Tag: Fulfilled Prophecies

WHY CHRISTIANITY?

ACTUALLY, I SHOULD SAY  “WHY TRUE CHRISTIANITY!”

In our world of flesh and blood, we have many countries, kingdoms, states, and  islands.   Each of these has its own ruler, a king or queen, a president or a prime minister, a pope or an ayatollah, and so on.

Each of these kingdoms, states etc. have their own laws by which, all its people are supposed to be governed.   All too often however the fact is that the rulers and the hierarchy do not adhere to the laws, but they do not get punished for their wrongdoings, i.e. they are above the law.

In the spirit world, there is only one kingdom, the “Kingdom of God”, also referred to as the ”Kingdom of Heaven”. This kingdom also has its own set of laws which govern all beings, both the good and the evil.  The laws of this kingdom however are inviolable, they apply to every being without exception.

One of the laws of the Kingdom of Heaven, is that any being, whether living on earth or in heaven or any other place in creation who has violated any law of God’s Kingdom, must pay the price or suffer the penalty demanded by the law, in order for justice to be satisfied.

One unconfessed or unforgiven sin, even if it is only a lie, separates us from a holy and righteous God, and keeps us out of His Kingdom.

The law of Heaven says that the penalty of our sin is death.  The debt of sin can only be paid for by the shedding of the blood of a sinless, pure and holy person, as the blood of animals or birds etc was only a temporary fill in measure, and was insufficient to permanently atone for the sins of men and women.

If men and women were to be saved from their sin, a pure, holy, sinless human being must be slain as a sacrifice, so his holy, sinless and pure blood could pay the price of the sins of all other men and women who would acknowledge and accept that He was pure, sinless and holy, and put their faith and trust in Him for their eternal salvation.

God’s only begotten son was able to meet those requirements, by becoming 100%  human, so God sent His only begotten Son to earth as a human being, to be the sacrifice for our sin.

Rom 6:23  For the wages  (i.e. punishment)  of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

While even what we consider to be minor sins still receive the death sentence, unless confessed and forgiven by God, through faith and trust in Jesus Christ God’s Son,   (see John 14:6  “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”)   We can also see that there are degrees of severity according to the deeds done by each sinner.

Matt 11:21  “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Matt 11:22  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

Hebrews 10:28-29
How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Revelation 20:12-13
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Separation from a loving God who did His best to save us from hell, would be bad enough, but knowing we had the chance to be with a loving God in His home in heaven, and we blew it would be terrible.

WHY TRUE CHRISTIANITY?  Well I ask you, what other religion can meet the law of heavens demands?  What other religion can provide a sinless man who is prepared to sacrifice his own life for his enemies, in order to save their lives.   That is what Jesus did for the whole world.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

What other religion can provide the concrete evidence, indeed the irrefutable proof, that what is written is the truth and it will happen just as it has been written.

1800 -1900 biblical prophecies already have been accurately fulfilled, to the letter, some hundreds of years after they were penned.   

Another hundred or more being fulfilled currently, before our eyes, as we watch on in horror at what is taking place all over the earth, and every bit of this was foretold by Jesus 2000 years ago, even the timing of when it would happen! 

God in his love for us warned us that these things would be the sign of His soon coming, and that He would take His Children to safety, away from this earth as climate change continues tearing it to pieces, with massive earthquakes, violent storms, floods, droughts, wildfires, cyclones, plagues (locusts etc.) pestilence (Covid viruses), swine flu etc. becoming worse all the time.

On top of all this, men and women are helping to tear their own countries, and their own communities apart with their hate for one another because of race, skin  colour, religion, political affiliation, etc.

Warnings given to us by a LOVING God, who wants us to trust and follow Him, to put aside our evil and sinful ways and seek His forgiveness, so we can become part of His family.    How fantastic is that?

What other god offers all this to their followers?  What other religion offers all this evidence and the proof that they can forgive sin, assuring you of eternal life in heaven with a GOD of love!   NONE, they deny God, they deny God’s Son, they deny His death on the cross, and the shedding of His holy blood to atone for their salvation.   Their idol gods are powerless to lift a finger or a hand to help their followers, their spirit gods only bring deception, misery, poverty, pain and death to their followers. 

THAT IS WHY TRUE CHRISTIANITY!   Because Only the True Christians’ God can do all this, offering concrete proof and real time evidence, which is happening today, exactly as Jesus foretold 2000 years ago.    Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the only TRUE GOD, the GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD as is taught in the Torah and in the Tanakh of Israel, (The Old Testament) and confirmed in the New Covenant.   (The New Testament.)  as was promised to Israel by Jeremiah.    Jeremiah 31:31  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.        Think about these names of this child  –  Jesus.     Who do they describe?

Time is rapidly running out for the earth and its occupants, and the choice is there for each person to make for themselves, no other person on earth can make the choice for us; not our parents or siblings, not our priests or pastors, not our popes nor ayatollahs, not our professors nor our teachers.   

Either we trust God and believe all the concrete and irrefutable evidence we see around us, the proof of the hundreds of fulfilled prophecies and changed lives throughout many centuries, or else we trust the deceptions of all the gurus and false teachers with their “Mantras” that open up our souls to satanic forces when we meditate on them instead of meditating on God’s WORD.

Of course we could believe the hoaxes perpetrated by evolution; or the cults with their half-truths;  or the religious frauds who claim to be “Messiahs”; or the “Tares” of whom Jesus warns us that Satan has planted in the churches to turn men and women away from believing the truth.   (For the parable of the “Tares” also called “Weeds” in some translations, see Matthew 13:24-30.

75 – 80% of Churches today, especially in the Western Nations are led by these “Tares” who teach their congregations that much of the Bible is just fables, myths, or fantasy; legends which have been handed down from one generation to the next.  

These“Tares” are not True Christians, and those who believe and follow their teachings are called “Nominal Christians” which means Christians in name only, but not in truth, or in deeds, and Paul warned Timothy in his letter of  2 Timothy 3:1-7 about this kind of people, and in verse 5 he tells Timothy that they have a form of godliness but that they deny its power.  He tells Timothy to keep away from this type of person! 

TRUE CHRISTIANITY  is believing that the whole Bible is Divinely inspired, irrefutable in its content and teaching, and irrevocable in its outworking, as I have already shown.  

TRUE CHRISTIANITY  is believing that the whole Bible is Divinely inspired, irrefutable in its content and teaching, and irrevocable in its outworking, as I have already shown.   True Christianity is about loving and obeying God with all our heart and soul and mind, and loving our neighbours as we love ourselves! 

God bless.

WHEN YOU SEE ALL THESE THINGS

A few days ago, the DVD I ordered from Prophecy News Watch, titled  “The Coming Convergence” arrived in the mail.    I have watched it a couple of times, as it is a timely reminder of the days we are living in.   2 Tim 3:1  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:   I think the Manchester terrorist attack was a timely reminder of just how perilous the times are right now.

The film is 100 minutes of recent Scientific Archaeological findings, lined up alongside Biblical passages of scripture, and ancient Bible Prophecies.   These are then put together, and explained in detail by leading Bible Prophecy Scholars of today.      The film reveals that what is happening today, is exactly what was foretold centuries and millennia ago, but people do not want to believe the Bible, even when they can see what it teaches is happening before their eyes.

I believe, as do these students of Bible prophecy, that we are on the cusp, of the Lord’s return, no matter which interpretation of eschatology you may hold to.    The signs that Jesus gave to His disciples when asked in Matt 24 about the signs of His return, have all been fulfilled, and we need to note carefully what Jesus said  in Matt 24:33  “In the same way, when you see ALL THESE THINGS, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door.”    The Bible scholars go through the teachings of this passage of Jesus’ prophecy of the sign of His return, to show that “all these things” are present in our world today.

I have another six copies of this DVD on the way, but don’t expect to see them until between 4 – 7th June.    If you live in or near Perth in Western Australia,  and you would like to borrow one please e-mail me at   cullen252@bigpond.com   and I shall try to accommodate you as soon as possible.

If you would like your own copy to share with your family and friends, or at your church, it can be ordered from the following site.   www.prophecynewswatch.com    This film needs to be seen by all who are not walking close to the Lord at this time, and all family and friends who are still unbelievers.

I remember Dr J R Church from Prophecy in the News some years ago, saying that he felt that Pentecost could also be a possible time for the Rapture, as it was still spring time in Israel, and with all the feasts from Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, etc. being a very busy time in their calendar, very few people got married, so later there was a boom in marriage celebrations around Shavuot (Pentecost).

Pentecost is looked on as being the birthday of the Church, so why not celebrate the birthday by a surprise visit to get your Bride to be?    I don’t know!   Nobody knows.   Certainly the feast of Shavuot which falls this year on Wednesday May 31st cannot be discounted yet, neither can the Feast of Trumpets.

SO  –  Where to from here?

Prov 27:1  Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.   Nobody can guarantee they will be alive tomorrow, unexpected accidents happen every day, fit healthy people die of heart attacks every day, innocent people get murdered every day.     Don’t put your faith in tomorrow, it may not come for you, get prepared now.

The main thing for me is  Matt 24:42  “Watch therefore, for you do not know in what hour your Lord is coming.”   When we compare this with  2 Pet 3:8  “Moreover, dear friends, do not ignore this: with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.”     So if 1000 years is like a day and a day is like 1000 years, then an hour could be like a week or a month or a year and vice versa.

Mark 13:37  “And what I say to you, I say to everyone: stay alert!”     Today more than any other time in history, we need to watch, and be ready for whenever the Lord returns, and for however it may be.    Do not be like the world,  unbelieving, uncaring, unprepared, and unaware of what is happening all around them every day.

Life is all about relationships, from the moment you are born, you begin to form a relationship with your parents, and your siblings.   A bit later you develop relationships with your class mates and your teachers.    Further down the track you develop relationships with your work mates and your boss.    From there it is likely you will develop a relationship with a close friend who may become your husband / wife in the days ahead.

For many people these relationships are developed and continue for many years, becoming closer and deeper as time goes on.     For people who are not prepared to put in the time, expense or effort required to develop and / or continue the relationship, that relationship dies.

Jesus does not want to marry a bride who does not have a loving relationship with Him, one who never bothers to talk to Him, one who never bothers to read His word, to learn about what He is like, someone who is not prepared to take the time, put in the effort, or spend the money required to build and develop and deepen that love relationship.

Sadly, there are too many so called Christians who fall into this category; they have no real relationship with Him, and certainly they are not looking forward to meeting Him and being with Him forever.        Would you choose a bride / bridegroom who was like this?      

Salvation is not received just by believing in  God.    Listen to what James tells us about this in  James 2:19  “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”   James 2:20  “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”       The very first commandment says,  Mark 12:30  “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”       That will lead to a good loving relationship,  which will bring forth good works.

Watch therefore, do not look for a specific day, or a set date, or a certain “Feast”, but look for your Saviour’s return.     Wait for your redemption, watch eagerly for your bridegroom to come for you, whenever that may be.   We may not know the day nor the hour, but in 1 Thess 5:4  Paul tell us that True Christians are not in the dark that this Day should overtake us as a thief.

God bless

Lex Cullen

 

 

LOOK UP – REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR.

Mat 24:33  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors!      NOTE – ALL these things is the key.

For hundreds of years people have waited and watched for the rapture, believing that it could be at any time,  but they forgot that ALL these things had to happen before Jesus calls us to be with Himself.

Mat 24:3  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Let us examine Jesus answer to this end of the age question.

Mat 24:4&5  And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.   For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.    This has been fulfilled many times over.
Mat 24:6  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.    This has been fulfilled many times over.      See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.    This speaks of  WORLD WARS.      This has been fulfilled twice over.
Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.     This is being fulfilled every day in every country of the world today. 
Mat 24:10  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.       This has been fulfilled many times over.
Mat 24:11  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.     This is also being fulfilled every day in many  parts of the world today. 
Mat 24:12  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. This has happened over the past 50 years and continues happening today.
Mat 24:13  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.     Coming soon.
Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations,  This has been fulfilled already.  And then the end will come.    Jesus will come in the Rapture for His Saints.   He is at the door.

The next passage from verses 15-28 take us through the Great Tribulation.     Coming soon.

Verses 29-31 talk of Jesus second coming to the earth to rule with His Saints.

So we can see from the above, that the only thing that has not yet been fulfilled from Jesus discourse with His disciples, –  up until the time of the Great Tribulation,  is verse 13, he who endures until the end (of the age), shall be saved, (that is, the age of grace,) when the Rapture takes place, and all True Christians will be saved from the wrath to come.    1 Thess 1:10 says – to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

But when combined with so many of the Old Testament’s  last days / end times prophecies also happening at this very time, then it is time to  wake up, stand up and look up, for your redemption is at hand.

Let’s look at some Prophecies about the END TIMES / THE LAST DAYS.

Israel must be back in their own Land  –  Fulfilled in 1948

The Jews must be back in control of ALL of Jerusalem.  –  Fulfilled in 1967

An Increase in Travel and Knowledge –      Fulfilled from 1945 on

Israel Surrounded by Enemies on all sides  – Fulfilled from 1945 on

Israel’s Exceedingly Great Army  – Fulfilled from approx 1963/4

Rise of the Gog of Magog Alliance  –  Fulfilled in January 2015

The Rise of Global Government –  Ready to take over at any time

The Rise of the One World Church  —  Fulfilled in 2016

The Signs of One World Church Leader “The Pope’s declarations to other Religions  “All religions lead to God ”     Fulfilled in 2016

The Gospel Preached Throughout the World  – as far as we know, no tribes remain unreached by the Gospel today. Fulfilled in 2016

Denial of the Signs by the world.      Fulfilled for the past 30 years or more

Jewish and Moslem Religious leaders declare “2016/2017 to be the most likely year for Israel,s Messiah’s and the Islamic Mahdi’s Return”.    Fulfilled in 2016.   This has also just recently been agreed to by many Christian Bible Prophecy Scholars.

Isa 17:1  The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. v:2  The cities of Aroer (Now called Daraa in Southern Syria) are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.  –  Currently In Progress.

TRUMPS PLEDGE to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and declare Jerusalem to be the Capital of Israel drew threats of all out war from most of the Islamic nations.    Does this mean WAR is on the Horizon???     Very possible.

Numeric signs.   Hos 6:2  After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 2Pet 3:8 & Psa 90:4 indicate that One day is as 1000 years and 1000 is as a day in God’s sight.  From the year 2000 we moved into the third day.

Lev 25:8-10 Describes main part of the Law regarding  The Year of Jubilee.

Concerning Jubilee years, The Balfour Declaration in 1917 was regarded as a Year of Jubilee, when Britain, under the mandate given to Britain to oversee Palestine, declared part of Palestine would be returned to Israel again.    This was impossible for almost 2000 years.

50 years later 1967 was also a Year of Jubilee, as it was in this year God oversaw the return of Judea and Samaria and the area known as The West Bank of the city of Jerusalem, situated on the West Bank of the Jordan River was given back by God to Israel as He had promised.

50 years later 2017 Is the current Year of Jubilee.   Could 2017 be Year of The Rapture?   As everything else has lined up according to the scriptures, and as the ancient prophecies are being fulfilled so rapidly today, it seems highly possible, even highly probable that 2017 will be Year of The Rapture.

The next Year of Jubilee Will be in 2067 another 50 years away.   It seems to me, that seeing Jesus said He would fulfill ALL the LAW, and seeing that He has already fulfilled the first four feasts of the Law, on the very day prescribed by God, and in the very manner prescribed by God,  it is a foregone conclusion that He will fulfill all the rest of the Law also on the very day and manner prescribed in the Law by God.

The next feast is  The Feast of Trumpets  – Rosh Hashana, also known as “The feast of “no man knows the day nor the hour” as the sliver of the new moon had to be sighted before the feast could be declared.  Bad weather or fires producing lots of smoke could delay the day of the feast being commenced.    Rosh Hashana literally meaning “Head of the Year” because Rosh Hashana marks the point in time when they begin the new calendar year or – New Years Day.  

Other names for Rosh Hashana are -:
Yom Harat Olam means “The Birthday of the World.”
Yom Hazikaron means “The Day of Remembering.”
Yom Hadin means “The Day of Judgment.”
Yom Teruah means “The Day of Sounding (the Shofar).” This is the actual name that the holiday is called in the Torah.

Ha Kiddushin The blowing of trumpets is also linked by many to Messiah’s Wedding.       Read Joel 2:15  Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly;  Joel 2:16  Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.

Other Pointers.

In Israel this is the year 5777.   In the Bible the number 5 represents God’s Grace, and the number 7 represents perfection.      777 equals absolute perfection.    Could it be that this is the year God’s grace will be perfected in His Church, and His Church shall be raptured, bringing an end to the age of grace?    I believe all the signs are telling us exactly that, and we need to be ready.    The Israeli year 5777 ends somewhere between the 20 th and the 23 rd of September.      

Israel became a nation in MAY 14 1948   In  Mat 24:32  “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.    Mat 24:33  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors! Mat 24:34  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.    The fig tree often represents Israel in Scripture.

Israel became a nation in MAY 14 1948 – This generation shall not pass away.   Add 70 years – (Lifespan of a generation) = MAY 14 2018   There are varying theories on this, but this is most commonly accepted, and if this theory is correct, it means that the Lord’s return will be before May 2018.

However, as I have said so often before, I reiterate now, we should be ready every moment of every day.   Nobody know when they may have an accident and be killed, no one knows, even strong young men and women have fatal heart attacks, it can happen in the blink of an eye to any person, therefore we need to be ready all the time.

An interesting phenomenon has been discovered by a Christian Astronomer, using the NASA planetarium website.   This phenomenon will not happen again for another 7000 years, and this year it seems to tie in with Revelation Chapter 12 verses 1-6.

This is clearly an end time prophecy and sign, as Jesus was not caught up immediately after He was born and Israel has not yet fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.  That all happens AFTER the Rapture.

The Woman is clearly Israel as described in Genesis 37:9 Then Joseph dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” etc.

How does that fit then with the Church being the child raptured up to Heaven immediately after being born?     Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.  Rom 11:17  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, Rom 11:18  do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

The Bible says the Church is the body of Christ, is Israel  about to give birth to the body of Christ?    1Cor 12:27  Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Clearly Gentile Christians are grafted into Israel and have Abraham as our father in the faith.  This is supported by what Jesus taught when he told the Pharisees in John 8:39  They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.   John 8:44  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do………..  The Church is a Jewish institution, and we Gentiles have been adopted by God into His chosen people and we Gentiles are now Jews by adoption.

That little blurb is to explain better how the You Tube Video below does fit the scriptures.      See it at -:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNRy0KIWJE0           This is the short version of the video on  Rev 12 1-6     9 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91F_EseiPkU      This is the long version, much better explained if you have the time.  45 minutes long.

Also could I suggest you put the following site into your bookmarks.  It is one of the best end time prophecy sites on the web.     http://www.prophecynewswatch.com     It does have a bit of advertising, but you don’t have to buy or even read their advertising materials, you can just read what is happening in the world today, and how it relates to scripture.   Really good site to check out every few days.

But I reiterate again, we should be ready every moment of every day.    Nobody knows when the Rapture will happen, there are some who believe Jesus will come at Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, and that maybe the Feast of Trumpets is when Jesus returns to set National Israel free from their bondage.   That theory could also be correct, who knows?  not me!   JUST BE READY ALL THE TIME.

God bless

Lex Cullen

Comments or questions welcome.

Of Dispensations and Pre Tribulation.

I have noticed recently that “Dispensationalists and Pre Tribulation Teachers” have been coming in for some harsh criticism from anti dispensationalists, and anti pre tribulation teachers, so I thought I would give my reasons as to why I am both a Dispensationalist and also a Pre Tribulation believer. I will not however be engaging in criticism of other Christians, as I do not believe that is God glorifying, but I will be stating my beliefs and backing them up with scripture, and I will make comments on why I do not accept some of their allegations against us, or some of their beliefs about the timing of the rapture.

I believe that there are time periods set by God for certain things to take place in the plan of God.   These time periods are called dispensations.  The word dispensation comes from the Greek word “Oikonomia” which means the order or running of the household.    You could say dispensations are like agenda items, when you complete one agenda item you move on to the next.    To my way of thinking if there are no dispensations, the Bible becomes a book of contradictions, mysterious to the uninitiated, and difficult to understand, whereas in fact it is God’s revelation to us of His plans for mankind.

Revelation means to reveal, or to disclose, to make clear and understandable.   Without dispensations the Bible becomes a minefield for Christians, and a paradise for non Christians of every other religion and or persuasion, it becomes a book where men have to put their own interpretation on much of what God is saying.   It becomes a mystery not a revelation.

I think that there are some things which apply to one dispensation but not others, and that there are some things which apply to all dispensations, but without dispensations, you have a big mess of contradictions.  I believe and note here also, that dispensations are taught in the Bible, and a classic example of this is found in Eph 1:10 where it says “That in the dispensation of the fullness 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:”   In this verse we can see clearly that there will be another dispensation called the fullness of times, which appears to come after the Millennial dispensation.

Dispensationalism is also seen in the writings of early Christians such as Paul, as seen above in Eph 1:10, it is also used by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 9:17, and again in Eph 3:2 and Col 1:25.   It is also noted in the writings of early historians such as Justin Martyr, (A.D. 110-165), Iranaeus (A.D. 130-200)   and Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 150-220) to name just a few.

Contrary to most other theological beliefs, Dispensational Theology believes that Israel and the Church are two distinct entities, operating in two distinct dispensations.   I am convinced that although both have had special relationships with God, they are not essentially one and the same.   Israel as a nation, is not and never was the church, and the church is not and never was the nation of Israel.   There are Israelis and Jews in the church, and in fact the church was founded by Jews.   When we gentiles become Christians, we are grafted into the family of faith, the father of whom was Abraham, father of the Israeli nation, but we are not grafted into the nation of unbelieving Israel!

When comparing Israel and the Church in the Bible, the word church is never seen or used in the Old Testament, and it is never seen or used after the Rapture takes place in Revelation 4:1.

I believe that it is only with dispensations that you can take the Bible literally.    Without dispensations, much of the Bible has to be interpreted according to what men think God meant rather than by what the Bible actually says.      Dispensationalists realise that there are many parts of the Bible which are allegorical, but we believe the majority of the Bible is literal, and we can see that so far, all the fulfilled prophecies have been fulfilled literally, and that those currently in the process of being fulfilled, are also shaping up to be fulfilled literally.

Allegorical passages of scripture are usually easy to recognise, such as parables and poems etc. but allegorical interpreters are very often seen to be at odds with each other, having different interpretations, because different people will always have different views on what the passage might mean.

Without dispensations you cannot have a Pretribulation Rapture.   The Pretribulation Rapture depends entirely on a literal interpretation of the Bible wherever it makes sense to interpret it literally.     Without a Pretribulation Rapture you must have God pouring out His wrath and judgement upon Himself, because He is dwelling in true believers in the person of the Holy Spirit!  That would not make sense at all.   Neither would God pouring out His wrath on the Bride to be of His only Son, who gave His life to cleanse and purify her make any sense.   God is NOT about to pour out tribulation of any type, nor His wrath upon Himself or the Bride to be of His Son!

Will the church go through tribulation?  ABSOLUTELY!    The church has gone through tribulation from its beginning, and much of that tribulation has been terrible and unbelievably cruel.   The inquisition was a time of terrible tribulation when millions of Christians were slaughtered for their faith in Jesus Christ.   The Communist countries butchered millions of Christians when they came to power in Russia and China.   Millions of Christians have been butchered by Moslems since the day Muhammad began the religion of Islam right up until today.

Much of the church is going through terrible tribulation right now in Moslem countries, in China, in India, in North Korea and in over 120 other countries around the world today.    But it is Satan and not God who is pouring out his wrath on the church today.    Satan knows that his time is up, and because of this his fury is being unleashed upon God’s people all around the world and it is spreading rapidly to the rest of the world.

Billy Graham’s Warning to American Churches: ‘Prepare for Persecution’

The Rev. Billy Graham has issued a written warning to America’s churches: “Prepare for persecution.” The renowned preacher and founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association penned a commentary that was posted on his website last week and is slated to appear in the November edition of Decision magazine.    His son Franklin Graham wrote “Persecution and targeting of Christians isn’t just in Iran or the Middle East, it’s right here in America,” wrote Franklin Graham.

I believe that if the Lord does not come back soon for His bride, that we shall soon see Christians in Australia being targeted by the world for our stand against sins of every type, most notably same sex marriage and sexual perversion of every type.   You can see it already beginning to build here in Australia as it has already in America.   But Jesus said, ‘If they hate you, remember they hated me before they hated you,’ (John 15:18).”

The accusations made by anti Pre Tribulation rapture teachers that we are afraid of tribulation, is to me both ridiculous and repugnant.   The belief that True Christians will suffer the wrath of God in the tribulation, is unscriptural and nonsensical.   Jesus has paid the full price for our sins; to have God pour out His wrath on True Christians, is to say that God was not satisfied with the sacrifice of His own son on the cross, and so Christians must pay a bit more.    That is not what the Bible says.

Yes, we must prepare ourselves for persecution and tribulation, but at the hands of wicked people who are driven by Satan, that has been the portion of the church from the beginning, and will be until Jesus comes back for us.

But persecution and tribulation do NOT come to the True Church from the hand of a loving God who says in Rom_5:9  “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”  And again in 1Th_5:9 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”