The Last Word on the Last Days: Part 1--Dispensationalism (click on the chart to enlarge!)

Looks pretty crazy doesn't it? Before I say a word about Dispensational Premillennial Pre-Tribulation Rapture Eschatology, I thought I'd give you an idea what I'm up against. Charts like this are common among folks who believe this Left Behind style end-times scheme. They are necessary because the plotlines are so stinkin' complicated that you have to write them down to get a grip on their immensity. I'm going to stew this chart down to a tender seven or so points that I hope you can digest them, much like cooking up some good fresh green beans so they're easier to chew on.

Here goes:

1. In the OT God selected Abraham as the father of the Jews, to be His own nation. God made promises to Abe and His Seed that have never been revoked about giving him the land of Canaan, the covenant of circumcision, and about Abe being a blessing or a curse to all mankind.

2. The result of this was the Jewish nation, called forth to God's true worship from their pagan environment in Egypt, to whom He gave the land of Canaan, His Law, and many promises.

3. The Jews went through periods of disobedience and obedience throughout their history, with God saying that He would eventually establish His eternal Kingdom, involving the Jews, at some point in the future. The prophets elaborated on Deuteronomy during this time as it pertained to a future prophet, like Moses, whom the Jews called Messiah, who would inaugurate the Kingdom and deliver them. The prophet Daniel alluded to a "stone cut without hands" (Christ the Messiah) in his visions that would destroy all the empires of the world and rule. The prophet Daniel specifically foretold that 483 years would occur from his time till Messiah's coming, and that at the end of this time (69 prophetic weeks), the prince/prophet/Messiah would die and a nation would destroy the Jews. The 70th week would see a future destroyer who would attack God's people and then be destroyed. The "stone cut without hands" would be the only Kingdom left--Messiah and His Kingdom (interpreted to be only the Jews by some Jews).

4. Christ came to the Jews in the Roman occupation period of history. He was the promised Messiah and King. The Jews did not understand the Trinity, which they couldn't see in the OT, and furthermore, Jesus did not meet their expectations as a military leader, so they killed Him. What they didn't know is that He was the Messiah, yet His first coming did not start with world conquest, but the conquest of sin, Satan, and death. They couldn't even see His role as a sacrifice for sin, though they killed sacrifices for their sins all the time.

5. The Jews, having rejected the Kingdom, were rejected by God as the main agents of redemption of the world for a while, while the church age, a "mystery" to the OT prophets (Col. 1:26) was revealed to last for an indefinite time. This age could've lasted a few years, but its been now over 2000 years.

6. Most dispensationalists believe that the church age is not the full Kingdom of God described in the OT, therefore, Christ will return suddenly to "rapture" (catch up) the church before He brings tribulation on the earth. During the tribulation, the earth will suffer His wrath 7 years, but He will redeem Israel, which will begin to believe in Him and spread the Gospel like crazy. After His wrath is spent on the agents of Satan, they are consigned to hell, and Satan is locked-up. Those redeemed in the tribulation will unite with the raptured saints on earth in a 1000 year Kingdom under Jesus Christ, ruled from Jerusalem.

7. At the end of 1000 years, Satan is released from bondage for a while to recruit all remaining unbelievers throughout earth who will try to attack Christ. What results is their destruction by fire from heaven, the last judgment and finally, all the redeemed enter the eternal state in a new heaven and earth, while all the unbelieving, evil people are consigned with Satan to eternal hell. So ends the history of sin and death in this world.

*Points are Scripture referenced as follows: 1)Genesis 12-25 2)The rest of the Pentateuch 3)The OT History Books, The Psalms, The Prophets (mainly) 4)The Gospels (note Matthew's many citations of the Prophets and Psalms) 5)The Gospels and Letters
6) The Gospels, Letters, Revelation, The Prophets 7) The Revelation

Wow! Isn't that a mouthful! The issues are too many and too big to address pro-con debate style, so let me make a few remarks and we'll be done.

1. Dispensationalism is highly Scriptural, which is its appeal. It hits on Scripture after Scripture, giving them historical tags. No wonder people like this--its history beforehand. People like that certainty and predictability. They like the fact that every base is covered. However, there are many weak links in the chain, given that many of its scripture-based interpretations are dubious (for fun, try to distinguish Christ's coming in the Rapture vs. His 3rd Coming in Judgment from a simple reading of the NT).

2. Dispensationalism is a new phenomenon. It's about 150 years old. It was invented by the Brethren Christian Community in Europe/Britian and formalized by John Nelson Darby circa 1830. This is not considered a liability by dispensationalists, since the people near the end were expected to understand prophecy better, since the times of fulfillment were at hand. However, this leaves the question: "Why did no one come to this view before 1830?" It's not easy to answer why some enlightened interpreter of Scripture didn't come to it earlier. (Also see Revelation 1:1)

3. Dispensationalism also carries the baggage of its namesake--the Dispensational periods included in the original scheme. These aided in distinguishing periods of history, since dispensationalists make radical differences in between different periods of redemption history, the biggest being Jewish Kingdom of Heaven vs. Christian church. Again, this requires some interpretive gymnastics, which I won't go into here much, except to say that the NT regards the 1st Coming of Christ as the inauguration of His Kingdom, howbeit in the hearts of men (Matthew 12:28).

There's my first post. Dispensationalism is very complicated and teaches many unlikely doctrines, strung together from many proof-texts. It also teaches much truth. I would say my own end times view is akin to dispensationalism in some ways, and not in others. In my opinion, the ideas in my 3 points are my problems with it. In my following posts I'll consider the amount of strengths and weaknesses of dispensationalism as well as the next view I look at. I'll do that until I reach a conclusion, at which point we'll be able to see each view's strengths and weaknesses.

Hope you enjoy the journey.

His peace,

Greg

PS Dispensationalists can be Baptist, Methodist, Charismatic, whatever...the system is ubiquitous among Evangelicals. Most of the mainline denominations (Presbyterian, Episcopal, Catholic, etc.) are wary of it.