Kevin Williams ' critique of Dispensationalism

Quote from this sermon: (summary points below quote)

"a bomb goes off in America, or some other part of the world, and we all say what a tragedy that is, and we mourn for them. But then someone fires a missile or a bomb at Israel, or threatens to nuke them, and then all the dispensationalists who are always telling us how much they love Israel, and are accusing everyone who’s not a dispensationist of being anti-semetic, they’re all giggling amongst themselves, getting excited, saying, "Oooh, 50 Israelites have been killed, how exciting". There is something sickening about that truth. Those are real people, real souls.

But you see Biblical eschatology is really about, the Joy of Christ’s return, and seeing Him face to face. And seeing Him sat upon His throne, seeing Christ exalted, and every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

In this sermon we show how Scripture clearly teaches that:
-God does not have two brides, Israel and the Church, but One People in Jesus Christ.
-When Christ returns it will be the eternal age and not a temporary 1000 year Kingdom
-We also look at the 3 Faulty Hermeneutic Rules of Dispensationalism.
-Any Jews outside of Jesus Christ are NOT God's people.

Listen to Sermon or download mp3:
Gal 3:27-29+Var - Why I Am Not A Dispensationalist Or Premillenialist-Kevin Williams -54 min

Book review: Dispensationalism: Essential Beliefs and Common Myths, by Michael J. Vlach

Dan Phillips has a good overview Dispensationalism: Essential Beliefs and Common Myths, by Michael J. Vlachat at his blog: Biblical Christianity . Highlights:

The Author:

Vlach earned his Master of Divinity degree from The Master’s Seminary, followed by a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His doctoral dissertation was The Church as a Replacement of Israel: An Analysis of Supersessionism, and it is available online, for a fee. Vlach has a web page that looks almost as due for a face lift as mine, and it's bristling with helpful documents. Vlach is an Assistant Professor of Theology at The Master's Seminary, and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, where he presented a paper on Supersessionism in 2007.

Vlach believes that essential dispensationalism can be defined, and states this as his purpose:Vlach says that he is a dispensationalist by conviction, not by being married to any given system (5).

The purpose of this brief book is to highlight the foundational beliefs of dispensationalism that are truly at the heart of the system. It will also look at misrepresentations and myths about dispensationalism that have muddied the waters of understanding (3, emphases original)

Vlach deals first with the history of dispensationalism (7-12), beginning with J. N. Darby's recognition in the 1800s of Israel's distinction from the church (7), a position Darby said was fully formed for him by 1833 (8). Vlach goes on to discuss three key periods of dominance in the development of dispensationalism: Classical (1802-1940s), Revised or Modified (1950-1985), and Progressive (mid-1980s).

After discussion, Vlach lays out and explains his six essential beliefs of dispensationalism (18-31). Much abbreviated, they are:

1. NT revelation does not override or cancel the original meaning of OT writers "as determined by historical-grammatical hermeneutics" (18)
2. Types exist, but Israel is not a type that is superseded by the church (22)
3. Israel and the church are distinct; the church is not "new" or "true" Israel (24)
4. Though Jews and Gentiles share spiritual unity in salvation, national Israel has a future role (26)
   
5. The nation Israel will be saved and restored with a unique identity and function in the future earthly millennial kingdom (29)
6. The phrase "seed of Abraham" has multiple senses, so that "the church's identification as 'seed of Abraham' does not cancel God's promises to the believing Jewish 'seed of Abraham'" (30).