Chapter 1, Part C
Understanding The Word Of God
The justification of sin under the guidelines of the government
has already taken place, and one by one the organized church is being drawn in.
In a society based upon subjective morality, the people represented by
the government reserve the right to define such things as, when does life
began, the definition of marriage and even how one is separated from sin.
In exchange for funds churches are organized and are required to issue
human rights statements that adhere to the standards set forth by the
government. While the church and many minority groups danced in the street and
proclaim it to be the works of God, The Human rights act of 1964 sets the
stage for a direct attack on God's authority and again the church said, “amen.”
A church that once was noted for its message of, "It's
Holiness or Hell” dumbed down its rhetoric in the face of adversaries and
now proclaim, "God loves all of us." A deviant
interpretation of John 3:16. This occurs when we surgically remove
one verse from the supporting conversation or scripture and present it as a
complete thought. From that same verse many teach that we are not to condemn
those who walk in darkness. “He that believeth on him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:18-19) If your life is a condemnation and the Bible
says it, can I tell you? If you are
walking in darkness can I implore you to change directions? In a political correct society the answer is
no, we must refrain from moralizing the views and actions of others.
The earth is groaning under the pains of global warming, discord
among the races, wars, and the erosion of godly values. “For we
know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
(Romans 8:22) The president of the United States of America chose to publicly
state, “America is no longer a Christian nation” as he advances his alternate
lifestyle agenda. In 1964 it seems as if
the gates of Hell were flung open and the demonic forces of Hell were unleashed
upon the world. How long before it will
be stated that America is no longer a democracy? How long will it be before this country
follows the path of other great empires?
Our schools now can teach that man evolved from apes, but they
cannot teach that man was created by God. The Lord Prayer has been
removed from the curriculum of our schools and morning devotional is soon to be
an unheard of thing of the past. The Ten
Commandments that once held a sacred place in our courtrooms and served as the
base of our moral and legal system has long since been removed. Through all of the changes taking place, the world
of Christendom dumbed down and accepted a position of adaptability and
servitude as it sought to create a non-confrontational image and a
non-confrontational God. The new organized
church is now enjoying a new status, not as a spiritual, but as a polluted and politically
correct entity basting in subsides from the government.
At an early age, my first impression of God was that of an angry
God who underwent periods of silence when dealing with his wayward
creation. God often vented his anger and frustration upon his creation, a
fact that has been removed from our modern day interpretation of the scripture. David understood and expressed the sentiment
of God heart when he said, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with
the wicked every day.” (Psalms 7:11) God’s wrath was poured out upon Adam
and Eve and the generations that followed because of their sins. Cain suffered the wrath of God because he
chose to murder his brother. God poured
out his wrath in the form of a flood in Noah’s day and he continued to vent his
angry when dealing with wicked nations who stood against his chosen people. During the dispensation of the Law God’s
judgment was often pronounced and swift.
When God’s anger peaked, he gave Israel, his bride, his
chosen people a bill of divorcement. “And I saw, when for all the causes
whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her away, and given
her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah (western civilization)
feared not, but went and played the harlot also.” (Jeremiah 3:8) God
then began to speak through his prophets concerning the final consummation of things. After His prophecies were established God was
silent until a time of fulfillment, then his Son came forth, not to broker a
peace treaty, not to pave a road to prosperity, but to bring forth a plan of
salvation whereby all mankind could be saved.
There can
be many flaws in the interpretation and application of the Holy Scriptures
when we do not follow certain guidelines. The Holy Scriptures should
not be treated as a systematic treatise on Theology, History, Science or any
other topic. The scriptures are a
revelation from God, that set forth His Plan and Purpose down through the Ages,
separated by dispensations, as pertaining to the earth and the human race. These
revelations were given to us piecemeal "at sundry times and in divers
manners.” (Hebrew 1:1) Holy men of God
spake, and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit during a period of 1604
years, extending from B. C. 1492 to A. D. 100.
There are
two ages spoken of in the Holy Scripture, before “Time” the "Alpha"
or "Creative Ages," and after "Time" the "Omega,"
or "Ages of the ages." In "Time" there are three
"Ages" and eight "Dispensations." This is important if we are to “rightly
divide the Word of truth.”
The
"Ages" are
1.
The Antediluvian Age.
2.
The Present Age.
3.
The Age Of Ages. The "Third Age" is a "Dual
Age," composed of the "Millennial Age" and the "Perfect
Age."
The
eight "Dispensations" are
1.
The Edenic,
2.
The Antediluvian,
3.
The Postdiluvian,
4.
The Patriarchal,
5.
The Legal,
6.
The Ecclesiastical,
7.
The Messianic,
8.
The Dispensation of the "Fullness of Time".
The difference
between an "Age" and a "Dispensation" is that an
"Age" stands for a period between two great physical changes in the
earth's surface, while a "Dispensation" stands for a
"moral" or "probationary" period in the world's history.
For illustration, the "Present Age" began with "The Flood,"
and ends with the return of Christ to the Mount of Olives. "The
Flood" caused such physical and climatic changes that the length of human
life was reduced from 900 to 100 years; all
this will be reversed when Christ comes back, when the whole contour of the
Land of Palestine will be changed (Zechariah 14:4-10; Ezekiel 47:1-12), and men
shall live again for upwards of 1000 years (Isaiah 65:20).
The
problem with the interpretation of the scripture began when we attempt to combine
the Dispensation of the Law and the Dispensation of Grace. To do so is to deny the purpose of Christ's
suffering and dying. An analogy could be a farmer buying a truck and
using a team of horses to pull it down the road. When we take the Old Testament and the New
Testament and combine them together without regard to Age and Dispensation we
end up with a polluted form of the gospel that can neither be
sustained through the Word of God or common sense. When we search
the scripture searching for a word or phrase to validate a vanity point, we are
guilty of shaping the word of God.
As the dispensation of the Law was giving way to the
dispensation of Grace, God became silent and only spoke through his Son. Unlike the days of Adam, Abraham, Moses and
others when God engaged men in long drawn out conversations, the silence of God
should be an indicator that his wrath is building up and being stored. (Revelation
15:1) And I saw another sign in heaven,
great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is
filled up the wrath of God. Jesus
often referenced the Word of God in his messages, but contrary to popular
belief, there is only two instances that I can find, (you might be able to find
more) where the Father actually spoke in the New Testament scripture. Both
instances were a confirmation of his Son, in whom he was well pleased. (Matthew
3:17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased. (Luke 9:35) And
there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear him. The words, “hear him” were addressed to Peter.
It seems as if the Father was overcome with anger when Peter had a desire
to speak with, and learn from Moses and Elias.
This verse should speak volumes when seeking to understand God and the
Word of God.
The Dispensation of the Law came to an end on the cross with the
utterance of the words, “it finished.” The Dispensation of Grace began with the
outpouring of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.
(John 14:26) But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you.”
