Jesus also applied dispensationalism
Luke 4:17-21 “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
This is important because Jesus is saying that this is fulfilled in His first coming, as Israel’s messiah.
Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;”
Why did Jesus stop in the middle of verse 2? It is because it represented His first coming. “and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” represented Jesus’ second coming because it talks about the day of vengeance.
There was definitely a division. It has been now more than 2,000 years between Jesus’ first and second coming. Jesus was also dividing the words and applying dispensationalism. As Christians, we are supposed to be a Christ-follower. Jesus showed us the example of dividing verses.
Genesis 49:10-11 “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:”
Verse 10 is a fulfillment of Jesus’ first coming where Jesus rode on an ass (donkey) into Jerusalem. In verse 11, it was referring to Jesus’ second coming “he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes.” We know that this is true because of following verse. A semi-colon in verse 11 gave a gap of 2,000 years between Jesus’ first and second coming.
Revelation 19:13 “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.”
The next verse is even weirder because God wrote the verse in a way that went backwards in time.
Zechariah 9:11 “As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.”
The verse is referring to us, because Jesus Christ shed His blood for us, prisoners out of our pit. However in the preceding verse, Jesus was conquering the world “his dominion shall be from sea even to sea,” which referred to His second coming. God was going backwards in terms of timeline.
Zechariah 9:10 “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.”
If that’s not enough proof that God uses multiple timelines in one passage, let’s look at Zechariah 9:9.
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
The above verse refers to Jesus’ first coming. So, what God is doing is:
- Verse 9 = Jesus’ first coming
- Verse 10 = Jesus’ second coming
- Verse 11 = Jesus’ shedding of blood for the Christians
It is therefore very important to divide verses. Otherwise, we will end up with confusing and contradictory doctrines.
Didn’t you know that the Bible had dispensationalists?
The authors in the Bible also applied dispensationalism.
- John 19:36 refers to Jesus’ bones not to be broken, quoting Psalm 34:20. But in the preceding verses Psalm 34:17-19, they refer not to Jesus, but to the people who need to be delivered.
John 19:36: “For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.”
Psalm 34:17-19: “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
Psalm 34:20-21: “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.”
2) Matthew’s quoted Hosea 11:1, but the son was Jesus Christ in Matthew and the son was Israel in Hosea. The author knew how to divide verses.
Matthew 2:15 “And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”
3) Hebrews 1:5 was quoting 2 Samuel 7:14. However, in the next part of the same verse in 2 Samuel 7:14, “he” will be chastened if he commits iniquity. This is clearly not referring to Jesus, but David’s lineage who is Solomon. If we do not divide verses, we will end up making Jesus a sinner.
Hebrews 1:5 “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?”
2 Samuel 7:14 “I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:”
4) John 15:25 quotes Psalm 69:4. However, in Psalm 69:5, this person is foolish and has sins. It is important to rightly divide verses.
John 15:25 “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”
Psalm 69:4-5 “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.”
5) 1 Peter 1:16cf Leviticus 11:44
6) Matthew 8:17 cf Isaiah 53:4
The Bible talks about the different dispensations
This grace did not come before. During Moses’ time, they did not have as much grace back then until Jesus Christ came to die for us. Back then, salvation was by faith and works. Some people in the Old Testament were saved by grace, but salvation by grace was not in full effect.
John 1:17: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
There was also truth in Old Testament, but both grace and truth are not full.
John 1:16 “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
Another clear example of a dispensation is before faith came, they were shut up under the law. The Old Testament was there to show that mankind cannot live under their own terms, they had a schoolmaster. Today, Christians are no longer under the law.
Galatians 3:23-25 “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. “
The law could not give permanent eternal life; faith did that. The law was temporary. That clearly shows a different dispensation, a different way God dealt with Old Testament and the church age.
1 Peter 1:10-12 “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”
In verse 10, salvation was not seen clearly in the Old Testament as “the prophets have enquired and searched diligently.” In verse 11, it was not revealed to the Old Testament saints but us, the church age saints. Again, this denotes a difference in time periods with different salvation plans, grace, and faith. No matter how hard they searched, it was not revealed to them.
John 7:37-39 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
Jesus Christ was preaching about new salvation through grace and believing in Jesus Christ, who died for sins. But, the Bible was clear that the time has not yet complete, and they did not receive the Holy Ghost.