Month: October 2008

Read part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six or part seven.

Every Sunday I provide videos and valuable links to the Truth or Tradition teachings. We’ve been following the Truth or Tradition teachings for many years now and they have truly blessed our family. We have found peace and happiness through our beliefs and we walk confidently for God. My hope, by passing on this information to you, is that what you find here, or on the Truth or Tradition website, will guide you to a better, more blessed and abundant life.

If you would like to read my views on religion and how we got started with the ministry, you can read this.

Let’s get started:

From the Bible Study Guide

Paying Attention to the Administrations

One of the great truths of Scripture is that throughout history, God has righteously and resourcefully responded to man’s obedience and disobedience by changing the rules by which He wants men to live. Examples of God changing the rules abound, and the period of time governed by a given set of rules is referred to as an “administration,” or “dispensation.” Many theologians recognize the administrations in the Bible, and the theology of Dispensationalism became well known to the average preacher in America after the Scofield Study Bible was published in 1909, which contained many study notes on the administrations (which Scofield referred to as “dispensations,” as does the King James Version).

We recognize eight administrations in history of mankind: four of them are now in the past, we live in the fifth administration (the Administration of Grace), and three are still future. The eight Administrations are:

1). Original Paradise; 2). Conscience; 3) Civil Government; 4) Law; 5) Grace; 6) Tribulation; 7) Paradise; 8 ) Everlasting Kingdom.

Unfortunately, many Christians are taught to believe and live by “the whole Bible,” which sounds good, and does not seem to present a problem to those who do not read it or think much about it. Those Christians have not been taught to carefully discern what applies to them and what does not, other than having a nebulous concept that there are things in the Old Testament that do not apply to us. However, if one does not understand the administrations in the Bible, it becomes full of apparent contradictions, because the rules God gave people to live by differ through time. The following are some examples of God’s rules changing through time:

• Food regulations
• Sabbath regulations
• Marriage regulations
• Sacrificial regulations

Knowing that there are different administrations, exactly when they begin and end, and the rules distinctly associated with each, is indispensable in explaining many of the apparent contradictions in the Bible. It is also indispensable in living righteously and obediently before God. A person who does not understand Administrations can become very confused if thinks that all of God’s commands should be followed, because, we have seen, the commandments are different in different administrations. For example, a person could have more than one wife, insist on everyone eating only plants, sacrifice an animal each time he sinned, and execute anyone who worked on Saturday, and support all of these actions with verses from the Bible. We must understand that the question we have to ask is not, “What does the Bible say,” but rather, “What does the Bible say to me?” The conservative theologian Martin Anstey wrote: “In this matter the golden rule is, ‘Distinguish the dispensations and the difficulties will disappear.'”

I can’t impress upon you enough the importance of understanding the administrations. Knowing about the administrations, and how the Bible divides, and handles, these administrations, really does make the entire Bible fit together like a hand inside of a glove. There are no contradictions in the Bible. None. And anyone who tries to tell you otherwise does not understand the dispensations (administrations).

If an aspect of the Bible doesn’t seem to fit, it’s likely due to one of three reasons: 1). Errors in transmission – (Scribes miscopy or change something); 2). Errors in translation – (Occurs when the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek is not properly translated into English; 3). Errors in our understanding – (we do not correctly divide the word). You can learn more about these in the Bible Study Guide.

Thank you for sticking it out all these weeks. I realize that this is a bit dry and doesn’t go a long way toward answering your immediate questions, but it’s important to build a study foundation so that you are prepared to learn, understand, and apply God’s word.

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Thank you for visiting and God bless.