Pastor Rockwell / UNDERSTANDING DISPENSATIONALISM, Part 2

Pastor Jerry Rockwell

UNDERSTANDING DISPENSATIONALISM, Part 2

  1. DISPENSATIONAL TRUTH. There are three items associated with each Dispensation. (1) RESPONSIBILITY; (2) FAILURE; (3) JUDGMENT. These are consistent in each Dispensation.
  1. ONE, The Dispensation of Innocence. (1) Adam was given RESPONSIBILITY (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-17), (2) There was FAILURE in Genesis 3:1-6, not eat the fruit of one. (3) This brought  
  2. TWO. The Dispensation of Conscience. Adam and Eve were given “coats of skins and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21) and driven out of the “garden” (Gen. 3:27). The “coats of skin” showed an animal died. (1) They were RESPONSIBLE for “obedience” (Gen. 2:16-17). They were to be morally honest and continue the responsibility of Genesis 1:26. A “conscience” had been given to Adam & Eve (Rom. 2:14-15). (2) The FAILURE was manifest with wickedness (Gen. 6:5-6; 11,12). (3) JUDGMENT came as a worldwide flood destroying every living creature except those in the Ark (Gen. 9:10, 12, 15-16).
  3. THREE. The Dispensation of Human Government. This dispensation was initiated after the “Flood of Noah” (Gen. 6:1-9:29). Noah was given the same responsibility as Adam (cf. Gen. 1:26 with Gen. 9:1).  There was also a dramatic change in the culture. Earlier, everyone ate a “green herb” (vegetarian), even the animal kingdom, yet now the animal kingdom became “meat” for man to consume (Gen. 9:2-3).  (1) RESPONSIBILITY in the mandate to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,” man was to reproduce and “replenish” what was removed in the Flood: humans also the entire world (Gen 8:15-9:7). (2) The FAILURE came when man decided he was more intelligent than God and built the Tower of Babel. They failed to “scatter” (Gen. 11:1-4). (3) This brought the JUDGMENT of God described in Genesis 11:5-9 where the languages were “confounded” (Gen. 11:7) and “scattered” (Gen. 11:8). 
  4. FOUR. The Dispensation of Promise. Here is where God made a covenant with Abraham, whom He called out of “Ur of the Chaldees” (Gen. 15:7). Other covenants were made with Abraham. (1) His RESPONSIBILITY was to dwell in Canaan (Gen. 12:1-7). (2) The FAILURE of Abraham was that he made a trip to Egypt and left the place of blessing (Gen. 12:10). While he returned to the land, after two generations, Isaac and Jacob (the nation) found themselves in Egypt permanently (Gen. 46:6-7). (3) Their JUDGMENT came when they failed to leave Egypt. They became slaves to the Egyptians (Exod. 1:8-14). 
  5. FIVE. The Dispensation of the Law. God called a man by the name of Moses to lead His people out of the land of Egypt (Exod. 3:7-10). This story is familiar to most who have read their Bible and know how God used Moses and Aaron to perform 10 miracles, called “plagues” (Exod. 9:13-14), with the last one, the “death of the firstborn” being the event that enabled them to leave Egypt. (1) The Law was given to the nation (Exod. 20:1-17). They had one RESPONSIBILITY: “keep the Law of Moses. This period covers a lengthy period from Moses, through the judges and kings, to the dispersion into Babylon. (2) FAILURE: They engaged in idolatry, rejecting the mandates of God (2 Kings 17:17-20). Their return to the land enabled them to demonstrate to God they were serious, and the Dispensation of the Law lasted until the coming of the Messiah. Even Mary & Joseph followed the “law of Moses” when Jesus was born” (Luke 2:22, cf. Luke 24:22). This gave them another opportunity to obey God and the promises He had made to them about a king to rule the world. They rejected their King Jesus Christ and crucified Him (Matt. 27:1-25; John 19:15). This brought about another act of discipline, and they were scattered after the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 ad. (3) The JUDGMENT was prophesied in Deuteronomy 28:63-66 (cf. Luke 21:20-22). This was a “worldwide” dispersion. 
  6. SIX. The Dispensation of the Church. This is called the “Dispensation of Grace” (Eph. 3:2), but God’s grace is evident in all dispensations. It is called the Dispensation of the Church since God established the church through the revelation given to a man named Saul, who became Paul (see Acts 7:58-8:3; 9:1-16; Gal.1:10-2:2). (1) This dispensation began in Acts and is still in effect as it is the time when the church has the RESPONSIBILITY of reaching the lost and mainly the Gentiles as well as the people of Israel (Acts 1:8; 9:15). The Jews rejected the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul’s message of the Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:24; Eph. 3:2). While this dispensation is about the church it is also a demonstration of the grace of God provided in the Lord Jesus Christ. The church’s responsibility was, and is, to live by faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, and be led by the Spirit of God (John 1:12; Rom. 8:1-14; Eph. 2;8-9). (2) The church’s FAILURE is illustrated in Revelation 2-3, with the last church of the seven described in this passage, Laodicea, demonstrating how it failed to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They became rich and “lukewarm” (Rev. 3;14-22). This graphically describes what is happening to the church in this 21st Century. (3) The JUDGMENT is twofold. FIRST, the “Rapture” of the church (1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-18). The Dispensation of the Church ends at this point and will initiate the beginnings of the Tribulation (the 70th Week of Daniel in Dan. 9:24-27). That will initiate the beginning of the final Dispensation of the Kingdom. Remember that the 70th Week of Daniel is the last one of the previous 69 weeks and relates to the nation of Israel. It is the time when God deals with the nation of Israel and their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. SECOND, the TRIBULATION in Revelation 14-18 is to bring the nation back to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is described prophetically in Zechariah 12:6-14 (cf. Matt. 24:21-28; Rev. 6:15-17). 
  7. SEVEN. The Dispensation of the Kingdom. As the “Great Tribulation” (Matt. 24:21) concludes with the conversion of the nation, which will occur in the period of the rule and reign of Christ on the earth. The period is the Millennium and will be 1,000 years of peace and prosperity. It is prophesied in Isaiah 11:1-10, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Zechariah 14:9, 16, and Revelation 20:4-6. Jesus Christ will reign upon the earth for 1,000 years. During this period, Satan will be bound (Rev. 20:1-3), and he will not be able to “deceive the nations” anymore (Rev. 20:3). (1) The RESPONSIBILITY of the populace will be to obey and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. While the Millennium will be initially populated by those believers who survived the tribulation, there will be a judgment as described in Matthew 25:31-46 where the people will be divided into two groups of “sheep and goats.” The treatment of the people of Israel during the Tribulation will determine their destiny. These “sheep” will populate the Millennium. They will be people who have not experienced death and will enter the kingdom, which is somewhat of a flawless transition, yet the earth will be returned to a period similar if not the same as the Garden of Eden (Isa. 11:6; 65:25). The Millennium will conclude with a brief (2) [FAILURE] rebellion when Satan is released from the prison and will “deceive the nations” and lead a rebellion. This will bring about the battle of “Gog and Magog” (Rev. 20:7-9, cf. Ezek. 38:2-4). (3) [JUDGMENT] It will conclude with [a] Satan sent to the “lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev. 20:10) where the “beast and false prophet are” (see Rev. 19:20). Following this event, [b] the “Great White Throne Judgment” will be conducted to judge all those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and who “was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). The next thing stated is in Revelation 21:1, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Following this event, activities in heaven are described. Thus, eternity begins.
  8. DEALING WITH THE CHURCH AGE – DISPENSATION OF THE CHURCH REVELATION 2-3 Many Bible scholars and theologians see the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 as a commentary on the condition of the church, not just when they existed but throughout the two millennium (70 AD until the present). These people see the seven churches as historical accounts of how the church will conduct itself throughout the church age. It must be understood that there are churches like these seven throughout history, and there are churches like these even today.
  9. The Church at Ephesus, Revelation 2:1-7. It was criticized by the Lord Jesus Christ as having “lost their first love” (vs. 4). The church as it developed historically could represent the period of church history from 33 to 200 ad. Jesus commends them for their intolerance of “them which were evil” (Rev. 2:2). The church had begun to cool in their commitment to the Lord Jesus and the principles of the word of God. They had left their “first love.” The verse following this criticism is interesting. Jesus said in Revelation 2:5 (KJV), “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” They were intolerant of the Nicolaitans (vs. 6). It has the meaning of “The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is a doctrine ” doctrine set up whereby the clergy becomes a special priest‑class in a special position, ruling the average ordinary Christian.” In this period there were men like Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and Papias who lived in the period of church history that saw an influence of Greek philosophy mainly through Philo the Greek philosopher. Because of the Christian influence of Alexandria, Egypt developed a critical spirit against the word of God.
  10. The Church at Smyrna, Revelation 2:8-11. The Lord Jesus Christ does not criticize it. As it developed historically, the church fell under heavy persecution by the Roman Government and could represent the period of church history from 200 to 325 AD. However, persecution began before 200 AD. It says in vs. 10, “. . .and ye shall have tribulation ten days.” They were persecuted severely by the Roman government. Ten Roman Emperors persecuted the young church as it developed and sought to proclaim the message of salvation in Christ. The ten Roman Emperors who initiated persecution of believers as the church expanded from 90 ad were Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Septimus Serverus, Masximus Thrax, Trajanus Decius, Trebonius Gallus, Pubilius Licinious Valerian, Lucius Dominius Aurelian, and Gais Aurelius Diocletian. Most of these persecutions were extremely severe.
  11. The Church at Pergamos, Revelation 2:12-17. The church at Pergamos would represent the period of church history from 325 to 500 ad. They had a difficult time because it is said they dwelt “. . .where Satan’s seat is” and the home of Antipas who was martyred (vs. 13). The church at Ephesus was commended for hating the “deeds of the Nicolaitans” (Rev. 2:6). Yet, the church at Pergamos allowed those who held the “doctrine of the Nicolaitans” to be a part of the church (vs. 15). The church at Pergamos demonstrates how easy it is to tolerate false doctrine. The church is also criticized for allowing people to be in the church who “hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” (vs. 14). That story can be found in Exodus 22-25. One of the interesting events of this period of history is that Constantine, the Roman Emperor, made a move to Christianity when he was converted while leading his army in battle and during the night he saw a cross in the sky and written on the cross which said, “By this conquer.” He successfully ended the church’s persecution and brought the church and government into one entity. This sowed the seeds for the beginning of the Roman Catholic church.
  12. The Church at Thyatira, Revelation 2:18-29. The church at Thyatira would represent the period of church history from 500 to 1000 AD. This is considered the period of the “Dark Ages” of history. The persecution of believers returned, but the Roman Empire did not initiate it. It had become a weakened empire and some date the fall of the empire in 476 ad. The Roman Catholic Church conducted the persecution of this period. Some have said that in this period, more Christians died at the hands of the church than were killed by the Roman Caesars prior to 325 ad. This church had a brief introduction and a verse of commendation (vs. 19), yet the rest of the letter criticizes their tolerance for false doctrine. They are blamed for allowing “. . .that woman Jezebel, which calleth a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols” (vs. 20). This is a severe criticism. They were allowing false doctrine, not just having people who held to a false teaching but allowing this woman to “teach” this false doctrine. The Lord does commend those who reject this doctrine (vs. 24). These people are promised a reward for “overcoming” false doctrine and “kept my works unto the end,” which was they would have power “over the nations” (vs. 26) and be given “the morning star” (vs. 28).
  13. The Church at Sardis, Revelation 3:1-6. This period covers from 1000 to 1500 ad. This period of the church at Sardis is interesting. They are commended for one thing, “I know thy words, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (vs. 1) and concludes with “. . .I have not found thy works perfect before God” (vs. 2). The church is given a warning in vs. 3. The rest of the letter commends individuals who “have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy” (vs. 4). There are several men who came to light during this period of church history. Jan [John] Huss, John Wycliffe, and Savonarola rose as lights in a dark place. John Wycliffe was the first to put the entire Bible into English and was considered the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” Wycliffe was a Priest of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and spoke against some of the abuses he witnessed among the priesthood and the church.  The RCC sought to arrest him and silence his criticism by putting him to death. They failed and Wycliffe died before they succeeded. They dug up his bones, burned them, and threw them into the River Swift, which runs through Lutterworth, England. Girolamo Savonarola was executed by hanging and burning in May 1498 by the RCC. Jan Huss was burned at the stake in July 1415 and refused to recant his confession of Christ as Saviour instead of the “wafer,” and he sang a Christian son as he burned. The Reformation was initiated in 1516 when Erasmus published the Greek text which is the basis of the New Testament of the King James Bible.
  14. The Church of Philadelphia, Revelation 3:7-13. This period covers from 1500 to 1900 ad. As noted above, the Protestant Reformation began in 1517. Many credit Martin Luther, the German Reformer, who translated the Bible into German. This was followed by William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English using the Greek and Hebrew text. This church is like the church at Smyrna, with no criticism or condemnation. The word “Philadelphia” means “brotherly love.” Some consider this the “greatest period in history (as far as the church goes).” Historians consider this the most significant period of missions in history. Some call it the period of the “open door” for missions (Rev. 3:7-8). William Carey became the first “official” missionary sent by the local church to India. Many more followed his lead, and there was a great movement of missionaries to the open doors of the world. So many good things are said about this church; the best way to understand its significance is to read the section covering the church in Philadelphia. One of the events that occurred at the end of this period was the supposed revision of the King James Bible, which turned out to be a completely new translation from different Greek and Hebrew texts than the King James Bible. The new translation was called the English Revised Version (ERV), published in 1881 (NT) and 1885 (OT). It was not a revision of the King James Bible. This opened the door for other new translations that proliferated after 1952 when the Revised Standard Version (RSV). One of the most significant periods of church history quickly fell to the final period of church history, the period of the Church of Laodicea.
  15. The Church of Laodicea, Revelation 3:14-22. This church covers the period of history from 1900 to the present. This period will end with the Rapture of the church (1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-18). The church at Laodicea represents the church that had allowed materialism and wealth to move them away from their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Laodicea was known as a manufacturing center for designer clothes, a medical center focused on treating vision, and a regional banking center. Jesus informs them of the lukewarm attitude. What they thought was important was wealth and wearing the finest clothing, and they did not think they should visit the eye center; they could see just fine (physically but not spiritually). They left something out, their spiritual position with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus made an interesting statement in Revelation 3:20 (KJV), “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” It is my observation that the door Jesus is knocking on is the entrance of the church. This church had all the money they needed, wore the finest clothing, and needed nothing. There is one thing they did not incorporate into their church and spiritual life was their spiritual standing with the Lord Jesus. The church (or individual) who leaves their relationship with the Lord Jesus, will find themselves standing before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). When a believer or group of believers so things to satisfy the flesh instead of God are on the wrong track spiritually.

Conclusion: It is clear from these seven churches that there is more in the Bible than we want to acknowledge. The progression of the church of Jesus Christ, the “body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12) should always focus on their relationship with Christ, individual or corporately. There is an important application here. These seven churches have an application to the church; they demonstrate what a church can become without keeping a good relationship with the Lord Jesus. You can fellowship with people who have things in their lifestyle that are not pleasing to God. You can entertain false doctrine and be drawn away from the truth of the Bible. This brief exercise should motivate us to examine our relationship with the Lord and my church’s relationship with the Lord. Are we being obedient to the truth of the word of God?