Dispensational eschatology is an incorrect hermeneutic

I believe that it has caused both of us to study more, and to come away with a new appreciation for the further study of eschatology. Even though we may disagree on this point, it in no way implies that we disagree as far as the most important aspects of the Faith are concerned. To address my opponents points: "Yes, I agree it would be redundant to define ‘dispensation' further if the only thing to do in this debate was for you and me to try and teach each other something, that something being something we both already know. " Fair enough. Dispensationalism is a method of Biblical interpretation in which history is divided into (usually 7) periods of time known as dispensations. They are listed as follows: 1. The Dispensation of Innocency (Gen. 1:3-3:6) 2. The Dispensation of Conscience (Gen. 3:7-8:14) 3. The Dispensation of Civil Government (Gen. 8:15-11:9) 4. The Dispensation of Promise or Patriarchal Rule (Gen. 11:10-Ex. 18:27) 5. The Dispensation of the Mosaic Law (Ex. 19:1-Acts 1:26) 6. The Dispensation of Grace (Acts 2:1-Rev. 19:21) 7. The Dispensation of the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-15) In each Dispensation, God gives man a test, man fails the test, and God judges man. It's most essential doctrine is that the Church consists only of those believers saved between Pentecost and the Rapture [the secret catching away of the saints from the earth]. But Dispensationalism's most distinctive doctrines are its eschatological ["end times"] teachings, which are divided into three camps, the first being overwhelmingly the most popular: 1. The imminent Pre-Tribulational rapture of the Church. 2. The Mid-Tribulational view, and 3. The Post-Tribulational view. [1] The Dispensationalist views Jesus' descriptions in the Olivet Discourse, (and is the only view that does), as being solely concerned with a yet future 7 year period of time known as the "Great Tribulation," in which God removes the Church and deals with the geo-political nation of Israel. This future 7 year period of time is also known as the "Seventieth Week of Daniel. " - A prophecy from Daniel 9. Dispensationalists claim that this last 7 year period of the Seventy Week prophecy has not yet been fulfilled, and it is this time that will be known as the Great Tribulation and will be marked by such things as a One World Government, a personal Antichrist who is basically Satan incarnate, the mark of the beast and so on. At the end of the 7 year Tribulation period, Jesus Christ returns to rescue the Jews, at which time they will recognize Him as the Messiah. A 3rd Jewish temple will be erected, and Jesus Christ will sit on the throne of His father David, and will rule the world from Jerusalem for 1000 years. This 1000 years is known as the Millennium. This is in contrast to Covenant Theology. Covenant theology, as its name indicates, structures redemptive history around the covenants. In the very first covenant made between God and Himself, God, (before the foundation of the world) chose to redeem a people for Himself by sending the Son to accomplish their redemption and sending the Spirit to apply that redemption. This is the "Covenant of Redemption. " The historical covenants between God and man all flow from this initial covenant of redemption. Covenant theology was the accepted standard for the first 1800 or so years of the Church. These Covenants are stuctured as follows: 1. The Covenant of Redemption 2. The Covenant of Works (made with Adam) 3. The Covenant of Grace - which includes: 1. The Noachic, or Noachide Covenant 2. The Abrahamic Covenant 3. The Mosaic Covenant 4. The Davidic Covenant 5. and finally the New Covenant In the question and answer round, I asked my opponent the following questions: 1) who was the book of Revelation written to? 2) What was the purpose of it being written? 3) What were the purposes for the 70 weeks of Daniel? My purpose in doing so was to point out that the answers to these questions are in the text itself. 1. The text itself says "John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia. " These were 7 first century churches in Asia Minor. 2. The text itself tells us the purpose which is "to show his servants what must soon take place. " - MUST SOON take place, not, "could possibly take place now, but maybe in the next 3000 years". .. 3. The text itself lists the reasons mentioned by my opponent. There's a lot that could be said, but the main point is that these reasons are for ALL 70 weeks. Where is "Great Tribulation" included in the list? ?? Now to answer my opponents questions: 1) what sort of ‘covenant' is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our lord and savior categorized/described as being of? A. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the culmination of all previous covenants in the one New Covenant. In the New Covenant all previous covenants find their ultimate consumation: Luke 24:47 "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in ALL the scriptures the things concerning HIMSELF. " 2) How is the term ‘Dispensation' grammatically used in a sentence? (verb, adjective, proper noun, adverb, like a name, like a time, like measurement unit? ) to make it as plane as possible for me or our audience make the example sentence (should you explain it using one) have nothing to do with this debate. A. Really it depends upon the context. .. In strictly a theological sense, the word means "a period of time during which man is tested in respect of obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God. "[2] However, in its normal sense, it usually means, as defined by Thayer: 1) the management of a household or of household affairs 1a) specifically, the management, oversight, administration, of other's property 1b) the office of a manager or overseer, stewardship 1c) administration, dispensation Paul, in Ephesians 3:2 (KJV) uses it in this way: "If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward" In the NIV translated as follows: "Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you. " In each case it is a noun. 3) How precisely does seeing a series of chronologically successive periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants lead (inevitably) to pre-tribulation pre-millennialism in eschatology. A. It's more than just that. There are other teachings which are unique to the system, such as the teaching that Israel and the Church are separate altogether, that God deals with them separately, and that certain prophecies are still for Israel and still future, that grace was not offered until Christ's ascension, and so on. In Dispensationalism, God is dealing solely with Israel when sending the Messiah. Messiah offers Israel the kingdom, but they reject it. The Prophetic clock stops. During the Great Tribulation, God brings judgment upon Israel, while also offering salvation. Thus, the Church has to be removed so that God can deal with Israel during this time of wrath. In traditional Dispensationalism, Israel will recognize Jesus when He returns to earth and be saved. Thus, the Pre-trib Pre-mill eschatology provides the scenario for God to deal with Israel as a nation apart from the Church. Having spent the majority of this round defining Dispensationalism at my opponents insistence, I conclude my argument that Dispensationalism is inconsistent, leads to inconsistency and makes unfounded claims. It wrongly makes certain pre-suppositions and therefore comes to wrong conclusions. 1. Charles Ryrie, "Dispensationalism Today" (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), p.62 2. Scofield Reference Bible (New York: Oxford, 1909), 5.