Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)
When it comes to rightly dividing the word of truth, it is imperative that we correctly identify the main division because once we do that the details in understanding God’s word will fill in as we study with that division in mind.
If we were to take a poll asking Christians what they thought the main division was, most would say that it is between the Old and New Testaments. It is commonly believed that the OT (Genesis – Malachi) was for Israel and the NT (Matthew – Revelation) is for the Church. However, that traditional view does not hold up under scriptural scrutiny. Although they affect the world, both the OT and NT primarily concern Israel. The OT began in Exodus when God brought Israel under the Law, and the NT could not begin before the cross (Heb. 9:15-22). The earthly ministry of Christ was conducted under the Law (Matt. 5:17; 23:1-3; Gal. 4:4). Furthermore, Israel was an OT church (Acts 7:38) and in the Kingdom Age they will be a NT church (Matt. 26:28-29; cp. Ps. 22:22 & Heb. 2:12). A church is simply a called-out assembly. There is more than one church in the Bible.
The main division in the Bible is implied in the very first verse (Gen. 1:1). God has a purpose for both heaven and earth. His purpose for the earth is the subject of PROPHECY (“spoken… since the world began”) and concerns Israel (Lk. 1:30-33, 67-75; Acts 3:19-21). His purpose for heaven was a MYSTERY (“secret since the world began”) first revealed through the apostle Paul and concerns the Body of Christ (Rom. 16:25-27). A mystery in the Bible is a divine secret that cannot be known until God reveals it.
- Prophecy concerns a kingdom (Christ the King); a political organization (Dan. 2:44). The mystery concerns a Body (Christ the Head); a spiritual organism (1 Cor. 12:13).
- The kingdom is prepared from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34). The Body of Christ was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4; 3:9).
- According to prophecy Israel will be a kingdom of priests over the Gentiles (Ex. 19:5-6; Isa. 61:6). According to the mystery there is neither Jew nor Gentile in the Body of Christ (Gal. 3:27-28).
- The kingdom will be established on earth (Jer. 23:5). The Body of Christ has a position in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:5-6) and we will reign there forever (2 Cor. 5:1).
- According to prophecy Gentiles will be blessed through Israel’s rise and instrumentality (Isa. 60:1-3). According to the mystery Gentiles are blessed through Israel’s fall, diminishing, and blindness (Rom. 11:11-12, 15, 25).
- Prophecy concerns blessings, both material and spiritual, on earth (Isa. 11:1-9). The mystery concerns spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3).
- According to prophecy Christ will come publicly to the earth to save Israel and establish His righteous kingdom (Joel 3:16; Rev. 1:7). According to the mystery Christ will catch up (rapture) the Body of Christ to meet Him in the air (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:15-17).
The mystery of this present age interrupted but did not cancel prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27). The time schedule revealed to Daniel is a major key in understanding prophecy. It reveals that there are 70 weeks of years (70 x 7 = 490 years) determined upon Israel and the city of Jerusalem until Christ comes to establish His kingdom. It began with the decree to restore and build Jerusalem (Neh. 2), and 69 of the weeks (483 years) were fulfilled at the time of the crucifixion of Christ. There is still one week (7 years) that is yet to be fulfilled. We commonly refer to it as the tribulation period. We are living in a parenthetical mystery age revealed through the apostle Paul in which God is building the spiritual Body of Christ. The prophetic calendar of Israel cannot resume until this age ends with the rapture of the Body of Christ. This explains why the final week in Daniel’s prophecy has yet to be fulfilled and is separated from the 69th week by a period of about 2,000 years.
