that Jesus Christ was the true messiah of the Jews. He saw the Apostles and their followers as just one group of many heretical sects that followed one of many false messiahs that popped up from time to time, and that as a Zealous Jew it was his duty to suppress this heresy.
To understand the dispensational change that occurred at the conversion of St Paul on the Damascus rd it is essential to understand exactly what was going on prior to his conversion firstly under the Ministry of Christ before the crucifixion, and then under the ministry of Peter, who preached to the Jews that the crucified Christ was their Messiah… their King, and that they ought to repent from murdering him and be baptized as a token of their submission.
To understand what Peter was preaching after the cross we must go back to the ministry of Christ himself before the cross and see what he preached, and how he trained his disciples to preach and teach in his name.
Thus we will be looking at the chronological order of the ministries of Jesus, Peter, and Paul, and distinguishing what was common doctrine among them, and what was dispensationally distinct
Each of these ministries deserves thorough investigation, yet for the sake of maintaining the thread of this message I must necessarily skim over a great body of scripture and hope to go into greater detail at a later date.
The Good Shepherd
Why did Jesus visit Israel?
St Paul tells us this:
“Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:” (Rom15vs8)
Now those are very important things to understand!
1. Jesus was specifically a minister to the Jews.
2. He came to confirm promises God had made to their fathers.
These promises are scattered through the Old testament and are the special deals/ covenants God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacoob, Moses, King David, King Solomon…
and are the subject of many Messianic prophecies.
These prophecies take on a mysterious form, and are much easier to understand with the wisdom of hindsight …after their fulfillment none the less many devout Jews of the first century suffering under the Roman yoke lived in earnest expectation that God would soon deliver them from this subjection by raising up a Messiah born of the lineage of King David, who would overthrow the enemies of Israel and establish his Kingdom from which he would rule the world.
*This is the Redemption they expected from the Messiah* Not personal salvation from sin which they believed they already had via circumcision which made them part of the Abrahamic covenant, and the Temple sacrifices which atoned for their breaches of the mosaic Law), but National salvation from under the Yoke of the Gentiles!
This thread is found through out the four gospels.
Read Luke chapter 1vs68-74, Luke 2vs38,
They did not expect Christ to die a criminals death…but to rule as their King.
*Christs work of Salvation on the cross was unknown to them… It was a hidden mystery.*
It was to fulfill Gods Kingdom promises to the Jews Christ was born of the house of King David.
God visited his people. Luke1vs68.
Yet Christ came unto his own and his own (The Jews) received him not. John1vs 11.
And it is with this in mind that we can understand ‘The Gospel’ which Christ preached which is specifically called ‘The gospel of the Kingdom’
…Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Mark1vs14,15
Notice what Christ does not say! He does not say he has come to die on the cross to save mankind from their sins! That is a completely different gospel which st Paul would later preach… after the Jews had twice rejected their Messiah. Once before the cross when they rejected Christ and had him crucified, and they again reject him when he is preached as their Messiah by Peter after the resurrection, who preaches the cross…not as salvation… but as condemnation and the resurrection as evidence that Christ is indeed the prophesied Son of David.
It will be a surprise to many of you to be told that even after the resurrection St Peter did not understand the cross of Christ as we do today… as the Divine work of atonement. That was still a secret. In the early book of Acts Peter preaches the cross as a heinous act of murder and rebellion against God. He warns the jews that to continue to reject their messiah will result in the wrath of God falling upon Israel… thus for Peter the cross was not a glorious act of Love on the part of God, but a shocking crime against God perpetrated by Israel.
What most Christians fail to understand is that Christ preached the Kingdom…not the cross, and Christ trained his disciples about things pertaining to his millennial kingdom, and sent them to preach the kingdom was at hand. And he specifically sent them *to the Jews*. Why? Because it was to their fathers God had made his promises! Read Mat 10vs1-7, and Mat15vs-22-28.
Furthermore to enter his kingdom was not by grace alone but required obedience to the Law, and other special works of repentance.
It required Baptism.
They had to be faithful to Christ unto death…(Mat
It required the wealthy to sell their possessions and give their wealth to the poor to prove they were prepared to forsake all the benefits they had under the worldly system of Mammon, and to follow after Christ. Thus Christ said it would be easier of a camel to pass thorough the eye of a needle (a very narrow canyon-like passage) than for a rich man to enter his kingdom. Many people mistake these conditions of the kingdom gospel as evidence that Christ was anti-wealth, when in fact these are merely temporary conditions to pass trough the transition from the Kingdom of Mammon into the millennial kingdom of Christ. (See Mark 10vs17-27)
All these conditions do not apply today under Pauls gospel of grace.
The greatest proof that the Cross had nothing to do with the Gospel of the kingdom is that Christ began to progressively tell his disciples about his betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection very late in his ministry
… after they had been for a long time preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and that when he told them what would Happen they did not understand it at all! Peter in fact tried to correct Christ on this very thing because it did not make any sense to them.
“Be it far from thee Lord!” declared Peter.
He believed Christ was supposed to lead a revolution against the Romans and conquer them,…that was the what the gospel of the Kingdom was about!… Christ was not supposed to be defeated and killed!
Read Matt 16vs 21-23. Note this is when Christ began to show his disciples about his death, burial, and resurrection.
Grasp that before this time…when they were preaching the ‘Gospel of the kingdom’ (eg Matt 10vs1-7) they did not have a clue about the cross or the resurrection…thus it is impossible that they the gospel they preached said anything about it.
Whatmore even after he told them he would die on the cross and rise again the third day…they did not understand it…*and it was hidden from them*
Read Luke 18vs31-34.
Thus Peter and his fellow Disciples were completely ignorant of work of Salvation which Christ would achieve at Calvary! That’s an amazing fact! *It was a Hidden mystery* which was kept secret until The Jews rejected their Messiah twice, and God raised up St Paul and revealed to him the wonderful Gospel of Grace…and the secret of the cross…It was Christ’s sacrifice for the Sins of Mankind, and his resurrection was evidence of his victory over sin and death, and that whosoever simply believes and calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!
The one and only condition upon the sinner is believing that Christ died on the cross for his sins, was buried, and rose again the third day for our justification.
No works!
Absolute Grace!
Here we see the Pattern which God showed us when he saved the Anti-Christ Saul. (St Paul).
In perfect Accord with his conditional covenants with the Jewish fathers, God postponed his kingdom and set Israel aside because they rejected their Messiah. Instead of establishing his kingdom in Israel, and them receiving all the blessing that would flow from that. Israel was to be destroyed, enslaved by the gentile powers…because as Christ prophesied
“knewest not the time of their visitation” (Luke19vs42-44)
The arch of Titus celebrating the Destruction of Israel
Thus Christ visited his people Israel… to fulfill the promises God made to their Fathers, yet because he did not appear as they expected him to appear…(Like a conquering King) they rejected him, and framed him, and gave him over to the Romans to be wrongfully crucified.
Doubting Thomas
Another evidence that the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ was hidden from the understanding of his disciple is the confusion that occurred when Christ was betrayed and killed.
While Jesus was as harmless as a lamb, Peter resisted the party which came to arrest Jesus and sliced off one of the guards ears. (In his mind it was revolution time…yet Christ restored the ear and went peacefully into custody.
This was absolutely contrary to what the disciple believed the messiah would do! They began to doubt that Christ was the messiah and before the cock crew Peter denied Christ three times.
Then after the crucifixion and Christ was buried, They disciples were full of doubts about Christ because they thought he was to ‘redeem Israel’ and when the woman reported Christ was risen…they did not say ‘We knew this would happen’…we have been preaching about it to the people for years!…. They had to go and see for themselves…Thomas refused to believe it untill he put his finger in the nail holes of the risen Christ!….Thus The death, Burial and resurrection were complete mysteries to the disciples….even after Christ had told them it would happen… they did not understand it because it did not fit into their comprehension of the Messiah overthrowing the Romans and Ruling as King of Kings…Gods Kingdom on Earth…which they had been preaching. Read Luke 24!
Yet still when he was on the cross Christ prayed “Father forgive them for they know not what the do” (Luke 23vs 34)
And it is in accordance with this prayer that God gives Israel a final chance to receive Christ…after the resurrection when he sends out Peter and the Apostles yet again to the Jews, this time preaching that They had murdered their Messiah, and that God was wrath with them for this wicked deed, and that The Death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ was actually the fulfillment of prophesy , and Peter called them to repent…”Save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts chapter 2.)… and God would send them Jesus their King.
Though many thousands of Jews did repent, ultimately Peters re-offer of the Kingdom was rejected…and they began to persecute Peter and the rest of the believers… culmination in the stoning of St Stephen. He preached to them about the Lord Jesus Christ and called them “Stiff necked and uncircumcised of heart and ears”…called them “Betrayers and Murderers” of Christ….and they cried out and ‘stopped their ears’ and ran upon him… And they stoned him to death. (Acts 7 vs51-60)
Saul was present. Before he died Stephen declared that he saw Christ ‘standing on the right hand of God’. Christ was ready at that very moment to descend from heaven and wipe out all the unrepentant Jews, and to overthrow the Romans and set up his kingdom…ie Christ was ready for Armageddon, Yet God the Father had other plans. God Indeed instead of establishing his kingdom at this point in time, he would judge Israel as Christ had prophesied, yet he had a most wonderful surprise in store for the rest of humanity! And to reveal this surprise he chose the very chief of Sinners Saul of Tarsus ( St Paul).
Up to the Conversion of St Paul, in the early part of the book of Acts the Cross of Christ was not preached as salvation but as condemnation. Yet the Jews having rejected their messiah as reoffered to them by St Peter, In the ultimate act of grace…God saved st Paul…”He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts9vs 15)
From this part of the book of Acts Peter and his Kingdom Gospel to the Jews fades out and is superseded by St Paul and his Individualistic Gospel of the Grace, which is a completely New Gospel… nothing to do with the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth… and it is to Paul That God reveals the Mystery of the Cross of Christ as Salvation from sin for whosoever believes.
Paul tells us His gospel was received be special revelation (Gal1vs11,12)
He calls the Gospel of grace “My Gospel” Rom2vs 16.
And again
“ 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, 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: Rom 16vs25,26
Paul tells us the Gospel of Grace to the gentiles was given to him, just as the Jewish kingdom gospel was given to Peter (Gal2vs 7,8)
Paul declares that he is the Apostle of the gentiles.
“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:” Rom 11vs13
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Col1vs 23-29
Paul declares … That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Romans 15vs 16.
The return of Christ in Power and Glory…as King of kings and Lord of lords.
The current Dispensation of grace will not last for ever. It will finnish at the appointed time of God known as ‘The Rapture’ Then begins the short but terrible dispensation known as the Great tribulation period which will be the Kingdom of the Antichrist. During this time the Kingdom of Christ will again be ‘At hand’ and christ will return in Power and Glory and destroy the Antichrist and save Israel from their enemies…and then will establish his Kingdom on Earth.
Christ will indeed appear in power and glory as the Jews expected and will overthrow the AntiChrist and set up his Kingdom upon the Earth, and rule from Israel… yet that is still dispensationally/ chronologically specking still in the future.
I must leave off now. I pray that you may see the truth of dispensational right division and realize that while all scripture is given by inspiration of God and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness… that none the less there are important distinctions to be made, and that not every scripture is applicable doctrine for today. This means that we must be careful to give the doctrines of grace as taught by St Paul pre-eminence over the doctrine of other teachers and prophets…even over The 4 gospels which contain the teachings of The lord Jesus Christ himself! As Paul said to the Thessalonians…”For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which ye herd of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe…” (1Thes2vs13).
*Understand that Pauls words are Christs words!* specifically given to him for us Gentiles living in the present dispensation of grace.
“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” (1 Cor14vs37)
Thus if any of my readers truly desire to serve God as they ought and to understand Gods plan and purpose for our dispensation… you must receive St Paul’s Gospel and doctrines which specifically apply to our age, and you must appreciate the The four Gospels primarily deal with Christ’s kingdom gospel and ministry ‘to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ … most of which is not applicable doctrine for our age. I will expand upon these truths in future posts and contrast many differences in doctrine between What Christ taught pertaining to his Kingdom, from what Paul teaches us as being applicable today…here, and now. Thus I hope to secure in your minds the absolute importance of “Rightly dividing the word of truth”.
My next message will focus upon the political distinctions to be made between St Pauls doctrines and those of Christ’s conditions for Jews to enter his Kingdom.
Amen.
(I will be editing this post over the next few days. I post it in the Raw as Sunday is fast evaporating… God Bless those of you whom have taken the time to read this message)
Tim Wikiriwhi Dispensational truth.
