Dispensational Bible Study

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Hello All,

I am very slowly and carefully typing a Dispensational Bible Study from a very old and fragile original document done by my dad. I'm hoping that I don't make very many mistakes and hope to have a verbatim copy when I finish. My dad was in the ministry for 60 years and passed away in 1998. I would guess that the Bible Study was done in the 1940s, but I really don't know.

I have finished Lesson 1 of 27 Lessons and hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to start a second thread for comments, agreement, and disagreement.  After much prayer in this and other issues, I do not feel led to become involved in the debate of this Bible Study, so this specific thread is locked. I hope you understand.

A Bible will be necessary if you wish to follow along and do this Bible Study, as many of the Scriptures are not quoted.

Love In Christ,
Tom

[nChrist]

Introduction To Dispensational Bible Study

(Lesson 1 - By Pastor Weldon Rightmer)

Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever."  Divers and strange doctrines (Hebrews 13:9) have been built upon this verse.  As far as His Person is concerned, He never changes.  See Psalms 102:25-27. But this does not mean that He never changes in His dealings with men.  God is not subject to time as we are.

"Alpha And Omega" - Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:16; 22:13.  There is no beginning or ending apart from Him.  Also, He will have the final word in everything.  Regardless of the age in which one lives, he must always remember that "God hath spoken."  However, we must remember that He hath "spoken at sundry times and in divers manners" - Hebrews 1:1.

The Inspired Word not only makes one "wise unto salvation," but it also "furnishes the man of God unto all good works" - II Timothy 3:15-17.  Both are equally important.  It is not enough for us to know only salvation.  We ought to be like those in Nehemiah 8:12 who rejoiced because they had understanding.  One should want proper understanding that he might walk pleasing to the Lord - Colossians 1:9-10.  Understanding gives "full assurance" - Colossians 2:2.  Paul prayed that we might have understanding - Ephesians 1:18-23.  Our hearts will burn within us when He opens to us the Scriptures - Luke 24:32.  We will know what to do when, like the men of Issachar, we have understanding of the times - I Chronicles 12:32.  Do we know what time it is?  See Romans 13:11.

Everything Goes Beautifully In Its Proper Place - Ecclesiastes 3:1 and Proverbs 30:29-31.  The hen and the wild duck have some things in common, but the hen does not go beautifully in the air or on the water. (The Church and Israel have some things in common, but they do not go beautifully when put in the same place).  God says that things should be done "decently, and in order" - I Corinthians 14:40.  The word "order" means "arrangement."  If there is orderliness, there is a place for everything.  Water goes well in the stomach, but not in the lungs.  Air is in its proper place in the lungs, but not in the blood stream.  Our Lord never did anything "amiss" (out of place) - Luke 23:41.  We get the Scriptures all out of place and create confusion.  Some have even tried to remove our Lord from His place of Deity and place Him in the realm of a mere man.  He goes beautifully in the place He has had for eternity - Micah 5:2.

II Timothy 2:15 - To "Rightly Divide" is to "cut straight."  This is illustrated in Leviticus 7:31-37.  The priest was an expert at cutting this offering proportionally. The same truth is brought out in Proverbs 3:5-6.  To "direct" is to cut a straight path for out feet.  (God is the Great Divider - Genesis 1:4, 6, 7, 14, 18; 11:6-9).

Are There Contradictions In The Word?  -  Compare Genesis 17:9-14 with Galatians 5:2-6; Exodus 20:8-11 with Galatians 4:10-11 and Colossians 2:16; Leviticus 11:7 with I Timothy 4:1-5; Matthew 10:1 with II Timothy 4:20; the five baptisms of Matthew 3:11 & 20:22 & 28:19 with Ephesians 4:5; Matthew 10:5-6 with Colossians 3:11.  Unless one "rightly divides the Word of Truth," he will not be able to understand the seeming contradictions.  When we begin to see that God speaks to different classes at sundry times and in divers manners the problems disappear.

Time - (Greek "chronos") - Duration unlimited unless defined.  See such passages as Luke 8:27; John 14:9; Acts 1:6-7; I Peter 1:17; 4:2.

Time - (Greek "kairos") - A fixed time or season, limited and definite.  Note Romans 3:26; 8:18; 13:11; I Corinthians 4:5; I Timothy 2:6; 4:1; II Timothy 3:1.  A careful study of God's Word will reveal that there are time elements to be considered in the Scriptures.  More will be said about this in the next lesson.

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Dispensational Bible Study

(Lesson 2 - by Pastor Weldon Rightmer)

Ages are clearly defined in the Word - There are ages past and ages to come - (Ephesians 2:7 and Colossians 1:26).  The duration of an age is indefinite unless the context of Scripture limits it.  In Bible study an age is a given period of time, characterized by a special form of Divine administration.  God mentions "this world" (age) and the "age to come" - Ephesians 1:21.  (The word "world," as used in these passages, is from the same Greek word (aion) from which we get the word "age").  "The worlds (ages) were framed by the word of God" - Hebrews 11:3.  It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that God has arranged the ages - Hebrews 1:2.  The age in which we live is the "age of grace."  But it is also characterized by evil.  God does not want His children to be conformed to it.  See Romans 12:1-2; II Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 6:12; II Timothy 4:10; Titus 2:12.  (If an age can be laid upon an age, the word must refer to a specific time in which God deals with His creatures.  Note the words "for ever and ever."  This means "to the ages of the ages."  Read Galatians 1:5; Philippians 4:20; I Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 13:21; Revelation 1:6).  These last verses refer to eternity.  We can conceive of only one age at a time.  Here God lays age upon age.  Nothing can be thought of beyond "the ages of the ages."  Punishment for the wicked will be unto "the ages of the ages" - Revelation 20:11.

Meaning of the word Dispensation - "Law or arrangement of a house, including the idea of stewardship."  The New Century Dictionary defines a dispensation as "the act of dispensing; distribution; administration; management; the Divine ordering of the affairs of the world; an appointment or arrangement, as by God; an appointed order or system."  A dispensation is not necessarily an age or period of time.  (The Greek word for dispensation is "oikonomia."  The same word is rendered "stewardship" in Luke 16:2-4.  Here it means "house management."  In the following verses we have the word "steward," meaning "house manager."  See Luke 12:42; 16:1,3; I Corinthians 4:1,2; Titus 1:7; I Peter 4:10.  Note also the word "chamberlain" in Luke 16:23).  God uses the word "dispensation" in I Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2; Colossians 1:25.  We certainly need to come to God's dispensary (a place where something is dispensed) that we might receive the wonderful truths He has to give us.  (As it were, Moses was the chief steward in the House of Israel.  Through him God dispensed the teachings of Law - John 1:17 and Hebrews 3:5.  Paul is the chief steward in the "Household of Faith."  Through him God especially dispensed the truths of grace - I Corinthians 3:10 and 9:17).

Major divisions in the Word - (Old and New Testaments) - Hebrews 8:6-13 and 9:16-22.  Even a casual reading will reveal that the Bible is divided into Old and New Testaments.  But this is where far too many Christians stop.  ("From Adam to Moses") - Romans 5:12-14.  This is a period referred to as being a time when "there was no law."  This, of course, means no law of Moses.  See Romans 4:13-16.  Remember, the law was added to these promises God made to Abraham - Galatians 3:17-18.  Don't forget, "the law was given by Moses" - John 1:17.  During this period of time God spoke directly to the people, mainly to the heads of families - Genesis 3:8; 4:6,9; 6:13; 12:1; Exodus 3:10.  The ages of Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, and Promise fall within this period.  "From Adam to Moses" God was not imputing (putting to one's account) man's sins to him - Romans 5:13.  Man was not condemned because of a great number of sins.  It was simply a matter of belief or unbelief.  The complicated system of religion came in with the Law.  Compare Romans 5:13 with II Corinthians 5:19, and you will see that God deals with us in a similar way.  ("Dispensation Of The Mystery") - Colossians 1:24-26 and Ephesians 3:1-8 make it quite clear that this is a distinct and separate division.  ("The Tribulation Period") - Read Daniel 9:27; Jeremiah 30:5-7; Matthew 24:15-22; Revelation 7:14. This is a definite period of judgment.  ("Kingdom Age") - This is "the age to come" mentioned in Ephesians 1:21 and Hebrews 6:5.  Note carefully Daniel 2:44; Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 20:1-6.  

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Dispensational Bible Study

(Lesson 3 - by Pastor Weldon Rightmer)

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" - Genesis 1:1.  This took place in the dateless past; we are not told just how long ago.  It could have been millions of years.  Man was not present at this original creation, but angels were - (Job 38:1-7).  Here in Genesis we have the fact of creation declared.  In Psalms 33:9 we have the process: "For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast."  He had no material out of which to create the universe.  Hebrews 11:3 says: "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."  The Instrument through Whom all things were created was Christ - (John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-18).  In Revelation 4:11 we are told the purpose of creation: "For thy pleasure they are and were created."  The following verses tell us how things originally came from His hands: Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 45:18; Psalms 111; Proverbs 3:19; Ecclesiastes 3:11.

God created everything, but we are not told that He did so during the six days mentioned in Genesis 1.  The word "create" is found in Genesis 1:1, 21, 27.  This, of course, refers to an original act.  In Genesis 1 God uses the word "make" (to allow, or to assemble - also, to release from restraint) several times.  What are we trying to tell you is, that in the original creation of Genesis 1:1 there could have been animals as well as angels.  God does not say that He created all the land animals on the sixth day.  Men may find the bones of prehistoric animals, but they do not find the bones of prehistoric men.  Adam was the first man (I Corinthians 15:45), and he was created on the sixth day - Genesis 1:26-27.  Man has been here approximately six thousand years.  But this is not to say that the earth itself has only been here six thousand years.

"And the earth was without form and void" - Genesis 1:2.  The words "without form" mean "a ruin, or vacancy."  The Hebrew is "Tohu."  It is rendered "confusion" in Isaiah 24:10 and 41:29; "waste" in Deuteronomy 32:10; "vain" in I Samuel 12:21; "wilderness" in Psalms 107:40.  The word "void" ("bohu") means "emptiness."  See Isaiah 34:11.  In the Bible, the word "darkness" is connected with judgment - (Exodus 10:21-23; Matthew 27:45; Joel 2:30, 3:15; Jude 13; Revelation 6:12).  (Perhaps we have the answer to the cause of this state of waste in Isaiah 14:12-17, Jeremiah 4:23-26, and Ezekiel 28:12-19.  These passages record the sin and fall of Lucifer).  We might add that we do not know how much time elapsed between Genesis 1:1 and verse 2.  There could have been millions of years.

Satan's Career - We believe that Ezekiel 28:12-19 speaks of Satan's former position before he fell - also, his position after he sinned.  This is not the description of a mere man.  First, there was the prince of Tyrus (a type of the Antichrist), who was energized by the "King of Tyrus" (Satan).  No ordinary king was ever "perfect in beauty."  Neither was any mortal individual created (except Adam).  We have all been born in the image of Adam.  Satan, at one time, sealed up the sum, full of wisdom (was the finished pattern).  Before his fall, he was abiding in the truth - John 8:44.  Satan had his beginning in the truth, and he was to have been an example to other creatures around him.  As the "Anointed Cherub that covereth," he must have been the guardian of the world of Genesis 1:1.  Ezekiel 28:15 tells us that "iniquity was found in him."  Isaiah 14:12-17 refers to this very thing.  Verse 17 says that "Lucifer" (light bearer) was the one who made the world as a "wilderness."  Colossians 1:13 makes it quite clear that Satan's kingdom is one of darkness.  By studying these Scriptures, along with Jeremiah 4:23-26, we come to the conclusion that judgment against Satan must have been the cause of the waste condition described in Genesis 1:2.  II Corinthians 4:3-6 indicates that we should take all of this as a type of God's dealings with men.  Man was originally created in the perfect image of God - Genesis 1:26-27 and Ecclesiastes 7:29.  But he fell into a state of darkness - (Romans 1:21; Ecclesiastes 4:18, 5:.  God's Spirit began to operate upon this darkened heart, in order that there might be light - John 16:7-11 and Ephesians 5:8.  God also divided between the darkness and the light in our lives - II Corinthians 6:11-18.  (The word "Satan" means "the hater, accuser, and adversary, opposing spirit).  The next lesson deals with the man God placed upon the earth He created.  The earth was made to be inhabited - Isaiah 45:18, Daniel 4:35, and Revelation 12:12.  But this is not our eternal home - Philippians 3:20-21.

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Dispensational Bible Study

(Lesson 4 - by Pastor Weldon Rightmer)


God Formed The Earth To Be Inhabited - Isaiah 45:18 - He says nothing about creating other planets to be inhabited.  If men live on any other planet, the Lord didn't mention it.  See Genesis 1:1, 10, 11, 15, 17, 24, 28, 29; Isaiah 18:3; Ezekiel 38:20; Daniel 2:35; I Corinthians 15:46-47.  Note the words "under the sun" and "under the heavens" in Ecclesiastes 1:3, 9, 13, 14 and 2:1-11.  Nothing is complete or final upon this earth.  There is no sweet rest for us here.  Compare Genesis 8:9.  Education will not satisfy - Ecclesiastes 1:13; pleasure will not satisfy - Ecclesiastes 2:1-11; socialism will not satisfy - Ecclesiastes 5:7-14.  Ecclesiastes ends with the description of a funeral.  See chapter 12.  Compare Proverbs 30:16.  We ought to praise God that this is not our eternal home.  Read Philippians 3:20-21 and Colossians 3:1-3.

Matthew 5:13 says that the meek shall inherit the earth.  This does not have to do with the members of the "Body of Christ."  However, for those who do inherit the earth during the Kingdom Age, God will make it pleasant for them.  The Devil will be bound for a thousand years - Revelation 20.  The curse shall be lifted - Isaiah 11 and 35.  It will truly be a time of "refreshing from the presence of the Lord" - Acts 3:19-26.  Then, of course, the New Heaven and the New Earth will be ushered in after the Kingdom age - II Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1.

Man Created, not Evolved - Genesis 1:26-27, - Even "theistic evolution" (belief that the method of evolution is what God used to bring man into existence) is an insult to God.  The Word says that man was made in God's image, and we refuse to believe that God looked anything like what the evolutionist imagines man to have been.  The word "us" indicates plurality in the God-head.  Man was made by a trinity - Hebrews 4:12 and I Thessalonians 5:23.  Man is the only creature who has God-consciousness.  He is never completely satisfied until he comes to know the Lord as his Saviour.  The image, which was marred through the fall, must be formed in man before his life is complete.  An idol will never suffice.  (See Acts 17:22-29 and Galatians 4:19).  We believe that this is absolute proof that man was originally created in God's image.  He was made upright - Ecclesiastes 7:29.  As far as physical clothing was concerned, man was naked - Genesis 2:25.  But since he was formed in God's image, he must have been covered with a garment of light.  See Psalms 104:1-3.

Since God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; Romans 3:4; Titus 1:2; I John 5:10-13), we believe everything He has said about man.  If the theory of evolution be true, there is no ground for the teaching of morality, holiness, or any other virtue.  If man is an animal, he just as well live like one.  Read I Peter 1:16 and II Peter 2:12.

God told man to multiply and replenish the earth - Genesis 1:28.  Man, like the other creatures of the earth, has always brought forth after his kind - Genesis 1:11.  This is true even in the spiritual realm.  The "Incorruptible Seed (God's Word) always produces another Christian - I Peter 1:23.  The fruit of a Christian is another Christian.

Man's Makeup - Man has a twofold nature - Genesis 2:7.  He is not always conscious of this twofold nature - II Corinthians 12:2.  The body is that part of man which was made from the dust of the earth, or ground - Genesis 3:19.  But there is a spiritual nature within this body - Job 32:8.  It is possible for this spiritual nature to be separated from the body - II Corinthians 5:1-8; II Peter 1:13-14; James 2:26.  Apart from God's revelation man cannot see beyond the functions of the body - Ecclesiastes 9:5.  He doesn't understand death.  The heart (inmost self, seat of life) of man is very important - Proverbs 4:23; Genesis 6:5; Matthew 12:34.  The mind is man's thinking faculty.  The mind needs to be renewed - Romans 12:1-3; 8:7; Colossians 1:21.  The intellect is the soul of knowing.  The will is man's ability to choose.  See John 6:40; II Peter 2:10; Titus 1:7.  Contrast John 6:37, 40, 44. (In our next lesson we will see man in the garden prepared for him).  

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Dispensational Bible Study

(Lesson 5 - by Pastor Weldon Rightmer)


The Age Of Innocence - "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed" - Genesis 2:8.  Note, also, verse 16.  When man was first placed in the Garden of Eden he was innocent (doing no wrong or evil; free from specific wrong or guilt; blameless; unacquainted with evil).  An individual who is innocent is not disposed to do wrong.  He is guileless.  However, there is a difference between innocence and righteousness.  Righteousness comes when one, through freedom of choice, accepts God's plan of salvation.  Christ is really our Righteousness - I Corinthians 1:30.  (Note the word "innocent" in the following verses: Psalms 26:6; 73:13; Hosea 8:5; Job 9:23; 33:9; Jeremiah 2:35; Matthew 27:4, 24.

We say that man was "innocent" when first placed in the Garden of Eden because he did not know what evil was - Genesis 2:25 and 3:5.  This "innocent" man was told to dress and keep the Garden - Genesis 2:15.  He was also given some instructions as to what foods were permissible - Genesis 2:16-17.  Man miserably failed under this first testing period.  For that reason, God had to expel him from the Garden - Genesis 3:22-24.

The Age Of Conscience - ("A knowing with, a co-knowledge with oneself, the witness borne to one's conduct by conscience").  The story of the fall of man is given clearly in Genesis 3.  First, the "Tempter" comes on the scene, flatly denying God's Word and causing man to alter and add to what the Lord had said.  The denial is found in verse 4.  Eve (v. 2) alters the Word by leaving out the word "freely."  She adds to (v. 3) by saying "neither shall ye touch it."  Satan is still prompting men to do these things today.

Genesis 3:8 shows that man now has a guilty conscience ("to be conscious of; also, the internal recognition of right and wrong as regards one's actions and motives; the faculty which decides upon the moral quality of one's actions and motives").  Read Romans 2:15.  Also, note the following verses: John 8:9; Acts 23:1; 24:16; Romans 9:1; I Timothy 1:5, 19; 3:9; 4:2; II Timothy 1:3; Titus 1:15; Hebrews 9:9, 14; 10:2; I Peter 3:16, 21. A careful reading of these Scriptures will reveal that it is not always safe to let the conscience be our guide.  How could a guilty and seared conscience be the right kind of a guide?

Romans 5:12-21 gives a clear testimony concerning the headships of Adam and Christ.  See, also, I Corinthians 15:20-22, 45-49.  Adam is the only man who ever became a sinner by sinning.  The rest of us were born in sin.  To sin means "to miss the mark; fail to conform to a standard."  See Romans 3:23 and 8:29.  "He that sinneth against me (misseth me) wrongeth his own soul" - Proverbs 8:36.  "He that hasteth with his feet sinneth" (misseth his way) - Proverbs 19:2.  Compare John 14:6.  Contrast the words "findeth me" in Proverbs 8:35.

ALL are born in sin.  Since man is unclean by nature, it is impossible for him to produce a clean thing - Job 14:1-4.  "What is man, that he should be clean? And he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?" - (Job 15:14).  Note Psalms 51:5; 58:3; Mark 7:20-23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3.

In God's sight man is totally depraved - ("corrupt or perverted; especially morally").  There is an inherent tendency to commit sin in every man born into this world.  Man can always see some good in his fellow man.  But we are interested in what God sees.  Note I Samuel 16:7; Isaiah 64:6; Genesis 6:5; Romans 3:12 and 23.

(My personal note to Allinall:  Brother, here it is - see below:)

Since all are born in sin, are infants lost?  Infants die physically because of Adam's sin, not because they have sinned - Romans 5:12-14.  Infants and idiots do not know what it means to transgress any law, and sin is not imputed when there is no law - Romans 5:13.  Babies went to a place of bliss in the Old Testament - II Samuel 12:23.  They are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven - Matthew 18:3-5, 10; 19:14.  Infants know nothing of rejecting Christ, and that is what causes one to be lost - John 3:15-18.  (Some reach the age of accountability before others do).

(The judgment of the flood brought this second age to a close.  In our next lesson we will deal with the 3rd dispensation).