Do you believe in dispensationalism?
This text is from a letter written by David Gooding in 1999.
Yes, I do believe in dispensationalism. I believe, for instance, that Revelation 20 means what it says, that there shall be a millennium. That said, I think the extreme dispensationalism of Mr Darby (Editor's Note: John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), one of the early and influential leaders of the Brethren movement) is highly questionable, for two reasons:
It teaches that our Lord wanted to establish the kingdom for Israel, and would have done so if they had not rejected him. But the idea that the kingdom of God could have thus been established on earth before Christ was crucified seems to me to be highly questionable theologically.
In the parables of Matthew 13, as elsewhere, our Lord indicates what his tactics for the setting up of the kingdom of God would be. First, that it should be established at the spiritual level by the sowing of the word. Second, he would not proceed at once to set up the kingdom, in the sense of putting down evil. He would not pluck up the tares until the harvest. There would be an interval between his resurrection and ascension, and the eventual putting down of all his enemies. This tactic was not something that had to be brought in when Israel officially rejected him. It was the tactic that God had announced in the Old Testament should be his way for dealing with the problem of evil in the universe. Psalm 110, to which our Lord himself called attention, had laid down the programme, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet'. It had always been the purpose of God that there should be this 'until' period between our Lord's ascension and his coming to deal with evil.
As to the new covenant, Mr. Darby and others who follow him would insist that, when the Old Testament says that the covenant is to be made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, it must be taken literally to mean the house of Israel and the house of Judah. By definition, it has nothing to do with the church. Moreover, they say that the covenant with Israel and Judah has not yet been made. It will be made when the Lord returns and Israel is restored.
Now, certainly the promised covenant was to be made with Israel and Judah. It was one of the covenants of promise. Ephesians, however, plainly declares that, whereas at one stage we Gentiles were strangers to the covenant of promise, now in Christ it is no longer so. We too are covered by the covenant of promise—that is, the new covenant.
Also, Hebrews 8 says explicitly that that covenant has been inaugurated. It has passed into law. Hebrews 8:6 explicitly declares it to be so.
Lastly, the extreme dispensationalists seem to suggest that there are two grades of salvation: one, which was of course obtained for us by the sacrifice of Christ, is full salvation; whereas salvation for the Jew, though obtained for them by that same sacrifice of Christ, is going to be a lesser salvation.
That seems to me to be seriously wrong. When it comes to salvation, all believers, whatever their gifts, enjoy all the benefits of that salvation. Certainly, the gifts and calling of God are not equally distributed to everybody who has faith in the Lord Jesus and in his sacrifice. Even in the church, while all are equally redeemed and equally entitled to all the benefits of the death of Christ, not all have the same gift. Some are apostles, and most Christians are not. The reason for that is that the gifts are not distributed on the basis of the sacrifice of Christ. Israel certainly has her special gifts as a nation. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Rom 11:29). Therefore, Israel shall be restored and given again the joy of exercising her special God-given gift.
Yours very sincerely in Christ,
