Eschatology Pt2
We are not justified through grace but through the blood of Christ, grace is the umbrella which spares us from judgment and in turn presents us with the spotless sacrifice.
When it comes to the issue of the Church being a mystery hidden from the Old Testament, I do believe that the reality and depth of our reality was hidden.
Inasmuch as many passages in the New Testament such as Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 1:25-27 make it clear that the church is a mystery and its nature as a body composed of Jew and Gentile alike was unrevealed in the Old Testament, the church could not have been in view in this or any other Old Testament prophecy….. Since it had no part in the first sixty nine weeks, which are related only to God’s program for , it can have no part in the seventieth week.[1]
That said frequently the Holy Inspirer of the scriptures has alluded to time and time again that one day the Gentiles would be included in the promises of God, even in the Old Testament there are examples of gentiles making it into the kingdom; Rahab, Ruth, Nebuchadnezzar, Melchizedek, etc;[2]
I was brought up with the concept of a rapture of the church, where God takes His own from the earth before the pouring out of His cup of wrath so this is nothing new to me. I once considered it outdated as the Christ would be returning for a bride without spot of wrinkle[3] and surely persecution would be the cleanser necessary. However, the more I have pursued this line of questioning I have discovered that it is the washing of the water of the word that is necessary to prepare the Bride for the Bridegrooms return.[4]
Although this is the main dispensational teaching there is another which I have come across and it works on the premise that these dispensations are based upon the seven churches of Revelation and cite the following periods or dispensations.
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Ephesus meaning desired represents the time from Pentecost to 100 A.D.
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Smyrna meaning myrrh represents the time from Nero to 300 A.D.
<span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-F
AMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings”>v Pergamos means thoroughly married and represents the time from 300 A.D to 800 A.D.
v Thyatira which means continual sacrifice represents the time from 800 to 1517
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Sardis means those escaping and represents the time the Reformation.
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Philadelphia which means brotherly love represents the time between the Reformation and the last days.
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Laodicea means people Ruling and represents the last days just before the Lords return.
This belief that each age of the church is represented by the name for that period/church is unsupportable. As many suggest the period of persecution epitomized by the age of
Smyrna would imply that persecution is over. However; over half of the church militant which remains on earth is daily under threat of and experiences persecution physically while the other half experiences it on a far more subtle level. It is therefore obvious that this concept of a cessation to persecution as unique to a specific church age is a very western or European notion and does not fit into the true picture of the church globally especially in China. On top of that we are a short step away from open persecution in the west where the clear distinction of sin and righteousness is not popular in an increasingly politically correct world. Therefore it is not inconceivable that the church in the west will once again be purified in the fires of persecution. This is further reinforced by the growing Islamic faith which is having a ‘revival’ not least here in the
British Isles with more and more immigrants and converts.
The continued belief in this second group of dispensations as out lined would be comparable to the belief in British Israelism which found its most fertile growth during a time of unprecedented global dominance by the British Empire, although this church dispensation epitomized by the names of the church may have appeared accurate when open persecution was a thing of the past but to hold the same belief now lacks serious understanding. I do not think that it would be going too far to state that this even fosters a xenophobic syndrome where the legitimacy or reality of born again believers in the east is brought into question.
Another major problem with relegating the churches of Revelation to the past[5] is that the promises that are coupled with them would also be resigned to a bygone age and therefore not applicable to us. I do not believe this to be true as it would rob many churches which are enduring hardships a hope for future recompense. Further more, I believe that the Word of God is relevant for every age of mankind and cannot be read as something that only applies to a certain people at a certain time; this is its most enduring quality. It must be read as the inspired word of God, and when reading it we should ask <b style="mso-bidi
-font-weight: normal”>“what is God saying to me now?” Jesus is Lord of the first century church and the twenty first century one because it is one and the same church, only our clothes have changed.
I believe that doctrine and theology is not something that can be set in stone, of course there are elements about it which cannot be compromised over but when dealing with the end times and the return of our Lord it is better to look for it and foster an attitude where we lift men’s heads from the mundane and mediocre and raise them skyward. This is the true blessing of Eschatology for to be heavenly minded is gain but to be earthly is loss.
I do not subscribe to dispensations as a prescript for the ages as stated in the break down of the seven churches for it is a short sighted and in my opinion narrow minded.
Once the dangers have been identified and guarded against then I do believe that as a teaching tool the first or genuine dispensational teaching has some merit purely on the basis of grasping better the timing and unfolding revelation of God to mankind, to make it more than this would be dangerous.
The End