NUGGETS OF TRUTH!

The end of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit.

Matt 24: 4-22 The destruction of Jerusalem = the end of the blood covenant
23-28 Sign of Your coming
29-31 End of the age
32-51 Recap of all things previously mentioned.
Generation = race ft. note, nation

THE LORD’S SUPPER

There are three parts to this set of scripture: 1Cor 11:20-34

1.THE PURPOSE AND ORDER OF COMING TOGETHER:

--- 1Cor 11:20-22
Vs20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, Acts 2:42-47, 20:7
The purpose of coming together, whenever we meet!

Vs21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. Vs22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

--- 1Cor 11:33-34 33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.
judgement = discipline, further correction [jack]
The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is not physical but Spiritual! Eating and drinking, which was out of order here, even to the point of drunkenness, is not the purpose of coming together for the Lord’s Supper!

2.THE LORD’S SUPPER:
--- 1Cor 11:23-30
Vs23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
bread = John 6:33-35 33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
vs 32 bread out of heaven given by Moses = sustains physical life vs 49
true bread out of heaven, Jesus = sustains spiritual life vs 50

--- John 6:53-56
53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
flesh = incarnation = union of God with man; to appropriate to oneself the saving results of the violent death endured by Christ NT:4561
blood = new covenant Heb 10:16-17; to appropriate the saving results of Christ's death NT:129
life = the spirit, which gives life

--- 1Cor 10:1-4
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
cloud = used of the cloud which led the Israelite's in the wilderness NT:3507; covering
passed through the sea = type of baptism, moving from death unto life vs 2
spiritual food = that which was given by the Spirit, or by God;
spiritual drink = that which was given by the Spirit, or by God;
spiritual rock = it was the visible means of the "supply of water" [the Holy Spirit] which came ultimately from Christ. 1Cor 6:11, Titus 3:5-6, 1Pet 3:21

All, repeated five times, emphasizes Israel's divine blessings, and when considered with the fact that almost all perished, links this section very closely with 1Cor 9:24.

Were under the cloud, points to prolonged supernatural guidance Ex 13:21-22; 14:19; Matt 28:20

Passed through the sea points to a supernatural deliverance, the second privilege Ex 14:15-22; 1Peter 1:18-20

Baptized unto Moses, their third privilege, refers to their union with their leader, who under God provided them with supernatural leadership Ex 14:31; Rom 6:1-11 --- 1Cor 10:15-17
15 I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. 16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.

They were to eat for hunger and pleasure only at home, and not to change the holy supper to a common feast; and much less eat up the provisions before those who could bring none did partake of them, lest they should come together for condemnation. [mat]

Vs24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
body = incarnation = uniting of God with man; proves resurrection from the dead

Vs25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
cup = symbolic of fate figuratively, a lot or fate NT:4221
new covenant = Heb 10:16-17 "This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them," {He then says}"And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
in my blood = sacrifice for sin Heb 9:22

Vs26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
proclaim = to announce, declare, make known, to announce publicly, publish; with the included idea of celebrating, commending, and openly praising. NT:2605
death = the death of the body, i.e. that separation of soul from the body by which life on earth is ended

We have been released from the control of the flesh [body of sin] to live by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Rom 7:24-25

IN PARTAKING OF THE “LORD’S SUPPER” WE PROCLAIM THE NEW COVENANT!:
1.RELEASE FROM THE POWER OF SIN. i.e. the law. 1Cor 15:55-56 [spiritual death]
2.WE ARE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT INSTEAD OF THE LUST OF THE FLESH. 1Pt 4:1-2
3.WE ARE IN GOD'S KINGDOM. Lk 17:21
4.CHRIST LIVES IN US. Gal 2:20, 1Cor 12:3
5.WE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE WITH CHRIST

IN COMING TOGETHER AS THE BODY OF CHRIST WE PROCLAIM EACH AND EVERY TIME THAT WE BELONG TO CHRIST! THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF COMING TOGETHER!

3.EXAMINE:
We have been taught that we are to check ourselves for sin according to the following verses? However, we learned that this is a precious time, when we focus on the Lord and His covenant with us! Why then, when our focus is not on eating and drinking [see vs 33-34], would it be on sin? Our sins have been forgiven Heb 10:17? I believe we are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith! If we do not come in genuine faith, then we are consider as "weak in faith" or "spiritually dead"!

Vs27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
unworthy manner = not of faith vs 28
guilty = guilty of a crime committed against the body and blood of the Lord verse 32

Vs28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
examine = to test, to examine, to prove, to scrutinize (to see whether a thing is genuine or not) NT:1381 "genuine faith"

--- 2Cor 13:5 Test yourselves {to see} if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?
examine = for the purpose of ascertaining his quality, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself NT:3985

--- 1Cor 4:3-4 3 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. NASU
examine = to judge of, estimate, determine (the excellence or defects of any person or thing) NT:350
We see the word “examine” has different meanings as used in different verses!

[Let a man examine himself] Let him try whether he has proper faith in the Lord Jesus; and whether he discerns the Lord's body; and whether he duly considers that the bread and wine point out the crucified body and blood of Christ. [adm]

Dealing with sin:
Heb 10:2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? NASU

--- Heb 10:14-17
14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,"

He then says,
17 "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE." NASU

--- 1Jn 3:9 No one who is born of God commits sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. NASU

--- 1Cor 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures NASU

Vs29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. judgment = so to eat as to incur the judgement or punishment of God 2919 'damnation' judge = to distinguish a person from the rest NT:1252 i.e. prefer body = the Lord's body

Vs30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. weak = powerless NT:770 the power of the Holy Spirit to discern the things of God sick = without strength NT:732 sleep = spiritually dead NT:2838, NT:2837 1Thes 5:6, Rev 3:15-16

Vs31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 1Cor 4:3-4 3 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. NASU examine = to judge of, estimate, determine (the excellence or defects of any person or thing)

Vs32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
--- Heb 12:7-8 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. NASU

Conclusion: In 1Cor 11:20-34 we see Paul addresses three things here:

1. The order of coming together: As the body of Christ we come together “break bread” Acts 2:42-43 (which consists of a fellowship meal, the Lord's Supper). It denotes "intimacy or friendship," the phrase "to break bread together" would be very expressive in the same way as the Greeks denoted it by drinking together here in Corinthians. They were out of order because of the lack of focus of purpose, self-centerness and drunkenness.

Vs 20 the focus of coming together [whenever we meet] is to focus on the “Lord’s Supper”. So, as a church [ the body of Christ], we are committing a joyous act of faith, which reflects partaking in the Messiah's feast, symbolizing salvation in the kingdom of God and our fate, the New Covenant.

Vs 21-22 The self-centerness here is of eating and not sharing and drinking to the point of drunkenness. The Greeks had fellowship by drinking together, which probably led some to over drink. Eph 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

2. The Lord’s Supper: They continued in the breaking of bread, in celebrating that memorial of their Master's death, as those that were not ashamed to own their relation to, and their dependence upon, Christ and him crucified. Acts 2:42-43.

In 1Cor 11:23-26 Paul brings forth the purpose of coming together which is to celebrate the “Lord’s Supper”! The focus is not eating and drinking, but on our salvation in the kingdom of God and our new fate [the New Covenant] with the giving of thanks through the Holy Spirit!

--- Rom 14:17-18 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

--- Eph 5:18-21 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

3. Examination: Vs 30 It is to be done in faith and order, with each person examining themselves to see if they are of the faith. If you are not a “born again believer,” one who believes, by faith, in what Christ has done, you have not “judged rightly” and are spoken of as "without power or strength, i.e. spiritually dead."

I know that we have all heard and may have been taught that we should focus on “sin” here i.e. to check to see if we have something that would keep us from feeling worthy to partake in this act of faith. But, I believe that sin is the wrong focus according to scripture and certainly the wrong time to be thinking about it during the celebration of the “Lord’s Supper”! It also appears to me that the scriptures here in vs 28-31 have to do with an act of faith, believing and acting on what the Word says. [See my notes on sin]

So, when we come together, by that act itself we celebrate the “Lord’s Supper” by faith and the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is a time of rejoicing, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with our hearts to the Lord! A joyous time of giving thanks!

What it is not, in my opinion, is a time of disorder, i.e. eating and drinking without control and a sin hunt! If we want to talk about sin, it should be at another time when we confess our sins to one to another and remind each other that we are forgiven, so we may be healed! Ja 5:16

THE ORIGIN OF THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

The"rapture" is usually presented that Jesus will come back physically in two phases - one, secret and unexpected, "for" His saints, to rapture them away; and a second, publicly "with" His saints? Is this "rapture" really the "hope" of the Church as the preachers are wont to proclaim? Let me give you the history of how this theory got started.

It wasn't until the early or mid 1800's that there was any significant group of believers around the world that looked for a "rapture" of the Church prior to a seven-year tribulation period. It may come as a shock to some who read these lines, but it is a fact nonetheless, that the "rapture" teaching was NOT taught by the early Church, it was NOT taught by the Church of the first centuries, it was NOT taught by the Reformers, IT WAS NOT TAUGHT BY ANYONE (except a couple Roman Catholic theologians) UNTIL ABOUT THE YEAR 1830! At the time of the Reformation the early Protestants widely held and were convinced that the Pope was the supreme individual embodiment and personification of the spirit of antichrist, and the Roman Church the Harlot System of Rev. 17. This understanding was responsible for bringing millions of believers out of the Roman Catholic religious system. It therefore became expedient for certain Romanish theologians to turn the attention of the people away from the Papacy, and this they endeavored to a counter-interpretation to that held by the Protestants. This new scheme of prophetic interpretation became known as FUTURISM. Rather than viewing the drama of the book of Revelation spiritually and historically, they would consign it all to a brief period of time at the end of the age. It was a Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera who, in the days of the Reformation, first taught that all the events in the book of Revelation were to take place literally during the three and a half years reign of the Antichrist at the end of the age. Thus Ribera laid the foundation of a system of prophetic interpretation of which the Secret Rapture has now become an integral part. Later, Emanuel Lacunza, also a Jesuit priest, built on Ribera's teachings, and spent much of his life writing a book titled "The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty." Lacunza, however, wrote under the assumed name of "Rabbi Ben Ezra," supposedly a learned Jew who had accepted Christ as his Savior. With Jesuit cunning he thus conspired to get his book a hearing in the Protestant world - they would not even permit it in their homes coming from a Jesuit pen - but as the earnest work of a "converted Jew" they would consume it with avid interest! Within the pages of this elaborate forgery Lacunza taught the novel notion that Jesus returns not once, but twice, and at the "first stage" of His return He "raptures" His Church so they can escape the reign of the "future Antichrist." His book was first published in Spanish in the year 1812 and soon found its way onto the shelves of the library of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England.

Now enter the name of Edward Irving. Born in Scotland in 1792, Irving became one of the most eloquent preachers of his time. In 1828 his open-air meetings in Scotland drew crowds of 10,000 people. His Church in London seated one thousand people and was packed week after week with a congregation drawn from the most brilliant and influential circles of society. There were some among them who by prophetic declaration announced that the Lord was coming soon, and this idea became prominent in their prophetic utterances and teachings. Out of those prophetic declarations some began to study the scriptures in the light of a physical, literal coming of the Lord. Up until that time the coming of the Lord was understood as a coming of the Lord TO His people, and IN His saints, and there was no sense of His fleshly coming. Irving discovered Lacunza's book and was deeply shaken by it, in fact, fell in love with it, translated it into English, and it was published in London in 1827. And at this very time Irving heard what he believed to be a Voice from heaven commanding him to preach the Secret Rapture of the Saints. Then Irving began to hold Bible Conferences throughout Scotland, emphasizing the coming of Jesus to rapture His Church.

About this same time there began the emergence of a new movement which came to be known as the "Plymouth Brethren." The Brethren movement had its beginning in Dublin in 1825 when a small group of earnest men, dissatisfied with the spiritually lethargic condition that prevailed in the Protestant Church in Ireland, met for prayer and fellowship. Soon others joined the fellowship and associated groups sprang up in various places. Though the movement had its beginning at Dublin, it was Plymouth, England that became the center of their vast literature outreach, thus the name; "Plymouth Brethren" became attached. Although there was interest from the start in prophetic subjects, the center of interest was on the body of Christ as an organism and the spiritual unity in Christ of all believers - in reaction to the deadness and formalism of the organized church systems and the ecclesiastical Hierarchy. A man by the name of John Nelson Darby was the leading spirit among the Plymouth Brethren from 1830 onward. Darby was from a prosperous Irish family, was educated as a lawyer, took high honors at Dublin University, then turned aside, to his father's chagrin, to become a minister. Thus Irving and Darby were contemporaries, though associated with different spiritual movements. Another series of meetings were in progress at this time; a group of seeking Christians was meeting in the castle of Lady Powerscourt for the study of Bible prophecy. Many clergymen attended, and quite a few who were Irvingites. The Irvingites came to the meetings obsessed with the ideas of the "Secret Rapture" and the future Antichrist, imbibed from the Jesuit Lacunza's book. J.N. Darby and the other Brethren leaders were invited to these meetings and became participators in them. It was there that Rabbi Ben-Ezra, or, actually, Jesuit priest Emanuel Lacunza introduced him to the Jesuit teaching of the Secret Rapture and the futurist interpretation of prophecy, as well as the famous book! Darby was himself a prolific writer and from that time a constant stream of propaganda came from his pen. His writings on biblical subjects number over 30 volumes of 600 pages each. Darby developed and organized "futurism" into a system of prophetic teaching called "dispensationalism." Darby' s biographers refer to him as "the father of dispensationalism." And the crown jewel in the kingdom of dispensationalism is, of course, the so-called SECRET RAPTURE! The Secret Rapture teaching was introduced into the United States and Canada in the 1860's and 1870's, though there is some indication that it may have been taught as early as the 1840's. Darby himself visited the United States six times. The "new" teaching was spreading. A Congregationalist preacher by the name of C. I. Scofield came under the influence of Darby and the Plymouth Brethren. Scofield became a strong promoter of the teaching that had been promulgated by Darby, whom he considered "the most profound Bible student of modern times." He incorporated this teaching into his SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE. The Scofield Reference Bible was destined to have a tremendous impact upon the beliefs of many, when; three million copies were published in the first 50 years! Through this Bible Scofield shrewdly carried the teaching of the Secret Rapture into the very heart of Evangelicalism. Some ignorant souls look on the "notes" in this Bible as the Word of God itself! I do not doubt for one instant that many who read these lines have been influenced somewhere in their spiritual lives by the "footnotes" in the Scofield Bible!

There is one final link in the chain of the development and spread of the rapture theory that should be mentioned in passing. I would draw your attention again to the SOURCE, the ORIGIN of the rapture doctrine and the chain of contact by which it has been brought down to us today. It began as a Roman Catholic invention! The Jesuit priest Ribera's writings influenced the Jesuit priest Lacunza, Lacunza influenced Irving, Irving influenced Darby, Darby influenced Scofield, Scofield and Darby influenced D. L. Moody, and Moody influenced the early PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT. How? You ask. The Assemblies of God is today by far the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. When the Pentecostal movement began at the turn of the century and the Assemblies of God held their first General Council in 1914 in Hot Springs, Arkansas they were a small movement and didn't have their own Publishing House. They needed Sunday School and study materials for their Churches - so where do you suppose they got it? They bought it from Moody Press and had their own cover stitched on it! So what do you think the Assemblies of God people believed? They believed what Moody Bible Institute taught! This had its impact on Pentecostal theology, because in the early years there were practically NO PREMILLENIALISTS IN THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT! Most of the ministers in those early days came from Presbyterian, Methodist, or other historic denominations - men who, being baptized in the Holy Spirit and leaving their denominations, joined themselves to the Assemblies of God or one of the other emerging Pentecostal denominations. That is how the Pentecostal movement became influenced and saturated with the "Secret Rapture" doctrine - by a direct chain right back to the Roman Catholic Church! And now, my friend - you know the REST OF THE STORY! THERE IS NO RAPTURE!

THE SABBATH REST
What is The Believer's Rest
Hebrews 4:1-10

THE FRUSTRATION OF SHARING OUR INSIGHT

Have you ever noticed that when you have some new insight, that many in the body of Christ will reject it? So, why is that and what should we do when this happens?

In general if the new insight is brought forward and it has not come from those who have gone to Seminary or Bible School, it will be rejected!

Jesus and His disciples had the same issue! They were asked by those who should have known: “By whose authority do you speak these things” (Matt 21:23, Acts 4:7)? We too may be asked or looked upon with the same attitude! So, what is the answer and what attitude are we to have?

FIRST LET US LOOK AT THE ORDER OF COMING TOGETHER:

THE FATHER'S HEART

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Did you know that "grace and peace" are in all the N.T. books from Romans through Revelation, generally in the first few verses, as a greeting? The only exceptions are in the book of Hebrews where it is at the end of the book and 3John were it is not mentioned at all!

Isn't it amazing what is on our Heavenly Father's mind!

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Email: Jack Russell