Dispensations

1. Paul taught dispensations. Ephesians 3:2, “if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward.”

2. Dispensations are periods of human history (categories) expressed in terms of divine revelation (Divine viewpoint).

3. God administers the human race (Dispensations). The human race is an estate which God administers in a certain way.

4. God’s administration means a delegation of authority in each dispensation. God appoints the administrator (always believers). Romans 3:2; Acts 15:14.

5. Administrators may fail or succeed; regardless of which, God’s plan moves on. Esther 1:2; 2:8. In Esther 2:8, “And it came to pass” indicates God’s plan is always carried out.

6. There is only one administrator for each dispensation - 1 Samuel 12:22.

7. The four dispensations and their administrators are:

Age of the Gentiles: Gentile believers

Age of the Jews: Israel

Age of the Church: Church

Age of the Millennium: Christ

8. Every dispensation involves revelation which was not given in the previous dispensation, as well as recognition of that which was.

9. Promises found in any dispensation that are grace promises, are always applicable to any believer in any dispensation - Isaiah 41:10.

10. The ultimate is dispensations is the application of doctrine to experience, so that at all times your life is personally oriented to life. If you understand the chronology of times you don’t confuse “Law” with “Grace,” you aren’t trying to make the “Church Age” world a “Millennial” world, and so on.

The four dispensations

I. Age of the Gentiles: Genesis 1-11.

Characteristics:

a) One language.

b) One race.

c) Four divine institutions developed and then attacked by Satan: i) Attack on positive volition - Genesis 3; ii) Attack on marriage and the family - Genesis 6; iii) Attack on nationalism - Genesis 11:1-9.

d) Scope: From Adam to the Tower of Babel.

e) No Canon of scripture: Revelation, but not in written form.

f) Salvation was by faith in Jesus Christ as today.

g) No basic missionary agency. Evangelism, but no missionary agency. Family the basis of evangelism.

II. The Age of the Jews.

A. Outline: Genesis 12 to Malachi, minus Millennial passages such as Isaiah 11, 35, 64, 65. Also Matthew, Mark, Luke, John except John 13-17. Also Revelation 6-19.

It is divided into three parts:

Age of the Patriarchs (Abraham to the giving of the law)

Age of the Law: Moses to Christ.

Tribulation: Rapture of the Church until the second advent.

B. Characteristics:

a) Many languages: Nations were separated.

b) Specific missionary agency (Regenerate of Israel). Israel was to give the gospel to people speaking different languages. Abraham was the founder of this missionary base. Abraham was a Gentile who became a Jew through regeneration. The missionary base must be characterised by security.

c) Since you have a missionary base, there must be discipline for failure (5 cycles of Discipline - Leviticus 26:27-46).

d) Scope: From Abraham to the second advent, minus the Church Age.

e) Salvation: Not saved by keeping the law, but through faith in Christ.

f) Spirituality: Faith-rest, rebound (1 John 1:9 is the principle), and occupation with Christ.

III. Age of the Church.

A. Outline: John 13-17, Acts, New Testament epistles (except for certain

portions which deal with the Tribulation), Revelation 1-3.

a) Pre-Canon period: Up to the completion of the Canon in 96 AD with the writing of the book of Revelation.

b) Post-Canon period: From AD 96 to the Rapture.

B. Characteristics: (Believer’s unique assets)

a) Positional Truth: Union with Christ. Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

b) Universal indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ (fellowship).

c) Universal indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Only a few Old Testament believers were indwelt, and that for special purposes.

d) Universal priesthood of the believer. (Never has God given so much power and meaning to a believer. Every believer is an ambassador and therefore in full-time Christian service.)

e) Completed Canon of scripture (after 96 AD)

f) A supernatural way of life (there is nothing that we can do “in the flesh” which pleases God.)

g) Filling of the Holy Spirit is the means of executing this supernatural way of life (coupled with rebound, 1 John 1:9).

h) Salvation is by faith in Christ.

IV. The Age of the Millennium.

Outline: Revelation 20; Isaiah 11, 35, 64, 65, & many other portions.

a) 2nd advent of Christ.

b) Baptism of fire: Armageddon. Christ will separate believers from unbelievers.

c) Perfect environment for 1000 years.

d) End of 1000 years, 2nd advent of Satan and revolt.

e) The destruction of the universe.

f) The Last Judgement: Revelation 20:11-15, Great White Throne judgement.

(This is followed by the eternal state)

Characteristics:

a) No religion on the earth, only Christianity. Revelation 20:1-3.

b) Greatest period of spirituality ever known on the earth - Joel 2:28,29; Isaiah 65:24.

c) Israel restored as a nation under God. They were disbursed until the 2nd advent. Zechariah 8:20-23; Isaiah 35:3-10; 65:19.

d) Universalism will be on a bona fide scale for the first time. When Christ reigns internationalism will be legitimate as Christ is the sole ruler (world peace results).

i) Universal peace: Isaiah 2:4; Hosea 2:18; Psalm 45:9; Micah 4:3

ii) Universal prosperity: Psalm 72:7, 16.

iii) Universal knowledge of God: Isaiah 11:9.

iv) Perfect world government: Zechariah 14:9; Isaiah 11:1,2; Psalm 72.

e) Radical changes in nature:

i) Creation loosened from the bondage of sin: Romans 8:19-22

ii) Animals lose their ferocity Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:25.

iii) Plant life will abound: Isaiah 35:1,2,7.

f) Unbelievers are removed from the earth at the beginning of the Millennium (Battle of Armageddon). However, through the Millennium there will be those born who are unbelievers and there will be many by the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:7-9).

g) Life will be extended on the earth, capital punishment will be seldom used, there will be a perfect justice by a perfect judge. There will be immediate punishment for sin.

h) Salvation is still by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dispensations

God’s Timetable

Time as we know it is but a segment of eternity, taken out of eternity and set aside for man’s use. God has divided time into segments and His Word calls them Dispensations. An understanding of these divisions of time is the key which unlocks Biblical truth. Without this reference system it is impossible for any Christian to understand how various portions of the Bible apply to life.

Biblically, A DISPENSATION IS A PERIOD OF TIME EXPRESSING THE DIVINE VIEWPOINT OF HUMAN HISTORY. We might say that Dispensations are the divine timetable by which all human events are correlated. During each Dispensation God entrusts the Gospel dissemination to specific people. Failure to fulfil their responsibilities causes God to end one Dispensation and usher in a new one.

Our subject is something the majority of believers do not understand, and it should be the other way around. The believer’s understanding of the Bible depends upon his orientation to Dispensations. The first chapter of the book of Acts introduces the subject of Dispensations through the use of two specific words.

Times and Seasons

“When they [the disciples of Jesus] therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou AT THIS TIME restore again the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6).

“And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the TIMES AND SEASONS, which the Father hath put in his own power (Acts 1:7)”

The Greek word for “times” is CHRONOS, and for “seasons,” KAIROS. Both words refer to time, but with this difference: the word CHRONOS indicates a succession of events, one following the other. This is the word from which we get our English word “chronology” .KAIROS, on the other hand, refers to events organised by their components into dispensations. It is time which is broken into segments - time divided into specific periods, epochs or eras.

From the standpoint of spiritual phenomena, the disciples were some of the most ignorant people who ever lived. Although they were with the Lord Jesus for three years, they failed to take in a thimbleful of doctrine. A dispensational change and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit would occur before they would truly catch on. With the possible exception of John, the other disciples “flunked” the course; whereas, there were several women who passed with high distinction. This was the reason Jesus made no reply when asked if He would restore the kingdom of Israel at that time - not because He didn’t know, but because the disciples did not have enough information to understand the answer.

Isn’t it humorous that the “Johnny-come-lately", Paul (not even converted at the time of the question), would provide this information, not only for the disciples, but to the entire Church down through the years. Paul answered this question as he taught the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5). Jesus had said that the disciples could not understand the times and the seasons; yet Paul said that the Thessalonians already understood:

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren [Thessalonian believers], ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly [with accuracy] that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:1,2).

“Of the times and the seasons” are the same Greek two words, CHRONOS and KAIROS; but they KNOW because the apostle Paul had taught them! Between our Lord’s last words to the disciples in Acts 1:7 (before His ascension) and Paul’s statement in 1 Thess. 5:1, several things had happened. First of all, a false apostle (Matthias) was elected to take the place of Judas (Acts 1:21-26) - false in the sense that he was not God’s choice. Second, Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, was appointed the twelfth apostle by Jesus Christ. Third, Paul went to Thessalonica and taught. Even though the disciples originally had little ability to understand the dispensational aspect of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, Paul had amassed such a fantastic amount of doctrine that he was able to answer the question as he began his teaching ministry.

Peter had been one of those who asked Jesus about the “times and seasons” in Acts 1:7. Peter later learned from Paul, as did everyone else, and in 2 Peter 3 he wrote a very interesting commentary:

“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent [mentally alert] that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless (2 Pet. 3:14). “And account [think not] that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation [physical deliverance]; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom [doctrine in thesoul and its application to experience] given unto him hath written unto you (2 Pet. 3:15);

“As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood [even for Peter 25 years later], which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [twist], as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16).”

What does this say? Peter, along with the others, asked the Lord a question in Acts 1:7. The Lord knew it was futile to answer then because the disciples did not have sufficient doctrine to comprehend the answer. Years later the dying words of a spiritually mature Peter were: “Get with the Pauline epistles. There are some hard things there, but that is the answer!”

What are the “times and the seasons” ?Since they pertain to the subject of Dispensations, I want you to be sure you understand the sequence. In Acts 1:7, the disciples could not understand the “times and seasons” .In 1 Thessalonians 5:1, the twelfth apostle, Paul, hints of having already taught the “times and seasons” and answered the question on which our Lord remained silent. In 2 Peter 3:14-17, Peter recommends the epistles of Paul as being the answer to the deeper doctrinal questions.

“Times” or CHRONOS, as it relates to the history of Israel, is as follows: from Abraham to Moses - the period of the Patriarchs; from Moses to the ascension of Jesus Christ - the period of the Law. During this time, the Jews received both the warning and fulfilment of divine discipline - the dispersion in 586 BC. God used the fifth cycle of discipline again during the Church Age in A.D. 70, and the Jews will remain scattered throughout the time known as the Tribulation. In this period, also known as “Daniel’s Seventieth Week,” we have the completion of the Age of Israel. This is followed by the second advent of Jesus Christ and the Millennium, where we have the fulfilment of the

unconditional covenants to Israel.

To summarise, the chronological series of events under the concept of CHRONOS are: Patriarchs; the Mosaic Law and the life of Moses; the period of the prophets; the setting aside of Israel as a missionary agency; Israel resumed in the Tribulation; the second advent and Millennium. “Times” looks at the history of the human race from the standpoint of Israel, while “seasons” takes these events and divides them into segments or four general categories of Dispensations: the Age of the Gentiles; the Age of the Jews; the Age of the Church; the Age of Christ.

God’s Administrators

The Greek word OIKONOMIA has been translated two ways: “dispensation” (1 Cor. 9:17; Ephesians 1:10) and “stewardship” (Luke 16:2-4). This Greek word actually refers to the administration of an estate or household - in other words, delegated authority or responsibility. Estates and farms in the ancient world were run by administrators. Under and agricultural economy, a steward or administrator was one who was in charge of property management.

In every era of the human race, God puts someone in charge of making the Truth of the Word of God clear - stewards or human administrators to fulfil His purposes. We acquire the names of the four Dispensations, Gentiles, Jews, Church and Christ - from their administrators - or in one case, the Administrator.

In the Age of the Gentiles, there was only one race in the world; hence, all believers were administrators and responsible for disseminating the Truth. For example, Adam and Eve communicated spiritual information to their many children. In the Age of the Jews, Israel was the OIKONOMOS. This meant that believers in the nation of Israel were custodians of the Truth and responsible for the dissemination of the Gospel. In the Church Age, the Church made up of all believers in the Body of Christ, is the OIKONOMOS. In the Millennium, Christ Himself will be the

OIKONOMOS.

Tenure of Administration

The fourth Greek word used for dispensation, AION, has been transliterated “aeon” or “eon” in the English language, but it should be “age.” In our Bible, AION was correctly translated “age” in Colossians 1:26. If this word had been rendered “age” in Matthew 24:3, as it should have been, people would not be confused about the Olivet Discourse. Because of this error in translation, most people try to apply the Olivet Discourse to the Church Age, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with this present Dispensation.

The Church is NOT found in either Matthew 24 or in Matthew 25.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:13).” The “end of the world” or “age,” as it should have been translated, refers to the end of the Jewish Age - the Tribulation. Those Jews who endure to the end of the Tribulation will be physically delivered by Jesus Christ at the Second Advent.

The word “age” is used both for an entire dispensation or part of a dispensation. It connotes an indefinite period of time and looks at Dispensations from the standpoint of an era. Whenever it is used in connection with the Church, it refers to the entire dispensation. When the word “age” or AION is used for the Tribulation, only a part of the Age of Israel in under consideration..

The last two words, OIKONOMIA and AION, form the basic ingredient of every dispensation - a time factor and a responsibility clause. The variable ingredient is man and his potential to make a success or a failure of the task set before him!

As we analyse the Dispensations, we will examine the four divisions of God’s timetable.

Age of the Gentiles

The first period is the Age of the Gentiles, which is divided into three parts. The passage of Scripture which covers this Age is Genesis, chapters 1-11.

The Age of Positive Volition. Genesis 1:28-3:22.

Positive Volition is parallel to the period of “innocence,” as delineated in the Scofield Bible. The first man, Adam, was given specific commands by God and operated on positive signals only. Neither good nor evil was an issue as man was in a state of innocence. Then, in Genesis 2:16,17, God’s instructions contained a new emphasis: instead of “thou shalt,” God now said, “Thou mayest.” With this announcement, God established the first Divine Institution - Volition.

In this period, there was only one way that Adam and his wife could sin - disobedience to the known will of God. They failed this test and came to a personal knowledge of good and evil. Sinfulness destroyed their relationship with God and resulted in expulsion from perfect environment (the Garden of Eden). The Tree of Life could not provide the solution for sin and spiritual death. Only the work of Christ on the cross would solve these problems; so, through the promise of the coming saviour (Gen. 3:15), God gave man another chance.

The Age of Negative Volition. Genesis 3:23-8:20.

This is comparable to “Conscience” in the Scofield Bible. In this period it was demonstrated that the knowledge of good and evil could not keep man from wrong-doing; it merely restrained man’s sinful nature and

influenced his volition according to the norms and standards of his conscience. Enmity between man and man is the result of maladjustment between man and God - the result of negative volition toward God, or the “way of Cain” (Jude 11). Jesus Christ has made salvation available to everyone and all man must do is accept this gift through faith in the Giver; yet, with the exception of Noah’s family, mankind exercised negative volition toward God to such an extent that it was necessary for God to destroy the human race by means of the flood (Gen. 6).

The Age of Nationalism. Gen. 8:21-11:32.

This period is equivalent to Scofield’s “human government” concept. Not only had God made provision for man’s physical needs in time, He also took the necessary steps to protect man from wild beasts and from his fellow man (Gen. 9). Man had murdered in the past, and he would do it again. Wanton, needless killing had to be restrained, or only the most ruthless would have survived in the human race. For the first time God gave man authority over mankind. The setting for this authority was nationalism or human government - the concept of a policeman on the

corner and a judge on the bench.

Dr C.I. Scofield was a genius in the field of analysis and the summarisation of the English language; but for translation purposes, he relied on people who apparently had a limited knowledge of the original languages of the Bible. had he been a student of Greek and Hebrew, Dr. Scofield would have understood the etymology of CHRONOS, KAIROS, OIKONOMOS, and AION, and undoubtedly would not have divided the Dispensations into seven parts. Innocence, Conscience and Government actually form one period. This is obvious because there was only one race on the earth, one language and the crystallisation of the four Divine Institutions (Volition, Marriage, Family and Nationalism).

There are seven characteristics of the Age or Dispensation of the Gentiles:

1) One language - Genesis 11:6. Everyone spoke the same language, but it was not Esperanto. Philology has not recovered the one language existing before the Tower of Babel was destroyed.

2) One race: the Gentiles.

3) No canon of Scripture: there was no written Word as we have it today. God revealed Himself in dreams, visions, direct contact, Theophanies, ritual and animal sacrifices. The historical record of this period is found in the book of Genesis, but this was written by Moses in the following Dispensation.

5) Means of salvation: faith in Christ. This is true in every Dispensation. “For what saith the Scripture?” Abraham believed in God [the Lord Jesus Christ], and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3)

6) Time span: from the creation of Adam to the destruction of the Tower of Babel - about two thousand years.

7) Four Divine Institutions: the Divine Institutions were developed and attacked in this first Age. Volition, Divine Institution Number One, was attacked first in Genesis, chapter three. The attacks on Marriage, Divine Institution Number Two, and Family, Divine Institution Number Three, are covered in Genesis 6:1-4 - the angelic infiltration. Finally, Nationalism was attacked in the erection of the first “United nations building” and the formation of the original “United Nations organisation” - the Tower of babel (Gen. 11:1-9). God declared it an abomination and destroyed it.

Since mankind did not voluntarily abide by the Fourth Divine Institution, God Himself had to enforce it before the human race destroyed itself. That is why today we have a multiplicity of races and languages - to establish and assure nationalism. Nationalism is ordained by God until the Second Advent of Christ. Even when He reigns on the earth during the Millennium, nationalism will still be the order of the day. There are two factors which protect the human race - volition and nationalism.Volition is the basis of personal freedom, while nationalism is the basis of preserving the human race and protecting it from self-destruction. When nationalism and the laws of divine establishment were attacked, God changed the OIKONOMOS. The judgement of the Tower of Babel brought the first Dispensation to an abrupt end and ushered in a new age.

The Age of the Jews

The second Dispensation is the Age of the Jews, or the Age of Israel. The Scripture which covers this is Genesis, chapter twelve, through Malachi, plus the four Gospels (with the exception of John chapters 14-17 - the Upper Room Discourse and the Gethsemane Discourse). Although the four Gospels are frequently taught to the near exclusion of the rest of theBible, they deal with the Age of Israel - not the Church! Jesus Christ ministered, died on the cross, rose again and ascended - all in the Age of Israel, the Age of the Jews!

Just as there were three phases in the Gentile Age, so were there three phases in the Jewish Age.

The Age of the Patriarchs (Gen. 12 - Ex. 20)

This Age covers the period from Abraham to Moses. Patriarchs were to be rulers or heads of their families or tribes.

The Age of the Law (Ex. 20 to the book of Acts) from Moses through the ascension of Christ. The Jews, who had received their independence from Egypt on the night of the Passover (Ex. 12), were all “redeemed” - they were believers. God had led them out of slavery, delivered them from the pursuing enemy, provided for them in every possible way. As a free people, they had to have laws of establishment in order to protect and maintain their freedom. God provided this protection in the form of the Mosaic Law, which included the Moral Code or Ten Commandments, the Spiritual Code and the Social Code.

The Tribulation

- this is a span of seven years and will complete the Age of Israel. Occurring after the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4:13-17), this resumption of the Age of Israel will continue until the Second Advent of Christ (1 Thess. 3:13). During those seven years, the Lord will once again deal with mankind through His chosen people, and the world will be tested by extreme adversity and judgements (Revelation 6-19).

There are eight characteristics of the Age of the Jews:

1) Many languages - Gen. 11:9.

2) Many races of people.

3) A specific missionary agency: the regenerate of Israel. The word “Hebrew” means “one who crosses the river” .Abraham crossed the Euphrates River to evangelise people who spoke a different language; thereby, he

became the first missionary.

4) Four unconditional covenants: the security of the regenerate of Israel was located in these four covenants. Therefore, positional truth for the Age of Israel was the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenants to Israel. Each of these covenants had an eternal life clause.

5) Judgement: Israel’s special chastening for failure as a missionary agency was the fifth cycle of discipline (Lev. 26:27-39). The Jews have experienced this extreme punishment several times, and their present scattering is a continuation of the disciplinary dispersion of 70 A.D. During the period of the Judges, the nation of Israel was under severe discipline, but this was the fourth cycle as only part of the people were removed from the land. The Northern Kingdom, which the Bible refers to as both “Israel” and “Ephraim,” was taken over by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. The Southern Kingdom, known as “Judah", went down in defeat to the Chaldean Empire in 586 B.C., during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and were in captivity for seventy years. The second dispersion of the Jews of the Southern Kingdom under the fifth cycle of discipline began at the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and will continue until the second advent of Christ. Never forget that God is not through with the Jews; even though they are under discipline, they are still His chosen people and they have a glorious future.

6) Time Span: from Abraham to the Second Advent. This Age is interrupted by the Church Age and resumed in the Tribulation. The Second Advent of Christ not only terminates the Tribulation but also concludes the Age of the Jews.

7) Salvation: people were not saved by keeping the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ as he was revealed in the Old Testament (Gen. 15:6; Gal. 2:16).

8) Spirituality: the mechanics for confession of sin were given in Leviticus 5:14-19. Spirituality was characterised by the faith-rest life (Romans 4:17-22; Hebrews 11).

The Age of the Church

The third part of the timetable we call Dispensations is the Church Age. The Scripture covering this period of time is John, chapter 14-17, the Book of Acts, plus the New Testament epistles, with the exception of certain parts that deal with the Tribulation, Second Advent or Millennium. An example of this would be portions of Revelation, 2

Thessalonians 2 and 1 Peter 3. This Age is divided into two parts: pre-Canon and post-Canon.

The pre-Canon period: from the Day of Pentecost (about 33 A.D.) to 96 A.D. The New Testament was in the process of being written, but was not complete. The Book of Acts does not present the doctrines of the Church, but gives the historical development of the pre-Canon period of the Church Age. It declares, historically, how this segment differed from the post-Canon period. For example, pre-Canon activity was characterised by such temporary spiritual gifts as apostleship, healing, tongues, miracles, etc. These gifts no longer exist, and today we have no bona fide apostles, healers, or people speaking in tongues.

The post-Canon period: from 96 A.D., with the death of the apostle John, to the present. The Age of the Church will terminate with the Rapture or resurrection of the Church. The way of life for Church Age believers and the doctrines pertinent to this period are found in the New Testament epistles - Romans through Revelation chapter three. A picture of the Church in heaven is described in Revelation chapters four and five.

There are eight characteristics of the Church Age, and these are the believer’s unique assets:

1) Positional truth - union with Christ: this union never existed before the Church Age. At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit places every believer in union with Jesus Christ by means of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This explains why Christianity is a relationship with a Person and not a religion. In no previous Dispensation did the baptism of the Spirit occur; not even then greatest saint in the Old Testament was in union with Christ!

It is not an ecstatic experience; so when you find wild-eyed people running around asking, “Have you had the ‘Baptism’?" always answer NO! they are talking about an ecstatic experience, which they call the “second blessing” .As far as blessings are concerned, there is no such thing as the “second blessing” .God’s blessings are innumerable! Spirit baptism, as its name implies, is entirely the work of God the Holy Spirit, who enters the believer into a relationship with the Son of God and makes him a member of the royal family forever.

2) Universal indwelling of Christ: every believer is indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ. This was prophesied by the Lord Jesus Himself when he said, “… ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). The moment we accept Jesus Christ as Saviour, we are entered into union with Him, and Christ “dwells” within us for the purpose of fellowship.

3) Universal Indwelling of the Holy Spirit: this, too, is new and unique. No Old testament saint was ever indwelt by the Holy Spirit. A few Old Testament saints were empowered by the Holy Spirit for the performance of special jobs. This is called “enduement” .But in the Church Age, every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of function. Phase two of the plan of God, the Christian way of life, is a supernatural way of life and demands a sup-ernatural means of execution which can only be accomplished through the filling and power of the Holy Spirit.

4) Universal priesthood of the believer: this priesthood is without equal. In the Old Testament, there was no such thing as a universal priesthood among believers. Israel had a specialised priesthood taken from the tribe of Levi, the family of Aaron. In the Church Age, every believer is a priest; therefore, every believer has the right of representing himself before God. The basis of information and authorisation on which you do so is Bible doctrine communicated by a pastor-teacher. You live your own life as unto the Lord.

5) Completed Canon of Scripture: after the first century, all divine communication was contained in written form; today there is no revelation from God outside the Bible. Dreams, visions, trances and voices are no longer bona fide revelations in this Age. The best one can say for these activities today is that they are hallucinations; at worst they fall intothe category of demon possession. People who hear voices or have dreams and think these come from God are off base — sometimes even non compos mentis! There is not such thing for us as extra-Biblical revelation. God

speaks only through His Word in the post-Canon phase of the Church Age.

6) Supernatural way of life: this supersedes the Mosaic Law, which is not the way of life for the believer today (Rom. 8:2-4). Remember that the giving of the Law to Moses, as well as Christ’s restatement of it in Matthew, took place in the Age of the Jews. Neither keeping the Sabbath nor tithing are authorised for the Church Age. Instead, the New Testament epistles give us directions for our modus operandi during the Dispensation of the Church.

7) The filling of the Holy Spirit: the means of executing this supernatural way of life is the filling of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 commands every believer to be filled with the Spirit; 1 John 1:9 specifies the mechanics. Under this concept, every believer is an ambassador for Christ; therefore, every believer is in full-time Christian service, and this does not require a “one-shot” dedication on your part. Your full-time Christians service may be different from someone else’s because he is in a barracks while you are in an office; he is in a shop - you are on a farm; he is in the home - you are on campus. Everyone has his own area of Christian service, and there is actually no such thing as a “layman,” unless it is a Christian who “lays” down on his job!

8) Salvation: as in all four Dispensations, salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).

The Age of Christ

The fourth and final Dispensation is the Millennium, or the Age of Christ. For one thousand years, Christ will rule on the earth (Revelation 20:4) as the OIKONOMOS or Administrator. This Dispensation is divided into several parts:

a. The Second advent of Christ: when Christ returns to the earth, the Millennial Age begins.

b. The Baptism of Fire: as one of the first activities of Christ when he returns to the earth, He separates surviving believers from unbelievers. All unbelievers are cast off the earth; all believers from the Tribulation go into the Millennium. John the Baptist prophesied concerning this in Matthew 3:11; the details are given in Matthew 24:36-41 and 25:31-46. So the Millennial civilisation starts with believers only. However, in the course of the repopulation of the Millennial earth, because people still possess an old sin nature, many will become negative and eventually reject Christ as saviour.

c. The Second Advent of Satan: this takes place at the end of the one thousand years. “… he [Satan] must be loosed a little season (Rev. 20:3). Satan persuades the unbelievers of the Millennium to rebel against perfect environment and the reign of Jesus Christ and leads the revolt against God. This demonstrates that perfect environment (or even good or better environment) is not the solution to man’s problems. The principle that improving environment solves man’s problems is one of the basic tenets of psychology and psychiatry. Socialism goes so far as to say: “We will improve your environment and you will be happy.” But a relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ is the only answer!

d. Destruction of the Universe: this will occur as recorded in 2 Peter 3:7-13, when the earth, as we know it, will not longer exist.

e. The Last Judgement: a final judgement of all unbelievers following the destruction of the earth. Jesus Christ will be the Judge, and the issue will be: do you stand on your own works or the work of Christ? Those who have rejected the judgement of their sins on the cross must accept the justice of God at the Great White Throne (rev. 20:11-15).

There are twelve general characteristics of the Age of Christ:

1) Perfect environment: for 1000 years there will be perfect conditions on the earth (Isaiah 11:1-9).

2) No religion (that is, the system whereby man by his own efforts and merits tries to gain salvation or the approbation of God). In order to have perfect environment, religion must be removed from the world. Satan is the father of religion (John 8:44); and since he will be imprisoned for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3), his ace trump - religion - goes with him! There will be no more cults with the “screwball” knocking at your door!

3) Great spirituality: there will be a maximum number of believers filled with the Holy Spirit, and ecstatics will be bona fide during this period (Joel 2:28,29).

4) Israel restored: Israel will be regathered universally as a nation under God. Although Israel is a nation today, it is the result of man’s work, not Gods. Many people are enthusiastic about the Jews going back to the Land, but it has no connection with Bible prophecy. The small group of Jews back in the Land today will be challenged until Christ returns!

The Jews are scattered today; they are under divine discipline; and whether they like it or not, and no matter how hard they try to change the situation, they will remains scattered. God promised that HE would restore them. When Christ returns to the earth, he will regather Israel (Isaiah 35:3-10); Ezekiel 20:34). Only Jesus Christ can break the fifth cycle of discipline.

5) True internationalism: the reign of Jesus Christ on earth will mean a universal rule of the world, but nations will still exist. At that point, there will finally be perfect world government (Psa. 72; Is. 11:1-5; Zech. 14:9).

6) Universal peace: for the first time since the Fall, the world will be free from conflict (Psa. 46:9; Hos. 2:18; Mic. 4:3).

“… and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up swordagainst nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isa. 2:4).

Only then will there be no need for strong national military forces; but this passage does not apply to us today. Jesus said in Matthew 24:6,7:

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

This means both hot and cold wars! So today, if people really believe the Bible, there is just one thing for a nation to do: prepare for war! Then if it does occur, it will hopefully be of short duration. The military establishment has been ridiculed and undermined to a great extent; yet it has served as a deterrent, and we have had a semblance of peace since Word War II. Actually, the only thing that keeps us alive is the grace of God. We would not be here at all if it were not for

a) believers who are taking in doctrine and witnessing;

b) missionaries who know the Lord and are going out with the Gospel; and

c) the fact that our nation as a whole is not anti-Semitic (Gen. 12:3).

There will be universal peace when Christ returns to the earth; until then there will always be the possibility of war.

7) Universal prosperity: free enterprise will reach an all-time high during the Millennium (Pa. 72:7, 16). How about that? Two chickens in every pot! But since people become bored even in prosperity, they will revolt against God’s perfect provisions at the end of the Millennium.

8) Universal knowledge of God: “… for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Is. 11:9).

9) Radical changes in nature: first of all, mankind will be loosened from the bondage of sin (Rom. 8:19,22). Secondly, since sin had an adverse effect on nature (Gen. 3:17,18), animals will lose their ferocity, as per Isaiah 11:6-8 and 65:25. These are the passages which say that the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid shall lie down side by side. The child shall put his hand in the spitting cobra’s den and not be hurt. (Don’t try it today - this is not the Millennium!) Thirdly, plant life will abound; so for those who like flowers, there is nothing like the Millennium (Isa. 35:1,2,7)!

10) No unbelievers: the Millennial civilisation begins with believers only. All Jewish and Gentile unbelievers are removed through the Baptism of Fire. The unbelieving Jews are judged according to Malachi 3:2-5; 4:1,2 and Ezekiel 20:37,38. The judgement of unbelieving Gentiles is given in Matthew 25:31-46. The word “nations” in verse 32 refers to Gentiles.

11) Extended life span (Isa. 65:20): justice will be available to all, including immediate punishment for crimes (Psa. 72:2-9; Isa. 11:3-5). Apparently the only reason people will die in the Millennium is the administration of capital punishment, which will be personally authorised by the Lord.

12) Salvation: as in every Dispensation, salvation will be by faith in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament sacrifices will be resumed as a memorial to the grace of God.

The Mystery

Time orientation demands that believers orient to the Dispensation in which they live. In Ephesians chapter three Paul explains why we must understand this portion of God’s revelation.

“if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, YE MAY UNDERSTAND my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit (Eph. 3:2-5).”

Our English word “mystery” is based on the Greek word MUSTERION. This, in turn, comes from a very ancient Homeric Greek word, MUSTES, which was used for a person initiated into a Greek fraternity of the ancient world. The verb form, MUEO, meant to learn the secrets and doctrines of that fraternity, which were known only to those who had been initiated. This concept is the use of MUSTERION in our passage. The Old Testament writers

from Genesis to Malachi did not know about the Church Age, as the Church is never mentioned in the Old Testament. The only two references in the Gospels are Matthew 8:17, where instructions involve an assembly of believers, and in Matthew 16:18, where Christ prophesied the future establishment of the Church, with Himself as the foundation. Peter verifies this is 1 Peter 2:4-9, thereby disqualifying any future claims that he founded the first church or was the first Pope!

All the Old Testament writers handled Dispensations in exactly the same way. They would cover the Jewish Age right down through the cross, resurrection and ascension of our Lord. Then they would skip over the Church Age and pick up in the Tribulation, Second Advent or the Millennium. The Church Age was yet to be revealed. Our first knowledge of the doctrines of the Church is stated in John, chapters 14 through 17, when Christ gave this information prophetically. Now, “good news” or the Gospel itself is not a mystery: the Gospel has always been clearly revealed and understood. Every reference to the “mystery” is a declaration of Church doctrine on a confidential basis for believers in this Dispensation (Rom. 16:25,26; 1 Cor. 15:51; Eph. 1:9; 5:32; Col. 1:25,26; 2:2; 1 Tim. 3:16;

Rev. 1:20).

“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in

heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God (Eph. 3:9,10).”

What was the purpose of keeping Church Age doctrine a mystery? We must understand that “principalities and powers in heavenly places” refer to the angelic creation. Although all Dispensations are related to the angelic conflict, the Church was kept “under wraps” before it became a reality as a protection against Satanic attack.

At one point during the Age of the Gentiles, certain of the fallen angels personally appeared on earth in an attempt to destroy God’s plan by infiltrating the human race. This relationship with human beings resulted in a “super race,” which was destroyed by God in the Flood (Gen. 6).

In the Age of the Jews, angels were used to communicate the Law and Bible doctrine. Every prophet in the Old Testament had a communicating or teaching angel (Gal. 3:19). In the Tribulation, angels will proclaim the Gospel to the human race (rev. 14:6).

In the Age of the Church, angels, for the first time in history, are the guardian servants of believers and also learn from them (1 Cor. 4:9); 1 Tim. 5:21; 1 Pet. 1:12). All believers are in full-time Christian service as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Since Christ is in heaven, we are His representatives here on earth. The emphasis is on the fact that by means of the Church, angels are watching us and learning every facet of God’s plan. This caught Satan completely off guard.

During the Millennium, the intensified part of the angelic conflict will be over. “Operation Footstool” (the defeat of Satan and the fallen angels), as a part of the angelic conflict, has been completed (Heb. 1:13). Perfect environment on the earth will be possible because there will be no angelic interference from Satan and his demons.

Thus we see that the believer’s orientation to God’s timetable is vitally necessary for understanding God’s Plan and purpose in any given generation. Dispensations provide the framework for understanding the Bible and rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Learn this lesson well, or you will always be vulnerable to the false teachings which arise from taking Scripture out of context!