I was saved when I was thirteen years old. I grew up in a Cumberland Presbyterian Church where I don’t remember the pastors preaching about the end times. But we did have a visiting preacher, Dr. Linton, who did preach on the end times, and he was the first person I remember who introduced me to Dispensationalism. Having an old Scofield Reference Bible, I opened it and memorized the seven dispensations and the eight covenants listed.
After graduating high school, I attended Bob Jones University for three and one half years. In the middle of those years, I attended New Tribes Bible Institute for three semesters and graduated. Both schools leaned toward Dispensationalism.
But in the fall semester of 1966, I purchased Dr. Charles C. Ryrie’s original book on Dispensationalism. At that time, I was studying the Minor Prophets as I was reading his book. As I was doing this, I began to notice what I considered contradictory ideas between scripture and Dispensationalism.
As a result, I realized I could no longer accept Dispensational teaching, but for many years, I had no idea there was any other theological system. Then one day, I found the Westminster Confession of Faith and realized that was in line with what I already believed.
Concerning Dr. Ryrie’s comment that “the Bible itself clearly teaches that salvation, important as it is, is not an end in itself but is rather a means to the end of glorifying God. . .The essence of Dispensationalism, then is the distinction between Israel and the Church”.
First, when we hear Dispensationalists speak about Israel, they always call them “the chosen people of God” as if the Church is the adopted redheaded stepchildren. In truth, Abraham was chosen in order to identify the direct ancestry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham was apparently a pagan Gentile when God first called him.
Abram (his original given name) had moved to Haran from Ur of the Chaldeans with his father and brother when God first appeared to him. (Acts 7:2). Then when God spoke to him the second time (Gen. 12:2), he left Haran and headed for the land of Canaan with his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, and he spent several years wandering. Abram was a nominal believer until sometime later when God spoke to him in a vision (Gen. 15). In verse 6, it says, “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith”. Paul quotes this passage in Rom. 4:3: “For the Scripture tells us, ‘Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith’.” There were two parts of the covenant God made with Abraham. The first part was that God would so bless him that the entire world would be blessed. This part was the Covenant of Grace that would deliver the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would bring salvation to the entire world. From Gen. 12-15, there was no requirement for obedience in the covenant; it was all grace.
The second part was that God would make him the father of many nations. This was the earthly side of the covenant that required obedience. Genesis 17 begins with this second part: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El-Shaddai – God Almighty. Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants’.” Notice this was an earthly covenant that required obedience.
After the exodus and Israel arrived at Mt. Sinai, God revealed Himself to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Exodus 19: 5-6, God offered Israel a new covenant. God told Moses to tell the people, “Now if you will obey Me and keep My covenant, you will be my own special treasure from all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to Me. And you will be My kingdom of priests, My holy nation”.
In his first letter to the church, Peter wrote the same words: “And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. . .you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession”. (1 Pet. 2:5,9). Peter continued in verse 9 by writing, “As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.”
So how did Israel react to God’s offer? “And all the people responded together, ‘We will do everything the Lord has commanded’.” (Ex. 19:8). But that’s not the end of the story. God told them to prepare themselves for in three days He would come down and speak to them.
On the third day, God came down and gave them the Ten Commandments. “On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense clout came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.” (Ex. 19:16).
After God gave the Ten Commandments, the people came to reject God’s covenant with them. “And they said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die’!” (Ex.20:19). Moses tried to console them. “’Don’t be afraid’, Moses answered them, ‘for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of Him will keep you from sinning?’ As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.” (Ex. 20:20).
What we see in Exodus 19 & 20 is that a nation rejected God’s plan for them; the Holy Spirit would not come upon them so they would become priests. Instead, what happened was that God chose one tribe, Levi, to be priests for the people. Instead of being a nation of priests, they became a nation with priests. They would continue to receive the earthly benefits of the covenant but not the Heavenly benefits.
What about the Davidic Covenant in Dispensationalism? We find a record of this in 2 Sam. 7:11-16. In this scripture, we find God making a covenant with David. God had rejected David as the builder of a temple, but God went on to say that his son, who turned out to be Solomon, would build it. “Your house and your kingdom will continue before Me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.”
In the text above, God said He would discipline Solomon, if he sinned, as a father would chastise a son. Then God said, “But My favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight.”
n 1 Kings 2, David gave instructions to Solomon. David admonished Solomon to follow all of God’s ways. “If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise He made to me. He
told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow Me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel’.” But as we know, Solomon sinned in his life. “In Solomon’s old age, they (his pagan wives) turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been.” (1 Kings 11:4).
The scripture goes on to say, “The Lord was very angry with Solomon. . .So now
the Lord said to him, ‘Since you have not kept my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I
will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son’.”
(1 Kings 11:11-12).
Thus is the earthly part of the Davidic Covenant ended, but the heavenly part did not. The Lord Jesus Christ was a descendant of David through David’s son Nathan to Mary. As Jesus said before Pilate, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep Me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But My Kingdom is not of this world.” (Luke 18:36).
Yes, Jesus sits on the eternal throne in heaven, but the last king in David’s line to sit on Israel’s earthly throne was Solomon, and the last king in David’s line to sit on Judah’s throne was Zedekiah. There has not been a king of David’s descendants since 586 BCE. The earthly benefits of the Davidic Covenant ended then because of disobedience.
The beginning of the end of the earthly part of God’s covenant with Abraham happened when Jesus was on trial before Pilate. Pilate knew the charges were bogus, and he tried to find a way to release Jesus.
After he released Barabbas, he asked the crowd, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah”?
“Crucify him “, the crowd responded. Pilate then washed his hands and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”
“And all the people yelled back, ‘We will take responsibility for his death – we and our children’!? These quotations are from Matthew 27.
The end of this earthly covenant did not come immediately. God allowed the church to grow for a period of time as we read in Acts 1-12. But the end did come during the life of that generation.
“As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, His disciples pointed out to Him the various Temple buildings. But He responded, ‘Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another’!” (Matt. 24:1-2).
Jesus went on to give further detail. “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about – the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader pay attention!) Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. . .In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.” (Matt 24: 15-16, 22).
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, a revolt started in 66 CE when “Florus, the last Roman procurator, stole vast quantities of silver from the Temple. The outraged Jewish masses rioted and wiped out the small Roman garrison stationed in Jerusalem.”
This is the seven year war depicted in Daniel 9. Depending on what you read, the war is dated 66-73 CE or 67-74 CE. As stated earlier, the Jews rebelled in 66 CE and defeated the Romans in one battle (not including the Jerusalem garrison). Nero, the Emperor, then had Vespasian begin a conquest of Judea in 67 CE.
Then Nero died in 68 CE followed by a succession of three minor claimants to the throne, but each was either defeated in battle or assassinated. Vespasian returned to Rome in July 69 leaving the war in Judah at a standstill. Vespasian was officially confirmed by the Roman Senate as the new Emperor in December.
During this time of reprieve, Titus did nothing until his father became the emperor. This lull of peace allowed many Christians to flee Jerusalem and Judea following Jesus’ instructions found in Matthew 24. But in 70 CE, Titus surrounded Jerusalem and entered the city in August or September. It is reported that after temporarily placing a statue in the Temple he had it (the Temple) along with most of the city demolished.
The final end of this seven year conflict was the battle for Masada. This was believed to have happened in 73 CE, but new archeological findings estimate the date to be in the spring of 74 CE. Regardless, this was the end of the Jewish nation’s earthly covenant with God.
However, Paul does tell us in Romans 11 that the Jews can and will be brought back into the Heavenly covenant. “I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.” (verses 25-26).
This is why I adhere to Covenant Theology. The Covenant of Works is found in Genesis 1:1 – 3:14, and the Covenant of Grace began in Genesis 3:15. The third covenant taught in Covenant Theology is the covenant between God the Father and God the Son. It is based on many statements of the Lord Jesus Christ when He said to His disciples, “I have come to do the will of My Father.” In His prayer, He said, I have done Your will Father.
Paul writes in Philippians 2:10-11, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”