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Top: Society: Religion_and_Spirituality: Christianity: Theology: Dispensationalism
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Please submit sites that describe general Dispensationalism based upon the Traditional viewpoint, which maintains that scriptures pertaining to Israel do not apply to the church today, and that the present church began at some point between the birth of Christ and Acts chapter 2. Sites that chronicle the history of Dispensationalism should also be submitted to this category. |
Dispensationalism is the belief that God has dispensed revelation and stewardship to man via dispensations. While there is no formalized classification structure with exacting definitions, most dispensationalists believe in some or all of seven dispensations, commonly known as innocence, conscience, human government, promise, law, grace, and kingdom; although a few dispensationalists may recognize more than seven, and some only acknowledge three or four dispensations.Dispensationalists also vary in beliefs as to whether each dispensation has a rigid time frame know as an "age", or whether they vary based on possession or non possession of specific revelations, such as the Law of Moses or the New Testament Gospels. Thus some believe different dispensations can coexist, while others do not.
One of the basic tenets of dispensationalism is a belief in premillennialism. All dispensationalists are premillennial, and teach that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to establish His Kingdom at the start of His thousand-year reign, as mentioned in Revelation 20:1-6. Most dispensationalists believe in a pre-trib "rapture", which is the teaching that the church will be taken up to meet the Lord in the air prior to the tribulation. Some also distinguish the "rapture" of 1 Thes. 4:16-17 from the resurrection of the dead mentioned in Phil. 3:11, known as the "out-resurrection".
A few dispensationalists believe in a pre-wrath, post-trib "rapture". These dispensationalists teach that the "rapture" will occur in the middle of the tribulation, after Satan has poured his wrath upon the earth, but before the Lord pours His Own wrath upon the earth. This point in time is seen as the beginning of the day of the Lord, prior to the second half of the seventieth week mentioned in Daniel 9:24-27.
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Please submit only sites that pertain to the Hyper-Dispensational viewpoint. The term "Hyper-Dispensationalism" is not meant to be a derogatory term. Instead, it is used to describe Dispensationalists who disagree with Traditional Dispensationalists as to when the present church began. Hyper-Dispensationalists might also distinguish themselves from other Hyper-Dispensationalists who hold to a different starting point for the church, by basing their Dispensational title upon the portion of Acts in which they believe the present church began. Thus, mid-Acts Dispensationalists believe the church began with the apostle Paul, some time during the mid-Acts period; while Acts 28 Dispensationalists believe the present church did not begin until Acts 28, or shortly thereafter. |
Hyper-Dispensationalism, also known as Ultra-Dispensationalism, is the name given to Dispensationalists who believe Paul was the first member of the body of Christ. The word "Hyper" does not imply anything negative; instead, it only designates those who take Dispensational concepts further than Traditional Dispensationalists do. Among Hyper-Dispensationalists, there are two major divisions, commonly known as the mid-Acts viewpoint (which takes its name from the belief that Paul became the first member of the body of Christ during the mid-Acts period), and the Acts 28 viewpoint (which takes its name from the belief that only Paul's prison and Pastoral epistles, which were written after Acts chapter 28, apply directly to the church in this present dispensation of grace).
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Please submit only sites that address the debate between among Dispensationalists as to when the church began in the book of Acts. Sites to be submitted would include those that critique the "Hyper" perspective from the Traditional perspective; those that critique the Traditional perspective from the "Hyper" perspective; and those that contrast these two views with the Classic Pauline view. |
There is an ongoing debate among Dispensationalists as to when the present church began, and which books of the New Testament were written directly to Christians today:Traditional Dispensationalists believe the church began sometime between the birth of Christ and Acts chapter 2, and that the majority (if not all) of the New Testament was written to the church today.
Classic Pauline Dispensationalists believe the church began in Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost; but that the details were a mystery to the other apostles, until Christ revealed them to the apostle Paul.
Hyper-Dispensationalists (also known as Ultra-Dispensationalists) believe the church began with the apostle Paul at some point during the book of Acts, and that only Paul’s epistles were written directly to the church today. They do, however, adamantly believe these books are still inspired scripture.
Among Hyper-Dispensationalists, most of those in the mid-Acts category believe that all of Paul's epistles were written directly to the present church; while Acts 28 Dispensationalists believe that only the epistles Paul wrote after Acts 28 apply to the church today (since it did not begin until Acts 28, or shortly thereafter).
The Opposing Views category is for sites that address the debate between these differing viewpoints.
| Please submit only sites pertaining to Progressive Dispensationalism, which teaches that prophecies concerning Gentile salvation are currently being fulfilled by believers in the church today. |
Like Traditional Dispensationalists, most Progressive Dispensationalists also recognize a distinction between Israel and the Church, a future Pre-Trib Rapture followed by a 7-year Tribulation, and a future Millennial Kingdom in which Christ will rule from Jerusalem. They differ, however, in their view concerning the relationship of this present dispensation to other dispensations. Whereas Traditional Dispensationalists view this present dispensation as a "parenthesis", Progressive Dispensations view it as the key that joins past and future dispensations. As a result, Progressive Dispensationalism teaches that certain promises concerning the New Covenant are currently being fulfilled by the church today, in the dispensation of grace. These promises initially began to be fulfilled when the Lord established the New Covenant with the believing "remnant" of Israel. Upon His ascension, the Lord began ruling on the throne of David in Heaven. Subsequently, the prophesied salvation of Gentiles began to be fulfilled in this present dispensation of grace, when the apostle Paul was sent to the Gentiles. At that time, believing Gentiles also began to partake of the New Covenant promises.
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Please submit Dispensational sites that critique other Theological viewpoints from the Traditional viewpoint, which maintains that scriptures pertaining to Israel do not apply to the church today. Sites that defend the Traditional viewpoint from Covenant or Reformed Theology should be submitted to this category. In addition, sites that point out the various misconceptions concerning Dispensationalism that are held by misinformed Covnenant and Reformed Theologians, as well as Preterists, should also be submitted to this category. However, sites that address the in-house debate among Dispensationalists as to when the church began in the book of Acts (Hyper-Dispensationalism vs. Traditional Dispensationalism) should be submitted to the Opposing Views category. |
Traditional Dispensationalism maintains a firm distinction between the Church and the nation of Israel. Many Traditional Dispensationalists may also teach that there are certain Pauline "truths" that are unique to Paul's epistles. While most Traditional Dispensationalists do not place undue emphasis upon Pauline doctrine, there are always exceptions.
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