Dispensationalism: a religious interpretive system and metanarrative for the Bible. It considers biblical history as divided by God into dispensations, defined periods or ages to which God has allotted distinctive administrative principles.
Dispensationalists’ presuppositions start with the inductive reasoning that biblical history has a particular discontinuity in the way God reacts to humanity in the unfolding of their, sometimes supposed, free wills. ~
Dispensationalism in Transition by Kenneth Gentry, 1993
A metanarrative in critical theory and particularly in postmodernism is a narrative about narratives of historical meaning, experience, or knowledge, which offers a society legitimation through the anticipated completion of a master idea.
Classic dispensationalism began with John Nelson Darby. Darby was succeeded by the theologian C. I. Scofield, the Bible teacher Harry A. Ironside, Lewis Sperry Chafer, William R. Newell, and Miles J. Stanford, each of whom identified Pentecost (Acts 2) with the start of the Church as distinct from Israel.
The number of dispensations vary typically from three to eight. The typical seven-dispensation scheme is as follows:
Stage one is titled Innocence – Adam under probation prior to the Fall. Ends with expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Some refer to this period as the Adamic period or the dispensation of the Adamic covenant or Adamic law.
The first thing we have to do is identify this truth: The “covenant” and the “law” are two distinct and separate “things”. The covenant between man and YHVH is a marriage which is a portion of the law, not the complete law.
Traditional vows for him: “I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith [or myself] to you.”
Traditional vows for her: “I ___, take thee ___, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth. [troth is a faith or loyalty when pledged in a solemn agreement or undertaking.]
It has been said that the Adamic covenant is a two-part covenant, first the Edenic covenant, consisting of blessings and a warning to Adam. Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”
Many will argue that the “law” was not in the Garden, that it did not come until Moses. The fact is the principles of the “law” were established with Adam. Adam and YHVH had a personal, intimate relationship that was tangible. Adam could go directly to YHVH and get the answers.
Paul tells us of the reason for the written law. Galatians 3:19 “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added [*] because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” *G4369 προστίθημι prostithemi (pros-tiy’-thee-miy) v. to place additionally, i.e. lay beside, annex, repeat.
It is impossible to “lay beside” or “repeat” if it had not been established prior! This destroys the second Dispensational period.
Number two is Conscience – From the Fall to the Great Flood. Ends with the worldwide deluge.
We can see from the interaction between God and Cain that the “law” was in full use. The Bible states “And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.” These are occupations. Have you ever noticed how deeply humans, and men specifically, are identified with their occupation?
We hear it all the time: “Who is that?”, “Bob, the electrician”. Or when people first meet, “Hi I am Joe”, “I am Jerry”, “so Jerry what do you do?” My favorite answer to that question is “about what?”.
Trying to disconnect who I am as a person from the stereotype of my career. My response, “I am a battle tested prayer warrior of the Most High cleverly disguised as a _________.”
Back to Cain and the “law”. YHVH says to Cain, “Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” What is it that Cain is to “do well”? Look at the preceeding verse as it explains.
Genesis 4:3 “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
According to the Torah, or what is know as the “law”, grains are not acceptable as an offering of atonement. Atonement can only be reached by innocent blood. This had already been taught and exampled by YHVH himself in the covering of Adam & Eve.
Also, from this passage we can see that Able brought the “fat thereof”, this is a reference to the best he had to offer. Cain had not complied with the instructions. {AKA Torah, or the law}
The third of seven dispensations claimed by post-modern believers is:
Human Government – After the Great Flood, humanity is responsible to enact the death penalty. Ends with the dispersion at the Tower of Babel. Some use the term Noahide law in reference to this period of dispensation.
We could spend days unraveling the errors of “Noahide Laws”, for now, I will just say these are not God’s laws, they too are man-made regulations. Let’s look directly at scripture and allow it to define itself.
Genesis 7:1-2 “And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”
How was Noah capable of determining which animal was clean and which wasn’t? Was it based on the outward appearance? (a huge topic for Jews and Christians) The real answer is a resounding NO!
Noah who was faithful in that “according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” Noah did what was right, he followed the instructions. The Torah was a verbal instruction given to the patriarchs because of their audible relationship.
Leviticus chapter eleven explains this in detail. https://bereanbreadcrumbs.com/2017/08/23/leviticus-11-banquet-of-believers/#more-3725
Fourth in the dispensational delusion is the Promise Era – From Abraham to Moses. Ends with the refusal to enter Canaan and the 40 years of unbelief in the wilderness. Some use the terms Abrahamic law or Abrahamic covenant in reference to this period of dispensation.
While we see many of the post-modern preachers affirm this idea of a new promise made to Abraham. Genesis 22:17 “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;”
I must ask, is that ANY different than that of the command to Adam to “be fruitful and multiply”? No not really, the only thing I can see is that God promises to help Abraham fulfill the command (law). Jesus does the same thing. John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
- Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
The next thing to question, did Abraham actually do what God said? The promise to Abraham was repeated in Genesis 26:4-5 along with the condition that fulfills the promise: “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
Again, this falls into a perfect rhythm with the blessings and curses, according to the adherence of the Torah/instructions, found in Deuteronomy. It is with this in mind that YHVH speaks to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Dispensationalist position number 5 brings us to the “Law” – From Moses to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Ends with the scattering of Israel in AD70. Some use the term Mosaic law in reference to this period of dispensation.
We have already determined this written code or “law” was establish by God in the Garden. Paul told us in Galatians of the recorded version came because the population was not only expanding, but too, they were not connecting to the instructions. The people had been stripped of their identity in their time in Egypt. What the people needed was a time of personal discovery and an opportunity to put into practice all of the instructions. This is the need of the desert experience.
As I write this, the world is in a state of panic over a virus. The solution, while it is man-made, reflects this same theorem. Insulate yourself from the world and get good information and put it into practice! You can bet someone is patting themselves on the back for coming up with such a great plan. Ha!
Numbers 6 & 7 on the Dispensationalists list are the major ‘hot topics’ among the Greek and Roman educated post modern believers. They are:
Grace – From the cross to the rapture of the church. The rapture is followed by the wrath of God constituting the Great Tribulation. Some use the term Age of Grace or the Church Age for this dispensation.
Millennial Kingdom – A 1000 year reign of Christ on earth centered in Jerusalem, ending with God’s judgment on the final rebellion.
We can spend many hours on the rapture idea alone. Having already researched this and I can say, with confidence, that I personally have ZERO belief in a pre-tribulation rapture. Here are my findings… you can use them to start your own deep study.
- https://bereanbreadcrumbs.com/2016/12/24/no-rapture-part-1-throwing-baby-out-with-the-bathwater/
- https://bereanbreadcrumbs.com/2016/12/24/no-rapture-part-2-patience-is-a-virtue/
- https://bereanbreadcrumbs.com/2016/12/24/no-rapture-part-3-the-watchman/
- https://bereanbreadcrumbs.com/2016/12/24/no-rapture-part-4-heaven-on-earth/
Jesus himself states in Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” That word fulfil is the Greek word is pleroo (plee-ro’-ō) v. fully preach, perfect, supply. Jesus came to fully preach, perfect, supply the law. {Torah/instructions}
The dispensationalist anchor their position on the statement made by Paul in Ephesians 2:15 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;” Only problem is…. God did not establish these ordinances, they were man-made by the Pharisees. Need proof? Matthew 15:2 “Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.” This is recorded in Mark as well, where we will see the scathing the Pharisees get for this behavior.
Mark 7:7-9 “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” The God of creation, in human form, tells us the traditions of men are USELESS!
This scathing is consistent with Moses: Leviticus 18:3 “After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.” AND, as mentioned previously, it was true with Cain.
Now we must deal with the future. The “future” of the church would play itself out in the book of Acts. It will serve as our future as well. Acts 13:15 “And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.”
This would be the time men could discuss the contemporary events in relationship to the Scriptures and prophecy. Jesus himself assures us that the Torah/instructions or “law” will live forever. Luke 21:33 “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words [Torah] shall not pass away.”
God, as well as Yeshua and Paul, have told us in no uncertain terms that the instructions are for our benefit. These instructions identify us as followers of YHVH and set us apart from the rest of the world. This should be simple for us to comprehend.
Jesus: “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” John 3:12
Paul: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” Hebrews 5:12
What will you do?
Follow the discontinuity taught by men?
Or the consistent truth of God’s word from Creation to Redemption?
Berean Breadcrumbs 
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