CHRONOLOGY OF THE DISPENSATION OF THE CHURCH

The Chronology of the Dispensation of the Church

No hard and fast lines can be drawn. Sharp lines cannot be drawn where there is a living thing, and certainly the church is that. The movement from one period to another is gradual, imperceptible, and silent. Roughly the periods may be drawn as follows:

Ephesus       The period of the apostolic church.

30-100 A.D.        2:1-7

Smyrna        The period of persecution.

100-300 A.D.       2:8-11

Pergamos      The period of union of church and state.

300-500 A.D.       2:12-17

Thyatira      The period of Catholicism at its height.

500-1400 A.D.      2:18-29

Sardis        The period of Reformation.

1400-1700 A.D.     3:1-6

Philadelphia   The period of evangelization.

1700-1900 A.D.     3:7-13

Laodicea      The period of apostacy.

1900-    A.D.     3:14-22