An age (αἰών) is a period in which God shows something about Himself to intelligent beings. Ages are not limited to time, which was created when God made the sun and moon for the purpose of distinguishing days, months, and seasons, Genesis 1:14. There are ten revealed ages; however, the actual number of ages that God has planed are not known, only that there will be ages of ages beyond those currently disclosed, Ephesians 2:7. The known ages are: The Age of the Creation of the Universe, Job 38:7, The Age of the Kingdom of Lucifer, Ezekiel 28:14, The Chaotic Age, Genesis 1:2, The Age of the Creation of Humans, Genesis 1:26, The Age of God’s Faithfulness, Genesis 4:1, The Age of God’s Kindness, Genesis 9:1, The Age of God’s Sovereignty, Exodus 12:41, The Legal Age, Exodus 20:1, The Malignantly Evil Age, Galatians 1:4, The Kingdom Age, Matthew 13:41.
A dispensation (οἰκονομία) is a period in time in which God shows something to humans about themselves. These occurrences are restricted to time and directly relate to humans, not spirit beings. The word “Dispensation” is derived from combining “house” with “law”. This “household law” governs the activities of the people within the house and is administered by a steward. In modern language, we use the term administration, especially when describing government. Since the concept of a dispensation is well defined in Scripture by use, we are able to factually discern there are seven dispensations: Innocence, Genesis 2:25, Conscience, Genesis 4:7, Government, Genesis 9:5, Promise, Genesis 12:2, Law, Exodus 19:8, Grace, Ephesians 3:2, Fullness of Times, Ephesians 1:10.
Since ages and dispensation run consecutively, the dispensation and age we are currently in are the dispensation of grace and the malignantly evil age. The dispensation of grace specifically relates to the Church, not all humans. The malignantly evil age is how Satan is managing the world of unbelievers, and is showing God’s character in contrast to the devil’s.
The “age of the Church” is a theological term applied to the time period of the Church; however, it is inaccurate in representing the purpose of an age. It is not based upon Scripture; rather, it was derived from modifying the notion of a dispensation and causes confusion between the concept and purpose of an age from a dispensation.
