THE NAME GAME “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet” [2:2:43]). Despite Shakespeare names are important. They serve as labels to help quickly identify someone or something. When used of systems of thought, names...
This is my second issue in the resurrected Dispensationalism in Transition newsletter. Along with the first issue last month, this will provide introductory material to bring new readers up-to-speed in our concerns over dispensationalism. (Be forewarned: I enjoy mixing playful humor with informative and serious study in this newsletter....
C. I Scofield (1843-1921) died ninety years ago. Yet even today his name remains well-known and highly influential among evangelical Christians. Though C. I. Scofield was a Presbyterian, most fundamentalist Baptists today claim him as their own. In fact, they are more acquainted with C. I. Scofield the Presbyterian...
During this century, Christians have been told over and over that “God has an unconditional love for Old Testament Israel,” by which is meant that God’s love is directed toward persons racially descended from Abraham, regardless of faith or obedience. Membership in Israel, therefore, is viewed as a matter...
In Matthew 5:17-48, we see the Lord Jesus speaking clearly about His relationship to the law of the Old Testament and about how His people should understand and respond to that law. Unfortunately, this important passage of Scripture often is either misunderstood or totally ignored by many Christians today....
Many Christians today read their Bibles through the lens of pop-prophecy books like The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind series. They naively believe the prophetic schemes and theological presuppositions expressed in these and other fictional writings represent the doctrinal positions that Christians down through the centuries...
Belief in Christ’s personal return to set up his earthly kingdom—premillennialism—has always claimed adherents, but few people in the mid-1800s imagined it would attract more than a handful. Yet by 1875 a new kind of premillennialism called dispensationalism began to spread. Given the embarrassing recent history of premillennialism in...
In this and the next several issues of our newsletter, I will consider the biblical role of Israel in Scripture and prophecy. Few theological and eschatological issues parallel in significance that of Israel. This is especially of interest to us in our “Dispensationalism in Transition” newsletter because Israel is...
Dispensationalism is the majority report among evangelical Christians in America today. Tens of millions of Christians are committed to this perspective on the Bible and history. Sadly, they are generally so indulgent in this view that they seem little aware of alternative evangelical approaches to Scripture. In this devastating...
(Part 3: “Dispensationalism, Israel, and Scripture”)by Ken Gentry, Th.D., Director, NiceneCouncil.com INTRODUCTION In this third installment of a series on “Dispensationalism, Israel, and Scripture” I will give attention to the progressive dispensational view of Israel especially in light of the foundational new covenant. In the preceding two issues I...
