Dispensation

A historical age or cosmos, in which God provides the environment through which men relate with Him, and His righteousness and love.  The Old Testament is best interpreted as the history foreshadowing the coming of the Messiah.  Because the history before Christ could not perfectly represent God to men, God’s people belonged to a burdensome age looking forward to the one who could mediate the promises of God, and could uphold their obligations to God.  Following the Parousia of Christ in AD 66-70, we now are in the eternal “Age of the Messiah” (New Covenant eternal Kingdom) where the promises of God have been realized historically in Jesus Christ, and forever forward belong to all those who believe in His name.