RIGHTLY DIVIDING SCRIPTURE by Stephen Benton

RIGHTLY DIVIDING SCRIPTURE      (reprint from The Daily Word)

from The Prophet 
Stephen Benton

Let's examine the text in 1Peter 1:5, I was elated to receive this revelation because as usual, it fell completely in line with what the Lord has been showing us for the past few years.

"Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 

There are several expressions in the scriptures that make reference to a period of time denoting finality.  For instance, when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost he pointed out Joel's prophecy about God pouring out his Spirit in the "last days."  Because Peter made reference to Joel's prophecy in light of the events that took place on the day of Pentecost in AD 31, it would be safe to assume that the last days officially began at that point in time.

In understanding prophecy I have noticed over the years that some, the vast majority of prophetic teachers and preachers, make the mistake of not rightly dividing the scriptures especially with regard to Israel and the Church.  I took time out last year to deal with the long-standing argument of whether or not the Church will go through the seven year tribulation.  The debate consists of three schools of thought.  There are the pre-tribulationists who believe the Church will be raptured prior to the Great Tribulation; the mid-tribulationists who believe the Church is raptured in the middle of the Tribulation; and the post-tribulationists who believe the rapture of the Church will take place at the end of the Tribulation.  The source of the confusion lies in not rightly dividing the word of God.

The countdown toward the end of time, better, the end of the age of salvation and the onset of the thousand year reign of Christ begins in Daniel's prophecy where God lays out a period of time known as 70 weeks.  History confirms that fact that each of those weeks represents a period of seven years in real time.  In the course of the prophecy, now fulfilled, the prophet showed Christ being "cut off" at the end of the 69th Week.  That would be a period of 483 years from the time the first event of the prophecy is fulfilled.  The first seven weeks of the prophecy began to be fulfilled in 452 BC when the final edict went forth to rebuild Jerusalem.  I can tell you with confidence that the mentioned year is a true date, although you will find various dates mentioned by prophecy teachers.  But for the sake of argument let's say that the date is approximate.  I don't want you to lose sight of the entire picture and dismiss it because of a few years of variable dates.  What is important is that the first 483 years of the prophecy ticked off in consecutive years.  A simple way to find out when the 70 weeks commenced is to subtract 483 years from the year Christ died.  Again, here we have a debate, but again, I can tell you with confidence that the year of his death was not 33 AD but 31 AD.  But once again, my destination is not dependent on the two year differential.

When the prophecy was given to Daniel it states that 70 weeks are determined upon His people, the Jews or Israelites, and upon "thy holy city," Jerusalem.  That's the important issue.  Those 70 weeks have nothing to do with the Church period.  But we know that after Christ died and was resurrected, he started what is now known as His Church.  The entity called the Church was not seen in the Old Testament nor known by any of the Old Testament prophets.  They knew about the promises of God to save Gentiles at a future time but they had absolutely no concept whatsoever of this thing called the Church.

Careful analysis of Daniel's 70 weeks will show that there remains one week yet to be fulfilled.  That period of seven years is what is commonly known as The Tribulation and the second half of that seven year period is known as the Great Tribulation. In between the end of the 69th week and the start of the 70th week is the Church.  The Church is a separate entity altogether.  Its message is not the same message as that given to Israel.  I have pointed out many times that the passage in Matthew 24:14 does not apply to the dispensation of the Church.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the entire world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

The gospel of the kingdom is just what the name implies and was the message preached by John the Baptist, by Jesus, and by his disciples prior to Jesus' resurrection.  It's a message that pertains to Israel.  When Jesus sent the apostles to preach he told them to go only to the lost sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL BECAUSE THE MESSAGE WAS NOT FOR ANY Gentile nations.  And by the way, the "end" mentioned in the above text is not the same period of time denoted in our base scripture in 1Peter called the "last time."  The 'gospel' message currently being distributed is the gospel of Jesus Christ, not the gospel of the Kingdom.  God's Kingdom was coming to the nation of Israel and the Gentile nations would be ruled by the kingdom.  Hence, the message of the Kingdom went out initially to Israel.  It is what may be called a national message for Israel only.  For those reasons, when we rightly divide scripture and its time frames, we see that the Church cannot and will not take part in the final week or seven years of this age.  The time itself is known as the time of Jacob's or Israel's Trouble, not the Church's. Let me remind you again that the Church is viewed as being in heaven represented as a priesthood of 24 elders before the four horse riders of the apocalypse are let loose on the earth to initiate the Tribulation Period.

Now, let me back up a little and review the messages given to the seven churches in Revelation.  I have taught this so many times that I can go through it with 70 league boots.  The seven churches represent seven stages of the Church from its beginnings to the final days.  We are now living in the last minutes of the seventh period.  Jesus shows in the letters a steady deterioration of the Church.

The first church period left its first love, which is its love for the word of God.  The first and greatest of the parables, the parable of the Sower is given to show the loss of God's word.  Once Satan causes the word of God to cease, he can do almost anything in the Church and he has.

In the second church the synagogue of Satan is mentioned as having infiltrated the true church.  That truth is verified by the parable of the wheat and tares.  The enemy, Satan, sowed false saints into the congregation of the true saints and completely changed the makeup of the field.

In the third church, Pergamos, Jesus says he knows where Satan's seat is.  That seat, or place of authority, was set up within the true Church of Jesus Christ. The parable in Matthew 13: 31-33 represents the actions that took place in the church.  Here is another one of those passages that has been incorrectly interpreted.   Some teach that the parable is used to show how great the tree of the Church would become from just one small seed.  That may be true but it is far from being the focal point of the parable.  The end of the parable gives its full meaning.  In the end it speaks of how the birds of the air will come and lodge in the branches of this great tree.  If the birds are the enemy in the fist parable of the Sower, they have the same representation in the third parable also.

In the fourth church, Thyatira, a woman named Jezebel, a false prophetess who taught and seduced God's servants.  That church is represented in the parable In Matthew 13:33 as a woman who "hid" leaven (false doctrine) in the meal until the whole was leavened.  During that period of the Church all of its doctrines were modified from the original truth. 

Following Matthew chapter 13 right through, after the fourth parable is given, the disciples take Jesus back to the second parable and ask that he explain it.  What is the Holy Ghost trying to show us?  By focusing on the second parable it shows that there would be an invasion of tares into the true church to such a degree whereby the true believers, represented by the wheat, would actually be a minority member by the time the Church neared the end of its span on the earth.  That is where we are today.  In essence, the true Church has become invisible and the visible church is controlled by Satan.  That's why Jesus stated that the last church, the Laodicean Church, who proclaimed itself to be rich, or blessed, was actually "poor, miserable, wretched, blind and naked."  Now, either God's word is true and accurate---or it is not.  But I can tell you that you will not find one church that will own up to what Jesus said this last Church Age has become.  That is why Jesus prefaced his denunciation with the words, "and thou knowest not."   (Rev. 3:17)

But make no mistake about it.  There still exists today within the church, the True Wheat although most nominal church members would not recognize them as even being a part of the Church.  They are usually looked upon as rebels, renegades, mostly non-denominationalists (and only a few of them) and outcasts.  Put another way, they look like what God's people have always looked like throughout the bible. They are being kept by the power of God through salvation to be revealed in the last time.

Now, let's look again at the expression "last time" and compare it with another passage in 1Peter.

"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times." 1Peter 1:20

Here the expression is last times.  The revelation of Christ in these last times include the period of the beginning of the Church until the end of the Church Age.  Consequently, the last time is the final portion of that period or now.  We, as believers who are hearing God's truth, have a great work to do and will be revealed to the world at the time when the Church will undergo its most intense suffering since its birth in AD 31. The time to put on the full armor of God is now. 

To read more on these subjects check out Pastor Steve's book at Amazon.com: 
https://smile.amazon.com/Gods-Final-Secret-Stephen-Benton/dp/1976338476/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509271792&sr=1-1&keywords=god%27s+final+secret+by+stephen+benton