Dispensations

      The Dispensation of Law Expounded

                        This page gives the definition and importance of dispensations; dispensational layout; dispensationalist beliefs.

                              Definition and Importance of Dispensations

A dispensation is a religious or political system that has authority at a particular time. Eg. They are better off under the new dispensation. (b) Gr. Oi-ko-no-mi-a, "administration”(Eph.1:10; 3:2 ).

Bible Dispensations place the Bibles recorded history, prophecies, promises, and instructions on how to live ones life in context. Without them is like jigsaw puzzle pieces without a clear picture on them. Such a puzzle would be difficult to place together and impossible to fully understand its message.

Since God made "known the end from the beginning [or] from ancient times [to] what is still to come” (Isa.46: 10) we can have a clear picture and can fully understand His message by studying dispensations.

                                             Dispensational Layout

Dispensational schemes will vary slightly from one author to the next. The most popular schemes have the following dispensations:

        Innocence: From creation to the fall of man

         Conscience: From the fall of man to the flood

        Human Government: From the flood to the call of Abraham

        Promise: From the call of Abraham to Moses

         Law: From Moses to Christ

       Grace or Church Age: From the first advent of Christ to the second advent of Christ

        Divine Government or Kingdom or Millennium:
        From the second advent of Christ to the new heaven and earth

Each new period or dispensation has its own particular beginning and ending. If God introduces commands, decrees or laws during a dipensation, the length and people affected are usually stated and or obvious by the context.

For example, the command and decrees or laws introduced to Adam in the the dispensation of Innocence, affected the whole human race still in him(Rom.5:12) and was made null and void by Adam transgressing it.
The commands, decrees, or laws introduced to Noah in the dispensation of Human Government were forever and for the whole human race.(Gen.8:20-9:17).
The commands, decrees, and laws introduced at the time of Moses in the dispensation of Law were for the Jewish people and proselytes. The length of Law was both made null and void and until the coming of Christ.(Gal. 3:19;Heb.8:6-13).

In each dispensation God has a definite and different immediate purpose, all working toward the ultimate purpose of ridding the universe of all rebellion so that allfree moral agents will be willingly and eternally subject to God,Christ,and the Holy Spirit, as originally planned, with God all in all forever (1Cor.15:24-28; Rev.21-22).

                                               Dispansationalist Beliefs

Dispensationalist recognize a distinction between Israel and the Church, have a consistently literal principle of interpretation,and a basic working and conception of the purposes of God rather than as the single purpose of salvation.The following are some of the beliefs derived from these principles:

1. The O.T. prophecies of the restoration of national Israel to the land in the last days will be literally fulfilled. The restoration process officially began May 14,1948.

2. The millennial kingdom mentioned in Revelation will be literally fulfilled at Christ's return after which Christ will reign on the earth for 1000 years.

3. The 70 weeks of Daniel spoken of in Daniel 9 refers to a period of 490 years and apply only to Israel. The first 69 weeks have been fulfilled historically, ending at the first coming of Christ ( Section 4). When the Jews rejected the Messiah, the 70 weeks were suspended and a new age or dispensation called the Church age or Grace began. The Last or 70th week of Daniel, the last seven years, has yet to be fulfilled. This last week will immediately precede the second coming of Christ.

4.The book of Revelation after the letters to the seven churches is a prophecy concerning events that will occur during the last seven years before the second coming or 70th week. (Futurist) This 70th week is called the tribulation period. The last half of this week (the last 3.5 years) is the Great Tribulation spoken of in Dan. 9 and in the Olivet discourse (Mt. 24). This tribulation period is a time when God will pour out his wrath on a sinful world.

5. The coming (Pa-rou-si-a) of Christ will occur in two phases. The first phase will occur at the start of the 70th week. This will be Christ's imminent return for his saints to "rapture" his church as described in I Thess 4. The second phase is Christ's second coming at the end of the tribulation with his saints to begin the Kingdom age dispensation.

6. The tribulation period will see a revision of the fourth worldly kingdom spoken of in Daniel (the seventh in our “Times of the Gentiles” chart). This kingdom was represented by the legs of Iron in the image of Nebechadnezzer's dream in Dan. 2. The latter phase of this kingdom is represented by the feet or iron and clay. This kingdom is also represented by the terrible beast of Dan. 7. This kingdom was the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire will be revised in time for the tribulation and will consist of a confederation of 10 kings or kingdoms headed by the little horn of Daniel also known as the son of perdition (II Thess. 2 - the falling away is the rapture, that which restrains is the church whose taking away implies no more restraint). The son of perdition is called the Anti-Christ and spoken of in Rev. 13 where he makes all who dwell within his territory to receive the mark of the beast.