When the Apocalypse begins, it will be the start of the most
horrendous period in world history. It will make WW 1, WW 2, Hitler,
Stalin, Pol Pot, Rwanda and all the other wars since the dawn of time,
look like an afternoon tea-party. Famines and disease will be multiplied
a thousand fold. Literally, all hell will break loose to terrorise
humankind.
So who will go through this tribulation? Are we all to suffer its
effects? Or, as some teach, is there to be a group of favoured people
who will avoid the coming cataclysm? To answer this vexed question, we
begin with a statement by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:7,8:
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom
which God ordained before the world unto our glory.
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Paul here speaks of a mystery that had been hidden since before the
beginning of the creation of the world. This mystery is of such import
and magnitude, that had the “princes of this world” known about it, they
would not have crucified Jesus Christ. So who are the “princes of this
world?” Well the chief prince is a person we have been discussing all
through these writings. Jesus mentions him several times:
“Henceforth I will not talk much with you, for the prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing in me. John 14:30
Satan is referred to several times as the “prince” of this world and
the prince of devils. So the prices of this world are Satan and his
fellow evil fallen angels, that is, the Nephilim.
So what is this mystery that it is so important? First mention of
this great secret is given in the last chapter of the Epistle of Paul to
Christian believers who lived in Rome.
“Now to Him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel,
and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made
manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the
commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the
obedience of faith.”
Romans 16:25,26
The word mystery in the Greek literally means “sacred secret.”
According to Paul, this mystery had been kept secret since the world
began, but was only now being revealed to all the nations via his
writings. Paul further goes on to reveal what this sacred secret is in
the epistle to the Ephesians chapter 3:1-12.
“How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery…Which in
other ages was not made known unto the sons of man and is now revealed
unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body, and
partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel:
Unto me is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath
been hid in God, who created all things.”
Three times between Romans and Ephesians we are told that this sacred
secret had been hidden in God since before the world was created. That
is how important this mystery is. This mystery is in two parts. This
first part reveals that the Gentiles were to be fellow heirs and of the
same body, and partakers of the promises of Christ. That is, the
Gentiles were now to share fully in the promises of God as provided for
by and in Jesus Christ.
So what is the big deal with this, you might ask? Well for centuries
before, from the time of Moses, the nation of Israel were the chosen
people. Unto them was committed the Laws of God and the promises of God.
As far as the Jews were concerned, the Gentiles, which meant everyone
else, were mere dogs. They and only they, were the chosen ones. But now,
as revealed by Paul, all this has changed. Now the Gentiles can receive
the gift of Holy Spirit and as such, become co equal with the Jews in
all the promises of God.
But the second part of the great mystery is even more major than the
first part. This is reiterated by Paul in Colossians 1:24-27.
“Even the mystery which had been hid for ages and from generations,
but now is made manifest to His saints,
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.”
Prior to the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the
Gentiles were without hope and without God in this world. But now,
because of His sacrifice and the shedding of the blood of Christ, all
that is changed and changed utterly. This secret which no man knew of,
for it was hidden by God since before the world began, is now revealed
to Paul and made know to the nations. Not just that the Gentiles are now
included in the family of God, but that everyone who believes gets
eternal life and that life is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
This is an incredible gift and an amazing revelation. So tremendous a
revelation of this sacred secret is this, that if the princes of this
world had known it, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Just think about that for a moment. So stupendous and monumental is
this revelation that, had Satan and the rest of the fallen angels known
about it, they would not have murdered Jesus Christ on the cross. They
would have preferred to have him still walking about the earth today
than allow this miracle to happen. For when Jesus walked, He had the
power of God’s Holy Spirit in Him and He did mighty works. But it was
one man working alone. But because of His crucifixion and subsequent
resurrection, now that same Spirit was made available to all who accept
Jesus as their personal saviour and believe that God raised Him from the
dead.
When you receive the Spirit of God in you, this is His seed and it is
eternal life. Now you are going to heaven and all hell cannot stop you.
When Jesus was on this earth, it was one man with the spirit and power
of God in him. But 3000 more souls were added on the day of Pentecost.
Then thousands more in the days and months that followed. Jesus said he
was the “light of the world.” Wherever the light goes, darkness has to
flee. But every time another soul received the gift of Holy Spirit,
another light was lit in this perverted world and the darkness is
banished. If you switch a light on in a room, darkness must vanish. Now
there are millions of lights being turned on in countries all over the
world.
The Jews were the servants of God and a few used to receive the
Spirit “upon” them. But this is no more. Now it is the eternal seed of
God in you which makes you a son of God by birth, and you cannot lose
that seed. And the great mystery, the sacred secret that was hidden in
God from before the creation of the world, is that it is Christ in you,
the hope of glory…Christ in you…What an amazing,
literal truth. You have the spirit of Christ in you. That’s the same
Spirit that Christ received when John baptised him and the Spirit
descended on him like a dove. And now it is inside you.
You can accomplish the same works as Jesus. You have direct access to
the Throne of God in heaven, as a son. You can pray and preach and teach
and cast out demons just as Jesus did, and the Devil does not like this
one bit. And had he known this was going to happen, he and his princes
would not have crucified Jesus. For now you have the same power of God
residing in you and at your disposal. All you have to do is begin to act
on what you have been given.
Because of this great mystery, Satan has worked over the centuries to
diminish the teaching of this secret. Many Christian folks have no idea
of its implications. It has been glossed over and ignored. But those of
us who are born from above and have the gift of God, are saved. We are
now the Church of God and members of the Body of Christ. We are the
saints which means we are sanctified or set apart. This is why the
epistles are addressed to “the saints at Rome,” or “the saints at
Corinth,” or “the saints at Ephesus etc.”
We are not servants but sons of God by birth. This makes us different
from the children of Israel and the Jewish nation. One of the names
given to the time of the Apocalypse is, the day of Jacob’s trouble.
Jacob is associated with the Jews and not with the Church of God. This
is why Paul wrote that we are “saved from the coming wrath.” For we have
the blessed hope of the soon coming of our Lord to gather together His
Church and meet us in the air and take us to where He is now. And so
shall we ever be with the Lord. So comfort one another with these words
because we will play no act or part in the coming Great Tribulation.