God's Timeline | Rightly Dividing Basics

God's Timeline 

There are 3 main divisions in the Bible. Prophecy, mystery and prophecy, and also referred to as "time past," "but now", and "ages to come." 

🌍 EARTHLY PROGRAM | Times past and ages to come have to do with God's "signs and wonders" (prophetic) program with Israel. They were also under law in times past and will be in ages to come as well, though they are saved by grace through faith PLUS works of faith (they cannot take the mark of the beast or worship the image of the beast during the tribulation period for example). God made a law-covenant with Israel in Exodus. It's important to understand however that they couldn't be saved by keeping the law. They still needed to recognize their sin nature and trust in God to save them. Then, they could keep the law covenant as works of faith. God wanted them to be a peculiar people, which meant being very different from the predominantly unbelieving gentile world around them.

Times past is in the books of Genesis through Acts 8 (Acts is a transitional book) and then Hebrews through Revelation. 

The goal of the prophetic program is for Christ to rule and reign over the Earth alongside the nation of Israel. This will occur during the millennial reign of Christ on the earth and then thereafter when He creates a new heaven and a new Earth for believers in both programs to dwell in, in the dispensation of the fulness of times. The finished work of the cross included individual salvation for those who recognize their sin nature and trust in God to save them, and God reconciling both the heavens and the earth unto himself, which Satan has corrupted.

There are MANY verses throughout the Bible pertaining to Israel's program, and a basic overall understanding of the whole Bible as well as understanding right division, can help you to see the distinctions between prophecy and mystery more clearly. Here are a few verses that pertain ONLY to Israel and their program, and not to us, the church the Body, of Christ today.

Matthew 15:24

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 19:28-30

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration [after Christ's 2nd coming on the earth] when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Revelation 21:10-12

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

1 Peter 2:9

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

🌌 HEAVENLY PROGRAM | The current UN-PROPHESIED program called "But now" has to do with God forming the church the Body of Christ to fill the heavenly places. We are under GRACE. We do not have a covenant with God, but we do have the "riches of His grace". People today are saved by grace through faith alone PLUS NOTHING when we believe in Christ's death, burial and resurrection as atonement for our sins. Also, God isn't pouring out His wrath today on our world. He isn't chastising the nations or individual people. **He has also set the nation of Israel aside and has nothing to do with them as a nation today. This means that God wasn't responsible for the current state of Israel which was formed in 1948. The nation of Israel today is made up of predominantly unbelieving Jews. When God brings all of the Jews back to Israel, he (the Lord Jesus Christ) literally brings ALL Jews back to Israel and this occurs at his second coming after the tribulation period. He will literally destroy apostate Israel and all people in the world who took the mark of the beast and who worshipped the image of the beast. No prophecies from Israel's prophetic program are being fulfilled today, nor will they be fulfilled until after the rapture. This puts most so-called "prophecy ministries" out of business so to speak! No matter what you hear going on today in Israel, God is not behind it.

Today, God wants individual Jews and Gentiles to be saved and anyone saved today in the dispensation of grace will be a part of the heavenly kingdom in the heavenly places.**

When believers are raptured out, that is when this dispensation ends and God will resume His program with Israel, which will begin the 7 year tribulation on the earth. The mystery program is in the books of Romans through Philemon and the book of Acts is a transitional book explaining the dispensational changes that occurred. Here are just a few Bible verses that are ONLY to us today, the church the Body of Christ:

1 Corinthians 12:27 - Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:"

Ephesians 2:6 "6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"

Eph 2:15 

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Ephesians 3:2 "2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:"

Ephesians 4:4-6

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times and the marriage of the "One New Man" with the "Bride":

Israel is referred to in scripture as "the bride"; God clearly referred to the nation Israel as His wife, and He her Husband (he also refers to the New Jerusalem as a bride).

• Jeremiah 2:32: “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people [Israel] have forgotten me days without number.”

• Jeremiah 3:14,20: “[14] Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: [20] Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.”

• Isaiah 54:5-6: “[5] For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. [6] For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.”

• Revelation 19:7-9: “[7] Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. [8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. [9] And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

The church the Body of Christ is referred to as the "one new man":

Eph 2:15 

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Galatians 6:15

15For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

The "bride" and the "one new man" will "marry" in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when Christ gathers us together in one in Him. What this means is that during the dispensation of the fulness of times, 

we begin a whole new dispensation, one in which both groups of believers work in unison in both realms (heaven and earth) to do God's will for all of eternity. That means that we (believers from both programs) will live together in harmony in the new heavens and new earth, serving the Lord joyfully for billions upon billions upon billions of years forever! Jacob in Genesis had a glimpse of this, as did John in the book of the revelation. Paul was also taught about it.

Ephesians 1:10 "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:"

Genesis 28:12-15

12And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. [This will take place in the dispensation of the fulness of times, with angels and saints doing God's will in heaven and earth]

13¶And, behold, the LORD [the Lord Jesus Christ] stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; [God's promise to the believing Jews will be fulfilled]

14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

If you would like to learn more about all of this, here are some good Midacts Rightly Divided Dispensational Grace teachers to learn and study regarding the timeline include:

• Richard Jordan of Grace school of the Bible 

• Les Feldick Through the Bible Ministries 

• Marianne Manley 

• Grace Ambassadors 

• Berean Bible Society 

• Eric Neumann 

And there are others on YouTube that you could watch as well. You can also look for a Midacts Rightly Divided Dispensational Grace church in your area. 

Video