Apologetics
Why I am a Classic Dispensationalist.
Let me take you on a visit to the auditorium of Religious Thought. They are holding an open house for all new converts and recent arrivals to the College of Life.
All who live on planet Earth must make a decision as to which of the following groups he or she will follow. Their eternal life and destiny depends upon that one decision!
Let’s have some fun now, talk of theology, dispensations and hermeneutics to name just a few, well, it can tend to be a bit much for the beginning student of scriptural studies. Let’s pretend that the opposing views are college fraternities vying for our membership.
In this corner of the auditorium we have the Amillennialists. Their area is decorated in the glitzy attire of the Hollywood crowd, all sparkle and fashion, but no substance.
They claim to be different from the world, yet when pressed as to their stance on the scriptural issues of interpretation and dispensations, they use vague, often contradicting statements!
Talk of the Church and Israel being somehow connected don’t make sense! They spiritualize the scriptures in ways that it seems like we should be standing on a cloud with our halos and harps!
When pressed further for more substance, thoughts about the millennial kingdom come to mind.
As I inquire of this line of thinking, they start to get agitated by my insistence for more information.
The answers come back, hollow, empty. They have no millennial kingdom to come; Jesus is already on His throne in heaven, ruling His kingdom. So they say this is as good as it gets!
With that, I am depressed (I wasn’t when I first came in) by their answers to just a few questions. If there is no future to look forward to, give me a gun, I’ll get it over with now and save the wait!
Then my ears catch the sound from across the room, it’s the Progressive Dispensationalists.
There are high powered search lights roaming over the ceiling in a crisscross pattern, loud exciting music going, let’s not forget the scantily clad dancers on stage! Everywhere can be seen the words, “NEW and IMPROVED!”
As the song and dance show comes to an end, I find a place down front and a person who I can talk with about their position on some key issues.
They claim to be a new and improved version of the normal dispensationalists, yet their words are as empty as the other group I have talked with today.
“We were once part of the “Normal’s”, much like yourself, but NOW we have a new way of looking at things, there is no need for the old rigid ways anymore!” they tell me.
God moves in progressive ways to make known to man the ways of salvation. As before, Christ is seated on the throne of David in heaven! They somehow have merged New Testament hermeneutics to add and change Old Testament revelations. The overall purpose of God is Christology! No longer is the purpose of God to glorify Himself, but Christ!
That shoots this one in the foot for me! Let me out of here! I make a hasty retreat.
The only other group that is left to see is the Ultra dispensationalists; I can’t seem to find where they’re located at. I ask someone I see and find out that they’re at the end of a long, dark service hallway.
As I get closer, I don’t hear any music or see any flashy lights, just the dim light coming from a low watt light bulb overhead in the hallway. I meet a man coming out of their location and I stop him so I can ask some questions.
All he wants to do is tell me a joke about the group of people taking a tour of heaven. They see all of the sights in heaven except for the one fenced off area. The tour guide told the people to all to be quiet. When asked by one of the people why, he told them that this was the Baptist area, they think they’re the only ones up here!
That may be stretching the truth a bit, I’ll admit to that! Their belief that the church started “after” Pentecost instead of “on” Pentecost has been a problem for many.
There is also the issue that has not been addressed, that of what happens to us when we die. They believe that our soul sleeps or in some cases is annihilated, hence the term, “soul sleep”.
Let’s not forget their views about the Lord’s Supper and water baptism! Nix those two from the list!
After hearing these things, I made an extremely quick retreat out of their area and back to the main auditorium!
I have examined all three fraternities and not been encouraged by any of them! Quite the opposite is true, I felt more discouraged by their lack of hope in any future time or help in our own age.
Our time to select is over, what was your choice? I have failed to leave out the group that I have personally chosen to follow, the Literalists.
As an author, I write very plainly. The words I use are literal; I use descriptive words to bring my message across. I try not to spiritualize things.
I want the reader, from whatever part of the world they’re at to be able to understand my words.
If I, writing earthly, non-spiritual words use the literal method, why should God, who has a far more important message to deliver, not use plain words?
His words are of life, they are as important now as when they were first penned!
He reveals Himself differently throughout time as His plan changes for man. With sin being the governing factor in mankind, God could not use the same method to deal with man throughout all of the ages.
Adam was shown only a small part of Gods plan and as each age progressed, more of knowledge about God was entrusted to man.
With the increased knowledge of God, He added more responsibility on man. It became harder and harder to please God.
Then when it seemed that there was no end in sight to the law, the Father sent Jesus, “born of a woman, born under the law.” Gal. 4:4.
Jesus, at the moment of His death, was the fulfillment of the law!
Instead of having to follow the law, we by faith accept Jesus as our only hope for eternal life. He paid our sin debt so that we wouldn’t.
Now as we wait for the culmination of this present age (grace/church), we can only look forward to the next age (millennial) when we wilt have complete, uninterrupted fellowship with God, our eternal Father and His Son, Jesus!
Any method of theology that does not use the literal method of interpreting the scriptures, and thereby accepting the “fact” that God does deal with man differently in each time period, should be singled out, marked and the masses should be warned of their faults.
This is my personal viewpoint that I live by. Any of my own writings can be examined at any time for any error in my personal theology.
To summarize the matter at hand, the right method of interpretation brings about the proper conclusions about God and His dealing with mankind.
If we base our belief on our own ideas and thoughts, being flawed from the beginning because of our sin nature, then we produce a flawed theology.
This becomes more of a problem when we share our flawed beliefs with others, now they are led astray!
Fact, God cares for His creation mankind and wants us to know Him intimately. He reveals Himself through His word, the Bible. He makes His words to be understood by all of mankind.
* *
Note
This was my first research paper, up to that point I had never written one! I did not include any of the usual features, foot notes, and bibliography, the professor made me aware of my errors and I corrected them on my next paper written for him! We still laugh about this paper that is why I left it in tact as it was originally written.
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