Messages with tag - Dispensations

Do all Christians go up at the Rapture or is it only for those who are living good lives? Listen to this lesson to understand what the Bible teaches about this important event that ends the Church Age. Review the main beliefs of when the Rapture will occur. Listen to several compelling reasons for believing that the Rapture will happen before the Tribulation. Accept the challenge of growing spiritually during the remaining days of this phase of God's plan for the ages.

The father of modern dispensationalism came on the scene of history at a salutary moment, and he read his Bible with rare devotional abandon just prior to and throughout a lifetime of writing. His vast and challenging written record presents volumes of meticulous theological correspondence, popular tract- and pamphlet-writing, and a body of argumentative discourse that would leave little doubt as to his opinion on theological matters from Greek grammatical structures in the New Testament to the application of biblical principles in 19th Century British political life. From this record one can distill a rigorous and thoroughly detailed system of theology, though the desirable task of cataloging and prioritizing said systematic theology was sadly one accomplishment Darby never undertook. Darby would probably remark that the Bible has its own system, and therefore the closest thing we have to his systematic theology is his Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. This magnum opus, originally published in French, took him the better part of twenty years to complete, and in five volumes it presents a system that must be derived inductively. Darby’s priority of the Bible—illuminated to the believer by the Holy Spirit—over human reasoning was his constant appeal.

What is a dispensation? Listen to this lesson to learn that the term refers to different plans of God that He is working out in human history. Hear a number of facts about dispensations, including the definition, the Greek and Latin words, and that God has a final culmination in view. Understand the importance of learning about the characteristics of the current dispensation so that we can fulfill our responsibility to grow to spiritual maturity.

What does it mean that believers are the body of Christ? Listen to this lesson to hear an overview of the second section of Ephesians and find out the unimaginable riches which God has planned for all who trust Christ as their Savior. See how Christ’s death on the Cross brought together Jew and Gentile into this body of Christ and that the provisions are not only for the entire body but also for each of us individually. As we study these things in the coming weeks they will help us to develop a new understanding of our riches and challenge us to study God's Word.