UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERY OF GOD REVEALED TO THE CHURCH PART 1 | The Body of Christ 🌎🕎 Kingdom Expression Center
UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERY OF GOD REVEALED TO THE CHURCH PART 1 B
He has had only one plan to redeem mankind from the beginning of the world. The Cross of Christ! (The Church is not Plan B as dispensational theology falsely teaches! That theological framework fosters much error, and needs to be rejected!)
How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)... (Ephesians 3:3-4)
Here Paul explains how he came about a knowledge of the mystery of God. He does claim it was given to him by revelation (as the pre-trib theorists correctly state). But please notice here he calls it the 'mystery of Christ'. It is crucial to our proper understanding that we grasp that the central focus of this mystery is not a 'rapture', but a person: Jesus Christ! Paul goes into greater depth to help us understand this wonderful mystery in the next passage.
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Colossians 1:26)
Some try and get around the issue of a pre-trib rapture being conspicuously missing from the writings of the Church down through the ages by saying it was a 'hidden' mystery only revealed in modern times (a notion gaining popularity). But notice carefully here, Paul said the 'mystery' was made manifest (revealed) to the Saints of his generation: the early Church.
He does NOT give the understanding this 'mystery of God' is a doctrine (pre-trib rapture) that will be only revealed to the end-time generations. he points not to a 'catching away', but to Christ; and the deeper understanding of this all concerns Christ indwelling the believer and the believer‘s body being adopted into the Divine. This is the glory of the mystery, and thus carries the hope of the believer. That our salvation will come about as a result of Jesus living IN us!
Now back to the passage the pre-trib theorists attempt to twist into a promotion of their false doctrine.
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1Corinthians 15:51-53)
Here is where the deception comes in: they try and garner support for their notion by inserting their pre-trib rapture into this passage where Paul is specifically referring to the Resurrection as the mystery revealed to him. And now (in their amended version) their teaching becomes the great 'mystery God revealed to Paul' instead of the resurrection!
[SIDE NOTE: Pre-trib Rapture teachers would have you believe both our resurrection and catching away are one event that transpires instantaneously. There is absolutely NO biblical support for this 'POOF! - we are gone!' belief. Resurrection and ascension are two separate events. Was it only one event for Jesus? No, it was not. His resurrection and ascension were forty days apart! Our resurrection and catching away are two separate events. Exactly how much time will separate them? I do not claim to have that information. Do you? If so I would like to check it out.
Some believe the two will transpire in rapid succession while there are some who teach a period of as much as forty days between the two. We have no Scripture to give us that specific information, so all we can do is
speculate. But what the Scriptures do clearly state is:
...the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds (1Thess. 4:16- 17). If one event happens, and THEN another event happens, they are NOT the same event!]
