LESSON 28 – DISPENSATIONS
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STUDY
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TEXTS
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TOPIC BOOK
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28
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Dispensations
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Ephesians 3:1-5
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Dispensations
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Definition
A dispensation is a period of world history from God's viewpoint. It is a period of time within human history during which God's dealings with man has significant differences compared with other times.
This is a subject which generates a lot of heat from reformed theological areas. Because it generates heat a lot of believers avoid it, but that is not the biblical way; we are to study honestly the whole counsel of God's word and avoid nothing. The subject is a biblical subject as shown in Ephesians. What we need to do is to see what God reveals about the subject.
The word dispensation is used because it is the English translation of the Greek word "oikonomonia", which means a period of administration, or stewardship. It is firstly a time when a group or a person is put in charge of things in God's economy so that the portfolio is passed from one person to another from time to time.
A concept of a dispensation is never to be forced on history. The Scriptures show where the divisions come, we should not make our own divisions. God makes the distinctions, man recognizes them.
It is secondly a spiritual category not a racial, political or social one. There are spiritual dispensations and political ages. In the middle of the Jewish dispensation, half way between David and the Cross we have the so called Age of the Gentiles beginning a new political phenomenon; but the dispensation remains the same. The age of the Gentiles is the period of Gentile nation dominance and we still live in that period of history, but now spiritually we are in the Church Age.
Stewardship
In every part of history there are a group of people who are responsible to God for his Word. These are those who are carrying the torch of doctrine. This torch comes from Israel to the Church and eventually back to Israel
There are a number of things that do not change however, salvation being one - by grace through faith, this was the same for Adam and is still the same today. The way we express our faith has changed, as we no longer cut lamb's throats on the altar in our churches. There is a different way as we see that Christ was the lamb that died once and for all for our sins.
In Israel
Major changes have occurred from the Patriarchs to the Law at Sinai, then with the Law giving way to the Church at Pentecost. The family altar was changed to the national altar at Sinai with its specialized priesthood, a specialized tabernacle and law that complemented it. These are important milestones in human history and can mark changes in dispensations.
If you ignore this you are robbing yourself of a major tool in Bible study. Unless you see the changes that have occurred you are not going to be able to rightly divide the Word of Truth. In the reformed camp they deny dispensations as a theology but they practice it in their services; for they no longer kill a lamb on the table at the front.
God's plan has unfolded in stages. Dispensationalists who are Biblical do not cut out passages from the Bible and throw them away. It is a matter of ascertaining where we are in relation to this unfolding plan. Not all practices are legitimate today. For instance if you applied Leviticus 2 rigidly to our day you would build an altar and start cutting lamb's throats and burning them on an altar. The reason we do not do that nowadays is because we are living in the age after the Cross/Empty Tomb and Pentecost. A new age has dawned with new methods to express the same saving faith.
Each epoch or dispensation has a different test and expression of faith. In every period of history man is found wanting whether it is perfect environment or not. In all the areas there are tests that men fail. In the garden it was the tree, in the Age of Israel it was the law, during the Church Age it is the Cross.
It is essential that we orientate ourselves to our age in history. It is important to understand that history has a termination point and is going to end in due course. Everything is part of God's plan which is going somewhere. You cannot read Genesis through Revelation without the idea that God has a plan which is going to work out.
By knowing your area in history you know where you stand and where others in the past stand. You can also be aware of the spiritual climate in which you live. Since the Cross there has been an increase in satanic activity and unless you understand the assets that you have and the promises that have been given to you in your age/dispensation of the church, you are going to be a casualty in the angelic conflict.
When you realise where you are and then go back into previous dispensations and see how it was for people in those times you will start to become a theologian. In the Roman Catholic Church at the time of Galileo when he said that the earth was not the center of the universe they rejected it because they thought of themselves as more important than they really were. There are some theological systems that magnify themselves. With dispensations however the understanding of them will put you in your place.
We are royal priests and members of the royal family of God. We are not the “be all and the end all” but we are the climax of history. There needs to be right orientation towards believers in past history and to those in the future. True theology should make you humble and thankful. This is the difference between theology in Spirit and in truth and the theology from books and manuscripts. Biblical theology will tend towards worship and not divisive arguments.
Some Christians claim promises which they have no right to claim. For example the Afrikaner claim to South Africa was the misapplication of the conquest of Canaan by Joshua. As they crossed the Orange River they believed that they were crossing the Jordan Orange Free State and the Transvaal .
This was a false application of a passage of Scripture which was for Israelites and not for members of the Church. As another example there were things that Noah was told to apply which are still applicable today whilst there are some that are not. The altar and sacrifice are not but meat eating is. Learning to make the right distinctions and applications in accord with your place in God's unfolding drama of redemption is what theology is all about.
Both the hyper dispensationalist and the non dispensationalist wrongly divide the word of truth and Satan tries to get people of this narrow road to the truth. If the enemy can get us applying the wrong passages into our life, then he has won, for we are distracted and off the path of God.
The Three principles of Biblical Dispensational application,
[a] The Principle of literal interpretation - where the Lord chose to speak to us using language which should be interpreted using the normal standards of grammar.
[b] A belief in progressive revelation over the ages unfolding more and more details and completing his written revelation when John laid down his pen on Patmos in AD 96.
[c] Supersession where the later revelation in many ways supersedes those things that was before.
There is a trilogy in Galatians, Romans and Hebrews, that explains the shift from the Mosaic Law to the new dispensation. The Mosaic Law was superseded by the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Previous instructions may not necessarily apply in the following period. As a believer in the Church Age If you are living at a level lower than what is required you are legalistic and living out of step with the time in which you should be living.
The estimate of the number of dispensations into which the Bible is divided varies from 5 to 8. Dispensations are particularly important with your prophetic view. If you know what has happened in the past it gives you a much better appreciation of what is going to happen in the future. If you know what God has done in the past you can be confident of what he will do in the future.
Once you have, from scripture, seen what dispensations mean, you will tend to find that you have a different view of prophecy. From this study you will get a pre Millennial, pre Tribulation viewpoint.
DOCTRINES
DISPENSATIONS
1. General Scripture (Ephesians 3:1-5) Key words -
Verse 2 - dispensation - stewardship or administration.
Verse 3 - mystery - Church Age.
Verse 5 - other ages (Gentile and Jewish Ages).
2. Definition: A dispensation is a period of time expressing the viewpoint of God in relation to the history of man. During each dispensation God entrusts the spreading of the Gospel to specific people. Failure to fulfil their responsibility causes God to end a Dispensation and usher in a new one.
3. Human history is divided biblically into 4 Dispensations.
(a) Gentile or Family.
(b) Jews.
(c) Church or Grace.
(d) Christ or the Millennium.
4. In all cases salvation is the same - faith in Jesus Christ but due to the position of the cross varies in its viewpoint of the sacrifice from prophetic to historic.
(a) The Gentile and Jewish ages looked forward to the cross by means of animal sacrifices, the Tabernacle and Old Testament scriptures.
(b) The Church age looks back at the cross as an accomplished fact in history.
(c) The Millennial Age looks at the present person of Christ on earth.
5. Greek words related to time.
(a) Chronos - a succession of events - chronology - a history of Israel
(b) Kairos - an epoch or period of time which is used for categories of times - dispensations.
(c) Oikonomia - translated dispensation - means to administer an estate, be a responsible steward of an important item.
(d) Aion - age - very similar to Kairos but allows for a break in an epoch such as occurs in the Jewish age with the Tribulation occurring after the Church age.
6. Diagrammatic layout of Dispensations.
Gentiles True Jews Church Jews Millennium
Adam Abraham Pentecost Rapture 2nd Advent
7. Responsible Agents for the Gospel.
(a) Gentiles - the head of the family responsible for the gospel.
(b) Jews - a special race based on regeneration responsible for the gospel. The Jews are often called the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all 'born again' believers.
(c) Church - a spiritual race based on regeneration responsible for the gospel.
(d) Christ - the God/Man himself responsible for the gospel.
8. Civilisations
As a parallel system; to dispensations are civilisations of which there are three. In all cases the civilisation starts with believers only and finishes with judgment.
(a) Civilisation
Pre Flood Post Flood Millennial
Adam Noah 2nd Advent
(b) Dispensation
Gentile Jews & Church Millennium
Adam Abraham 2nd Advent
We are thus in the Church Age dispensation and Post Flood Civilisation.
DISPENSATION OF THE GENTILES OR FAMILY
1. Scripture: Genesis 1-11
2. Limits: Adam to Abraham.
3. Divided into Three Sections
a) The Age of Innocence (Genesis 1:28-3:22)
b) The Age of Rebellion (Genesis 3:23-8:20)
c) The Age of Nations (Genesis 8:21-11:32)
4. Characteristics
a) One Language. (Genesis 11:6)
b) One race - the Gentiles (Genesis 11:6)
c) No written scripture
d) No missionary agency; every believer responsible for the gospel - particularly the father.
e) Means of salvation - belief in Christ. (Romans 4:3)
f) Time span - approximately 2,000 years
g) Major judgments - Noah (flood) (Genesis 7)
h) At death believers went to Paradise .
i) At death unbelievers went to Torments.
j) Priesthood - specialised - particularly the father.
k) The Law - no Mosaic Law.
l) Holy Spirit - assisted a selected few believers
m) Environment - perfect in the garden, progressively worse after sin (Genesis 1:31, 3:17-18).
n) Satan - In heaven and on earth.
o) Rebellion. Began in Eden with Adam and Eve’s sin; then continued later with the building of the Tower of Babel
5. During this Age, God established four institutions for mankind to live by:-
a) Free Will (Genesis 2:16, 17)
b) Marriage (Genesis 2:22-24)
c) Family (Genesis 4:1)
d) Human Families of Nations (Genesis 9-11)
6. During this Age, Satan attacked these frameworks.
a) Free Will (Genesis 3) - the fall of Adam and Eve.
b) Marriage and Family (Genesis 6) - the angelic infiltration.
c) Nationalism (Genesis 11:1-9) - Internationalism in the tower of Babel
DISPENSATION OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL
1. Scripture: Genesis 12 -Acts.
2. Limits: Abraham to Second Advent.
3. Divided into Three Sections
a) The Patriarchs - Abraham - Moses.
b) The Law. Moses - Pentecost.
c) The Tribulation - Rapture - 2nd Advent.
4. Characteristics
a) Length of Age - approximately 2,000 years.
b) Means of salvation - faith in Christ (James 2:23)
c) Written Scripture - Old Testament completed 425 BC
d) Evangelists - The Jews
e) Four Unconditional Covenants:-
i) Abrahamic (Genesis 12:1-3)
ii) Davidic (2 Samuel 7:8-16)
iii) Palestinian (Genesis 15:18-21)
iv) New. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
These are fulfilled at the Second Advent, when Jesus, the Messiah returns to earth to reign as King.
f) Specific discipline for failure to comply with Divine Direction include:-
i) Where a foreign country rules the Jews (e.g. Rome
ii) Where the Jews are removed from the land (e.g. Babylonian captivity 586 to 516 BC)
g) Major judgments - Babylonian captivity.
h) At death believers - Paradise (Abraham's Bosom) (Luke 16:19-31
i) At death unbelievers - Torments (Luke 16:19-31)
j) Priesthood - Levitical (Exodus 28-29)
k) The Law - given to Moses (Exodus 19-24)
l) Holy Spirit - assisted a selected few believers - eg Gideon, David, Samson.
m) Environment - sinful.
n) Satan - in heaven and on earth.
o) Rebellion - Idolatry, rejection of the Law of God.
p) Many languages -(Genesis 11:9)
q) Many races of people (Genesis 11:9)
r) Spirituality - resting in the promise of God. (Hebrews 11:8-40)
5. The Jewish Age is interrupted at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Daniel 9:26a). Instead of accepting their Messiah, the Jewish Religious Leaders rejected him and crucified Him.
God therefore grafted the Gentiles into the Jewish rootstock and empowered the Church by means of the Holy Spirit as His ambassadors on earth from then onwards, Romans 11:17-25. These also include ALL Jews who did accept Yeshua as their saviour down the Centuries. Paul used the illustration of the Olive Tree being the Jewish System God used to bring about Yeshua the Messiah and later the Lord grafted in the Gentile believers. The Church was established by the 12 Apostles who were ALL Jews...so this shows what a lie 'replacement theology' really is.
When the Church (All Born Again Spirit Begotten Believers) are removed from the earth (known as the Rapture); God will re-institute the True Jews as His ambassadors. This will last for a period of seven years (Daniel 9:26b-27), known as the Tribulation (see below), during which time many Jews will repent and call upon their Messiah. The Lord Jesus Christ will then come back to earth at the Second Advent to re-gather Israel
6. See "The Tribulation" below.
DISPENSATION OF THE CHURCH
1. Limits: Pentecost to Rapture
2. Characteristics
a) Length of Age - Unknown - but possibly about 2,000 years.
b) Means of Salvation - Faith in Christ. (Acts 16:31)
c) Written Scripture - Old Testament - Pre Canon; Whole Bible - Post Canon.
d) Evangelists - all believers (Matthew 28:18-20 2 Corinthians 5:20)
e) Major Judgment -- Nil
f) At death (believers) - Heaven, face to face with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8)
g) At death (unbelievers) - Torments, Hades.
h) Priesthood - all believers as priests (1 Peter 2:9)
i) The Law - grace, the law having been fulfilled by Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17)
j) Holy Spirit - indwells all believers (John 7:39, 1 Corinthians 6:19)
k) Environment - sinful.
l) Satan - in Heaven or on earth
m) Rebellion - Apostasy (2 Timothy 3:1-6)
n) Many languages - (Genesis 11:9)
o) Many races of people - (Genesis 11:9)
p) Spirituality - filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
q) Every believer in union with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
r) Every believer indwelt by Christ. (John 14:20)
3. The Church Age is not mentioned in the Old Testament.
a) The Church was a mystery to Old Testament writers.(Colossians 1:25-26)
b) The Old Testament Scriptures include everything such as the Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection, Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Scriptures then skip over the Church Age to the Tribulation, Second Advent and Millennium.
c) Examples of scriptures in the Old Testament where the great parenthesis occurs are Daniel 2:40,41, 7:23,24, 9:26a,26b, 11:35,36, Hosea 3:4,5 , Isaiah 61:2a,2b
DISPENSATION – CHURCH AGE – INTERCALATION OR INSERTION
1. The CHURCH AGE is not mentioned in the Old Testament. It has been inserted later by God.
2. Since the Church is a mystery it was not revealed to Old Testament writers. (Colossians 1:25, 26)
The Old Testament Scriptures include everything such as the Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection, Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Scriptures then skip over the Church Age to the Tribulation, Second Advent and Millennium.
3. Therefore all doctrine pertinent to the Church Age is intercalated or inserted.
4. Scriptures in the Old Testament where the Great Parenthesis occurs are:
Daniel 2:40 and 41
Daniel 7:23 and 24
Daniel 9:26a and 26b,
Daniel 11:35 and 36
Isaiah 61:2a and 2b
The period of the great parenthesis is a period of the intensified state of the angelic conflict. It was not included in the Old Testament Scriptures because it would have confused believers of that age. They would have been quite probably envious of church age benefits such as the universal indwelling of the Holy Spirit, universal priesthood, indwelling of Christ, etc.
5. All believers in the period of intercalation are called into full time Christian service.
DISPENSATIONS – THE TRIBULATION OR THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE
1. The Tribulation is actually the last seven years of the Age of Israel (see above)
2. General Scripture (Revelation 4-19)
3. Limits: Rapture to Second Advent
4. Characteristics:
a) Length of Age - 7 years. (Daniel 9:27)
b) Means of Salvation - faith in Christ.
c) Scripture - completed Canon.
d) Evangelists - 144,000 Jewish evangelists (Revelation 7). Also angelic evangelists (Revelation 14:6-7)
e) Major judgments - a succession of judgments upon the unbelieving world (Matthew 24:21)
f) At death believers - Heaven (Revelation 15:12)
g) At death unbelievers - Torments, Hades.
h) Priesthood - specialised priesthood - Jews.
i) The Law - no Law (Matthew 5:17)
j) Holy Spirit - assists believers but does not indwell.
k) Environment - sinful - Antichrist and Satan rule the whole world.
l) Satan - in Heaven or on earth for first 3 1/2 years; cast down to earth for second 3 1/2 years (Revelation 12:9)
m) Rebellion - Armageddon, one world political and religious system
n) Spirituality- resting in the promises of God.
o) Three sets of Judgments - seals (Revelation 6), trumpets (Revelation 8), judgments (Revelation 15,16)
DISPENSATION OF THE MILLENNIUM
1. General Scripture: Many Old Testament passages, Revelation 20
2. Limits: Second Advent to Great White Throne Judgment
3. Characteristics:
a) Length of Age - 1,000 years.
b) Means of Salvation - Faith in Christ.
c) Scripture - the person of Christ.
d) Evangelists - the person of Christ.
e) Major Judgments
i) Baptism of Fire (Matthew 3:12, 24:36-41)
ii) Last Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)
iii) Destruction of Universe (2 Peter 3:7-13)
f) Death extremely rare in the Millennium. There will be extended life spans.
(Isaiah 65:20)
g) At death, unbelievers - Torments.
h) Priesthood - Christ.
i) The Law - no Law, Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law. (Matthew 5:17)
j) Holy Spirit - universal indwelling of the believer. (Joel 2:28-29)
k) Environment - perfect (Isaiah 11:1-9)
l) Satan - chained in the abyss until the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:2-3)
m) Rebellion - unbelievers at the end of the Age. (Revelation 20:7-9)
n) Spirituality - filling of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28, 29)
o) No human religion - Satan bound - no influence on the earth. (Isaiah 2:3, John 8:44 Rev 20:1-3)
p) Israel
q) Universal peace (Psalm 46:9, Hosea 2:18, Micah 4:3)
r) Perfect government with Christ as King (Isaiah 11:1-5, Zechariah 14:9)
s) Universal prosperity (Psalm 72:7)
t) Universal knowledge of God. (Isaiah 11:9)
u) Radical changes in nature - restored to perfection as in the Garden of Eden
i) Mankind loosened from the bondage of sin. (Romans 8:19-22)
ii) Sin has no adverse effect on nature (Genesis 3:17-18 cf Isaiah 35:1-2,7)
iii) Animals will lose their ferocity (Isaiah 11:6-8, 65:25)
v) Millennium - begins with believers only.
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