In order to better understand this study of Many are Called but Few
are Chosen, biblical dispensations, must be discussed.
In these, we will see the dynamic events which caused God to call out
Israel; why he established a law that no one could be perfectly
obedient to; why he provided a savior for men so that any person,
despite their unworthiness, may dwell with him forever as his elect.
As E. W. Bullinger wrote in HOW TO ENJOY THE BIBLE, "We shall
find that there are at least seven distinct {dispensations} each having
its own beginning and ending clearly revealed and marked off.
These seven are, in turn, characterized by the principles of God's
Administration, which mark all that He said and did during each
special and distinct period."
There are many opinions concerning the number and character of
these divisions, but the dispensational model for this book will be as
follows:
1) The original Paradise in the Garden of Eden.
2) The Patriarchal period, following the expulsion of man from
Paradise
3) The law dispensation, which began when Israel received the law
from God.
4) The first appearance of Christ Jesus.
5) The present Age of Grace (The Mystery)
6) The second appearance of Christ, including the wrath and the
millennial rule)
7) The Final Paradise.
In the first dispensation, before the expulsion of Adam and Eve from
the Garden of Eden, God addressed the serpent (who would later be
revealed as the Devil) in Genesis 3:15.
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel."
Most agree that "the seed of the woman", spoken of here, is the
original prophecy concerning the coming of Christ (The Anointed
One). The Seed of the Woman, Christ, would undo the devastation to
the world and mankind that was triggered by the disobedience of
Adam. It was needful for this "second Adam", Christ, to appear in
order to correct the problem.
Hence Christ is the subject of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
After Adam and Eve's expulsion from Paradise the second
dispensation—the Patriarchal period--begins. Prophets, including
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, would appear
speaking forth the word of God. These men were the patriarchs of the
Israelites to whom God would give the Law. For it was from Israel that
the Christ would eventually be born. God showed the patriarch
Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand of
the sea and stars in the sky. It was understood that from his progeny
would come the Christ.
Abraham's son, Isaac, had a son named Jacob. God gave Jacob a
new name, Israel, and his seed was then called out by this name to
be holy and separate from the other nations of the world.
The nation of Israel was called because, God knew through His fore
knowledge, that Christ would be born from the lineage of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, as recorded in Matthew 1:1-16.
The third period we will call the Law Dispensation.
The written law was given to the Israelites after they were led from
Egyptian bondage by Moses. This law would show them, and all
mankind, the futility of trying to be perfect in the sight of God by
performing works of the flesh. Only the Promised Seed, Christ, could
fulfill this law.
The benefit of the law is that it would again and again bring the
Israelites back to God for their protection and benefit. Because it was
a strict and godly law--and impossible to comply with-- it convicted
their consciences and forced them to look to God for His continual
mercy. In this way God perpetuated the nation of Israel, whom he
called.
The fourth dispensation is the appearance of the Promised Seed, and
the foretold Messiah of Israel. His name is Jesus. He is God's only
begotten Son, the Christ prophesied throughout the old testament. Of
his Kingdom their would be no end. His origin was in Bethlehem; he
grew up in Nazareth and became the most central figure of all history,
though few people understood the scope of his purpose. After fulfilling
every aspect of the Law, Jesus was killed by the leaders of Israel,
who rejected his Lordship as their true king. Because death could not
hold him, Jesus was raised from the dead bodily. He appeared unto
his disciples and taught them for many days before ascending into
heaven.
He now sits at the right hand of his Father, God, until the arrival of the
prescribed time when he will return to earth to establish the Kingdom
of Heaven. Those who accept him freely as Lord will inherit this
Kingdom with him. Though dead, they will arise again and, though
mortal, they will be made immortal through the power of God.
The first appearance of Christ showed forth the compassion and love
of God for his people, Israel. It showed Jesus as the loving shepherd,
the compassionate Lord, and the obedient Son. As we shall see, the
second appearance of Christ will be in righteous judgment toward
Israel-- and all mankind.
The fifth period, is our present time. It is a remarkable period, known
as the Grace Dispensation. See Ephesians 3:1,2 and 6.
"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given me to you-ward...That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and
of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel."
Those of the Jews and Gentiles who become Born Again are also
chosen to minister in Christ's stead. They have the ability of God and
Christ dwelling within them in the form of the holy spirit. Those
chosen become members of the body of Christ and will also inherit all
things promised to Israel including the Kingdom of Heaven.
During this time the biblical nation of Israel is held in suspension and
scattered until the fullness of the gentiles has been elected. See
Romans 11:25.
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery,
lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is
happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles is come in."
Due to the gentiles overwhelming response to the grace of God in this
dispensation, they seem to comprise a larger proportion of believing
Christianity than do the Jews. However, it is important to understand
that the Jews are not excluded from this election.
There is no reference in the Bible to the gentiles being called before
the day of Pentacost. During our Grace Dispensation all men are
called to repentance and all believers, both Jews and Gentiles are
elected to the Church of God. There is no distinction between their
calling and their election.
In the last chapter of Acts, Paul's spiritual frustration with Israel leads
him to conclude that his time would be better spent evangelizing the
gentiles. See Acts 28:25-28.
"And when they [the chief of the Roman Jews] agreed not among
themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word,
Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esais the prophet unto our fathers,
Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known
therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the
Gentiles, and that they will hear it."
Paul's discouragement is not an indication of God's rejection of Israel
nor did it mark the beginning of a new "dispensation of the gentiles"
as some have suggested.
In the next dispensation when Jesus returns in judgment.
Christ-believing Israel will emerge. From among them great believers
will arise--such as has not been seen since biblical times.
This sixth dispensation will be known in this study as The Day of the
Lord, the second coming and Judgement Day of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ will gather together the chosen ones from the Grace
dispensation, and then proceed to establish his kingdom.
He will allow ample opportunity for men to repent. But because of the
hardness of their hearts there is great tribulation and wrath poured
out on the world. The First Resurrection of the dead will then occur
and those people, along with the gathered saints, will govern with
Christ for a thousand years.
After this period, there will be an insurrection and rebellion against the
rule of Christ by the carnal and mortal men in the world. They are
subsequently consumed in flames. The unjust dead are then raised
and judged. Finally, a new most glorious dispensation is ushered in,
along with a new heaven and a new earth.
This final and seventh dispensation is called the final Paradise. Only
the Bible can adequately describe it's splendor. Suffice it to say that
the devil and death will be destroyed along with all vestiges of
carnality. All tears will be wiped from the eyes of men. War will not be
known and there will be no want. There will be no sun. God and
Christ will be the physical and spiritual light of the world.
Of all the men (both Jew and Gentile) that will live and die in the world
since it's inception, those who are chosen to populate this new world
are relatively few. Not because God did not love the world but
because the world did not believe on His only begotten Son so that
they should not have died but have had everlasting life.
Copyright Pete Lounsbury 1994
| Chapter 2 The Dispensations |
