No, I haven’t heard of them, but I’ll definitely check them out. It’s always encouraging to hear of someone else taking Christ’s statements seriously, that all the scriptures testify of him. Yes, here in the US as well a clearly Christ-centered OT hermeneutic is seen as unscholarly at best, and perhaps even a dangerously flawed hermeneutic. Thanks for the comment.

This isn’t Mike here, but Nathan Pitchford, the author of this article, which Mike linked to from his site. But I happen to know Mike wouldn’t consider himself a dispensationalist either.

To answer you briefly, I think dispensationalism detracts from the centrality of Christ and the continuity of his redemptive work. I have several articles dealing with dispensationalism, and supporting my contention here:

http://pitchfordsramblings.com/category/articles/dispensationalism/

Included is a simple, categorized list of scripture passages on the topic. It is my belief that, when the scriptures are read as naturally as possible, they strongly argue against dispensationalism and an ongoing distinction between true Israel and the church. Ethnic Israel, I believe, does still have a place in God’s plan — but it is just being grafted back into the tree of God’s one people, through faith in the Messiah, just as Gentiles who believe have been grafted into that tree and made “Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”. If you have questions about any of my articles on dispensationalism, feel free to ask, and I’ll be glad to respond.

In Christ, Nathan

Yes, actually, victory will come through the evangelistic efforts of men. Jesus’ appearing will not come prior to the gospel’s calling out worshipers from all the ends of the earth — the gospel will already have gone out and been successful before he appears. And while only God himself can change a sinner’s heart, he does choose to do that through the means of “evangelistic efforts of men”. “How shall they hear without a preacher?” To suggest otherwise is hyper-calvinistic and unbiblical.

Amen. But it will not come through the evangelistic efforts of men regardless of which doctrines of grace they espouse. Final victory will be wholly and completely upon the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

And that will not be in response to our self defined faithfulness, it will be in spite of us.

Thanks for the comments, and let’s keep our eyes fixed on our Savior as we forge ahead in his Kingdom-mission!

Rick,

You sound a little like Elijah after his confrontation on Mount Carmel. Yes, there are many insincere believers and imposters in the outward Church, but there are also genuine believers, who genuinely delight in God’s glory, and are giving of their bank accounts, their time, their prayers and themselves to see the Kingdom spread. And they will ultimately be victorious, through Jesus Christ. There is no room for defeatism in the battle for the kingdom. The gospel will penetrate every people group under heaven (Matthew 24:14). It will call out true worshipers from every kindred, tribe, tongue, and nation (Revelation 5:9). I’m not opposed to pointing out problems in the contemporary church (I did that quite emphatically at a couple points above), but that is not in contradiction to an unwavering belief in the victorious spread of the Kingdom, and in the growth of gospel-knowledge in the hearts of believers, so that they will lay aside doctrines and hermeneutics which obscure the glory of Christ, and give up their lives to see the gospel spread.

Don’t lose heart in the midst of much apostasy and lukewarmness — your labor is not in vain, if you are in the service of the King. Final victory is certain indeed.

In Christ, Nathan

I will believe that Christians are delighting in God’s glory and the eternal not the temporal when I see all of us empty our savings and retirement accounts, earthly treasures laid up mainly for our future consumption, and spill them out without a thought on the evangelistic imagery to which you allude. Until then we live anthropocentric lives indeed.

In this Arminian and Calvinism are disobedient brothers. No one can serve two masters. No one can worship God for one hour and worship his portfolio the next. The evangelism effort you describe is a consummation devoutly to be wished, and God will overlook the obvious and pungent anti-Arminian bias. Many Calvinists were saved under that horrible Arminian cult before ariving in the promised land.

Your view that evangelism is sweeping the world sounds like the Pentecostal last day harvest theology. They quote Acts 2 for their basis, what New Testament Scriptures indicate such a coming scenario as this:

“But now, Dispensationalism and modern naturalistic hermeneutics must also be defeated, for this will be the factor that will energize the evangelization of the remaining nations of the world, which still lie crushed in the hegemonic grip of Islam.”

The world’s missionaries labor underpaid, without necessary recourses, in obscurity, and in proportion to the number of western believers under sent. All the while American believers fare sumptuously. I hope your scenario is coming, I fear the contiuation of the opposite.

Thank you,

In His service,

Steve Blackwell

Your eschatalogical hope in the triumph of the church and the victory and reign of Christ are full of Christian joy. What a refreshing post!

For King, Kirk, and Covenant! The Aspiring Theologian

Knight of the Living God

May the Holy Spirit cause this challenge to stir and stoke raging flames of Jesus worship in the OT and Central Asia!

(spoke on Psalm 2 this AM and Psalm 96 this PM…I’m sure I utterly butchered both…but at least, by God’s grace alone and through the merciful assistance of the Spirit, I trumpeted the glory of Jesus alone throughout both…and btw, WHERE THE JUNK ARE ALL THE SERMONS THAT OUGHT TO BE PREACHED AND EXULTED DAILY ON PSALM 2????!!!!! IS THERE ARE MORE RICH OR COMPLETE CHORUS OF CHRIST ANYWHERE (OUTSIDE OF ISAIAH)??? sorry, I had to vent….)