“Dispensational” refers to the Bible term/word “oikonomos”-economy (literally). It’s a VERY Biblical word.
The fulcrum of dispensationalism is the distinction between Israel and the Church.
Israel = the unfaithful, whoring, divorced wife of God the Father. She will be restored to full status in the future.
The church = the unmarried, betrothed, Bride of Christ. The marriage has yet to take place.
“Dispensational” refers to the Bible term/word “oikonomos”-economy (literally). It’s a VERY Biblical word.
It's a biblical word, but the use it's put to isn't necessarily biblical.
The fulcrum of dispensationalism is the distinction between Israel and the Church.
The radical distinction between the Church and Israel. From my observation, I have come to think that the whole system is designed to protect that distinction. The eschatological scheme is almost incidental.
Israel = the unfaithful, whoring, divorced wife of God the Father. She will be restored to full status in the future.The church = the unmarried, betrothed, Bride of Christ. The marriage has yet to take place.
And I would say, this is a New Testament development of an Old Testament theme.
Otherwise, I'd say we've got some trinitarian issues, eh? God the Father has one spouse, God the Son has a completely different spouse? How's that work, really?
There's an interpretive issue at the base of all this, that needs to be looked at: does the Old Testament govern how we interpret the New Testament, or does the New Testament inform how we interpret the Old?