The Bible is God's primary means of communicating to mankind. Through reading His Word, we learn about His character, why He created us, His future plans, and much more. There are dispensations that are laid out in the Bible which explain who God was speaking to and when. A person can easily break down these periods of time into sub-dispensations, however, there are only seven major dispensations:
1) Innocence
2) Pre-Law
3) The Law
4) The Church
5) The Tribulation
6) The Millennial Kingdom
7) Post-Millennium Eternity
This is the most important lesson for any Christian! I dare say that understanding dispensations is VITAL to understanding the Bible. Sadly, there are too many denominations that try to incorporate works into salvation which perverts the Gospel. God does not want the Gospel changed (Galatians 1:6-9). There are also secular groups that will misinterpret certain passages in order to attack Christianity or a political party.
What is a dispensation? According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, a dispensation is "a general state or ordering of things; specifically: a system of revealed commands and promises regulating human affairs a privilege maintained under the new dispensation". Simply put, God gave commands to different people at different times.
The Bible teaches dispensations in 1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 1:10, 3:2; and Colossians 1:25. This is not a man-made concept. God uses the word "dispensation" four times because He wants us to:
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." - 2 Timothy 2:15
When you divide, you separate something into parts. The Bible is divided into more than just the Old Testament and the New Testament as there are seven clearly different periods of time with different commands from God given to different groups of people. Both Testaments speak of the various dispensations, so neither should be neglected as all of God's Word is beneficial for us (2 Tim. 3:16-17). However, we should always remember that while the entire Bible is written for us, not every verse is addressed to us or is written about us.
The first dispensation found in the Bible is the creation of mankind without any sin. In Genesis 1-3, we learn that mankind was created in God's image and was without sin. The planet was perfect and there was total peace. Nothing was withheld from Adam and Eve except for one thing: they were not allowed to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). That was it. Adam and Eve could go anywhere, build anything, and do anything that they wanted. God even walked directly with them in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8). Unfortunately, they ate of the tree and changed the world.
One theme that is sown throughout every dispensation is that mankind has always had and always will have the freedom of choice. Adam and Eve were created without flaw, but they were not robots. Nothing stopped them from crying out to God when Satan attempted to deceive them. They made the choice to rebel against God by breaking His only rule.
When Jesus walked the Earth, He came to restore our relationship with God (2 Cor. 5:18). Jesus wanted us to call God, "Abba" (Mark 14:36, Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:1-7). Salvation is more than just going to Heaven; it means that He restored our relationship with our heavenly Abba (which means "daddy" in the Greek). God was to Adam and Eve their literal daddy.
The second dispensation is from the fall of man to the giving of the Law which is the remainder of the book of Genesis. Even though man became sinful, God still wanted a relationship with us that didn't require works (Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Lot, Isaac, and Jacob for example). Animal offerings did take place, but God never commanded them to nor did He ever give instructions on how to present offerings. The offerings were typically given as a response to God's appearance and done of their own freewill. Hebrews 11 gives a list of men and women from this dispensation that showed that they were justified by faith alone - not because of their offerings.
Dispensation number three is the time period of the Law. Contrary to the visual division of the Bible, the Old Testament did not end with the book of Malachi. By rightly dividing the Bible, you will see that the Law (considered the Old Testament) ended in Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46, and John 19:30 i.e. when Jesus died on the cross.
Hebrews 9:15-22 states "and for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
The New Testament, which is what we are under, started at the cross. Under the Law, salvation was accomplished through works and animal sacrifices for sins. Does that sound like the New Testament? Look at Romans 10:9-10 which says "that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation". Ephesians 2:8-9 states that we are saved through grace and NOT by works. Jesus was the final sacrifice and established the New Testament (Heb. 10:9-10).
Those that accepted Christ during the Church Age are blessed beyond measure. The reason is simple: once saved through the precious blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit resides within us and we are sealed (Eph. 1:13-14). In the previous dispensations, the Holy Spirit only temporarily came upon people for specific tasks (Numbers 27:18; 1 Sam. 10:10, 16:12-14). God chose a specific time to dispense His permanent grace upon all that choose to accept Him (Heb. 11:39-40). The other reason is the blessed hope of the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:15-18).
Before I move on to the Tribulation period, I want to clearly show that during our dispensation we cannot lose our salvation. There are churches out there that unfortunately teach this false doctrine. In addition to the verses above, here is more evidence:
John 3:16
John 6:39
Romans 5:1
Romans 11:29
2 Corinthians 5:17
1 Peter 1:18-19
Titus 1:2
Unfortunately, in the next dispensation, it will be possible for a believer to lose his/her salvation.
The Tribulation period will be filled with horrors never before seen upon this planet. The book of Revelation makes it clear that through the judgments of God approximately 50% of the population will die. In the Rapture of the Church lesson (click here), you’ll see that there will be approximately 5 billion people alive at the start of the Tribulation period. This is a terrible period in which 2.5 billion people across the entire world will die within seven years! Keep in mind that I am only talking about the 7-year Tribulation and have not included the battle of Armageddon. At Armageddon, the Antichrist will gather the world's military to attack Jesus upon His return and this will be the bloodiest one-sided battle in the history of mankind. Revelation chapters 14, 16, and 19 describe the battle and state that the amount of blood shed will be 4 feet high over a 186 mile radius!
The time of Jacob's Trouble (Jer. 30:7) will see unprecedented levels of persecution. The amount of persecution that believers will face will make the holocaust pale in comparison (John 16:2). During the Tribulation period, the Antichrist and False Prophet will control the entire world's economy. The Bible states in Revelation 13:16-17 that people will have to take his mark in their right hand or in their forehead in order to purchase the basic necessities of life. This is more than just a simple mark done for economic purposes. Those that take the mark of the beast are worshipping him and sealing their eternal fate (Rev. 14:9-11).
There are many speculations involving emerging technology that explain why repentance is not possible for those that take the mark of the beast. Currently, medical doctors and scientists are developing microchips that emit pulses in order to change a person's mood and can alter a person's brain chemistry in a process called "deep brain stimulation". Researchers at DARPA, University of California, and Massachusetts General Hospital are looking for permanent ways to remove the need for medications which can have harmful side effects. On the surface this sounds amazing as it can essentially cure PTSD, various mood disorders, and even Parkinson's Disease as research suggests. Could it be that when a person takes the mark of the beast (which the Bible shows to be voluntary even if it is under duress), the reason that they cannot accept Christ is because their brain is permanently altered? If a believer takes the mark of the beast, they are voluntarily altering the mind that God gave them and are choosing to worship Satan.
Regardless of how the mark of the beast works, the Bible is clear that any person that accepts this mark will be eternally damned without exception.
Christ returns to put an end to the Tribulation period and establishes His 1,000-year kingdom. During this dispensation, there are two groups of people that will enter the millennial reign of Jesus Christ: those with glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:42-53, Rev. 3:4-5), and those that survived the Tribulation. Upon His arrival, the first thing that happens is that all unbelievers are removed and cast into Hell (Matt. 25:31-46).
Understanding the difference between these two groups of people is pivotal to grasping how the Kingdom of Heaven will operate. The believers that have glorified bodies include faithful Jews from the Old Testament time period, believers in Christ that died before and during the Tribulation, and believers that were Raptured. In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul describes these bodies to be incorruptible and holy just as Jesus is. Glorified saints cannot die or sin against God for they are holy in the flesh and spirit. Also, they cannot reproduce (Matt. 22:30).
Those with natural bodies will experience a paradise like never before on Earth. The planet will be restored as it was when Adam and Eve walked it (Isaiah 11:6-8, 65:25; Ezekiel 47:8-12). Children will be safe and will play with any type of animal they desire to. It will be a world where nobody gets sick, crime is not tolerated, and there is no pollution. However, there will still be death.
In Isaiah 65:20, God says "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed."
People in this paradise will still have freewill. Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven in great detail throughout the book of Matthew. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 22, Jesus says that anyone that calls another a fool will be in danger of Hell. There will be a time to repent, but it will be short. God has always been and always will be full of grace. However, the Bible is clear that we reap what we sow whether good or bad (Job 4:8, 2 Cor. 9:6, Gal. 6:7). In the same chapter of Matthew in verses 29 and 30, Jesus makes it clear that a person can be cast straight into Hell. The punishment for sin is death and the only people that die are those that that commit sin. Again, it does appear that there is a grace period.
Sadly, this dispensation ends in the death of millions. For those in natural bodies, they will still struggle with the flesh. However, without any demonic forces to lead anyone into temptation and the strict justice system in place, the amount of sin will be negligible. At the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ, Satan is freed (Revelation 20). During this limited time period, he tempts an amount of people "the number of whom is as the sand of the sea" (Rev. 20:8).
How does this happen? Galatians 5:19-21 describes the fruits of the flesh in detail. Satan is a deceiver. All of the evils of this world are due to Satan's schemes. He causes people to murder, commit adultery, lie, steal, and blaspheme God (John 8:44, 2 Cor. 11:3 and 14, Eph. 6:11). Satan fails and God casts him and his army of human rebels into the Lake of Fire for all eternity (Rev. 20:8-15).
Once evil and sin are permanently destroyed, the final dispensation begins: eternity. This final period of time is found in Revelation 21 and 22. At this point, all believers will have glorified bodies and will live with God the Father where there is only His glorious righteousness (2 Peter 3:12-13). There are no more judgments left. All believers have received their rewards and all unbelievers have been judged at the Great White Throne and cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10-15). The final dispensation will be an eternity of peace that exceeds even the Millennial Kingdom!
I cannot stress enough the importance of understanding the seven dispensations. When we rightly divide His Word, we become as wise as kings (Proverbs 25:2). Any person that accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior is a king or queen (Rev. 1:6). He WANTS us to have the wisdom and knowledge found in the Bible (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 32:8, Proverbs 1:6, Matt. 4:4, 2 Tim. 3:16, James 1:25).
Let me end this lesson with the Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15:11-32, so you can see more of the Word of God and His love for us. This teaching from Jesus illustrates not only that we should view God as our Heavenly Abba, but what God's true nature really is. The son in this story was rebellious and ungrateful. When he asked for his inheritance early, he was basically telling his father that he wished he were dead. According to the Law (see Numbers 27:1-11 for an example), an inheritance was only passed along once the father had died. The son was in violation of the Honor Thy Father and Mother Commandment (Exodus 20:12) and the punishment was death (Leviticus 20:9, Deuteronomy 21:18-21).
Although his heart was surely broken, he honored his son's request and granted him his inheritance early. The son was foolish and wasted everything on debauchery. After starving, he decided to return home and was hopeful of being one of his father's servants. When the son returned home, his father did something unexpected: he showed his son unimaginable grace! Under the Law, the son should have been killed, but instead was rewarded for his repentant heart. That is the nature of God! All our daddy wants from us is to repent of our sins and let him hug us. Even under the Law, God said in Hosea 6:6 "for I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings". Jesus emphasizes this point in Matthew 9:13 when He said "but go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance".
No matter which dispensation you are reading about, it is always clear that God loves us. He has always loved us and always will love us.