True Christianity for Real Believers
Each dispensation has certain principles which form the distinctive character of its time. In this respect, the future millennium will not be any different. We have already spoken of some of these. One of the most prominent ones is that “every eye will see.” Faith in things unseen or hoped for, which characterizes Christianity and the Christian dispensation (John 20:29, Heb. 11:1), will not be the operative principle in the millennium. The entire world, Jews and Gentiles alike, will be able to see Jesus Christ when He returns (Rev. 1:7). The walk by faith of Christianity will have ended. The walk by sight, which characterizes Judaism, will have returned.
In a previous chapter we explained that the future millennium is very similar to the Jewish dispensation. All the failures of the Jewish dispensation will be made good by the sovereign grace and power of God in the millennium. This dramatic correction will be through the return and physical presence of Jesus Christ on the earth. The last dispensation will see the return of Jewish things. An elect Jewish remnant will be saved and brought back to the land. From them, God will grow the nation of Israel and exalt it among the Gentiles. By the blessing of God, Israel will become great and prosperous. The Gentiles will bring their wealth to the Jews and serve them (Isa. 60:10–14). The worship of God will be centered in Jerusalem; the Gentiles will be required to pilgrimage there in order to honor and worship Jehovah (Zech. 14:16–17).
If “every eye will see,” we are speaking of a walk by sight. The only religion of the world sanctioned by God that fits this principle is Judaism. Restored in their land during the millennium, the Jews will again take up the practice of their ancient religion. This will only be possible because they will have a rebuilt city and temple. The manifested glory of God will again fill that place. The Jews will practice God’s law by way of the new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34, Heb. 8:6–12). He writes His law on their hearts and in their minds, thus assuring the sufficient keeping of the covenant for Israel’s blessing.216 The animal sacrifices of Judaism are reinstituted for any missteps, and for the proper Jewish service and worship taking place in the temple.
216 [The future millennium will see the accomplishment of all the failures of Israel from the Jewish dispensation. This was one of those failures in their responsibility as a nation. God gave the Jews the law in their dispensation, yet they were unable to keep it. But God will not allow His law to go unfulfilled (Matt. 5:18). This is the reason for the new covenant He will make with the Jews at the beginning of the millennium, by which the nation of Israel is brought back together as one. It is Israel’s responsibility to fulfill the law, and in sovereign grace God will write it on their hearts and minds]
During the millennium the biblical institution of God’s government of the earth will again be centered in Israel. The throne of the Son of Man will be found in Jerusalem, and from there He will rule the nations with a rod of iron. As Messiah, King of Israel, He will also rule over the Jews.217
217 [Messiah is a Jewish title referring to the son of David, and has a scope limited to Israel. However, the Son of Man title references Adam, and has a much broader reach of dominion over all of God’s creation (Ps. 8)]
The millennium represents the last opportunity to make good human government. There is no doubt that in this responsibility, Jesus, the glorified Man, will be perfectly obedient and faithful to God. He will represent the Most High God as the Melchizedek priest, a king of righteousness and peace (Heb. 7:1–3). He will bring forth on the earth the judgments of God (Isa. 26:9–10), ruling in justice and righteousness (Ps. 97:1–6), insuring peace. He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet, ending all rule, all authority, all power, except that of God (1 Cor. 15:24–25).218
218 [If we read the passage in 1 Corinthians, it becomes clear that the millennial reign of Jesus over the world will be as a Man, for it shows His subjection to God in delivering the kingdom to the Father after all things are made subject to Him (1 Cor. 15:24, 27–28). Also, if we examine this entire chapter, the main emphasis in it is the death and resurrection of this Man and His differences with Adam, the first man. The consequence is how Christian believers will be, in their bodies, glorified by their association with this heavenly Man, who is now the first raised from among the dead]
The prophetic promise of the coming of Messiah to Israel was always the means by which God encouraged the faithfulness of a believing Jewish remnant (Luke 1:67–79). It was the hope they could trust in while in the midst of a wicked and rebellious nation. David and Solomon serve as types of Jesus Christ, Messiah, King of Israel.
- David, at first, was the suffering king at the hands of his own brethren – Jesus fulfilled this in His first coming.
- Then David was the victorious king, defeating all the enemies of Israel – Jesus will fulfill this at His return, saving Israel and destroying their enemies.
- Solomon, the son of David, reigned over Israel in peace and prosperity – this will be fulfilled by Jesus’s millennial reign over Israel.
Practically everything mentioned above shows us how much the future millennium is a time in which God turns back to acknowledge Jewish things. Having set Israel aside long ago at the end of the Jewish dispensation, no longer recognizing their calling, God moved on to a different work in the Christian dispensation. But long-ago, God made promises to Israel’s forefathers that were unconditional. Those promises have yet to be fulfilled. Knowing that God cannot ever be less than faithful to all He has promised, it is not surprising to see this future time when He again deals directly in blessing with Israel as a nation. This single verse below is enough evidence needed to confirm to faith this future reality.
For thus says the Lord: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.” (Ez. 32:42)
But the present Christian dispensation must first be completed and come to an end. We previously said that God does not sanction the continuance of Jewish things into the new Christian dispensation after the Jewish dispensation ended. In like manner, He does not sanction Christian things to continue on into the millennium. Not that the church ceases to exist. Rather, she will be in the heavens, removed from the scene of the millennial world. The church, or the heavenly saints, form no part of the Son of Man’s kingdom on the millennial earth. They are under their heavenly Father; they are in the Father’s house in heaven (John 14:1–4); they are part of their Father’s kingdom in the heavens (Matt. 13:43). The church is not on the earth in the millennium, nor under the Son of Man as her King. Her members are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. They will rule with Christ over the inheritance, over the millennial earth (Rev. 5:10). They will be raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).219
219 [The glorified heavenly saints are represented by the twenty-four elders sitting on endowed thrones surrounding God’s throne of government and judgment in Revelation four (Rev. 4:4). This is after the rapture has taken place. During the future tribulation these elders are only seen in heaven and part of this throne of government. As judgment rains down from God’s throne during the tribulation period, so will blessing and grace come down from God on the world during the millennium. The church in the heavens will be the instrument God uses to accomplish this. The detailed description of the bride of the Lamb, the heavenly Jerusalem, is the symbolic description of the church’s place above, over the millennial earth (Rev. 21:9–22:5)]
Below, the principles of the three dispensations are contrasted with each other:
|
Jewish Dispensation |
Christian Dispensation |
Millennium |
| Israel is the corporate body having responsibility before God during the dispensation. | Christendom is the corporate body given responsibility before God during the dispensation. | The restored nation of Israel will carry the responsibility again, representing the world. |
| Judaism is the religion of practice sanctioned by God for the Jewish dispensation. It is the one true religion of the world. It is adapted to man in Adam, man in the flesh. | Christianity is the religion of practice sanctioned by God in the Christian dispensation. It is a heavenly religion practiced by all true Christians. | Judaism is again practiced as the religion of restored Israel, inheriting and possessing their land. No other religion will be permitted in the millennial world. |
| Israel’s calling is earthly and is the only calling recognized by God during this dispensation. The Jews were God’s chosen people. They were taken by God out of Egypt into the land to inherit it. Their failures in their responsibilities meant that God could not sustain them in the land. Israel was set aside by God, ending the dispensation. | The true church, the body of Christ has a heavenly calling, and is the only calling God recognizes during the Christian dispensation. Christians are destined to be taken by God to the heavens. Although Christendom has failed in its dispensational responsibility, the true church will be removed from the earth to heaven. | This will be the time when God returns to acknowledging Israel’s earthly calling. He will permanently bring the elect Jewish remnant back into the land to inherit it. God will again say to Israel, you are My people, I am your God. Israel will grow and prosper as a nation, and by and through them the whole world will be blessed. |
| The practice of Judaism is a walk by sight and physical senses. The Jews demand signs (I Cor. 1:22). The Jews failed to responsibly practice the law. | Christianity begins with a conversion by the grace of God through faith. The practice of Christianity is a walk by faith in things which are always unseen. | Every eye will see Him in the millennium (Rev. 1:7). In Israel it is a return to Judaism and a walk by sight and physical senses. |
| Jesus came to Israel as the Messiah/King towards the end of the Jewish dispensation, all according to Jewish promises and prophecy. The Jews failed to receive Him, being tested in their responsibility. Messiah came but received no kingdom, being cut off (Dan. 9:26). | Jesus is absent from the earth for the entire time of the Christian dispensation. It was important that He go away so the Spirit could be sent down. He patiently sits on His Father’s throne until a future time when God’s enemies will be made His footstool. | Jesus will return to the earth in power and glory. He will sit on His own throne in Jerusalem as both the glorified Son of Man, and Messiah, King of Israel. He will destroy all evil and make all God’s enemies His footstool. He will reign in righteousness, and Israel will live in peace. |
| Judaism is the practice of the law – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; a just recompense equal to the offence. The law is the perfect standard/measure of human/creature justice and righteousness. | Christianity is the practice of being like our heavenly Father. Christians walk in grace, love their enemies, turn the other cheek, give the second coat, and walk the extra mile (Matt. 5:38-48). | In the millennium, the Jews return to practice Judaism. All their enemies will be defeated and destroyed. The judgments of God will be in the earth. The Gentile nations will be in subjection to the Jews. |
| Jesus’ first coming is known as His humiliation – God took on human flesh becoming a man, then became a servant, then submitted to the lowliest of deaths in rejection on the cross (Phil. 2:5-8). He fulfilled the role and office of the Prophet greater than Moses. | In the Christian dispensation the only ministry of Jesus is for the benefit of the church – He is Head of the body and High Priest representing the believer. This ministry takes place in the heavens, hidden from the world, because the church has a heavenly calling and destiny. | Jesus’ second coming will be in power and great glory, as King of Israel, and King of kings, Lord of lords. He will rule the nations with a rod of iron, putting an end to all Gentile civil power. In representing God, He will be King of righteousness and King of peace (Melchizedek). |
| During the Jewish dispensation Jesus fulfilled His office of Prophet. | During the Christian dispensation Jesus fulfills His office of Priest. | During the millennium on earth Jesus will fulfill His office of King of Israel, King of the world. |
| During the Jewish dispensation God dealt with earthly things, such as Israel and their calling, religion, and land (John 3:12). Nicodemus, as a teacher of Israel, should have understood such things. | God is now dealing with heavenly things during the Christian dispensation. The Holy Spirit has been sent down to gather a heavenly body, the church. He will eventually remove the church from the earth, taking her to heaven. | In the millennium, God again deals with earthly things. Jesus returns to judge the world, including the Jews. God will correct the world and make it right. He will be known as God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. |
| The prophets and prophecy predicted the general course of the Jewish dispensation (Deut. 31:15-30). When Israel failed in keeping the law, prophecy presented the promise of the coming Messiah to encourage the faithfulness of the believing remnant (Isa. 9:6-7). Bible prophecy has a specific character – it is about Israel, the earth, and God’s government of the earth. All three of these characteristics directly relate to the Jewish dispensation. | The Christian dispensation is part of the mystery of God hidden from the prophets and prophecy. This mystery includes the supremacy of Christ over the entire created universe of God, as well as existence of the body of Christ, the true church. It also includes Christendom as the spoiled crop in the world, and the practice of Christianity as a religion. The Christian dispensation is hidden from prophecy because it is not a time in which God deals with Israel, the earth, or His government of the earth. | The future millennium is definitely the subject of Bible prophecy – all God’s counsels will be fulfilled in glorifying Himself through the headship of Christ over the world. Christ as head over heavenly things is not the proper subject of prophecy, but was part of the mystery God kept hidden (Eph. 1:9-10). But the Lord’s return and earthly kingdom are well known in prophecy. The millennium will be when all will be fulfilled concerning Israel, the earth, and God’s government of the earth. |
| Satan is free to tempt and corrupt Israel during the Jewish dispensation. They fail in the law and the Gentiles are given world civil power. Satan influences the Gentiles to persecute and oppress the Jews. When Messiah first came to Israel, Satan orchestrates His crucifixion and death at the hands of the Jews and Romans. | Having killed the world’s true King when He came, Satan is now considered prince and god of the world. In the Christian dispensation he hinders and corrupts all that is part of the mystery of God – the church, Christendom, the practice of Christianity and its doctrines. He has power in the heavens to accuse and persecute the brethren. | In the future tribulation, Satan and his angels will be cast out of the heavens and down to the earth. He knows his time is short, so he brings great wrath upon the world. When Jesus returns to the world in power and glory, the two beasts will be defeated, their armies destroyed. Satan will be bound in a bottomless pit for the thousand years. |
| Judaism is the practice of the law, the perfect standard or measure of righteous human works (man doing what is right as the creature before the Creator). It represents what man can be and do for God. It is a worldly and earthly religion of human works. The founding principle of the law is “do this and live.” | The Christian gospel is the grace of God giving redemption freely through the death of Jesus Christ to all who believe. It represents what God is and has done for man. Grace is not human works, and human work is not grace. This isn’t human righteousness, but the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Grace is God’s work. | The millennium sees the return of God’s law as the standard of human behavior on the earth. By sovereign grace, God will write his law on the minds and hearts of the saved Jews, so they will do it and be blessed and exalted. Jesus will rule the nations by judgments in justice and righteousness – this is by God’s law. |
| The practice of Judaism was a wall of division built up by God around Israel. It was the means God purposely used to separate His chosen people from the Gentile nations. The Jewish dispensation represents the earth separated into different nations, and God’s righteous government dealing with them as such. God chose Israel as His people, as a corporate nation. | Christianity and the church exist by God pulling down and destroying the wall of division. In the Christian dispensation, God is not directly dealing with the earth and nations. In Christ there is no Jew or Greek – no earthly nations or nationalities are recognized. The members of the church are all one in Christ and are individually chosen by God from out of the nations. | The millennium will again see the government of God separating nations on the earth and judging them. God’s elect of Israel will be gathered and planted in the Promised land. Judaism, the temple, their land, will again be a means of separation. The Gentile nations will be made to serve Israel (Isa. 60:12), as the Jews serve Jehovah, the Lord. |
| Judaism is the worship of the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel. Its practice requires a fixed location (John 4:20) – a temple located in the earthly city of Jerusalem. Animal sacrifices and pilgrimages are a few of the vital parts of this religion. | Christianity is the worship of God as the Father of Christians – they are sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:26). This worship doesn’t ever require a fixed location, nor does the assembling of the church require such (John 4:21-24). | The millennium will again see the Jews worshipping Jehovah in a Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Animal sacrifices, pilgrimages, and earthly Levitical priesthood will be re-instituted. Jerusalem will be the center of the world-wide worship of the God of Israel. |
| Judaism emphasizes the privilege and advantages of natural birth – being born a descendent of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob (Phil. 3:4-5, Matt. 3:9, John 8:33). Although they have this special place, still natural birth also makes them the fallen children of Adam. Even though the Jews are the chosen people of God as a nation, still they can only be the servants of God (Lev. 25:55, John 8:33-36). | Christians are born of God (John 1:12-13). This is not a birth by blood, or by the flesh, or by the will of man as is natural birth. He is their Father and they became His sons through redemption. Believers are given the same relationship that Jesus has with God and His Father (John 20:17). We are Christ’s brethren and friends, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Heb. 2:10-11, Rom. 8:16-17). | In the millennium, the elect Jewish remnant saved and brought back to inherit the promised land are physical descendants of Abraham by natural birth. The millennial world still has the wall of separation – the earth is divided into nations, with the Gentiles serving and honoring Israel. All God does for the Jews at that time is for the purpose of sanctifying His name among the nations (Ez. 36:19-38). |
| The Jews, as a whole, were always fallen and depraved, considered as man in the flesh and man in Adam (Rom. 8:8). This is true concerning all men naturally born into this world. The first Adam was the earthly man (I Cor. 15:47). He is identified with God’s first creation. He is fallen and depraved, and he was the cause of creation being defiled. Judaism, the law, did nothing to change the fallen nature of the Jews – it gave man no strength; it couldn’t give righteousness or life (Gal. 3:21). | All true Christians are taken out of the first Adam and placed in Christ, the second and final Adam. This is the work of God. In Christ, the heavenly Man, believers are new creatures – God’s new creation. They are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:9). This comes by the death of the old man being crucified with Christ, and then an entirely new life given in resurrection power (Rom. 6:6-11). Christ is this new life in the believer. As raised from the dead, Jesus is the beginning of the new creation of God. | The millennial world will again be God dealing with man in the flesh as fallen and of the first Adam. However, many things are different in that the evil civil powers of the Gentiles will have been destroyed and Satan and his angels will be bound. Those saved of Israel will have the advantage in that the law is now in their minds and hearts and Christ is present with them. This will be true for their children as well, born during the millennium. But mankind on the earth is not glorified and still in Adam with sin in the flesh. |
| The suffering of the Jews in the Jewish dispensation was because of their sin and disobedience to God. He would often use their enemies to chastise them for their rebellion. Eventually, the long-suffering of God concerning their apostasy ended, and the Jews were taken into captivity or scattered into the nations (Ez. 36:16-20). The throne of God and His manifested presence in Israel were lost, and world power was given to the Gentiles. By all this the Jews profaned the name of Jehovah while in their land and also scattered throughout the world. | In the Christian dispensation the true Christian suffers with Christ because of his obedience to God. The believer takes up his cross and follows Christ. The gospel is God’s offer of mercy and grace to the world. During the Christian dispensation evil seems to grow and prosper. During this time God is not directly judging evil, but only restricting its limits. (Please see Rom. 8:17-18, II Cor. 4:16-18). The believer’s portion in the present dispensation is to suffer with Christ, knowing he will share in Christ’s glory in the next dispensation. He suffers, going through the same world in which Christ suffered in. | During the millennium, sin and corruption will be judged and excised under the global reign of the Son of Man. Wherever it is found, it will be dealt with directly. Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under His feet. This is the time when God directly judges the evil of the world and eliminates it. The last enemy put away will be death from sin in man’s flesh (Rom. 5:12, I Cor. 15:25-26). By the law written on their hearts and minds, the Jews will show obedience to God, and will be blessed and prosper in their land. Jehovah, the name of the God of Israel, will be hallowed in all the millennial earth. |
| Bible prophecy involves the counting of time in relation to Israel. Here is a prophecy whose first portion applies to the Jewish dispensation (Dan. 9:24-26). Time is counted concerning Daniel’s people and their holy city. Specifically, it shows how long it would be until Jerusalem was restored and rebuilt after the Babylonian destruction. Then it counts time from that point until Messiah would come to Israel at first. It shows the Jewish dispensation ending by the Romans destroying the city and temple (70 AD). | Time isn’t being counted on the earth during the Christian dispensation. It is part of the mystery of God hidden from the prophets and prophecy. There is no amount of time set in Scripture predicting the length of the Christian dispensation. Prophecy never predicted the existence of the church or Christendom. The church is a heavenly body – heavenly things are eternal; Scripture never counts time concerning them. | Bible prophecy will have its complete fulfillment at the end, in the tribulation and the millennium. The 1260 days marked out in the Revelation concerns Israel in the last half of the tribulation (Rev. 12:6). Other prophecies refer to this time as 42 months (Rev. 11:2) or 3 ½ years – a time and times and half a time (Rev. 12:14, Dan. 7:24). The millennium is 1000 years for the restoration and exalting of Israel, for the putting down of evil and bringing in peace through God’s government (Rev. 20:1-6). |
| In the Jewish dispensation the throne of God was the ark of the covenant where the manifested Presence dwelt between the cherubim in the Holy of Holies behind the veil. The tablets of law where placed in the ark, making it a throne of government and judgment. No one in Israel was allowed in God’s presence except the designated high priest, and this once per year on the day of Atonement. All this was lost when the Jews were taken captive by Babylon. The thunderings and lightening of Mt. Sinai reflect God’s law and His righteous judgments. But Israel immediately proved they could not exist under pure law. The nation’s survival was based on sovereign grace (Ex. 33:19). | In the Christian dispensation God’s offer of grace is through the Christian gospel and is to any man, to the world in general. But only those who have faith in Jesus are freely justified by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:23-26). These are true Christians and believers. During the time of the Christian dispensation God’s throne is a throne of grace. But access to it is only afforded to Christian believers (Heb. 4:14-16, 10:19-22). They alone benefit from it, obtaining grace to help in their walk as Christians in this world. During this time the High Priest sitting at God’s right hand has a ministry of continuously interceding for Christians (Heb. 1:3, 7:25-28, 8:1-2). | When God turns back to dealing with Israel’s calling and to judge the world in the future tribulation, we see once again a throne of judgment depicted in the Revelation (Rev. 4). The example of Sinai is revisited with the appearance of lightnings and thunderings – the judgment of the world by God’s law is about to begin, and in the book, we see seal’s opened, trumpets blown, and bowls of God’s wrath poured out on the earth from this throne above. During the millennium, the Son of Man will sit on His earthly throne of glory and rule the nations with a rod of iron (Matt. 25:31, Ps. 2:6-9, Rev. 12:5). God’s government and judgments are always based on His law and commandments. |
| The general form of the kingdom of God during the first half of the Jewish dispensation was a theocratic kingdom in Israel. Although there were many theocratic kingdoms among the Gentile nations, Israel alone worshiped the one true God. Judaism was a wall God built up around the Jews, separating them from the Gentiles. Eventually Israel had their own kings subsisting under Jehovah. Israel’s idolatry caused the nation to be divided into two kingdoms or houses in the time of Solomon. The theocratic kingdom ended with the Babylonian captivity – during the second half of the Jewish dispensation Israel was always under Gentile oppression, while the prophetic promise of Messiah and the expectation of a Messianic kingdom, throwing off the bonds of the Gentiles, was the common hope of Israel. All hope of an earthly Messianic kingdom was lost when Israel rejected and killed their King. God set Israel aside and ended the Jewish dispensation. | In the time of the succeeding Christian dispensation, the kingdom of God takes the form of the entirety of Christendom in the world – the spoiled crop of wheat and tares mixed together in the field (Matt. 13:24-30). It is a new work of God, a new planting beginning a new dispensation, referred to by the Spirit in Matthew’s gospel as “the kingdom of heaven.” Early in the time of the dispensation the devil comes in and plants tares, adding to the wheat and ruining the crop (Matt. 13:37-40). The crop stays spoiled in the world for the entire dispensation (Matt. 13:28-30). This form of the kingdom of God has mysteries of faith in things hoped for and unseen (Matt. 13:11, Heb. 11:1). Jesus is never present on the earth the entire time of the dispensation. The Holy Spirit has been sent down to gather a heavenly body on the earth, which is destined to be removed from the world and taken to the Father’s kingdom “in heaven.” (Matt. 13:30, 43) | The millennium will see the kingdom of God as two distinct kingdoms – one heavenly and one earthly. The Father’s kingdom is in the heavens (all the heavenly saints who are in relationship with God as their Father, and they being the sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ). These “sons of the kingdom” are the righteous who will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:38, 43). As the glorified Son of Man, Jesus will have an earthly kingdom over all the nations of the world as King of kings, Lord of lords. Also, as Messiah, King of Israel, the Messianic kingdom will subsist under this (Matt. 13:41-42). Jesus is an heir of God. Believers are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. The inheritance Jesus receives from God is over all creation, visible and invisible, reconciled by His blood. It is the same inheritance Christians receive as co-heirs. The heavenly saints will reign with Christ over the millennial world. The church is depicted as the heavenly holy Jerusalem raining down blessings on the earth in the millennium (Rev. 21:9- 22:5) |
| The metaphor of the olive tree in Romans eleven refers to God’s earthly blessings – the dispensational question being, who are the ones partaking of the root and fatness of the tree? (Rom. 11:17). The illustration implies that during the time of the Jewish dispensation, the Jews were the natural branches (by physical birth as natural descendants of Abraham) and the only branches connected to the tree and privileged to enjoy the favor and blessings of God. The general understanding of the illustration can be grasped from this verse (Rom. 11:24). | For the time of the Christian dispensation, the illustration of the olive tree shows that the Jews, the natural branches, were cut off from the tree and that the Gentiles, as wild olive branches, were grafted in – now the Gentiles, grafted in, enjoy the fatness of the root and tree. During this time the Jews have been hardened and act as enemies of the Christian gospel (Rom. 11:7, 28). The Gentiles grafted in is what forms the corporate body of Christendom in the world. This dispensation will be cut off, for the Gentiles do not continue in God’s goodness (Rom. 11:22). | When the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, the Christian dispensation will end. At that time all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26). This is the general time of the millennium, the last dispensation. The elect remnant of the Jews will be saved and brought back to the land. God will build the nation of Israel from them and their children. It is the natural branches being grafted back in to their own olive tree (Rom. 11:23-24, 26-29). Concerning election, the Jews are beloved for the sake of the fathers, and this will be fully realized in the millennium. |
| Judaism and the Jewish dispensation represents the worship of God by way of an earthly tabernacle – at first it was mobile tents made of various fabrics on wooden supports (Heb. 9:1-5); with Solomon it was a glorious temple in a fixed location in Jerusalem. This is a tabernacle made with human hands, and only copies of the true (Heb. (9:24). Solomon’s temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, and seventy years later a returning remnant began building a new temple (Nehemiah). Judaism has an earthly priesthood fraught with weakness and its own sins and mortality (Heb. 5:1-3, 7:23, 27). Its priesthood continuously stands for ongoing service and repeated sacrifices (Heb. 10:1-3, 11), never being able to help or perfect the worshipper (Heb. 7:11, 19, 9:9, 10:1) | Christianity has the worship of God in spirit and truth, and this anywhere the true believer may be found on the earth (John 4:21-24). It has no fixed location designated for worship of God. Christianity has a heavenly tabernacle which is the true one, not made with hands or of this creation (Heb. 8:1-2, 9:11, 23-24). The High Priest of the Christian is Jesus Christ, who has entered the heavens and true tabernacle with His own blood. He was both the sacrifice and the High Priest for the believer. He doesn’t stand but has sat down at the right hand of God (Heb. 10:12), His sacrifice has an eternal efficacy and will never need to be repeated (Heb. 9:25-26). Jesus is a better High Priest in every way than those found in Judaism, and now He continuously intercedes for the Christian (Heb. 7:25-28). Because He continues forever, He has an unchangeable priesthood (Heb. 7:16, 24). His sacrifice has perfected the Christian’s conscience – he is free from his sins and guilt forever, having peace with God. | The millennium sees a return of Judaism and its earthly priesthood and ordinances. There will be a new millennial temple and a Levitical priesthood serving it. Very few changes to Judaism take place, except by a new covenant, the law will be written on the hearts and minds of the saved Jews. They will do the law and be blessed in the land. They will again have an earthly tabernacle (temple) and a fixed location to worship Jehovah. The Levitical priesthood will be reinstated for service in the temple with animal sacrifices. This restoration of Jerusalem, the temple, and Jewish worship is well documented in the last nine chapters of Ezekiel (40-48). Judaism is an earthly religion, and the one true religion of the world. Mankind on the earth during the millennium is still man in the flesh and in Adam. Although the Jews will have an advantage with the law written by God on their hearts and minds, all are still in the flesh. They are not glorified, and they are having children and re-populating the earth and land. |
[Here is a simple understanding which distinguishes the three dispensations. The Jewish dispensation involved God dealing with the world in that He was exposing the truth that man in Adam was depraved and hopelessly lost. This He did by testing Israel. When the Jews rejected His Son, God judged and condemned the world (John 12:31). In the Christian dispensation God is not dealing with the world. He chose certain ones from out of the world (John 15:19) to form the church, a heavenly body. All Christians are said to be “not of the world” (John 17:14, 16) and while down here, are to live separated from it. The church is destined to leave this world behind, to be removed from this earth and taken to live in heaven. In the future tribulation and millennium God will again be dealing with the world. This time He will be carrying out His judgment of it.
The world that God will judge consists of two classes of people – Jews and Gentiles. Those who are true Christians are not part of the world. They are no longer a Jew or a Gentile (Gal. 3:26–28). The believer’s just judgment from God has already been met by Jesus Christ. He bore their sins away. All true Christians are justified from their sins. So, when God begins to bring judgment and wrath upon the world, true believers will not be part of it. However, the tares of Christendom will be judged with/like the world – see Matt. 13:30, 40–42, Rev. 3:3]