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Dispensations Discussion Forum – Week 3: May 12, 2016

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    • #9298

      dispensation og conscienceDispensations Discussion Forum – Week 3 – May 12, 2016

      This is week 3 of Dispensations our discussion question this week focuses on our study of the Dispensation of Conscience.  Remember to answer the question and then respond to two of your classmates.  Really think about this question and search the scriptures to provide support of your answer.

      • Discuss fully the judgment ending the Dispensation of Conscience. Provide scriptural support.

      Remember to respond to at least two of your classmates.  Also, grammar is important so play close attention to what you are posting.  Read it over before you hit submit.  Blessings

       

    • #9718

      Lilly Chalwell
      Participant

      The Dispensation of Conscience started when Adam and Eve hide from God after they sinned (Genesis 3:8.) They became ashamed of their nakedness, so they hid from God. As a result, their eyes were opened knowing good and evil, by way of the tree of which they were commanded not to eat (Genesis 3:10-11). However, by eating the tree, they were knowledgeable of good and evil, right and wrong (Genesis 3:22.) Man conscience was awakened at the fall, which allows them to have free will. This dispensation allows the man to have freedom to obey the dictates of his conscience.

      In as much as man knew right from wrong, they choose to let their flesh dictated their actions, rather than their conscience (spirit.) Hurtfully, God, saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made the man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, for it repenteth me that I have made them (Genesis 6:5-7).” Even though God loves humankind, He doesn’t like sin, as it separates us from Him. If He didn’t deal with it, almost all mankind would have been corrupted. So to redeem mankind in this dispensation, He used Noah to build an ark.

      The beginning of judgment. In order, to preserve the seed of man on the earth, which, the devil almost corrupted all of mankind to prevent the Messiah from coming through the seed of the woman. God had a plan. Gracefully, Noah being a just and perfect man who walked with God, found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was told to build an art (Genesis 6:11-13.) Consequently, God said unto Noah, “the end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13.) So Noah obeyed and builded the art. This art was to save Noah family. Building the art was a type of salvation. In Christ, we are saved from wrath, but, Noah’s family was saved from God’s wrath.

      • #9753

        Rhonda
        Participant

        Lilly the Bible states, “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt” (Genesis 6:12). I found it so interesting that this was a sharp contrast to God’s declaration when he had finished creating the heaven and the earth, namely, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

      • #9769

        Donna Riley
        Participant

        Rhonda this is a great observation.  God was so excited in the beginning.  He wanted a family and made preparation for them.  Then to think man turned his back on God all because of greed.  Still, God persevered and was determined that He will have, in the end, the family He so desired.

    • #9720

      Monica Harrigan
      Participant

      The judgment that ended the Dispensation of Conscience was the flood of Noah. As stated in Genesis 6:8- 8:14; man was not only disobedient but they were also corrupt and filled with violence. There was a war between God and Satan and between Israel and Satan. Noah’s flood was to get rid of the human race because they were corrupt and to preserve the pure Adamite stock.

      The Adamite stock needed to be preserved because it was through the Adamite stock whom the seed of the woman the Messiah would be born. Only Noah and his family preserved their pedigree pure from Adam. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations; as stated in Genesis 6:9.

      Thank God for Noah and his obedience and for not doing any wrong. If Noah was not just and perfect in his generations there would have been no one to save, allowing for the Messiah to be born.

      • #9738

        Donna Riley
        Participant

        Monica, God always has to step in to keep us in existence. Left up to ourselves, we would have already annihilated our kind. If it had not been for God where would we be? Thank God in every event there was always someone, even if it was just one person who stood up for the ways of God. Therefore God graciously saw fit to allow man to continue. This is our time now so let us all stand in unison and in one accord for our God.

      • #9755

        Rhonda
        Participant

        Monica, I am so glad that God always had a greater plan in place to redeem us from sin. Jesus said, ‘As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’ (Matthew 24:37). The warnings given to Noah’s generation are terrifyingly relevant today. When God’s mercy is rejected, then His judgment must and will fall.

      • #9785

        Marita Smith
        Participant

        Yes Monica thank God for Noah and being a just man that he was God was able to save him and his family because they were pure Adamite stock allowing the prophecy of the coming seed of the woman to be fulfilled.

    • #9722

      Lilly Chalwell
      Participant

      Monica, in view of your last paragraph, Noah was the only one that was just and perfect in the sight of God, and he walked with God. Thank God Noah was dictated by his conscience rather than the dictation of his flesh. Most of mankind was corrupt, if it wasn’t for his obedience, mankind would have been wiped off of the face of the earth. But God! He always has a plan for His people.

    • #9740

      Donna Riley
      Participant
    • #9742

      Donna Riley
      Participant

      The judgement ending the Dispensation of Conscience was Noah’s Flood. The flood was worldwide destroying “people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds” (Genesis 7:23). The flood was a result of man’s failure to choose right instead of wrong as his conscience dictated. Noah’s flood was a just punishment of sin meted out by a just God. God commanded this judgement on mankind for several reasons:  1. Mankind had become exceedingly wicked, there was no goodness anywhere because every person was corrupt.  There was rampant violence on the Earth with much bloodshed. “The earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence” (Genesis 6:11).  2. It was necessary in order to preserve the purity of the human race. There were ungodly and inhuman giants as a result of fallen angels and human women having unlawful intercourse. “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:40). This was Satan and the fallen angels’ attempt to stop the seed of the woman, (Christ), from coming and to stop their pending judgement. 3. God always does the right thing. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne” (Psalm 89:14). If God decided this was the right type of punishment for this type of sin then it is so.

      Noah was described in the Bible as “…a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9). Noah found favor in God’s eyes because he acknowledged God. Noah and his family were saved because they preserved the purity of the human race. They produced after their own kind.

      Even though God passed judgment on the people in this time period, it was accompanied by grace. The Lord is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness and truth; who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” (Exodus 34:6–7). For many years God sent warnings as He normally does, but if man does not heed the warnings, then they fall. God made sure it took Noah a long time to build the ark and during this time, Noah told the people of the coming flood. This was giving mankind time to repent and enter the safety of the ark. This would take faith and obviously they did not have it, so when the door shut, they lost their chance. God also provided for man to continue to have faith in the coming Redeemer. He did this when He commanded seven of the clean animals to be saved in the ark so that they could be offered as a token of faith in the coming blood of Christ. (Gen 6:18; 7:1-3). The Old Testament is a forewarning or a preview of the great and terrible day of the judgement of God. One day, God will shut the door of Heaven and only those who operated by faith, trusting in the Word of God, will be sheltered in safety.

      • #9790

        Monica Harrigan
        Participant

        Donna, I’m in agreement with you concerning why God had to execute judgment. I like that you mentioned that God was also graceful, He displayed love despite having to pass such a harsh judgment on mankind. It’s parallel to a father punishing his child for wrong doing…but loving on said child after punishment was served.

        As mentioned throughout this Dispensation course, we know and underdtand that God doesn’t want robots and granted us free will, but we’re also aware that there’s a price for us to pay when we’re disobedient. We should all be ever grateful that we serve a loving, kind, faithful, merciful, patient and graceful God.

      • #9810

        Roxanne Rhymer
        Participant

        It is so amazing to me that no matter what the enemy tries he still cannot stop what God has planned for our lives.  Satan tried to stop the Messiah from coming forth by having unlawful relations with the women causing evil to spread even more.  These relations produced ungodly seed in the form of giants.  God had no choice but to cleanse the Earth of all that were corrupted by satan. He had to wipe the slate clean so to speak.  He chose Noah to continue the Adamite line because Noah was a righteous man.  We are to strive to be like Noah so that we may find favor with God.

    • #9751

      Rhonda
      Participant

      This Dispensation of Conscience, began with man being expelled from the Garden of Eden and ended with the flood, lasted for approximately 1,656 years. God’s purpose during this “Age of Conscience” was to prove to man that, when left to his own choice between right and wrong, nothing but failure can result. During this dispensation of Conscience, God demanded that man obey the dictates of his knowledge of right and wrong, that he refuse evil and live by faith in the coming Redeemer promised in Genesis 3:15.

      In the Dispensation of Conscience man overrode his conscience, disobeyed God, and sinned again and again, and, because man failed to worship and serve God, He sent Judgment in the form of a worldwide flood and destroyed all flesh with the exception of one man, Noah, and his family.

      This is revealed in Genesis 6:5-8, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

      • #9758

        Lilly Chalwell
        Participant

        Rhonda, I believe God was hurt that He had to destroy man off of the face of the earth. Because He loves mankind so much, this proves that God cannot go back on His word even if He wanted to. I believe that He send the flood so that the wickedness of mankind would end, but, He still safe a family in order to preserve the human race.

      • #9787

        Marita Smith
        Participant

        Rhonda you are so right that in this dispensation man was so sinful, disobedient, and override their conscience to do good. Its not surprising that God brought judgement on them, God saw he couldn’t deal with their behavior he knew he had to do something so he destroyed them by a flood I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to do it but he had to; the wages of sin is death.

    • #9765

      Stacy Gregoire
      Participant

      The Dispensation of Conscience was a period in which man was free to rely upon his own conscience to determine what was wrong and what was right.  There were no laws or commandments given or made during this time.  Unfortunately, man failed God in this dispensation just like Adam had in the previous Dispensation of Innocence  The sin of mankind was so great in this time that Genesis 6:5 describes it this way: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  Verses 6 and 7 of Genesis Chapter 6 go on to read, 6)“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 7)And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” This destruction was accomplished with a flood of the earth.

      The human race had been corrupted when the “sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them.”(Genesis 6:4)  This corrupted and wicked race, if left unchecked, would eventually taint Noah, who could also be known as the only man who passed the test God gave to man in this dispensation.  The Bible tells us in Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of God.” That word “but” shows us that Noah was the exception to what was going on at that time.  In verse 9 Noah is described as “a just man and perfect in his generations”, a man who “walked with God.”

      It was important to save Noah so that the promise made by God in Genesis 3:15 of a coming Redeemer could be fulfilled. The human race had to be preserved so that the woman could produce the seed that would ‘bruise” satan’s head.  To this end, God not only saved Noah, but he also saved his wife, his three sons and their wives to replenish the earth and eventually produce the promised seed.  Two of the unclean animals and seven of the clean animals were also saved for replenishing the earth with the clean animals to be used for burnt offerings.  These burnt offerings were a continual reminder of God’s promise.

      • #9792

        Monica Harrigan
        Participant

        Stacy, why do you think mankind were not only disobedient but also corrupt despite knowing that God would punish them for being disobedient? Everything was provided for us…we were like little miniature gods, having the same powers and abilities like God. Yet we disobedient, carnal and full of lust. Can you imagine having a father that provided each and every thing we needed and wanted, yet risking death by not pleasing Him?

    • #9767

      Stacy Gregoire
      Participant

      Donna, God is ever merciful and that is why He saved the human race through Noah.  But in relation to this Dispensation of Conscience, I think that is where God’s mercy ended.  In Genesis 6:13 God tells Noah “the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” In verse 18 of Chapter 6, God tells Noah “with thee will I establish my covenant” and through that covenant Noah’s family was saved. I don’t think anyone else had a chance.

    • #9771

      Stacy Gregoire
      Participant

      Lilly, I also believe that God was hurt that after all that He had done and provided for the human race, only Noah and his family was left to carry out His plans to redeem the earth from satan.  As we discussed in class, God wants a family and he found one in Noah.

    • #9778

      Stacy Gregoire
      Participant

      I was thinking again about whether anyone else could have gotten on the ark and it would not have made sense for them to be able to go. If they were already corrupted physically and God wanted pure Adamite stock through which the seed would be birthed then no one else could go. Even if these people repented, their blood line was polluted so that they could not have “mixed” with Noah and his family and would have eventually died off.

      • #9804

        Monica Harrigan
        Participant

        Stacy, that was an interesting thought; if others could have been allowed on the Ark. But as we now know, those that were corrupt would have tainted Noah and his family whom were pure. This also reminds me of why it is important for us to be obedient and adhere to God’s commandments and His Word.

    • #9783

      Marita Smith
      Participant

      Conscience was awakened or became active at the fall by man deciding to eat of the  tree of knowledge ao good and evil, after they ere forbidden to eat of it (Gen.2:17) In the fall man lost God consciousness and gain self consciousness and lost the power in himself to do good and gain the power to do evil.Mankind had utterly failed God in every test and was sinful, Idolators, and rebellious against God; God saw that he could no longer deal with humanity as a whole. Gen. 6:5.

      God knew he had to bring judgement against the people because of man’s failure to live up to the dictates of his conscience as to right and wrong. God already intended to destroy man by flood; All flesh on the earth was to be destroyed except Noah, his three sons who were saved because they were pure human stock and their wives Gen. 6:18 why? because God said in Gen. 7:1 “Thee have I seen righteousness before me in this generation. Also Noah and his family were the only pure Adamites Gen.6:18 they had preserved their pedigree pure from Adam, this is why they were saved in the ark. The flood was to preserve the human race and fulfil the prophecy of the coming of the seed of the woman.

       

      • #9808

        Roxanne Rhymer
        Participant

        Marita you are so right!  God always have a plan for his imperfect creations.  He knew that He had to preserve the seed of Adam.  He knew that the Messiah had to come through that seed to uphold the promise that he gave to the woman.  That is so reassuring to me!  Even when we miss it we can rest in knowing that our God always has a plan for our good..

    • #9806

      Roxanne Rhymer
      Participant

      After the fall of man the Dispensation of Conscience started. During this time of conscience, the human race became worse and worse. Mankind was guided by their conscience. They were supposed to choose the good and reject the bad. It was also during this time that the first death occurred. In Genesis 4:8 it tells us that Cain slew his brother Abel. God had accepted Abel’s blood/animal sacrifice but rejected Cain’s sacrifice. Cain had the opportunity to bring a proper sacrifice, because he knew what pleased God, but Cain did not choose to do the right thing. It was God’s plan for man to use their conscience as a guide for living their day to day lives, but man failed. God searched the whole earth but could only fine one righteous man – Noah. Genesis 6:5-8 says that man was so wicked they thought of sin continually! Can you imagine how God felt! All the people on the Earth and only one righteous man! Imagine God repenting from making man. Genesis 6:6 says – And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
      God always has a plan. He knew that he could not let the corrupted human race live on. He also knew that he need an Adamite seed to bring forth the Messiah. Noah was that person. He was a just and upright man that found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God gave special instructions to him to build the ark. The ark would make sure that a remnant would be saved. Noah and his family along with some animals were safe from the flood waters that covered the whole earth. The worldwide flood of Genesis 7:11-14 ended the Dispensation of Conscience.

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