See our playlist, “End Times, Supernatural Prophecies, Tough Bible Questions” at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL141F261EEFCFD536 with 37 videos. See “END TIMES BIBLE PROPHECY DEBATE: DR JAY ADAMS (AMILLENNIALISM) VS DR JOHN MCCLAIN (PREMILL RAPTURE)” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSNleYQs3So&index=3&list=PL141F261EEFCFD536. Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, TX (YouTube channel CANSWERSTV, at http://www.youtube.com/user/CAnswersTV?feature=mhee; websites: http://www.BIBLEQUERY.ORG, http://www.HISTORYCART.COM & http://www.MUSLIMHOPE.COM) presents a Bible conference lecture on the popular topic of Biblical eschatology. There are various schools of thought when it comes to what the Bible has to say about the end times & subjects pertaining to it such as the nation of Israel. The common position held by many Christians today is the theory of Premillennial Dispensationalism (first created by a Plymouth Brethren Anglo-Irish evangelist named John Darby & introduced to the world at the Powerscourt Conference in 1831) which was made famous by the Scofield Reference Bible & Hal Lindsay’s “The Late Great Planet Earth.” Is Darby’s 1831 theory air tight Biblically speaking or can Scriptural questions be raised that could call Darby’s suppositions into question?
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle and contemporary of Darby published criticism of Darby and Brethrenism. His main criticism was that Darby and the Plymouth Brethren rejected the vicarious purpose of Christ’s obedience as well as imputed righteousness.
Darby dispensationalists claim that their principle of hermeneutics is that of literal interpretation, which means giving each word the meaning it would commonly have in everyday usage. Symbols, figures of speech and types are all interpreted plainly in this method, and this is in no way contrary to literal interpretation. Even symbols and figurative sayings have literal meanings behind them.
Dispensational theology teaches that there are two distinct peoples of God: Israel and the church. Dispensationalists believe that salvation has always been by faith—in God in the Old Testament and specifically in God the Son in the New Testament. Dispensationalists hold that the church has not replaced Israel in God’s program and the Old Testament promises to Israel have not been transferred to the church. They believe that the promises God made to Israel (for land, many descendants, and blessings) in the Old Testament will be ultimately fulfilled in the 1000-year period spoken of in Revelation chapter 20. Dispensationalists believe that just as God is in this age focusing His attention on the church, He will again in the future focus His attention on Israel (Romans 9-11).
Dispensationalism, as a system, results in a premillennial interpretation of Christ’s second coming and usually a pretribulational interpretation of the rapture. To summarize, dispensationalism is a theological system that emphasizes the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy, recognizes a clear distinction between Israel and the church, and organizes the Bible into the different dispensations it presents.
Dual covenant theology, which runs counter to mainstream Christian evangelism, maintains that Jewish people have a special relationship to God through the revelation at Sinai and therefore they do not need “to go through Christ or the Cross” to get to heaven. TV preacher John Hagee of San Antonio, Texas has been accused of teaching dual covenant theology but he denies it & rather follows a dispensational interpretation of the Bible view on Jews & Israel. The confusion about this probably comes from Hagee’s premillennial dispensational view of Israel & his Israel support group called, “Christians United for Israel” which supports the nation of Israel with “no strings attached.”
Hagee added that he had “made it a practice for 25 years not to target Jews for conversion” at any “Night to Honor Israel” (sponsored by his “support” group) events. Christians have a Bible mandate to be supportive of Israel and the Jewish people without a hidden agenda. I do not target Jews for conversion.” If Jews “inquire about our faith at a later time, we give them a full scriptural presentation of redemption.”
John G. Reisinger is an evangelist & Bible conference speaker. He has pastored churches in Canada & in the U.S.A. He spent 10 years in church planting & established four sovereign grace churches. Mr Reisinger has written many books including “The Sovereignty of God in Providence,” “John Bunyan on the Sabbath,” “What is the Christian Faith?”, “Tablets of Stone & the History of Redemption, ” & many others. In this presentation Mr Reisinger contrasts commonly held dispensationalist theology (a la C. I. Scofield & those like him) with covenant theology in eschatological views of the nation of Israel & brings up many insightful Biblical questions concerning these views.
Revelation 22:18-21