Dispensationalism is the school of thought that results from a plain grammatical-historical reading of Scriptures. Ryrie’s threefold sine qua non of dispensationalism includes grammatical-historical hermeneutics, doxological centrality of Scripture, and the distinction between Israel and the church,[1] but these latter two points are merely the result of the first. The doctrine that dispensationalism is most famous for is the pre-tribulational rapture, but this too is just the result of the consistent literal reading of Scripture. Even critics of dispensationalism recognize that grammatical-historicism results in dispensationalist conclusions. Since the legitimacy of dispensationalism stands or falls on the legitimacy of grammatical-historical hermeneutics, a discussion of dispensationalism’s strengths should focus on its hermeneutics.[Read More]
dispensationalism
What is the Kingdom compared to in the parable of the leaven?
The following is an excerpt from a paper for an upcoming volume on Bible difficulties related to eschatology. This particular paper deals with the parables of the mustard seed and leaven. I take the view that these two parables depict the current evil age rather than the future Messianic kingdom. Part of this reasoning is that leaven typically represents corruption in the Bible. The most common response that I’m hearing is “But the Bible says that the kingdom is like leaven, so leaven must be the good kingdom here.” Here’s my response to that:
Four Objects Related to the 70-Year Chronology
Lately, I have been doing some work with the Book of Ezra, which begins with Cyrus’ decree that was issued, “that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished” (Ezra 1:1). Ezra does not actually quote Jeremiah, but assumes that the reader is biblically literate. The work that I am doing will explore the biblical issues further, but as I studied for that project, I came across some archaeological items that are worth discussing here.[Read More]
The Danger Triangle of Doctrinal Drift
Our theology develops as we grow in our understanding of Scriptures, so doctrinal shifts are healthy. Perhaps to be more precise, we could say that a lack of doctrinal shift is unhealthy. Every Christian should dedicate his life to the study of Scriptures, so if his theology is not changing, then something is wrong. This is particularly relevant to the clergyman, whether it be a pastor, a missionary, or a volunteer Sunday School teacher.[Read More]
Thoughts on Russia, Ukraine, and the Bible
Russophobia is emerging around the world. There are individuals in the Russian government who are making evil decisions that affect Russia and other countries—Putin comes to mind, as do others who may not be as familiar to Western readers—but these are not grounds to resent Russian people. Within the Russian population are plenty of believers who are doing excellent work in a dark place. They are to be commended (if not now, then they will certainly be rewarded later).[Read More]
Trends in Ecotheology (Excerpt)
The following is an excerpt from a paper entitled, “Kingdom Postponement: A Watershed Doctrine for the Dispensational Worldview,” presented at the 2021 Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics.[Read More]