The Dispensational View of the Ages by S Jones

THE DISPENSATIONAL VIEW OF THE AGES

Dec 05, 2018 by Dr. Stephen Jones

Having laid out the panorama of history, let us look at the broad structure of the ages within that big picture.

During the Dark Ages, when Scripture was hidden from most people, only a few of the educated priests were able to entertain views and theories regarding the structure of time in history. The Protestant Reformation opened up the Scriptures, and most of the Reformers interpreted the book of Revelation historically, rather than futuristically.

In other words, they saw the book of Revelation as a prophecy of Church History, rather than as a prophecy of future events. As they overturned the Roman Church, they believed that they were fulfilling the prophecies of the downfall of Babylon in Revelation 17, 18. Essentially, to put it in biblical terms, they were engaged in spiritual warfare to deliver a “fatal blow” to the beast from the sea (Revelation 13:3).

What was not so clear to them was that this religious beast was to be healed of its deadly wound and it was to be joined by another beast arising from the earth.

Most of the Reformers lived prior to the French Revolution (1789-1794). The Reformers fought Rome and wounded it, but the fatal head wound was actually delivered by Napoleon in 1798 when he took Pope Pius VI captive. The pope died in prison, and it appeared that the Papacy had died.

Napoleon later wanted to be crowned emperor and needed someone worthy to crown him at the ceremony in 1804. So he reinstated a pope (Pius VII) for that purpose. There is some dispute as to whether the pope actually did this, or if Napoleon changed his mind and put the crown on his own head. Nonetheless, the result of this event was that the papacy’s head wound was healed, and the Roman Church was revived after its near-death experience.

For our own purposes, the deadly wound in 1798 coincided with Nathan Rothschild’s move from Hamburg to London, where he soon became the dominant banker. His brothers had been sent to other European countries to establish their influence: France, Sweden, Austria, and one who remained in Germany. In the next decades, they became the most powerful bankers in the world. The banking beast from the earth operated primarily through this banking dynasty.

After the reinstatement of the Papacy, the banking system was given control of the Vatican’s finances and wealth which was later assumed by the Rothschilds.  It has been reported by Benjamin Fulford that the Vatican (i.e. beast from the sea) and the Rothschilds (i.e. beast from the earth) have joined forces within the one-world government cartel with the Rothschilds being the hidden part and the Vatican being the outward manifestation.

The Reformers, who lived in previous centuries, did not live to see the rise of the beast from the earth. There was hardly any way that they could have foreseen how that Scripture would be fulfilled. Yet they understood that the book of Revelation, written in symbols and spiritual language, fulfilled the events of Church history up to their time.

Dispensationalism

Then in the 1850’s a new theory arose, which was known at the time as Dispensationalism. It was largely defined by Darby and later became the dominant view through Scofield’s Study Bible in the early 1900’s. Dispensationalism taught the futurist interpretation of Revelation, where most of the book was to be fulfilled in a seven-year period that was yet future. An “Antichrist” was to arise in the time of “The Great Tribulation.” Christ was to come more than once, the view taught, first coming “for” His saints, and later “with” His saints.

The Scofield Bible notes and dispensationalism became the central teaching doctrines of the Dallas Theological Seminary.  Many of the Seminaries graduates became popular book authors spreading their dispensational doctrine throughout the USA, with the most sensational being Hal Lindsey.

Once the Bible had been cut loose from its historical roots, the people saw no need to study history. As for the historical ages, the Dispensationalists divided time in their own way.

1.   Innocence - Adam

2.   Conscience - After man sinned, up to Noah’s flood

3.   Government - After the flood, Noah to Abraham

4.   Promise - Abraham to Moses and the giving of the Law

5.   Law - Moses to the cross

6.   Grace - The cross to the Millennial Kingdom

7.   Millennial Kingdom - A 1000 year reign of Christ on earth centered in the earthly

Jerusalem, a rebuilt physical temple, and renewal of animal sacrifices

Dividing time into various ages is a man-made way of organizing and defining the progression of history. The above has some useful elements, but in my view it also has some serious flaws. By assigning one age as “Law” and another as “Grace,” Christians have been given the impression that there was no grace in the Age of Law, nor was there Law in the Age of Grace. Hence, Christians have put away the law during the Age of Grace.

Flawed Views of the Millennial Kingdom

Their idea of the Millennial Kingdom was intertwined with Christian Zionism and an expectation of a Jewish return to the old land and a rebuilt temple. Dispensationalists struggled to explain law and grace in salvation, but they eventually settled on the idea that Jews are saved by the law and Christians by grace.

By separating Jews from Gentiles, they rebuilt the dividing wall that Jesus had torn down (Ephesians 2:14). There had been a wall in the outer court of the Jerusalem temple dividing Jewish men from women and gentiles. Only Jewish men were allowed to approach God closely. All others had to see God from a distance. This wall provided a powerful psychological and spiritual force in Jewish culture, which Christianity struggled to eliminate in the first century.

Dispensationalism rebuilt that wall and set it firmly in place once again, thus negating much of Paul’s teaching. Jews were to be saved by being “good Jews,” that is, by their orthodoxy in following the law. Gentiles were saved by grace through faith in Christ. As a result, in the Millennial Kingdom, the Jews would inherit the earth, while the Gentiles would inherit heaven.

The “dual gospel” idea was used to explain some of the differences (seen as apparent contradictions) in the New Testament gospels. For instance, Jesus validation of the law in Matthew 5:17-19, along with His instruction to the rich man about keeping the commandments (Mark 10:19) are seen as instructions to Jews rather than to Gentiles. Hence, Gentiles are not required to keep the commandments. This view has justified lawlessness (anomia) in the Church.

By allowing Jews to be saved by the law, the view has also opened the door for Christians to convert to Judaism without giving up one’s salvation. Such conversion only changes the manner in which the Christian is saved, moving from the path of grace to the path of law.

More recently, this flaw in Dispensationalism has morphed into Dual Covenant Theology, where Jews and Gentiles each have their own separate covenant with God. It has now developed to the point where Jews can be saved apart from faith in Jesus Christ. (i.e. Jews are saved by the Law is the teaching of pastor John Hagee) The implication is that the Jews are saved by Moses (Old Covenant), while the Gentiles are saved by Jesus (New Covenant).

It never fails that when a biblical viewpoint is flawed, it sets men on a downward spiral toward blindness and disaster.

Today there are more Christians converting to Judaism than Jews converting to Christ and Christianity. In this way, they hope to become “chosen,” not realizing that there are no chosen people apart from being part of the remnant of grace (Romans 11:7). The remnant of grace was a small group of just 7,000 Israelites in the time of Elijah (Romans 11:4). Many Christians think that they can enhance their position with God by converting to Judaism. But in the end, they merely fall into the same trap that Paul warned the church against in his letters.

A Better View

The book of Hebrews was designed to show the difference between the two covenants and the changes to “better” and “greater” things. We have a better covenant, a greater high priest, a better sacrifice, a heavenly city and temple. We are urged to leave the old system, pictured in the fact that Jesus was crucified outside the camp (city). Hebrews 13:13, 14 concludes, Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. ¹⁴ For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

The Dispensationalist idea that the Millennial Kingdom centers around the earthly Jerusalem and a rebuilt physical temple is foreign to New Testament eschatology. To say that the book of Hebrews applies only to Gentiles is ludicrous, because the book itself is not addressed to Gentiles but to Hebrews. Hebrews 13:13, 14 urges Hebrews to emigrate from the old Jerusalem to the New Jerusalem.

The Dispensationalist idea, which was invented in the 1850’s, has done much harm to the Church, for it helped to put the Church on the path toward captivity to Mystery Babylon, beginning in 1914. It defined the Laodicean era, which is the Church of the Captivity (1914-1993), as I explained in my second book on The Revelation.

We need to tear down the dividing wall once again, so that all men may again be unified as “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15), no longer seeing God’s people divided into “chosen” and “not chosen.” We need to reaffirm the New Covenant and its Mediator as the only door to salvation. From the standpoint of time, we need to see Grace as having no beginning point and no end point.

The Millennial Kingdom is not a Jewish Kingdom, nor is it a time when the Old Testament style of worship is reestablished. Grace was not a temporary aberration in the history of the Kingdom. When the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, this did not jump-start a temporary Age of Grace that was to be replaced by law-based salvation at the second coming of Christ.

We need a better way of viewing time, as well as a better way of understanding our salvation.

In my view, the answer is found in the feast days, which are prophetic on two levels. First, the feasts tell us how an individual may progress in his relationship with God through justification (Passover), sanctification (Pentecost), and glorification (Tabernacles). Second, the feasts set forth a structure of time, for there is a Passover Age from Moses to Christ, followed by a Pentecostal Age from Acts 2 until the first resurrection and transformation in the time of the second coming of Christ. The Millennial Kingdom, as they call it, is actually the Age of Tabernacles.

In my view, this way of looking at time is both biblical and accurate.

Dispensational Nonsense

DISPENSATIONAL NONSENSE

11-27-2018 Original date May 14, 2007

Many years ago, when I was young, I read a book by Clarence Larkin called Dispensational Truth without realizing until many years later, just how far from the truth it was.

Dispensationalism is the teaching that attempts to divide time into various ages, each of which has a different plan by which God deals with mankind. For example, from Moses to Christ was the so-called "Age of Law," in which there was no grace. Conversely, after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ we supposedly entered into the "Age of Grace," in which the law was supposedly put aside (some say it was nailed to the Cross.

Salvation: Faith vs Works  https://freedomfromdelusion.blogspot.com/2018/08/salvation-faith-vs-works.html

Further, this view taught--and still teaches--that the coming Age will be that of a Jewish Kingdom, which will be administered by Jewish law, including the re-instatement of animal sacrifices within a rebuilt temple. Thus, the second coming of Christ will see a very Jewish Messiah--not one which the Jews will accept for who He is, but rather a Messiah that will be acceptable to Judaism.

This is rather interesting, because Jesus was nothing like this in His first appearance, nor were His views the least bit acceptable to the chief priests. He came, not as a great miracle-working general to overthrow the Romans, but as a humble servant who loved Romans as much as He loved Jews.

But Dispensationalism teaches that Christ came the FIRST time as a meek Lamb, but watch out for Him when He comes the SECOND time as a raging Lion! In other words, He will be like a different Person in His second coming.

The underlying destructiveness of Dispensational thought is that it destroys the unity of Scripture and establishes two different standards of measure in the world, along with two different plans of salvation. First, it destroys the unity between the Old and New Scriptures rather than viewing it as a single Book with a progressive unfolding of God’s divine plan.  Second, it teaches that Grace is a temporary interlude that allows a few "Gentiles" a window of opportunity to be saved apart from animal sacrifices.  Third, it demands a reversion back to Judaism and to a very Jewish Kingdom in which God has preferential treatment of certain people based upon either their genealogy or their religion.

The "Age of Grace," then, is seen as a temporary respite from an Old Testament God, who is pictured as a vengeful, stern Judge of humanity. It is a temporary respite in which the "better" covenant, "better" sacrifices, "better" priesthood, "better promises" are granted until we are to revert back to those Old Testament practices which are WORSE. This violates the whole spirit of the book of Hebrews--which, I might add, was written to HEBREW PEOPLE.

And so, Dispensationalism has established the mind-set that Jews are saved by the law, while the "Gentiles" are saved by grace. This "Dual Covenant Theology" is being espoused by a number of preachers, though some of them (like John Hagee) actually deny it. They deny it, while at the same time affirming that Jews are in a Covenant relationship with God apart from Christ. What Covenant is that? Obviously, it can only be the Old Covenant, since it can hardly be said that adherents to Judaism are under the New Covenant.

Such people are caught in a rather awkward position, trying to maintain that Jews are already saved apart from Christ, while still trying to preach Christ to them. So they have come to the middle position, saying that while it would be BETTER for Jews to accept Christ, it is not necessary for them to do so. For this reason, many Christians are shutting down their missions to the Jews, saying that it is unnecessary to preach Christ to them. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has done the same, though this is not yet the official Vatican position. (The Vatican needs a little more time to let the view become more popular before it makes this official.)

Dispensationalism repairs the middle wall of partition (division) that Jesus tore down by His teaching. The Jews had built a wall in the temple to allow only the Jewish men to enter. This was to indicate that all others, including Jewish women, had to remain at arm's length from God. It showed that only Jewish men were allowed to have a direct relationship with God, and all others had to have an indirect relationship with Him. But Ephesians 2:14 says,

"For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall."

Dispensationalism rebuilds this wall and teaches that Jews are more loved and holier than non-Jews. It puts non-Jews in subjection to Jews in a very Jewish Kingdom. Furthermore, even ordinary Jews are put under those Jews whose names are Cohen, Kagan, or other forms of that name, for they are said to be descendants of the original Levitical priests. Gone is the priesthood of the believer.

For the life of me, I cannot see why any non-Jew would desire to see Christ's second coming. Do they really want to live life in subjection to Jewish leaders who have proven their character by their Zionist practices against the Palestinians?? Do they not know that this is how they will treat Christians in the age to come--if Dispensationalism were true?

Dispensationalism seeks to reinstate Hagar and Ishmael as the inheritor of the promises. Paul tells us clearly in Gal. 4:25 that "this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children."

Dispensationalism seeks to re-establish the Old Covenant along with rabbinic Judaism, having the old Jerusalem as the Capitol of the Kingdom. They reject the Apostle Paul's writings, or at least relegate him to the present "Age of Grace." They forgive his error on the grounds that he had a ministry to the "Gentiles," which made his message temporary and inferior. Once Christ returns the second time, Jerusalem was somehow to be transformed from Hagar to Sarah. The Old Jerusalem will suddenly be reborn into the New Jerusalem. The Ishmaelites of Judaism will suddenly become Isaac, while still retaining all the Ishmaelite bondages of Judaism. A rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, which God forsook "as Shiloh" (Jer. 7:14) will be reinhabited by the Spirit of God--a violation of His own Word.

The Spirit of God left the temple of Solomon according to Ezekiel.  It was never in the 2^nd temple nor was it in Herod’s upgraded version.

The Word of God is an acceptable casualty to Dispensationalism. But for those of us who actually believe the Bible and who are not blinded by Zionist Judaism, we believe that Jews have to repent and be saved in the same manner as the rest of us.

We believe with Peter that there is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

We have no double standard, but believe with Moses that there was to be one law for all the people, whether Israelites or foreigners (Num. 15:16).

We do not believe that grace was absent in the Old Testament, nor do we believe that the law is irrelevant after the Cross.

We do not believe that the blood of Christ was limited to an interim "Age of Grace" until animal sacrifices could be reinstated in the end.

We do not believe that the presence of God will be removed from the temple of our bodies in order to inhabit a rebuilt physical temple in Jerusalem--or anywhere else for that matter.

We do not believe that the Old Covenant will replace the New Covenant in the Kingdom Age to come.

Dispensationalism is the New Replacement Theology. Such replacement theology is totally unacceptable and is rank heresy. It has no business being taught anywhere in Christian pulpits, because it entirely undermines the cross, the blood of Christ, and the entire purpose for Christ's coming. This is the great lawlessness that Jesus warned us about in Matt. 24:10-13 and the apostasy which Paul warned about in 1 Tim. 4:1.

  Did the early church contain any hint of dispensational reasoning?  NO.  Did the early reformers (with a personal Bible in hand) claim the Revelation is a roadmap of a tribulation period?  NO, they considered it for what it is.  A prophetic history of the Church beginning at the time of John.

The prominent groundbreaker of dispensational theology is the Scofield Reference Bible first appearing in 1909 and revised in 1917.  It is said this Bible with it’s unique (at the time) reference system was financed and encouraged by Jewish bankers living in England, to enhance and further their goal of convincing the Christian church of their self-conceived “chosen people” status in light of their upcoming plan to retake Palestine which became the state of Israel in 1948.

Prior to its popularization by the Scofield Bible, the roots of Dispensational Theology are traceable to John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren group within England.  Darby’s teaching has become enshrined in the Scofield Reference Bible, the most popular of all reference bibles.  Dispensational Theology has been refined to some extent and tenaciously defended by Dallas Theological Seminary founded by Lewis Sperry Chafer.

 

During the seventh year of Artaxerxes I, Ezra was sent to offer sacrifices at the rebuilt Temple (Ezra 7: 7). This was done by authority of the edict of Artaxerxes I.  At that time, Ezra performed the final rite of cleansing in Jerusalem, which allowed Daniel’s 70 weeks to begin the countdown toward the work of Jesus on the Cross.  Daniel’s 70th week extended from 26 to 33 A.D. Jesus’ ministry began precisely in the midst of that week, in the fall of 29 A.D., with His baptism on the Day of Atonement. The crucifixion occurred at the end of the week, in the spring of 33 A.D., which was precisely 490 years after Ezra began his journey to Jerusalem. The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ signaled the end of the 70 weeks.  There may be some intense tribulation within the next few years, but there is no future week of seven years.

Further Ideas & Comments

THE SINNER”S PRAYER – No Author

http://www.bible.ca/g-sinners-prayer.htm

No one in the Bible ever prayed for their initial salvation. They did however believe, repent, confess Jesus and be immersed in water for the forgiveness of their sins. The sinner’s prayer is an innovation that thwarts God's plan of salvation.

Hundreds of millions hold to a belief system and salvation practice that no one had ever held until relatively recently. The notion that one can pray Jesus into his or her heart and that baptism is merely an outward sign are actually late developments. The prayer itself dates to the Billy Sunday era; however, the basis for talking in prayer for salvation goes back a few hundred years.

Consider the following appeal:

"Just accept Christ into your heart through prayer and he'll receive you. It doesn't matter what church you belong to or if you ever do good works. You'll be born again at the moment you receive Christ. He's at the door knocking. You don't even have to change bad habits, just trust Christ as Savior. God loves you and forgives you unconditionally. Anyone out there can be saved if they ... Accept Christ, now! Let us pray for Christ to now come into your heart."

The fact that John Nelson Darby invented the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine around 1830 AD is unquestionably true. All attempts to find evidence of this wild doctrine before 1830 have failed.

All premillennialists, rapturists and dispensationalists alive today believe the Bible reveals the general era of when Christ will return. The date setters of the 1800's (Seventh-day Adventists who are date setting premillennialists who reject the rapture, Jehovah's Witnesses who have set many dates) based their predictions upon speculative arrangements of numbers and chronologies in the Bible. Today's date setters without exception wrongly believe that Israel gaining state hood in 1948 fulfilled Bible prophecy and that Christ would return within one generation.

Most of the TV preachers who promote rapture and/or "date set" all wrongly believe they are a prophet of God with special illumination. Pentecostals believe they are inspired directly from the Holy Spirit as modern day prophets. Baptists believe they are illuminated with guidance from the Holy Spirit through the Calvinist doctrine of Irresistible grace.

Darby noted that the doctrine "popped into his head" in 1830 AD. Before this, no one had ever heard of a secret rapture doctrine.

Modern influences of Darby include Dallas Theological Seminary, Bob Jones University, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, Jack Van Impe and Harold Camping, the Scofield Reference Bible.

"When the theory of a secret coming of Christ was first brought forward (about the year 1832), it was adopted with eagerness; it suited certain preconceived opinions.

The Dallas Theological Seminary and Bob Jones University have been the centers of propagation of false doctrine of the Rapture.

John Nelson Darby is regarded by many as the father of premillennial dispensationalism and the most influential figure in the development of its prodigy, i.e. Christian Zionism