Class 5 of The Consummation. This examines the most popular view of end times in the American evangelical church today, Dispensational Premillennialism. It gives a summary of it's views and critiques it.

1. Dispensational Premillennialism
C.S. Noren, 2017

2.  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit
and a great chain. And he seized the dragon,
that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years, and threw
him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over
him, so that he might not deceive the nations
any longer, until the thousand years were ended.
After that he must be released for a little while.
(Revelation 20:1-3 ESV)

3.  Second Coming of Christ – The future return
of Christ to earth.
 Rapture – An event where believers who
have died and will be raised and believers
who are still alive on earth shall be caught up
in the clouds to meet Christ in the air.
(Derived from the Middle French rapture,
which comes from the Medieval Latin rapture
(seizure/kidnapping), which comes from the
Latin raptus (a carrying off).

4. Christ’sFirstComing
Eternity
Millennium
Dispensational Premillennialism
Second Coming Final Judgment
Trib
Rapture
Millennium
Historic Premillennialism
Second Coming Final Judgment
Trib

5. The ChurchThe Church
Tribulation
The Church
Millennium
Judgment
New
The ChurchThe Church

6. Israel
The Church
Tribulation
Israel
The Church
Millennium
Judgment
New
Israel
The Church

7.  End of the Millennium:
 Satan loosed.
 Final great rebellion.
 Rebellion crushed.
 Second resurrection (of the wicked for judgment).
 Final Judgment.
 Satan and his followers cast into the lake of fire.

8.  Major Distinctions
 Distinction between Israel and the Church.
 Eschatology – Premillennial with Rapture.
 Dispensations.
 Biblical Interpretive Distinctions
 Progressive Revelation.
 Grammatical-Historical Interpretation.

9.  Dispensational periods in and of themselves
are not the main issue between Reformed
and Dispensationalists.
 It’s the Israel versusThe Church hermeneutic.
Biblical Periods
Genesis 1-3 Genesis 3-8 Genesis 9-11 Genesis 12 to
Exodus 19
Exodus 20
until the
birth of the
church
Church age
until rapture
Revelation
20:4-6
Revelation
20-22
Classical
Dispensatio
nalism
Innocence
or Edenic
Conscience
or
Antediluvian
Civil
Government
Patriarchal
or Promise
Mosaic or
Law
Grace or
Church
Millennial
Kingdom
Eternal
State
or Final
Four
Dispensatio
nal scheme
Patriarchal Mosaic Ecclesial Zionic

10.  Theology Simply Profound
 http://theologysimplyprofound.org/
 “A Podcast OfWestminster Orthodox Presbyterian
ChurchWhere God Powerfully SpeaksThrough His
Means Of Grace.”
 Has an outstanding series on Dispensationalism.
▪ Episode 22 (April 2016) – Episode 37 (August 2016), with
other relevant episodes.
 Look up “Theology Simply Profound” in iTunes or
your favorite podcast app.

11.  OT Prophecies concerning Israel are to be
literally fulfilled to ethnic Israel.
 Israel is not a type, it is the antitype.
 OT Symbolism is constrained.
 It is especially constrained in OT prophetic
statements.

12. ISRAEL
 The earthly chosen people
of God.
 OT promises and curses
relate to ethnic Israel.
 OT promises to Israel will
be fulfilled in the
millennium.
 OT trappings of temple and
sacrifices will be present in
millennium.
THE CHURCH
 The spiritual, heavenly
people of God.
 OT prophecies did not
mention the NT Church.
 The Church has a different
destiny or purpose than
Israel.

13.  The catholic or universal church, which is invisible,
consists of the whole number of the elect, that have
been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ
the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the
fullness of him that filleth all in all.
 The visible church, which is also catholic or universal
under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as
before under the law), consists of all those throughout
the world that profess the true religion; and of their
children: and is the kingdom of the Lord JesusChrist,
the house and family of God, out of which there is no
ordinary possibility of salvation.

14.  The main issue is Dispensationalism
separates God’s people:
 Israel –The OT promises only refer to them.
 The Church – Distinct from the true Israel.
 This is unbiblical.

15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism#mediaviewer/File:History_of_Dispensationalism_Darby_III.svg

16.  Based on 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.
 Many other passages can be used.
 1 Corinthians shows a striking contraction in
“Rapture Doctrine”.

17.  The critique is based on the concept of proof
by contradiction.
 It depends on the law of non-contradiction:
Nothing can be true and false, at the same
time and in the same sense.
 If the premise being defended results in a
contradiction, then the premise is false.

18.  1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ESV: Behold! I tell you
a mystery.We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be
raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the
imperishable, and this mortal body must put
on immortality.

19.  Dispensationalists identify 1 Corinthians
15:51-53 as a rapture event.
 Believers, living and dead, are caught up with the
Lord.
 Notice that “the last trumpet” is sounded.
 There is a problem with the last trumpet.
 Matthew 24:31

20.  Matthew 24:31 ESVAnd he will send out his
angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will
gather his elect from the four winds, from
one end of heaven to the other.
 Dispensationalists view this is the 2nd coming
of Christ … after the rapture in 1 Corinthians
15.
 This makes the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians
15 not the last trumpet.

21.  How can the not last trumpet of 1 Corinthians
15 be called the last trumpet?
 Four DispensationalTheories:
 The last trumpet with different blasts of the
trumpet.
 The trumpet sound is seven years long.
 Matthew 24:31 is not about the visible second
coming of Christ.
 This last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15 is the last for
the Church.

22.  The last trumpet with different blasts of the
trumpet.
 Rebuttal: Does not work because 1 Corinthians
15:52 says the trumpet sound. It means this is the
last sounding of the trumpet.

23.  The trumpet sound is seven years long.
 Rebuttal:The stress on 1 Corinthians 15:52 is on
the quickness of the operation.

24.  Matthew 24:31 is not about the visible second
coming of Christ.
 Rebuttal: Matthew 24:30 is clearly visible:
Matthew 24:30 ESVThen will appear in heaven
the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes
of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son
of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.

25.  This last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15 is the last
for the Church. – Rebuttal:
 This theory means there is a qualification to the
last trumpet.
 Rule in interpretation is that there must be explicit
limited qualifiers in the context.
 There is no indication in 1 Corinthians 15 that last
is qualified in any way.
 The passage is cosmic and not limited in any way.

26.  The most straight forward and plain literal
reading of Matthew 24 and 1 Corinthians 15 is
that the rapture event of 1 Corinthians 15 is
identical to the second coming of Christ in
Matthew 24.
 Therefore there is no secret rapture of the
Church prior to the second coming of Christ.

27.  Dispensationalism is an invention in the
1800’s by John Nelson Darby.
 It’s major distinctives include:
 Different plans of God for ethnic Israel and the
Church
 The Premillennial Rapture view.
 The rapture view runs into many major
biblical problems and contradictions.

28.  Matthew 24:36-42
 [36] “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not
even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father
only. [37] For as were the days of Noah, so will be the
coming of the Son of Man. [38] For as in those days before
the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the
ark, [39] and they were unaware until the flood came and
swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of
Man. [40]Then two men will be in the field; one will be
taken and one left. [41]Two women will be grinding at the
mill; one will be taken and one left. [42]Therefore, stay
awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is
coming. (ESV)

29.  Matthew 24:40, 41:
 Emphasis is on being ready.
 Cannot judge by external appearances. People
pursuing same activities, one will be taken, one
left.
 It is referring to the separation of those who are
ready from those who are not.
 “Taken” often refers to judgment. For example,
Israel was taken into captivity.

30.  1Thessalonians 4:13-18
 [13] But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about
those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who
have no hope. [14] For since we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those
who have fallen asleep. [15] For this we declare to you by a word
from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the
coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen
asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with
a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first. [17]Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
and so we will always be with the Lord. [18]Therefore
encourage one another with these words. (ESV)

31.  1Thessalonians 4
 Metaphor of a triumphant, conquering general
returning to the city.
▪ Trumpets sound.
▪ Messenger announces the coming general and army
with a loud voice.
▪ The people of the city go out to meet the general and
participate in the victory parade that comes into the
city.