The Age of Grace
The beginning of the “Age of Grace” begins with Acts chapter 2. (Verses 1-4) “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
According to the Gospel of Mark chapter 16:17, if we believe the Son of God was born by immaculate conception, lived a sinless life, was crucified in His guiltless form, resurrected from the dead after 3 days in the tomb, and ascended into heaven by a shaft of light, then these signs shall follow; We will cast out demons and speak in tongues that are not our own. We all know many people who identify themselves as Christians, but do you know anyone like this? Do you know anyone that casts out demons or speaks in tongues? The signs that Yehshua Himself said would follow His believers? (I know many, but I am not a mainstream Christian.) Most so called “Christians” will steer clear from us wacko radicals and prefer sleepy sermons and pagan traditions over truth. If our nation was truly a Christian nation there would be no evil politicians ever elected to office by majority vote. We are children of the Most High God, brethren of the King who cannot be voted in, nor removed from office, yet how many truly know Him?
The Age of Grace began in Acts chapter 2, and ends with the 7 year Tribulation outlined by the book of Revelation. I often refer to Luke Chapter 21 and Matthew 24, which I believe are very encouraging for true believers, not so encouraging for mainstream Christians, in order to know the signs of the end of the Age of Grace;
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
The fig tree being another symbolism for the nation of Israel, when the fig tree shoots forth new leaves, is the restoration of the nation which occurred on May 14, 1948. This was the beginning of the end of the Age of Grace, often referred to as the “End Times”. The generation referred to in verse 32, is the generation born at or around the time of the regathering of God’s people to their promised land and the heritage of Abraham’s blessing in 1948, the shooting forth of the new fig leaves. That generation, now 74yrs old, will not pass until all prophecy is fulfilled. This includes the 7yr Tribulation before the last of that generation passes. The doors of the Age of Grace will soon be closing on many deceived Christians. For those placing timelines on the last days based on a Jewish calendar that begins with the birth of Adam and not the 7 day re-creation of the earth, be careful. I believe we are missing a large gap of time between the creation of 6th day man and the man created by Jehovah Himself in chapter 2 of Genesis. That is another matter, but pay attention to prophecy and not timelines based on twisted calendars changed by numerous kings, popes and rulers. Not to mention a misinterpretation of the Genesis Creation narrative. Make no mistake, the last generation of Israel was born on or around May 14, 1948, and will be joined by the 144,000 sealed ahead of the final advent. (Revelation 7)
All of that to get to this: The 7 parables of Matthew 13 and the 7 churches of Revelation have a lot in common and define the church in the Age of Grace. In the interest of time, read Matthew 13 from your bible, then read the first 3 chapters of Revelation. There are some stunning correlations! If we leave the 7 parables of Matthew 13 and the 7 churches of Revelation in their respective orders, it looks like this;
I don’t know about you, but I find this amazing and yet another sign of the influence of the Holy Spirit over the entire Bible!
To keep this short and concise, please do a little research on your own and read these parables from Matthew 13 and compare to Yehshua’s comments to the 7 churches in the first 3 chapters of Revelation. Theologians and scholars Iike to refer to the various “dispensations”, dividing biblical context into specific categories and time periods, and place the churches over distinct time periods rather than a collective lot during a single time period. I think dispensationalism has its pros and cons, but I prefer just to let the Holy Spirit simplify things for us laymen and avoid over complicating God’s Word with scholarly advice.
I want to focus again on Luke’s comments in chapter 21, and how the little church of Philadelphia also happens to align with the “pearl of great price” in the parables.
Matthew 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (“He gave His only begotten son…….”)
Compare to Revelation 3:7-10
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
So in Luke 21:36 we have this mandate: “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (See Mark chapter 16:17 for the primary distinction as to how “we are accounted worthy”)
And in Revelation 3:10, the “pearl of great price” is given a promise: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” This is a direct reference to the end of the Age of Grace, and the beginning of the 7yr Tribulation, that the “pearl of great price”, or little church of Philadelphia, shall be worthy to escape those things that shall come to pass.
In Matthew 24:32-35, we also have the parable of the fig tree shooting forth new leaves, and the generation that shall not pass till all be fulfilled. The Age of Grace ends with the beginning of that fulfillment of Tribulation prophecy. In the same chapter verse 37, the last days will be “as it was in the days of Noah” before the flood. Men’s hearts will fail out of fear for what they see that has never been seen since before the flood.. Revelation chapter 6 says 1/4th of mankind will die by wild beasts when God takes the fear of man away from the beasts. Recall that He placed the fear of man in animals after the flood in Genesis chapter 9. When the Age of Grace ends, that fear of man will be removed again by God and 1/4th of mankind will die by wild beasts. Obviously, that time period is beyond the time of Grace.
Yet the “pearl of great price”, because they have kept the word of His patience, lived by His word, and not denied His name, will be accounted worthy to escape the hour of temptation that shall come upon them that dwell upon the earth. This precious parable of the pearl is the church of Philadelphia, the strange radical Christians who don’t trust genetically altering vaccines or the politicians selling them, do strange things like cast out demons and speak in tongues, get arrested while protesting in front of abortion clinics, or for going to church during a pandemic while the strip clubs are open. The church of Philadelphia is a friend of God!!
When the little pearl of great price is taken to a wedding ceremony at the Father’s House, will be the end of the Age of Grace. Just as the door of the Ark was sealed by God for Noah BEFORE the flood, and just as Lot was removed from Sodom BEFORE the brimstone fell, so will the “pearl of great price” be removed before the Age of Grace ends and the wrath of God falls upon the earth. Pray for the other 6 churches that will suffer times so horrible the earth has never known, during the time of a global government under a satanic ruler and the wrath of God.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who forever and always shall be, thank you for the power of your Word, and the enlightenment of your Holy Spirit, that we know prophecy, have been prepared for the end of the Age of Grace, and the fulfillment of all things in advance of your glorious coming!