17.The Church Age God's Purpose for Man

Chapter 17
The Church Age

The Church – a Mystery

We have learned that there are a total of nine dispensations which constitute the totality of eternity – from Eternity Past to Eternity Future.  We have now entered into the seventh dispensation - the Church Age, or often referred to as the Dispensation of Grace, the Age of Mystery and even the Age of the Gentiles.  You will not read about this dispensation in the Old Testament because the Church Age is a parenthetical in Jewish history.  Old Testament believers never saw it; it was as if it would not be part of their future.  It was as if it never happened.  According to Old Testament prophesy, the Old Testament scriptures bypassed the Age of the Dispensation of the Church and went right into the Tribulation Period.  The Church Age is like an interlude - a silent period of time in which Jewish history knew nothing about.  As such, the Church is NOT part of Jewish prophecy, and NOT subject to its consequences.  Completely hidden from the Jews, we learn about the Church from the New Testament writings, of which the Jews do not recognize because they do not believe their Messiah has come.  They still await His 1st coming, whereas we know He came to earth 2000 years ago, but Jesus' people rejected Him (Eph  5:32; Eph 3:2-7; Col 1:2 5-26; Rom 11:25; Rom 16:25-26).  

From the beginning of creation, God predestined the Church to be His adopted child (Eph 1:5-7). Looking down through the corridors of time, God foreknew everything that would take place, including those who would accept or reject Him. Giving man a free will to chose, God knew how everyone would respond - even from the onset of creation. Regardless of how man would respond, God still set in motion all that was needed to accomplish His purpose in mankind. Thus, Jesus was predestined from the beginning for the forgiveness of the sins of the world to the Church. Man’s response would be acceptance of who Jesus is, and follow Him in all his ways. 

Who is the Church?

The Church is not a building, nor does it consist of those who attend church - who ritually or periodically go to church.  Although the Scriptures tell us to assemble together (Heb 10:25), attending church does not make one a Christian.  In addition, just because someone was baptized as a child, or attended some sort of confirmation or instructional teaching in a particular denominational church, does not make one a Christian.  Neither does having Christian parents automatically make the children a Christian.  Even if one has an intellectual belief in Who Jesus is and what He has done for the human race, again, does not make one a Christian.  

The Holy Spirit Within

The Church consist of true, heartfelt believers in Jesus Christ - ones who have personally repented of their sins, and confessed Jesus Christ as his or her Savior and Lord (Rom 10:9-10).  God knows when it is the genuineness of the heart.  When that happens, the miracle of the New Birth takes place (John 3:3).  At that moment, the Holy Spirit takes active residency within that new believer to participate in every area of his or her life. 

The Holy Spirit cannot operate in the earth unless He operates "within" the lives of repentant and sincere believers in Jesus Christ.  When that happens to a person, the Holy Spirit can now work within a believer to help do the work of sanctification - for God to do the work of holiness within that person.     

The Christian's Journey

The journey of a Christian is one of faith and trust in the power of the Lord working in his or her life.  Christians are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit to love God with their heart, and then love others as Christ loved them.  As a by-product of our faith and trust in Jesus, having the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we have at our disposal all of God’s spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Eph 1:3-4). We are empowered to serve Christ and bring others into the Kingdom of God. We have power over the devil and his forces. Sickness, poverty, depression, oppression, and every form of evil that the devil would try to put upon us can be cast away by using the power of the Holy Spirit within and the authority of the name of Jesus. We don’t have to live a life of sickness or oppression. We don’t have to live in poverty, because we have at our disposal the ability to have our needs met.  

We have God's Word written to us – to learn, follow, grow, and mature in the things of the Lord. We learn through His Word how to fight the forces of the enemy Satan, and how to use the Holy Spirit’s power within us.  Christ has a special love relationship between Him and His Church. It is like a bride-groom and His bride. Jesus gave His bride His Spirit (Holy Spirit) to dwell and actively work inside each believer. As a believer, then, we can talk to or worship our bride-groom anytime. We need not be in a church building because He lives within our hearts through His Spirit. As such, we can hear His voice, whenever or wherever we are. When we are quiet before Him, we are attuned to hearing His voice.

Christians live in grace by faith in Jesus Christ, receiving all of the blessings that were promised to Abraham and his seed. That is the Church's inheritance. We don’t have all those 613 laws to obey to obtain our inheritance. We live by one law - the Royal Law of Love – love the Lord and love others.  God promises to meet our every needs so that we can prosper in the things in the Lord.  It is very important to understand, however, that our Christianity is not designed for us to be physically prosperous, unless that is God's design. God meets our needs as a by-product of a deep relationship with Christ, following after Him and His ways.

In the fullness of time, Jesus came to fulfill the law by offering Himself as the “one” sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Because of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross, those who follow after Him are not subject to the curse of the law which was put upon the Jews for their disobedience to the law. Jesus became our sacrificial curse. He became our curse on the tree of Calvary. Christ followers – those who still choose to follow after the things of the world, meaning not following after the things of Christ, remain under the curse of mankind, meaning unbelievers, and subject to its natural penalties.

Gal 3:12-14 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. NKJV

The Orthodox Jews today still practice under the law, rejecting Jesus as their Messiah; so furthermore, they are still under the curse of the law, as given by God through Moses. They do not acknowledge nor understand that the law already has been fulfilled by Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary 2000 years ago.

Christians on Assignment

True Christians who are fortunate enough to be alive at the end of the Church Age, just prior to the Tribulation Period, will have an inner knowing and understanding that God has placed them on this earth at this period of time for a particular reason.  To think that God has entrusted us to be alive in this critical generation just prior to the Rapture of the Church is such an honor. While these times will be the worst of times upon the earth, it will be the best of times for the spreading of the Gospel.  People are angry and scared and will be looking for answers.  True Christians know that the answers to all problems rest in Jesus Christ alone.  Only in Him can anyone find peace - everylasting peace.

Our Bibles tell us that the Holy Spirit operating within the hearts of believers are the restrainers of evil in this world.  Without this force, evil would run rampant upon the earth and have full reign.  As true believers have prayed and done what they could in the natural, as led by the Holy Spirit, we have fought and slowed down this battle against the evils of this world (2 Thess 2:6-7) in order to bring others into the Kingdom of God.  While many believers have not used their spiritual authority as has been given to them, many have fought that spiritual battle like a good soldier for the Lord (Eph 6:10-18) against the schemes of Satan.  We have stood tall and didn't back down against the forces of evil that is trying to overtake us.  When the true Christians will be raptured into heaven, there will be nothing to hold the force of evil from consuming the earth.

II Thess 2:7  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains (The Holy Spirit within believers) will do so until He (Christian) is taken out of the way (raptured).  And then the lawless one will be revealed...

Sadly, as Christians, we have seen the degradation of society spiral down fast as we have watched those around us surcomb to Satan, accepting what comes as part of their present and future.  Has then all of our standing and fighting all been for naught?  Absolutely not.  We have seen the promises of God manifested over and over again as we have witnessed Satan's defeat.  Many people have been won over to the Lord, and the Kingdom of God has grown.  Sadly, however, every person upon the earth has been given the freedom of choice to choose God or Satan.  Most people think they are choosing their own way; however, man's ways are governed by Satan who is the god of this world.  Just as Eve surcumbed to the temptations of Satan in the Garden of Eden, so mankind today surcumbs to Satan's ways believing they are simply doing what they want instead of what God desires.

While our Bibles tell us we will not know the day nor hour the Lord will come to gather His Church for the rapture, we will know the times and season (Matt 24:36).  Those times and seasons are here as we watch the world get continuously more evil.  We have, however, seen that people are more and more receptive to hearing the Gospel.  This is the greatest window in time for people to accept Christ - just before the Rapture of the Church. 

As we watch the downslide of the takeover of evil, we know through Scripture that the Tribulation has yet to begin.  We are living in the beginning of the birth pangs of an evil world gone bad.  We are watching the world open the door of entrance for the Anti-Christ's and the soon coming Tribulation Period as the evil gets worse. There is a lot more to come, as we will see in future chapters of this book.   

As true believers, however, we can be rest assured in the promise that we will be spared the wrath of God that is coming to the world during the Tribulation Period (Matt 24:22; 1 Thess 1:10; 1 Thess 5:9).  The Bible tells us that Jesus will come like a thief in the night (Matt 24:43-44; 1 Thess 5:2), yet it will be at a time when the world thinks all is well where the normals of life are happening (Matt 24:38).

It is important to know that it takes the power of the Holy Spirit living within a believer to lift that person into heaven when Christ comes to  rapture His Church.  Without the Holy Spirit within that believer, the rapture for that individual can never happen.

The Tribulation Period that is prophesied by the Old Testament prophets, as well end time scripture listed in the Book of Matthew, Luke, and Revelation has nothing to do with the Church.  God has designed that the Church is taken out of the world before the Tribulation Period comes upon the earth. 

I Thess 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus  who delivered us from the wrath to come.

There are several things, however, that need to take place before the completion of this Church Age. 

The Rapture of the Church

With the disappearance of millions of people through the Rapture of the Church, the world will become even more chaotic.  Many church goers or pseudo Christians will become so frightened to where it will be the driving force for them to repent and come to Christ. They, however, will be at risk to all consequences placed upon them during the Tribulation Period.  There will be no protection and martyrdom will most likely be their future.

There will also be those who have heard of the Rapture of the Church, but refused to acknowledge its possibility before it happened.  With the mysterious disappearance of massive amounts of people from the earth, many of them will also, out of fear, come to repentance and sincere belief in Christ.  They also will have to face the consequences that will be placed upon them during the Tribulation Period, without any protection. 

What Happens to Young Children?

Another thing to consider is infants, toddlers, and young children.  Because they will have not come to their age of accountability (refer to the single article on Age of Accountability), they have no knowledge and understanding of good and evil, and as such, are not responsible for their sin.  They too will disappear from the earth in the Rapture of the Church (Deut 1:39; Matt 19:14).

Infants and little children are a part of the Kingdom of God until the knowledge of good and evil and its consequences are understood within them.  At that point, meaning the Age of Accountability, which could be as early as 6 or 7, or even as late as age 12.  At that time they make their own choices and are responsible for good and evil in their lives.  Up until then, they are spiritually alive, having the Holy Spirit acting in their lives.

There will be frantic parents and family members who will come to Christ because of what has happened to their children.  While their understanding of the Gospel may be limited, their fear for their child(ren) will draw them to call upon the Lord.

Because the Holy Spirit is ever present upon the earth, being present from the very beginning of creation (Gen 1:2), the Holy Spirit will remain upon the earth during the time of Tribulation Period.  Why?  There will be some who will come to repentance and belief in Christ Jesus during this most evil and vilest time in the history of mankind.  They too will need the power of the Holy Spirit within them to bring them up to heaven at the point of death, as most or all of them will probably be martyred for their faith during the Tribulation Period. 

The rest of the world, which will consist of most of the people left left upon the earth, will dismiss or excuse what has happened in the frenzy of a new world leader coming on the scene promising to bring on a peace upon the earth. 

In the Book of Revelation, the first three chapters are devoted to speaking to the churches. Chapters 4 and 5 shows us scenes in heaven.  Chapter 6 begins the Tribulation Period, which so intricately matches up with the Old Testament writers of Daniel and the other prophets.   Thus, we introduce the Rapture of the Church.

The Church Arises

Rev 4:1-2 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, " Come up here , and I will show you things which must take place after this." NKJV

Many pre-tribulation biblical scholars claim this verse as the event of what is known as the Rapture of the Church. Part of the reason is there is no mention of the Church from this point on in the Book of Revelation until chapter 19. Let’s look further into the Epistles, which is God’s Word to the Church, to see what God is telling us regarding our joining with Christ our Lord at the Rapture of the Church.

The word “rapture” is not in the Bible; however, its meaning is brought forth several times in the New Testament. The word Rapture is a Latin word, meaning to “carry off, grasp hastily, snatch up, to seize, and overpower by force.

1 Thess 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. NKJV

The Seal of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit indwelling each believer is their seal and guarantee of their entrance into heaven (2 Cor 1:22).  All believers who have the seal of the Holy Spirit in them will, at the time of the Rapture of the Church, be “seized up by force, carried off, snatched up, and grasped hastily” to meet the Lord in the air.

1 Cor 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. NKJV

1 Cor 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. NKJV

2 Thess 2:1-3 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. NKJV

1 Thess 5:9-10 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, NKJV

Rev 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. NKJV

2 Thess 2:7-9 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. NKJV.

When a believer leaves this earth in the Rapture of the Church, it will take the "thrusting" power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to rapture him or her up to heaven to be with the Lord.  If death overtakes a believer before the Rapture, as has been the case for 2000 years, the same thing will happen where it will take the power of the Holy Spirit within that person to bring them up to Paradise in heaven. 

Click here to view Chapter #19 - Understanding the Scriptures