Appendix B1: Ages and the Bible
Ages and Dispensations
Ages
The following are some of what The New Testament says of Christ’s connections with the ages in Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible:
In many parts, and many ways, God of old having spoken to the fathers in the prophets, (2) in these last days did speak to us in a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He did make the ages. (Hebrews 1:1-2)
according to a purpose of the ages, which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Eph 3:11)
and to the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only wise God, is honour and glory – to the ages of the ages! Amen. (1Timothy 1:17)
Christ is the King and ruler of all the ages which He has framed out. Rulership has been delegated to Him by the Father until the time when rulership will be turned back to the Father (1Cor 15:24-28).
by faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by a saying of God, in regard to the things seen not having come out of things appearing; (Hebrews 11:3)
And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great voices in the heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of the world did become those of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages!’ (Rev 11:15)
Christ will reign over all the ages that are yet to come, including a Millennium (One Thousand Years) and the New Heavens and the New Earth.
SOME BASIC FACTS OF THE AGES
The ages have a certain beginning
And wisdom we speak among the perfect, and wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age – of those becoming useless, (7) but we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a secret, that God foreordained before the ages to our glory. (1Cor 2:6-7)
who did save us, and did call with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, that was given to us in Christ Jesus, before the times of the ages. (2Tim 1:9)
Even before the creating of the ages, God had a predetermined plan for the bringing of His many children to glory (radiance).
The ages also have an end
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is a full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers. (Matthew 13:39)
The Revised Version, in a footnote, give the actual Greek as “the consummation of the age,” which expression is found also in Matthew 13:40, 13:49, 24:3 and 28:2.
Several Ages
There are several ages revealed in the Bible, which speaks of ages in the past, the present age, and the coming ages.
Past ages
and to cause all to see what is the fellowship of the secret that hath been hid from the ages in God, who the all things did create by Jesus Christ. (Eph 3:9)
the secret that hath been hid from the ages and from the generations, but now was manifested to his saints. (Col 1:26)
Present age
who did give himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of the present evil age, according to the will of God even our Father, (Gal 1:4)
Those rich in the present age charge thou not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who is giving to us all things richly for enjoyment. (1Tim 6:17)
Future ages
who may not receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and fields, with persecutions, and in the age that is coming, life age-during. (Mark 10:30)
that He might show, in the ages that are coming, the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:7)
There are many Biblical statements that become clear when one grasps the truth of the ages. God is not now converting the whole world. Currently, He is calling out the church (the first batch of individuals) in His plan of salvation.
to me – the less than the least of all the saints – was given this grace, among the nations to proclaim good news – the untraceable riches of the Christ, (9) and to cause all to see what is the fellowship of the secret that hath been hid from the ages in God, who the all things did create by Jesus Christ, (10) that there might be made known now to the principalities and the authorities in the heavenly places, through the assembly, the manifold wisdom of God, (11) according to a purpose of the ages, which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Eph 3:8-11)
From the Scripture, we can identify five major ages, which are marked off by extraordinary occurrences, tremendous upheavals, in the established order.
Age 1: Beginning of creation to the disruption of the world at the “Fall of Man”
Age 2: The “Fall of Man” to the great flood
Age 3: The flood to the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom on earth
Age 4: The Millennium (Messianic Kingdom) to the destruction of the earth by fire
Age 5: The creation of the new earth to the consummation revealed by Paul
See Appendix B2 for the relevant scriptures relating to the demarcation of these time periods or ages.
Dispensations
According to Bible scholar Dr C I Scofield, a dispensation is a period of time during which man is tested in respect to his obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God. There may be “sub-dispensations” and “covenants” in a particular age, as in the current one.
Age 1: Dispensation of Innocence
During his period, “newly born” Adam and Eve enjoyed their period of stay in pristine Paradise on earth – Eden. Everything had been provided for by their Parent so that they could savour life in a period of innocence. They explore, they play, they learn from God’s creation. How would they react to their Parent’s first instructions of do’s and don’ts? Like any child, their curiosity got the better of them. They were then prepared to learn greater lessons in life the hard way, by contrasts, following their anticipated rejection of their Parent’s advice.
Age 2: Dispensation of Conscience or Moral Responsibility
Adam and Eve and their offspring were given a lot of freedom to live their lives to their fullest with the least of rules. They did not end up doing a good job. Freedom and conscience without rules led to overall wickedness among them. They were destroyed by a great flood, except for a family of eight and some progenitor pairs of land animals to replenish the earth.
Age 3: Dispensation of Human Government
During this period is introduced some governing principles for living.
After the flood, God promised Noah not to flood the earth again, and the rainbow, appearing for the first time in human history, reflects this promise of God (Gen 9:8-17). Noah’s family multiplied and began to occupy the earth. The earth was then of one language. The people could not believe God’s promise not to repeat flooding the earth. People’s lack of faith in God showed up again. They started to construct a tower to reach to the sky. God disliked what He came down to see, and He confounded their single language so that communication became difficult. Different languages originated at this time. The project at Babel was abandoned. Man began to spread over the earth, those of the same language gathered to live among themselves and their cultures developed over time.
(a) Covenant of Promise
Many generations later, out of one lineage, God called an individual, Abraham, out of his country and promised to turn him into a father of many nations, with a view eventually, as we know from later revelation, to reconcile with man. Abraham believed God and he acted on faith. Abraham tried to follow God’s instructions to him each step of the way, albeit falteringly being human; but tried he did. He was promised a son in his infirmed old age and he believed. After a son was born to him, he was tested by God. He was told to sacrifice his only son. Believing that God is able somehow to fulfill His promise of enlarging his family, he acted on faith to lose this only son. He was about to sacrifice him when his hand was stayed. He passed his test. His faith was established by his act. And this was commended by God. This faith of Abraham was to be an example of the faith of later believers in God.
(b) Dispensation of Faith and Works
A few generations after Abraham, the descendents known as the twelve tribes of Israel were tested for their faith by having good works being enforced, under the leadership of Moses. Works came to the forefront and faith took a back stand. The people in general failed to produce lasting good works enforced under a code of strict laws. This seems to be typical of people in every nation. The spirit of the law is not realized in the midst of man’s attempts to abide by the outward do’s and don’ts. Laws are circumvented, loopholes are found. The human spirit alone is not adequate to fulfill true love. We need the additional ingredient of God’s own spirit. God promised that a portion of His Spirit will be given to man to enable good works to flow more spontaneously from the inside.
(c) Dispensation of Grace
This is the current period of time in which faith in God through Christ is the calling of imperfect men from around the world under the elevated Gospel channelled through Paul. Faith or belief is the prime factor that enables one to receive a small allotment of God’s spirit, which internally helps to generate accompanying good works (the fruits of the spirit). Perfection is not yet attained at his stage. Nonetheless, God’s favour and help is granted to the believer who in turn tries to live worthily of it.
Age 4: Dispensation of Christ’s Government on earth
This blessed period begins with the rule of Christ in the much anticipated Millennial Kingdom in which Christ will rule the nations “with a rod of iron.” Here, a righteous King will have the power to rule with fairness, firmness and mercy, displaying a blessed period which is not seen in any human government thus far in history. An ideal “philosopher king,” hoped for by many a thinker, becomes a reality to bring peace or enforce it, with Satan locked up not disturbing the people for a thousand years. The whole earth shares in the glory of Christ the King.
In the Vegetable World, the field, cursed on man’s account, will be freed from its curse (Gen 3:17, Rom 8:20-21).
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness. I will set fir trees, pine, and box trees together in the desert; that they may see, know, consider, and understand together, that the hand of Yahweh has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isaiah 41:18-20)
In the Animal World, there will be peace between beasts.
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Sadly though, when Satan is loosed a “little season,” people will be influenced to rebel against the righteous rule of Christ (Rev 20:7-9). Bible scholar Erich Sauer has this to say:
“So this most brilliant period of human history will become the most catastrophic proof of the lost condition of the sinner, and it will be proved irrefutably that God was right when, in the manner of human redemption, He absolutely excluded man’s own strength. Now is reached the summit and conclusion of Divine Self-Justification and it is proved publicly before all the world that from the outset there could be only one way that could lead mankind to peace, even the grace of God alone and the cross of Golgotha.”*
Age 5: Dispensation of God’s Government on the renewed earth
This “age of the ages” is the most brilliant of them all. The earth and the heaven (earth’s atmosphere and outer space) are remade (Rev 21:1). A huge city called New Jerusalem, built of precious stones, comes down out of heaven from God (Rev 21). In it God and Christ dwell and from where God rules glorified mankind, with sub rulers under them, all energized with much more of God’s spirit. Everyone in their glorious state will be able to see God’s face (Rev 22:4).
This period of time prepares for the consummation – beyond the Ages – where kingship gives way to equal subjection of all to God, the Father of all, in a grand family relationship, with Jesus Christ being our eldest brother. This is the time when death is abolished; all the dead, having been corrected, adjudicated, justified, are vivified to enjoy the full blessings lavished on all without exception. All will then be fully grown up, inheriting the fullness of God’s essence, as true mature children of God.
Footnote:
* The Triumph of the Crucified, by Erich Sauer (page 152) – published by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A.
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