Dispensationalism Q&A

Dr. Mike Vlach, assistant professor of Theology at The Master's Seminary, recently did a Q&A article for the VOICE magazine, an I.F.C.A. publication. In this articles Dr. Vlach made some helpful comments that I thought would be good to throw on a post.

- "Most books critical of dispensationalism often emphasize the dispensationalism of the early Twentieth Century and do not adequately deal the more recent dispensational scholars. Many say something like, 'Dispensationalism is a system of theology that is based on the belief of seven dispensations as found in the Scofield Reference Bible.'.... When reading some critiques of dispensationalism, one gets the impression that dispensational thought was frozen by 1950."

- "I think dispensationalists have been less than helpful when they emphasize belief in seven dispensations or doing word studies in oikonomia, as if understanding this Greek term somehow identifies the essence of dispensationalism." "Dispensationalists need to be bolder in defending dispensational beliefs. The Israel/Church distinction, premillennialism, and the doctrine of the future salvation and restoration of Israel are very well supported in Scripture. On these issues that are at the heart of dispensationalism, the dispensationalist has much to stand upon.

- "First, it is true that as a system of theology, dispensationalism began in the nineteenth century. Yet it is also true that several key elements of dispensational belief were held by the early church. A strong consensus existed in the Patristic Era (A.D. 100-451)that in the future, the coming of Elijah and Antichrist would proceed the second coming of Jesus... many of the church fathers believed in a future salvation of Israel...The early church was also clearly premillennial. Because of the early church's view on futurism, premillenialism, and a future salvation for Israel, I believe that the early church was closer to dispensationalism that it was to covenant theology."

- Concerning internal debates... "In sum, for those who are dispensationalists, I advocate neither a blanket acceptance nor blanket rejection of progressive dispensationalism, or traditional dispensationalism for that matter. Like all theological perspectives, we should accept what is biblical and reject what is not.