Today, as I write this on Av 30th (Saturday, August 23rd), there is not a single church or seminary that teaches plainly that Jesus is the Son of God who had a beginning in the Father. A blindness in part has fallen upon the Protestant churches. Instead of proclaiming the mystery hidden from ages, eternal life, many Christians teach that all men inherently possess eternal life, claiming that Genesis 1:26 makes humanity immortal. But this is not the Gospel. Men today think all humans have eternal life and in doing so they fail to see the Messiah.
Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” — John 5:39
The churches of our day deny that the Son Himself is the mystery, teaching instead that the grafting in of the Gentiles is the mystery. Yet for centuries Israel searched the Scriptures, believing that in the law and the prophets they would find eternal life, but the very Life they sought was standing before them, and they could not see Him. The tragedy is not that Israel lacked zeal, but that they were blinded from recognizing the Son of God. And to be blinded from the Son is to be blinded from eternal life itself — for He is eternal life.
“Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”—Matthew 13:52
Old Testament
“And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”
— Isaiah 6:9–10“Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.”
—Deuteronomy 29:4“For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.”
—Isaiah 29:10
New Testament
“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled… He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”
— John 12:37–40 (quoting Isaiah 6)“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.”
—Romans 11:7–8“But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.” —2 Corinthians 3:14–15
Eternal Life with the Father in the Beginning—Jesus our life.
The apostle John declared it plainly: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
—1 John 1:1–3
Before He gave life to any creature, the Son already possessed it: “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26). This is the true mystery. The Gentiles being grafted in is wonderful, and the new birth is glorious, but the deepest mystery is the Son of God Himself — eternal life hidden in the Father, revealed in time, and shared with those who believe. We have no new birth in the Spirit unless Jesus, as the firstborn, shares His own birth in the Spirit with us. The Gentiles being grafted in is not the Gospel; the Gospel is the Son of the Living God, who reigns as Lord, Messiah Himself, the right hand of God—KING JESUS!
No Eternal Life Without the Son
John does not leave us guessing: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11–12).
If Jesus had not possessed eternal life from the Father, He could never have shared it with us. But because He was the eternal life, manifested in flesh, we who are born of Him partake of that same life.
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
The Promises to Israel and the Promises to the Ekklesia
The Word of God does not blur Israel and the Church into one. Yes it is one tree but it’s not one conclusion. Flesh remains flesh and Jesus was first born spiritual. Israel’s promises are earthly, while the Ekklesia’s promises are heavenly.
“The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”
—1 Corinthians 15:47
Isaiah looked ahead to the day of Israel’s restoration:
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy” (Isaiah 65:17–18).
This is the promise of a restored nation, dwelling securely in the land, as humans under Messiah’s reign. Ezekiel spoke the same:
“And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd… And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever”
—Ezekiel 37:24–25
The promise is for Israel to be gathered, planted, and preserved as a people on the earth. But the Ekklesia is given a different inheritance. Paul declared,
“Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body”
—Philippians 3:20–21
The Church does not remain as men of flesh, but as sons of God conformed to the image of the Son. So it must be said plainly: Israel will be restored as a nation of men, but the Ekklesia are born of the Spirit and glorified as sons. The land belongs to Jacob’s children; the heavens belong to Christ’s brethren. Both are promises, but they are not the same promise, but they are the same Jesus and eternally the word of God.
Israel’s Blindness, the Nations’ Opportunity
Paul explained the mystery of Israel’s blindness: “Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded” (Romans 11:7). Their rejection opened the door for the Gentiles: “Through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy” (Romans 11:11).
Yet blindness is not the end of their story: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”
—Romans 11:25–26
Israel “Jacob’s” restoration as the nations of earth is not the same as the glorification promised to the mighty sons who share the life of Christ. The wisdom of the Ekklesia age, and he who letteth until he be taken away, is not known by many. The greatest end-time error in teaching is because the Ekklesia is not understood —Jesus is the Church: the head, the body, and the foundation. Jesus is the Temple of God. God fills the Temple, and we are in Him as the spiritual Tent of Meeting. When the Tent of Meeting is taken away, then comes the fallen one whom we oppose. The Church leaves no room for the devil in heaven.
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:”
—2 Thessalonians 2:7–8“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
—Revelation 12:12
Then the nation we now see as Israel will become the seat of the beast for the final showdown. Being against Israel does not place anyone on God’s side, for the promised land has not vanished away like the bones of Moses, hidden and unseen. It remains, awaiting its role in the last days. In that hour Satan will be arraigned, and the dominion he stole from Adam will finally be taken away.
“And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled.”
—Revelation 20:2–3
When King Jesus returns just a few short years later, the serpent is cast into the bottomless pit. Yet the Bride is in heaven with God their Father; even as Jesus is the Son, so is the Ekklesia the children of God. This is not just a legal adoption, but a spiritual birth — new creatures in God. Those who are of the regeneration with Messiah will reign over the house of Jacob.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
—Titus 3:5“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
—2 Corinthians 5:17“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
—Matthew 19:28
Coming Separation: the Harvest:
Exodus 23:16, Joel 3:13, Jeremiah 8:20, Hosea 6:11, Matthew 9:37–38, Matthew 13:39, Matthew 25:10, Luke 10:2, John 4:35, Isaiah 17:5, Micah 4:12, Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, James 1:18, Revelation 7:4, Revelation 7:9–10, Revelation 7:13–14, Revelation 19:7–9, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:9–10
The Church does not wait for a resurrection of dead flesh, for in Christ we have already escaped the corruption of the body. He is eternal life, and those who are in Him have already passed from death unto life.
As Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”
— John 5:24
John also saw the moment of departure when both the Son and His Body are caught up into heaven:
“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne” (Revelation 12:5)
This man child is Christ the Head, and the Ekklesia His Body, lifted up together to the throne of God. The first resurrection belongs not to the Ekklesia, but to those who lose their lifes in the time of great trial between His departure and His return. John saw them in vision:
“And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God… and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. This is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:4–5)
This reign is not yet the eternal day, but a temporary kingdom patterned after David’s throne. Ezekiel saw it long beforehand when he wrote:
“And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever.” —Ezekiel 37:24–25
Israel was blinded from the Son of God. This vision reveals that dark glass as it looks forward to the Son of David, the Messiah, returning to sit as Prince in a restored order like unto David’s throne. Yet after this day, the greater glory comes. Paul wrote:
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption” —1 Corinthians 15:50
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” — Psalm 110:1
“And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.” —Mark 12:35–37
When King Jesus returns in fullness, the serpent is bound, and those who are in Christ are not raised from flesh but changed into His likeness, clothed with immortality, because they are born of His Spirit. This is the separation that is coming, the marriage supper. Those who are of Christ are new creatures, the Bride in heaven with the Father, reigning with the Son in glory. Those outside of Him, even a restored Israel, remain in flesh and blood. The nations will be humans even when all things are made new on the eighth day.
The Conclusion: The True Mystery
The common people heard Jesus gladly. So let it be clear: the mystery is not merely Gentiles joining Israel, nor is it only the new birth. The mystery is the Son Himself — eternal life with the Father from the beginning, hidden, revealed, and shared with those who believe. To miss Him is to miss life. To see Him is to see eternal life unveiled. And when He appears, all will know: Jesus Christ is eternal life — the eternal Son of God, our Lord, Messiah, and King.
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”
—Colossians 3:3–5“Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed [are they that] keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed [is] the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”
—Proverbs 8:32–36