After the flood, God handed human beings something He had never given before: the authority to execute judgment on other humans. Capital punishment, civil government, the power of the sword — these weren't innovations of later civilization. They were divine grants made to Noah the moment he stepped off the ark. And the experiment that followed — humanity governing itself for 427 years — ended at the Tower of Babel in the most spectacular display of collective pride in history.

Last time we examined why God's provision fails to reach so many believers. Now we zoom out to the dispensational level: after the global judgment of the flood, what new framework did God establish for human society?

THE PRESENT OR POST-DILUVIAN AGE

Genesis 8:15

This age stretches from the flood all the way to the Millennium. It's a long stretch of time, and within it we find four distinct dispensations:

1. The Dispensation of Human Government—from the flood to Abraham Genesis 8:15-11:9.

2. The Dispensation of Promise—from Abraham to Moses Genesis 12:1.

3. The Dispensation of Law—from Moses to Christ Exodus 12:38.

4. The Dispensation of Grace—Christ to the Millennium Matthew 3:1.