It seems that dispensationalism is back in the news. If you have no idea what dispensationalism is, then just think end-times prophecy, Christian Zionism, the rapture of the church, the Left Behind books, 666, and the rise of the Antichrist all mixed together into a Mike Huckabee-Tucker Carlson interview.
Fun stuff!
I was exposed to dispensational theology shortly after coming to faith in Jesus Christ as a twelve year old. I am a visual thinker and one thing that dispensationalists have is lots of cool charts and visuals! One of the earliest books that I can remember thumbing through was Clarence Larkin’s Dispensational Truth. One picture of a lion-like beast with seven heads and ten horns with blood dripping from one of its mouths was enough to get me hooked.
I cut my teeth on dispensationalism before finally entering into a conservative evangelical Bible College that taught dispensationalist theology and then into a seminary with strong, deep roots in dispensationalism.
It wasn’t until my doctoral studies at a Reformed seminary that I encountered the first real pushback to my dispensationalist mindset. Actually it wasn’t pushback as much as it was wide-eyed shock that I actually was in an advanced degree program (at a Reformed seminary no less) and held to such crazy beliefs.
I can still remember the conversation.
The Left Behind books were in their heydey…all 666 of them…or how ever many volumes there were. And a few fellow students were talking about how crazy the books were and how some people in their churches were reading them. It was creating a stir and most of these Reformed pastors were not too happy about it.
“Can you believe how crazy this stuff is?” they would say. “Can you believe anyone believes it? I keep telling my people to throw those books away.”
In their minds, it was a Cracker Jack, comic book kind of theology.
And, to be honest, I didn’t like the books either. Yes, they were kind of interesting early on…and, for the most part, I would agree with Tim LaHaye’s broad chronology and theology regarding the end times. But as the series progressed, they became more and more unbelievable and “superhero-ish.” I mean one of the main “heroes” is a guy named Buck Williams. And he is sort of a Ethan Hunt-Jack Bauer-MacGyver kind of character all wrapped up into one.
Actually, I think I put the books down and never read them again after I got to the part where a bunch of locusts with little human faces were yelling, “Apollyon! Apollyon!”
That’s weirder than the seven-headed, ten-horned lion thing.
But back to that day in the Reformed seminary… I heard them talking about how stupid dispensationalism was and I chimed in and said, “Yeah, I don’t like the books either but I hold to a dispensationalist theology.” That was when the shocked looks hit me. And that was when I really began to understand how crazy dispensational theology can appear to those on the outside looking in.
And, unfortunately, some dispensationalist (or pseudo-dispensationalist) preachers don’t help our case.
One of the things that I often say when discussing end-time prophecy in the Bible is “be careful because all the nutcakes are in our camp.”
And they are.
So why in the world am I still a dispensationalist?
Because I believe the core tenets of dispensationalism are taught in the Bible and I believe that it makes the most sense with what has occurred in history and what is occurring today.
Let me give you my brief defense of dispensationalism from both a historical and biblical perspective.
1. The early church was almost unanimously premillennial in their theology.
In most theological circles today, the biggest charge against dispensationalism is, “Well, it can’t be true because it wasn’t developed until the 19th century.” It is considered the theological newcomer on the block and a modern aberration from historical Christian belief.
Well, yes and no.
There are some aspects of dispensationalism that were fleshed out later in church history but the core idea of a literal 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth after His second coming (often referred to as “chialism”) was the almost-universal belief of the early church.
There will be a millennium after the resurrection of the dead, when the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this earth. (Papias of Hierapolis, AD 60-130)
I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, as the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare. (Justin Martyr, AD 100-165)
We do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem… (Tertullian, AD 150-229)
In fact, the renowned church historian, Phillip Schaff (1819-93), once said:
The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment.
When you read Irenaeus’ classic tome, Against Heresies (~AD 180), you can almost swear at times that you are reading some crazy “end-times preacher” today.
For the Antichrist being endued with all the power of the devil, shall come, not as a righteous king, nor as a legitimate king, in subjection to God, but an impious, unjust, and lawless one…as a robber, concentrating in himself all satanic apostasy, and setting aside idols to persuade men that he himself is God…
Daniel, looking forward to the end of the last kingdom, i.e., the ten last kings, amongst whom the kingdom of those men shall be partitioned, and upon whom the son of perdition shall come, declares that ten horns shall spring from the beast, and that another little horn shall arise in the midst of them, and that three of the former shall be rooted up before his face…
There is therefore in this beast, when he comes, a recapitulation made of all sorts of iniquity and of every deceit, in order that all apostate power, flowing into and being shut up in him, may be sent into the furnace of fire. Fittingly, therefore, shall his name possess the number six hundred and sixty-six…
When the Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for 3 ½ years and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in the times of the kingdom for the righteous. (Irenaeus, AD 130-202)
This was the standard, orthodox belief in the early church regarding the end times. It wasn’t until the 4th century, through the teaching of Augustine and the rising power of the church, that this belief in a literal Antichrist, a literal fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, a literal seven-year tribulation, and a literal 1000-year reign of Christ on earth would be cast aside for a more spiritualized, non-literal interpretation of prophecy.
2. Daniel’s 70-weeks prophecy is the template for understanding the book of Revelation and the end times as a whole.
Irenaeus (along with many other early church theologians) based much of his interpretation of the end times on the prophecy of Daniel in Daniel 9:24-27.
It is an amazing prophecy…one of the greatest in Scripture.
The prophet Daniel, fervently praying for the restoration of his nation, Israel, while in captivity in Babylon, is given a glimpse into the future. God, through the angel Gabriel, reveals that 70 “weeks” or, literally, “seventy sevens,” are determined for the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. These “seventy sevens” only make sense as a time period of 490 years.
With this timeframe in mind, Daniel 9 predicts the rebuilding of Jerusalem (which was lying in ruins at the time), the coming of the Messiah (to the exact date!), the “cutting off” of the Messiah (in rejection and death), the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem and the temple again (which happened in AD 70), the coming of a future false leader who makes a seven-year covenant with a future restored Israel, the breaking of the covenant at the mid-point (i.e., 3 1/2 years), the “abomination of desolations” (which Paul interprets as the Antichrist demanding worship of himself in the temple, 2 Thess. 2:1-12), and the summing up of all prophecy and the restoration of all things at the end of the age.
It is a stunning prophecy.
(For a detailed explanation of Daniel 9, you can watch this sermon or read this short article or this academic article.)
Are there differences of opinion on interpreting Daniel 9?
Absolutely.
But almost all biblical scholars acknowledge that the prophecy concerns Christ’s death and the destruction of the temple in AD 70. The question is really over how to interpret any future implications of this prophecy…if it indeed has any.
Irenaeus certainly thought it had future implications and he was writing after the destruction of the temple. He was also the disciple of Papias who was the disciple of the apostle John. So we are only talking two generations from the writing of the book of Revelation. And this was, according to Irenaeus, the standard interpretation of Daniel and Revelation in the early church.
Plus, according to Daniel 9:24, the completion of this prophecy marks the completion of all prophecy and the bringing in of all righteousness. So if you think that the Bible still has something to say about the future and you think that this world is far from being restored to full righteousness, then you have to acknowledge that there is still a future aspect to Daniel 9.
3. God still has a future purpose and plan for national, ethnic Israel.
If Daniel 9 has future implications, then there is still one “week” (i.e., seven years) appointed for the nation of Israel that is yet to be fulfilled. This one week of seven years is often called the tribulation (as Jesus called it in Matthew 24). It will begin with some kind of seven-year treaty of peace with the nation of Israel that will be broken at the mid-point with the “abomination of desolation” in the Jewish temple.
Taking this prophecy at face value means that there has to be a nation of Israel, that there has to be a future temple in Jerusalem, and that there has to be a desperate desire for peace in the Middle East.
This is why the formation of Israel as a nation in 1948 has such major implications when it comes to biblical prophecy. And even if you don’t believe in biblical prophecy, it is still amazing that a conquered nation and a scattered people and a dead language can all be revived after almost 1900 years of national stasis and in the midst of a strangely pervasive, widely practiced antisemitism in the world.
Paul affirms God’s future purpose and plan for national, ethnic Israel in Romans 11…and most biblical scholars don’t see a way around this.
This is not a side issue. Israel’s existence and her future salvation are pivotal in Scripture, rooted in the Abrahamic Covenant which is at the center of God’s redemptive plan on earth. Read my previous post on this topic or read all the biblical verses which reiterate God’s promise of the land to Israel if you still struggle with this idea.
It was this promise of the restoration of Israel and the future kingdom on earth that the disciples were most concerned about in Acts 1.
“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
This question was after forty days of being instructed by the resurrected Lord regarding the kingdom (Acts 1:3). If the disciples were totally mistaken, then Jesus certainly would have rebuked them like He did many times before.
“O ye of little faith, why are you still so thick-headed? Don’t you see that there is no future plan for Israel and that there is no earthly kingdom?”
Yes, Jesus did redirect their thinking to the task at hand but He did not correct or contradict their future hope in the kingdom. In fact, Peter is still preaching about this hope after being filled with the Spirit.
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:19-21)
4. Jesus Christ will rapture His church, quite likely before a future seven-year tribulation in which God is working through the nation of Israel.
Okay, here is where things get dicey.
Ask someone what most bothers them about dispensationalists and usually somewhere near the top of the list is this crazy belief in a “secret rapture” of the church. This is the basis of the whole Left Behind series…and all the less than convincing Hollywood movies which tried to depict it.
Empty clothes on the couch. Empty shoes on the floor. Planes crashing. Cars wrecking. Millions of people disappearing into thin air. Poor lost pets having no more owners to feed them or take care of them. By the way, there is help for that :>)
And this is where wild-eyed preachers get even weirder when they set dates and interpret every little news story or “blood moon” or “solar eclipse” or event in the Middle East as some kind of definitive sign of the end of the world.
But setting aside all the crazy pictures and thoughts that people may have about the rapture, it is still taught in Scripture.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)
That word “caught up” is a Greek word which basically means “to snatch away.” It is the basis of the Latin word, raptura, from which we get our English word, “rapture.”
So there it is. Christ descends from heaven. The dead in Christ are resurrected. And those believers who are alive are instantly “snatched away” to meet Jesus in the clouds.
Sounds crazy. But it is called the “blessed hope” and it is the prayer of the church from the first century until today. Maranatha! “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
So every Bible-believing Christian believes in a rapture. The question is when is it going to happen.
Non-dispensationalists generally place the “rapture” at the exact same moment as Jesus’ second coming in Revelation 19. Jesus appears in the clouds. All believers (dead and alive) meet Him in the air. And then Jesus and all believers come right back down with Him onto earth. Sort of a yo-yo effect.
This view makes sense and it is certainly a valid interpretation of 1 Thessalonians 4 and Revelation 19.
But there is an argument that can be made that the second coming of Christ happens in two phases (just as His first coming did). Jesus appears in the clouds. All believers (dead and alive) meet Him in the air. There is a time of tribulation on earth in which God works once again primarily through the nation of Israel (i.e., Daniel’s 70th week). Israel thus fulfills the mission of being God’s witnesses to the world which they failed at previously. All the world is given a second chance to believe (though at great cost and in the worst of conditions) and then Jesus Christ returns with His church in Revelation 19.
This idea of a “secret rapture” may even be taught by Jesus in Matthew 24:36-44. You can listen to my defense of this interpretation here.
It may sound convoluted but just imagine a bunch of Jewish theologians (and a few Persian magi) gathered together before Christ’s first coming. If someone said, “Well, I think Scripture teaches that the Messiah will come in two phases. I believe that He will be born into the world as a little baby, that He will be eventually rejected by Israel and crucified on a cross, that He will be physically resurrected and ascend into heaven, that Jerusalem will be completely destroyed again, that Gentiles will come to faith all over the world, that Jews will be scattered on earth for close to 2000 years, and then the Messiah will come back again to establish His kingdom on earth.” I am sure that most of those around him would look at him rather strangely and say, “That’s crazy!”
But that is exactly what God did.
So the question is not “is it crazy?” but is it a defensible understanding of Scripture. Hey, if you believe that God became a human baby, that Jesus did miracles on earth, that Jesus physically rose from the dead, and that Jesus is coming back on a white horse in the clouds, then you are already crazy according to the world’s standards!
As Festus yelled at the apostle Paul in Acts 26:24.
“Paul, you are insane! Too much study has made you crazy!”
You can call me crazy along with Paul.
5. All Bible-believing Christians are “dispensational” to some degree.
The word “dispensationalist” carries lots of connotations in today’s theological circles but, again, the word is biblical. Paul uses it to describe “the dispensation of the fullness of times” in Ephesians 1:10.
It is a Greek word, oikonomia, which basically means “the management of a household.”
The best way I can illustrate it is to describe my own “management of my household.”
When I was single and living in New Orleans, I managed my “household” in a certain way. Basically my house was a mess with an ugly green recliner which I loved to sit in. When Liz and I got married, our household management changed. The green recliner was cast to the curb. Things were managed differently. A few years later, when we started having kids, our household management changed again. Schedules changed. Sleep changed. Responsibilities changed. Finances changed. Plans changed. Diapers changed! As our four boys grew, things changed again. Taekwondo classes. School lessons. Chores. Rules. Discipline. When the boys reached their teenage years, our household management transitioned again. Football practices. Driving lessons. Increased food bills. Girlfriends. School dances. College visits. Lots of prayer! Now that we are empty nesters, our household management has changed again. Eating out. Watching movies together. Calling the boys and their wives on the phone. Waiting for grandchildren :).
The point is that at different times, in the different seasons of our lives, we have “managed” things differently. These different seasons could be called the “dispensations” of our lives. At our core, we have not changed. Our values are the same. Our goals are the same. Our commitment to Christ and to one another is the same. But our “management style,” if you will, changed.
Thus a simplified dispensational way of thinking would say that God has changed “management styles” throughout history. If you don’t believe you need to make sacrifices at the temple, if you don’t think circumcision is necessary to be part of the covenant community, if you worship on Sunday instead of Saturday, if you practice baptism and the Lord’s Supper, if you believe in an “old” and “new” testament, then to some degree you are a “dispensationalist.”
God’s character has not changed. The core of the gospel has not changed. But God’s “management style” has changed at different times from the creation of the world until today.
So being a dispensationalist is a matter of degree.
Some take it too far. There are hyper-dispensationalists, just as there are hyper-Calvinists and hyper-charismatics. But dispensationalism as a whole, and rightly understood, is a legitimate, and even essential, understanding of Scripture.
So what am I? Am I a crazy dispensationalist?
I would call myself a sober-minded, gospel-centered, future-oriented, dispensational-guided believer in Jesus Christ.
Sober-minded. I try not to go crazy with every news story. The recent bombing of Iran may have significance but I simply do not know. When the US attacked Iraq in the early 1990’s, it sure seemed to point to something significant prophetically (and lots of books came out in response) but here we are 35 years later and the Iraq War may have moved some pieces in place but it certainly wasn’t the end of the world as we know it. Thus, it is always best to do what Scripture says:
The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. (1 Peter 4:7)
Gospel-centered. Just as Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:7-8:
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
There are some things we know and there are some things we do not. Jesus Christ could come back today. He could come back a thousand years from now. We simply do not know. But we do know what He has called us to in this present age. To be His witnesses. To proclaim the gospel. To make disciples of all the nations. This is to be our focus…not trying to figure out the date of Christ’s return or who the Antichrist is or what every news story or political decision may indicate prophetically.
Future-oriented. God is at work in our present world. He is moving all things according to the counsel of His will. His zeal is directed toward the day when Christ reigns on the throne of David in Jerusalem and all nations bow to Him. Thus, our hope is in the future. We don’t look backwards and wish for “the good ol’ days.” Instead we look forward to our “blessed hope” and the soon return of our Savior and God, Jesus Christ. There is nothing to fear in the future. This is where our hope is.
Dispensational-guided. Yes, I believe God still has a purpose for national, ethnic Israel. I believe God’s promises of the land in the Abrahamic Covenant are still valid. I believe in a literal fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the kingdom. I believe that Christ is returning to snatch away His church. I believe that Christ is going to reign for 1000 years on this earth. These things guide my understanding of Scripture. They also guide my support for the nation of Israel today. It doesn’t mean that I agree with everything Israel’s secular-minded government does but it does mean that I pray for the peace of Jerusalem and reject any notion of antisemitism.
Believer in Jesus Christ. Ultimately my faith is in Jesus Christ. He is the crucified Savior. He is the resurrected Lord. He is the coming King. He is my hope. He is my salvation. He is my strength. He is my song.
I confess with the church throughout history.
For us and for our salvation,
the Lord Jesus came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day He rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end. (Nicene Creed, AD 325)
Amen and amen!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
My wife and I just returned from the Canadian Rockies. It was one of the most beautiful places that we had ever seen. Snow-capped mountains. Turquoise lakes. Rushing, clear mountain streams. Wildlife and nature all around us. Absolutely, stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful.
You don’t see animals doing this. There are moose, marmots, birds, bears, cow elks, and chipmunks all over Banff and none of them are gathered together in groups, staring at the mountains, taking pictures, ooing and ahing at the beauty around them.
When you stare at the mountains and see the glory and majesty around you, it has a way of reminding you of how small you are and how big the universe is around you.
Awe expands your vision.
I don’t know how to describe it but there is something that wells up in you when you see something majestic, something glorious, something beautiful. You want to hold onto it. You want to share it with others. You want to give thanks to someone.
This is where it all leads.
