Ephesians 1: 3-6 – IOTW Report

Ephesians 1: 3-6

Saturday, 26 April 2025, 8:00 MJA Uncategorized 27

3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.[c] 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

27 Comments on Ephesians 1: 3-6

  2. If thought comes before action and God knew before the foundation of the world who would choose His son Jesus Christ, then He chose and predestined us to be adopted into His family through Jesus. But since we don’t know who He chose, we are to share the good news of eternal life with everyone. Right?

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  3. My beloved Dad is going home to meet Him sometime in the next few days. He’s 85 and has run his race. I have been so blessed with two loving Christian parents who modeled devotion to Christ and to each other. They be together again soon, but my world is already feeling emptier but that’s ok, I know I will see them both again some day!

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  6. Reading down a bit farther:
    Eph 1:10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. NKJV

    Is the “dispensation of the fullness of the times” the same as the dispensation of grace and/or the church age (Matt 24:3)? Paul said that God would “gather into one all things in Christ.” Is this the rapture of the church?

    John Hagee, who is famous for his pre-tribulation beliefs and teachings, said in an interview on Biblegateway.com (Aug 3,2022) that the dispensation of grace ends with the rapture of the church and that it happens between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 (the pre-trib rapture).

    If that is the case, then how does the great multitude that out of the great tribulation and go into heaven (Rev 7:9-17) get saved? Under what dispensation does that great multitude that no man can number get saved?

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  7. The way I understand it, the big T tribulation isn’t happening until after the church gets harpazo’ed.

    OT prophets were always hinting to the Jesus the Son of man. They may not have understood who and the exact time, but they knew somebody was coming.

    Anyway, as a pastor said, “Don’t let Him catch you doing something you shouldn’t be doing when He gets here. ” 🤣

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  8. Racist:

    Be comforted knowing that the dead in Christ will rise first and in the twinkling of an eye you (we-those who are alive and remain) will be gathered together with them to meet Jesus in the air and so you will always be them.

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  9. However, as it is written:
    “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,
    and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him.

    1 Corinthians 2:9

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  11. MJA:

    “The way I understand it, the big T tribulation isn’t happening until after the church gets harpazo’ed.”

    That’s why I asked those questions. One cannot have it both ways-the dispensation of grace can’t end and then some time after 3 1/2 years into the “big T tribulation” a great multitude gets saved.

    If salvation by grace (Eph 2:8-9) ends with the “harpazo” rapture of the church as John Hagee and all other pre-trib believers assert, then God will have to save that great multitude from the big GT great tribulation under some other dispensation or grace has not ended with the “harpazo” rapture of the church or the rapture doesn’t happen before the big T tribulation.

    Only one way is true. God, through His Word didn’t tell us of another dispensation after the harpazo. Salvation by another method after the rapture and the end of the 70th week is not in the Bible.

    The other option is that the rapture occurs when Jesus returns to gather His elect, to stop the great tribulation (while the 70th continues to completion) and to pour out God’s wrath on those who dwell on the earth. This is not the “Post-tribulation rapture” as it happens before the end of the 70th week.

  12. MJA:

    What did Jesus say about a second chance at salvation after the rapture?

    Read Luke 17:26-30.

    And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. NASU

    Jesus stressed two hugely important things in this passage that pre-trib believers have to avoid.

    1. Jesus said that on the same day that Noah entered the ark (read Gen 7:13-17)… and on the same that Lot went out from Sodom (read Gen 19:15-25). He said that it would be the same on the day that He is revealed (John 17:30).

    This sets the timing of the separation (rapture). The separation of the righteous from the unrighteous happened on the SAME day that God’s wrath began in both cases. It will be the same when He is revealed. The rapture will occur on the same day that God’s wrath begins.

    2. The other important fact is after the separation “all were destroyed” in both cases. All those outside the ark were destroyed with no salvation in God’s wrath. All those in the valley of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone that fell from heaven. It will be the same on the day that Jesus is revealed. All those who experience God’s wrath after the rapture will be destroyed. Note; there will be a remnant of Israel from Judea that will flee to the mountains (wilderness) when they see the abomination of desolation and be PROTECTED BY GOD (Matt 24:16; Rev 12:5-6; 13-17).

    Jesus used two witnesses, Noah and Lot, to establish the facts of the timing of the rapture and the truth of the outcome of those left behind after the rapture. There will be no second chance at salvation after the rapture.

    Think of the state of those left behind after the rapture. They will be the deceived blood-thirsty murderers of Christians and Jews. They will blindly worship the Antichrist. Their hearts will be seared (Rom 1:18-32) after rejecting Jesus. God surrenders them over to reprobate minds. They shake their fist at God and refuse to repent of their murders, sorceries, immorality and thefts (Rev 9:20-21). They blaspheme God and do not repent so as give Him glory when they are scorched with fierce heat (Rev 16:9). No repentance, no salvation.

  13. From the above link-

    Revelation 6:9-11
    speaks of those martyred during the tribulation “because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.”

    These martyrs will correctly interpret what they see during the tribulation and will believe the gospel themselves and call on others to repent and believe as well.

    The antichrist and his followers will not tolerate their evangelism and will kill them. All of these martyrs are people who were alive before the rapture, but who were not believers until afterward.

    Therefore, there must be opportunity to come to Christ in faith after the rapture.

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  19. MJA,
    He has self published a picture book, beautiful, with Revelation written according to the pictures like the video. If you contact him you can order a book. It is a large format book, spiral bound. The book costs $60. Worth it.

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  20. MJA:

    I posted, “Jesus stressed two hugely important things in this passage that pre-trib believers have to avoid.”

    Much to my dismay, you proved my point. You opted to offer somebody’s opinion about Rev 6:9-11 with no scriptural references to support those opinions. On the other hand, I quoted Jesus from Luke 17:26-30 and you chose to ignore what He said. Hard to understand why.

    About Rev 6:9-11. Where in the Bible does it say that those martyrs are from the 70th week only? Let me reference one other scripture before you answer that question.

    It’s Rev 22:18-19: I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. NASU

    If those are only “tribulation martyrs”, then where are all the other martyrs who died before the rapture? The Bible makes no distinction between pre- and post-rapture martyrs or for that matter pre- and post-rapture Christians. There is only one altar in heaven and it is unthinkable that God would only allow “tribulation martyrs” under it.

    What Rev 6:9-11 actually says is that God’s wrath will not start until the last martyr appears under the altar in heaven. Just that alone you have to admit that since martyrs go into heaven out of the big T tribulation then the big T tribulation is not God’s wrath. That is a huge no-no for pre-tribulation believers because they teach and believe that the entire 70th week is God’s wrath.

    Enough said.

    I welcome any/all comments and questions from anybody @ 1harpazo@reagan.com I have no website or other motive to offer my email address. There is way more to this subject and I honestly just want share what the Bible says as I think I have done here.

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  21. It’s not my intent to argue with you.

    It doesn’t ALL END with Rapture when the church goes. That’s what I’m trying to say.

    Afterward, the people left are either going to accept Jesus or not.

    Regardless of how anyone feels, it completely ends when God says it ends, no sooner.

    Like I said, no matter how/when it happens isn’t up to us.
    What IS up to us is whether we accept Jesus Christ.
    I do. I’m not swimming in the lake of fire.
    Skin, hair. all the things. Like I said above. lol

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  22. “You opted to offer somebody’s opinion ”

    That’s a Bible site backed by Biblical scholars. It’s not ‘somebody’s opinion.’ And there are many others backing that same thing.

    “If those are only “tribulation martyrs”, then where are all the other martyrs who died before the rapture? ”

    At the rapture, the (already) dead in Christ arise first. Remember?

    What I was showing was that there are to be MORE martyrs during the Big T. The people who found Christ and were murdered for it.

    The final end is at Megiddo.

    Oopsy…edit. almost forgot: Then new Heaven/New Earth.

    I’m not sure why you are getting angry. If you don’t understand/believe it the some as others do, then you’re taking someone else’s opinions for your ‘side’ too, aren’t you?

    We can disagree or whatever this is. I don’t care. I’m just not sure why you’re attacking me when I have not attacked you.

    Think whatever you like about me. lol. Doesn’t matter.

    WE WIN in the end anyway.

    Peace.

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