Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

The Church Age was unknown to the writers of the Old Testament

Last time we saw that one of the unique characteristics of the Church Age is that every believer is a priest and an ambassador. We are ambassadors for our Lord Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. 2Cor 5:19;

We concluded with the idea that the recall of the ambassador always precedes a declaration of war. When we are recalled by exit resurrection or rapture, 1Thes 4:17; the Tribulation that will be the greatest time of warfare in human history will begin. 2Thes 2:3;

The word translated "apostasy" is a transliteration of the Greek word "apostasia" Remember a transliteration is not a translation so we must go back to the original language for the meaning. In the original Greek the word "apostasia" means a separation or departure.

This word is improperly translated in the KJV and the NIV and is not translated in the NASB.

What is being separated or departed from has to be derived from the context. In this verse the separation or departure is referring to the departure or separation of the Church via the exit resurrection or rapture of the church.

This verse is telling us that when the church that is comprised of God's ambassadors for Christ is recalled to heaven, the tribulation commences. The event that triggers the tribulation is God's recall of the Church. The tribulation cannot start until the church is removed from the earth.

The doctrine of the Church Age is the unique mystery doctrine that has been revealed in the New Testament epistles. This was unknown to the writers of the Old Testament because the Church Age was kept completely secret from those in previous dispensations.

No Church Age doctrine or characteristics are ever mentioned in the Old Testament. I repeat, no Church Age doctrine or characteristics are ever mentioned in the Old Testament.

Scripture documents the Church Age as a mystery that was not previously disclosed. Rom 16:25-26; Eph 3:1-6; Col 1:25-26.

This means that the Church Age can be described as a "great parenthesis" since all the Old Testament prophecies skipped over the Church Age in silence because they did not know about it.

This is shown in the following passages where the events of first verse and events of the second verse are separated by the Church Age. Dan 2:40-41; Dan 7:23-24; Dan 8:22-23; Dan 11:35-36; Hosea 3:4-5, Hosea 5:15-6:1;

Our Lord prophesied of the Church Age. John 17:23;"I in you and you in Me" in, Acts 1:5; "you will be baptized with the Spirit not many days from now." in Matt 16:18; "Upon this rock I will build My Church." and in John 4:23-24 "The hour is coming and now is when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth"

Paul knew that he was teaching mystery doctrine that had previously been hidden, 1Cor 2:7; "We communicate God's wisdom hidden in a mystery, that God predestined before the ages resulting in our glory."

Every Church Age believer was provided with a destiny in eternity past that is designed for the glory of God and the blessing of the believer that is "exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think."

Paul had a tremendous sense of destiny and understood exactly what he was doing. He was presenting revelation from God that had never been presented by the greatest of the Old Testament writers. 1Tim 3:9; "Keep holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience" Net note 14 This is a mandate for post-salvation spiritual advance.

During the Church Age all three members of the Trinity indwell the body of every believer. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit do not indwell believers' bodies before or after the Church Age.

God the Father, the author of our of invisible assets, the grantor of our escrow blessings, the mastermind of the protocol plan for the Church Age and the designer of the operational divine dynasphere indwells your body, John 14:23; Eph 4:6; 2John 9; Phil 2:13;

The indwelling of the Father is for the purpose of the glorification of God through the believer's function in His protocol plan for the Church Age, Eph 1:3,6,12.

The indwelling of God the Father is a guarantee of His personal ministry to every Church Age believer in time and in eternity. It's a guarantee of our portfolio of invisible assets, of our escrow blessings for time and eternity, of the protocol plan of God, and of the divine dynasphere.

The indwelling of God the Father is unique and without precedence. It is a part of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age because never before in history was any believer indwelt by God the Father.

Jesus Christ also indwells every Church Age believer's body, John 14:20; John 17:22-23, 26; Rom 8:10; 2Cor 13:5; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27; 1John 2:24; The indwelling of Jesus Christ serves as both a sign and a badge of identity for the royal family of God.

We are here to complement our Lord's strategic victory in great power demonstration of the Hypostatic Union with our tactical victory during the great power demonstration of the Church Age.

The indwelling of Jesus Christ is a guarantee of our escrow blessings because Jesus Christ is both the depositary and the escrow officer. As the indwelling Shekinah Glory, Jesus Christ is a guarantee of the irrevocability of the escrow blessings and the certainty of their distribution to those who overcome. Rev 2:7,11,17,26; Rev 3:21;

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 2/22/2012