1. What is a dispensation? What is the judgement at the end of this age? A dispensation shows God's stewardship approach toward dealing with humanity. It is a period of time in which God regulates the conduct of believers, and He tests their response to His conditions. The judgment at the end of the Dispensation of Grace (the New Covenant) is the Tribulation. At the end of the Dispensation of the Kingdom, it is a new heaven and new earth.
2. Explain the "mystery" nature of the church. How does this correlate to prophecy? God has revealed things about the church which were not known prior to Pentecost. The church body, Christ in you, Israel's blindness, incarnation, development of the program of evil, false religion at the end of the world, the rapture, and today's relationship between God and man are parts of the mystery.
3. What are the conditions of the world at the end of this age? At the end of this age, there will be intense evil, darkness (blinded by Satan), ungodliness, and an age of apostasy. It will be very hard to keep the church pure.
4. What are the arguments for and against "signs" before the return of Christ? Dr. John R. Rice rejected signs because he said that no one knows, while Dr. Jack VanImpe accepted them. One of the problems with signs is that people try to predict dates, and this becomes a reason to not look for them. Another is that no one knows that any particular sign is the sign for which we should be looking. Signs can also be a diversion from doing the work which God really wants us to be doing. Therefore, maybe He does not give them because we cannot handle them.
5. List the signs that could occur to indicate that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon. Some of the signs could be that Israel has returned to the land, the growth of the ecumenical harlot church, the possibility of a one-world government, the growth of knowledge, the population explosion, the declines in ecology, and the fact that the church has reached its climax and started becoming the church of Laodicea in Revelation, chapter Three.
6. How important is the sign of the return of Israel to the promise land? This sign is very important because Ezekiel 37 presents the image of the dry bones. That passage specifically says that Israel will be gathered back together, and now it seems to be happening.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
Index to Selected Essays And Book Reviews
Lesson 16 - The Rapture of the Church
Send email to: tlee6040@aol.com