We have seen that God is Contrastive and Humble. He is NEVER wrong, but that doesn't mean that He doesn't consider that He is wrong. Considering that you are wrong and being wrong are two different scenarios.
Has God been Contrastive with us since the day He created us? If you look at the way (HOW) God spoke to people in different sections of the Bible, you may say there are Contradictions between now and the Old Testament times. It wasn't a sin to marry your sister at one time, now it's a sin? It seems as though God is changing the way He is interacting with His people... WHY?
DOCTRINE #59: DISPENSATIONS
God has a Plan for eternity He believes is Right. However, God is willing to consider other possibilities. God is using a contrastive process (Right HOW) to determine what is Right (Right WHY). God's Right method is to show that every other possible configuration is wrong: that every other configuration is unprofitable. These configurations are called "dispensations". The entire Bible documents God using this contrastive process to prove His Plan for eternity is Right!
Question: Do you believe if God is being contrastive with His will, you ought to be contrastive with your beliefs?
Next Doctrine: Doctrine #60
Table of Contents
If you need it, here is the support from the Word of God...
SCRIPTURE
"8 And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads." (Genesis 2:8-10)
(The Garden of Eden was the First Dispensation. Notice, it had the same setting as God's Plan! A bride, a groom, a tree of life, and a river. The philosophy of the First Dispensation was that if people didn't know about Good and Evil and just trusted God, they could live profitably forever. However, not having the knowledge of Good and Evil meant they didn't have understanding and didn't have wisdom. They had to completely live by grace which was God giving His influence in person; He gave them His Words directly from His Mouth.)
"14 And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
20 And the man called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
21 And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.
22 And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever-
23 therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." (Genesis 3:14-24)
(The First Dispensation failed and ended with a reward judgment (curses) and a "salvation" judgment (driven from God's presence). Adam and Eve were both deceived: a Right WHAT with a Wrong HOW/WHY. The original sin was when Adam justified himself instead of God: Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. This dispensation failed because Adam and Eve lacked faith; they didn't have much experience and understanding of God. If they would have not justified themselves when their eyes were opened and taken direction from God, they would have confessed and repented. The Second Dispensation compensated for this by allowing people to live hundreds of years to develop experience and understanding of God.)
"5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah." (Genesis 6:5-8)
(However, people chose to do wickedness with their extra time. They thought only as animals; they were not even trying to Think like God. The Second Dispensation ended with a judgment: the Flood. God was Right and Just to bring the Flood. He brought everything back to zero by killing everyone. The Flood took away the waters above the earth that protected people from the harmful rays of the sun, which was why people lived so long before the Flood. After the Flood, the life span was shortened. Before the Flood, people didn't have a sense of urgency. God's ending of the Second Dispensation addressed the issue (lack of sense of urgency) by shortening the human life span in order to give people a sense of urgency.)
"1 And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4 And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5 And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
7 Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.
9 Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:1-9)
(The people of the Third Dispensation spent their energy trying to reach God physically instead of spiritually. Again, this dispensation ended with judgment. The languages were confused and people driven away: nations were created. Notice the way that God judged them was by making them speak a different language; their WORDS were different. If we all have the same definitions for a word (God's Definitions) it is like we can speak the same language. If we all have different meanings for the words God has already defined, we will have contradictory definitions and not be able to communicate as God intended.)
"1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee." (Genesis 17:1-7)
(God chose one nation to work through during the Fourth Dispensation. God intended to reach the rest of the nations through the nation of Israel. God formed a Covenant with Abraham and worked through the patriarch; God was trying to lead Abraham and the nation he was a part of with principles. This did not lead to people turning to God because they didn't know what sin was. Israel was taken into captivity in Egypt. At the end of the Fourth Dispensation, there was a Judgement Day known as Passover. The Fifth Dispensation introduced the Law. This dispensation allowed anyone who followed the Law to be one of God's people, not just people from Israel. God formed a covenant with His people to establish the Fifth Dispensation. A covenant had five parts. These next series of passages will explain how it was established...)
"22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left." (Exodus 14:22)
(Step 1: Go through something. Remember, God went through the bloody furry pieces of animals with His covenant with Abraham. Noah went through the Flood.)
"8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah." (Exodus 19:8)
(Step 2: Agreement. There had to be agreement between the covenant partners. Step 3: Sharing. This was shown in Exodus chapters 20 through 23.)
"3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the ordinances: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto Jehovah." (Exodus 24:3-5)
(Step 4: Death. Abraham and Noah sacrificed animals. God even changed Abram and Sarai's names signifying another "death".)
"6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all these words." (Exodus 24:6-8)
(Step 5: Blood was shed.)
"24 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.
25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times.
26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:24-27)
(Daniel stated there would be 483 years until the Fifth Dispensation would be suspended. Then, at a later date, the last seven years of the Fifth Dispensation would be completed and a Judgment Day would occur.)
"6 But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; For they continued not in my covenant, And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them: And I will be to them a God, And they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And their sins will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away." (Hebrews 8:6-13)
(Jesus went through the five steps in order to create a new covenant with us. If each dispensation would have caused people to respond to God in a flawless, Holy way, there would have been no need for another dispensation, because His Will would have been accomplished on earth. Who's "mind" followed the Law perfectly while on earth? Who had perfect causes while living? There has only been one person and that allowed that person to Justly be a sacrifice for a new covenant with us and God.)
"1 And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4)
(The Law of the Fifth Dispensation didn't make people good. It was a guidance from the outside like being sprinkled upon with water. The Sixth Dispensation wrote the Law on our hearts. This is grace via the Holy Spirit. We are guided on the inside with the word that flows like a fountain. This grace is the revelatory word from God that results in wisdom. Grace is presented in our actions and our HOW/WHY, our causes. This dispensation is the one that we are currently living in. Are you growing in grace?)
"1 Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
2 to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
3 let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
4 he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;
9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10)
(The end of our dispensation will be the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church, which will be another Judgment Day. The Church will be removed from the earth. Once the Sixth Dispensation is over, the Fifth Dispensation can be completed. The last seven years of the Fifth Dispensation are known as "The Tribulation".)
"17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God;
18 that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone:
21 and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh." (Revelation 19:17-21)
(It's all WORDS! The Fifth Dispensation ends with a Judgment Day...)
"1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them." (Revelation 20:1-9)
(The Seventh Dispensation will be a sabbath from the devil. It will be rest. People will live hundreds of years without illness, poverty, and war. They will be influenced face-to-face by martyrs. In our dispensation, many "christians" don't believe in grace via the Holy Spirit. They actually use "dispensations" to say that the time of signs and wonders via the Holy Spirit has passed. The Seventh Dispensation will be even harder to deny because the influence will be physical, however, Satan will still be able to deceive people at the end of the Seventh Dispensation when he is loosed.)
"10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire.
15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:10-15)
(The Seventh Dispensation ends in the Final Judgment Day, and the Eighth Dispensation, God's Plan, will be able to begin: The meaning of life... church and marriage!)
With each dispensation people have chosen to take direction from God and have chosen to follow after their flesh. By using a contrastive process, He is proving what will cause people to choose Him; what it takes for individuals to pursue growth and interact with Him as the First Cause. With each dispensation people have held contradictory beliefs that bring judgement upon them. If God didn't go through this process we would be able to get into heaven and say to him, "Why didn't you try that, God? Maybe this would have worked, maybe that would have worked." When we get to heaven the people that will be there will be people who followed the Will of God, were humble, and took direction from Him, regardless of the dispensation they were in. ALL will be saved by grace through faith.
With that said, what is God's Will?
