WITH AN
Explanatory Key to the Accompanying Chart.
CHAPTER 1
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
AN epoch may be briefly defined as a period of time, marked by some remarkable event or events, from which a new order of historical circumstances begins,—a fresh starting-point, or era, of which the Deluge is a familiar instance.
The word " dispensation " has several meanings, but the sense in which it is employed in the chart, and in the following key to it, is the commonly accepted one as applied to Scripture subjects,—namely, the distribution of a series of historical events through certain periods of time, from one epoch to another. It is used in this sense in Eph. 1:1010That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:10),—" That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth."
All events and occurrences in Scripture may be conveniently arranged in such epochs and dispensations, each having its own distinctive features.
Indeed, it must be obvious to every careful reader of the Bible, that this order of dispensations, with certain intervening epochs between each of them, underlies the whole structure of Biblical record.
And not only do we see these successive dispensations in Scripture thus following one another in due order, but we also find that they are marked by certain moral features or characteristics that distinguish them one from the other. Thus, for instance, the past Jewish dispensation must be regarded as quite different in every feature from the present Christian dispensation; and any attempt to blend or to amalgamate the principles of the one with those of the other must inevitably lead to utter confusion. Indeed, it may be confidently stated that this attempt to combine the principles of the Jewish system with the totally different ones of Christianity, has been one of the most fruitful sources of error and confusion in the professing Church of these latter days, and the cause of innumerable mistakes in the interpretation of God's blessed Word.
Such having been the case, it becomes at once apparent that a right understanding of these scriptural dispensations, and of the principles and characteristics of each, is of the utmost importance, and is quite essential to a full and proper apprehension of the Scriptures as a whole. There are indeed many portions of the Word that cannot be rightly understood, apart from their dispensational connections, as must be evident to all who think on the subject for a moment.
For it often happens in the experience of Bible students, when meeting with difficulties in the Word, that the moment they perceive the true place in the dispensational order to which the portion under consideration belongs, light breaks in, and everything becomes clear and intelligible.
Having thus in view the great importance of rightly understanding the scriptural order of truth, a colored chart or map has been devised and is presented herewith, in which all the epochs and dispensations of Scripture, from the creation to the end of the world, are graphically displayed; so that by appealing to the eye-through which the understanding and memory are more readily and vividly impressed than by mere verbal description-a comprehensive view of the order and relative connections of the several dispensations may be readily seen and remembered.
To this chart the present work is mainly intended to serve as an explanatory key; while, at the same time, such needed descriptions and references are added as may help to make the whole a fairly full outline of these important subjects within a moderate compass.