When does one dispensation, in the history of God's dealings with humanity, end, and another dispensation begin? (A "dispensation" is a characteristic epoch of time, distinguished by certain unique aspects of God's dealings with humanity.)
Most often I find that revelation does not appear all at once. But typically revelation begins as a thought or an idea which gradually develops into a broader concept involving a larger set of ideas. New ideas as well as developing concepts must continually be tested for validity, in the light of Scripture. Such ideas and concepts must also be evaluated from many different angles, for their ability to integrate holistically with one's best understanding of the plan of God. The above image is not intended to represent the process of revelation, but it is meant to illustrate something about a certain revelation which is lately developing in my cogitations pertaining to this present time in which we now live.
Until very recently, I had always thought that the Church Age would end abruptly at the moment of the Rapture. There after, the so-called Tribulation would ensue, followed a few years later by the Second Coming of Christ, which would signal the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom Age. I said, I used to think that way.
But now I perceive that the transition between the Church Age and the Millennial Kingdom Age, respectively, is not like "switching horses in the middle of the stream," as that saying goes. There is not any single event, nor moment in time, which can be identified as marking, at the same time or by the same event, the end of one dispensation (the Church Age) and the beginning of another (the Millennial Kingdom Age). But the transition between those two dispensations (as those are described in Scripture), entails a number of years, and it progresses along a continuum of time as well as of rapidly changing conditions. And we are right now in the midst of that great transition.
There is precedent in the Word of God, for thus judging our present circumstances. Consider, for example, the transition between the economy of the Old Covenant and that of the New Testament Church. The Old Covenant involved the Levitical priesthood, Temple worship, and keeping of the Law including its many rituals and ordinances. All of that was transformed, however, by the New Covenant, whereby the true, spiritual meaning of those things belonging to the Old Covenant was revealed, in the context of the living Body of Christ. But the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant did not happen overnight.
The Old Covenant did not end all at once at Calvary~notwithstanding the many miraculous events which occurred on that fateful day. Rather, the Old Covenant began to come to an end when John the baptist first appeared on the scene, preaching and baptizing. John was born into the Levitical priesthood; it was both his privilege as well as his duty to serve God as a priest in the Temple. Nevertheless, John turned his back on that whole system~and that by the leading of the Holy Ghost.
Moreover, when Jesus later came on the scene, his ministry, too, was conducted almost entirely outside of the Temple system. Throughout Jesus’s ministry, he was very careful to “fulfill” all the requirements of the Law. Yet, at the same time, Jesus was fully engaged in laying the foundation for the new Order (the New Covenant and the Church Age), which then was soon to come. Oftentimes, Jesus intentionally sought to expose and refute numerous man-made rituals and ordinances, which were widely supposed to be part and parcel of Judaism, but which practices and beliefs had in fact corrupted the Jewish religion.
In addition to the time between John the baptist and Calvary, many days elapsed between the time of Christ’s death, and his subsequent ascension to heaven; where after several more days, the Holy Ghost was then given. Even after Pentecost (Acts 2), there were no Gentiles added to the New Testament Church~not until Peter was sent to Cornelius’s house. The door of grace seems to have closed rather slowly, upon the Jews; just as that door also seems to have opened rather slowly, at first, to the Gentiles. From the time when John the baptist first began preaching, until the time when the Holy Ghost descended, on the day of Pentecost (in the book of Acts), involved a period of at least four years or more.
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Likewise, the transition from the Church Age to the Millennial Kingdom Age, entails a period of time spanning several years. The seven-year Tribulation period must be reckoned as part~but only a part~of that transition period. Similarly as the economy of the Old Covenant transitioned, over a period of time, to its close (and reached its terminus at Calvary); I firmly believe we are now witnessing the closing (involving a process of time) of the Church Age (the terminus of which is the Rapture).
But not only did John the baptist's ministry, and much more importantly Jesus's~and even that of Christ's disciples themselves (prior to Calvary), serve to bring the Old Covenant Dispensation to its close. At the same time, those individuals' faith and labors were instrumental in preparing the way for the advent of the new Dispensation that was then coming. The Holy Ghost led all of those individuals (including Jesus), to perceive themselves as "change agents" (to borrow a modern term) in the hands of God. They all believed they were witnessing the appearing of a new Age; though none but Jesus fully understood what that meant.
I perceive that something similar to that process is occurring right now, during this present time of transition. I am no longer expecting for the Church Age to continue in the same manner as it did in the past until, all at once, the vast infrastructure and operations and work of the Church shall then suddenly come to a grinding halt at the moment of the Rapture. I do not mean, however, that the Church Age is now completed; but it is nearly so. Yet, the principal idea I want to convey, is, not only that the Church Age is rapidly winding down to its imminent close, but that we are simultaneously (already) entering into an early phase of the soon-coming Millennial Kingdom Age!
The coming of Jesus Christ, as the Savior of the world, introduced dramatic changes to the work of God in the earth. The scope of God's kingdom rapidly expanded to encompass the Gentiles, throughout the whole world. The mystery of the indwelling Spirit of God was revealed, along with the revelation pertaining to the priesthood of every born-again Christian person. Those changes first began to occur, in fact, when John the baptist introduced the "baptism of repentance," as he had received that from God. A little later, Christ authorized and empowered a significant number of his disciples (many more than the twelve) to function in ways hitherto unheard of (casting out devils; healing the sick, on a grand scale; and, street-preaching). None of those spiritual ministries were known to the Levitical priesthood, in anything like the manner in which Christ's disciples practiced those. Important (for what I am trying to show), they were engaged in those ministries for many months before Jesus went to the Cross, and longer still before they had their "upper room" experience, following the Ascension of Jesus.
About a month ago, I published an essay on this blog titled, "The Great Departing" (link), in which I first began to introduce these ideas, this still-unfolding revelation. My closing sentence, in that essay, was this: "The Great Departing is already underway." I saw, then, that we are already in the midst of a great and ongoing transformation, one which is going to affect our lives in ways as yet unknown. I believe that God is preparing the true Body of Christ to experience some extraordinary things~prior to the Rapture. And I want to say somewhat more about that, in part 2 of this series.
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