The Two Divisions of the Bible, Prophecy and Mystery (part 1) Wortechologies Christian Information

When the bible was written it was divided into Old Testament and New Testament, but the bible is basically divided into two more well defined, descriptive terms, and these are prophecy and mystery. Prophecy is basically the purpose God has for the earth and Christ's reign upon it, which includes the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem (2 Peter 1: 16-19). This is the Kingdom of heaven that will in the future be set up on the earth, literally. The Mystery is that body of truth proclaimed by the Apostle Paul, concerning heaven and the exaltation of the Body of Christ in heaven, together there with Christ (Eph. 2:4-10, 3: 1-4).

The titles "Old Testament" and "New Testament" are not accurate descriptions of the two sections in the Bible that they represent. The Old Testament is really the old covenant of the law and was later titled "Old Testament" or old covenant. This covenant of the law was not even made until 2500 years of human history had taken place. The covenant of the law was given through Moses (John 1:17). It was given to the people of Israel through Moses at about 1500 B.C. as seen in Exodus 19 and 20. But what was the system of government before Moses? What about the time from Adam to Moses? There was "no law" or "old testament" from the time of Adam until the time of Moses (Rom. 5:13-14). The covenant of the law had not yet been given in the period of time between Adam and Moses. Technically this means that the book of Genesis does not have one word of the Old Testament, or old covenant of the law, in it. There are some Jewish people today who believe that the Old Testament is for the Jews and the New Testament is for the gentiles. If that were true . . . then who is the book of Genesis for? Since Israel did not even begin as a nation until after she was delivered by God and Moses from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army.

Mankind lived under the Dispensation of Conscience from Adam to Noah and then the minor Dispensation of Human Government once Noah and his family survived the Great Flood and human government was set up for the first time. A dispensation is a program that God administers or dispenses out to mankind, the word "dispense" means to deal out. God never changes but the dispensations or programs He deals out to man have changed throughout human history.

The New Testament or new covenant in actuality was not made until the death of Christ on the cross, " . . . He is the Mediator of the new testament (covenant) that by means of death . . . they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:15). Also in (Luke 22:20) "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you". This means that the major part of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were all actually under the Old Testament rather than New Testament history and that the Lord Jesus and the disciples were all under the old covenant at that time. Both the old and new testaments were made WITH THE NATION ISRAEL. The new covenant only promises that Israel in the near future will render the obedience that was required of her under the old covenant (Deut. 5:1-3) (Jeremiah 31:31). The separating of the Bible between the Old Testament and New Testament is really not a very accurate division. The most descriptive, most accurate and most important division in the Bible is between "prophecy" and the great "mystery" which was proclaimed by the Apostle Paul. Again, "prophecy" is the purpose God has for the EARTH and Christ's reign upon it. The "mystery" is that body of truth proclaimed by the Apostle Paul concerning the Body of Christ in HEAVEN.

The very first words in the bible state: "In the beginning God created the HEAVEN and the EARTH" (Gen. 1:1). It does not say God created the UNIVERSE; it does not say God created the heavens and the earth as many people make the mistake of saying. It says God created the HEAVEN and the EARTH. This is because He has a special purpose concerning the earth which is completely different from His purpose concerning heaven. His purpose that concerns the earth has to do with Christ's future reign upon it, and this is the subject of "prophecy" (2 Peter 1:16-19). His purpose for heaven and the exaltation of the Body of Christ there with the Lord Jesus Christ is the subject of the "mystery" (Ephesians 2:4-10, 3:1-4). This is why the Bible is really divided into two great subjects: Prophecy and Mystery

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A christian who has a desire to help others find the truth. Click here to view more articles by Christopher Combs.