Chapter 3The Blueprint For Creation DISPENSATIONSThat in the dispensation of the fullness of times. . . Ephesians 1:l0a. It is believed by many Christians that God's plan for the ages can be broken into parts called, "dispensations." A dispensation is a stage of God's plan which constitutes a distinctive stewardship or rule of life. Man's relationship towards God is not the same in every age. Each dispensation begins with man being divinely placed in a new position of privilege and responsibility, with each closing in failure by man, which results in righteous judgment from God. Seven dispensations are commonly recognized in Scripture [1]. Each dispensation is marked off by a new divine appointment and responsibilities at its beginning, and ending by divine judgment. Dispensationalism is derived from normal, or literal interpretation of the Bible. The graph illustrates the timeline of the dispensations. With the exception of the first and last dispensations, the other five dispensations are established in blood covenants that point to the Messiah. A covenant is similar to a contract, but is a bond held in a life and death agreement, and therefore much more binding. God never fails his agreement, but man does, hence the judgments. 
1. Dispensation of Innocence: Adamic Covenant This dispensation begins with the creation of man (Gen. 1:26-27) and continues until Genesis 3:6, when the forbidden fruit is eaten. Man was given the responsibility of being fruitful, subduing the earth, having dominion over the animals, eating vegetables, and caring for the Garden of Eden (Gen. 1:28-29; 2:15). The judgment was that man was to work by the sweat of his brow in a cursed world wherein he would eventually die (Gen. 3:17-19). Woman was to bear children in pain and to be under the rule of the man (Gen. 3:16). There was no blood sacrifice in the beginning since Adam and Eve were made perfect. (It has been suggested by some that God's own blood was given to Adam, hence a blood covenant existed. Since Scriptures make no direct reference to this, I leave it out.) 2. Dispensation of Conscience: Antediluvian World Beginning with Genesis 3:7, which is the effect of sin on Adam and Eve in making them aware of evil, and ends with Genesis 8:19, which is the landing of Noah's ark on Mt. Ararat. During this dispensation, man was required to live according to his conscience, and the few commands of God given him. Conscience could convict, but not bring victory. Right and wrong are written in the heart of man, and the conscience confirms it. "[It] shows the works of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness" (Rom. 2:15); but the conscience by itself is insufficient to guide man in right and wrong behavior, "their conscience being weak is defiled" (1 Cor. 8:7). The judgment was the destruction of the entire world in the flood (Gen. 7:11-24), save only Noah and his family in the ark filled with animal representatives. The blood covenant was given in Genesis 3:21 when God gave Adam and Eve coats of skin. The shed blood covered their nakedness (i.e., sin's) with the righteousness of the promised Messiah (Gen. 3:15) [2]. 3. Dispensation of Human Government: Noahic Covenant This dispensation covers the period from Genesis 8:20, which is when Noah builds an altar for the Lord just after landing on Mt. Ararat, and goes to Genesis 11:9, which is the confounding of language and their scattering from the Tower of Babel. The essence of human government is established when God gives man the right of capital punishment to murderers (Gen. 9:5-6). It is important to note that the dispensations of conscience and human government continues while the Lord institutes new dispensations with new peoples. The judgment was the confounding of the language and their being scattered abroad over the earth (Gen. 11:7-8). The blood covenant occurs in Genesis 8:20 when Noah sacrificed the seventh clean beast and fowl as a burnt offering. 4 Dispensation of Promise: Abrahamic Covenant Beginning with Genesis 11:10, which is the genealogy of Shem to Abraham, this dispensation extends through to Exodus 19:2, which is when Moses camps with the children of Israel at the base of Mt. Sinai. In it man's responsibility was to trust in the promises of God given to Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant is one of the most important covenants in the Bible. It includes the provision that Israel would be a nation forever, have title to the land forever, be blessed in spiritual things, be under divine protection, and have the sign of circumcision. It was both gracious in principle and unconditional as it didn't depend on human faithfulness, but rather upon the faithfulness of God. It continues until the end of human history, and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ under the 6th and 7th dispensations. There is no judgment meted out because Abraham willingly offered up his son Isaac for sacrifice by command of the Lord (Gen. 22:16-18). The blood covenant occurred in Genesis 15:9-18 when Abraham cut these animals in half: the 3 year old heifer; she goat; ram; turtle dove; and young pigeon. 5. Dispensation of the Law: Mosaic Covenant Beginning in Exodus 19:3, which is when Moses ascends Mt. Sinai to receive the Law from God, and extends up to Acts 2:1 when the Holy Ghost is given and the Church Age begins. The Mosaic law was directed to Israel only, although any Gentile could come into the covenant as well. But the rest of the Gentile world were not judged by its standard. The law is divided into 3 major parts: 1) the commandments, which express the will of God; 2) the judgments, which governed the social and civil life of Israel; and, 3) the ordinances, which directs the religious life of Israel. Government in Israel was a theocracy, a government by God through His prophets, priests, and (later) kings. The Mosaic covenant was only a temporary covenant until Christ should come (Gal. 3:24-25). It was a conditional dispensation, dependent upon obedience for blessing. Judgment came when the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered and captured (2 Kings 17:18) by Sargon II of Assyria in 721 B.C., and the southern kingdom of Judah was likewise conquered and captured (2 Kings 25:21) by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 606 B.C. The establishment of the Mosaic covenant was consecrated in Exodus 24:4-8 when Moses built 12 pillars, one for each tribe, and sacrificed oxen with the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar, Torah, and the people. 6. Dispensation of Grace: Christian Covenant Beginning at Acts 2, which was the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church, it continues throughout the New Testament until the Rapture of the church (1 Thess. 4:16). This dispensation is directed to the church alone, which includes all who are born again. It is salvation by faith alone. The standard of grace is elevated above all dispensations. Failure is evident under grace, however, in that it neither produces a worldwide church, nor a triumphant church as history has shown. In fact, a great apostasy is predicted by Scripture in the professing church (1 Tm. 4:1-3). According to pre-tribulation doctrines the church that is raptured will be judged in heaven at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Co. 5:10-11), whereas the professing (i.e., those who are not born again, but consider themselves to be Christians) church will be judged in the period between the rapture and the coming of Christ on earth. Post-tribulation doctrine teaches that the rapture will occur at the visible second coming of Christ. On earth, the great tribulation will be the judgment of the church's failure and will be upon both Jew and Christian alike (Rev. 6-18). The blood covenant was established when Jesus was crucified (Matt. 27:35-50, Mark 15:24-37, Luke 23:33-46, & John 19:18-30), and was given freely by God Himself. 7. Dispensation of the Kingdom: Christ's Millennial Reign on Earth Beginning with the second coming of Christ (Mt. 24, Rev. 19:11), and culminating at the end of 1,000 years. In the kingdom, human responsibility is to obey the King, who will rule with a rod of iron (Is. 11:4 & Rev. 19:15). It will be a theocracy, that is a kingdom of God, and there will be a renewed sacrificial system and priesthood (Is. 66:21-23; Ez. 40-48) by the Jewish people for all the people living during the millennium who had not accepted the blood of Christ [3] before the rapture. Satan will be bound, but the kingdom will also fail in that there will be a rebellion by those under the Israeli system at the end when the sinners have the freedom to choose evil, because Satan will be loosed again for a short season. The divine judgment that follows is the destruction of all creation by fire (2 Pt. 3:7, 10-12; Rev. 20:9), followed by the new heaven and earth for eternity. Every dispensation demonstrates that man, given to self will, is doomed to failure. Even under a perfect government during the millennial reign, given the opportunity, sinners will rebel against God in the vain attempt to pursue the promise of self gratification. What does God accomplish with these dispensations? He teaches our free wills that obedience to Him, given voluntarily, results in the joy and peace that self gratification promises. In the end, God has a family that loves and obeys him freely, and not by force or automation as a robot. God has the pleasure of being known and loved for the wonderful being that He truly is. |