Dispense
Key 2: Dispensationalism.
I believe that taking a literal interpretation of the prophetic scriptures
leads to Dispensationalism, Pre-Millennialism, and Futurism. We will explain these terms in due course.
Dispensationalism is based on a literal interpretation of scripture. The word sometimes translated ‘dispensation’ is used for the management, administration or stewardship of a household. Dispensationalism, in its basic form, describes how God manages and rules the world. All time is divided into dispensations (extended periods under a definite kind of administration of God). When God intervenes to change the way He runs His household, there is a dispensational change. Many things remain the same, but whatever is to change is explained by God at the time.
This pattern is reflected in the phrase ‘the times (chronos) and seasons (kairos)’ of God, which we are expected to understand (1Thessalonians 5:1). ‘Chronos’ is an extended period of time; whereas ‘kairos’ usually describes a special moment in time, or a short transitional time, when a major change is effected, bringing about a new ‘chronos’. This has application to our own lives, but as far as history and prophecy is concerned, each major Divine ‘kairos’ intervention (either of judgement or of grace) moves God’s dealings with man into a new phase, bringing in a new dispensation. Thus, understanding the dispensations helps us to keep track of God’s progressive revelation through time.
God began by dealing with mankind as a whole (the Age of the Gentiles), then after 2,000 years He started through Abraham to form a special, separated Nation (the Age of Israel), and then after another 2000 years, He formed a new body of people called out of both Israel and the nations (the Age of the Church). Then after 6000 years Christ will be personally present on earth ruling as King over all 3 groups for 1000 years (the Age of Christ), thus completing the Divine Week of 7 DAYS or 7000 years of time. Finally, at the end of time all the redeemed will be united into one People of God for all Eternity (Ephesians 1:10).
See also pages 146-148 for more on God’s overall structure of Time.Thus in the outworking of God’s Plan of Redemption and in His management of mankind, there are 3 distinct groups that God deals with: “the Gentiles, Israel and the Church” (1Corinthians 10:32).
The focus of God’s Plan of Redemption often changes from group to group as the dispensations change. God has a distinct plan, purpose and programme for each group and therefore manages them in the various dispensations according to different principles and covenants (although they also have much in common for there is one God working out one ultimate purpose).
Thus dispensationalism distinguishes between PERIODS and PEOPLES, being careful to discern the differing times, seasons and peoples of God. When we study a passage, we should consider of which dispensation and to which people it is speaking. This will gives us a clearer understanding of scripture. This is particularly important in studying prophecy. Each dispensation has it distinctive characteristics by which it can be recognised.
These Dispensations are mostly self-evident from the Bible:
The First 2000 Years of Redemption History (the Age of the Gentiles).
*Kairos: CREATION (Gen1) and the Edenic Covenant (Gen 1:28-30, 2:15-17).
1. The Dispensation of INNOCENCE (Genesis 2). 40 days.
*Kairos: The FALL and the resulting CURSE upon Adam (Genesis 3:14-19).
2. The Dispensation of CONSCIENCE (Genesis 4-6). 1600 years.
*Kairos: The FLOOD and the NOAHIC COVENANT (Genesis 7:1-9:17).
3. The Dispensation of HUMAN GOVERNMENT (Genesis 9-11). 400 years.
*Kairos: The ABRAHAMIC COVENANT (introduced in Genesis 12:1-3 and developed in Gen15:1-21, 17:1-21, 26:2-5, 28:10-17). It is the mother of all the later covenants, through which God moved His plans of redemption and kingdom forward. The covenants before this were made to all mankind,but now God focuses on Abraham and His seed.
The Second 2000 Years of Redemption History (the Age of Israel).
4. The Dispensation of PROMISE (Genesis 12 - Exodus 11). 500 years.
*Kairos: The EXODUS and the MOSAIC COVENANT (Exodus-Deuteronomy).
This covenant through Moses was given purely to Israel, as a temporary covenant in preparation for the eternal new-covenant that Christ would bring.
5. The Dispensation of the LAW (Numbers - end of the O.T). 1500 years.
(AD 26-33: The Time of Messiah - the time of the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ was a special 7 years that was to be the last 7 years of the Age of Israel. In this transitional time, Christ fulfilled the Old-Covenant and founded the New-Covenant in its place. Due to Israel’s rejection of Messiah, these last 7 years of the Age of Israel were cancelled and rerun as the Tribulation. This is the origin of the Tribulation).
*Kairos: The FIRST COMING of CHRIST (His Death, Resurrection and establishment of the NEW-COVENANT in AD 33 (see the Gospels).
The Third 2000 Years of Redemption History (The Church-Age).
6. The Dispensation of the CHURCH (the Mystery). 2000 years.
(Acts & Epistles & Revelation 2,3)
*Kairos: The RAPTURE (John 14:1-3, 1Corinthians15:50-57, 1Thess 4:13-18).
(The TRIBULATION. A 7 year period of world-wide judgement (Revelation 4-18). This is the rerun of the last 7 years of the Age of Israel (AD26-33).
*Kairos: The Second Coming of CHRIST (Revelation 19).
The Final 1000 Years of Redemption History (the Age of Christ).
7. The Dispensation of the MILLENNIUM (the Messianic Age, 1000 years)(Revelation 20:1-6)
*Kairos: Gog & Magog. Great White Throne. The New Creation (Rev 20:7-15).
8. Eternity.The Dispensation of the FULLNESS OF TIMES (Eph1:10,KJV).
God’s purpose for the dispensations is described in Acts 17:26-28:
"He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him.” The dispensational ‘times and seasons’ are fixed by Father’s own authority (Acts1:7), for He is the Planner.
Hebrews 1:1,2: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets (the different dispensations of the past), has in these last days spoken to us by His Son (the present dispensation of the New-Covenant personally mediated by Jesus Christ) whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds (literally, ‘the ages’ or dispensations).” Although God’s Word (revelation) has progressed and His adminstration has changed through the Ages, yet the basis of man’s salvation and pleasing God in every dispensation is FAITH (see Hebrews 11 which gives examples of believers from all Ages).
Thus dispensationalism helps us to not confuse Israel and the Church and to understand the flow of history from God’s viewpoint. It helps us to discern whether prophecies are speaking of the Church-Age, the Tribulation, the Millennium or the Eternal-State or one of the ‘Kairos’ interventions of God,such as the Second-Coming of Christ.
This book gives a dispensational view of Bible-Prophecy. However, I should point out that some reject dispensationalism out of hand, because some dispensationalists have misused and misapplied it to support false beliefs.We need to separate the baby from the dirty bathwater!
One misuse of dispensationalism is the invention another dispensational break within the Church-Age when the canon of scripture was completed to justify Cessationalism (the belief that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit have now passed away). This has no scriptural basis and has been a source of much unbelief in the Church, blocking the flow of God’s supernatural power. Another ‘dispensational’ error is the relegation of the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels to ‘Old-Covenant’ teaching (and therefore not applicable to us). In fact, Jesus was not just fulfilling the Old (Mosaic) Covenant in His life and teaching, but He was also founding the New-Covenant and His teaching is the foundation for the New-Covenant Age, which the apostles built upon.
This is proved by Matthew 28:19,20 where Jesus commands the Church to:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations....teaching them to observe all things that I (Jesus) have commanded you (as recorded in the Gospels); and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the Age (the Age or Dispensation of the Church)." This proves that these instructions apply to all believers for the whole of the Church-Age. The Holy-Spirit inspired the apostles to record Jesus’ teaching for the Church-Age (John 14:26), and also led them into further truth (the Epistles) that built upon that foundation (John 16:13). Paul deliberately builds his teaching on the teaching of Jesus (see 1Cor 7:10,12). John 14-17 gives the foundational teaching of the New Covenant. Thus the Epistles should be understood as building on the foundation of the revelation of Jesus in His Person, Works and Words as recorded in the Gospels.
PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. Dispensationalism helps us to follow God’s progressive revelation to man through history, and to interpret scripture accordingly. God revealed His purposes in time. Therefore His revelation to man grew over time. Like reading any book, the Bible is best understood by reading from the beginning. The writer introduces the main themes and develops them, so that some things are unclear early on, but made clearer later on. Thus the New Testament makes many things clearer that were foreshadowed in the Old-Testament (but without contradiction). The New is
in the Old concealed. The Old is in the New revealed. We need the Old to understand the New and vice versa. The New helps helps us greatly in understanding how the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled, as much
(but not all) Old-Testament prophecy is fulfilled in the New.
There are two basic ways of interpreting prophecy corresponding to the
two ways of comparing and combining the Old and New Testaments.
1. Dispensationalists see the Bible as built on the foundation of the Old Testament and so we start there - reading it as it was written. Of course many things will be unclear and some completely hidden in the Old-Testament. But the main themes should be clear. God, just like the writer of a novel, reveals Himself progressively; and so to understand His Book rightly, we must read it from the beginning and start with the Old Testament prophets. They saw that all history was moving towards the Coming of the Messiah as the King of Kings who would personally set up a literal, visible and political Kingdom of God on earth in great power and glory (the Messianic Kingdom).
They predicted that the Messiah (the Son of David) would reign over the earth from Jerusalem with Israel exalted among the nations. This belief is called Pre-Millennialism (see Key 3) and upholds a literal interpretation of the prophetic Scriptures. Thus dispensationalists accept the prophetic scenario that the Old-Testament presents and expects the New Testament revelation to fit within that. The New is properly understood by fitting it upon the Old Testament foundation. It may make many things clear that were unclear and reveal some completely new things, but it does not nullify the Old Testament truth. Now in reading the Bible we often tell people to start with the New because it’s an easier way to get started, but if we are to officially interpret it, like any book, we should follow and accept its thought from the beginning.
2. By emphasising that the New clarifies the Old, some say we must reinterpret and spiritualise the Old to fit it into the New, resulting in breaking the key rule of literal interpretation. So, since Christ established the Church instead of the Messianic Kingdom they say the Church fulfils those prophecies and God will not establish this Kingdom, even though the New-Testament also clearly teaches it (Rev20). They say that the New-Testament emphasis on the Church as God's covenant people means we should rewrite Old Testament references to Israel and the Kingdom as applying to the Church. But, would you take this approach in reading a novel? Just because later chapters may bring new peviously unseen developments and reveal new meanings in earlier chapters, does not allow you to rewrite the earlier chapters. They must stand.