We will consider the Rapture of “the church, which is His body” (Eph 1:21b-22a) as it appears in the course of the eight relational dispensational arrangements between God and man. First we need to orient ourselves to see 1) the timeless past (before Adam), 2) what is in the present, and 3) that which is “yet to come.”

I trust these first few installments of this study series will give us insight into the three (3) overarching Earth Ages, affecting the planet upon which God created man, expecting man to “replenish” and “have dominion” (Gen 1:28) over every creature upon the earth (cf. Gen 1:26).

The Three (3) ‘Earth Ages’ of the Bible may be broadly described as follows. (See chart)

1. First there was what may be called ‘The Age of GENERATION.’ In this earth age:

a.) God originally created the earth (Gen 1:1) as being perfect for man’s habitation.

“… the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. (Isa 45:18)

b.) But sometime after, the earth became chaotic, appearing to have been judged with a pre-Adamite flood (Gen 1:2). “The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:2 (AMP)

c.) Then later, God restored the earth, readying it for the creation of man (Gen 1:3-31).

2. Then there is what may be called ‘The Age of DEGENERATION’; beginning with the creation of Adam and then his fall to the wiles of the Serpent. This Earth Age includes six of the eight dispensations. Which are differing relational arrangements between God and man. They are the dispensations of 1) ‘Innocence,’ in the Garden of Eden, 2) ‘Conscience,’ ending with the Noah’s flood, 3) ‘Human Government,’ ending at Babel, 4) ‘Promise,’ (ongoing and yet to be fulfilled), 5) ‘the Law,’ (interrupted temporarily by ‘grace’), and 6) ‘Grace,’ the glorious present dispensation in which we live.

The Apostle Paul calls the 6^th dispensation, in which we live today, “the dispensation of the Grace of God” (Eph 3:2). The gospel relationship in effect today is called “the gospel of the Grace of God” (Acts 20:24). This dispensation establishes “the church, which is His body” (Eph 1:21b-22a). All the genuine members of this church have already been securely ‘saved by God’s grace, received by faith in Christ alone.’

“(Ye are) saved by grace, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it (salvation) is the gift (grace) of God, not of works lest any man boast.” (Eph 2:8-9).

This present “dispensation of the Grace of God” will end with the Rapture or the catching away of the members of “the church, which is His body”… to heaven. This event will be followed by the long delayed, prophesied, 7-year Tribulation judgments upon Israel and upon rebellious mankind on the earth.

3. Then there is ‘The Age of REGENERATION’ of The Earth. This includes the 7^th dispensation; the ‘Millennial’ that brings partial restoration of the earth after the devastation of the Tribulation judgments. This is to be followed by the 8^th dispensation of the ‘Eternal Kingdom,’ appearing with the full renovation of the earth, being called the ‘New Earth.’ ‘New’ here is the Greek, meaning ‘refreshed.’ The whole creation currently “groaneth with travaileth” (Rom 8:22) in the ruin of Sin, and the death Sin brings.

Dr. David Reagan, Lamb & Lion Ministries wrote of ‘The Millennial Earth’ and ‘The New Earth’:

“The Millennial Earth will be very different from the present earth. The earthquakes that will produce it will be the most severe in history. Every valley will be lifted, every mountain will be lowered, and every island will be moved (Revelation 6:12-14; 16:17-21). Jerusalem will be lifted up, and Mt. Zion will become the highest of all the mountains (Zechariah 14:10 and Micah 4:1).

The original water vapor canopy (of Eden) will likely be restored because life spans will be expanded to what they were at the beginning of ‘time’ (Isaiah 65:20, 22). Further evidence that the vapor canopy will be restored is to be found in the fact that all the earth will become abundant once again with lush vegetation (Isaiah 30:23-26 and Amos 9:13-14). The Dead Sea will also become alive (Ezekiel 47:1-9).

The curse will be partially lifted, making it possible for Man to be reconciled to nature and for nature to be reconciled to itself. The “wolf will dwell with the lamb” because the wolf will no longer be carnivorous. The “nursing child will play with the cobra” because the cobra will no longer be poisonous (Isaiah 11:8).

“The New Earth”: Satan's last revolt at the end of the Millennium will leave the earth polluted and devastated (Rev 20:7-9). Thus, at the end of the Lord's reign, God will take the Redeemed of Israel off the earth, place them in the New Jerusalem, and then cleanse the earth with fire (2Pet 3:10-13).

In other words, God will superheat this earth in a fiery inferno and then reshape it like a hot ball of wax. The result will be the "new heavens and new earth" prophesied in Isaiah 66 and Revelation 21. The perfected, eternal earth is where the redeemed of Israel will co-reign with Christ (Rev 5:10, 20:6) and spend eternity in the New Jerusalem, living in the presence of God (Revelation 21:1-4). The curse will have been completely lifted from this earth (Revelation 22:3).” (End: David Reagan)

We will cover this above in more detail later. Meanwhile, today we obviously live in a time of ever increasing degeneration and conflict. Most Bible believers mistakenly think the conflict with Satan began as noted in the verse below when God put enmity between the Serpent’s seed and the seed of the woman.

“I (God) will put enmity (hatred) between thee (the Serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed (sin-infected man) and her seed (Christ): it (He) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen 3:15, cf. Rom 8:7)

Actually, what led to the conflict and darkness we see during this day’s age of ‘degeneration’ was much earlier than what is noted in Gen 3:15 (above). We must look to the timeless past, during the initial ‘age of generation (the earth’s original creation),’ earlier than the fall of Adam by the deception of the Serpent.

In order for us to see and understand the place, importance, and full significance of the “catching away” (Rapture) of “the body of Christ” we need look at several verses that give us a glimpse into the big picture that I and others call... ‘The Conflict of the Ages.’ I am not the originator of this phrase.  

The conflict between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman is but an extension of the original ‘Conflict of the Ages’ that was initiated when Lucifer (Satan) fell from his high place as “the anointed Cherub that covereth” (Eze 28:14) serving God in the highest heaven. We need to consider what went on in heaven and on earth during the timeless past and how it impacts us and the earth today as we press toward what Paul calls “the dispensation of the  fullness of times” (Eph 1:10), of which the pre-tribulation Rapture is a most pivotal event.

Most observant thinking people would agree and recognize that there is today, as has always has been, a pervasive darkness an evil force present in the world. We see it expressed among fallen humanity in every way; lying, stealing, killing, self-seeking, and self-serving. Today we see society becoming more and more debased before our very eyes. Truly, the fact is that “…the whole world lieth in wickedness.” (1Jn 5:19b).

So, what is behind all this evil manifested in the world? Of course this wickedness is the expression of the Evil One waging his ongoing war against God and mankind, particularly against those who are “of God,” those born of His “Seed, which is Christ” (Gal 3:16). One-third of all angels fell with Satan when he was cast from the highest heaven to the lower heavens to be “the prince of the power of the air.” Satan wages this war through the instrumentality of his fallen angelic host and many of the humans with earthly authority in government and religion; Satan having usurped them for his purposes.

Let’s consider further God’s original creation of “the HEAVEN and the EARTH” (Gen 1:1). The focus of everything in the Bible from that creation until Paul’s “revelation of the ‘mystery,” initially only concerned the recovery of fallen mankind and “the earth.” You see this repeatedly in God’s promises concerning “the earth,” appearing 849 times in O.T. and NT.

Paul, “The Apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 11:13), then in the wisdom given him by the ascended Lord from heaven (Gal 1:12), addresses both spheres; “the HEAVEN and the EARTH,” both to be recovered from the hand of the Satan and his “Rulers of the darkness of this world.” “… in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both… in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:” (Eph 1:10)

Paul below notes God’s angelic order of the angelic host assigned to execute God’s perfect will and His righteous expression in the visible earth creation and in the invisible heavens of the universe.

“... by him (God) were all things created, that are IN HEAVEN, and that are IN EARTH, VISIBLE (physical) and INVISIBLE (spiritual), whether they be THRONES, OR DOMINIONS, or PRINCIPALITIES, OR POWERS: all (these) things were created BY HIM (Christ), and FOR HIM” (Col. 1:16).

These titles seen above were the original God-ordained rank and authority among His angelic “host” (Isa 45:12b) in the heavens to serve Him and His righteous purposes. However, Paul here below writes of these angelic positions now being usurped by Satan and his fallen wicked angelic host of the “Principalities, and Powers,” as the “Rulers of the DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD,” the earth we live on.

There are “the heavens” and “the earth,” as seen in Gen 1:1, and both are addressed in God’s eternal plan of redemption. These two spheres are The Lord’s. He is presently recovering them both through the work and power of Christ’s victorious cross, and He will through the instrumentality of believing Israel who will “co-reign” with Christ in the eternal kingdom on the New Earth (cf. Rev 5:10, 20:6). He will also establish His authority in “the heaven” through the instrumentality of the Gentile “church, which is His body,” whose destiny is to dwell and “co-reign with Him” (2Tim 2:12) “eternal in the heavens” (2Cor 5:1, 1 Cor 6:2-3).

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against (spiritual) PRINCIPALITIES, against (spiritual) POWERS, against THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS of THIS WORLD (Gk., aion, this age), against SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS (depravity) IN HIGH PLACES (above the sky).” (Eph. 6:12)

Unknown to most, ‘The Conflict of the Ages’ that originated in the heavens has continued from the moment of Lucifer’s fall (Isa 14:12 KJV) from his favored position in the “third heaven” (Rev 12:4) with God. Lucifer, as He is named in the KJV (‘Lucifer’ is deleted from all modern corrupted Bibles, NIV, NASB, AMP, ESV, etc), was the third highest angel serving God in the highest heaven. By Lucifer’s rebellion and scheming to “be as the Most High (God)…” (Isa. 14:12-14), he became Satan, meaning “the adversary” who is in a spiritual conflict that rages to this day in heaven and on earth. As result of his rebellion, Lucifer was cast out of the 3^rd heaven, God’s abode (Eze 28:14) to the lower heaven over this world, from which he reigns as “the prince of the power of the air,” ruling this world. Jesus didn’t dispute the Devil’s authority over “the world” (Matt 4:8-9).

Concerning Lucifer’s fall from the third heaven, Jesus said, “And he said unto them, I beheld (past tense) Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” (Luke 10:18). Lucifer today has dominion, reigning overt the earth with one-third of angelic host who fell with Lucifer. Today they reign as the “principalities and powers, the spiritual rulers of darkness,” over the lower heavens and over the political and spiritual happenings upon the earth among men, as we’ve seen throughout recorded history unto this very day.

These fallen “principalities and powers” are under Satan’s rule as “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), “the god of this world” (2Cor 4:4). Satan’s host of fallen angels rule the lower heavens and the earth, ruling the earth through their influence among “blinded” (2Cor 4:4) men called “the princes of this world” (1Cor 2:6) such as those who crucified the Lord Jesus. These worldly “princes” are Satan’s political and religious system cohorts on earth that rule over and enslave men’s lives and souls (John 12:40). Jesus told the Pharisees of Israel “ye are of your father is the Devil” (Matt 8:44). As we’ve seen, oftentimes our political leaders; dictators, prime ministers, governors, and ‘religious’ leaders, rise and appear suddenly as if by a hidden hand. We’ve seen such earthly “powers” as; Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao, Putin, Kim Jung Un, and I dare say those of the corrupt U.S. governmental leaders of today.

Consider that Paul refers to both the secular and religious “princes of this world” who “crucified the Lord of glory” (1Cor 2:8). These “princes” were the human Roman political authorities in conjunction with Israel’s national religious leaders of that day. They no doubt were influenced by Satanic “powers” of “darkness” in an effort to destroy the Savior and the possibility of God’s kingdom coming on earth. Of course Satan and these men did not know they were actually fulfilling God’s eternal plan for the Savior to die in order to redeem the world. At the same time Christ disarmed the evil “prince of the world” (John 12:31), sealing Satan’s ultimate demise in “the lake of fire” that was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).