There are 7 different dispensations or time periods shown in the bible. We are currently living in the Age of Grace but that will soon come to an end and the Tribulation Period will begin. As you can see in the yellow portion of the chart below we are also living in the dispensation of human government … which has been quite a mess … especially under the Demoncrats … oh, that should have been democrats … same thing as I think they are all demon possessed.

We can and should be most thankful for the Mercy of God as well as His Grace. His Word tells us that His mercies are new every morning and His Grace is sufficient. But what is mercy? What is grace? The simplest explanation is … Mercy is not getting what we deserve. And Grace is getting something we don’t deserve. We live in what is called the Age (or dispensation) of Grace … a time period where we experience God’s Grace. Prior to the time of Jesus’ visitation on earth was a different dispensation (Law). But since Jesus came we have His Grace. Before Grace God commanded His people to carry out certain punishments on our fellow man including stoning people to death for things like adultery, fornication and homosexual acts. That may sound extremely harsh but sin is a serious matter and God takes it seriously. So we should be thankful for God’s Grace. We no longer stone people to death but that does not mean that the sin is any less serious and offensive and repulsive to a holy God.

But God’s Grace will come to an end as well as His Mercy. Another dispensation of time is coming. I have written about it often in past articles, the most recent one being the Mark of the Beast. We are very close to that time period to begin and the Age of Grace to end. Life will be a lot different then … especially the final 3 1/2 years of the 7 years long period. The entire 7 year long period is known as the Tribulation. However, the last 3 1/2 years is known as The Great Tribulation. Tribulation means Trouble … a time of testing. It will be a time of testing for the entire world. There will be no Mercy from God as we know it now.

Man has made a real mess of things and the threat of nuclear war is upon us.When reading the bible one can’t help but wonder if nuclear warfare is being described in the near future … ‘And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” The old testament prophet Zachariah 14:12 Certainly God is not limited to nuclear warfare for that to happen, but the apostle Peter said … “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” It sure sounds like nuclear warfare. Maybe not as God can bring about horrendous destruction without nuclear war.

I stated earlier that man has done a very poor job of governing himself. Certainly history proves this. The good news is that at the end of the Great Tribulation period God is going to take over ruling all of the world. This will last for 1000 years before eternity begins. Yes, Jesus will rule from Jerusalem, Israel. Those 1000 years will be glorious as everything will be so much different under His just rule.