Chapter 16 - Dispensation of Promise and Events of the Dispensation:

Latter we see in the transitional period before the dispensation of Human Government completely closes glimpses of the last reference of God's working with men from this dispensation.

In the transition period the King of Salem who's name was Melchizedek, Genesis 14:18, Hebrews 7:1-2  he was a believer Priest and used of God during the transition between the two dispensations. We also see priest who were not believers but false priest, seen in the account of Joseph in Egypt, Genesis 47:22,26.

In the Transition God chooses a people group through Abraham they will be the new dispensers or ordained stewards of the Dispensation of Promise and they were to be God's messengers of His message to the world.

We also know there was a priest named Jethro, a priest of Midian and the father-in-law to Moses during the transition to the new dispensation, Exodus 3:1 18:1. We do not see him appear in scripture until Moses' escape to Midian from Egypt and his marriage of Jethro's daughter Zipporah. We do not see any negative in his character that is revealed in scripture in fact we see him being helpful to Moses and the children of Israel. We have to assume he was a priest as revealed, and sense he was used of God to further the deliverance of the children of Israel. Jethro must have been a priest of the former dispensation and a priest in relationship with God and not corrupted. We do not know any Gentile priest after him mentioned in scripture which occupied the same relationship with God or being used in a unique capacity.  Exodus 4:17-19. You can see more of his life under the chapter on salvation.

Another examples of the people living at this time in regards of the Tower of Babel, Genesis 11:1-9. We see the heart of the disobedient prophet Balaam who comes from this dispensation and lived in the transition time. It is hard to believe Balaam was a believer but remember every dispensation end with the failure of men and the failure of believers to do as they were to be responsible to fulfill.

If we look at Balaam in the light of the dispensational failure as we do with the tower of Babel people we can understand better his apostasy and yet how God could speak to him latter and the corruption which he represents. We also can understand the choosing of the promise people in the light of the transition of the old being laid aside and the new dispensation beginning, Numbers 22, 22:8-13. In the New Testament we see Balaam being contrasted to believer not unbelievers, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11. you can learn more of the transition of a dispensation in chapter 10. Balaam always wanting to twist what God tells him and a desire for personnel gain instead of doing right. He could not have loved God with the devotion God required but can see the same kind of compromise which the people showed at the tower of Babel - imagining God would not see his deception of devotion and his imaginary belief God would over look his infractions or he was hoping he could bend God to do it his way. We again can say God showed him love by having the covering for sin as revealed earlier still open for him and not ending his life immediate on his disobedience. With the event of Balaam's life the transition comes to an end and the Israelites take the promise land as God promised, and from here no mention of a Godly relationship which had came from the former dispensation appears.

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 Overviewof 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 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.

  1. Isaiah 63:16

    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

    1. Isaiah 63:16 - 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. They beseech him to look down on the abject condition of their once-favored nation. Would it not be glorious to his name to remove the veil from their hearts, to return to the tribes of his inheritance? The Babylonish captivity, and the after-deliverance of the Jews, were shadows of the events here foretold. The Lord looks down upon us in tenderness and mercy. Spiritual judgments are more to be dreaded than any other calamities; and we should most carefully avoid those sins which justly provoke the Lord to leave men to themselves and to their deceiver. “Our Redeemer from everlasting” is thy name; thy people have always looked upon thee as the God to whom they might appeal. The Lord will hear the prayers of those who belong to him, and deliver them from those not called by his name.) Matthew and Henry Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, Isaiah 63.
      (Deut 32:6)  Is this the way you repay the LORD,  O foolish and unwise people?  Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
       Isaiah 64:8 - Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
       

      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.

    2. 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.

    4. Dispensation of Promise - The end of direct dealings with the Nation of Israel of Promise is in the transition after Israel was laid aside, and the dispensation of Grace was overlaid stopping their prophetic fulfillment of the 70th week of Daniel and its completion, which ends with the Day of the Lord/Christ Jesus second coming to earth. The Nation of Israel is still in transition and it will not end until Christ set up His Kingdom with them as the ordained instrument fulfilling the promises made to them as a Nation. The overlay of the dispensation of Grace is part of the judgment on the Nation of Israel being part of the transition from the dispensation of Promise to the Earthly Kingdom, Romans 11, Acts 7- Revelation 19.

    The transition of the Promise started with the time of the Gentiles (Father rejected). It continues with the time of Christ (Rejection of the Son) through the stoning of Steven (Rejection of the Holy Spirit). It is going to be complete at the end of the Tribulation period with Jesus Christ coming back to this Earth and Reigning (with the true Israel - the remnant, Romans 9:27,28). (Today's dispensation was not in prophecies or revealed – we call it sometimes the parentheses dispensation, it starts with Israel's rejection in Act 7 and comes to its fullness at chapter 28, which represents 70 AD.) God postponed His prophetic dealing of Daniels prophecy with the Nation of Israel at Acts 28 or 70 AD until the rapture and then starts again, (or picks up with them) physically with them at the beginning of the Tribulation period, Romans 11:8-13, Acts 13:46-48, 18:4-6, 28:28. In addition, even though laid aside they still are providentially God’s Nation or people. A remnant today is being saved and being added to today's dispensation. Today is part of their judgment from God, and the Nation is still experiencing the transition from the Promise dispensation to the Kingdom dispensation.

    Neither individual Jews are being added to the Dispensation of Promise today or are there Gentiles being added to the Dispensation of Promises or Kingdom today. Today's Dispensation is New and was a Mystery hide in God before the foundations of the earth or world, Colossians 1:25,26, Romans 16:25, Ephesians 3:9. The overlay relationship to Israel is part of the mystery hid in God and not prophesied, Ephesians 3:5,6. Jews and Gentiles are being added to today's Dispensation which ends at the Rapture and then after the rapture, Jews and Gentiles will be added to the Dispensation of Promise in the tribulation (70th wk of Daniel), which is part of the transition into the Earthly Kingdom of 1000years. Both Jews and Gentiles will receive their glorified body in the rapture and after the rapture God deals with those left in natural bodies going through the 70 week prophecy of Daniel (Tribulation period) and the Dispensation of the Kingdom.

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