The next big event on God’s
calendar is the Rapture, and then the seven year
Tribulation followed by the
one thousand year Millennium when Jesus will rule the earth as King of kings
and Lord of lords.
God has dealt with man via six
different dispensations (so far), and in each one, man fails. Over and over it
is proven that the natural man cannot please God. The seventh and last
dispensation is the Millennium, and once again, man will fail to live in a
manner pleasing to God. Only in eternity, will mankind (those who have
inherited eternal life through Jesus Christ) and the angels never again have
the desire or ability to disobey God.
The seven dispensations are:
1.
The Age of
Innocence: from Creation to the Fall
2.
The Age of Conscience:
from the Fall to the Flood
3.
The Age of Human
Government: from the Flood to Abraham
4.
The Age of
Promise: from Abraham to Moses
5.
The Age of the
Law: from Moses to Jesus
6.
The Age of Grace:
from Pentecost to the Rapture and
7.
The Age of the
Kingdom: the 1,000 year Millennium following the Tribulation
The Age of Innocence – Man is
created without ever knowing sin, but then falls to its temptation in rebellion
against God.
The Age of Conscience – Man
lives by his own conscience of right and wrong, and fails miserably in his
rebellion against God.
The Age of Human Government –
As mankind forms into groups and human governments are formed, man quickly
reverts back into sin, continuing to rebel against God.
The Age of Promise – Even
though God always keeps His promises, man cannot, and does not have the
patience to wait on God. His rebellion against God continues.
The Age of the Law – Even
with clear and strict guidelines, man corrupts the Law of God by disobedience
in rebellion.
The Age of Grace – Even in
the most coveted dispensation prior to the Kingdom age, man as a whole refuses
the riches of God’s grace. The grace of the cross is spurned for the works of
man.
The Age of the Kingdom – The
Kingdom age will originally be comprised of all those who know God as Savior
and Lord through Jesus Christ. All will be without sin and the ability to sin
because of the saving grace of God. What could go wrong? Will mankind still
rebel against God?
We all know that when the
Tribulation ends Satan will be bound for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3).
So throughout the Millennium, Satan and none of his followers will be around to
seduce mankind. Jesus will reign from Jerusalem. The Church will reign with
Him, and the surviving saints from the Tribulation will repopulate the earth.
So, at the beginning of the
Millennium everyone will be a child of God. The earth will be restored. Nature
will be at peace. Prosperity will abound. The life expectancy will be extended
to a thousand years. Everything will be perfect.
Have you ever considered just
how long a thousand years is? A lot can happen in a thousand years. Think about
this. As of this year, America is 241 years old. That’s not even a quarter of
1,000 years. If you go on back to when Columbus headed our way, it’s still only
525 years.
I was born when Harry S.
Truman was President. Since then we have had twelve more Presidents. I can
assure you, a LOT has happened over that short period. Many, many things have
drastically changed over that very short period of time.
Remember, when the Millennium
begins everyone is saved at that point. Everyone belongs to the Lord and He
rules the earth. But … the Tribulation saints who were not murdered will enter
the Millennium and bare children. Those children, and all those born after them
will have the ability to sin because they will be born with that sin nature we
all have today.
A population explosion will
inhabit the millennial period. Billions will be born from those original
Tribulation saints that will have the same choice mankind has today; honor God
or rebel.
When the Millennium ends
Satan will be released and lead billions against Jesus and His rule (Revelation
20:7-8). How did it ever get to the point that Satan could find that many
followers in a world that is perfect?
Even though Satan is bound
and cannot deceive anyone during that time, those billions born in the
Millennium will have the ability to follow Jesus or reject Him. They will all
be born with the same nature that is currently within us.
It is my opinion that even
though the Kingdom age (the Millennium) will have so many blessings, rebellion
will begin to rise in the hearts of those born into the Millennium. The
Scripture says in Revelation 12:5, "And she bore a son, a male, who is
going to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to
God and to His throne." This male son is none other than Jesus Christ, and
He will rule during that time, “with a rod of iron.”
There will not be an outward
uprising until the end of the Kingdom age (the Millennium), but rebellion will
rise and continue to rise in the hearts of many. By the time Satan is once
again unleashed, they will be revealed for what they really are.
If you’ll think about it, God
has allowed all of us to have freedom of choice, even the angels. Satan made
his choice. The angels that followed him made their choice, and one third of the
angels followed Satan. Adam and Eve made their choice, and every individual
throughout each dispensation has made or will make a choice either to obey God
or not to obey Him.
Since sin entered the world
through our original parents, Adam and Eve, mankind has been in rebellion. Some
have decided to call upon God, but most do not. God clearly demonstrates that
no matter how He deals with us, as long as we have a sinful nature, there will
be those who will always rebel against Him.
Today’s society practically
wears out the phrase, “God is love.” Yes He is, and He is no less “just” than
He is “love.” We tend to forget that God cannot deny His justice any more than
He can deny His love. We want His love in letting us “do our own thing,” but
not His justice in judging the sin(s) we wallow in.
He has proven through six
dispensations that we cannot save ourselves, and the seventh and last dispensation
will corroborate the others. Only He can save us, and He can only do so through
our belief in His Son, Jesus.
Mankind began in a perfect
world (Garden of Eden) and we failed. Mankind will close out the ages in a
perfect world (Millennium) and we will fail again. Sin and its consequences
must be judged and totally eradicated, and the world must be filled with the
righteousness of God before there can ever be peace between mankind and his
Creator God. This can only be accomplished by the grace of God in the sacrifice
of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. All those who come to God through the
Son will be saved (rescued) from judgment and adopted into the family of a Holy
God. Only those who come through Jesus will live with Him for eternity in
absolute righteousness, never knowing sin again. All those in Christ know God
not just as our Creator, but also as our Father, because our faith rests in the
saving work of Jesus Christ.
In each age, man attempts to
produce the perfect world, as he sees utopia in his own mind. Thankfully, God
has seen fit to save us from our own delusions.
So to recap:
1.
Innocence cannot save.
2.
Conscience cannot
save.
3.
Government cannot
save.
4.
Promises (ours) cannot
save.
5.
The Law (or law)
cannot save.
6.
Grace (if
rejected) cannot save.
7.
A perfect world
cannot save.
Each dispensation proves that
no one can be saved apart from the cross. The cross is offered each time, but
only the few choose wisely. Most try an alternate route, but only those who
come via the cross go into eternity as children of the eternal God to reign
with Him forevermore. All those who reject the cross will spend eternity in the
lake of fire and brimstone.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
