Christianity today is not the 29th chapter of Acts. A better label for us might be Acts chapter 47, or something like that. Since the time of Paul’s house imprisonment in Rome some paradigm-shifting things have happened in this world and the spiritual realm which bear significant effects on the outworking of the dynamics of the faith-life of Jesus-followers.

It is important to “understand the times” (1 Chronicles 12:32) in which one lives. There are different dispensations in God’s management of His universal household. Take Numbers 13-14 for example. The plan had been for Israel to go up and take the land, but after the pessimistic report of the spies and the faithless response of the people God said, “none of the men … shall see the land.” At that point, an attempt to take the land would now be an act of presumption rather than faith.

The letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 mark a shift in the dispensation of the New Testament age. Never before had God so poignantly invoked the language of past captivities (e.g. “removal of lampstand”), and the Torah’s formulaic curses upon the faithless nation (e.g. “vomited out”), to warn the churches of Jesus Christ that they could face a spiritual exile commensurate to Israel’s physical exile.

The eleventh chapter of Revelation arguably presents another major dispensational shift in church history. Some (who date the book early) say verses 1-2 foretell the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Personally, though I believe more than one application is possible, I see the primary fulfillment of this text in the events of the fourth century. With not only the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire, but indeed governmental enforcement of “orthodox doctrine,” a flood of unbelievers entered the (“outer courts”) of the (increasingly) institutionalized “church.” Whereas it had always been the case that a Judas could be found among a dozen apostles, now (at least in Western/Roman territory) you’d be lucky to find two faithful lampstands among an original seven. Very different dynamics.

Where does that leave us now? If Christianity today is not a direct/immediate continuation of Acts 28, then where are we in dispensational history, and how shall we then live in light of our actual position? In an upcoming post, I plan to introduce the idea that “These are the Days of Elijah and Moses.” Meanwhile, enjoy Robin Mark’s highly relevant song.