"For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22)
Posted on 04/12/2007 12:23:10 PM PDT by topcat54
DISPENSATIONALISM
Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth Dispensationalism is a doctrinal system that keeps Israel and the Church distinct. This system teaches that throughout history God is seen to have two distinct purposes and two distinct people and these distinctions are maintained throughout eternity (or at least throughout the end of the millennium). The question is whether the Bible teaches of such a division. To the contrary, the Bible teaches that God has taken all of His people and made them ONE. "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity." (Ephesians 2:14-16). DISPENSATIONAL DISTINCTIVES DISTINCTION #1: Plan & Purpose of God.
Dispensationalism teaches that God has two separate plans and two separate and distinct peoples through whom He works - Israel and the Church.
The Bible teaches that God has ONE unified people. In the Old Testament that was Israel, but even then not all Israel was Israel, but only those who entered into covenant relationship of faith in God. Those who are not of faith are not His people. And those who are of faith are His people. This is true in every age. This is why Paul can say that "those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham" (Galatians 3:7).
DISTINCTION #2: The Law.
Dispensationalism says that the Mosaic Law is done away in Christ.
It is true that the Bible sees the Ceremonial Law as being fulfilled in Christ, but the Moral Law as contained in the Ten Commandments are repeated throughout the New Testament, showing that those commands are still in force (though admittedly the nature of the Sabbath is described differently since we have now entered into the rest provided by Christ). Indeed, Jesus Himself said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). Does His fulfillment of the Law mean that it has passed away? To the contrary, He explains His meaning with a careful and sober warning: "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19).
DISTINCTION #3: The Nature of the Church.
Dispensationalism sees the church as a parenthesis, a temporary situation lying between God's two dealings with Israel.
The Bible sees the church as the culmination of all God's people, the very body of Christ and the fullness of God. Paul speaks of the message given to him "to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 3:9-10). Far from being a parenthesis, the church is the culmination of something begun in Old Testament times. Paul goes on to point out that "this was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11).
DISTINCTION #4: Church in the Old Testament.
Dispensationalism usually teaches that the church is neither found nor mentioned in the Old Testament.
The Bible states that the Old Testament DID look forward to a time when Gentiles would enter into the Covenant. The promised Messiah was to be both a "covenant to the people, and a light to the nations" (Psalm 42:6). God also said, "I will call those who were not My people, 'My people'" (Romans 9:24-25).
Paul is specific to tell us that the coming of Gentiles into the church was a confirmation of "the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, 'Therefore I will give praise to Thee among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Thy name'" (Romans 15:8-9).
Peter says that "the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you" (1 Peter 1:10-12). The Old Testament prophets not only prophesied of those glories that would follow the cross, but also acknowledged that their prophecies were to benefit the future church.
DISTINCTION #5: Old Testament Promises.
Dispensationalism says that all of the promises given in the Old Testament must be fulfilled to a political nation of Israel.
Over and over again, the Bible sees these promises being fulfilled to the Church as the "Spiritual Israel" and people of God. The Bible teaches us that "they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel" (Romans 9:6). Conversely, we have already seen how the presence of Gentiles in the church was a fulfillment of the Old Testament promise that God would "call those who were not My people, 'My people'" (Romans 9:24-25).
The writer to the Hebrews says that those Old Testament saints "did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39-40). This is completely antithetical to the Dispensational teaching that says, "Israel gets the promises to Israel and the church gets the promises to the church and never the twain shall meet."
It is significant that when James wanted to demonstrate the legitimacy of the New Testament program of bringing Gentiles into the church, he turned to the Old Testament, saying, "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, And I will restore it, in order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name'" (Acts 15:14-17). The passage to which James turned was that of Amos 9:11-12.
Old Testament Prophecy |
New Testament Fulfillment |
"I will rebuild the Tabernacle of David" |
The growth of the church |
"...in order that the rest of mankind may see the Lord" |
Gentiles to become Christians in the growing church. |
James had no problems looking to the events that were going on in the church of his day and seeing them as fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies.
DISTINCTION #6: Two Comings of Christ Versus One.
Dispensationalism teaches that Christ will return to the earth is a secret "Rapture" in which all believers will be removed from the earth. This is later followed by the "Second Coming of Christ" which is a distinct and separate event.
The Bible teaches that there is ONE future coming of Christ in which "every eye shall see Him" and "every knee shall bow." Instead of a second and third future coming, the Bible teaches that Christ, "having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him" (Hebrews 9:28). For further discussion on the Dispensational "Rapture" Theory, see The Rapture Question and A Critique of the Evidences for a Pretribulational Rapture.
DISPENSATIONALISM VERSUS COVENANT THEOLOGY Dispensationalism can best be understood in light of a contrast with what has come to be known as "Covenant Theology."
Dispensationalism |
Covenant Theology |
Stresses "literal" interpretation of the Bible |
Accepts both literal and figurative (spiritual) interpretation of the Bible |
"Israel" always means only the literal, physical descendants of Jacob |
"Israel" may mean either physical descendants of Jacob, or spiritual Israel, depending on context |
"Israel of God" in Galatians 6:16 means physical Israel alone |
"Israel of God" in Galatians 6:16 means spiritual Israel, parallel to Gal. 3:29; Rom. 2:28-29; 9:6; Phil. 3:3. |
God has 2 peoples with 2 separate destinies: Israel (earthly) and the Church (heavenly). |
God has one covenant people. Those in this age have become a part of God's continuing covenant people. |
All Old Testament prophecies for "Israel" are only for the physical nation of Israel, not for the Church |
Some Old Testament prophecies are for national Israel, others for spiritual Israel |
The Church is a parenthesis in God's program for the ages |
The Church is the culmination of God's saving purpose for the ages |
The main heir to Abraham's covenant was Isaac and literal Israel |
The main heir to Abraham's covenant was Christ, the Seed, and spiritual Israel which is "in Christ" |
Jesus made an offer of the literal Kingdom to Israel; since Israel rejected it, it is postponed |
Jesus made only an offer of the Spiritual Kingdom, which was rejected by literal Israel but has gradually been accepted by spiritual Israel |
Teaches that the Millennium is the Kingdom of God. They are always Premillennial, usually Pre-tribulation |
The Church is the Kingdom of God. This can be interpreted both within the Premillennial, Post Millennial or Amillennial framework. |
The Old Testament animal sacrifices will be restored in the Millennium, as a memorial only |
The Old Testament sacrifices were fulfilled and forever abolished in Christ |
THE TERM "DISPENSATION" The word "dispensation" is translated from the Greek word OIKONOMIA. This term is used three times in Luke 16:2-4. All three times it refers to the responsibilities of a servant (or a steward). It is used in 1 Corinthians 9:17 to describe the responsibilities which the Lord had laid specifically upon Paul. Ephesians 1:10 speaks of the purpose which God had in centering and "administering" all things in Christ. Ephesians 3:2 speaks of Paul's special ministry to the Gentiles. If this is to be considered a separate Dispensation in the Theological sense, then we must also conclude that the other apostles were still stuck in the previous Dispensation to the Jews. Colossians 1:25 does the same thing, speaking of the stewardship which the Lord had placed upon Paul - the stewardship of the preaching of the Word of God. 1 Timothy 1:4 urges Timothy to pay attention to the EDIFYING (i.e., the administration) of the things of the Lord. Not once do we ever see the term "dispensation" used in the Bible in the manner that is used by Dispensationalists. THE "DOUBLE VISION" OF DISPENSATIONALISM Have you ever tried to deliberately cross your eyes? The result is that your vision becomes blurred and you begin to see things with a "double vision." If you are looking at a coffee mug, you will instead see two of them. Dispensationalism suffers from this kind of spiritual myopia.
I believe that to view the Scriptures through the lens of Dispensationalism creates a distorted view of the Bible, the church and the Lord's revealed program for the ages.
BUMP for later — scanning it — the points in the article seem pretty sound doctrine to me. IIRC, the rapture theology as it is taught nowadays, was not part of church doctrine until recent times.
While it may have been taught that throughout history God is seen to have two distinct purposes and two distinct people and these distinctions are maintained throughout eternity (or at least throughout the end of the millennium), can anyone honestly say they know that is what God really thinks about this?
"For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22)
Ping for later.
Amen.
I like your homepage.
Article is the perfect example of reading the New Testament back into the Old. I thank God for saving me from my sins with the aid of a Presbyterian Church. And I thank God for saving me from the subjective vagueness of Reformed theology with the aid of a Baptist Seminary.
???
Dispensationalist believers in Jesus Christ are not enemies of the faith. Because they interpret the chronology of Biblical history differently than covenanters who also believe in Christ for their salvation, does not make them apostates.
And vice versa. But it is an interesting subject. I would say that each side routinely misrepresents the other. I hope this comes from a lack of understanding rather than from a dishonest heart.
It’s not its “chronology of Biblical history” that makes dispensationalism so questionable. Rather, it’s they way it divides the people of God along racial lines after Christ and His apostles worked so hard to bring the races together in the new covenant.
“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh--who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-- that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:11-22)Dispensationalism seeks to rebuild the wall of separation that has been broken down and abolished. It’s also sadly true that many dispensationalists measure a person’s spirituality by such carnal standards as their attitude towards the modern nation of Israel. Some dispensationalists have been known to label anyone who disagrees with them on Israel and the Church as an anti-Semite (or on the road to anti-Semitism).
Dispensationalism, at least as it has been popularized in recent years by the likes of Hal Lindsey, Jack VanImpe, and Chuck Smith, had tended to fan the notion of date setting among the faithful. The latest very successful author to work the crowd is Tim LaHaye and his Left Behind series set conveniently in this present time.
Try as hard as they may to escape the suggestion of date-setting, the fact is that modern dispensationalism goes hand in glove with all the happenings in modern Israel and the Middle East, thanks in large part to the gross misinterpretation of Scripture by the aforementioned gentlemen. One can swing a stick in most Christian bookstore and knock over a dozen books on the latest and greatest trends all supposedly a harbinger of the always imminent, always elusive, secret pre-trib rapture.
A public suggestion that modern Israel is not a fulfillment of dispensational Bible prophecy is likely to get you branded as a potential anti-Semite.
What event, if and/or when it occurrs, do you think would cause one side or the other to change its mind?
No event short of Christ's Second ComingTM
However, postmillennialists like to believe that Christ's purpose in establishing His kingdom necessitates a long process. As we see in the parables, like the mustard seed, the kingdom does not bloom up suddenly overnight, but rather grows gradually until the “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9)
Part of that growing in the knowledge of the Lord is to discard unbiblical worldviews and eschatologies such as dispensationalism.
And we have seen great progress (no pun intended). If you look at the present crop of students training at places like Dallas Theological Seminary you’ll see that the modern, progressive version of dispensationalism is much closer to Bible truth than the former ones. They are marginally covenantal in some areas. What’s coming out of Dallas today ain’t the dispensationalism of Chafer and Ryrie.
We also see great movement in denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention via the Founder’s Movement that’s helping to raise up a new generation of SBC pastors committed to Reformed worldview including eschatology. They see the true roots of dispensationalism deep in arminianism and are working to change that in the SBC. (Darby, Scofield, and the Plymouth Brethren were not what you would call thoroughly Reformed.) Preterist amil Reformed Baptists are using the internet to get their message out. Check out the Narrow Mind broadcast with Pastor Gene Cook and Co.
It’s very exciting to see all these things. It no doubt makes the hardcore dispensationalists very nervous.
The problem with your whole thesis on this topic is that you assume these guys are the scholars making contributions to dispensational theology. They are not.
When a dispensationalist makes criticisms of covenant theology they are going for theologians teaching at Reformed seminaries ... Poythress, Gundry, Gentry, etc.
You should go find some essays from dispensationalists like Ice, Showers, Stallard, Ryrie, etc. and really start to understand where the scholars are. Do a google search on Pre-Trib Study Group and you will find more articles by dispensationalists than you could read in a month.
If I may, could I suggest a rather meaty article by Stallard ... He hits the nail on the head and makes it pretty clear why there are differences. http://www.pre-trib.org/article-view.php?id=196
The above comment from the article is inaccurate. Dispensationalism does not teach a secret rapture. First, they teach a rapture that everyone will notice (by virtue of missing people.)
Also, pre-trib rapture is more likely to teach a coming in the clouds to rapture the church than is the post-trib rapture group.
Mid-trib rapture folks identify the rapture in the middle of the tribulation and equate it with the time when the 2 witnesses are raptured. That has world wide coverage according to Revelation, but there is no mention of a "coming in clouds."
So, the truth is that only one of three strands will theorize on such a thing. But there is no necessity of it.
Thanks for the suggestion, but I know these folks. I’ve read a lot of Ryrie. I've corresponded with Showers years ago, and I had dinner once with Tommy Ice at a conference on eschatology. I’m quite familiar with LaHaye’s Pre-Trib Research Center. And Mike Stallard teaches in my old home town of Clarks Summit, PA.
Basically I know every one of their arguments, and where they fail from the Scripture (unless you adopt the presuppositions of a dispensationalist first).
And what about Bock and Blasing and the current crop from Dallas? Where do they fit in? Some consider the progressives as heretics of sorts for conceding too much to the covenant side. See Danger of Progressive Dispensationalsim to Pre-Millennial Theology by Wayne House (of House and Ice fame).
I mentioned the other gentlemen because they are the ones feeding the masses with their brand of dispensationalism. Folks don’t read much Ice and Ryrie these days. They do read and watch Hal Lindsey and Jack VanImpe, they listen to Chuck Smith preach, and read those horrible novels by Tim LaHaye (an odd bird with a foot in both worlds; academic and pop).
This gets back to my long-standing issue; who really speaks for dispensationalism? Who should we believe on any subject? Who sets of presuppositions holds sway over the rest?
BTW, I forgot to mention the so-called “Rapture Index” that is quite popular around the Internet, as well as the “Rapture Ready” board.
Now, do you really think your average dispensational pew-sitters are getting their theology from Chafer and Ryrie or from the creator of the much more exciting “Rapture Index”?
I would suggest they are getting it from LaHaye and Jenkins.
The last trumpet! Jesus returns! We shall all be changed!
Notice in the Book of Revelation there are 7 trumpets during which time great tribulation takes place upon the earth. Much happens during those times of the trumpets.
Jesus returns and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of Our Lord and of His Christ...at the last (or 7th trumpet).
No rapture. God’s people will be protected during the pouring out of the wrath— as Noah and Lot were protected and spared (remember Jesus said, “as it was in the days of Noah (also Lot), so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Turning the fine points of any eschatological interpetation into dogma is always a dangerous thing. Look how wrong all the Jews were the first time around. I’ve resigned myself to taking it all with a grain of salt and keeping myself ready in the meantime. It’s going to happen just the way it’s supposed too no matter what I do.
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