A helpful overview found:
[In "rightly dividing the Word of truth" (II Tim.2:15), we can see how God has worked through periods of time to test man under different conditions to prove his heart and teach lessons. Man needed these trials to learn his frailty and dependence , and the power by God over all conditions; and the heavenly host should see the mercies and longsuffering of God to sinful man, tried incrementally under blessing and privilege. It is a dispensing of God's management, and very revealing to behold! - R. L. DeWitt ]
Out of the endless reaches of eternity the Creator-God: Jehovah --'ever self-existing one', spoke a world into existence. This was the beginning of time, and God divided time concerning man into seven periods, known as 'the Dispensing' --administrations, or ages, or days. It is important to know this to understand the Holy Scriptures. The days of man are numbered from about 4,000 B.C., according to the historian: Ussher, and verified.
The Bible is concerned with mankind, and the Dispensations we find are all periods of God's testing of man, who was created a living and everlasting soul with a free-will, then he fell in sin (note Gen. 2). God for-knew that, and wanted mankind to learn by experience to trust and love God as their Father. Five periods have passed showing man's rebellion in each and God's judgment. We are now living in the sixth dispensation, near to the end. The Word of God teaches it will also end in man's failure and God's judgment, but as in every age God has provided salvation and hope for sinful man. One should be sure, therefore, that his or her eternal soul is saved while there is yet time.
From the beginning God has tried man under various conditions; and we see after the worldwide flood (a type of cleansing of the earth as will be again during the Tribulation time yet to come) He began anew with Noah and later Abraham and descendants. He spoke of His "only begotten Son", even in the Old Testament, who would come to provide redemption for fallen man and reign over the world. In the Old Testament of the Bible the animal sacrifices were required for a covering of sin before God, and all pointed forward to the sacrifice God's Son would make one day to remove the condemnation, and reconcile "whosoever will" (John 3:16; Heb.1:1-3; Rev.22:17). When He came the first time it was in meekness "as a Lamb" (John 1:29, 36), and He was rejected, hated, and crucified. God allowed it to provide redemption (at a great cost to God-the Father) through His death for sin, and His blood shed for cleansing (Lev.17:11; Heb.9); but when He comes again as promised it will be "as the Lion", and He will not seek acceptance.
When the Church ---the ecclesia, meaning "called out assembly of God" and viewed as the "Bride of Christ", is taken up to Heaven, God's wrath will then be poured out on this world such as never before. The door of grace will be closed. Prophetically, that could happen today, because all that is foretold to happen prior to that time has occurred.
The seventh and final period of God's administration is yet to come, which is the Millennium, or one thousand year reign of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, over the earth. At the close of that perfect and peaceful time man will yet rebel against God, and there will be a final judgment ---then TIME is no longer. The testing will end and eternity is before us. Righteousness and love shall prevail!
It would be helpful to look more closely at the seven Dispensations to see God's work among men. Here are some of the verses marking the Dispensations and showing in brief God's testing, man's failure, the grace of God, and judgment:
1. INNOCENCE: Gen.1:2-31; Gen.2:16-17; Gen.3:22-24. Under a trial regarding sin in the state of innocence, man proved his heart was not devoted to God; and he reasoned in his mind with Satan, the tempter, and lost. He fell in sin and his nature was corrupted. This disobedience brought righteous judgment from a just and Holy God, who cannot overlook sin, but who as a loving God could care for His own. Man was expelled from the garden at Eden to protect him from more severe consequences there, as He said, and allow him to live by his own wit, as he chose.
2. CONSCIENCE: Gen.4 & 5; Gen.6:5,11,12; Gen.7:23. Disobedience again showed itself, as man forgot God and began to live for his fleshly pleasures. His sin became so bad that God destroyed creation with a flood about 2300 B.C., but spared eight souls (Heb.11:7). It is important to understand that God would have been completely justified to destroy all, for all were sinners, but one man in his humility found grace in the sight of God (Noah). It was still the purpose of God to have faithful children to love and who would learn to love Him (John 4:23-24).
3. GOVERNMENT: Gen.8:18; Gen.9:1-2 Gen.11:1-9. Man set forth to organize and build up his own way without God, and so God gave them languages and scattered them to put a difference between men (example I Cor. 11:19).
4. PROMISE: Gen.12:1-3; Ex.1:13-14. The covenant of promise from God to a people that followed, was not esteemed, and man began to supplant and scheme, so God let these chosen people endure bondage for a time.
5. LAW: Ex.19:8; II Kings 17:20; II Kings 25:21; Isa.11:12. After God delivered this people of Israel from bondage He told them He would make them a kingdom of priests if they worshipped and followed Him (I Sam.8:7; I Sam. 12:13-19). They rather chose to have a king and live under law, but failed in that and even set up graven images to worship, so later in their rebellion God delivered them into captivity, and after continued rebellious ways over the years, He scattered them in the world, and until a day yet to come as shown in Revelation ---note Rev. 7 and Rev. 14 to come when they shall be restored as a nation (Rom.10:21; Rom.11).
6. GRACE: Matt.1:18-23; Matt.24; Matt.27:50-54; John 20; Acts 1:10-11; Eph.3:1-7; I Thess.4:16-17; Rev.6. God sent forth "His only begotten Son", and when Israel rejected Him, He rent the "vail of the temple", and opened a day of grace to all men. Today man is still rejecting the grace of God, and this age will end in a period of "great tribulation" for the world, after the Lord calls His Bride (the church) home to Himself (seemingly soon now)..
7. KINGDOM: Isa.32:1; Matt.24:27-31; Matt.25:31; Rev.19:11-21; Rev.20:1-6; Rev.20:
7-15. When the seven years of tribulation ends, Christ will return to take His rightful place as "King of kings", and reign. He will not then look to man to receive Him. The Word of God says "every knee shall bow". After this perfect time of one thousand years (the Millennium), with Satan held in chains, man will yet again listen to Satan when he is loosed for awhile. Then God will commence the final judgment. Satan and sin, and all followers of the evil one, will be cast into hell-fire for ever. God says He will then make a new heaven and a new earth, for His heavenly people (the church---bride), and His earthly new people under restored Israel.
Make no mistake about it, friends, we all are sinners and deserve condemnation, but the grace of God stands ever ready to receive "whosoever will" come and believe (John 3:15-19).
One will hear teaching and diverse ministry along our pathway from many sources . One should always test it by the Word of God (see John 5:39; Acts 17:11; II Tim.2:15; II Tim.3: 16; Titus 1:9). Whether it is profitable often depends, too, on our state of soul. This paper is prepared with much care and prayer to be a help and honor the Lord. Comments and questions are welcome.
SPECIAL COMMENT: It should be noted that some understanding of several periods or dispensations ---God’s administrations in the Word of God, is found in writings of very early Bible scholars, though a more thorough revelation and explanation of seven periods was brought to light by J. N. Darby in the early 1800’s.
– RLD: from Biblecounsel.net on the Internet. --GM19; 6/2001; add 03/2018.
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T h e D i s p e n s a t i o n s
[In "rightly dividing the Word of truth" (II Tim.2:15), we can see how God has worked through periods of time to test man under different conditions to prove his heart and teach lessons. Man needed these trials to learn his frailty and dependence , and the power by God over all conditions; and the heavenly host should see the mercies and longsuffering of God to sinful man, tried incrementally under blessing and privilege. It is a dispensing of God's management, and very revealing to behold! - R. L. DeWitt ]
Out of the endless reaches of eternity the Creator-God: Jehovah --'ever self-existing one', spoke a world into existence. This was the beginning of time, and God divided time concerning man into seven periods, known as 'the Dispensing' --administrations, or ages, or days. It is important to know this to understand the Holy Scriptures. The days of man are numbered from about 4,000 B.C., according to the historian: Ussher, and verified.
The Bible is concerned with mankind, and the Dispensations we find are all periods of God's testing of man, who was created a living and everlasting soul with a free-will, then he fell in sin (note Gen. 2). God for-knew that, and wanted mankind to learn by experience to trust and love God as their Father. Five periods have passed showing man's rebellion in each and God's judgment. We are now living in the sixth dispensation, near to the end. The Word of God teaches it will also end in man's failure and God's judgment, but as in every age God has provided salvation and hope for sinful man. One should be sure, therefore, that his or her eternal soul is saved while there is yet time.
From the beginning God has tried man under various conditions; and we see after the worldwide flood (a type of cleansing of the earth as will be again during the Tribulation time yet to come) He began anew with Noah and later Abraham and descendants. He spoke of His "only begotten Son", even in the Old Testament, who would come to provide redemption for fallen man and reign over the world. In the Old Testament of the Bible the animal sacrifices were required for a covering of sin before God, and all pointed forward to the sacrifice God's Son would make one day to remove the condemnation, and reconcile "whosoever will" (John 3:16; Heb.1:1-3; Rev.22:17). When He came the first time it was in meekness "as a Lamb" (John 1:29, 36), and He was rejected, hated, and crucified. God allowed it to provide redemption (at a great cost to God-the Father) through His death for sin, and His blood shed for cleansing (Lev.17:11; Heb.9); but when He comes again as promised it will be "as the Lion", and He will not seek acceptance.
When the Church ---the ecclesia, meaning "called out assembly of God" and viewed as the "Bride of Christ", is taken up to Heaven, God's wrath will then be poured out on this world such as never before. The door of grace will be closed. Prophetically, that could happen today, because all that is foretold to happen prior to that time has occurred.
The seventh and final period of God's administration is yet to come, which is the Millennium, or one thousand year reign of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, over the earth. At the close of that perfect and peaceful time man will yet rebel against God, and there will be a final judgment ---then TIME is no longer. The testing will end and eternity is before us. Righteousness and love shall prevail!
It would be helpful to look more closely at the seven Dispensations to see God's work among men. Here are some of the verses marking the Dispensations and showing in brief God's testing, man's failure, the grace of God, and judgment:
1. INNOCENCE: Gen.1:2-31; Gen.2:16-17; Gen.3:22-24. Under a trial regarding sin in the state of innocence, man proved his heart was not devoted to God; and he reasoned in his mind with Satan, the tempter, and lost. He fell in sin and his nature was corrupted. This disobedience brought righteous judgment from a just and Holy God, who cannot overlook sin, but who as a loving God could care for His own. Man was expelled from the garden at Eden to protect him from more severe consequences there, as He said, and allow him to live by his own wit, as he chose.
2. CONSCIENCE: Gen.4 & 5; Gen.6:5,11,12; Gen.7:23. Disobedience again showed itself, as man forgot God and began to live for his fleshly pleasures. His sin became so bad that God destroyed creation with a flood about 2300 B.C., but spared eight souls (Heb.11:7). It is important to understand that God would have been completely justified to destroy all, for all were sinners, but one man in his humility found grace in the sight of God (Noah). It was still the purpose of God to have faithful children to love and who would learn to love Him (John 4:23-24).
3. GOVERNMENT: Gen.8:18; Gen.9:1-2 Gen.11:1-9. Man set forth to organize and build up his own way without God, and so God gave them languages and scattered them to put a difference between men (example I Cor. 11:19).
4. PROMISE: Gen.12:1-3; Ex.1:13-14. The covenant of promise from God to a people that followed, was not esteemed, and man began to supplant and scheme, so God let these chosen people endure bondage for a time.
5. LAW: Ex.19:8; II Kings 17:20; II Kings 25:21; Isa.11:12. After God delivered this people of Israel from bondage He told them He would make them a kingdom of priests if they worshipped and followed Him (I Sam.8:7; I Sam. 12:13-19). They rather chose to have a king and live under law, but failed in that and even set up graven images to worship, so later in their rebellion God delivered them into captivity, and after continued rebellious ways over the years, He scattered them in the world, and until a day yet to come as shown in Revelation ---note Rev. 7 and Rev. 14 to come when they shall be restored as a nation (Rom.10:21; Rom.11).
6. GRACE: Matt.1:18-23; Matt.24; Matt.27:50-54; John 20; Acts 1:10-11; Eph.3:1-7; I Thess.4:16-17; Rev.6. God sent forth "His only begotten Son", and when Israel rejected Him, He rent the "vail of the temple", and opened a day of grace to all men. Today man is still rejecting the grace of God, and this age will end in a period of "great tribulation" for the world, after the Lord calls His Bride (the church) home to Himself (seemingly soon now)..
7. KINGDOM: Isa.32:1; Matt.24:27-31; Matt.25:31; Rev.19:11-21; Rev.20:1-6; Rev.20:
7-15. When the seven years of tribulation ends, Christ will return to take His rightful place as "King of kings", and reign. He will not then look to man to receive Him. The Word of God says "every knee shall bow". After this perfect time of one thousand years (the Millennium), with Satan held in chains, man will yet again listen to Satan when he is loosed for awhile. Then God will commence the final judgment. Satan and sin, and all followers of the evil one, will be cast into hell-fire for ever. God says He will then make a new heaven and a new earth, for His heavenly people (the church---bride), and His earthly new people under restored Israel.
Make no mistake about it, friends, we all are sinners and deserve condemnation, but the grace of God stands ever ready to receive "whosoever will" come and believe (John 3:15-19).
One will hear teaching and diverse ministry along our pathway from many sources . One should always test it by the Word of God (see John 5:39; Acts 17:11; II Tim.2:15; II Tim.3: 16; Titus 1:9). Whether it is profitable often depends, too, on our state of soul. This paper is prepared with much care and prayer to be a help and honor the Lord. Comments and questions are welcome.
SPECIAL COMMENT: It should be noted that some understanding of several periods or dispensations ---God’s administrations in the Word of God, is found in writings of very early Bible scholars, though a more thorough revelation and explanation of seven periods was brought to light by J. N. Darby in the early 1800’s.
– RLD: from Biblecounsel.net on the Internet. --GM19; 6/2001; add 03/2018.
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