Joshua and Judges: Abrahamic Covenant - Dispensationalism. Jos 5:1-3; Heb 1:2; 11:3.

Titl hua and Judges: Abrahamic Covenant - Dispensationalism. JOS 5:1-3; HEB 1:2; 11:.   

 

Announcementsopening prayer:

 

 

I will begin with a story, but it's not bed time.

 

The church was pre-millennial and for its first 200 years no other view was entertained. About AD 250, Origen, one of the so-called church fathers, conceived the idea that the words of scripture were but the "husk" in which was hid the "kernel" of scripture truth. At once he began to allegorize and spiritualize the scriptures.

 

Allegory: a story in which people, things, and happenings have a hidden or symbolic meaning. [Websters]

 

When Constantine became sole Emperor of Rome in AD 323, being favorable to Christianity, he united church and state. A new difficulty now arose in the interpretation of scripture. If, as was at that time believed, Rome was to the be the seat of the antichrist, that question arose, or rather was suspiciously whispered - "Is Constantine the antichrist? Such a notion was unpalatable to the emperor, obviously, and the church was being accepted by him, so an alternative and convenient explanation was adopted, that antichrist was pagan Rome, and that the Millennium commenced when Constantine ascended the throne. This was given an easier acceptance by the fact that the Emperor gave gifts and privileges to the church. This led to the claim that the Millennial blessings of the OT had been transferred from the Jews to the Christian church.

 

When the reformation came in the fifteen century some of the reformers brought back pre-millennialism. Calvin rejected it. The reformers however did not go far enough. That period brought great religious strife and the formation of many new religious sects. The result was an ebb of spirituality and the growth of rationalism, which refused to believe that the world was fast ripening for judgment, and a new interpretation of the Millennial reign of Christ was demanded. This interpretation was furnished by Daniel Whitby (1638-1726), a clergyman of the Church of England, who claimed that in reading the promises made to the Jews in the OT of their restoration as a nation, and the re-establishment of the throne of David, he was led to see that these promises were spiritual and applied to the church. This view he called a "New Hypothesis."

 

He claimed that Israel and Mt. Zion represented the church. That the promised submission of the Gentiles to the Jews was simply prophetic of the conversion of the Gentiles and their entrance into the Church. That the lying down of the lamb and the lion together typified the reconciliation of the old and new natures, and that the establishment of an outward and visible kingdom at Jerusalem, over which Christ and the saints should reign, was gross and carnal, and contrary to reason, as it implied the mingling together of human and spiritual beings on the earth.

 

His "New Hypothesis" was that by the preaching of the gospel Mohammedanism would be overthrown, the Jews converted, the Papal church with the pope (he called him the antichrist) would be destroyed, and there would follow a 1000 years of righteousness and peace known as the Millennium; at the close of which there would be a short period of apostasy, ending in the return of Christ. (post millennialism)

 

His theory was favorably received in England and everywhere, and it spread with great rapidity and became the established doctrine of the church. After the great wars it lost favor and amillennialism became the flavor of the time.

 

Dispensations: divine categories of human history. God's plan is not the same for each dispensation. By understanding, the child of God can orient himself to the plan of God.

 

There are many ways to interpret human history as we have seen in the last several classes, but there is only one way to interpret history from the standpoint of the Bible and the program of God for human history. Israel is not the church, nor has the blessings promised to Abraham, the Jews, and the nation of Israel been given to the church. These will find their complete fulfillment in the millennial reign of Christ.

 

When we look to divide human history into its various dispensations we can get very detailed and divide some of the general dispensations into different subcategories. What we're basically looking for are the times that God changed His policy with the human race concerning His plan and their obligations. We know for certain that the church is a distinct dispensation from the age of Israel or the age of the Mosaic Law, for we are not under the Law. That leads to another slight difference in setting up a succession of dispensations, what you call them. Some are very easy while others can have a variety of names, each of which mean the same thing, but differ depending on preference. For example, in referring to the Garden of Eden one man calls it the age of innocence while another calls it the age of positive volition. Either is fine. We know that age ended with the fall, so that is an easy distinction. From there the next change is the flood, and then after the flood we have a time of many events: the Tower of Babel, the calling of Abraham, the life of Jacob and his twelve sons and their families in Egypt, the Exodus, the giving of the Law, the taking of the land, the time of the Judges and then the monarchy, leading up to the birth of Christ. God doesn't give us instruction on how to divide these times or time and so different dispensationalists who are premillennial and very good theologians have slightly different divisions.

 

HEB 1:1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

 

HEB 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

 

HEB 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

 

HEB 1:2

in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (aion, plural = ages).

 

Confusion results from translating the Greek word aion as "world." At least it should be translated as "worlds" since the noun is plural. However, the Greek word kosmos (used 170 times) is usually the word used for world. Aion is used 28 times and it refers to either an age, a dispensation, or an indefinite time. The context bears the meaning.

 

HEB 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

 

HEB 11:2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

 

HEB 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

 

HEB 11:3

By faith we understand that the worlds (aion = ages) were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

 

I have taken what several of them have done and put them together in what I think is the most comprehensive.

 

Dispensations:

1. Age of Innocence - the creation of man to the fall (GEN 1:28 - 3:6).

2. Age negative volition - fall to Abraham (GEN 4:1 - 11:32). In this age there are the divine institutions of family and nationalism.

 

I initially wanted to divide the second dispensation into two, from the fall to the flood and then the flood to Abraham. The reason for that is that the covenant given to Noah did change a few things and the dispersion of the people from Babel did bring about nations. So, one could really divide this up into the fall to the flood, then the flood to Babel and then Babel to Abraham, making 2a-c. What is important is that we understand that things in God's policy with humans and the earth does change.

 

3. Age of the patriarchs - Abraham to Moses, Gen 12 - Exo 2.

4. Age of Israel - Exodus to the birth of Christ, Exo 13 - gospels.

 

The age of the patriarchs have the introduction of a new race - the Jew from a man called from southern Mesopotamia (Sumerian). We also have the introduction of the Abrahamic Covenant, which the new species, the Jew, and now believe in.  

 

The age of Israel is a change in that for the first time we have an independent nation of Jews as well as the Mosaic Law to follow. The next age, the age of Christ or the age of the hypostatic union is distinct for obvious reasons, but Christ was still under the Law, which He perfectly fulfilled and abolished.

 

By the way, the first three dispensations could fall under one dispensation called the dispensation of the Gentiles. I personally think that is a bit misleading since Abraham is a Jew and Israel in Egypt is quite distinct as a people among the Gentiles.

 

2 Christocentric dispensations:

5. Age of the Hypostatic Union, gospels - Act 2.

6. Age of the Church, Pentecost - Rapture.

 

2 eschatelogical dispensations:

7. Tribulation - Rev 6-19, various OT passages.

8. Millennium - Rev 20, various OT passages.

 

Some like the number of dispensations to come out to either 6 or 7. Six generally refers to man and seven almost always refers to perfection or completion. However, since we are not clearly told where all the distinctions should occur, I don't believe the number of them to be important.

 

Larkin chart

 

This returns us to our study of the Abrahamic Covenant. This will become a study of the promises to Abraham, their expansion in the OT, the completion of the amillennial and covenant theology view, and the true view of the Millennial reign of Christ. Since we have the privilege of the fullness of revelation, having the completed canon of scripture, we should fully know what the Jews are told to recall and concentrate on through the ritual of circumcision in Gilgal.

 

REV 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

 

REV 20:2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

 

REV 20:3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

 

Satan, as the god of this age (2CO 4:4), has carried on his work to defeat the purpose and program of God.

 

At all times in human history, Satan has worked tirelessly to defeat any and all aspects of the purpose and program of God. As he attacked Israel, he now attacks to the church. He attacks the truth, the Holy Spirit's work, God's program for human history, individual believers, the church at large, as well as the Jewish people. This can all be clearly seen throughout human history and especially in the Bible.

 

The millen­nial age is to be the age in which divine righteousness is to be displayed (ISA 11:5; 32:1; JER 23:6; DAN 9:24). It is also to be God’s final test of fallen humanity under the most ideal circum­stances.

 

Christ's divine righteousness is openly displayed on earth through Himself, in resurrection body, and seated on the throne of Israel, the throne of David, for a full thousand years.

 

It is clearly observed in the Bible that the millennial age finds the complete fulfillment of all that God promised to the nation of Israel. Satan vehemently attacks these scriptures along with the people.

e: Jos