Dispensationalism and
Covenant Theology
1
Dispensationalism is a Protestant
evangelical tradition based on a
biblical hermeneutic that sees a
series of chronologically successive
"dispensations" or periods in history
in which God relates to human
beings in different ways under
different Biblical covenants. As a
system, dispensationalism is rooted
in the writings of John Nelson Darby
(1800–1882) and the Brethren
Movement.
2
The theology of dispensationalism
consists of a distinctive
eschatological "end times"
perspective, as all dispensationalists
hold to premillennialism and most
hold to a pretribulation rapture.
Dispensationalists believe that the
nation of Israel is distinct from the
Church,[3]:322 and that God has yet to
fulfill His promises to national Israel.
3
These promises include the land
promises, which in the future
result in a millennial kingdom
where Christ, upon His return, will
rule the world from Jerusalem for
a thousand years. In other areas
of theology, dispensationalists
hold to a wide range of beliefs
within the evangelical and
fundamentalist spectrum.
4
The label "dispensationalism" is derived
from the idea that biblical history is best
understood through division into a series
of chronologically successive
dispensations. The number of
dispensations held are typically three, four,
seven or eight. The three- and fourdispensation schemes are often referred
to as minimalist, as they recognize the
commonly held major breaks within
Biblical history.
5
6
These different dispensations
are not separate ways of
salvation. During each of them
man is reconciled to God in
only one way, i.e. by God's
grace through the work of
Christ that was accomplished
on the cross and vindicated in
His resurrection.
7
Before the cross, man was saved
on the basis of Christ's atoning
sacrifice to come, through
believing the revelation thus far
given him. Since the cross, man
has been saved by believing on
the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom
revelation and redemption are
consummated.
8
Although the divine revelation
unfolds progressively, the deposit
of truth in earlier time-periods is not
discarded, rather it is cumulative.
Thus conscience (moral
responsibility) is an abiding truth in
human life (Ro. 2:15; 9:1; 2 Co.
1:12; 4:2), although it does not
continue as a dispensation.
9
In every past dispensation
unregenerate man has failed, and is
failing in the present dispensation,
and will fail in the future until
Eternity arrives. But salvation has
been and will continue to be
available to him by God's grace
through faith. (The New Scofield
Study Bible, NIV 1984 Edition , pg.
3-4)
10
The relationship between the
ancient nation of Israel and the
church as the people of God is
the key discriminator between
Dispensationalism and other
views.
11
In the dispensational view, the time in
which the church operates, known as the
church age or the Christian dispensation,
represents a "parenthesis". That is, it is
an interruption in God's dealings with the
Jewish people as a nation as described in
the Old Testament, and it is the time
when the Gospel was preached and
salvation in the present age is offered to
the Gentiles and Jews alike.
12
God’s continued care for the
Jewish people as a nation will be
revealed after the end of the
church age when Israel will be
restored to their land and will
accept Jesus as their messiah
and therefore "all Israel shall be
saved."
13
Jesus Christ will then sit on the
throne of David and will begin
the Theocratic Davidic
Kingdom which is promised in
numerous places in the Old
Testament, in which believers
and Christ reign together on
the earth from Israel
14
Contrasted with this view are Roman
Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy,
Anglicanism, Covenant Theology, and
New Covenant Theology. In
Catholicism and Covenantalism, the
church is not a replacement for the
nation of Israel but an expansion of it
where Gentiles are, in the words of
Romans 11, "grafted into" the existing
covenant community.
15
All of these groups expect there will be
an influx of Jews to the church before
the second coming of Christ. However,
dispensationalists do not view the
Church as the promised covenanted
kingdom in Old Testament prophecy.
They believe such a kingdom is still
promised to the Jews during the New
Testament era, i.e. in Acts 3:19-21
16
Acts 3: 18 – 21
18 But those things, which God before had
shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that
Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that
your sins may be blotted out, when the times
of refreshing shall come from the presence of
the Lord. 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ,
which before was preached unto you: 21
Whom the heaven must receive until the times
of restitution of all things, which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began.
17
Dispensationalism was first introduced
to North America by John Inglis (1813–
1879), through a monthly magazine
called Waymarks in the Wilderness
(published intermittently between 1854
and 1872).[ In 1866, Inglis organized
the Believers' Meeting for Bible Study,
which introduced dispensationalist
ideas to a small but influential circle of
American evangelicals.
18
The energetic efforts of C.I. Scofield and
his associates introduced
dispensationalism to a wider audience in
America and bestowed a measure of
respectability through his Scofield
Reference Bible. The publication of the
Scofield Reference Bible in 1909 by the
Oxford University Press was something of
an innovative literary coup for the
movement, since for the first time, overtly
dispensationalist notes were added to the
pages of the biblical text.
19
The Scofield Reference Bible became
the leading Bible used by independent
Evangelicals and Fundamentalists in
the U.S. for the next sixty years.
Evangelist and Bible teacher Lewis
Sperry Chafer (1871–1952), who was
strongly influenced by C.I. Scofield,
founded Dallas Theological Seminary
in 1924, which has become the
flagship of Dispensationalism in
America.
20
Dispensationalism has come to
dominate the American
Evangelical scene, especially
among nondenominational Bible
churches, many Baptists, and
most Pentecostal and Charismatic
groups, while mainline Protestants
generally continue to reject
dispensationalism.
21
"Ultra" Dispensationalists hold to the
belief that the Church wasn't started till
after the stoning of Stephen. The first
reference to the church the body of
Christ is in Romans and unlike most
other dispensationalists they believe
that the church started after Acts 2.
Some begin the church with the
salvation of Saul in Acts 9, while
others move to Acts 13 with Paul's first
missionary journey.
22
Dispensationalism rejects the notion of
supersessionism, sees the Jewish people
as the true people of God, and sees the
modern State of Israel as identical to the
Israel of the Bible. John Nelson Darby
taught, and most subsequent
dispensationalists have consistently
maintained, that God looks upon the Jews
as his chosen people even as they remain
in rejection of Jesus Christ, and God
continues to have a place for them in the
dispensational, prophetic scheme of things.
23
Christian Dispensationalists sometimes
embrace what some critics have
pejoratively called Judeophilia—ranging
from support of the state of Israel, to
observing traditional Jewish holidays
and practicing traditionally Jewish
religious rituals. Dispensationalists
typically support the modern state of
Israel, recognize its existence as God
revealing His Will for the Last Days,
and reject anti-Semitism.
24
Covenant theology (also known
as Covenantalism or Federal
theology or Federalism) is a
conceptual overview and
interpretive framework for
understanding the overall flow of
the Bible. It uses the theological
concept of covenant as an
organizing principle for Christian
theology.
25
The standard description of
covenant theology views the
history of God's dealings with
mankind in all of history, from
Creation to Fall to Redemption to
Consummation, under the
framework of three overarching
theological covenants — the
covenants of redemption, of works,
and of grace.
26
Covenant theology is often
referred to as "supersessionism,"
or "replacement theology" by its
detractors, due to the perception
that it teaches that God has
abandoned the promises made to
the Jews and has replaced the
Jews with Christians as his
chosen people in the earth.
27
Covenant theologians deny that
God has abandoned his promises
to Israel, but see the fulfillment of
the promises to Israel in the
person and the work of the
Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who
established the church in organic
continuity with Israel, not a
separate replacement entity.
28
Covenant of Redemption
The covenant of redemption is
the eternal agreement within
the Godhead in which the
Father appointed the Son
Jesus Christ by the power of
the Holy Spirit to redeem his
elect people from the guilt and
power of sin.
29
Covenant of Works
The covenant of works was made in
the Garden of Eden between God and
Adam who represented all mankind
as a federal head. (Romans 5:12-21) It
promised life for obedience and
death for disobedience. Adam, and all
mankind in Adam, broke the
covenant, thus standing condemned.
30
Covenant of Grace
The covenant of grace promises eternal life
for all people who receive forgiveness of sin
through Christ. He is the substitutionary
covenantal representative fulfilling the
covenant of works on their behalf, in both the
positive requirements of righteousness and
its negative penal consequences It is the
historical expression of the eternal covenant of
redemption. Genesis 3:15, with the promise of a
"seed" of the woman who would crush the
serpent's head, is usually identified as the
historical inauguration for the covenant of grace.
31
Adamic covenant
Noahic covenant
Abrahamic covenant
Mosaic covenant
Davidic covenant
New Covenant
32
33
The following are quotations from:
Dispensationalism – A Reformed
Evaluation by J. Ligon Duncan,
PCA
34
Classic dispensationalism,
in addition to being
premillenial, is also
pretribulational. On the
other hand, most Covenant
Theologians have been
either post- or amillenial.
35
You can only have two views at
the time of the millenium. Christ is
either coming before or after the
millenium. Those are the only two
possible views. So, amillenialism
is a subcategory of
postmillenialism. All believers are
either premillenialists or
postmillenialists.
36
Amillenialists tend to stress the
heavenly character of [the]
millennium. They will, for instance,
stress that the millenial reign is going
on now, in heaven. It is a spiritual
millenium. Whereas postmillenialists
tend to stress a more earthly character
to that millennium, and often times
project it as a golden age which is yet
to be experienced, but which will occur
before the time of Christ.
37
“ ...it is perhaps the fundamental
point of Dispensationalism that
Israel and the Church are distinct,
and the Law-Gospel distinction
must be preserved at all
costs. That is the very heart and
core of classic
dispensationalism. You should
never, ever mix up Law and Gospel,
and you should never ever mix up
38
Dispensationalists do not believe that the
Church is prophesied about in the Old
Testament. Covenant Theology on the other
hand, sees the Church as the fulfillment of
Israel in New Covenant prophecy. Covenant
Theology is happy to acknowledge the
uniqueness of the Church, especially in its
post Pentecost phase. But Covenant
Theology sees all believers in essential
continuity. There are not two peoples of God.
There is one people of
God. Dispensationalism, however, contends
that God has two peoples with two destinies.
39
Some modern dispensationalists generally argue
that the saving faith of the Old Testament was
substantially and materially different from the
saving faith of the New Testament. They tend to
argue that sinners in the Old Testament were not
justified by faith in the Gospel of the Messiah as
sin-bearer (Christ crucified), but rather their faith
was in promises that were peculiar to their
individual era in redemptive history. Now, this
isn’t just out of accord with Covenant
Theology, but this is the area where
dispensationalism has been most out of
accord with Protestant theology.
40
Hebrews 4: 1 – 2
1 Therefore, since a promise
remains of entering His rest, let us
fear lest any of you seem to have
come short of it. 2 For indeed the
gospel was preached to us as well
as to them; but the word which
they heard did not profit them, not
being mixed with faith in those
who heard it.
41
Dispensationalists speak in terms of
a literal interpretation of the
Bible. This is a major rhetorical thing
that you hear in discussion with
Dispensationalist friends. “We
interpret the Bible literally.” Of
course, the implication being that
you don’t. We interpret the Bible
literally, you don’t. You do
something else to it.
42
Covenant Theologians would
argue, ‘We interpret the Bible
literally, but, we believe that the
New Testament interprets the Old
Testament.” We believe that the
New Testament is the
hermeneutical manual for the Old
Testament. And Dispensationalists
are suspicious of that.
43
For the Covenant Theologian, the New
Covenant always has the final word as to
the meaning of the Old Covenant
passage. It doesn’t mean that you don’t
start with the original context, and that
you don’t bother yourself about original
intent, it just means that you recognize
from a biblical theological standpoint that
later revelation, by definition, controls the
final Systematic Theological
understanding of earlier revelation.
44
Acts 2 (NKJV)
14 But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, raised his voice and said to
them, “Men of Judea and all who
dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known
to you, and heed my words. 15 For
these are not drunk, as you suppose,
since it is only the third hour of the
day. 16 But this is what was spoken
by the prophet Joel:
45
Joel 2 (NKJV)
28 “ And it shall come to pass
afterward that I will pour out My Spirit
on all flesh; Your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old
men shall dream dreams, your young
men shall see visions.
46
For the Dispensational side, the Church is
a parenthesis in God’s program for the
ages. It is a temporary thing in the flow of
history. You have heard the phrase The
Great Parenthesis, which is used to
describe the time when Messiah came
and the Jews shockingly rejected
Him. This actually thwarted God’s plan,
because the original plan was for Messiah
to come and set up a kingdom in Israel,
but oops, the Jews rejected Him.......
47
At that point the prophetic clock stopped
and we entered into the period of the
Gentiles, the Great Parenthesis. That is a
period about which there was no prophecy
in the Old Testament. At the end of the
period of the Great Parenthesis, the end of
the time of the Gentiles, as the
Dispensationalists interpret that section in
Romans chapter 11, the Church is
removed. That is the rapture. Then the
prophetic clock starts ticking again, and
God’s dealings with Israel resume.
48
[This] gives you a clue as to why a
pre-tribulation rapture is so
important for consistent classical
Dispensationalism, because you
have to get rid of Gentile believers
in the program of God, before you
can get on with the work that God
is doing with literal physical
earthly Israel.
49
Pauline
Dispensationalism
50
Lehman Strauss wrote:

“the departure from the traditional
dispensational position is leading younger
students of God’s Word into the Covenant
Theology camp”

“For years I have been reading and studying
the Apostle Paul and his Church Epistles.
They are completely adequate for the life and
labors of every member of the Body of Christ.”
51
Paul R. Van Gorder wrote:



“Utter confusion reigns among evangelicals because
of the failure to rightly divide the Word, especially
the clear distinction between Israel and the Church”
“I am distressed with the teaching which
confuses Israel and the Church, Law and
Grace, Salvation and Discipleship”
“Sad, sad that many of God’s dear children seem to
know nothing more than Jesus of Nazareth in His
humiliation—while the risen, ascended, glorified Man
is ignored, or unknown”
52
“neo-dispensationalism”

This movement, recently emerging from Dallas
Theological Seminary and elsewhere, is
“contemporary,” and “progressive,” having left
Dallas’ founder, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, and his
Pauline Dispensationalism far, far behind.

The aim of Neo-Dispensationalism is to equate Israel
and the Church as much as possible, while at the
same time keeping them separate.
53
Pauline Dispensationalism
heavenly.
is
• The Christian whom Paul presents is heavenly;
• The Church that Paul presents is heavenly
— her Source is in heaven, although her birth
took place on earth on the Day of Pentecost.
She will return to her Source in heaven on the
Day of the Rapture
Neo-Dispensationalism is “progressing” on the horizontal,
kingdom level, and is already halfway to Covenant
Theology, which has always been on that earthly plane.54
Pauline
Dispensationalism
Coming onto Paul’s heavenly ground
results in a full escape from all earthly,
horizontal, New Covenant, Synoptic,
Sermon on the Mount, and Millennial
Kingdom influences.
55
The Church is to be
kept separate from
all else, including
Israel and her Law,
via clear-cut
Pauline
Dispensationalism.
56
Ephesians 5:25-27
. . . . Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify
her, having cleansed her by the washing of
water with the word, that He might present to
Himself the church in all her glory, having no
spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she
would be holy and blameless.
57
Two Gospels
The earthly (Kingdom) gospel
The heavenly (Grace) gospel
By Faith
58
The earthly gospel
ministered by Christ on
earth, during His pre-Cross
humiliation
exclusively addressed to
Israel regarding her
Millennial Kingdom
59
The Heavenly Gospel
ministered to Paul by the
glorified Lord Jesus
Christ; after Calvary,
from heaven
exclusively to and for His
chosen heavenly Body
60
Heaven-based Church
Pentecost
AD 30 a heavenly citizen,
Why
should
The Rapture
Acts 2:1-4
1 Thess. 4:13-17
“blessed with all spiritual
blessings in
heavenly places in Christ”, stoop to
purloin some “spiritual” blessing from
comparatively poor Israel?
Church Age
Here we are, in
the year 2004.
Human history
61
Infinitely Above
The Lord Jesus’ heavenly
Gospel in content and position
is infinitely above the Kingdom
Gospel that He shared with
earthly Israel —
which they rejected.
62
Those who do not center in the
truths which the ascended Lord
communicated directly to Paul
• will not know WHO they are in Christ
• will not know WHERE they are in Christ
• will not know WHAT their portion is in the
purpose of the Father
• will not know their PRIVILEGES and
RESPONSIBILITIES
They will constantly go astray in their interpretation
of the Gospel and the all-important Church truth
63
Dr. L.S. Chafer wrote:
"The laws of the Kingdom are
not required to be combined with
the teachings of Grace, since
every item within those laws
which could have any present
application, is exactly and amply
stated in the Pauline teachings of
Grace."
64
“You can evaluate a
man’s ministrY bY this
rule--is he Pauline?
Does his doctrine start
and finish according to
those statements of
Church truth
proclaimed by the
apostle paul?”
65
Would they substitute the synoptic
“Gospel of the Kingdom” for Paul’s
exclusive “glorious heavenly Gospel”?
Would they subject members of the heavenly
Body of the glorified Lord to Israel’s
earthly New Covenant,
her legal Sermon on the Mount,
and her Mosaic and Kingdom law systems -that to which the Christian has died?
66
Israel’s New Covenant
• Those who pander to Israel’s New Covenant,
and seek to participate in its “spiritual”
blessings, are simply playing into the hands of
– Amillennial Covenant Theology,
– its stepchild, Theonomy,
– as well as Judaistic Messianic Christianity.
• There is neither word nor inference in Israel’s
New Covenant concerning the Church
67
John Darby wrote:
“Covenant theology at the utmost, is forgiveness
of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns
their new position in the Lord Jesus Christ is ignored,
or alas! guarded against as dangerous.
“Men are placed under Israel’s New Covenant
which does not go beyond remission of sins and the
law written on the heart. But being new creations in
Christ Jesus, and knowing it by the Holy Spirit, and
what that involves now—that is not a part of their
creed.”
68
“We are come ‘to Jesus, the Mediator of
the new covenant’ (Heb. 12:24). We are not
come to the New Covenant, but to Jesus the
Mediator of it. We are associated with Him
who is the Mediator; that is a far higher
thing than if merely come to the Covenant.
He will make this New Covenant with Israel
on earth.”
—H.H. Snell
69
The Blood
heavenly Bride requires nothing from
earthly Israel and her coming kingdom.
 The
“Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the Holiest
by the Blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19)
 Israel, in
all her coming earthly glory, will never be
the recipient of anything like that!
70
The Holy Spirit

Israel’s indwelling will be for the purpose of
writing the theocratic law upon their hearts
and enabling them to walk in His kingdom
ordinances.
“After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My
law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts.” (Jer. 31:33)
“And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause
you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep
Mine ordinances, and do them” (Ezek. 36:27).
71
The Sermon
• Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, addressed to Israel, is the
next great leak in the Dispensational wall.
• There is nothing in the Sermon on the Mount that is not
superseded by Paul’s Church Epistles.
Nothing!
“The Sermon on the Mount is characterized--among other
things—by the absence of those elements which are
distinctly Christian, i.e., redemption by the Blood of
Christ, faith, regeneration, deliverance from judgment, the
Person and work of the Holy Spirit. The absence of these
vital elements cannot but arrest the attention of those who
are awake to, and jealous for, the faith once delivered to
the saints.” – Dr. L. S. Chafer
72
“KinGdom” –
the catchword from seminary
Church is a phase of Israel’s
future millennial kingdom;
 The
 There
is a recognition of a present
form of the theocratic kingdom:
“now/not yet.”
73
kingdomization
of the Church
Failure to distinguish between the
“kingdom of God,”
and the
”kingdom of heaven.”
74
Millennial Saint

The Christian is now joined to Christ and is one
spirit with Him.
“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2)

The future earthly kingdom saint will live here
on earth
 he will not be united to the Lord Jesus
 He will not be dead to the flesh and the
world
75
Millennial Saint
 The
great difference —
 the
heavenly saint has a standing of complete
deliverance from the man in the flesh;
 while the millennial saint will be through grace
empowered by the Spirit to do what God
requires from man in the flesh.
“For this is the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel after
those days, saith the Lord: I will put
My laws into their mind, and write
them in their hearts” (Heb. 8:10)
76
Millennial Saint

We — the heavenly believers -- have
“boldness to enter into the Holiest by
the Blood of Jesus... through the veil,
that is to say, His flesh”
(Heb. 10:19, 20).

The earthly millennial saint, though cleansed of
his sins by the Blood, cannot speak of being
inside the veil, because his dispensation is
connected with this earth.
77
Messianic Judaism
Hebrew Christianity by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum
• "What then is a Hebrew Christian? He is a Jew who believes
that Jesus Christ is his Messiah. He must acknowledge that
he is both a Jew and a Christian" (p. 12).
“There is neither Jew nor Greek… for ye
are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28)
• “If a Jew accepts baptism solely to lose his identity as a Jew,
he is by no means to be considered a Hebrew Christian; he is
a renegade, a traitor, and an apostate. A Hebrew Christian is
proud of his Jewishness” (p. 13).
78
“Judaism is not the bud that
blossomed into Christianity.
 ground


of relation-ship
Jew by physical birth
Christian by spiritual birth
 instruction on


Law for Israel
Grace for the Church
 sphere


the life
of existence
Israel on the earth
Church in heaven
79
Distinctive Gospels

The Church, the Body of Christ, into
which, in the Father's wondrous grace, we
have been called, is heavenly.

The Church has nothing to do with earth,
except to witness in the name of the Lord,
and then pass on into glory, into heaven,
her eternal Home.
80
Distinctive Gospels
Israel,
the chosen earthly nation,
The
Church,
the heavenly Body of Christ
81
Stephen Juncture
“the times of refreshing shall
come from the presence of the
Lord; and He shall send Jesus
Christ, who before was preached
unto you, whom the heaven must
receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which
God hath spoken by the mouth of
all His holy prophets since the
age began.” (Acts 3:19-21)
“This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so
come in like manner as ye have
seen Him go into heaven”
(Acts 1:11)
82
Stephen Juncture
He would come again to receive them
unto Himself, that where He was they
should be also
the leaders of Israel began to reject the
Gospel and persecute the apostles
they not only rejected but stoned to death
the witness of the Holy Spirit
now by the stoning of Stephen they
openly unmask and expose the hatred and
rebellion of their hearts to a glorified
Christ
83
Disciples - To Stephen - To Paul
The disciple’s Gospel was salvation
expecting Christ’s earthly return to
establish His Kingdom.
Stephen was witness to Christ’s “earthly”
presence and to His post-ascension
glorification.
Saul sees Him and is commissioned to be
a minister and a witness of the things that
he sees
84
Church Gospel
“Unto me, who am less than
the least of all saints, is this
grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of
Christ, and to make all men
see what is the fellowship of
the mystery, which from the
beginning of the ages hath
been hidden in God, who
created all things by Jesus
Christ” (Eph. 3:8, 9)
85
Church Gospel
“He preached Christ… that
He is the Son of God” (Acts
9:20)
“the Gospel of God (Rom. 1:1)
“the Gospel of His Son” (v. 9)
“my Gospel” (Rom. 16:25)
86
Established in the Cross of Christ
bearing in Himself the judgment on
man
He was made to be sin for us, that we
should be made the righteousness of
God in Him
the old man was crucified with Christ
the end of man in the flesh
87
Grace Reigns
“through righteousness to
eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord” (Rom. 5:21)
“ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit” (8:9).
“the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus” which has “made me
free from the law of sin and
death” (8:2)
“if any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of His” (8:9)
88
Paul’s Gospel
righteousness—the righteousness of God
established by Christ;
the judicial ending of the old man;
the gift of eternal life;
the Spirit of Christ;
so that Christ in me is the summing up, as well
as the fullness, of blessing.
89
Dr. Chafer Vs. Covenant Theology
he
faithfully sought to alert the Church
as to its doctrinal dangers
too
many dispensational leaders are
seeking dialogue and fellowship with
Covenant theologians
the
errors of Covenant Theology
90
Reformation Restraint



the Church is,
the Body of Christ,
the Bride of the Lamb
the Reformation did not recover this truth as
formerly it was held by the early Church;
that attitude of the theologians, being bound
and confined within the limitations of
Reformation truth, has been one of avoidance
of what to them seems new.
91
J. N. Darby & Company
The Plymouth Brethren movement
produced an expository literature
covering the entire Sacred Text which
is orthodox
free
from misconceptions
interprets
faithfully the entire field
of Biblical doctrine
92
J. N. Darby & Company

division in the ranks of orthodox men
 there
are those who are restricted in their
doctrinal viewpoint and who look upon added
truth as a departure from standard ideas and
therefore dangerous.
 there
are those who are constructing an
unabridged system of theology, and finding the
way into full-orbed harmony of truth and into
limitless fields of Biblical doctrine
93
Apocryphal Covenants
 The
theological terms,
– Covenant of Works and
– Covenant of Grace,
do not occur in Scripture
 Covenant
Theology builds its structure
on these two covenants
 Covenant Theology has Cocceius
(1603–1669) as its chief exponent.
94
Undiscernment
 Reformed
Theology has largely been
constructed on these two covenants.
It
sees the empirical truth that God
can forgive sinners only by that
freedom which is secured by the
sacrifice of His Son,
However,
that theology utterly fails
to discern God’s purposes for the
ages.
95
Undiscernment

Reformed Theology
 penetrates no further into Scripture than
to discover that in all ages God is
immutable in His grace toward penitent
sinners
 constructs the idea of a universal Church
(continuing through the ages)
 disregards vast spheres of revelation
 reaps the unavoidable confusion and
misdirection which part-truth engenders
96
One-track Limitation
 Judaism
has its field of theology with its
soteriology and its eschatology
 Covenant Theology engenders the notion
that there is but one soteriology and one
eschatology
 Scripture is harmonized and its message
clarified when two divinely appointed
systems—Judaism and Christianity—are
recognized, and their complete and
distinctive characters are observed
97
Roman Residuary
Many
theologians consider
millennialism to be a “modern
theory.”
 justification
by faith and millennialism
were taught in the NT and were
therefore the belief of the early Church
98
Roman Residuary
 along
with justification by faith the
Reformers retained the Romish notion
that the Church is the Kingdom, fulfilling
the Davidic covenant, and appointed to
conquer the world by bringing it under
the authority of the Church.
99
Covenant Amalgamation
 Israel
has never been the Church, is not
the Church, nor will it ever be the
Church.
 Covenant
Theology asserts its inventions
respecting an OT Church, which, it is
claimed, is an integral part of the NT
Church
100
Rescinded Resurrection




as viewed by Covenant theologians, there is practically
no doctrinal significance of Christ's resurrection
Christ as the federal Head of a wholly new order
[creation] of beings cannot be incorporated into a
system of which the cherished and distinctive feature
is one unchangeable divine purpose from Adam to the
end of time.
According to Covenant Theology the Church is not a
new creation with its headship in the ascended Christ,
but has existed under a supposed uniform covenant
from the beginning of human history
the great reality of a heavenly purpose peculiar to this
dispensation is ruled out completely
101
Slighted Spirit
 Covenant
Theology neglects most of the
vital truths respecting the present agecharacterizing ministries of the Holy
Spirit
 The
disannulling of all Jewish purposes
and distinctive features for a
dispensation renders a continuouscovenant conception objectionable
102
This Present Dispensation
Romans 3:9
What then? Are we better than
they? Not at all; for we have
already charged that both Jews
and Greeks are all under sin; (NAS)
Romans 10:12
For there is no distinction between
Jew and Greek; for the same {Lord}
is Lord of all, abounding in riches
for all who call on Him; (NAS)
103
Incalculable Loss


the resurrection of Christ is,
the very ground of all the purposes of this
dispensation
the basis upon which the new positions
and possessions of those in Christ are
made to rest.
There is a wide doctrinal difference between
those who see no special consequence in
Christ’s resurrection and those who see its
momentous significance
104
Incalculable Loss
 the
greatest transition the world has
ever experienced.
 from Judaism
 to Christianity
This stupendous change is not clarified
or even approached by Covenant
theology
105
Pseudo—Sabbath
 Such
blindness respecting the
discriminating teaching of the Bible can
be accounted for only on the ground that
a man-made scheme of supposed
continuity is embraced and followed
without an unprejudiced examination of
the Scriptures
106
School Of Paranoia

Two schools have developed among orthodox
men:
one which restricts all doctrine to the
findings of men from the very early days
of Protestantism (Covenant Theology)
one
which recognizes that much added
light has fallen upon the Word of God in
later days and that this is as worthy of
consideration as the findings of men of
former times (Dispensational Theology)
107
Eschatalogical Error
A phenomenon exists, namely, that men
who are conscientious and meticulous to
observe the exact teaching of
Scripture—
the ruin of the race through Adam’s sin,
the Deity and Saviourhood of Christ
—are found introducing methods of
spiritualizing and vamping the clear
declarations of the Bible in the one field
of Eschatology.
108
Eschatalogical Error
 In
the Covenant theory Israel and the Church
are one.
 Disregarding
Biblical testimony they believe
that a hypothetical Grace covenant will
produce a transformed social order;
not by a returning Messiah,
but by the preaching of the Gospel.
109
Eschatalogical Error
 They
assert that Christ cannot return
until the missionary enterprise has
reached to all the inhabited earth
 They
fail to realize that passage is a
Tribulation passage, not a passage for
this dispensation, the Church Age.
110
Kingdom Misconstrued
Misunderstanding of the Millennial
Kingdom is directly due to the failure to
recognize the dispensational aspect of
divine revelation
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to show thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.
111
Kingdom Misconstrued
The Old Testament Kingdom
IS NOT
the Church
The New Testament Church
IS NOT
the Kingdom
112
Deadly Rule Of Life
 Covenantism
recognizes
no distinctions as to ages
therefore
it can allow for no
distinctions between Law and Grace
utter
neglect of life-truth in all their
works of theology
113
Kingdom Gospel vs. Grace Gospel
 Strong
objection is offered by Covenant
theologians to a distinction between the
Gospel of the Kingdom as preached by
John the Baptist, Jesus, and the
Disciples, and the Pauline Gospel of the
Grace of God
114
Israel And The Church Contrasted
Extent Of Biblical Revelation
Israel – 80%
Church – 20%
The Divine Purpose
Israel – Earthly
Church – Heavenly
Birth
Israel – Physical
Church – Spiritual
Nationality
Israel – World system
Church – Aliens
Ministry
Israel – None, yet
Church – Missionaries
115
Israel And The Church Contrasted
The Death of Christ
Israel
Church
Guilty of His Death
Saved by His Sacrifice
The Father
Israel
Church
God, not Father
“Abba” Father
Christ
Israel
Church
Messiah, Immanuel, King
Savior, Lord,
Bridegroom, Head, Life
The Holy Spirit
Israel
Church
Temporary Induement
Permanent Indwelling
116
Israel And The Church Contrasted
Governing Principle
Israel - Law
Church – Grace
Divine Enablement
Israel – none “flesh”
Church – Holy Spirit
Christ’s Return
Israel
Gather Israel
into her land
Church
Take His Bride
to Heaven
117
Israel And The Church Contrasted
Position
Israel
Servants of Jehovah
Church
The Body of Christ
Christ’s Earthly Reign
Israel
Church
Subjects of the King
Reign with the King
Priesthood
Israel
has a priesthood
Church
is a priesthood
118
“Dispensationalism,
Israel And The Church”
 Neo-Evangelicalism
is a compromise toward
Liberalism.
•spawned in Fuller Seminary
 Neo-Dispensationalism
is a compromise
toward Covenantism.
•spawned in Dallas Theological
Seminary
119
“Dispensationalism,
Israel And The Church”
 You,
a totally new creation in the ascended and
glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
 You, one spirit with Him who is your very Christian
life.
 You, having died to the law and to the world, and
already blessed with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ, co-heir with Him.
 You, raised and seated in Christ, at the Father’s
right hand.
120
“Dispensationalism,
Israel And The Church”
“If (since) you, then, be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ (and you)
sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth, for you
died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. When Christ, who is
our life, shall appear, then shall
you also appear with Him in glory”
(Col. 3:1–4).
121
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition

Dr. Stanley N. Gundry, ex-dispensationalist, Vice
President of Academic Books, Zondervan Publishing
House.
• contemporary dispensationalist thinking
 Dr. Craig A. Braising, progressive dispensationalist
• reexamine biblically the distinction between Israel
and the church
• abandon the transcendental distinction of heavenly
versus earthly peoples in favor of a historical
distinction in the progressive revelation of the divine
purpose.
122
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition
 Dr.
Darrell L. Bock, progressive dispensationalist
• “The descriptions invisible and visible do not
characterize the kingdom as ineffective or
secret now, versus powerful later. Rather, the
terms are intended Christologically to describe
the nature of Jesus’ rule.
• “Being seated on David’s throne is linked to
being seated at God’s right hand
123
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition

Neo-Dispensationalism is kingdom-oriented, and
would fasten “The Kingdom” upon everything and
everyone

Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer
 “David was not promised a heavenly spiritual throne,
and the one who contends that David’s throne is now
a heavenly rule is by so much obligated to name the
time and circumstances when and where so great a
change has been introduced”
(Systematic Theology IV: 324)
124
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition
 Dr.
Bruce A. Ware, progressive dispensationalist.
Dr. Ware is Professor of Biblical and Systematic
Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
 “Between the two extremes of a strict distinction
between Israel and the church (two new
covenants and hence two distinct peoples of God)
there is a middle position that would suggest that
Israel and the church share theologically rich and
important elements of commonality while at the
same time maintaining distinct identities.
125
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition
 When
Israel’s New Covenant is usurped, all
becomes of the earth, earthy. NeoDispensationalism would bring the
Bridegroom’s unique-in-the-universe-Bride
down to the commonality of the earthly
kingdom
126
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition
 Dr.
Carl B. Hock, Jr., progressive
dispensationalist. Dr. Hock is Professor of NT,
at Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary
 Here
is the very heart of Neo-Dispensational
error! Wrongly-divided Word!
127
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition
 Not
knowing who they are in Christ, and where they
are in Christ, and what they have in Christ, they
would seek to make something of Israel, and have
us come down to it as the source of blessing
 The
Israelite in Christ, as well as the Gentile in
Christ, is a totally new heavenly creation, and needs
nothing from the nation Israel—whether it be now,
in her Millennial Kingdom, or in eternity
128
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition

Dr. Robert L. Saucy. Dr. Saucy, progressive
dispensationalist, is professor of Systematic Theology,
at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
• “The revelation of the equal participation of Israel
and the Gentiles in God’s salvation through union
with Christ is a realization of OT prophecy”
• “Our examination of the mystery in Ephesians 3
leads us to a mediating position between
traditional dispensational and non-dispensational
views.“
129
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition

Dr. W. Edward Glenny. Dr. Glenny, progressive
dispensationalist, is Professor of NT, at Central Baptist
Seminary
• “Old Testament Israel was a pattern of the
church’s relationship with God as his chosen
people.”
• “In his use of the three people of God citations in
1 Peter 2:9, 10, the apostle is teaching that there
are aspects of the nation of Israel’s experience as
the people of God that are also true of the NT
church.”
130
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition

Dr. J. Lanier Burns. Dr. Burns, progressive
dispensationalist, is Professor of Systematic Theology, at
Dallas Theological Seminary
• “The end of this survey shows that dispensational
theologians have constantly distinguished Israel and
the church, while dispensationalism has undergone
remarkable developments over time in terms of a
common destiny [emphasis mine] in the city of God, a
shared new covenant, and, most recently, a
recognition by many scholars of a present form of
messianic kingdom that removes the parenthetical
idea.”
131
Dispensationalism, Israel And The Church
- The Search For Definition

Dr. Kenneth L. Barker. Dr. Barker, progressive
dispensationalist, is Executive Director, NIV Foundation
Center, International Bible Society
• One of the legitimate continuities, then, between the
Old and New Testaments is God’s moral law
expressed throughout Scripture. It is more in keeping
with the totality of biblical teaching to insist that the
ethical and spiritual commands of the OT, the
numerous imperatives of the NT, and Christ (or the
law of Christ, or the royal law of love) are all part of
the believer’s rule of life”
132
Theologians Respond
 Dr.
William A. VanGemeren. Dr. VanGemeren, exdispensationalist, now Covenant theologian, is
Professor of OT at Reformed Theological Seminary
 Dr.
Bruce K. Waltke. Dr. Waltke, exdispensationalist, now covenant theologian, is
Professor of OT, at Regent University (Canada)
 Dr.
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. Dr. Kaiser, nondispensational, pro-Covenant, is Academic Dean at
133
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
The “similar lines” that Dispensationalism and
Covenant Theology are locked onto are horizontal –
Israel’s New Covenant,
Synoptics,
Sermon, and
Kingdom
—all Law-oriented.
But Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ
—from heaven, to Paul, for the Church.
134
“If [since] you, then, be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God. Set your
affection on things above, not on
things on the earth. For you have
died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1–3).
135