THE SEVENTH DISPENSATION

The first five dispensations could be characterized as an increasing longing for the presence of the Lord as King of kings, and Lord of lords. Adam went from hiding to reminiscing about the good old days with God. As time passed, man's stewardship responsibilities involved an increasing amount of "light," or understanding. By the time Jesus appeared, the entire Old Testament had been written. Paul wrote that "...the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24). The religious leaders even had an awareness that the Messiah was due (Daniel 9:24-29). And yet, when He was standing in their very presence, they rejected Him.

The sixth dispensation added more light with the writing of the Gospels, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the rest of the New Testament as a guide for Christian living, and to offer hope for Christ's imminent return. But, two thousand years has been a long time, and the voices of the apostates are getting louder (2 Peter 3:3-4). For true believers, Jesus promised to return to take us to be with Him in heaven (John 14:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). His return to collect us is called The Rapture, and it occurs prior to the Tribulation, which is the judgment of the fifth dispensation. Following the Tribulation, Christians return with Christ to rule with Him for one thousand years (Revelation 20:6).

The thousand year reign of Christ, also called the Millennium, is the very kingdom of which the prophets spoke (Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 33:14-22; Ezekiel 37:24-25; Daniel 7:13-14; Hosea 3:4-5; Amos 9:11; and Zachariah 14:4-9; etc.). In it, all of the yet unfulfilled prophecies regarding the land, Israel, and the Christ, will be fulfilled. The kingdom His disciples longed for in Acts 1:6 has come at last.

Christ will rule by delegating responsibility, or stewardship, just as He did for the first six dispensations. This time, He will Tabernacle with mankind. As I said before, the last three feasts of Israel occur together, and they picture Christ's second coming. Trumpets is a call to return to the Lord. Atonement is a call to repentance for Israel's Christ is coming. Tabernacles describes Christ as Immanuel, God living with man.

The seventh dispensation of the Millennium might be described as:

Stewardship: Govern with Christ (Revelation 20:6)
Foods: Plants (Isaiah 65:21-25; 66:3)
Command: Obey Christ and His chosen leaders (Revelation 19:15; 20:6)
Response: Rebellion when Satan released (Revelation 20:7-9)
Judgment: Physical death and the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20: 9-15)