REVELATIONS ON THE THIRD COMING OF JESUS CHRIST.

 

A DISPENSATIONAL CHANGE

CHANGES AND EFFECTS. (PART 11)

Consider the ministry of John the Baptist as a clear pattern of dispensational change:

MATTHEW 3:1–3 "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."

John began his ministry preaching, "Repent, for the Messiah is coming!" Repentance meant a complete change of mind and direction. For six months, John proclaimed this herald message. Then, midway through his ministry, his message shifted. He announced, "He is standing among you now!" Shortly thereafter at the River Jordan, John changed his message once more, declaring, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!"

John placed the Messiah directly before the people. Those who followed the move of God updated their thinking continuously. However, when John's ministry concluded, many refused to advance further, remaining stagnant where John left them (John 6:29–58). They stumbled at the transition from Law to Grace.

CHRIST IS IDENTIFIED THE SAME — TAMPA, FL (64-0415, E-41)
"And now, we find that in each one of those ages, usually people don't want to believe it, because they are already set in their way. You're turning a corner. You're building a building, and then get to the corner, everybody's running this way; they don't want to turn that corner. But the building goes that way, if the Word says it goes that way... That's where men have sweated it out."

Turning a corner requires more than laborers; it requires leadership with a clear vision of the master blueprint. God uses designated ministries to guide His people around structural corners. The primary obstacle arises when men remain fixed in old directions, unwilling to turn with the Holy Spirit.

We cannot bring past church-age traditions into a new move of God. Under previous dispensational eras, understanding was partial, gifts operated individually, and believers leaned heavily on organizational structures and rules. Just as Old Testament believers relied on ritual washings and the strict letter of the Law, New Testament believers often anchored themselves to traditional organizational thinking. Yet each age demands fresh revelation.

GOD'S ONLY PROVIDED PLACE OF WORSHIP — SHREVEPORT, LA (65-1128M, 175) "You've got to die to the Lutheran age to be born in the Wesley age. You have to die in the Wesley age to be born in the Pentecostal age... leave nothing of it left; burn it with fire... So don't bring your denomination over in the new message. This is the Word now."

The old system age must die and completely rot away for the new life to emerge. But as the old framework collapses and human efforts fail, what new authority stands ready to replace our old ways of thinking?