God's Plan for the Ages

This work is based on the belief in God as revealed in both Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Also, that God inspiried men to write the Old and New Testaments, and that God brought into existence one man through a supernatural intervention.

Article concerned with the fact that Jesus of Nazareth (was an actual person.

Luke 1:26-38 (KJV) And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

While the birth was a natural birth, the impregnation was by supernatural means. The birth was promised by God to Jacob as part of his heritage. The fact that the fulfillment was to be in the future made the promise even more fantastic. The events prophesied for Jacob's son Judah, found in Genesis 49:9-12. Both parents of Jesus of Nazareth were of the lineage of Judah, as shown in Matthew 1:1-17, showing the shortened lineage of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary's lineage is given in Luke 3:23-38. God himself publicly proclaimed that he is the father of Jesus in Matthew 3:17 and at a another time in Matthew 17:5. Jesus is the supreme sacrifice that allows all who want to be the "children of God" to be the one who they trust in, rely on, and cling to the love of Jesus, who gave himself freely as everyone's sacrificial Lamb (John3:15-17) and therefore allowing him to be the Master of their life. His life and reason for being are given in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, as written in Isaiah 52:13-56:8 and John 3:1-21, as an example. Please note that Christ is specifically spoken about in many books of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament. The two scriptural references given serve as good starting places to see how God inspired men to give us testimonies of his Plan.

"God's Plan for the Ages" is a result of my searching for the "truth" of what The Bible has to say after decades of reading, hearing countless sermons, and preaching and teaching what the scripture say about the "End Time" events. Too few people take time to read the Bible as a whole work in order to find out what it actually says. Instead, they take an author's ideas, their denomination's viewpoint, or maybe simply take what they hear from a friend or read on Facebook making no attempt to: "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me," John 5:39 (KJV). Jesus was urging those who were listening to read, study and find the truth concerning, not only him, but would find what God's plan is for this world. It is important to state that Jesus was pointing to the Old Testament part of our modern Bibles. That is why the apostle Paul says in his second letter to his protégé Timothy, in II Timothy 3:16&17 (KJV): "⁽¹⁶⁾All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ⁽¹⁷⁾That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

The assurances by Jesus and Paul is for everyone who truly wants "the truth." Instead of finding a scripture or two or restating someone's opinion, know that all scripture provides insight or a lesson concerning God, his plan for all mankind, and the eventual end of the world and the start of a whole new earth. This plan is not limited to a particular race, color, or creed of the human race. Everyone has a place in God's Plan for the Ages. Be aware that your eternal place in that plan is up to you.

Follow through the scriptures. Take time to explore the context of the ones listed, take time to hear the voice of the one who brought forth all that was, is or ever will be.

Where to start?

The first task is to pull together all scriptures that concerns God's great Plan for the Ages. Not just quoting those which agree with a particular viewpoint or a denomination's viewpoint, or even followin a favorite teacher/preacher/evangelist beliefs, but instead, let God's Word show the plan God wants shown. Therefore, an Outline of the Plan is given, then an attempt to lay out all of the scripture that backs up the line of the plan showing both Old and New Testaments, and finally, an attempt to explain how the scriptures links to the Plan line.

The question might be raised that everything is just my beliefs or prejudices. The "Plan of the Ages" page gives the Outline and no Scriptures. If one is only looking for a basic idea of what the "Plan" says, then this page will suffice. To see supporting scriptures, then go to the "Plan With Scriptures" page. Eventually will be added The Relevance of Scriptures" pages.

CONSTRUCTION OF WORK

All scriptures are copied from the best source for an electronic Bible study and research, in my opinion, which is SwordSearcher, authored and supported by Brandon Staggs, who can be contacted via SwordSearcher's web site: swordsearcher.com. Since the scripture retains the King James Version, italicized words indicate words without any original language supporting the word(s). The reason for using the King James Version is due to the cost that would be incurred by using other texts, such as New International Version, or Amplified Bible. My suggestion to those who object to the KJV, use whatever version you want and to still "search the scriptures." Any additional commentary or special notes must be backed by the "whole word of God," not a "this is what I think" mentality. False beliefs arise when the Bible is not the focus of the study. No matter which translation of the Word of God is used, so long as it is a translation, translated from the original texts and not just an author's idea of the "true Word of God." The only way to assure that a translation is the "true Word," is to use only translations that have their origins in the original languages Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic: II Timothy 3:12-17 (KJV), "⁽¹²⁾Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. ⁽¹³⁾ But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; ⁽¹⁵⁾ And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ⁽¹⁶⁾ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ⁽¹⁷⁾ That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." If you start with a lack of understanding, start with a proven good work such as Sword Searcher. The more you search, the deeper the true meaning of the Word becomes. Beware of "false teachers," such as the ones mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." In describing the coming troubles which would soon descend on the faithful followers of Jesus, he gives these exhortations and instructions: Matthew 24:4-14 (KJV) "⁽⁴⁾ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. ⁽⁵⁾ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ⁽⁶⁾ And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁽⁷⁾ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ⁽⁸⁾ All these are the beginning of sorrows. ⁽⁹⁾ Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. ⁽¹⁰⁾ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. ⁽¹¹⁾ And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ⁽¹²⁾ And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ⁽¹³⁾ But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Jesus continues to describe events that would befall everyone in Matthew 24:21-31 (KJV), "⁽²¹⁾ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ⁽²²⁾ And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. ⁽²³⁾ Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. ⁽²⁴⁾ For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. ⁽²⁵⁾ Behold, I have told you before. ⁽²⁶⁾ Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. ⁽²⁷⁾ For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ⁽²⁸⁾ For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. ⁽²⁹⁾ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: ⁽³⁰⁾ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ⁽³¹⁾ And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Any "scriptures" that: 1) denies the existence of God or 2) that states that there are "many Gods" or 3) denies the diety of Jesus as the Christ, and 4) that deny the plan of God to supply one and only one way to be a "child of God", that is the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ on the cross and according to the following his resurrection, his commands to his disciples: Deuteronomy 11:13 (KJV) And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul...."

The apostle Paul describes true salvation in Ephesians chapter 2, as: "⁽¹⁾ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; ⁽²⁾ Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: ⁽³⁾ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. ⁽⁴⁾ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁽⁵⁾ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ⁽⁶⁾ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ⁽⁷⁾ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. ⁽⁸⁾ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁽⁹⁾ Not of works, lest any man should boast. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. ⁽¹¹⁾ Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; ⁽¹²⁾ That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: ⁽¹³⁾ But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. ⁽¹⁴⁾ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; ⁽¹⁵⁾ Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; ⁽¹⁶⁾ And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: ⁽¹⁷⁾ And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. ⁽¹⁸⁾ For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; ⁽²⁰⁾ And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; ⁽²¹⁾ In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: ⁽²²⁾ In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

Start of new scripture references will be in Bold face, such as:

Genesis 1:1 or Gen 1:1.

Acknowledgment of word definitions and helps are given in the abbreviated form as shown below:

PC = Pulpit Commentary, published circa 1890. Edited by H.D.M. Spence, D.D., Joseph S. Exell, M.A.

Ryrie = RYRIE: Study Bible, King James Version, Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Th.D., Ph.D., Moody Publishers, Chicago, 1994

SGD = Strong’s Greek Dictionary

SHD = Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary

 

                                       Bibical Reference Abbreviations:
                   OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS       		             NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS
 
     Genesis – Gen                   Ecclesiastes – Eccl         Matthew – Matt                   1 Peter – 1Pt           
     Exodus – Ex                     Song Of Solomon – SS        Mark – Mk                        2 Peter – 2Pt          
     Leviticus – Lev                 Isaiah – Is                 Luke – Lk                        1 John – 1Jn   
     Numbers – Num                   Jeremiah – Jer              John – Jn                        2 John – 2Jn
     Deuteronomy – Deut              Lamentations – Lam          Acts – Acts                      3 John – 3Jn 
     Joshua – Josh                   Ezekiel – Ezek              Romans – Rom                     Jude – Jd
     Judges – Jdgs                   Daniel – Dan                1 Corinthians – 1Cor             Revelation – Rev
     Ruth – Ruth                     Hosea – Hos                 2 Corinthians – 2Cor   
     1 Samuel – 1Sm                  Joel – Jl                   Galatians – Gal            
     2 Samuel – 2Sm                  Amos – Am                   Ephesians – Eph 
     1 Kings – 1Kg                   Obadiah – Obd               Philippians – Phl
     2 Kings – 2Kg                   Jonah – Jnh                 Colossians – Col
     1 Chronicles – 1Chrn            Micah – Mic                 1 Thessalonians – 1Thess
     2 Chronicles – 2Chrn            Nahum – Nah                 2 Thessalonians – 2Thess
     Ezra – Ezra                     Habakkuk – Hab              1 Timothy – 1Tim
     Nehemiah – Neh                  Zephaniah – Zeph            2 Timothy – 2Tim
     Esther – Esth                   Haggai – Hag                Titus – Tt
     Job – Job                       Zechariah – Zech            Philemon – Phlm
     Psalms – Ps                     Malachi – Mal               Hebrews – Heb  
     Proverbs – Prov                                             James – Jms