Dispensationalism

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Dispensationalism

• Gods Progressive Self-Revelation

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Dispensationalism
The Dispensationalist (Literalus et Dallus)
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DEFINITION

• A theological movement within evangelicalism
  stressing an apocalyptic understanding of
  history.
• The Old and New Testaments united
  eschatologically in a way that is consistent with
  an historical-grammatical interpretation of Old
  and New Testaments, and with the fulfillment of
  the Old Testament promises to national Israel of
  an earthly kingdom ruled personally by Jesus
  Christ.

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DEFINITION(cont.)

• It is a philosophy of history, adherence to which
  encompasses diverse theologies in the evangelical
  tradition including the Calvinistic, Arminian,
  Pentecostal and Charismatic.

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Origins and Development

• John Nelson Darby (1800-1882)
• saw Church as apostate
• joined the Plymouth Brethren and developed a
  distinctive ecclesiology

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Eccleisology of Dispensationalism

• Church is a spiritual fellowship
• The catalyst for Dispensationalism as a system
• radical discontinuity between the Church and
  Israel
• "rightly divide the Word of truth"
• Futurist view of biblical prophecy
• Doctrine of the pre-tribulational rapture of the
  Church gave coherence to incipient
  Dispensationalism.

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Development of DispensationalismClassical Period

• Eschatology spread through North America through
  the Niagara Bible Conferences for prophetic study
• Scofield Reference Bible
• Rise of Bible Colleges

C. I. Scofield
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Scofields Scheme
Tribulation
Innocence
Conscience
Rapture
Human Govt
Law
Promise
Church
Kingdom
Rev. 201-
Ex. 1913- Acts 126
Gen. 121- Ex. 1817
Acts 21- Rev. 1921
Gen. 41- Gen. 8-14
Gen. 128- Gen. 36
Gen. 815- Gen. 11-32
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Major Representatives Classical Period

• John Nelson Darby
• C. I. Scofield (1843-1921)
• Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
• Comprehensive Bible Correspondence Course
• Scofield Reference Bible
• Lewis Sperry Chafer (1872-1952)
• Founder of Dallas Seminary
• Systematic Theology

L. S. Chafer
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Classical Dispensationalism

• Scofield Reference Bible became the traditional
  dispensational framework
• Salvation was interpreted individualistically.
• The church as a parenthesis/intercalation in the
  history of redemption, essentially unrelated to
  Gods larger purpose for the earth.
• God was pursuing two different purposes, one
  earthly (Israel) and the other heavenly (the
  Church).
• The Church was a part of Gods heavenly people,
  the Church was to adopt an attitude of
  disengagement from the political and social
  structures of the world.

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Larkins Classic Dispensational Chart
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Major Representatives Revised/Essentialist Period

• Alva J. Mclain (1888-1968)
• The Greatness of the Kingdom
• John F. Walvoord (1910-2001)
• The Millennial Kingdom
• The Church and the Tribulation
• Israel in Prophecy
• Daniel
• Revelation

J. F. Walvoord
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Major Representatives Revised/Essentialist Period

• J. Dwight Pentecost
• (b. 1915)
• Things to Come

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Major RepresentativesRevised/Essentialist Period

• Charles C. Ryrie
• (b. 1925)
• Dispensationalism Today
• The Ryrie Study Bible

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Revised/Essentialist Dispensationalism

• The eternal dualism central to classical
  dispensationalism abandoned.
• A single divine purpose in history.
• The eternal salvation enjoyed by the Church and
  Israel was not essentially different.
• Revised dispensationalists moved away from
  typology and insisted on a literal hermeneutic.

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Major Representatives Progressive
Dispensationalism

• Craig Blaising (b. 1949)
• Darrel Bock (b. 1953)
• Robert Saucy

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Progressive Dispensationalism

• Motivations
• During the 1970s and '80s, a significant
  development took place in dispensationalism as
  the implications of a more adequate and
  full-orbed application of the historical-grammatic
  al hermeneutic method came to the fore.
• Origins
• November 1986 Dispensationalism Study Group
  founded at Evangelical Theological Society's
  annual meeting in Atlanta. This group has become
  the think tank from which have emerged the
  writings of the contemporary mode of
  dispensationalism, known as progressive
  dispensationalism

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Dispensationalism vis á vis Covenant Theology
Progressive Dispensationalism
Contemporary Covenant Theology
A consistent application of historical-grammatical
hermeneutics has moved dispensationalists and
covenant theologians toward each other. See
Daniel Fuller, Gospel Law Contrast or
Continuum?
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Dispensational Historiography

• Recognition of Development and Change
• Pessimistic
• God as the motivating force in history
• Supernaturalistic
• Cosmic Drama of Redemption
• Hope
• Eschatological
• Christological

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Dispensational Historiography

• Sine Qua Non?
• distinction between Israel and the Church
• (radical distinction is denied by progressive
  dispensationalists)
• Cessation of Charismata?

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Contributions

• Fought Modernism
• De-institutionalized grace fostered evangelical
  ecumenicity
• Apocalyptic mindset
• Biblical literacy of the layman
• Anticipated modern conclusions of Paul and law
• Missions emphasis

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Classic Formulation

• A dispensation is a period of time in which man
  is tested with respect to his obedience to some
  specific revelation of the will of God.
• assumptions
• deposit of revelation embodying Gods Requirement
• human stewardship of that revelation unto
  obedience
• a time period of testing

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Classic Formulation

• Dispensations are not different means of
  salvation
• salvation is always by grace through faith
• content of the revelation trusted is variable
• Revelation is cumulative

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Critique

• Naive Literalism
• Treated the text as flat
• Saw itself as simply the teaching of the Bible
• Withdrawal from Society