By: Robert Serreyn
Question? Why is there a 18 year gap between Jesus’s childhood and Ministry?
Answer:
God in his infinite knowledge deemed it unnecessary for us to know what took place between those eighteen years of Jesus life, therefore we are simply NOT TOLD.
What we ARE TOLD is that at 12 years of age, the Lord Jesus MADE IT KNOWN his purpose of coming to this earth which was…
(Luke 2:49) And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
Q – What Business was that???, Answer: (Luke 19:10) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
The Lord Jesus DID NOT come here primarily to solve human disputes or world peace, but to die, and shed his blood AS PAYMENT for the sins of mankind and offers eternal life to any and all who will simply trust him alone as their saviour .
(Matthew 10:34) Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
(Matthew 20:28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
The word MANY is simply a reference to WHOSOEVER WILL believe (trust alone) that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, shed his blood and arose frome the dead as the complete payment for ALL THEIR SINS.
To shed some light on a MUCH DENIED biblical teaching (mainly by Young Earth Advocates) there are GAP PERIODS of time in scripture, which gives proof that there is a GAP PERIOD of unknown time between Genesis 1:1 and !:2.
Gap Periods in scripture:
#1 – Romans 11:25,26 – Between verses 25 and 26 there is a gap of seven years. This is the 7 years of Tribulation following the Rapture of the Church.
GAP – 7 years of Tribulation, known as the 70th Week of Daniel.
#2- Revelation 12:5,6 – Between Verses 5 and 6 there is a gap consisting of the Church Age, which now has extended over 2,000 years and will consummate at the Rapture. Added to this is the first 3-1/2 years of the 7-Year Tribulation period of time. After 3-1/2 years of peace, the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel and seeks to destroy her. Israel’s persecution, in part, is spoken of in Matthew 24:15-22. The woman in Revelation, Chapter 12, is none other than the Nation of Israel. (In Jeremiah 3:6-10, Israel is referred to as “she” and “her” as in many other places.)
GAP – The Church Age, over 2,000 years plus. Also 3-1/2 of the 7-Year Tribulation period of time.
John 5:29 – This verse gives a general statement concerning the Resurrection of Life and the Resurrection of Damnation.
Between these two resurrections there is a gap period of time.
This gap is 1,000 years long, in which Christ will reign on this earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
#3- Isaiah 9:6,7 – Between these two verses there is the
GAP of the Church Age and the 7-Year Tribulation.
GAP – Church Age, 2,000-plus years, also included, the 7-
Year Tribulation Period, and then Christ comes back to
establish His kingdom reign spoken of in Verse 7.
#4 – Malachi 3:1,2 – Between Verses 1 and 2 we have a
gap period of time. The gap is composed of the Church
Age plus the 7-Year Tribulation Period.
GAP – The Church Age 2,000-plus years, also the 7-Year
Tribulation Period of time.
#5 – Luke 2:42 & 3:23
GAP – 18 years.
In Conclusion:
The GAP PRINCIPLE is not a theory it is a GAP FACT and it is VERY WELL ESTABLISHED,To deny it,is to deny or ignore BIBLICAL TRUTH.
Jesus came for one reason and one reason only, and that was to die, and shed his blood as payment for your and mine sins.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know IS Jesus Christ as savior, just simply believe that Jesus Christ went to the cross and DIED and shed his blood, was BURIED and three days later RESURRECTED from the dead to pay for your sins.
-Christ DIED for you – Romans 5:8
-Christ PAID your sins in full – 2 Corinthians 5:21,1 Peter 2:24
-BELIEVE (Trust In Completely) in Christ ALONE as the complete payment of sin for salvation – John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8,9
“For the wages(payment) of sin is death (eternal torment in hell); but the GIFT(salvation) of God is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord”. Romans 6:23
IT IS THAT SIMPLE – THE GOSPEL TRUTH