I will make an attemt to answer the question about blessings now or later.
What are we seeking? Is it God, Godlyness, rightousness, or the blessings NOW. In the Old Testement God used Isreal to show us the spiritual life, as seen by the writings of the Holy Fathers. Therefore to show the blessings to come in the Old Testement it was nessisary to bestow great blessings to those that are recorded in the Holy Scriptures. However, these blessings were not given to everyone. How about the poor widow that housed Elija during the famin? And the widows mite at the time of Jesus. The fishermen that became Jesus disiples. No there are the worldly blessings given now but there are many more later. We do not look for just sorrow and heartace now, we recieve blessings. But they are for our edification, the blessing for a shadow of things to come. In the history of the Church Kingdoms were blessed when they folowed Christ, then fell when they did not. If you want the blessings of the world, what is left for eternity? Seek God first, then wether you recieve the blessings of the world or not, it will not matter because you have God.
The teachings have "changed" to help us attain God, though they have not changed. When we teach our 5 year old we teach him one way, when he is 15, we teach him another way. Our teaching does not change, our method does. We are taught from the Old Testement in one way, with the fullness of Christ we are taght another way. The teachings have not changed, just the method.
I hope this has been of some help. These are what I have learned since I had become Orthodox, and I have much more to learn. And not only to learn, but to apply. Here it is not enough that you know what to do, but it is even more important to do what you know, as best as we can. Baby steps.
