Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is a Christian theological view of history and Biblical interpretation that became popular during the 1800s and early 1900s and is held today by many conservative Protestants. It supplies an interpretive grid for understanding the flow of the Bible as a whole, and it is frequently contrasted with opposing views such as Covenant Theology, where the fundamental difference is the relationship between the nations of Israel and Judah on the one hand and the Christian Church on the other.

Dispensationalism advocates a form of premillennialism in which it sees the past, present, and future as a number of successive administrations, or "dispensations" (Eph 3:2, KJV), each of which emphasizes aspects of the covenants between God and various peoples at various times. Consequently, it places a heavy emphasis on prophecy and eschatology, the study of the "end times."

Contents

Theology

Main article: Dispensationalist theology
Comparison of Christian millennial interpretations

Central beliefs

Dispensationalism hinges on three core tenets:

1. The Bible is to be taken literally. John F. Walvoord, in his book "Prophecy in the New Millennium," provides this explanation:

"History answers the most important question in prophetic interpretation, that is, whether prophecy is to be interpreted literally, by giving five hundred examples of precise literal fulfillments. The commonly held belief that prophecy is not literal and should be interpreted nonliterally has no basis in scriptural revelation. Undoubtedly, a nonliteral viewpoint is one of the major causes of confusion in prophetic interpretation."

2. Dispensationalism teaches that the Church consists of only those saved from the Day of Pentecost until the time of the rapture. It is held that the Church consists of a small number of Israelites under the election of grace in the present dispensation along with a large number of Gentiles. (see Scofield note on Rom. 11 and The Mac Arthur New Testament Commentary : Romans 9 - 16). During the 70th week of Daniel, God will deal specifically with the nation of Israel to bring it to national salvation, in which Israelites who have faith in Jesus Christ during that time will inherit the promised Theocratic Kingdom and the unconditional Covenants God made with Israel. Israel will fulfill its role as the Theocratic Covenanted Kingdom promised to the nation in Old Testament prophecy.

3. Dispensationalism teaches that Israel in the New Testament refers to saved and unsaved Israelites who will receive the promises made to them in the Abrahamic Covenant, Davidic Covenant and New Covenant. (See The Millennial Kingdom by Dr. John F. Walvoord.)

Dispensationalism takes its name from the idea that biblical history is best understood in light of a series of dispensations in the Bible. The number of dispensations that are generally held is, at the very least: the dispensation of Law, the dispensation of Grace and the dispensation of the Kingdom. These three are specifically stated in the Dallas Theological Seminary statement of faith. The Scofield Reference Bible notes additional dispensations to complete the list:

Opponents of dispensationalism argue that when Apostle Paul spoke of the dispensation of grace, he was not speaking of an age or period of time but rather he was speaking of stewardship.[1]

Differences of the dispensational periods

Dispensationalism defines a dispensation as follows : A dispensation is a period of time during which man is tested in respect to his obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God. Three important concepts are implied in this definition :

  1. a deposit of divine revelation concerning God's will, embodying what God requires of man as to his conduct;
  2. man's stewardship of this divine revelation, which he is responsible to obey;
  3. a time-period, often called an "age", during which this divine revelation is dominant in the testing of man's obedience to God.

The dispensations are a progressive and connected revelation of God's dealings with man, given sometimes to the whole race and at other times to a particular people, Israel. These different dispensations are not separate ways of salvation. During each of them man is reconciled to God in only one way, i.e. by God's grace through the work of Christ that was accomplished on the cross and vindicated in His resurrection. Before the cross man was saved on the basis of Christ's atoning sacrifice to come, through believing the revelation thus far given him. Since the cross man has been saved by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom revelation and redemption are consummated. On man's part the continuing requirement is obedience to revelation of God. This obedience is a stewardship of faith. Although the divine revelation unfolds progressively, the deposit of truth in earlier time-periods is not discarded, rather it is cumulative. Thus conscience (moral responsibility) is an abiding truth in human life (Ro. 2:15; 9:1; 2 Co. 1:12; 4:2), although it does not continue as a dispensation. Similarly, the saved of this present dispensation are "not under law" as a specific test of obedience to divine revelation (Gal. 5:18; cp. Gal 2:16; 3:11), yet the law remains an integral part of the Holy Scriptures, which, to the redeemed, are profitable for "training in righteousness" (2 Ti. 3:16-17; cp. Ro. 15:4). The purpose of each dispensation, then, is to place man under a specific rule of conduct, but such stewardship is not a condition of salvation. In every past dispensation unregenerate man has failed, and has failed in the present dispensation and will in the future. But salvation has been and will continue to be available to him by God's grace through faith. (The New Scofield Study Bible, NIV 1984 Edition , pg. 3-4)

An alternative to this “seven-dispensations” approach utilizes one question: How and by whom is God evangelizing lost men and women at any given time of human history even into the future? God through the ages has chosen to use people to evangelize other people with His gospel of redemption and salvation. Some believe there is a pattern through the Bible: Beginning with only various Gentile Nations; then Israel (through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to Christ); then The Church, (our present age); then Israel for 7 years more (in the future); and then a Millennial, Earthly Kingdom of Christ –

Comparison to other systems

Israel and the Church

The relationship between the ancient nations of Israel and Judah (sometimes collectively referred to as Israel or the Jewish people) and the church as the people of God is the key discriminator between Dispensationalism and other views. In the dispensational scheme, the time in which the church operates, known as the church age or the Christian dispensation, represents a "parenthesis". That is, it is an interruption in God's dealings with the Jewish people as a nation as described in the Old Testament, and it is the time when the Gospel was preached and salvation in the present age is offered to the Gentiles and Jews alike. During the present dispensation a small Jewish remnant along with a large Gentile number are to be saved and become part of the Church. Israel as a nation is partially blinded until the fullness of the Gentiles has come. Afterwards however, God’s continued care for the Jewish people as a nation will be revealed after the end of the church age when Israel will be restored to their land and will accept Jesus as their messiah (compare Zech 12:8-10) and therefore "all Israel shall be saved" (Rom 11:25-29). That is those of Israel who come to faith in Jesus Christ and physically live through the Great Tribulation will be saved from the Beast and the false prophet and all who come to attack Israel by the appearing and coming of Jesus Christ Himself and bring Israel to national salvation. And will sit on the throne of David and start the Theocratic Davidic Kingdom reign on the earth in which believers and Christ reign together on the earth from Israel( Isa. 9:6-7, Isa. 11, 65:17-25, 66:22-24, Zech. 14:9, Acts 1:6-7, Matt. 25:31-34, Rev. 5:10, 20:4-6 ) .

Contrasted with this view are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Covenant Theology, and New Covenant Theology. New Covenant Theology advocates supersessionism where the church replaces the Jews as God's chosen people. In Catholicism and Covenantalism, the church is not as a replacement for the nation of Israel but an expansion of it where Gentiles are, in the words of Romans 11, "grafted into" the existing covenant community.[4]

All of these groups expect there will be an influx (or return, depending on which view one is considering) of Jews to the church before the second coming of Christ. However, dispensationalists object to Roman Catholicism and Covenant Theology because dispensationalists do not view the church as the promised covenanted kingdom in Old Testament prophecy because they believe such a kingdom was still offered to the Jews in the New Testament era (for instance, in Acts 3:19-21). Dispensationalists further believe that the promises regarding the throne of David will be fulfilled on the earth as Jesus reigns over the earth from Israel at his second coming.[5]

Eschatology

Dispensationalists are premillenialists who affirm a future, literal 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ which merges with and continues on to the eternal state in the "new heavens and the new earth" (Rev. 21), and they hold that the millennial kingdom will be theocratic in nature and not mainly soteriological, as it is viewed by George Ladd and others who hold to a non-dispensational form of premillennialism. Dispensationalism is known for its views respecting the nation of Israel during this millennial kingdom reign, in which Israel as a nation plays a major role and regains a king, a land, and an everlasting kingdom. Dispensationalism is also uniquely associated with belief in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church.

Not all dispensationalists are pre-tribulationists, however, and there are those who are mid-tribulational and post-tribulational who also adhere to the dispensationalist ideology.

Other distinctives

Supposed dispensations are noted as separate time stages of God's dealings with mankind in general, and later Israel in particular. At the transition of most dispensations, some of the features of the previous dispensation may carry over, some are ended, and some new features are established. For instance, dispensationalists claim that at the beginning of the Noahic dispensation, the command to increase again is recorded in Genesis 9:1-7 (King James Version):

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that move upon the earth, and upon all the fish of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat.

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

Whoso sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

And you, be fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

This commandment was a continuation of the previous commandment in Genesis 1:27-28 (King James Version) where it is written:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

The change, however, was that Man’s diet was no longer vegetarian, but the diet now included clean animals, and capital punishment was instituted (Genesis 9:3-7 - King James Version):

Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat.

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

And you, be fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

This change, according to Henry Morris, may have been because the post-diluvian earth's environment was now more hostile.[6]The common name for this dispensation is “the dispensation of government”.

The dispensation before this was the dispensation of conscience, as people were constrained from executing Cain, so Cain had to live with his guilt.

Many have accused Dispensationalists of holding to different means of salvation. Dispensationalism holds that salvation has always been by grace through faith, yet Dispensationalists assert that the responsibilities of those who have been saved differ in different dispensations.

In the dispensation of the Law, for instance, those who were saved were required to participate in the Jewish Law, including the sacrificial system. This did not entitle them to salvation, but it was made incumbent upon them as a requirement. The nuances of salvation-by-grace, and supposed requirements of the law, create confusion in dispensational theology that fuel the charge of a lowered Christology and soteriology.

There are seven supposed dispensations in all. The eternal state following the Millennium is not numbered as a dispensation.

History

Before Darby

According to Charles Ryrie, "informed dispensationalists" do not "assert that the system was taught in postapostolic times.... They recognize that, as a system, dispensationalism was largely formulated by Darby" in the 1800s, though they also contend that "the outlines of a dispensationalist approach to the Scriptures are found much earlier."[7]

For instance, they look to Augustine of Hippo, who wrote in his book "The City of God" about a plan of seven ages (1. Adam-Noah, 2.Noah-Abraham, 3. Abraham-David, 4. David-exile, 5. exile-incarnation, 6. incarnation-parousia, 7. millennium). Isidore of Seville (560-636) and the Venerable Bede (673-735) also saw it in this way.

Joachim of Fiore (1135-1202) and Thomas Brightman (1557-1607) developed a different teaching. They related the seven churches in the Book of Revelation to seven ages in the history of the church. They also divided the history in three frames: time of the father (Old Testament), time of the son (New Testament), and finally the time of renewing.

Robert Pont (1524-1606), a Scottish theologian, connected prophecies of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation and also got seven ages of mankind.

Great Britain

Born out of the religious environment in England and Ireland in the 1820s, systematized dispensationalism began with the Plymouth Brethren movement, especially the teachings of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882).

Dispensationalism: the dividing of history into specific periods according to how God is said to have dealt with humanity. For example, from the Fall of Adam to Noah, God has related and communicated to man through his conscience; from Moses to Christ, God related to man through the Law. After the birth of the Church, God related to man by the gift of the Holy Spirit - the supernatural experience of being 'born-again' and having the presence of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity as the 'comforter, as recorded in John 14:14-18 (King James Version):

If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

If you love me, keep my commandments.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Late 19th-Century premillenialists held that God had a "pattern for the ages". Composed of seven dispensations, the last dispensation of which would be the 1,000 year Millennium, which some writers have referred to as a 1,000-year Sabbath. Dispensationalism was made popular through the notes of the Scofield Reference Bible. It came to be more than a way of looking at history; it was tied to the verbal inerrancy of the Bible, as is recorded in 2 Timothy 2:15 (King James Version):

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

– 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Darby built on a number of themes that were common among the more radical Calvinists in the Evangelical movement of the early 19th century, but he elaborated a more complex and complete system for interpreting the Bible than had previous writers. Scofield’s approach to interpreting the Bible largely held that it should be understood as any other speech should be understood, that in keeping with figures of speech, similies and metaphors should be taken to mean exactly what it said.

The Plymouth Brethren movement, essentially a reaction against Anglican and Roman Catholic ecclesiology, became known for its anti-denominational, anti-clerical, and anti-creedal stance. In 1848, the Plymouth Brethren split into an "Exclusive" group led by Darby and an "Open" group. Darby's views became dominant among the Exclusive Brethren, but were not widespread among Open Brethren until the 1870s or 1880s.

North America

Dispensationalism was first introduced to North America by John Inglis (1813–1879), through a monthly magazine called Waymarks in the Wilderness (published intermittently between 1854 and 1872). In 1866, Inglis organized the Believers' Meeting for Bible Study, which introduced dispensationalist ideas to a small but influential circle of American evangelicals. After Inglis’ death, James H. Brookes (1830–1898), a pastor in St. Louis, organized the Niagara Bible Conference to continue the dissemination of dispensationalist ideas. Dispensationalism was boosted after Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899) learned of “dispensational truth” from an unidentified member of the Brethren in 1872. Moody became close to Brookes and other dispensationalists, and encouraged the spread of dispensationalism, but apparently never learned the nuances of the dispensationalist system.

Dispensationalism began to evolve during this time, most significantly when a significant body of dispensationalists proposed the "pre-tribulation" Rapture. Dispensationalist leaders in Moody's circle include Reuben Archer Torrey (1856–1928), James M. Gray (1851–1925), Cyrus I. Scofield (1843–1921), William J. Erdman (1833–1923), A. C. Dixon (1854–1925), A. J. Gordon (1836–1895) and William Eugene Blackstone, author of the bestselling book of the 1800s titled, "Jesus is Coming" (Endorsed by Torrey and Erdman). These men were activist evangelists who promoted a host of Bible conferences and other missionary and evangelistic efforts. They also gave the dispensationalist movement institutional permanence by assuming leadership of the new independent Bible institutes such as the Moody Bible Institute (1886), the Bible Institute of Los Angeles—now Biola University (1907), and the Philadelphia College of the Bible—now Philadelphia Biblical University (1913). The network of related institutes that soon sprang up became the nucleus for the spread of American dispensationalism.

The energetic efforts of C.I. Scofield and his associates introduced dispensationalism to a wider audience in America and bestowed a measure of respectability through his Scofield Reference Bible. The publication of the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909 by the Oxford University Press was something of an innovative literary coup for the movement, since for the first time, overtly dispensationalist notes were added to the pages of the biblical text. The Scofield Reference Bible became the leading Bible used by independent Evangelicals and Fundamentalists in the U.S. for the next sixty years. Evangelist and Bible teacher Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952), who was strongly influenced by C.I. Scofield, founded Dallas Theological Seminary in 1924, which has become the flagship of Dispensationalism in America. More recently, the Baptist Bible Seminary in Clark Summit, Pennsylvania (USA), has become another center of dispensationalism.

The so-called "Grace Movement", which began in the 1930s with the teaching ministries of J.C. O’Hair, Cornelius R. Stam, Henry Hudson and Charles Baker has been mischaracterized as "ultra" or "hyper" dispensationalism (an actual misnomer according to the etymology of the Greek word base for "dispensation"). But the term still serves to distinguish a theological system that departs from the tenets of Dispensationlism.

The contrasts between law and grace, prophecy and mystery, Israel and the Church, the body of Christ were energized by Scofield, Barnhouse and Ironside in the hearts of these men and studied and proclaimed by O'Hair, Stam and a host of other "grace" teachers. It is however contended by dispensational teachers such as Charles C. Ryrie, Dwight J. Pentecost and Arnold Fruchtenbaum that [1]ultradispensationalism (or the grace movement if you will) is far enough removed from dispensationalism to not any longer be dispensationalism at all. "Ultra" Dispensationalists hold to the belief that the Church wasn't started till the stoning of Stephen. The first reference to the church the body of Christ is in Romans and unlike most other dispensationalists they believe that the church started at Romans 1 rather than Acts 2 or Acts 28. Ultradispensationalists believe that the books of Paul(Romans through Philemon)are written for the church today and the books after (Hebrews through Revalation) are written for the Hebrew church of the tribulation. A large number of UD's believe that the church has access to the inspired Word of God and that God has perfectly preserved the Bible in the form of the King James Version. This teaching is propagated by organizations such as Grace School of the Bible, Grace Alive Ministries, RGMI, and pastors Thomas M. Bruscha, Richard Jordan, Mike Tiry, and Tracy Plessinger.

A differing view to Dispensationalism is the view of Armstrongists, sometimes called "British Israelism," which believes that the United States and Great Britain are part of the so-called ten lost tribes of Israel.

Dispensationalism has come to dominate the American Evangelical scene, especially among nondenominational Bible churches, many Baptists, and most Pentecostal and Charismatic groups.

Influence

Dispensationalism has had a number of effects on Protestantism, at least as it is practiced in the United States. Dispensationalists, usually of the Fundamentalist variety, have continued to teach that a Pope may be the False Prophet of the book of Revelation. And also views the false Church of Rev. 17 as all representing all the false churches of professing Christianity together who deny or reject the teachings of Scripture on the Person of Jesus Christ and the gospel message. In otherwords, such false churches recognize a different Jesus Christ and different gospel which the Apostle warns the Church against ( Gal. 1: 6-9, 2 Cor. 11:3-4 ). These are the false religions of the world to be extant at the time of the 70th week of Daniel, at the beginning of the Tribulation period.

Dispensationalism rejects the notion of supersessionism, sees the Jewish people as the true people of God, and sees the modern State of Israel as identical to the Israel of the Bible. John Nelson Darby taught, and most subsequent dispensationalists have consistently maintained, that God looks upon the Jews as his chosen people even as they remain in rejection of Jesus Christ, and God continues to have a place for them in the dispensational, prophetic scheme of things. Dispensationalists teach that a remnant within the nation of Israel will be born again, called of God, and by grace brought to realize they crucified their Messiah. Dispensationalism is unique in teaching that the Church is a provisional parenthesis, until the Jewish remnant finally recognize Jesus as their promised Messiah during the trials that come upon the Jews in the Great Tribulation after the Church is raptured. Darby's prophecies envision Judaism as continuing to enjoy God's protection literally to the End of Time, and teach that God has a separate 'program', to use J. Dwight Pentecost's term, in the prophecies for Jews apart from the Church. Dispensationalists believe that God, is currently dealing with the church, recognized in the New Testament as the "body of Christ," and "house of God," and as a mystery unknown in Old Testament times. They teach that God has not forgotten His eternal covenants with Israel:

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

– [8]

While stressing that God has not forsaken those physically related to Abraham, dispensationalists do affirm of the necessity for Jews to follow the example of the entire early church (up until Acts 10:34 ff.)and hold that God made unconditional Covenants with Israel as a people and nation which was based on God's sovereign grace with Israel as a nation under the Abrahamic Covenant, Palestinian Covenant, Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant and that they must receive Jesus as Messiah. Paul mentions the meaning of faith and salvation from the penalty of sin in Jesus Christ:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

– [9]

Judaism

Christian Dispensationalists sometimes embrace what some critics have pejoratively called Judeophilia—ranging from support of the state of Israel, to observing traditional Jewish holidays and practicing traditionally Jewish religious rituals. (See also Jewish Christians and Judaizers.) Dispensationalists believe in and support the state of Israel, recognize its existence as God revealing His Will for the Last Days, and reject anti-Semitism.

Messianic Judaism

Dispensationalists tend to have special interest in the Jews because the dispensationalist hermeneutic interprets Jews as a continuance of God's chosen people. Messianic Judaism, however, rejects dispensationalism in favor of Olive Tree Theology[10]. The name "Olive Tree Theology" refers to the passages of Romans 11:17-18 If some of the branches were broken off, and you-a wild olive-were grafted in among them and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree, then don't boast as if you were better than the branches!" (Romans 11:17-18) Jews who accept dispensationalism are instead called Hebrew Christians.

Antichrist

Some dispensationalists, such as Jerry Falwell, have asserted that the beast Antichrist will be a Jew, based on a belief that the Antichrist will falsely seem to some Jews to fulfill prophesies of the Messiah more accurately than Jesus did[11].

However, many dispensationalists do not accept this belief, and claim that a number of scriptures do not cite any evidence, such as Daniel 9:27:

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

– Daniel 9:27 (King James Version)

Such dispensationalists claim that this "prince" will be of the same people that destroyed the Jewish city, i.e., of Roman origin and therefore will not be Jewish.

In turn, this "prince" will stand up "against the Prince of princes" and destroy many "by peace" (Dan 8:25); and will be responsible for the false "peace and safety" that will precede the destructive day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:2–3). Some believe this man will be a Jew, based in part on John 5:43, where the Lord stated that the unbelieving Jews would receive another who "shall come in his own name" (as opposed to the Lord Himself, who came in the Father's name). Further evidence is taken from Daniel 11:37, "Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all", although in a passage as late as Daniel, a better translation is probably, "He will reject the gods (Eloha) of his fathers." The prophet Daniel refers to this man as "a vile person", who will "obtain the kingdom by flatteries" (Dan 11:21). This belief is not essential to dispensationalism.

Darby himself taught the Antichrist will be a Jew, and the Beast, a separate person, will be the political leader of the revived Roman empire. [12].

Progressive dispensationalism

Not all progressive dispensationalists share a pretribulational perspective (i.e., the Church is raptured at the commencement of Daniel's 70th Week) in that "The Tribulation" and its seven-year (i.e, 70th Week of Daniel yet future) time frame omit's the Church's Witness. At issue is: There is no sharply defined, transparently obvious boundary separating the Mosaic Order (The Age of Law) from the Church Age - nor the Church Age from the Millennial Kingdom. A good case can be made that the transition to the Church Age was underway from the very inception of Jesus' ministry; and that Jesus began preparing his disciples immediately for the responsibilities they would be shouldering then (Cf. John 3, Isaiah 61, Luke 4, Mark 2, Matthew 11). If the Church's witness continues through to the post-tribulational rapture of the Church (at the close of Daniel's 70th Week), then certain considerations as elucidated by Dr. Robert H. Gundry come into focus:

In the chronological question concerning the rapture, the dispensational issue centers in the field of ecclesiology. An absolute silence in the OT (Old Testament) about the present age, a total disconnection of the Church from the divine program for Israel, and a clean break between dispensations would favor pretribulationism: the Church would not likely be related to the seventieth week of Daniel, or tribulation, a period of time clearly having to do with Israel. But a partial revelation of the present age in the OT, a connection (not necessarily identification) between Israel and the Church, and a dispensational change involving a transitional period open the door to the presence of the Church during the tribulation.

If the Church is to go through the tribulation, God will work simultaneously with two groups of covenant people, Israel and the Church. Millenarians of all varieties, including pretribulationalists, should find the possibility of such simultaneous workings hard to deny . . . But it is not merely a matter of dealing with two groups at once. It is a matter of dealing simultaneously with, and through, two groups of redeemed people and witnesses. Will two diverse groups of saints, those who belong to the Church and those who belong to Israel coexist on earth and perhaps live according to different regulations? If so, will the tribulational Church be composed exclusively of Gentile believers? Will two distinct companies of witnesses preach the Gospel, maybe variations of it? Such questions arise quite naturally if we take the tribulation as transitional. But the mere existence of these questions does not preclude the possibility of the presence of the Church in the tribulation.” (The Church and the Tribulation, Robert H. Gundry, Zondervan Publishing House, 1973, pp. 12, 23). (Please See: Two Witnesses)

World politics

Dispensationalism teaches that Christians should not expect spiritual good from earthly governments, or success from churches to be part of Christ's kingdom enlarging ministry since the Kingdom of God is usually seen as yet future. Instead, people should expect social conditions to decline as the end times draw nearer. Dispensationalist readings of prophecies (such as Daniel 9:27, “And he [the Antichrist] will make a firm covenant [a peace contract] with the many [the nation of Israel] . . . ”) often teach that the Antichrist will appear to the world as a peacemaker. This makes some dispensationalists suspicious of all forms of power, religious and secular, and especially of human attempts to form international organizations for peace, such as the United Nations. Almost all dispensationalists reject the idea that a lasting peace can be attained by human effort in the Middle East, and believe instead that "wars and rumors of wars" (cf. Matt 24:6) will increase as the end times approach. Dispensationalist beliefs often underlie the religious and political movement of Christian Zionism.

Dispensationalists teach that churches which do not insist on Biblical literalism set forth an inconsistent method of interpretation with respect to the area of Bible prophecy and view it as a step towards theological liberalism which rejects Scripture as being inerrant. This casts suspicion on attempts to create church organizations that cross denominational boundaries such as the World Council of Churches. (See also ecumenism.)

United States politics

Political analyst Richard Allen Greene has argued that dispensationalism has had a major influence on the foreign policy of the United States. This influence has included support for the state of Israel.[13]

Fiction

Dispensationalist themes form the basis of the successful Left Behind series of books. However, not all dispensationalists agree with the theology of authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

People

The following individuals have been associated with dispensationalism:

References

  1. ↑ Bernie L. Wade. The Israel of God, A Destiny Enjoined. p. 232. TLFP.
  2. ↑ "Genesis 1-11 (King James Version)". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  3. ↑ "Why Sacrifices in The Millennium". Pre-Trib Research Center. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  4. ↑ Vern Poythress (1986). Understanding Dispensationalists. pp. section 12. 
  5. ↑ George N. H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingom and Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology
  6. ↑ Henry M. Morris. "The Genesis Record". Baker Book House and Master Books. ISBN 0-8010-6004-4. 
  7. ↑ Charles Ryrie (1995). Dispensationalism. Chicago: Moody. pp. p. 62.  quoted in Kevin D. Hartley. "The History of Dispensationalism". Sound of Grace 7 (7): p. 3. 
  8. ↑ "Romans 11:1-5 (King James Version)". BibleGateway.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  9. ↑ "Romans 10:9-15 (King James Version)". BibleGateway.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  10. ↑ David H. Stern, Messianic Jewish Manifesto, The Complete Jewish Bible, and The Jewish New Testament Commentary .
  11. ↑ "Weeks ago, Falwell said he was at peace with death". Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
  12. ↑ "The Hopes of the Church of God, John Nelson Darby".
  13. ↑ Greene, Richard Allen. "Evangelical Christians plead for Israel". Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
  14. ↑ Faith Bible Church, Edmond, Oklahoma
  15. ↑ Rev. Clarence Larkin Estate
  16. ↑ McCain Rejects Hagee Backing as Nazi Remarks Surface

Bibliography

See also

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Biblical prophecy

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Suggested book list