Lesson for August 18, 2021
The Doctrine of Dispensations
A dispensation is defined as a period of human history expressed in terms of divine viewpoint and divine revelation. It is the administration of God’s purpose for the human race so that a person can come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and live their spiritual life. The Word of God is the source for looking at history from God’s viewpoint. Therefore, “dispensation” is a theological term to help us understand the various ways God has dealt with mankind and how He will deal with them in the future. Dispensation was used by the apostle Paul in the presentation of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age. (Ephesians 1:10, 3:2; Colossians 1:25)
God’s essence and character never change, however, the way in which He deals with mankind does change. The various changes in administration prove to Satan that God is just in condemning him to the Lake of Fire. Regardless of God’s dealing with mankind, God’s grace and perfect justice are proven over and over again. Therefore, for us as believers and serious students of the Word of God, it is essential that we understand dispensations in order to accurately interpret the Word of God. Failure to do so results in misunderstanding and creates apparent contradictions. Salvation is the same in every dispensation – faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, as He was revealed in teach period of history. For example, in the Old Testament, Jesus was revealed as Jehovah.
God’s plan is not the same for every dispensation. In fact, the plan is very different in each dispensation. Old Testament believers were under the ritual plan of God written in the Law of Moses. In the dispensation of Israel, sacrifices were used by God to illustrate what we have as the Rebound Technique of I John 1:9. In the Age of the Gentiles, the father was the priest and represented his family and servants before God. In the Church Age, we represent ourselves before God. In the dispensation of Israel, believers were commanded to keep the Mosaic Law. (Romans 6:14, 7:4-6)
In our dispensation, Christ has already fulfilled the Law of Moses and we now have a new law, the Law of Christ (grace). In the dispensation of the Gentiles and Israel, the Holy Spirit indwelt very few believers and only for a specific task and was taken away when the tasks were completed. In the Church Age, the Trinity indwells all believers permanently. In the dispensation of the Millennium, Jesus Christ will reside on earth and rule the world system, not Satan. In the dispensation of Israel, the Church Age was a total mystery. In the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, Christ offered the millennial kingdom to Israel, but they rejected it. Therefore, much of what is in the Gospels is not written to believers of this age, though it all has application as does each book of the Bible. In the dispensation of Israel, believers used the Faith-Rest Technique to fulfill God’s plan; we use the filling (power and guidance) of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine to fulfill His plan.
In every dispensation, God has a plan for believers, and in grace He provides the means for fulfilling that plan. However, God’s plan of salvation never changes. Salvation has always been and will always be by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Only the “mechanics” of the spiritual life have changed from one dispensation to the next. God provides messengers for each period such as the father in the Age of the Gentiles, prophets, priests and kings in the Age of Israel, pastors in the Church Age, and Jesus Christ in the Millennium.
There are a few different words in Greek for dispensation which help us understand the concept.
The first word is “oikonomia,” which means the administration of a business or an estate. The second word is “aion” and is generally translated “age” and refers to a specific category of human history (ex. Age of Israel or Church Age). (Romans 16:25, Ephesians 3:9 and Colossians 1:26) The third word is “kairos” meaning epoch or era, which is a period of time. This word is used for organizing historical events into dispensations. (I Thessalonians 5:1; Romans 13:11, 8:18, 11:5) It is used the Age of Israel in Ephesians 2:11-12. In Luke 21:24, it is used for the “times of the Gentiles,” which is the same as the Church Age. The fourth word is “chronos,” which means time as a succession of events (chronology of human history) In Romans 16:25, it is used for all dispensations prior to the Church Age and for the Church Age itself in I Peter 1:20.
We call the first two dispensations Theocentric (the Age of the Gentiles and the Age of Israel) since they were before Jesus Christ was revealed in His humanity. God is the focal point of these dispensations. The second two dispensations are called Christocentric (the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age) since they are after Jesus Christ was revealed in His humanity and He is the focal point of these dispensations. The third two dispensations are called Eschatological (the Tribulation and the Millennium) since they deal with future events occurring after the Rapture.
The first Theocentric dispensation was the dispensation of the Gentiles from the fall of man to Abraham. There were several great disasters on the earth during this period, such as the Flood and the Tower of Babel. The second Theocentric dispensation was the dispensation of Israel from Abraham to the birth of Christ. This period sees the creation of the new race, the Jews, which began with Abraham. It includes the history of the Jews from Abraham to Moses including the Exodus from Egypt including the Mosaic Law, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Palestinian Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant. The New Covenant to Israel will be fulfilled in the Millennium.
The first Christocentric dispensation was the Hypostatic Union (deity and humanity coming together in the Person of Jesus), which ran from Christ’s birth in B.C. 4 to the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ, a period of 33 years. This period is covered in the Four Gospels.
The second Christocentric dispensation is the dispensation of the Church Age which runs from the Day of Pentecost until the Rapture of the Church, a time unknown by all but God. The Church Age is divided into two parts: (1) the pre-Canon of Scripture period, the time of the Book of Acts and temporary spiritual gifts, runs from 30 – 96 A.D. (2) the post-Canon of Scripture period, which runs from 96 A.D. to the Rapture of the Church. This is the period of the epistles of the New Testament and permanent spiritual gifts.
The first Eschatological dispensation is the dispensation of the Tribulation which runs from the Rapture of the Church to the Second Coming of Christ and is technically the end of the Age of Israel. From the Book of Revelation, it is classified as the time of Satan’s desperation, lasting seven years. It was prophesied in the Old Testament, as well as, by Christ in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24-25, in most of His parables, and by John in the Book of Revelation.
The second Eschatological dispensation is the Millennium and the reign of Christ on earth which runs from the Second Coming of Christ to the end of human history, lasting 1000 years. It is the time of the fulfillment of unconditional covenants to Israel, their restoration as a nation in the Promised Land and client nation status. It is a time of perfect environment on the earth.
The final judgments of history occur after the Millennium: 1) the judgment of Satan, the fallen angels and all unbelievers who are all cast into the Lake of Fire. The Eternal State includes: (1) all believers in resurrection bodies forever (2) the destruction of the present universe and (3) the creation of a new universe.
Theocentric Dispensations
Dispensation of the Gentiles – Genesis 1-11
- From Adam to Abraham
- Patriarchal priesthood
- One Language: unknown
- One Race: Gentile
- One Culture
Dispensation of Israel – Genesis 12 thru Malachi 4
- From Abraham to the Birth of Jesus Christ
- Jewish nation established
- Levitical priesthood
- Law of Moses (includes the Ten Commandments)
- Many Races
- Many Languages (Tower of Babel)
- Conditional and Unconditional Covenants given to Israel
- Holy Spirit temporarily indwells the believer (enduement)
Dispensation of the Hypostatic Union – Matthew 1 thru Acts 1
- From the Birth of Jesus Christ to the ascension of Jesus Christ
- Christ proclaims the Kingdom to Israel
- Israel rejects the Messiah
- Christ prophesies the Church Age
- Christ lives a sinless life as an example to believers
- New Covenant
- Death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
- Christ fulfills the Mosaic Law
Christocentric Dispensations
- Dispensation of the Church – Acts 2 thru Revelation 4
- From Pentecost to the Rapture
- Royal Priesthood of the believer
- A mystery in the Old Testament revealed
- Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer
- Canon of Scripture completed
- Law of Christ
- Exit of the Church as the bride of Christ (Rapture)
Eschatological Dispensations
- Dispensation of the Tribulation – Revelation 5-20
- From the Rapture to the Second Coming
- A seven-year period continued from the Dispensation of Israel
- Holy Spirit removed (all restraint of sin is gone)
- Satan attempts to set up his own millennium (world peace, etc.) and fails
- Anti-Christ is revealed after 3 ½ years and sets up his throne in the Temple
- Time of great persecution of the Jews
- The battle of Armageddon
- Satan bound for a thousand years
Dispensation of the Millennium – Revelation 21-22
- From the Second Coming to the Great White Throne Judgment
- Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest
- Christ rules on earth
- Universal peace
- Universal prosperity
- Longevity of life
- Perfect environment
- All covenants to Israel fulfilled
- Universal knowledge of God