God's plan of the ages
Part 7
The Dispensation of the Law of Moses continued
This dispensation is marked on the time line above thusly (|) and is the later part of the second 2000 yr. period. It covers the time period when God gave the 10 Commandments of stone at Mt. Sinai to Moses and the Children of Israel. It lasted until the Crucifixion of Jesus and the beginning of the Church age. The dispensation of the law lasted approx. 1450 yrs.
4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Romans 10:12
1450 BC
Exodus chp 31
12And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God
Commentary
Here we see the Lord giving Israel the Sabbath as sign to them to keep through out all generations. As we have studied previously, Jesus came to earth approximently 1450 yrs after the giving of the law at Mt Sinai. He was crucified and arose on the third day. At his last supper he spoke of his new testament ( which is a will or covenant) 1st. Corinthians 11chp the apostle Paul says
23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come. 27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Romans 10:12
Commentary
So we see the Christians are not under the law, but under the new and better covenant that Jesus Christ the Messiah established. We also see that the Sabbath was a commandment to the Jews.
The Sabbath was on the 7th day of the week, for God began the creation on the 1st day of the week or Sunday. We learned in Genesis that he rested on the 7th day. So Jews are to keep Saturday the 7th day throughout all their generations.
The book of Acts tells that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians in the city of Antioch. The book of Acts also tells us that the disciples met on the 1st day of the week (Sunday) to break bread. Jesus arose on the 1st day of the week, Sunday. So Christians call Sunday the Lords day.
The apostle John tells us in Revelation 1:10 " I was in the Spirit on the Lords day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, so the Lord began to show John and tell John the things revealed in the book of Revelation on a Sunday. So God made a new covenant with the followers of Christ and set a new day for them to worship. Christians are not required to keep the Sabbath or Saturday the 7th day. That is exclusively a sign for the Jews to keep.
God began creation on the 1st day of the week and at the end of that week (Saturday) he rested. God told Jews to honor and worship on the day he rested. Christians honor and worship the Lord on Sunday, the day he arose (the Lords Day).
Now lets look again at our study of dispensations.
Adam- 2000 yrs--Noah-2000--Jesus crucified church age 2000 yrs approx.)----(then-saints taken to heaven in the rapture)-----(7yrs trib-- begins-----at the end of 7 yrs trib)------(saints return to earth with Jesus. Rev 20 chp and then -Jesus ---sets up his millennial kingdom-1000 yrs-)----- great white throne judgment and the new heaven and earth through out eternity. see Rev 21 & 22
1. There was 2000 yrs. from Adam to Noah and the flood. We covered that in our 1st lessons.
2.There was 2000 yrs. from Noah's flood to the coming of Jesus.
3.There has been approx 2008 yrs. since the birth of Jesus Christ, or his 1st. coming. Our present calendar may be off 5 or 6 years, or perhaps a little more.
Altogether there has been about 6000 yrs since the creation. You can see that something major happened in Gods plan for the ages, or dispensations, every 2000 years.
II Peter 3:8, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
Commentary here
If you take the above scripture by the apostle Peter seriously which I do. God is giving us a Bible equation here. Let's look at it this way for a minute.
From Adam to the end of the Church age and the end of the 7 yr, tribulation is approximently 6000 yrs. God said his spirit will not always strive with man. He has been teaching mankind for 6000 yrs how they should live for him and avoid sin and rebellion.
According to the equation above 6000 yrs. is actually 6 millennial days. The first millennial day would begin on Sunday, or the 1st. day of creation. I believe God created the heavens and earth in six literal days. The other events such as the lives of Cain and Able, Enoch and others filled out the rest of that first thousand years.
The next 5 millennial days would come to represent Monday through Friday and complete the six day work week. Of course Saturday the 7th is the day of rest, or the Sabbath to the Jews.
The seventh Millennial day will be the millennial kingdom of Christ where he will reign over the whole earth in perfect peace and justice. That will be the sabbath or rest talked about in the Bible in many places.
God made our week seven days long. Did you ever stop to think, why is our week 7 days instead 9 or 4 ?(answer). It is 7 days which is symbolic, or a mini copy of his thousand years for each day of his millennial week. A day with him is as 1000 years to us.
God, who set the times and the orbit of the earth around the sun, also set the speed of the revolutions of the earth upon its axis. He causes the earth to wobble and that creates our seasons. Our week of 7 days fits into his 7 millennial days of a thousand years each.
He does nothing in a haphazard way. He does everything wonderful and beautiful. By studying his plan for the ages and dispensations it makes it easier to understand the Bible.
Also needed is prayer and the Holy Spirit to understand the deeper things of God. His word is exciting and fascinating. Gods word is full of beautiful symbols and intricate plans. It takes some study and research to dig out these treasures. He said you will find me when you search for me with all your heart.
In this lesson we deviated a little from the events of Israel in the desert but we will return to it in the next lesson. It is important to follow up the events in the Old Testament as they occur and match them up with their more complete fulfillment in the New Testament.
It is important also to understand why Christians are not subject to Sabbath keeping, circumcision, and the sacrificing of lambs. Christ was sacrificed for us instead of animals.
God provided a sacrifice in Jesus. After the dispensation of the law of Moses, which man proved he could not keep; Jesus came and took our judgment and set us free. It is free to all who abandon their stubborn attempt to serve false gods and man made religions.
We should live our lives as the Bible tells us to live. Those who make that decision to live for Jesus will share in his Millennial Kingdom for a 1000 yrs, and after that live forever in the New Heavens and Earth. God's 7 day week goes from Adam and the creation to the end of the 1000 Millennial kingdom. That concludes God's dealing with mortal man on this earth.
Here is another scripture to consider. This is in regard to the two days and then the reserection.
Hosea 6:1-3."1Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us. he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth
You will notice that it says after two days he will revive us. The two days here is talking about is the 2000 yrs of the church age, and he calls it two days. The 3rd day I feel is talking about the Millennial Kingdom where all things will be restored.
He further states after those two days he will revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Brothers and sisters this is talking about the Lord raising us from the dead and the rapture of the church, or the taking of the church to heaven at the end of those two days or 2000 yrs. It also says we shall live in his sight.
FORMER DISPENSATIONS ARE THEN FINISHED HERE ON THIS EARTH. GOD THEN CREATS A NEW WORLD
Sunday also at this point in history represents A New begining, This is where God creates a second time. The old Heaven and earth has passed away and God creats a new world, a new Heaven and earth. where we will live through all eternity.
There will be no more dispensations or time periods. The Bible says time will be no more. We will be in eternity with God, in his beautiful new universe. We will be in the Holy City of the Heavenly Jerusalem. The Bible said Abraham looked for a city that was not built with hands but a city whose builder and maker is God
We will stop here today and return to Moses and the children of Israel in the desert. We will camp with them and travel with them. We will be as an imbedded reporter in their midst . We will occasionally jump into the new testament to see how things of the Old Testament are fullfilled in the new one.
Jesus loves you!!! he really does. Be sure to return here for more exciting events from the Bible. Bill Hicks
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