Romans – God’s Timeline XXI: The Purpose of the Eons – Let’s Talk About Acts (Part 5)
What Now?
The major question, following the crucifixion (and subsequent resurrection) of our Lord is, simply: What now?
I’ll tell you “what now” – all hell breaks loose, baby. The subsequent unfoldings in Acts are some of the most insane events put to paper, completely unpredictable at every turn. I swear to you, reader – this was the first document in Holy Writ that made me stop “studying,” really, and simply read. God was firing on all cylinders before, but the events following the murder of His Son are undoubtedly of special import!
Alas, this also makes these the most confusing passages in all of scripture. Typically, radically differing interpretations are proposed due to missing even a single sentence, sometimes. The sheer density and comprehensiveness of this work should, not, be, under, stated.
So! How do we know that I’m about to crack this book open like an egg?
Well, you don’t, simply put. I’m going to strive to present the evidence as best I can, but, like the book of Hebrews, I’m no expert on this book. I’m fascinated by it, and I think there’s a great study on it by Mr. Herman, beginning in volume 13 of the Unsearchable Riches, but there’s so much discord on the matter! All of it, I think, has to do with our main man Paul (then Saul.) The dispensation he is given in the middle of this book has confounded and frustrated scholars, theologians, pastors, and preachers for thousands of years, now. I’m confident, then, that some aspect of this summary will be incomplete, or left wanting – but I’ll do my best, and accept any legitimate correction from my brothers as is necessary.
Anyway!
Without further ado, let’s discuss
The Pentecostal
Administration
When
the Christ was on the cross, a very notable statement is made, which
many of us know (Luke 23:34)–
Jesus said, “Father… forgive them, for they are not
aware what they are doing.”
Since
Christ’s sacrifice was accepted (noted by His subsequent rousing,)
this “forgiveness” also was heeded. So, upon His ascension, Jesus’ followers
were left staring up at the sky in confusion. “What do we do now?” was indeed
their question, but, contrary to popular opinion, Jesus did not leave
them with a peace sign and a “Good luck,” but had actually revealed the
scriptures to His disciples (Luke 24:45-49) and gives instruction to
them as to the following days, saying in Acts 1:8–
But you shall be obtaining power at the coming of the
holy spirit on you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in
entire Judea and Samaria, and as far as the limits of the earth.
So, sorry Davey Havok, but he did not just ‘leave them all behind’ without affirmation. That they remain confused is a relative product of Eden, leading to Israel’s blindness – not some failure to communicate on Jesus’ part.
Anyway, this is an intimation of the dispensation of power at the coming of the holy spirit on them. This was foreshadowed by John (Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33,) so is still directly in accord with divine revelation. It is called the “spirit of truth, which the world cannot get” (John 14:16-17, 25-26, 15:26-27.)
This administration is firmly inaugurated when Peter takes the keys of the kingdom, and, with the power of the holy spirit, unlocks the door of the kingdom a second time to the nation, after judicial blindness had been imposed on them (in Matt. 13.) This “unlocking” is demonstrated in Acts 2:14-40 (keep this in mind, as it will be important a little later.)
I will take a brief moment to note that many Christian expositors will call Acts the “beginning of the early church.” This is a twofold excuse. First, it is created to draw all of Jesus’ teachings into the present day, and ignore the administrational boundaries established by Acts by treating the kingdom as a “metaphor” for “church.” I will briefly note, then, that a “gathering” of people (an ecclesia, as the Concordant version translates,) is a far cry from a “kingdom,” a political construct. There is no evidence that the kingdom in view, from the promise back in Genesis to now, is “metaphorical.” It is given clear terrestrial boundaries (at each appearance of Yahweh in Gen. 12-17, Num. 34:1-12, and many more,) and is to be enjoyed on land, not in some far off celestial sphere.
The second reason for the excuse is to give weight and value and power to the various church sects which are all over the earth now – most notably the Catholic church. Many, many times I have heard the claim that the “early church fathers’ work is just as valuable and authoritative as Holy Writ itself.” This is an appeal to authority, designed to justify heretical doctrines as “eternal torment,” “free will,” the “trinity,” and more. It is further emotional reasoning, to act as though the word of God is on par with the wisdom of men, when God actually affirms the opposite (1 Cor. 1:18-28.)
In truth, the passage I quoted earlier, Acts 1:8, explicitly discusses boundaries to the holy spirit’s power, as it would appear in three-fold waves. First, to Jerusalem, then, in the entire Judea and Samaria, and finally, to the limits of the earth. This charge is at the beginning of Acts, and is fulfilled in Acts – not some charge required for us today. This is the seventh administration, but it is not our present day administration, as we will read.
A discriminatory study of each chapter of Acts prior to Saul’s name-change will show that the ministry of the twelve was confined, indeed, to Israelites, Samaritans, and proselyte gentiles, like the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius, within the borders of Jerusalem (Acts 3:25-26, 5:30-32, 8:1, 5-17, 25, 26-39, 10:1-6, 23-48.) This fulfilled the first two parts of Jesus’ instruction – they witnessed in Jerusalem, and the entirety of Judea and Samaria. It is not until Saul’s blinding on the road to Damascus (the capital of Syria, as opposed to Israel,) when the third instruction from Jesus, heralding the news of the kingdom as far as the limits of the earth, would be fulfilled (Acts 9:15-16, 13:45-48.)
It
is important to note that, throughout the rest of Acts, Paul does teach on
the kingdom of God, in the Pentecostal ministry. There are many examples of
this in Acts, which, as the beginning of the book demonstrated, was
primarily concerned with tracing God’s work in the Pentecostal
administration (Acts 13:14, 16-17, 43, 14:1, 17:1-4, 10-11, 16-17, and more.) We
hardly receive any of the information conveyed in Romans in the
book of Acts, for the two are operating within two different spheres.
The Structure of the Divine
Calendar
At this point, I deem it fit to enlighten you as to the general structure of these administrations. As with the worlds and the eons, these twelve administrations are reflective of one another. In fact, the structure of the worlds, eons, and administrations in view are called “reflective symmetry.” The fifth eon is reflective of the first eon. The fourth eon is reflective of the second eon. On an administrational level, this means that the first four administrations of this eon are reflective of the final four administrations of this eon. That all of these administrations are juxtaposed in this fashion is immensely impressive on God’s part.
This is not merely stylistic, either. The problems established in the first half of the administrations are given direct narrative impacts in the second half, which contribute to the purpose of the eon as a whole. We may look at the seventh administration to understand this.
The Pentecostal administration, juxtaposes the sixth administration, in which our Lord’s ministry commences and is consummated with His crucifixion. He opened the door to the kingdom, shut it after later declaring judicial blindness on Israel, and Israel, in turn, rejects the kingdom by murdering their Messiah. In just the same way, the Pentecostal administration, which lasts through the entirety of Acts, begins with Peter again opening the door to the kingdom, and ends with judicial blindness again being declared on Israel, upon twenty further rejections of their promised kingdom. The contrast, however, is the scope of the evangelizing, which, through Saul, prior to the unveiling of man’s justification through Christ’s faith alone, reached the far limits of the earth.
In this, we can see the exact and direct effects of Christ’s rejection on the cross – not in Israel’s action, but in Jesus’ disposition on the matter. While He, of course, is greatly hurt by loss (John 11:35,) and His own rejection (Matt. 13,) He is not so blinded by His pain that He refuses God’s hand in the matter (Luke 23:34.) It is only in Israel’s rejection that God’s mercy can be truly appreciated on this front (a topic Paul will expand on in Romans 11.)
Do
you see it?? I mean, wow! It is this very backdrop of evil by God
which unfolds the very proof of His heart! In this, we begin to
see that so deeply-sought purpose of evil, in demonstrating
Who He is by relational contrast. This problem was set up in
Eden with the relational fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
This problem was enforced with man’s attainment of the knowledge at the
hands of a greater evil. This problem was coordinated by the
establishment of the nations. This problem was established with the
faithful disposition of Yahweh toward Abraham. And this problem was propelled
by Israel’s attempts to prove itself righteous in the corrupted flesh. If
they had not shown themselves offensive, God could not have shown
Himself graceful!
The Eighth Administration
Speaking of grace…
The eighth administration does still begin in the middle of Acts. This eighth administration is not the Pentecostal “evangel of the kingdom,” but the unique Paul-administered evangel of God – the very evangel unfolded in Romans 1-8.
It is first dispensed at the beginning of Acts 13–
Now there were in Antioch, to accord with the
ecclesia which is there, prophets and teachers, both Barnabas and Simeon,
called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, besides Manaen, the tetrarch Herod’s
foster brother, and Saul. Now, at their ministering to the Lord and fasting,
the holy spirit said, “Sever, by all means, to Me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them.”
Those who have seen the first article in the Romans series will note that this word, “sever” is also used at the very beginning of Romans. Paul writes that he is “severed into the evangel of God” in just the same way that the holy spirit says that Barnabas and Saul are “severed” to it. A few short verses later, we receive Saul’s name change, from the Hebrew Saul, to the Gentile name Paul.
A pattern developed for Paul (a nasty little rut.) He would preach the evangel of the kingdom in established Jewish synagogues, get cast out, and subsequently take to the streets, heralding the evangel of God to the nations uninhibited (Acts 13:46-48, 14:27-28, 15:14-18, 18:4-6.) I have most certainly pointed at this in our Romans study (Rom. 1:16, 3:29-30, 4:3-16,) but it is not exclusive to Romans. Traces of what we may call the “Transitional Administration” are readily apparent throughout Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians (we will go over some critical examples of this in the next article.)
Speaking
of this transitional ministry, Paul writes, in Rom. 15:16–
…more daringly do I write to you, in part, as
prompting you, because of the grace being given to me from God, for me to be the minister of Christ Jesus for
the nations, acting as a priest of the evangel of God…
Scripture nerds will note, again, that a priest was a form of mediation for two parties (Christ being the fulfillment of the priesthood, as we discussed in article 13.) Paul here is a figurative “priesthood.” It is not that the Levitical priesthood here conveys the same information that Paul does, but that the function the priests served – direct communication between man and Yahweh – is Paul’s place in regards to the evangel of God for the nations. No other individual is said to be given such a role, with such a well message.
Multiple Administrations in Effect
These two administrations – the Pentecostal and the Transitional – were concurrent with each other. From chapter 13 of Acts, to Paul’s final witness in Acts 28:17-28, this transitional administration was in effect. This is critical, for it highlights for us that there can be two concurrent administrations. The idea that only one or the other must be happening at present is an assumption. An administration is, again, not an eon, but the revelation of a dispensation, of which more than one dispensation can be in effect.
Alas, this eighth administration has often been dismissed, simply because Paul teaches on the evangel of the kingdom throughout the Acts account. It is asked by the objector, “If Paul teaches on the evangel of the kingdom, why wouldn’t we contextualize everything he writes in Romans as it relates to the kingdom specifically? Shouldn’t we treat any information we receive in Romans as building off the foundation of Acts?”
However, considering, at a glance, exactly what has been dispensed in each prior administration, will reveal that this objection is founded on a house of cards. Each administration typically becomes subordinate to its subsequent administration, but this does not erase the breadth of each one!
Look: in the first administration, the creation of man was apparent, with bountiful blessing. A great portion of said blessing has been revoked, but if the destiny of all mankind is to be justified (Rom. 5:18-19,) then we cannot presume that the justified lives we will live will be anything less than what Adam had here. For us in the body of Christ, who experience justification now, our home is said to be of such transcendent grace that the blessings are ineffable (2 Cor. 5:1-4, 12:1-6.)
The second administration of conscience, from Adam’s expulsion from Eden to the flood, does not erase the prior administration in any sense. Creation, to this day, is still in effect. The dispensation of conscience which overtook mankind during this time also has not been quelled to this day. This conscience is enforced until Israel has the law written in their hearts, in their resurrection for the kingdom (Jer. 31:32-33.) When Israel is “begotten anew,” in this sense, they will have no need for conscience, as the conscience is merely emulating the internal sense of righteousness which humanity desires (Rom. 2:14-16.)
The third administration of government is introduced while the creation and conscience administrations are still in effect. This great and monumental plot point will not find its resolution until the eleventh administration, where the kingdom world finally commences on the earth. Even then, the “resolution” of a story is not its end, but its third act. Throughout the rest of the eons, this governmental plot point will play its role, into the ending God has foreordained.
The fourth administration of promise could only be unveiled through the lens of the prior three administrations. Such a unique administration crafts faith, and naturally vanishes upon the fulfillment of said promise. Until then, the promise has, and will, remain in effect. This administration is further unique in that, unlike the prior three administrations, the promise is dispensed to some of mankind – not the many who were not Abraham’s offspring.
The fifth administration of law, however, brings with it a complex issue. At the time of its implementation, the first four administrations are still in effect. Soulish man has not been removed, nor has the curse, nor have our governments, nor has Israel’s promise. The “law” adds to these administrations, and carries with it the narrative thrust for the majority of Israel’s history. I stress, specifically, Israel’s history, as law only spoke to those under law. Only Israel and the guests of Israel’s covenant actually answered to the law. As we learned in Romans 5:20, the law was not a test for Israel, but a demonstration of sin’s antipathy toward righteousness.
This complexity is further compounded when we recognize our current place in this era of grace. It is apparent that those who are actually in the evangel of God are not under law. They are not subject to the law in any way, and have no real place in its domain. Those under grace are not under law (Rom. 6:14 – more on this at the end of the article.) The entire law finds its fulfillment in Christ – so that those who have been enjoined to Him now also have had the law fulfilled for them. This shows us conclusively that some dispensations, even while in effect, are not for many people at many times!
By the time the sixth administration is in effect, the other five administrations are in effect in some way. Namely,
-
The first administration is in effect for all.
-
The second administration is in effect for all.
-
The third administration is in effect for all.
-
The fourth administration is in effect for Israel and
guest partakers of their blessings.
-
The fifth administration is in effect for Israel and
guest partakers of their blessings.
As the sixth administration deals jointly with the evangel of the kingdom and its King, it could not rationally be carried on without its King, so is not in effect today. The very nature of Paul’s evangel and its effects in the eighth administration are about severing oneself from realizing Christ according to the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16.) Such a concept firmly clashes with the sixth administration. It is only by recognizing that one has been paused to bring about the other that such a discrepancy is resolved (no, this is not Biblical gerrymandering; it is explicitly explained by Paul in Romans 6-8, which we will explore later.)
As pointed out earlier, the “administrations” begin their resolution in their second half, beginning with the Pentecostal administration. It makes sense, then, that all of the prior administrations are in effect except for the sixth administration, which it juxtaposes.
With the realization that more than one administration can be in play at the same time, it is not a stretch of faith to claim that both the Pentecostal and the Transitional administration are in effect at the same time. The objection is a “fallacy by ridicule,” and all its objection truly amounts to is, “Whaaaaaat?? That’s craaaazy.”
When
we get over this shock, the truth is, truly, simply written. As we have
studied, the evangel which Paul taught is exclusive to him (Rom. 2:16,
16:25, Gal. 1:11.) The twelve circumcision apostles had no say in this
gospel of Paul (Gal. 2:7-10.) Trying to reconcile Paul’s statements that his
evangel is apart from law (Rom. 3:21, 6:14,) and that saints are dead
to law (Rom. 7:4-6,) with the foundational teachings of the circumcision
evangel (laid out in Hebrews,) which teaches that the law would be
transferred to its recipients (Heb. 7:12,) is like trying to staple water to
the wall. It’s ineffective and pointless.
The Purpose of the Eighth
Administration
Comments
Post a Comment