The body of Christ started the same time the Church started, on the cross at Calvary where Jesus made a payment for sin in God’s shed blood.

Nothing like a King James Bible to clear up false teaching, and today we take a look at when the body of Christ, and the Church, actually began. The hyper-dispensationalists will try and tell you that it started in Acts with the commission of Paul, and nothing could be further from the truth. Paul himself tells you in Romans 16:7 that there were many people in the body of Christ before he was. In fact, the body of Christ doesn’t begin anywhere in the book of Acts, it begins on the cross at Calvary.

“And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:” Ephesians 2:16 (KJB)

What was Jesus doing on the cross? Lots of things. First of all, Jesus went to the cross to make a payment for sin, and that payment is the shed blood of God as we see in Acts 20:28. That payment is the thing that makes reconciliation between lost sinners and a holy and righteous God possible. Heretics like John MacArthur and the ‘reformed’ crowd will try and talk you out of it, but don’t you let them.

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Ephesians 1:7 (KJB)

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13 (KJB)

Secondly, Jesus shed blood on the cross established something on this earth the bible calls the body of Christ. What is the body of Christ? It is Jew and Gentile come together by faith in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, and it is called the church, the called out assembly. On the day of Pentecost, this assembly, the Church, was placed into the body of Christ where it will remain for all eternity. Everyone who becomes born again by saving faith in what Jesus did on the cross, and receives that payment made in God’s blood, is placed into the body of Christ through the Church.

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:22,23 (KJB)

By the time Paul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, the Church is well established and made up exclusively of Jews and Jewish proselytes. But when the Holy Ghost is offering them the Kingdom of Heaven in Acts 7, all they have to do is believe and repent at the preaching of Stephen, they instead murder him, an act which simultaneously put the Kingdom of Heaven on a 2,000 year pause, and ushered in what we call the dispensation of the Church Age. From this point on, Jews will be side-by-side with Gentiles in a mystery called the body of Christ which Jesus will task Paul with revealing. It didn’t start with Paul, but the knowledge of it comes through Paul by the Spirit. It began on the cross at Calvary.

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.” Ephesians 3:1-7 (KJB)

Paul was given the job of revealing the mystery of the body of Christ, but it did not start with him as you can obviously see. The hyper-dispensationalists get it wrong, as they usually do, because they don’t understand what the ‘rightly dividing’ of 2 Timothy 2:15 actually is. True biblical rightly dividing is not a hammer to smash things with in large pieces, as evidenced in the ‘Romans to Philemon!!’ battle cry of the hypers. No, rightly dividing is done on a verse-by-verse-basis anywhere in the Bible, comparing what you read, in the context that you find it, to what God has written through the apostle Paul.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Can you perform all 5 of the signs, miracles and wonders Jesus lays out in our NTEB Mark 16 Challenge? We invite you to try it and see how well you do!

Let’s get right into it, shall we? In the beginning of the Church Age, when the last of the apostles died, they were not replaced. The Bible was finished being written around the year 96 AD, and there has been exactly zero new biblical revelations from God since that time. Boatloads of revelation, wisdom and insight on what He spent 1,500 years to write, but no new revelation. There are no prophets, there are no apostles, and signs, miracles and wonders are not for believers in the age of grace.

“(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJB)

The main people promoting this false gospel of signs, miracles and wonders are a branch of the Charismatic Movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, and a more deluded bunch you have never seen. They stand on stage telling people to not pray when they or a loved one are sick, but to ‘claim your healing’ and all will be well. But sadly, real life in the Church Age doesn’t work like that. Bethel shaman Bill Johnson found that out when his ‘co-pastor’ wife Beni got sick with cancer. Despite years of teaching that Christians can just ‘claim their healing’, she was unable to claim hers. Does that make Bill Johnson a false teacher? It sure does, and a dangerous one at that.

Maybe you are one of those people who believe that signs, miracles and wonders are for today, and that reading this article is making you mad. If that’s you, take this little test and see how well you do. Remember that we are scoring on the 5-point must system, and that you must be able to do all 5 things Jesus says the people He is talking to can do. Buckle up and let’s take the test!

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Take The Mark 16 Challenge:

Doctrinally speaking, Jesus is addressing His disciples who are awaiting the installation of the literal, physical and visible Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. Prophetically, Jesus is speaking about the 144,000 witnesses that show up during the time of Jacob’s trouble. The people He is not speaking to is me and you living here in the Church Age, hence the whole point of taking this test in the first place.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:15-18 (KJB)

1. CASTING OUT DEVILS: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils” Start with that, can you cast out devils from the body of the afflicted person? To the people Jesus is speaking to, they absolutely can. First you have to be able to discern between demon possession and mental illness, can you do that, doctor? You might want to tread lightly with this one. But please feel free to take a shot, this is a favorite of Charismatics and Roman Catholics. In fact, back in 2019, the Vatican started giving courses in exorcisms to Christian pastors, what an amazing coincidence! (insert eye-roll here)
2. NEW TONGUES: “they shall speak with new tongues;” When was the last time that you, in the Spirit, were able to speak in a foreign language you did not know? I am not talking about the made-up nonsense of Kenneth Copeland and Rodney Howard Browne, I am talking about the biblical gift on tongues which, as Acts 2:5-12 shows us, is the ability to speak a known foreign language not previously known to the speaker. Comment below with story of when you did this, and what was said by you after the biblically-appointed interpreter – 1 Corinthians 14:26-30 – has translated what you said.
3. SNAKE HANDLING: “They shall take up serpents;” Can you handle venomous snakes, get bit and shake it off like Paul does in Acts 28:5? Why not? This is one of the signs, why can’t you do it? Pastor Jamie Coots of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church died after handling a snake because, well, snake handling is not for the Church Age. But please, feel free to prove me wrong. (seriously, don’t do it).
4. DRINKING POISON: “and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;” The snake handling and the poison drinking are both under the banner of “it shall not hurt them”. That said, how well would you fare with cyanide in your Diet Coke? Come on, man! So far, if you’re honest, you are 0-for-4. But the passage is talking about Revelation 8:11.
5. HEALING THE SICK: “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” I am still waiting for anyone to be able to do this, and if you can please email me, I have a few sick friends who could really use your gift. Of course, Jesus is referring to James 5:13-15, passages fulfilled during the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Who could do these things when Jesus said them? Why, the apostles of course, and Paul did them as did Peter and all the rest. We call this the ‘apostolic signs’, and to have them you have to be an apostle. No exceptions. These signs were used to bring in the Kingdom Age which did not happen after the murder of Stephen in Acts 7. These signs were also used to show the people that the apostles were who they said they were as the New Testament was being written. During the time of Jacob’s trouble, the 144,000 witnesses from Revelation 7:1-8 will have all of these signs, and will ‘finish the job’. You will notice that our modern-day false prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation healed exactly no one during the COVID pandemic, and the few that attempted to prophesy failed miserably. So the next time you are introduced to ‘Apostle So-and-So’, and ‘Prophet Fair-thee-well’, send them this link and ask them to take the test. Please be sure to post your score in the comments section so we can all see how much of an apostle you are. I’ve always wanted to meet one!

Meet some of the ‘apostles and prophets’ of the Charismatic Movement

These are the people who tell you that ‘signs, miracles and wonders’ are for today, watch them in action and tell me if you believe them. 

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

CLICK NOW TO HELP US SEND THOUSANDS OF KING JAMES BIBLES INTO JAIL, PRISONS AND DETENTION CENTERS ALL ACROSS AMERICA!!

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

The beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 comprise the constitution of the coming Millennial Kingdom of King Jesus.

You can take any part of the Bible, Old or New Testament, and find some kind of a spiritual application you can make from it. But when it comes to doctrinal teachings, something that can be applied to born again Christians who are part of the Body of Christ, living in the Church Age, this is where Paul’s command in 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJB) to ‘rightly divide’ the scripture is so very important. The Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount are one of those great passages that have much spiritual benefit to souls living in the Church Age, but cannot be applied doctrinally as you will soon see.

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,” Matthew 5:1,2 (KJB)

At His First Advent, Jesus came to make a payment on the cross, as the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. At His Second Advent, He returns as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS with His Body the Church riding on white horses. This begins a dispensation known as the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, and as the name tells you, lasts for a 1,000-year period of time. It is then and there where the Kingdom of Heaven is established on the earth, finally, a literal, visible kingdom in Israel with Jesus on the throne in Jerusalem.

“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: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32,33 (KJB)

The blessings mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount constitute what life will be like during that time period, it is a constitution of that kingdom as prophesied in the Old Testament. It is not doctrine for Church Age believers, but a wonderful promise of what is to come when King Jesus is ruling in perfect righteousness.

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Beatitude #1

• “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 (KJB)
• “For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Isaiah 66:2 (KJB)

This first beatitude, or blessing, is for the ‘poor in spirit’, they are promised the Kingdom of Heaven which is the literal, visible and physical restored Israel where King Jesus will rule from the throne of David. In Acts 1:6, the Jewish apostles were looking for that Kingdom, and wanted to know when they might expect to receive it. Jesus told them to “wait”, and in 7 short chapters that wait was over, the Jews blew it, and the Church Age under the leadership of the arch-enemy Paul was ushered in. At the Second Advent, the Jews who are ‘poor in spirit’ after 7 years of Antichrist will finally get that kingdom.

Beatitude #2

• “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (KJB)
• “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” Isaiah 61:2 (KJB)

The first two verses of Isaiah 61 are some of the greatest verses anywhere in the Bible to show rightly dividing, giving you both Advents of Jesus Christ and using a comma after the word LORD to show the 2,000 period of the Church Age. Compare to Luke 4:18-21 and you will see what I mean. The Jews and Tribulation Saints that make it through that mess will indeed be mourning, knowing they missed the Rapture because of their rejection of the gospel of the grace of God. King Jesus will return and comfort them while at the same time stomping His enemies.

Beatitude #3

• “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 (KJB)
• “When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.” Psalm 76:9 (KJB)

In this third beatitude, Jesus is talking about the meek inheriting the earth. Is that what happens to the meek in 2023? Nope. In our day, the all-too trusting meek lose their life savings in email scams, get passed over for promotion on the job, and basically get the short end of the stick the majority of the time. Not so when King Jesus is on the throne! Psalm 76 shows you the Lord rising up to return to settle accounts, in that day the meek who trusted in Him wind up on top. You will also note that beautiful, little word ‘Selah’, denoting it takes place after the Rapture and during the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Beatitude #4

• “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 (KJB)
• “Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” Psalm 96:13 (KJB)

During the time of Jacob’s trouble, evil is ruling as the whole thing is handed over to Satan for a 7-year period, and true righteousness is quite hard to find. People in this time will be crying out for the Lord to step in and fix things, and He will but it won’t be till the Second Advent when He comes to judge the earth. See Revelation 6:9-11 for more context.

Beatitude #5

• “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (KJB)
• “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;” Psalm 18:25 (KJB)

In the Millennium, it will be a combination of faith plus works, if you want mercy you have to show mercy. In the time of Jacob’s trouble, showing people mercy will likely not have mercy returned unto them. The merciful will not obtain mercy until Jesus returns. Christians living in the Church Age do experience the mercy and grace of God, because we are living in the age of Grace. That said, the context of this fifth beatitude is certainly the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Beatitude #6

• “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 (KJB)
• “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” Psalm 24:4 (KJB)

Jesus here is telling of a day when the pure in heart will see God with their eyes, He will be standing right in front of them. That obviously is a Second Advent passage. Christians in the Church Age see Jesus through the eyes of faith only now, and must wait until death or the Rapture to see the Lord Jesus face to face.

Beatitude #7

• “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9 (KJB)
• “Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” Isaiah 27:5 (KJB)

Isaiah 27 is Second Advent all the way, starting off right around Revelation 12 and following. The ‘peace’ in view here is Israel and the Jews being restored when Jesus returns as verse 6 says “He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” That’s the peace that’s in view, for contrast see 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

Beatitude #8

• “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 (KJB)
• “And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.” Deuteronomy 30:7 (KJB)

Another great passage foretelling of the time when the Jews and Israel shall finally be regathered and restored under their true Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus was persecuted for righteousness sake, persecuted by the very people He came to save, the Jews. All through the gospel Jesus teaches the disciples that they will encounter much the same treatment that He did, and guess what? They sure did. Peter was crucified, Paul was beheaded, James was killed, and the list goes on and on.

Beatitude #9

• “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:11,12 (KJB)
• “Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.” Jeremiah 17:18 (KJB)

One of the main themes of the prophets all the way through is the mistreatment the children of God receive at the hands of others including from the fellow Jews. Jeremiah talked about that a lot because he was on the receiving end of it. Stephen in Acts 7:52 asks “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” Great question! Jesus says that people who endure that mistreat receive a reward, a reward paid when King Jesus is on the throne in Jerusalem.

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Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

CLICK NOW TO HELP US SEND THOUSANDS OF KING JAMES BIBLES INTO JAIL, PRISONS AND DETENTION CENTERS ALL ACROSS AMERICA!!

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB