Hyperdispensationalism

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Hyper-dispensationalism (or ultra-dispensationalism[1] or more rarely "Bullingerism"[2]) is a niche Protestant doctrine that views the teachings of the Apostle Paul both as unique from earlier apostles and as foundational for the church, a perspective sometimes characterized by proponents as the "Pauline Distinctive" [3]. E. W. Bullinger (1837–1913), an Anglican clergyman and scholar, is the best known early expositor of hyper-dispensationalism, although the ideas trace back further to John Nelson Darby (1800–1882).

Hyper-dispensationalism is rejected by mainstream dispensationalism, which holds that the Church began at Pentecost[4] long prior to Paul's conversion to Christianity as described early in the New Testament book entitled "Acts of the Apostles". Popular dispensationalist Harry A. Ironside (1876–1951) declared Bullingerism an "absolutely Satanic perversion of the truth" [5] . Anti-dispensationalists simultaneously admire hyper-dispensationalism as a "consistent Dispensationalism" and condemn it as much like a "cult or sect" [6]. Evangelicals eject adherents as "divisive" [7]. The clearest scholarly references to hyper-dispensationalism are made by Charles C. Ryrie [8] and Charles F. Baker.[9]

Advocates of hyper-dispensationalism accept the term "dispensationalism", but reject the prefix "hyper" or "ultra" as pejorative. Within the United States, advocates often refer to themselves as members of the "Grace Movement"[10], and affiliate with the Grace Gospel Fellowship denomination and its Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Contents

General views

Hyper-dispensationalism holds that the early Christian Church lost “four basic truths” starting near the end of the Apostle Paul’s ministry [11]. The four truths are (in order of loss) [12]:

The truths, advocates say, were gradually recovered in reverse order starting during the Protestant Reformation [13]; for example, Martin Luther is credited with recovery of "justification by faith" and John Nelson Darby with "Church Truth".

Hyper-dispensationalists reject water baptism [14][15][16], which divides them from mainstream dispensationalists who are often Baptists, like W. A. Criswell[17], or in earlier times Presbyterians[18][19] like James H. Brookes.

Hyper-dispensationalists themselves are divided on the Lord's Supper.

Divisions

Hyper-dispensationalists disagree among themselves as to whether the apostle Paul's early ministry was transitional or normative for the church. They differentiate among themselves by terminology reflecting when the normative portion of Paul's ministry began in the book of Acts. The most obvious result of this internal differentiation is whether the Lord's Supper is accepted in their church.

Bullinger held that Paul's authoritative teaching began at the conclusion of the book of Acts, a viewpoint now characterized as "Acts 28" dispensationalism (chapter 28 being the concluding chapter of the book), a position he solidified in cooperation with Charles H. Welch[20]. Other writers holding this position include Sir Robert Anderson, Oscar M. Baker, and Otis Q. Sellers. Acts 28 Dispensationalists distinguish themselves with their belief that today’s Church, is exclusively revealed in Paul’s later writings, in the so-called "Prison Epistles." [21] Acts 28 Dispensationalists tend to reject all ordinances including the Lord’s Supper [22].

The so-called "mid-Acts" position was developed later by Cornelius R. Stam, Charles F. Baker, among others, and reflects their position that Paul's normative ministry began in either the ninth or thirteenth chapter. The mid-Acts position accepts the Lord's Supper [23].

John Nelson Darby, sometimes called the father of dispensationism, held views similar to the mid-Acts position. Darby writes[24]:

"Stephen formed the link between Jewish rejection and the position and state of the church which followed...Stephen was the closing of the Jewish ‘possibility of the dispensation.' But a new scene now opens—the regular Gentile form and order of the dispensation in the hands of the apostle Paul, the apostle of the uncircumcision, the apostle of the Gentiles. Did he then derive it from the apostles? or was he indeed a successor to our Lord by earthly appointment and derivation? No; in no wise."[25]
"if Christianity were the new covenant, which it is not, the Holy Ghost is the seal of faith now as circumcision was then. Matthew 28 was never carried out. The mission to the Gentiles was given up to Paul explicitly (Gal. 2) who was not sent to baptize..."[26]
"the outward symbol and instrument of unity is the partaking of the Lord's supper - for we being many are one 'bread, one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread.' And what does Paul declare to be the true intent and testimony of that rite? That whensoever 'ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.' Here then are found the character and life of the church"[27]

Mainstream dispensationalists are referred to holding the "Acts 2" position in the spectrum, because that chapter describes the events at Pentecost.

Notes

  1. ^ Eleventh Avenue Church
  2. ^ J. C. O'Hair. "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ, Chapter 51: "Did the Church Begin with Pentecost of Acts Two?"". http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/ohair/HTML/UROC/chapter51.html. "If one believes that the Body of Christ began historically with the advent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he is given the right hand of fellowship by the “regular” Fundamentalists. If one believes that the Body of Christ began after the close of the “Acts” period, the “regulars” brand him as an “ultradispensationalist” and from their camp goes up the cry “Bullingerism.”" 
  3. ^ Robert Hanna. "The Pauline Legacy—Our Heritage". Berean Bible Society. http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/articles/1031607735.html. "Unless one recognizes the distinctive message committed to Paul, one is left in darkness and confusion as to his spiritual standing, purpose, and destiny as a child of God." 
  4. ^ Harry A. Ironside. "Wrongly Dividing The Word of Truth. Chapter 3: The Transitional Period. Is the Church of The Acts the Body of Christ?". http://www.plymouthbrethren.org/article/181. "Here we are distinctly informed as to the way in which the Body has been brought into existence, and this is exactly what took place at Pentecost." 
  5. ^ Harry A. Ironside. "Wrongly Diving the Word of Truth: Ultra-Dispensationalism Examined in the Light of the Holy Scriptures. Chapter 1: What is Ultra-Dispensationalism?". http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/wrongly1.html. "Having had most intimate acquaintance with Bullingerism as taught by many for the last forty years, I have no hesitancy in saying that its fruits are evil. It has produced a tremendous crop of heresies throughout the length and breadth of this and other lands, it has divided Christians and wrecked churches and assemblies without number; it has lifted up its votaries in intellectual and spiritual pride to an appalling extent, so that they look with supreme contempt upon Christians who do not accept their peculiar views; and in most instances where it has been long tolerated, it has absolutely throttled Gospel effort at home and sown discord on missionary fields abroad. So true are these things of this system that I have no hesitancy in saying it is an absolutely Satanic perversion of the truth." 
  6. ^ Jamin Hubner (2010-07-16). "A Theological Introduction to Hyper-Dispensationalism". Alpha & Omega Ministries, directed by James White (theologian). http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4066. "Hyper-Dispensationalism is consistent Dispensationalism. Darby effectively replaced Gods’ covenants (i.e covenant with Adam) with his dispensations (i.e. “dispensation of innocence”). But only hyper-dispensationalists fully carry out the implications. In conclusion, it appears that Hyper-Dispensationalism has attributes of both a cult and a sect..." 
  7. ^ Sarah Pulliam (2007-10-10). "Christianity Today magazine, "Dispensational Dustup: Student dismissed from leadership for 'potentially divisive' beliefs."". "Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota removed a senior [Josh Strelecki] as student ministries director because of theological views that some at the college called "hyper-dispensational [and] potentially divisive"...Strelecki holds to three controversial beliefs: that the book of James was written for Israel and not for the church; that the church started with Paul and not at Pentecost; and that Israel was saved by faith and works, not by faith alone... Northwestern upholds a broadly evangelical doctrinal statement..." 
  8. ^ "Dispensationalism Today by Charles C. Ryrie, pages 194-195, Chicago, Moody Press, 1965
  9. ^ "Dispensational Theology" by Charles F. Baker, page 16, Grace Publications, 1971]
  10. ^ http://www.biblicaladvancedbasics.com/pdf/Grace.pdf
  11. ^ E. W. Bullinger. "The Loss and Recovery of Truth". http://thethings2come.org/?p=165. "We are told, on every hand, today, that we must go back to the first three centuries to find the purity of faith and worship of the primitive church! But it is clear from this comparison of Acts 19:10 and II Timothy 1:15, that we cannot go back to the first century. No, not even to the apostle’s own lifetime!" 
  12. ^ E. W. Bullinger (1905). "The Loss and Recovery of Truth". http://thethings2come.org/?p=165. "It was Pauline truth and teaching from which all had “turned away.” ...that led necessarily To the loss of the teaching concerning the Mystery; that truth concerning the one Body of Christ... the truth of the Lord’s promised return from heaven; and of resurrection[and] the truth as to what God had made us to be in Christ; and “justification by faith”" 
  13. ^ J.C. O'Hair (1905). "The Loss and Recovery of Truth". http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/ohair/HTML/UROC/chapter44.html#first. "“Martin Luther,” he said, “recovered justification by faith.” John Darby recovered the Blessed Hope and something of Church Truth." 
  14. ^ E. W. Bullinger (1916). "HOW TO ENJOY THE BIBLE". http://levendwater.org/books/enjoy/how_to_enjoy_the_bible_bullinger.pdf. ""the gospel of the kingdom" will again be made (see above) and accompanied by its companion ordinance of baptism" 
  15. ^ J.C. O'Hair. [http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/ohair/GRACE%20WORKS%20IN%20ADOBE/RECOVERY%20OF%20LOST%20BIBLE%20TRUTH,%20THE.pdf quote=Tongues, visions and miraculous signs are inseparably connected with water baptism in the Bible and any Scriptural exegesis which will eliminate the one will eliminate the other. "The Recovery of Lost Bible Truth"]. http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/ohair/GRACE%20WORKS%20IN%20ADOBE/RECOVERY%20OF%20LOST%20BIBLE%20TRUTH,%20THE.pdf quote=Tongues, visions and miraculous signs are inseparably connected with water baptism in the Bible and any Scriptural exegesis which will eliminate the one will eliminate the other.. 
  16. ^ John C. O'Hair. "THE RECOVERY OF LOST TRUTH: LET’S DE-JUDAIZE THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: THIS WILL BRING A MIGHTY REVIVAL". http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/ohair/GRACE%20WORKS%20IN%20ADOBE/LET'S%20DE-JUDAIZE%20THE%20CHURCH%20OF%20CHRIST.pdf. "one of the principal reasons why baptism has caused so much disunity and so many unpleasant controversies is because many Christian have confused the baptism by Christ in the Spirit (Luke 3:17 and Acts 1:5) with the death baptism of Luke 12:50 and the death baptism of Romans 6:3 and 4. Another reason is that they have not carefully compared the six or more baptisms of the Four Gospels and the Book of Acts with the ‘one baptism’ of Ephesians 4:5" 
  17. ^ Ernest Reisinger. "Founders Journal. A History of Dispensationalism In America". http://www.founders.org/journal/fj09/article1.html. "I believe I am safe in saying that Dr. Wally Amos Criswell has been the most influential and articulate Southern Baptist Dispensationalists. Dr. Criswell is one of the great, esteemed and respected leaders of our denomination and every Southern Baptist is deeply indebted to him as a defender of the Bible and conservative Christianity." 
  18. ^ Ernest Reisinger. "Founders Journal. A History of Dispensationalism In America". http://www.founders.org/journal/fj09/article1.html. "the Presbyterian Church [] was more influenced by Dispensationalism than any other denomination." 
  19. ^ "1944 PCUS Report on Dispensationalism". http://www.pcahistory.org/documents/pcus1944.html. "Recently it has come to our attention that Dr. D. James Kennedy, when examining a candidate for ordination, routinely asks for that candidate's views on the subject of dispensationalism, and particularly asks him to state his agreement with or disapproval of the 1944 report issued by the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (i.e., the Southern Presbyterian Church). In light of that anecdote and in an effort to assist those hapless candidates who might otherwise have no knowledge of this document, we reproduce it here. Excerpted from the Minutes of the Eighty-Fourth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, as it met in the Anderson Auditorium at Montreat, North Carolina, May 25–30, 1944. This Report of the Ad-Interim Committee occurs in the Appendix to the Minutes, on pages 123-127." 
  20. ^ Juanita S. Carey, E.W. Bullinger: A Biography, ")p.180) As recounted by Welch in his autobiography: Toward the end of 1908 I felt moved to write to Dr. Bullinger [and at their meeting asked] you do not believe the church began at Pentecost, but rather, the Dispensational Boundary must be drawn at Acts 28? Dr Bullinger [replied] that is so. I have made that quite clear. [Welch continued, why then do] you treat the whole of Paul's epistles as one group[?] To my amazement and joy, the Doctor looked at me for a moment, then slapping his hand on his thigh said: "That scraps half the books I have written. But we want the Truth, and the Truth is there in what you said."" 
  21. ^ Charles Welch. "The Berean Expositor. Acts xvii. 10, 11". http://www.charleswelch.net/BE%20Vol%2011%20Final.pdf. "Paul was not “under the law” so far as salvation was concerned, but at the same time he was not standing in the full light of the Mystery, as made known in his prison epistles." 
  22. ^ Charles Welch. "The Berean Expositor. Acts xvii. 10, 11". http://www.charleswelch.net/BE%20Vol%2011%20Final.pdf. "This settles the question of baptism and the Lord’s supper, the decrees of Acts xv., the order and gifts of I Corinthians, and the many other questions which half-grasped truth begets. The church of the one body is a new creation." 
  23. ^ Paul M. Sadler. "The Truth About the Truth". http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/articles/1023136679.html. "Concerning the Lord's Supper, Pastor Stam has always taught that the Apostle Paul received a special revelation from our Lord regarding communion. The command of Christ is unmistakably clear that it should be observed until He returns for the Church," 
  24. ^ Larry V. Crutchfield. The Origins of Dispensationalism: The Darby Factor. "Darby sees Stephen's testimony as the hinge upon which the transition between the Jewish and Christian order of things swings, for Stephen had seen Jesus in the heavenlies (undoubtedly a reference to Acts 7:55). 'Thus', says Darby, 'he formed the linked between Jewish rejection and the position and state of the church which followed.' At the death of Stephen, the 'Gentile dispensation' began as a distinct thing because that event serviced as a witness that the Jews were resisting the Holy Spirit just as their fathers had." 
  25. ^ J. N. Darby, "The Collected Writings Of J. N. Darby, Ecclesiastical No. 1, Volume 1: The Character Of Office In The Present Dispensation,"
  26. ^ J. N. Darby, "The Collected Writings of J. N. Darby, Ecclesiastical Writings » The Collected Writings Of J. N. Darby, Ecclesiastical No. 4, Volume 20: A Reply To Defence Of The Doctrine Of Baptismal Regeneration"
  27. ^ J. N. Darby, Considerations on the Nature and Unity of the Church of Christ

See also

References

External links