Dispensationalism is the philosophy that the “Israel” of the Bible is always the literal ethnic group and that God gave it a law but when they failed to live up to it, He started a Plan-B called “the gospel” for the church. Dispensationalism is mainly about preserving a literal application of the promises to Israel so as to uphold their novel and unBiblical view of the end times.
Many modern Christians have unknowingly accepted the assumptions of dispensationalism through study bible, sensational books about the end times, and popular preachers. In order to see if you have, ask yourself these questions:
1
If your system is truly Biblical, why did no one see it until John Nelson Darby in the 1830s?
2
Why don’t the apostles interpret the Old Testament like dispensationalists?
3
If “Israel is Israel” why does Genesis define Israel, three times, as the “assembly” (kahal) of peoples (or nations) (28:3, 35:11, 48:4)?
4
If there are two people of God — one earthly and the other heavenly — why did Jesus say there is “one flock, one shepherd”?
The Lord Jesus clearly taught there was only one people of God. In John 10: 15, Jesus says He lays down His life “for the sheep.” Who are the sheep? Not just the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” but also, He says in 10:16, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold — not Israelites, not Jewish, not from this nation. — I must bring them also . . . . So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” In John 11, Jesus is to give His life for the nation which is not just the literal Jews but all God’s children who are scattered throughout all other nations: scattered among the Gentiles. Jesus died on their behalf to save them and then to gather them into one people.
5
If we’re to interpret the Old Testament “Israel” to always be the ethnic group, why does Matthew 2:14 refer to Jesus as Israel?
6
Doesn’t Paul demonstrate that Abraham was not living under a different dispensation when he writes that “the gospel was preached beforehand” to Abraham (Gal 3:8)?
7
Why do dispensationalists insert a gap before Daniel’s 70th week when nothing in Daniel 9:26-27 suggests such a gap and the purpose of a time frame disallows it?
8
How can dispensationalists insert a gap into a passage that doesn’t have it and claim they are interpreting the Bible “literally”?
9
1 Corinthians 15:52 says the rapture will happen at “the last trumpet” but Revelation speaks of 7 trumpets during the tribulation. How can the rapture be before the tribulation then?
“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor 15:51f.)
10
Dispensationalism teaches a pretribulation rapture. But in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul lists three things that have to happen before Christ returns (rebellion, the man of lawlessness revealed, restrainer removed) but a rapture wasn’t one of them.
The Lord Jesus said that “in the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33) and then prayed that He doesn’t want the church taken out of the world (John 17:15). How can there be a pretribulation rapture Jesus prayed against?
“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)
12
Hebrews 1 and other passages tell us the last days began with Christ. Why do dispensationalists believe they may not have begun yet?
“in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:2)
13
The Lord Jesus said that His casting out demons was proof that the Kingdom of God had come on earth (Luke 11:20). Why do dispensationalists not believe Him?
14
The Lord Jesus said His Kingdom begins like a mustard seed and a little bit of yeast (Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20f). Why do dispensationalists say His Kingdom is like David’s?
15
The Lord Jesus said His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Why do dispensationalists say His Kingdom is a natural, earthly one?
“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36)
16
The Lord Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is in the midst of people in His day (Luke 17:21). Why do dispensationalists still insist the Kingdom is still only yet to come?
“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20f.)
17
Jesus said that John the Baptist fulfilled the promise of Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14). Why don’t dispensationalists believe Him?
“For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” (Mt 11:13f.)
18
Peter said that Pentecost fulfilled Joel 2 prophesy of moon turn to blood (Acts 2:16), etc. but dispensationalists say the prophesy still hasn’t been fulfilled. Why do they reject what Peter said inspired by the Holy Spirit?
“But this [Pentecost] is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: . . .” (Acts 2:16.)
19
Dispensationalists say that if the Old Testament promises to Israel are fulfilled by the church then “dispensationalism is condemned” (Charles Ryrie). Why don’t they admit that Hebrews 8 shows the church fulfilling the new covenant promises of Jeremiah 31 and therefore dispensationalism is condemned?
20
Dispensationalists say that the OT must be interpreted to the people and context of that time. But 1 Peter 1:10-12 says that some of the OT prophets didn’t understand their own prophesies because their prophesies were about Christ and the church.
These Questions Show Poor Understanding of Mid-Acts Dispensationalism.