An Historical Perspective

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An Historical Perspective

• Dispensationalism
• And
• Dispensational Premillennialism

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Revelation 201-10The Thousand Years

• Vs. 1 Next in a time sequence or just a
  different perspective?
• Vs. 2 What would this binding really look
  like?
• Vs. 7 How will we recognize
• Satans release?
• Vs. 11 Where/When/How will the
• judgment take place?

3
But more is implied

• Historic Pre-mil The return of Christ will be a
  necessary deliverance (pessimistic).
• Post-mil The return of Christ will be a
  triumphant, historical climax (optimistic).
• Amil A little of both
• Wheat will grow with the tares
• Use the sword of the spirit to influence society
• as salt and light in a dying world
• rather than as building the kingdom of God here.

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30 BC30 AD1000 AD1600 AD1800 AD

• Pre-Mil Amil Post-Mil

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Dispensationalismand Dispensational
Premillennialism

• is not an historic option or perspective as the
  other three views have been,
• but was deliberately created and introduced into
  the discussion only relatively recently
• when something specific occurred
• a scientific challenge to the very existence of
  God
• a variety of responses within the Christian
  community to that challenge.

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A Story of Two Contemporaries

• Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
• 1850 declared himself to be agnostic
• 1857 T.H. Huxley pits evolutionary science
  against religion
• 1859 Origin of Species by Means of Natural
  Selection
• 1871 Descent of Man
• 1882 died, buried in Westminster Abbey

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A Story of Two Contemporaries

• John Nelson Darby (1800-1882)
• 1825 ordained in the Church of Ireland
• 1827 helped found the Plymouth Brethren
• 1845 split group over prophecy and ecclesiology
• 1848 split group again
• 1862 began extensive teaching work in U.S.

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A Story of Two Movementswithin Christianity

• Modernist Liberalism
• 18th C. Enlightenment in Europe challenges
  Christian foundations and advances Scientific
  Method.
• 19th C. Prominent U.S. Theologians
• exchange biblical authority for authority of
  human reason
• reject more more of the Scriptural claims of
  the faith
• emphasize a progressive and inclusive doctrine
• reject Christian doctrinal fundamentals for
  social morality and ministry.
• retain but deny the meaning of historic creeds
  and confessions.

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A Story of Two Movementswithin Christianity

• Fundamentalism
• Conferences, Bible schools and colleges arose
  teaching
• the literal truth of the Scriptures
• a pessimistic view of moral decline
• held up the fearsome and realistic coming of
  Gods judgment.
• Growing distrust of academia, seminaries and
  semantic creeds
• An aggressive campaign for evangelism and
  missions.

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A Story of Two ConservatismsDispensationalism

• 1830 Darbys rediscovered truths
• 1. The Jews are to be saved by repentance they
  are to be left here on earth as Gods earthly
  people.
• 2. The Gentiles are to be saved by faith they
  will be taken to heaven at the Rapture.
• 3. The church is a parenthesis in Gods plan and
  will end in apostasy.
• 4. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God
  are sharply differentiated, the first being the
  Davidic kingdom and the latter being Gods
  universal world-wide kingdom.
• 5. God deals with men historically according to
  seven distinct and differing dispensations.

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A Story of Two Conservatisms Dispensationalism
Fundamentalism

• 1830 Darbys rediscovered truths develop and
  grow into
• An epochal law-grace distinction (antinomianism).
• A clear distinction between OT Israel and NT
  Church.
• 1909 The Scofield Reference Bible
• An exchange of Calvinism for Arminianism
• An elaborate science of literal prophetic
  interpretation and instruction

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A Story of Two Conservatisms Dispensationalism
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A Story of Two Conservatisms Dispensationalism

• Within Baptist and nondenominational
  congregations, Dispensationalism
• found a welcome home
• was embraced eagerly
• Missions Prophecy Conf.s
• Evangelistic Crusades
• was defended strongly and even prejudicially.

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A Story of Two Conservatisms Dispensationalism

• Within Baptist and nondenominational
  congregations, Dispensationalism found
• a welcome home
• and was embraced eagerly
• Missions Prophecy Conf.s
• Evangelistic Crusades
• and defended strongly and even prejudicially.

• But within Presbyterianism, Dispensationalism was
  critiqued
• for breaking up the unity of Gods redemptive
  history,
• of watering down the meaning of grace
• of replacing Gods moral law with mans own
  social code.
• of imposing (forcing) a wooden interpretation on
  Gods prophetic language.

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A Story of Two ConservatismsA difference in the
meaning of grace

• Dispensationalism
• Although fallen, man is still able and even
  willing to come to Christ for salvation.
• Gods foreknowledge makes Him aware of all who
  will come to Him.
• The gospel is for all men everywhere.
• Once a man chooses Christ, God dispenses His
  grace.
• The Christian has two natures - the flesh and the
  spirit which oppose each other until death.

• Presbyterianism
• Mans nature is thoroughly fallen, he cannot and
  will not respond to the gospel.
• God mercifully elects some to eternal life in
  Christ.
• The gospel call is for all but the work of the
  Spirit is upon the elect.
• Salvation is by the gift of God alone.
• Sanctification of the whole man is on going and
  progressive unto death.

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A Story of Two ConservatismsHistoric
Presbyterianism
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A Story of Two ConservatismsHistoric
Presbyterianism

• To some of us He is still the divine son of God,
  born of the virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy
  Spirit. But to many of us He has ceased to be
  that. ... I do not believe in original sin. ... I
  agree with the Chinese who feel their people
  should be protected from such superstition
  (Biblical teaching about salvation from sin).
  (Pearl Buck)

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A Story of Two ConservatismsHistoric
Presbyterianism

• Northern Presbyterian Church
• 1924 The Auburn Affirmation signed
• 1928 Board of Princeton Seminary reorganized
• 1936 Dr. J. Gresham Machen defrocked by General
  Assembly

• Conservative Response
• 1929 Westminster Seminary formed
• 1930 Christianity Today Magazine begun
• 1933 Independent Board of Presbyterian Foreign
  Missions
• 1936 1st Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian
  Church returning to hold to the historic
  Westminster Confession of Faith

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A Story of Two ConservatismsHistoric
Presbyterianism

• Conservative Response
• 1976 1st Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in
  America, also returning to commitment to the
  Westminster Confession of Faith

• Southern Presbyterian Church
• A much slower descent into liberalism, less
  visible
• An overall forsaking of evangelism and missions
• An increasing struggle
• for power by liberals with an agenda for more

20
Progressive Dispensationalism

• changes dispensational separation for progression
  from one covenant to the next.
• present church age not a parenthesis.
• maintains the distinction between Israel and the
  church (Christian support of Zionism).
• still holds to an Arminian view of salvation.
• Reformed Baptists emerge from Dispensationalism
  to embrace a Calvinistic view of the sovereignty
  of God.