The Evangelical Universalist Forum

transcending dispensations

The gospel is ultimately about changing the entire universe one heart at a time :slight_smile:

“I dwell in the high and holy place and with the one who has a broken and a contrite heart”

The good news of Jesus’ propitiation on the cross is the means by which this transformation is effected, and thats the heart of it. because he laid down His life when we were yet sinners, the “No Greater Love” has pierced our hearts, broken off the chaff, and as wheat we have been gathered into His garner.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Acts 3

Regardless of how we see that working out dispensationally, Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 1 that is is a “administration executed through the completion of times”(prphse) and it is “God’s kind intention(eudokia-good will) which he purposed in Himself, the gathering together into one of all things in Christ”.

The essence of the gathering is beholding the glory of His cross, but the means of it is His exaltation over all heavens.

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”

The context is the Alpha Omega, ascended over all.

“For from Him(Alpha) and through Him and to Him(Omega) are all things”(Rom 11:26)

He is Alpha and Omega, all the plan of ultimate redemption and the restoration of all things is revealed in Him through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.

“If I am lifted up I will draw all men unto me”

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation(Alpha). 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven(Omega). Col 1

Our Jerusalem is not of the earth… we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms…

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. Heb 12

But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. Gal 4:26

We are, with Him, ambassadors of the kingdom of God, which is “likened unto a woman who hid a measure of leaven into three gallons of dough and left it until it was all completely leavened”(prphrs)

And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations(peoples- ha goyim).
He will swallow up death for all time, Isaiah 25:7,8

The veil is death.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor 4)

When God is all in all, all will have been made new, death will be no more, there will be no more dying, ONLY LIFE.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits(Alpha) of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all**(Omega)**.

His reign is about the reconciliation of all. He rules in order to redeem. His ascension is about a process of Jesus Christ gathering all creation into life. Life reigning over death until death is no more. Life is reigning through Him because he conquered death, which existed because of sin- by His act of love.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God(Alpha), did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(Omega)

His name is LIFE. His being “lifted up from the earth” is because of the cross, but involves more than the cross. He is drawing all men unto Him because His exaltation is the result of His ultimate humiliation… “No Greater Love”.

This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified."(Acts 2)

He descended to the uttermost, therefore he ascends to the uttermost…

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”
9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things(Eph 4)

It is everywhere, all over the scriptures.

The context in Rev 21:5 is Jesus, ascended above all heavens, so that He might fill all things.

We are the Bride “coming down out of heaven”

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, THE FULLNESS OF HIM WHO FILLS ALL IN ALL.
Eph 1

We are the measure of leaven.

In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. James 1:18

In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Eph 1

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8)

The leaven of the kingdom is hidden in us, but it will leaven the whole creation in the ages to come.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Our work is His work and it will be the ministry of reconciliation through out the world ages that remain(however we see that is immaterial) until all are free from futility, all gathered out of death into life.

And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,

“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”(Rev 5:13)

The context of Rev 21:5 is Christ enthroned in the heavens, Christ enthroned over time, Christ enthroned within the ecclesia. Christ filling all things. Nullifying death. God gathering everything in heaven and on earth into one in Christ.

Jesus Christ reigns in life. YHWH is the God of the Living. Jesus the creator of all life.(Alpha) Jesus the destroyer of death and the redeemer of all life(Omega).

He must reign until every adversary is subjected, the last adversary being death. He is gathering all into life that God may become all in all. he will complete that work, and had begun it through the ecclesia, and will finish it through whatever remains of time, until death is no more.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.