You are over the target. The lie of dispensationalism spread thru out American Christianity like a cancer. The primary driver was the Scofield Reference Bible. It puts the modern nation of Israel at the center of prophecy instead of the church (which is the Israel of God, both Jew & Gentile). Without the support of American Chrisitians there would be no nation of Israel. FYI I am a recovering dispensationalist! I repented about 15 years ago.
they threw the pastor out of my childhood church when he admitted he no longer believed in dispensationalism. then they replaced him with a socialist immigrant from ukraine. i left after that and havent really been back to church since
Well my experience (so far) has been different. I'm the Sunday school teacher for the adults at our church. Started about 2.5 years ago. Took the class thru the entire book of Romans. I had fun with "all Israel will be saved"! Now I'm teaching a series (verse by verse) on the book of Acts. Got to Acts 2:19-20 - I put up a number of commentaries that stated that "this great and notable day of the Lord" was referring to the destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple in AD 70. At the end of the lesson the Pastor told the class that interpretation was "preterism". Well that opened the door I can tell you. I just flat out told him "that's the way I see it after 15 years of study and that's the way I have to teach it". His response was "take your liberty". He also said "our church organization needs a symposium on dispensationalism". So I am encouraged. I did an entire write up/commentary on Matthew chapter 24 and sent it to him. His response: "we need to talk about this over lunch". Anyway I'm at the point that I'm not going to hide what I believe and I don't have to teach. I'll either sit down or walk away. I'm 71 years old! www.scripturerevealed.com
well apparently the church constitution did mention dispensationalism, not as one of the "core doctrines" or whatever that you need to be a member, but as one of the side things that the church believes. so once it came out the pastor didnt believe it anymore there were months of meetings deciding whether to kick him out or modify the church charter. in the end he was forced out and then the people who forced him out left anyway. and the new pastor was an absolute charlatan.
Well it's about the same with my church organization. If you don't adhere to dispensationalism you can't hold a license (as of 2005). I was asked to obtain a license but I declined because I knew I couldn't agree to all of the organization's guidelines.
I see preterism as a vast exegetical improvement over the unbiblical dispensationalism, but it still has some very weak points imho. The historic Church has clearly always favored what is now called Amillennialism (a misnomer of a term), because it is clearly derived from all the biblical texts taken together. These three lectures deal with Revelation and the millennium quite thoroughly:
Thanks I'll check those sources out. I really do believe that dispensationalism as a belief system will come to an end once the modern nation of Israel does not line up with that belief system......
The main tenants of Classical Dispensationalism existed long before Scofield.
While classical dispensationalism as formulated by theologians like C.I. Scofield and John Nelson Darby had its distinctive features, some of its main elements can be traced to earlier theological traditions and interpretations of the Bible. Here are a few examples:
1.Distinction Between Israel and the Church:
• Early Church Fathers like Justin Martyr (2nd century) and Irenaeus (2nd century) acknowledged distinctions between God’s dealings with Israel and the Church in their writings. They recognized that God had specific plans for both groups.
2.Futurist Interpretation of Prophecy:
•The belief in future prophetic events can be traced to various interpretations of the Book of Revelation in early Christian writings. Some early Church theologians, like Hippolytus (3rd century), held views that anticipated future fulfillment of certain prophecies.
3.Premillennialism:
• The concept of a future literal thousand-year reign of Christ has been present in different forms throughout Christian history. Papias (1st century) is often cited as an early proponent of premillennialism, and it has appeared in the writings of various Church Fathers.
4.Rapture:
• While the term “rapture” was not used in the same way as in classical dispensationalism, early Christian writers such as Ephraem the Syrian (4th century) and Jerome (4th-5th century) discussed the idea of believers being caught up to meet Christ in connection with 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
While classical dispensationalism combined these elements into a systematic theological framework and popularized them in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it’s important to recognize that many of these ideas had antecedents in Christian thought and theology prior to the Scofield Study Bible.
Dispensationalism itself has evolved over time, with variations and modifications to its original form.
You are over the target. The lie of dispensationalism spread thru out American Christianity like a cancer. The primary driver was the Scofield Reference Bible. It puts the modern nation of Israel at the center of prophecy instead of the church (which is the Israel of God, both Jew & Gentile). Without the support of American Chrisitians there would be no nation of Israel. FYI I am a recovering dispensationalist! I repented about 15 years ago.
they threw the pastor out of my childhood church when he admitted he no longer believed in dispensationalism. then they replaced him with a socialist immigrant from ukraine. i left after that and havent really been back to church since
Well my experience (so far) has been different. I'm the Sunday school teacher for the adults at our church. Started about 2.5 years ago. Took the class thru the entire book of Romans. I had fun with "all Israel will be saved"! Now I'm teaching a series (verse by verse) on the book of Acts. Got to Acts 2:19-20 - I put up a number of commentaries that stated that "this great and notable day of the Lord" was referring to the destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple in AD 70. At the end of the lesson the Pastor told the class that interpretation was "preterism". Well that opened the door I can tell you. I just flat out told him "that's the way I see it after 15 years of study and that's the way I have to teach it". His response was "take your liberty". He also said "our church organization needs a symposium on dispensationalism". So I am encouraged. I did an entire write up/commentary on Matthew chapter 24 and sent it to him. His response: "we need to talk about this over lunch". Anyway I'm at the point that I'm not going to hide what I believe and I don't have to teach. I'll either sit down or walk away. I'm 71 years old! www.scripturerevealed.com
well apparently the church constitution did mention dispensationalism, not as one of the "core doctrines" or whatever that you need to be a member, but as one of the side things that the church believes. so once it came out the pastor didnt believe it anymore there were months of meetings deciding whether to kick him out or modify the church charter. in the end he was forced out and then the people who forced him out left anyway. and the new pastor was an absolute charlatan.
Well it's about the same with my church organization. If you don't adhere to dispensationalism you can't hold a license (as of 2005). I was asked to obtain a license but I declined because I knew I couldn't agree to all of the organization's guidelines.
I see preterism as a vast exegetical improvement over the unbiblical dispensationalism, but it still has some very weak points imho. The historic Church has clearly always favored what is now called Amillennialism (a misnomer of a term), because it is clearly derived from all the biblical texts taken together. These three lectures deal with Revelation and the millennium quite thoroughly:
http://links.christreformed.org/irons/20211212-The-Millennial-Question.mp3
http://links.christreformed.org/irons/20211226-Interpreting-The-Millennium.mp3
http://links.christreformed.org/irons/20220102-Interpreting-The-Book-Of-Revelation.mp3
Thanks I'll check those sources out. I really do believe that dispensationalism as a belief system will come to an end once the modern nation of Israel does not line up with that belief system......
The main tenants of Classical Dispensationalism existed long before Scofield.
While classical dispensationalism as formulated by theologians like C.I. Scofield and John Nelson Darby had its distinctive features, some of its main elements can be traced to earlier theological traditions and interpretations of the Bible. Here are a few examples:
1.Distinction Between Israel and the Church:
2.Futurist Interpretation of Prophecy:
3.Premillennialism:
4.Rapture:
While classical dispensationalism combined these elements into a systematic theological framework and popularized them in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it’s important to recognize that many of these ideas had antecedents in Christian thought and theology prior to the Scofield Study Bible.
Dispensationalism itself has evolved over time, with variations and modifications to its original form.