Dispensationalism Primer

Brief Description: Dispensationalism is a system of theology that interprets the Bible through the lens of Dispensations (usually 7), and sees a distinction between God’s plan for Israel and for the Church. Dispensations are the outworking of God’s plan that have changed and will continue to change throughout redemptive history. Dispensationalists traditionally are very conservative, have a high view of Scripture, tend to interpret the Bible using a very literal hermeneutic, and stress the discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments.

History: Dispensationalism is a new system of theology, having been founded by John Darby in 1830. In spite of its recent origin, it’s probably the dominant system of theology held by evangelicals worldwide. There are several reasons for this.

1. The Scofield Study Bible. C.I. Scofield was an attorney and disciple of Darby who authored the world’s first study Bible in 1909 and the Scofield Bible is still popular today. The notes Scofield wrote were thoroughly dispensational, and assured this teaching would be widely transmitted. Today, there are numerous dispensational study Bibles on the market, and many are extremely popular. Two of note are the “MacArthur Study Bible” and the “NIV Study Bible”. I own both, and the NIV Study Bible was a major reason I was a dispensationalist for the first several years of my Christian life.

2. Many of the most successful evangelists and Bible teachers have been/are dispensational. Among them are D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and J. Vernon McGee. Many "megachurch" pastors have been or are dispensational - W.A. Criswell, Adrian Rogers, Charles Stanley, Rick Warren, and John MacArthur, just to name a few.

3. The impact of Dallas Theological Seminary. Founded in 1924 by Lewis S. Chafer (a disciple of Scofield), DTS has been one of the world’s largest and most influential seminaries. They have been thoroughly dispensational since inception. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University is one of many Dispensational Bible Colleges; my own alma mater, Grace University, is also dispensational. Many influential Southern Baptists, and Southern Baptist Seminaries are dispensational.

4. The sensationalist tendencies of some dispensational teachings have led to many works of fiction popularizing dispensationalism. DTS alumni Hal Lindsey’s 1970 best-seller “The Late, Great Planet Earth” is one example. Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” series is another.

Dispensationalism has been evolving for several decades as its teachings have been increasingly scrutinized. John MacArthur’s 1988 book “The Gospel According to Jesus” (his finest work, IMO) started a firestorm of controversy within Dispensationalism. Prominent DTS professors Charles Ryrie and Zane Hodges each wrote a book to refute MacArthur’s. Unlike MacArthur’s fine work, both Ryrie and Hodges’ books were roundly criticized for their poor scholarship. Non-dispensational Bible scholars watched with amazement, and had difficulty in understanding why anyone would have a problem with MacArthur’s outstanding book. The central issue – is repentance necessary for salvation? Ryrie and Hodges’ position – that it isn’t – was another embarrassment for dispensationalism, and led to accusations that dispensationalism is antinomian. This led to John Gerstner’s “Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth” – a relentless (and a bit unfair) attack on dispensationalism. A few years later, the latest movement within dispensationalism, known as “Progressive Dispensationalism,” began under the leadership of fine scholars such as Darrell Bock, Craig Blaising, and Robert Saucy. Today, with many of the classic dispensationalists (Walvoord, Pentecost, and Ryrie etc.) either aging or with the Lord, dispensationalism is firmly within the grasp of the progressives.

Am I a Dispensationalist? Many Christians are dispensationalists, and have no idea they are. In fact, many are even unaware there is such a thing. As I said, I was firmly in the dispensational camp from the time I was saved until 1997. If you affirm any or all of these statements, you’re a dispensationalist:

1. God has two redemptive plans – one for Israel, and one for the church.
2. The church age is a “parenthesis” in God’s redemptive plan.
3. The rapture will be secret, and probably happen before the Tribulation.
4. The Tribulation is a 7 year period, and fulfills the final of Daniel’s 70 weeks.
5. Every time the Bible says “Israel”, it refers to ethnic, national Israel.
6. There will be a literal 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth from Jerusalem.
7. A future temple will be built in Jerusalem
8. The sacrificial system will be reinstituted/observed during the Millennium.
9. There will be multiple judgments (nations, sheep/goats, Great White Throne)
10. The Olivet Discourse (Matt 24) is about events in the distant future.
11. Revelation 4-22 depicts events in the distant future.

Resources:

- Progessive Dispensationalism. Blaising & Bock
- The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism. Saucy
- Dispensationalism, Israel, and the Church. Blaising & Bock
- Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth. Gerstner
- Understanding Dispensationalists – Poythress
- The Great Tribulation – Past or Future? Ice and Gentry
- Faith Works (Appendix 2) – MacArthur
- House Divided: The Breakup of Dispensational Theology. Bahnsen & Gentry