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Chapter
21 -
Dispensation of Promise
and Events
of the Dispensation:
Scriptures: Genesis 12-Exodus 19:4
New Beginning: The Choosing of Abraham.
Setting: The places where Abraham traveled and his children and the nation of
Israel
Dealings: Abraham and his wife, Isaac, Jacob and his children
Failure: False leadership
Judgment: Bondage in Egypt and wilderness
Transition (the transition at the beginning of the
new dispensation): From sin in previous dispensation running (possibly), through
the conquer of the land
of Canaan. Josh 5:9, or possibly the transition into the Dispensation of Promise
could have ended at the mention of the last false prophet Balaam, Numbers 22.
Transition (at the end of the Dispensation of Promise): Starting with the
period called the Time of the Gentiles to the second coming to earth of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Revelation 19.
The Administration rules: Abrahamic Covenant Genesis 12:1-3,7
The Administration rules: Abrahamic Covenant Genesis 12:1-3,7. " When God
established a covenant with Abraham, it was another dramatic turning point in human
history. Abraham and his heirs (the Nation of Israel) received an unconditional promise.
Under this covenant, God promised to make Israel a great nation, to bless the seed of
Abraham, to give him a great name, to make him a blessing, to bless those who blessed him
and curse those who curse him, to give him the Promised Land, and though his descendants
to bless all the families of the earth with a Redeemer. Israel's failure in this
dispensation was illustrated by their leaving the land to settle in Egypt, and resulted in
bondage there. Israel's final testing under this dispensation occurred when God
attempted to draw them back to the land. But they refused Him in unbelief at Kadesh-barnes
(cf. Ex. 19:5)." ( Notes from The Annotated Study Bible, King James Version
Copyright 1988 by Liberty University page 28)
The
development and events of the Dispensation of Promises from inception to the new
Dispensation of the Kingdom.
The
Overview of the Dispensation of
Promise - History of The Nation of Israel
There are different stages in its development to end of the
Dispensation of Promise in Scriptures. These stages are not
dispensations but the maturing of the Kingdom Nation of Israel for each of these
stages do not fulfill the 7 guiding principles, ( The call of Abraham, the sons
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the 12 sons of Jacob whose name changed to Israel,
the Egyptian events, the desert wondering, the conquest of the land of Cannon
promised by God, the time of the Judges and their deliverance, the development
of the kingship, the heights of the kingdom, the decline of the kingdom, the
rejection of God the Father and their captivity or the time of the Gentiles rule
oven Israel and oppression, the time of the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ,
the implementation of the New Covenant, and the Nation of Israel's rejection of
their stewardship with the consequences.).
First the call and promise given to Abraham and Sarah, second to Isaac, then to
Jacob, then to the twelve sons of Jacob,
second then the time in Egypt of testing, and
the time of the Mosaic Law revealed, with the refining in the forty year
wondering, and the conquest of the promise Land,
third the time of the Judges
rule,
fourth the time of the kings and kingdom to it heights,
fifth the time of the nations failure and
division, with their apostasy rejecting God the Farther and starting the
time of the Gentiles,
sixth the time of Christ (birth, death, and resurrection)
running with and at the same time as the time of the Gentile with the Nation
rejecting God the Son,
seventh the offer of the Kingdom given to the Nation of Israel and their receiving
the
responsibility of the New Covenant which was rejection as a Nation which is
shown by their rejection of the third person of the deity or trinity the Holy
Spirit,
eighth
the
overlay on the Dispensation of Promise time of the Dispensation of Grace a
mystery running at the same time with the
time of the Gentiles and
ninth the punitive judgment of God wrath and to purifying the Nation of
Israel and putting in order the chain of command of His leadership through the
Nation of Israel for the world with the 7 year Tribulation and its completion
bringing to an end the Dispensation of Promise with the promised Messiah
appearing on earth, Christ Jesus’ return and His reign in the new dispensation on the Earth, The Dispensation
of Kingdom.
Old Testament Saints were Saved by Faith and Righteousness given as a gift from God
There are those who go to great length in trying
to prove the Old Testament saints were saved by their works based on the Mosaic
Law or the Law given him at Mt Sinai. However, long before the law was given there
were saints who never heard of the Law given to Moses who were saved,
Romans 5:13,14.
Galatians 3:16-18 The promises were spoken to
Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,”
meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who
is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years
later, does not set aside the covenant previously
established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the
inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the
promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a
promise. Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of
transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
Note: Abraham was not given a covenant (a new one), which did not
already exist but the one which was
established by the Godhead from eternity passed. This covenant was give
for him to pass on through his offspring as stewards; it was first given to Adam and Eve
at the beginning of the Dispensation of Conscience,
Genesis 3:15. Abraham was given the privilege of the passing down
the one eternal
promise, having our Lord Jesus Christ come through him and his
descendents to the world. God's promise of a redeemer in love, mercy, and grace is an
eternal universal truth,
Titus 1:2,
2 Timothy 1:9,10,
1 Corinthians 2:6-10,
Ephesians 3:3-14.
The saints of the Old Testament were saved by obedience of faith
in performing the required behavior in response to the object of faith that God required
for justice in
His love, mercy and grace a
blood sacrifice. Their works which showed their relationship to Jehovah God came
after their faith which always came first and it was in operation producing the works which
pleased God. The Mosaic Law did not save it was ones faith in God and obedience
to Him just as it is today.
Adam and Eve did
not perform any works other than accept the mercy and grace God show them.
God provided and performed for them a blood sacrifice for the payment of the sin
they committed and He covered their
nakedness with the skins of the sacrifice offered.
Look at Noah, Abraham, and David where the word of God
makes it quite plain they were saved apart from their works by God imputing
righteousness to them and then, after righteousness was present they willingly obeyed Him. He communicated His
message of responsibility for obedience and they showed they were living by faith in Him by submission to
Him. Apart from the right heart attitude there is not a relationship to God, one
has to want the relationship and be given righteousness from God first. After
God gave saving righteousness or it was in place in a persons heart the the
works they performed were credited to their account - such as the saving from
the flood and the Ark, offering of
Isaac, or a man after God's heart as David was credited. Today the works of
eternal value or righteous works are credited only after salvation occurs, just
as it did for the Old Testament saints,
1 Corinthians 3:10-15.
Genesis 6:9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his
time, and he walked faithfully with God.
Romans 4:3-6 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed
God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who
works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to
the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their
faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing
when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits
righteousness apart from works:
Personal salvation is woven through the Old Testament as we see
God establishing and the maintaining a government called a kingdom. Personal
salvation was in relationship to God’s personal dealings with the individual’s
heart which produces that desired for Him and the expression of their personal
faith outwardly in obedience to the atonement sacrifice, (See chapter on
salvation and the Old
Testament Saints).
Note: People today
or in the Dispensation of Grace and the dispensations to follow are based on
their expression of faith by
confessing
faith in God’s object that is Jesus Christ. The action of expression required under the Old Covenant
was the offering a blood sacrifice
for the atonement and today ‘ the expression of confessing Jesus Christ as Lord’ or
receiving
Jesus Christ or ‘ who so ever will, call upon the Name of the Lord ‘
all show action on the part of the individual heart attitude. Salvation never happens
in a vacuum but has action in expressing – repentance, confessing, receiving, calling or
offering.
Dispensation of Promise was the dispensation during the Birth of Jesus Christ
The Dispensation of Promise was in effect through the birth
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus and will not end until the transition period
of the 7 year tribulation ends which is the completion of the punitive judgment on
Israel's failure ending the dispensation and it ends bringing the Messiah back to
earth with the fullness of earthly Dispensation of the Kingdom. Also, today or
the Dispensation of Grace, God is not working through the Dispensation of
Promise or the Kingdom people, the Nation of Israel but working through the
Church call His Body that is overlaying the Promise Dispensation.
The Postponement of the punitive Judgment on the Promise Dispensation which
brings it to a complete end
The Dispensation of Promise is being overlaid by today’s
dispensation which is a mystery dispensation and with it being overlaid, which
is seen in the mystery dispensation of today. It is continuing the judgment on the Nation of
Israel and the Dispensation of Promise, continuing the times of the Gentiles
which started back in the Old Testament with the captivity and oppression from
the Gentile Nations.
When the Dispensation of Grace is taken out of the way by the Rapture then God
will finish the transition between the Dispensation of Promise and the
Dispensation of the Kingdom.
The Transition postponed between the Dispensation of Promise and the
Dispensation of the Kingdom
The transition period did not start which would have started historically in the
book of Acts with the Nation of Israel's rejection of the Messiah and the
functioning of Holy Spirit in the fulfilling of the redemptive New Covenant to
the world though the Nation of Israel. Their rejection of the Messiah as a
Nation caused or showed their rejection of their stewardship in being the
instruments to the world of the New Covenant. Therefore, God instead did not
start the world wide 7 year tribulation punitive judgment but overlaid it,
postponing the dispensation's Judgment with a mystery dispensation, the
Dispensation of Grace, (It can be call 'the
Dispensation of Equality' which gives a primary aspect of the mystery
dispensation, for other aspect read the chapter on the dispensation.).
NO Dispensation of Law It does not meet the
7 Key or Principle of
a new dispensation
We have showed that you cannot base a dispensation on a covenant
because a covenant is not a dispensation and a dispensation is not a covenant.
Also the Mosaic Law is not a dispensation or a covenant and a dispensation or a
covenant is not the Mosaic Law. The Law was given for the the completion need in
man's life to understand his personal need and to give the regulations in the
development of the promise nation.
There is no Dispensation of Law, the Law was added in an
existing dispensation - the Dispensation of Promise. The law of Moses
expounded new aspect and requirement for the Nation of Israel to be obedient to
as the Nation of God in their stewardship of the Old Covenant. Remember for one
dispensation to end (Dispensation of Promise) all
seven keys or principle
have to be met and it
is not the case trying to make the Law of Moses a dispensation, see the chapter
on the
guiding principles or keys
of a dispensation.
We need to remember that under the Dispensation of Promise the
laws of the Nation which the Law of Moses present are not for personal
salvation but to bring about a sanctified earthly Kingdom which was in
development,
Romans 9:4,5. The law gave additional rules for the operation of social justice and
the way the Kingdom Nation was to be run and lived out before each other and to
present a testimony to the
world of the Old Covenant. If the nation refused to live as commanded or
failed in operating as the Nation as God commanded then judgment would come.
The Dispensation of Promise could be call the Dispensation of
Developing a Nation, in the developing of a sanctified nation with the continuous
use by God to the world. It is the development of an Earthly Nation or Kingdom
made up of Abraham’s seed through
Sarah, and then passed down to the Sons’ of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the
twelve sons.
Another wrong or incorrect teaching is the beginning of the Old Covenant,
(redemptive covenant)
I have
asked many to see what their understanding would be if I asked them "When did
the Old Covenant start?" What do you think was the majorities answer to my
question - Yes, they said with the Law at Mt Sinai . That answered is wrong the
Old Covenant of redemption began with Adam and Eve upon sinning is the
Dispensation of Innocence. The redemptive Covenant was planned in eternity past
and implemented in the Garden of Eden, which provided a covering of sin until
the forgiveness which came with the completion and implementation of our Lord
Jesus Christ finished work and then implementation to Israel and mankind at
Pentecost historically in Acts 2.
Transition to the next dispensation, the dispensation of
Kingdom: starting at the Time of the Gentiles through
Christ Jesus' birth, death and resurrection and the Nation of Israel's rejection
of the New Covenant Acts 3, 7, and the Pauline revelation of the Body of Christ
the Church through the Tribulation period to the earthly return of Christ Jesus
the Messiah.
-
But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or
Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer
from of old is your name
God Was Father to the Nation of Israel
-
Holman Bible Handbook
(Is.
63:7-64:12)
A Prayer for Deliverance. In combination with the
confession of 59:9-15a,
this prayer forms a frame around the message of
salvation in 59:15b-63:6.
Once again the prophet represented the nation and
provided a model response for God’s disobedient, exiled
people.
The prophet recalled the Lord’s faithful deeds for His
people throughout their history. He redeemed them from
Egypt and protected them. When they sinned, He was
forced to treat them as an enemy, prompting them to
recall the days of Moses. The prophet was now doing the
same. He longed for a new display of the divine power
revealed at the Red Sea.
The remainder of the prayer combines lamentation over
the people’s current situation, confession of sin,
statements of confidence, and petitions for God’s
deliverance. Confident that God remained their Father
and Redeemer, the prophet asked that He might respond
compassionately to their plight. He lamented that the
Lord had given them over to the hardness of their hearts
and that the enemies of God had destroyed His temple. He
asked that the Lord might break through the heavens and
judge the nations, demonstrating once more His ability
to deliver those who trusted Him. He acknowledged their
punishment was well-deserved, for they had been totally
contaminated by sin. Yet the prophet, confident that
their relationship with God was not completely severed,
begged Him to relent from His anger. Surely the ruined
land and temple were proof that their punishment was
sufficient.
- Salvation to others
besides Israelites -
Isaiah
56
(Nation of Israel is waiting for the final Judgment, [70th
week of Daniel] ending the the transition of the Dispensation of Promise. Even
though the dispensation of Promise has not ended, pending
the final judgment on the Nation of Israel those who
receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by faith are
part of the today's Dispensation.
And, the fulfillment of
the promises given by covenant to the Nation of Israel will be
fulfilled after the Rapture of the Body of Christ the Church. Meanwhile the rule of the
Gentiles are still oppressing the Nation of Israel which
started back in the Old Testament and ends with the Return
of Christ setting up the earthly Kingdom promised by
covenant to the Nation of Israel.