The Bible makes very clear that Jesus Christ is King of Kings, and Lord or Lords (Rev 19:16). The overall theme of the Bible, the one theme that rises above all others, is the King and His kingdom. The Bible is not everything God knows, but it is everything He wants us to know about Him and His plan and purpose for the ages. The first verse of the Bible introduces the whole Bible by revealing that God has a purpose for the heaven and the earth (Gen 1:1). From Genesis until the ministry of the apostle Paul, God’s revelation concerned the earth. What most who call themselves “Christian” have been trained not to recognize is that with the calling of the apostle Paul in Acts 9, God’s revelation temporarily changed to focusing upon the heaven. Again, two “realms” are mentioned within the first verse of the Bible, heaven and earth, and both have been corrupted through sin and are in need of reconciliation. The Bible details how God intends to do just that and Satan, the devil, works tirelessly to hide that truth from all that he can.
The student of the Bible is instructed to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15 KJV). The main division within the Bible is not between the Old Testament and the New Testament, but between the prophetic kingdom program of God’s earthly people, Israel, and the mystery program of His heavenly people, the body of Christ. Most within Christendom have not heard this truth.
The burden and emphasis of the prophecies spoken to Israel relate to the King and His kingdom. Prophecy concerns that which was SPOKEN since the world began through all of the prophets (Acts 3:19-21). The burden and emphasis of the mystery revealed through the apostle Paul is the Church, which is the body of Christ, a unique spiritual entity that began with the calling of the apostle Paul. The mystery concerns that which was kept SECRET since the world began (Rom 16:25-26). It is imperative that the student of the Bible compare and contrast the following two passages and commit the time necessary to studying the implications drawn from that comparison:
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 the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Acts 3:19-21
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:
Romans 16:25-26
The things that were SPOKEN by the prophets since the world began cannot be the same things that were kept SECRET and hidden from the prophets since the world began. This means that the apostle Paul received new revelation from the risen Lord ascended to heaven. The reason well-intentioned Christians do not understand the Bible is because they fail to recognize the new revelations that were given to the apostle Paul first; revelations that have been provided for the unique entity known as the body of Christ living within a unique age (Eph 3:2) found within God’s overall timeline.
God has a plan to reconcile the governmental structures in both heaven (the mystery) and the earth (prophecy). God will accomplish this reconciliation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 1:16-20). The Bible details how God is accomplishing that reconciliation and it records Satan’s response to it. Since we have been provided the complete revelation of God (2 Tim 3:16), we are able to trace the progressive revelation of God’s plan for the ages throughout the pages of the Bible.
One of the many spiritual blessings that the Lord has revealed to the body of Christ, through the apostle Paul, is that God has made known the mystery of His will concerning His finished state once the reconciliation of heaven and earth has been completed:
Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:8-10
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
1 Cor 15:24-28
It was prophesied within the Bible that Israel will reign over the nations on the earth (Exod 19:5-6; Deut 28:1, 13; Isa 61:6), but what is not recognized by most of Christendom is that the body of Christ will reign in heavenly places with Christ. The body of Christ will fill the vacated thrones, dominions, principalities and powers once Satan and his fallen angels are cast out of the second heaven during the middle of the seven-year Tribulation period, Daniel’s 70th Week (Dan 9:24-27; Rev 12:7-9). The fall of Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, and the rebellion he led among the angels BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN provides the basis and the explanation for the mystery of the Church, the body of Christ.
Before the foundation of the world, Lucifer, the anointed cherub, lifted up his heart in pride and became a fallen creature (Isa 14:12-15; Ezek 28:11-19; Lk 10:18). Satan revealed his ambition when he declared, “I will be like the most High” (Isa 14:14; Gen 14:18-19). Lucifer challenged the wisdom of God and devised a plan to usurp dominion in heaven and earth. He deceived a multitude of the angels, one can conclude one-third of all the angels (Rev 12:4), into rebelling with him against God. This brought about cataclysmic judgment (Gen 1:2) and the creation of the Lake of Fire in response (Mt 25:41).
God then reconstructed the earth, created man during the six days of Creation, and gave man dominion over that reconstructed earth (Gen 1:3-31; Psalm 8). The six days outlined within the first chapter of the book of Genesis were literal days and they took place nearly 6,000 years ago. God then made three heavens for the purpose of separation (Gen 1:1; 2:1: 2 Cor 12:2). Amos 7:4 tells us that there is a “great deep” between the second and the third heaven (Gen 1:6-8). Satan and his angels have a “place” in the second heaven (Job 15:15; Eph 2:2; 6:12; Rev 12:8).
Satan then deceived Eve and used her to tempt Adam. That led to the fall of all mankind (Gen 3). Within the Bible’s account, we must recognize that Adam was not the first “creature” within history to sin. Eve sinned before Adam did. More important to note is that Lucifer sinned before Eve sinned. That said, sin and death entered the world of mankind through Adam’s fall because he was the federal head of the human race (Rom 5:12; Rom 5:18-19). God did not, however, destroy Adam when sin was found in him. Adam was extended grace.
Satan usurped Adam’s dominion and became the prince (politics) and god (religion) of this world (Jn 12:31; 2 Cor 4:4). God did not cause the Fall, but He is using it to reveal His great love and grace in providing a means for salvation, demonstrating the free will of the creatures He has created, and displaying His great wisdom in creating a plan for reconciling all things in heaven and earth.
The very first prophecy recorded within the Bible is found in Genesis 3:15 where God announces the great conflict of the ages and Satan’s inevitable doom. The Redeemer will be the “seed of the woman,” which implies the virgin birth (Gal 4:4). The scope of prophecy becomes more specific as God reveals more through His prophets. Ultimately, it was revealed that Christ would be born of a virgin from the house of David (Isa 7:13-14) in the small town of Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). Throughout the Old Testament, we find Satan seeking to prevent the promised seed from coming into the world.
The first eleven chapters of the Bible record what God wants us to know about the first 2,000 years of human history and it represents four main events: Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. Satan raised up a king in Genesis 11 in order to set up a one-world religion and a one-world kingdom on the earth. God judged Babel and it is at this point in human history that God gave up on the idolatrous Gentile world (Rom 1:18-32). Following His rejection of the nations, God chose one man, Abram (soon to be Abraham), and promised to make of him a great nation, to give him and his seed a great land, and to make him a blessing to all the nations of the earth (Gen 12:1-3; 13:14-17). This was the beginning of God’s plan to create a nation through which He would bring forth the Messiah and establish His kingdom on the earth.
God established the Covenant of Circumcision with Abraham in Genesis 17:1-14 and He separated out His chosen people from the Gentiles. God miraculously provided Abraham a son, Isaac, who begat Jacob, who begat twelve sons from whence came the twelve tribes of Israel. When God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, they became a nation under the Old Covenant. God also made an everlasting covenant with David concerning his kingdom and throne (2 Sam 7:12-17). Israel, not the body of Christ, is the covenant people of God (Rom 9:4-5).
Throughout the Old Testament, the Gentiles are only dealt with in relation to Israel. The Old Testament prophets prophesied of the coming King and His kingdom. The history of Israel, however, is unfortunately marked by unbelief, disobedience, and idolatry. Israel rejected God as their king (1 Sam 8:6-9) and persecuted the prophets that He sent unto them (Mt 23:31).
The four Gospels record the earthly ministry of Christ during which the kingdom was proclaimed to Israel (Mt 4:17, 23; 10:5-8). Christ came unto His own (Mt 15:24; Rom 15:8), the nation Israel, but His own received Him not (Jn 1:11). Despite this rejection, God always has a remnant and there was a “little flock” of Jews that believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the Son of God (Lk 12:32; Mt 16:18). As a nation, Israel rejected and crucified her prophesied Messiah. Christ, however, made intercession for them on the Cross (Lk 23:34).
After Christ rose from the dead, He instructed His apostles concerning the kingdom before He ascended back to heaven (Acts 1:1-12). Peter led in replacing Judas Iscariot with Matthias and then Christ poured out the Holy Ghost on the Twelve for power on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), a Jewish feast day. Israel had the sign of the prophet Jonah (Mt 12:39-40) and the witness of the Holy Ghost through the Twelve apostles. What is recorded within the early chapters of the book of Acts (Acts 3:19-21) is a second offering of the kingdom to the nation Israel.
During the end of His earthly ministry, Christ prepared His apostles for the impending Tribulation period. This information is recorded within the Lord’s Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24. Christ commissioned His apostles to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom in all the world, and then the end would come (Mt 24:14; Mk 16:15-18). The book of Daniel tells us that there were 490 years determined upon Israel from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the establishment of the kingdom on earth (Dan 9:24-27). The first 483 years were fulfilled at the time of the Cross, but the last seven years have yet to be fulfilled. This is the prophecy of “Daniel’s 70th Week” and it’s fulfillment is on our near horizon.
The prophesied kingdom was postponed when Israel officially fell in Acts 7 at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-58). The stoning of Stephen is the “unpardonable sin,” blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, discussed by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 12:31-32. God initiated the process of setting Israel aside through a transition, recorded within the book of Acts, that culminated in Acts 28 before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.
All was ready for God to pour out His wrath, as prophesied, and for God to complete Daniel’s 70th Week. Israel had rejected the Father, rejected the Son, and had now rejected the Holy Spirit (Mt 12:31-32; Acts 6:8, 10, 15). Instead of pouring out His wrath, God poured out exceeding abundant grace by saving the leader of the rebellion against Him. Saul of Tarsus, in a sudden glorious appearing recorded in Acts 9, was arrested and made the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13) and he was provided a new message within a new ministry (Gal 2:7-9). Jesus Christ revealed the mystery of the body of Christ and the corresponding mysteries for this present age of grace through the apostle Paul (1 Cor 4:1-2; Eph 3:1-12).
The apostle Paul is the divinely appointed pattern and spokesman for the body of Christ in this present age (1 Tim 1:12-16; 1 Cor 4:16, 11:1). God is building one new spiritual man that is neither Jew nor Gentile in this present age that you and I live in (Gal 3:27-28; Eph 2:13-18). The Church, which is the body of Christ, is God’s eternal purpose in Christ that He planned before the world began in response to Lucifer’s rebellion (Eph 3:11; 2 Tim 1:9). Those who are members of the body of Christ are God’s heavenly people (Eph 2:6; Phil 3:20-21; Col 3:1-4) through which He will reconcile the government of heaven back to Himself (Col 1:16, 20).
Satan thought that he was defeating God’s purpose for the earth when he had Christ crucified. By His cross, however, Christ made it possible to reconcile both things in earth and in heaven (1 Cor 2:6-8). Satan knew nothing of the mystery program hid in God, that which God ordained before the world began (1 Cor 2:7-8). When this present age ends with the mystery of the rapture of the body of Christ (1 Cor 15:51), God will resume and fulfill His prophecy program concerning Israel and the nations.
The Bible tells us that Israel must be purged through a fiery trial (Zach 13:9; Mal 3:1-3; 1 Pet 1:7; 4:12) in order to bring the nation to repentance. There will be a seven-year Tribulation period that will culminate in Christ’s Second Coming. This is the subject of Prophecy and though 100% true and on the near horizon, is not Mystery doctrine provided to the apostle Paul for this present age.
Jesus Christ will establish His kingdom when He returns (Rev 19:11-21). Jesus Christ will save the believing remnant of Israel and He will establish the New Covenant with them (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:8-13). Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit as Christ reigns from the throne of David in Jerusalem for a literal one-thousand year period (Rev 20:1-6). Israel will be a kingdom of priests through which the Gentile nations will worship King Jesus (Exod 19:5-6; 1 Pet 2:9; Rev 5:10).
At the end of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be loosed for one final test and battle, the Gog Magog Invasion. Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire and then all of the lost from all of the ages will be resurrected to give an account of their works at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:7-15). The heavens and earth will then pass away by fire and God will create a New Heaven and a New Earth. The New Jerusalem will descend to the earth where it was during eternity past (Rev 21:1-5) and there will be “no more sea” in heaven or earth since there will be no need for those divisions any longer.
In eternity, there will be one family of God in heaven and earth (Eph 3:15) redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. The body of Christ will occupy the New Heaven. Israel will occupy the New Jerusalem. The Gentile nations will occupy the New Earth. God will be all in all.