Dispensationalism - Categorized Scripture List
by Nathan Pitchford
RELATED ARTICLES:
A Study Of Dispensationalism
by Arthur W Pink
A Biblical Refutation Of Dispensationalism
PART 1
PART 2
{audio}
Dispensationalism -
A Reformed Evaluation
by Ligon Duncan
Introduction:
Dispensationalism is basically the method of interpreting the scriptures that sees two distinct peoples of God,
with two distinct destinies - Israel and the Church. Some of the tenets that all or most contemporary mainstream
Dispensationalists would hold to include the following:
1) The Church is not the continuation of God's Old Testament people, but a distinct body born on the Day of Pentecost.
2) The Church is never equated with Israel in the New Testament, and Christians are not Jews, true Israel, etc.
3) The prophecies made to Israel in the Old Testament are not being fulfilled in the Church, nor will they ever be.
4) The Church does not participate in the New Covenant prophesied in the Old Testament; it is for ethnic Israel, and will be established in a future millennial kingdom.
5) The Old Testament saints were saved by faith alone, on the basis of the Calvary-work of Christ alone; however, the object of their faith was not Christ, but rather the revelation peculiar to their dispensation.
6) The Old Testament saints did not know of the coming "Church Age," of the resurrection of Christ, or basically, of what we today call the gospel.
7) When Jesus came to earth, he offered the Jews a physical kingdom, but they rejected him.
8) When Jesus proclaimed "the gospel of the Kingdom," it was the news about how ethnic Jews might enter and find rewards in this physical kingdom, and is to be distinguished from the gospel as defined in I Corinthians 15:3-4, which the apostles later proclaimed to the church.
9) After the Jews rejected Jesus' kingdom offer, he inaugurated a parenthetical "Church Age", which will be concluded immediately before God again takes up his dealings with his national people, ethnic Israel.
10) During the "Church Age," Jesus is not reigning from the throne of David; he is engaged instead in his priestly work, and his kingly work will take place in the future millennial kingdom.
11) At some unspecified but imminent time, Jesus will return (but not all the way to earth, just to the air) and rapture his Church, also called his Bride; for the following seven years, they will feast with him at the marriage supper of the Lamb; meanwhile, on earth, he will begin to deal with his national people, ethnic Israel, again, calling them to himself and preserving them in the midst of seven years of great tribulation; at the midpoint of which, the Antichrist will set himself up as god in the rebuilt Jewish temple, and demand worship from the world.
12) After these seven years, Christ will return, this time all the way to earth. He will defeat the forces of evil, bind Satan and cast him into a pit, and inaugurate the physical Jewish Kingdom that he had offered during his life on earth. The Jews who survived the tribulation will populate the earth during this blessed golden era, and the Christians will reign spiritually, in glorified bodies.
13) After these thousand years, Satan will be released and will gather an army from the offspring of the Jews who survived the tribulation. He will be finally defeated and cast into hell. At this time, the wicked dead will be resurrected and judged, whereas the righteous dead had already been resurrected one-thousand-seven years previously, at the rapture. Christ will then usher in the New Heavens and New Earth, and the destinies of all mankind will be finalized. Dispensationalists are divided as to whether or not there will remain a distinction between Christians and Jews in the New Earth.
[This list represents a wide segment of popular Dispensational teachings; however, Dispensationalism is by no means a monolithic entity, and many self-professed Dispensationalists, particularly in the Progressive school, would not adhere to many of its points.]
Scriptures:
The People of God:
1) From the beginning, God selected one people alone, from all the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:6 "For you are a holy people to the
LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for
Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the
earth.
Deuteronomy 10:15 "The LORD delighted only in your
fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you
above all peoples, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 14:2 "For you are a holy people to the
LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself,
a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the
earth.
Isaiah 41:8-9 "But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. (9) You
whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its
farthest regions, And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen
you and have not cast you away:
2) This people would belong to him forever.
1 Kings 6:13 "And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel."
1 Chronicles 17:9 "Moreover I will appoint a place
for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a
place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness
oppress them anymore, as previously,
Isaiah 60:19-21 "The sun shall no longer be your
light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But
the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory.
(20) Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw
itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of
your mourning shall be ended. (21) Also your people shall all be
righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My
planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.
3) He would cast off, or exile this people for a time, for covenant unfaithfulness.
Deuteronomy 28:63-68 "And it shall be, that just as
the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD
will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you
shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. (64) "Then
the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth
to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you
nor your fathers have known; wood and stone. (65) "And among those
nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a
resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart,
failing eyes, and anguish of soul. (66) "Your life shall hang in doubt
before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of
life. (67) "In the morning you shall say, 'Oh, that it were evening!'
And at evening you shall say, 'Oh, that it were morning!' because of
the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which
your eyes see. (68) "And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships,
by the way of which I said to you, 'You shall never see it again.' And
there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female
slaves, but no one will buy you."
2 Kings 17:20-24 And the LORD rejected all the
descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand
of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. (21) For He tore
Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat
king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them
commit a great sin. (22) For the children of Israel walked in all the
sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, (23)
until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all
His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own
land to Assyria, as it is to this day. (24) Then the king of Assyria
brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim,
and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of
Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.
2 Chronicles 36:13-21 And he also rebelled against
King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he
stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD
God of Israel. (14) Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the
people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of
the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated
in Jerusalem. (15) And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to
them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He
had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. (16) But they
mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His
prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till
there was no remedy. (17) Therefore He brought against them the king of
the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house
of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on
the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. (18) And all the
articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the
house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders,
all these he took to Babylon. (19) Then they burned the house of God,
broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and
destroyed all its precious possessions. (20) And those who escaped from
the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him
and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, (21) to fulfill
the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had
enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to
fulfill seventy years.
Hosea 1:4-6, 9 Then the LORD said to him: "Call his
name Jezreel, For in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of
Jezreel on the house of Jehu, And bring an end to the kingdom of the
house of Israel. (5) It shall come to pass in that day That I will
break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel." (6) And she
conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: "Call her
name Lo-Ruhamah, For I will no longer have mercy on the house of
Israel, But I will utterly take them away. (9) Then God said: "Call his
name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God.
4) However, he would then gather them together again, and restore them.
Deuteronomy 30:4-9 "If any of you are driven out to
the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will
gather you, and from there He will bring you. (5) "Then the LORD your
God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you
shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your
fathers. (6) "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the
heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your
heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (7) "Also the LORD
your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who
hate you, who persecuted you. (8) "And you will again obey the voice of
the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today. (9)
"The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand,
in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in
the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again rejoice over
you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,
Isaiah 10:21-23 The remnant will return, the remnant
of Jacob, To the Mighty God. (22) For though your people, O Israel, be
as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction
decreed shall overflow with righteousness. (23) For the Lord GOD of
hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.
Hosea 1:7, 10-11 Yet I will have mercy on the house
of Judah, Will save them by the LORD their God, And will not save them
by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen." (10) "Yet the
number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which
cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place
where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There it shall be
said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.' (11) Then the children
of Judah and the children of Israel Shall be gathered together, And
appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the
land, For great will be the day of Jezreel!
5) When he restored them, he would also expand them, forming them anew from every people on earth.
Isaiah 2:1-3 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. (2) Now it shall come to pass in
the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be
established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the
hills; And all nations shall flow to it. (3) Many people shall come and
say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house
of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in
His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the
LORD from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 11:9-16 They shall not hurt nor destroy in
all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of
the LORD As the waters cover the sea. (10) "And in that day there shall
be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the
Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious." (11)
It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD shall set His hand
again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are
left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and
Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. (12) He will set up a
banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And
gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the
earth. (13) Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries
of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah
shall not harass Ephraim. (14) But they shall fly down upon the
shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall
plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and
Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them. (15) The LORD will
utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He
will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams,
And make men cross over dry-shod. (16) There will be a highway for the
remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for
Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 19:23-25 In that day there will be a highway
from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the
Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.
(24) In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria; a
blessing in the midst of the land, (25) whom the LORD of hosts shall
bless, saying, "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My
hands, and Israel My inheritance."
Isaiah 24:13-15 When it shall be thus in the midst
of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive
tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. (14) They
shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the LORD
They shall cry aloud from the sea. (15) Therefore glorify the LORD in
the dawning light, The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands
of the sea.
Isaiah 42:4-12 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall
wait for His law." (5) Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens
and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes
from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who
walk on it: (6) "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And
will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the
people, As a light to the Gentiles, (7) To open blind eyes, To bring
out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the
prison house. (8) I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will
not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. (9) Behold, the
former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they
spring forth I tell you of them." (10) Sing to the LORD a new song, And
His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and
all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! (11) Let
the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that
Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from
the top of the mountains. (12) Let them give glory to the LORD, And
declare His praise in the coastlands.
Isaiah 49:1-12 "Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And
take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb;
From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. (2) And He
has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has
hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden
Me." (3) "And He said to me, 'You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I
will be glorified.' (4) Then I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have
spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is
with the LORD, And my work with my God.'" (5) "And now the LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to
Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the
eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), (6) Indeed He says,
'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the
tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will
also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My
salvation to the ends of the earth.'" (7) Thus says the LORD, The
Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him
whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and
arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You." (8) Thus says the LORD:
"In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I
have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the
people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate
heritages; (9) That You may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' To those
who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' "They shall feed along the
roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. (10) They
shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike
them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs
of water He will guide them. (11) I will make each of My mountains a
road, And My highways shall be elevated. (12) Surely these shall come
from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the
land of Sinim."
Isaiah 51:5 My righteousness is near, My salvation
has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will
wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust.
Isaiah 60:1-9 Arise, shine; For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. (2) For behold, the
darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the
LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. (3) The
Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your
rising. (4) "Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather
together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your
daughters shall be nursed at your side. (5) Then you shall see and
become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the
abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles
shall come to you. (6) The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises
of the LORD. (7) All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to
you, The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; They shall ascend with
acceptance on My altar, And I will glorify the house of My glory. (8)
"Who are these who fly like a cloud, And like doves to their roosts?
(9) Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish
will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their
gold with them, To the name of the LORD your God, And to the Holy One
of Israel, Because He has glorified you.
Isaiah 66:10-24 "Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad
with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who
mourn for her; (11) That you may feed and be satisfied With the
consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory." (12) For thus says the LORD: "Behold,
I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles
like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be
carried, And be dandled on her knees. (13) As one whom his mother
comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in
Jerusalem." (14) When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, And your
bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the LORD shall be known to
His servants, And His indignation to His enemies. (15) For behold, the
LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To
render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. (16)
For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the
slain of the LORD shall be many. (17) "Those who sanctify themselves
and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be
consumed together," says the LORD. (18) "For I know their works and
their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues;
and they shall come and see My glory. (19) "I will set a sign among
them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to
Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the
coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And
they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. (20) "Then they shall
bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations,
on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My
holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, "as the children of Israel
bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. (21)
"And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says the
LORD. (22) "For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make
shall remain before Me," says the LORD, "So shall your descendants and
your name remain. (23) And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon
to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to
worship before Me," says the LORD. (24) "And they shall go forth and
look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For
their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be
an abhorrence to all flesh."
Hosea 2:23 Then I will sow her for Myself in the
earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I
will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they
shall say, 'You are my God!'"
Zechariah 2:10-13 "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of
Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," says the
LORD. (11) "Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and
they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you
will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. (12) "And the LORD
will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and
will again choose Jerusalem. (13) "Be silent, all flesh, before the
LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!"
Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun, even to
its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every
place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My
name shall be great among the nations," Says the LORD of hosts.
6) The New Testament Church is the continuation of this one people.
Acts 15:12-17 Then all the multitude kept silent and
listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders
God had worked through them among the Gentiles. (13) And after they had
become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me:
(14) "Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to
take out of them a people for His name. (15) "And with this the words
of the prophets agree, just as it is written: (16) 'After this I will
return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; (17) So that the rest
of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by
My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.'
Romans 9:23-26 and that He might make known the
riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared
beforehand for glory, (24) even us whom He called, not of the Jews
only, but also of the Gentiles? (25) As He says also in Hosea: "I will
call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was
not beloved." (26) "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was
said to them, 'You are not My people,' There they shall be called sons
of the living God."
Romans 11:11-32 I say then, have they stumbled that
they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke
them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. (12) Now if their
fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the
Gentiles, how much more their fullness! (13) For I speak to you
Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my
ministry, (14) if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are
my flesh and save some of them. (15) For if their being cast away is
the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life
from the dead? (16) For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also
holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. (17) And if some of
the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were
grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and
fatness of the olive tree, (18) do not boast against the branches. But
if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the
root supports you. (19) You will say then, "Branches were broken off
that I might be grafted in." (20) Well said. Because of unbelief they
were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
(21) For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare
you either. (22) Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God:
on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue
in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. (23) And they
also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God
is able to graft them in again. (24) For if you were cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature
into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural
branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? (25) For I do not
desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you
should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened
to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (26) And so
all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come
out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; (27) For
this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins." (28)
Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning
the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. (29) For the
gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (30) For as you were once
disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their
disobedience, (31) even so these also have now been disobedient, that
through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. (32) For God
has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
[Whether or not one sees a
future for ethnic Israel in this passage is beside the point: in any
case, there is only one people of God, represented by the one olive
tree. Believing Gentiles have been grafted into this one tree, and
unbelieving Jews broken off; but when they are grafted back in, it will
be the same tree into which the Gentiles were grafted, God's people,
true Israel.];
Galatians 3:7-8 Therefore know that only those who
are of faith are sons of Abraham. (8) And the Scripture, foreseeing
that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to
Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed."
Galatians 3:13-14 Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written,
"Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), (14) that the blessing of
Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Ephesians 2:11-22 Therefore remember that you, once
Gentiles in the flesh; who are called Uncircumcision by what is called
the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands; (12) that at that time you
were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God
in the world. (13) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14) For He Himself is
our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall
of separation, (15) having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is,
the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in
Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, (16) and that He
might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
putting to death the enmity. (17) And He came and preached peace to you
who were afar off and to those who were near. (18) For through Him we
both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (19) Now, therefore, you
are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints and members of the household of God, (20) having been built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being
the chief corner stone, (21) in whom the whole building, being joined
together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, (22) in whom you also
are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:5-6 which in other ages was not made
known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to
His holy apostles and prophets: (6) that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through
the gospel,
7) Hence, New Testament believers are called Jews, Abraham's seed, etc.
Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; (29)
but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men
but from God.
Romans 4:11-12 And he received the sign of
circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had
while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who
believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be
imputed to them also, (12) and the father of circumcision to those who
not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the
faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
Romans 9:6-8 But it is not that the word of God has
taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, (7) nor
are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In
Isaac your seed shall be called." (8) That is, those who are the
children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the
children of the promise are counted as the seed.
Galatians 3:6-7 just as Abraham "believed God, and
it was accounted to him for righteousness." (7) Therefore know that
only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
Galatians 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) And if you are Christ's, then you
are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 4:21-31 Tell me, you who desire to be
under the law, do you not hear the law? (22) For it is written that
Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.
(23) But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh,
and he of the freewoman through promise, (24) which things are
symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai
which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar; (25) for this Hagar is
Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and
is in bondage with her children; (26) but the Jerusalem above is free,
which is the mother of us all. (27) For it is written: "Rejoice, O
barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in
labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a
husband." (28) Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
(29) But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him
who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. (30)
Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and
her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of
the freewoman." (31) So then, brethren, we are not children of the
bondwoman but of the free.
Galatians 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
[The
Greek conjunction may mean either "and" or "even"/"namely"; hence the
context must determine the meaning. If it is taken in the sense of
"and," so that "the Israel of God," is a different body from the
Church, then Paul is contradicting himself and undermining the whole
point he has been making throughout his letter! However, if it means
"even," the clear assertion that those who follow the "rule" of
boasting only in the cross are in fact "the Israel of God," it becomes
a very fitting conclusion, and reiterates all that he has been
teaching.];
Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who
worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence in the flesh,
Hebrews 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and
to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an
innumerable company of angels, (23) to the general assembly and church
of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all,
to the spirits of just men made perfect, (24) to Jesus the Mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better
things than that of Abel.
1 Peter 2:9-12 But you are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may
proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light; (10) who once were not a people but are now the people
of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (11)
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts which war against the soul, (12) having your conduct honorable
among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they
may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of
visitation.
[Some have said that these
Jewish terms are applied to the Church by way of analogy, not
identification. However, when Peter goes on to speak of these ethnic
"Gentiles" in contrast with the Gentiles, he makes it clear that he
actually is intending to refer to them as Jews.];
Revelation 2:9 "I know your works, tribulation, and
poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say
they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
The Fulfillment of Prophecy:
1) The true heir of the Old Testament promises is not ethnic Israel, but only Christ, the one Seed of Abraham.
Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the
promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of
one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.
Thus, everyone who is in Christ, which includes all believers, is an heir of the promises made to Abraham.
Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) And if you are Christ's, then you
are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
2) The true fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies is frequently indicated in the New Testament
The prophecy of restoring Israel was fulfilled by the calling of the Gentiles to be God's people.
Acts 15:13-17 And after they had become silent,
James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me: (14) "Simon
has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of
them a people for His name. (15) "And with this the words of the
prophets agree, just as it is written: (16) 'After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will
rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; (17) So that the rest of
mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My
name, Says the LORD who does all these things.'
(quoting Amos 9:11-12);
Romans 9:22-26 What if God, wanting to show His
wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the
vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, (23) and that He might make
known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had
prepared beforehand for glory, (24) even us whom He called, not of the
Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (25) As He says also in Hosea: "I
will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who
was not beloved." (26) "And it shall come to pass in the place where it
was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There they shall be called
sons of the living God."
(quoting Hosea 1:10; Hosea 2:23)
[The verses that Paul is quoting from Hosea are clearly
speaking of "the house of Israel," and say that she will be cast off,
and no longer God's people; but then restored, and God's people again.
Paul is here saying that this restoration of Israel as God's people is
being fulfilled by God's calling out a people "not of the Jews only,
but also of the Gentiles".]
The prophecy of the New Covenant, made "with the house of
Israel" (see Jeremiah 31:31-34), is fulfilled in the New Testament
Church.
Hebrews 8:6-13 But now He has obtained a more
excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better
covenant, which was established on better promises. (7) For if that
first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought
for a second. (8) Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold,
the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; (9) "not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them,
says the LORD. (10) "For this is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in
their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and
they shall be My people. (11) "None of them shall teach his neighbor,
and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me,
from the least of them to the greatest of them. (12) "For I will be
merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless
deeds I will remember no more." (13) In that He says, "A new covenant,"
He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and
growing old is ready to vanish away.
Hebrews 10:14-18 For by one offering He has
perfected forever those who are being sanctified. (15) But the Holy
Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, (16) "This
is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the
LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will
write them," (17) then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I
will remember no more." (18) Now where there is remission of these,
there is no longer an offering for sin.
Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took
bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said,
"Take, eat; this is My body." (27) Then He took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. (28)
"For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for
the remission of sins.
Mark 14:22-24 And as they were eating, Jesus took
bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat;
this is My body." (23) Then He took the cup, and when He had given
thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. (24) And He said
to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
Luke 22:19-20 And He took bread, gave thanks and
broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given
for you; do this in remembrance of Me." (20) Likewise He also took the
cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood,
which is shed for you.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 For I received from the Lord
that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same
night in which He was betrayed took bread; (24) and when He had given
thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is
broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." (25) In the same manner
He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance
of Me."
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our
sufficiency is from God, (6) who also made us sufficient as ministers
of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the
letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Some other prophecies and types interpreted in the New Testament
Matthew 2:14-15 When he arose, he took the young
Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, (15) and was
there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called
My Son."
(quoting Hosea 11:1) [The context of
Hosea is clearly referring to Israel; hence, Matthew sees Jesus as the
true Israel, and the antitype of Israel's history.];
Matthew 17:10-13 And His disciples asked Him,
saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" (11)
Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and
will restore all things. (12) "But I say to you that Elijah has come
already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.
Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." (13)
Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
(referring to Malachi 4:5);
John 2:19-22 Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (20) Then
the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and
will You raise it up in three days?" (21) But He was speaking of the
temple of His body. (22) Therefore, when He had risen from the dead,
His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they
believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
[Not only does Jesus here equate the
Old Testament temple imagery with his own body, by means of which the
presence of God truly was brought down to man; but furthermore, John
explains that believing this Christ-centered interpretation was in fact
to believe the Old Testament scriptures themselves.];
Acts 2:14-21 But Peter, standing up with the eleven,
raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in
Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. (15) "For these
are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the
day. (16) "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: (17) 'And
it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out
of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. (18)
And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit
in those days; And they shall prophesy. (19) I will show wonders in
heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor
of smoke. (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into
blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. (21)
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.'
(quoting Joel 2:28-32) [Most
Dispensationalists will say that this prophecy is referring to Jesus'
second coming, as their hermeneutic demands; but Peter clearly declares
that it is being fulfilled in this age.];
Acts 2:25-32 "For David says concerning Him: 'I
foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand,
that I may not be shaken. (26) Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my
tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. (27) For You
will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to
see corruption. (28) You have made known to me the ways of life; You
will make me full of joy in Your presence.' (29) "Men and brethren, let
me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (30) "Therefore, being a
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the
fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ
to sit on his throne, (31) "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the
resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor
did His flesh see corruption. (32) "This Jesus God has raised up, of
which we are all witnesses.
(quoting Psalm 16:8-11);
Acts 2:33-36 "Therefore being exalted to the right
hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the
Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. (34) "For
David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD
said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, (35) Till I make Your enemies
Your footstool."' (36) "Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ."
(quoting Psalm 110:1);
Romans 4:13-17 For the promise that he would be the
heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law,
but through the righteousness of faith. (14) For if those who are of
the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no
effect, (15) because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no
law there is no transgression. (16) Therefore it is of faith that it
might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all
the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who
are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (17) (as it is
written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of
Him whom he believed; God, who gives life to the dead and calls those
things which do not exist as though they did;
(quoting Genesis 17:5) [According to
Paul, the promise that Abraham would be the father of many nations was
fulfilled when he became the father of all those who believed, from all
the Gentile peoples.];
Galatians 4:22-31 For it is written that Abraham had
two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. (23) But he
who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the
freewoman through promise, (24) which things are symbolic. For these
are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to
bondage, which is Hagar; (25) for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia,
and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her
children; (26) but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of
us all. (27) For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not
bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate
has many more children Than she who has a husband." (28) Now we,
brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. (29) But, as he who
was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born
according to the Spirit, even so it is now. (30) Nevertheless what does
the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of
the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." (31) So
then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
(quoting Isaiah 54:1 and Genesis 21:10);
Hebrews 9:1-12 Then indeed, even the first covenant
had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. (2) For a
tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand,
the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; (3) and
behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the
Holiest of All, (4) which had the golden censer and the ark of the
covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot
that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the
covenant; (5) and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the
mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (6) Now when
these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the
first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. (7) But into the
second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood,
which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in
ignorance; (8) the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the
Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was
still standing. (9) It was symbolic for the present time in which both
gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed
the service perfect in regard to the conscience; (10) concerned only
with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed
until the time of reformation. (11) But Christ came as High Priest of
the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle
not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. (12) Not with the
blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most
Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
(interpreting the symbolism of the tabernacle and its worship services)
[When one allows God himself to interpret the meaning of his prophecies through later revelation, it becomes impossible to employ a naturalistic, Dispensational hermeneutic. Dispensationalists claim to have a literal hermeneutic, taking prophecies in a simple, material sense unless the immediate context demands otherwise. The problem with this approach is that it arrives at interpretations which are later contradicted by the New Testament. In opposition to this principle, Covenant Theologians recognize the validity of "the analogy of faith," that is, that the best interpreter of scriptures is other scriptures. The hermeneutic which allows the Author to foreshadow spiritual realities through physical means, and later interpret them in clear, didactic writing, is actually a more natural and literal hermeneutic than one which demands a physical/material sense unless an immediate abusrdity arises thereby, even when other scriptures contradict this physical/material sense. The basic question is this: will our hermeneutic allow God to explain himself, or will it allow our own human understanding of what is more literal to negate the interpretation of God himself?]
3) Those to whom the Old Testament promises were first made understood them to mean more than the merely physical
Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he dwelt in the land of
promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; (10) for he waited for
the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Hebrews 11:13-16 These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of
them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. (14) For those who say such things declare plainly that
they seek a homeland. (15) And truly if they had called to mind that
country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity
to return. (16) But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly
country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He
has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was
tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered
up his only begotten son, (18) of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed
shall be called," (19) concluding that God was able to raise him up,
even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative
sense.
Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he became of
age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, (25) choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the
passing pleasures of sin, (26) esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
Hebrews 11:39-40 And all these, having obtained a
good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, (40) God
having provided something better for us, that they should not be made
perfect apart from us.
The Faith of Old Testament believers:
1) The Old Testament saints believed in Christ.
Genesis 3:14-15 So the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And
more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you
shall eat dust All the days of your life. (15) And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall
bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
Genesis 3:21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Genesis 4:3-5 And in the process of time it came to
pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the
LORD. (4) Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their
fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, (5) but He did not
respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his
countenance fell.
[In these passages, we have all the
elements of the basic gospel message: God would send a Deliverer, born
of a woman, who would crush the serpent's head, but be mortally wounded
in the conflict. That he would be ultimately victorious demands a
resurrection. This gospel message was illustrated in God's killing an
innocent animal to cover man's shame; and in Abel's blood sacrifice, we
see an indication of his understanding of these basic truths.];
Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;
[lit., "arise upon the dust"]: [Throughout
the Book of Job, probably the first canonical scriptures ever written,
the expression "to be upon the dust" ("lie down upon the dust," etc.)
clearly means, "to die" (see Job 17:16; Job 20:11; Job 21:26; Job
34:15). Hence, the phrase, "to arise upon the dust," means, "to rise
from the dead".];
Isaiah 53:1-12 Who has believed our report? And to
whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (2) For He shall grow up
before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has
no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we
should desire Him. (3) He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (4) Surely He has
borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted. (5) But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for
our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (6) All we
like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (7) He was
oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led
as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is
silent, So He opened not His mouth. (8) He was taken from prison and
from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off
from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was
stricken. (9) And they made His grave with the wicked; But with the
rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit
in His mouth. (10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put
Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see
His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall
prosper in His hand. (11) He shall see the labor of His soul, and be
satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities. (12) Therefore I will divide Him a
portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the
transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for
the transgressors.
[Even in the New Testament, there is no clearer declaration of the gospel than we find here.]
2) The New Testament authors recognized that the Old Testament saints knew of Christ.
Acts 2:25-31 "For David says concerning Him: 'I
foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand,
that I may not be shaken. (26) Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my
tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. (27) For You
will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to
see corruption. (28) You have made known to me the ways of life; You
will make me full of joy in Your presence.' (29) "Men and brethren, let
me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (30) "Therefore, being a
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the
fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ
to sit on his throne, (31) "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the
resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor
did His flesh see corruption.
(quoting Psalm 16:8-11);
John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
Matthew 13:17 "for assuredly, I say to you that many
prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see
it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Luke 24:25-27 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones,
and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! (26)
"Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into
His glory?" (27) And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He
expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Acts 26:22-23 "Therefore, having obtained help from
God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no
other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come;
(23) "that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise
from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the
Gentiles."
The Kingdom of God:
1) Christ announced the arrival of the Kingdom, he did not merely "offer" it.
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 11:11-12 "Assuredly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the
Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than
he. (12) "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom
of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
[Here, Christ speaks of the Kingdom as
of something that people have already been entering since the days of
John the Baptist; hence, he could not be referring to a future,
physical kingdom that he was only offering no one would have entered
that Kingdom yet. But Dispensationalists will say that even today no
one has entered it.];
Matthew 12:28 "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
[Jesus did cast out demons; therefore, according to him, the Kingdom had already come.];
Matthew 16:18-19 "And I also say to you that you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it. (19) "And I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
[Here, the establishment of the Church is seen in parallel with entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.]
2) If Christ had truly been offering a physical Kingdom, the Jews would not have rejected it.
John 6:15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they
were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed
again to the mountain by Himself alone.
3) Christ and the apostles spoke of the Kingdom as one that now has only a spiritual presence, in our midst.
Luke 17:20-21 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The
kingdom of God does not come with observation; (21) "nor will they say,
'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within
you."
John 18:36-37 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of
this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight,
so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is
not from here." (37) Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king
then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this
cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I
should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My
voice."
Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
4) The Church today is the Kingdom, and Christians are Kingdom citizens.
Mark 9:1 And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to
you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till
they see the kingdom of God present with power."
[Since the entire generation alive
when Christ was on earth has died, the Kingdom must have come already;
therefore, it cannot be a future, thousand-year reign.];
1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
[The power that Paul was speaking of
was already operative in the Church, as the context makes clear;
therefore, the Church was to him essentially the same as the kingdom.];
Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Revelation 1:5-6 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful
witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of
the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own
blood, (6) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to
Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and
companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
5) Christ sent the apostles out to proclaim the same gospel of the kingdom that he had proclaimed.
Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will
be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then
the end will come.
6) This the apostles did.
Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he
preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus
Christ, both men and women were baptized.
Acts 20:24-25 "But none of these things move me; nor
do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with
joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify
to the gospel of the grace of God. (25) "And indeed, now I know that
you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see
my face no more.
Acts 28:23 So when they had appointed him a day,
many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly
testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from
both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.
Acts 28:30-31 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his
own rented house, and received all who came to him, (31) preaching the
kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus
Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
7) Christ is now reigning from the throne of David.
Acts 2:30-36 "Therefore, being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his
body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on
his throne, (31) "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the
resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor
did His flesh see corruption. (32) "This Jesus God has raised up, of
which we are all witnesses. (33) "Therefore being exalted to the right
hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the
Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. (34) "For
David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD
said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, (35) Till I make Your enemies
Your footstool."' (36) "Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ."
1 Corinthians 15:20-28 But now Christ is risen from
the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen
asleep. (21) For since by man came death, by Man also came the
resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ all shall be made alive. (23) But each one in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.
(24) Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the
Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
(25) For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. (26)
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (27) For "He has put
all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under
Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
(28) Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself
will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may
be all in all.
Ephesians 1:18-23 the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (19)
and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power (20) which He worked in
Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right
hand in the heavenly places, (21) far above all principality and power
and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
age but also in that which is to come. (22) And He put all things under
His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (23)
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Hebrews 1:8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O
God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of
Your Kingdom.
The Millennium:
1) The rapture of the Church will
occur after the revealing of the "Son of Perdition," whom
Dispensationalists also believe to be the Antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 Now, brethren, concerning the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we
ask you, (2) not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by
spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of
Christ had come. (3) Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day
will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin
is revealed, the son of perdition, (4) who opposes and exalts himself
above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as
God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (5) Do you
not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
[Most Dispensationalists say that this
sitting in the Temple will occur at the midpoint of the tribulation;
hence, the rapture of the Church cannot take place at least until the
second half of the tribulation (in the Dispensational scheme).]
The rapture is called a "meeting" in the air, which was
originally a technical term used of the procession that would come out
of a city to greet a visiting dignitary, and escort him immediately
back to the city, in great splendor; and later came to be used when one
would go out to meet a person, and then follow him along the way in
which he was already going; hence, the term likely indicates that the
rapture will be a similar event, in which the saints are gathered up to
meet Jesus, and follow immediately behind him as he continues on to
judge the earth.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in
Jesus. (15) For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who
are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means
precede those who are asleep. (16) For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we
who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with
the Lord. (18) Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Acts 28:14-15 where we found brethren, and were
invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. (15)
And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us
as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked
God and took courage.
Mark 14:13 And He sent out two of His disciples and
said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a
pitcher of water; follow him.
Acts 16:16-17 Now it happened, as we went to prayer,
that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us,
who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. (17) This girl
followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the
servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
2) The rescue of the church and the eternal destruction of the wicked will occur at the same time.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 since it is a righteous thing
with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, (7) and to
give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed
from heaven with His mighty angels, (8) in flaming fire taking
vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) These shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of His power, (10) when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in
His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our
testimony among you was believed.
Matthew 24:29-31 "Immediately after the tribulation
of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its
light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken. (30) "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in
heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. (31) "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 25:31-46 "When the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne
of His glory. (32) "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He
will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep
from the goats. (33) "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but
the goats on the left. (34) "Then the King will say to those on His
right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) 'for I was
hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was
a stranger and you took Me in; (36) 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I
was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' (37)
"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You
hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? (38) 'When did we
see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? (39) 'Or
when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' (40) "And the
King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as
you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
(41) "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me,
you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his
angels: (42) 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty
and you gave Me no drink; (43) 'I was a stranger and you did not take
Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did
not visit Me.' (44) "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord,
when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or
in prison, and did not minister to You?' (45) "Then He will answer
them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it
to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' (46) "And these
will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into
eternal life."
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 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 incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. (53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality. (54) So when this corruptible has put
on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in
victory." (55) "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your
victory?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is
the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:3-14 knowing this first: that scoffers
will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, (4)
and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
creation." (5) For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God
the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the
water, (6) by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded
with water. (7) But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved
by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men. (8) But, beloved, do not forget this one
thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day. (9) The Lord is not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
(10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements
will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in
it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according
to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells. (14) Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these
things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and
blameless;
[Here, immediately before the
dissolution of the heavens and earth in fervent heat, people are saying
that all things are continuing in the same way they always have; which
could not be said following all the events of Dispensational
eschatology. Furthermore, the delay is intended to bring in the full
measure of those who should repent and be added to the Church, and also
provides a basis for Peter's exhortation to be watchful, looking for
this final, catastrophic day. He does not exhort us to be watchful for
the appearing of Christ as that which rescues us from the earth, but
leaves one-thousand-seven years of history afterward; but for the
appearing of Christ as that which brings the final destruction of the
world.]
3) The resurrection of the righteous dead and the wicked dead will occur at the same time.
John 5:28-29 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is
coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice (29) "and
come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
4) Revelation chapter twenty must be interpreted in light of its genre:
Revelation is a book full of symbolic visions and numbers.
Revelation 1:4 John, to the seven churches which are
in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is
to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
[Unless there are literally seven Holy Spirits, the reader has to acknowledge a symbolic use of numbers here.];
Revelation 1:20 "The mystery of the seven stars
which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven
lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
Revelation 17:9-12 "Here is the mind which has
wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
(10) "There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the
other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short
time. (11) "And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the
eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. (12) "The ten
horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet,
but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.
In other places in Revelation, the final consummation of
all history has already been reached; therefore, chapter twenty is
likely another "recapitulation", a different symbolic way of describing
the New Testament era, followed by a description of the end of history.
Revelation 11:15-19 Then the seventh angel sounded:
And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this
world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He
shall reign forever and ever!" (16) And the twenty-four elders who sat
before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, (17)
saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and
who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and
reigned. (18) The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the
time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should
reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear
Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the
earth." (19) Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark
of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings,
noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
Revelation 14:14-16 Then I looked, and behold, a
white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on
His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. (15) And
another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him
who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has
come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." (16) So He
who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth
was reaped.
Revelation 16:17-21 Then the seventh angel poured
out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of
heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" (18) And there were
noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great
earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred
since men were on the earth. (19) Now the great city was divided into
three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was
remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the
fierceness of His wrath. (20) Then every island fled away, and the
mountains were not found. (21) And great hail from heaven fell upon
men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God
because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly
great.
Revelation 19:11-21 Now I saw heaven opened, and
behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and
True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. (12) His eyes were
like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name
written that no one knew except Himself. (13) He was clothed with a
robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (14) And
the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed
Him on white horses. (15) Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that
with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them
with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God. (16) And He has on His robe and on His thigh
a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (17) Then I saw an
angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to
all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather
together for the supper of the great God, (18) "that you may eat the
flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the
flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all
people, free and slave, both small and great." (19) And I saw the
beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to
make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (20)
Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked
signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark
of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast
alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. (21) And the rest
were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who
sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
The "first resurrection" corresponds well with other New Testament teaching on the present resurrection life of believers.
Romans 6:3-4 Or do you not know that as many of us
as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (4)
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just
as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life.
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which
I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
and gave Himself for me.
Colossians 3:1-3 If then you were raised with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at
the right hand of God. (2) Set your mind on things above, not on things
on the earth. (3) For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in
God.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death
to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother
abides in death.
Ephesians 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of
His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved), (6) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Colossians 2:11-12 In Him you were also circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of
the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, (12) buried with
Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in
the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
The binding of Satan corresponds well with related New Testament teaching.
Matthew 12:26-29 "If Satan casts out Satan, he is
divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? (27) "And if
I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Therefore they shall be your judges. (28) "But if I cast out demons by
the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. (29)
"Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods,
unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his
house.
Luke 10:17-18 Then the seventy returned with joy,
saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." (18)
And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
John 12:31-33 "Now is the judgment of this world;
now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (32) "And I, if I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." (33) This
He said, signifying by what death He would die.
John 16:8-11 "And when He has come, He will convict
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (9) "of sin,
because they do not believe in Me; (10) "of righteousness, because I go
to My Father and you see Me no more; (11) "of judgment, because the
ruler of this world is judged.
Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have
partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same,
that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death,
that is, the devil, (15) and release those who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
The more obscure, apocalyptic visions of John should be interpreted in light of the clearer, didactic epistles of the New Testament, which we have already examined.