call dispensations is basically an economy, an epoch of time, or a method in dealing with mankind in respect to His specifically revealed will. It is a stewardship or a testing of human responsibility during a distinguishable period. Miracles are especially prevalent at the beginning, and in the early days, of the three final testing periods of human his tory. They reveal the special work ing of the Father, the Spirit, and the Son in that particular order. This is not to suggest that we should graph ically divide the Bible into such dis pensations that the message of the Book is lost. This system of ultra- dispensationalism is wrong. But we must recognize the dispensations of the Bible or we will not understand Scripture at all. At Mt. Sinai, God introduced the new age of the law. As a prelude, the Lord commanded the people of Israel to consecrate themselves personally for th ree days and then to put on clean clothes (Ex. 19:9-11, 15). Bound aries at the foot of the mountain were determined (vs. 12. 13). On the morning of the third day, the peaks of Horeb were veiled in thick clouds. Lightning flashed in an uninterrupt ed flame (v. 16). As the people fear fully went out to meet the still in visible God, they heard His audible voice speaking with their leader Moses (vs. 17-19). W ith such scenes still vivid before their eyes, the children of Israel received the law willingly. This was the legal pe riod of their history. God’s grace was revealed in miracle power as such things as quail were sent upon which the people could feed (Num. 11:31). The whole history of Israel is miraculous in every sense to con sider. These two coming so soon after the legal age of the dispensation of law began were miracles of initiation in which God began a new period of time and they would understand and see and know. 26
P art T hirteen T he dispensation of law was in troduced by a miracle. The days which followed were attended by nu merous miracles. Likewise, as we study the New Testament Church, the age in which we’re living, mira cles are again seen. This current dis pensation began on the day of Pen tecost (Acts 2) and continues until the Church of Jesus Christ goes home to be with her Lord. This is an hour yet to come prophetically. Everybody who belongs to Jesus Christ is a member of the celestal transcendant body we call the Bride of Christ. Paul went about preaching the gospel and founding a number of local churches such as Philippi, Ephesus, etc. So there is this double connotation of the heavenly body as well as an earthly group of people who love the Lord and who meet to gether. At the express commandment of our risen Christ, 120 of His disciples gathered expectantly in the Upper Room in Jerusalem to pray and to wait for the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:12; 2:1). Ten days later, on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, there was a tremendous echoing sound which resembled in intensity of a violet windstorm. The noise filled the whole house (2:2). Tongues, which looked like fire, set tled down upon each of them (v. 3). At that very moment every disciple present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak put con cerning the excellencies of the Lord. They did so in languages that were other than their own native tongues. Jewish worshippers from at least 16 language groups heard the testimony of the believers in their own dia lects (w. 5-11). At that time some 3,000 souls were added to the com pany of believers who had already confessed faith in the risen Christ. This ushered in the age or dispen sation of grace. The bestowal of for
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