Dispensationalism has been a very powerful influence on my interpretation of Scripture but it has generally been an unseen force. Growing up in a Brethren church, I was influenced greatly by this approach to understanding the Scripture but I had never heard a defence of Dispensationalism. In my teens and early married life I was told that a well-known and much revered Bible teacher was heavily influenced by Bullinger but this name meant very little to me. My work life was so demanding and my passion for DIY made me avoid spending time researching this whole area of Biblical interpretation.
I used to preach regularly at a particular gospel hall near Glasgow where many of the 'brethren' were heavily influenced by Bullinger. I had absolutely no idea who Bullinger was but I was quite intimidated when I was told that several people in my audience would be checking to ensure that my interpretation was consistent with the teachings of Bullinger.
Bullinger taught that there were seven distinct dispensations which needed to be kept distinct and that it was essential to understand this in order to interpret the Scriptures correctly. He argued that each of the following 'dispensations' had their own characteristics and that God's relationship with mankind was different in each of them. Here is his list of so-called dispensations
The Edenic State - Innocence
Mankind as a whole - Patriarchal
Israel (Under Law)
The Church of God (The Secret - the Dispensation of Grace)
Israel (Judicial)
Mankind as whole (Millennial)
The Eternal State (Glory)
This compartmentalism does not fit in with the teaching of Scripture and the notion of separate dispensations is 'hanging on a shoogly peg.' During my boyhood, I had been told authoritatively that the sermon on the mount was not relevant to our 'dispensation.' It could only be applied to the nation of Israel and was not for the Church which is His body. I understood that Israel was God's chosen people and 'that there was a future for Israel.' On the subject of the word 'church', there was an interesting paradox. I rarely spoke of going to church - and never referred to Bethany Hall as a church with other members of that denomination- but we were not a denomination or a sect. Every other church was a denomination which was man-made. Even churches which held similar views were regarded as different and, if I was to be honest, of a lower Scriptural order than the group of Gospel halls to which I belonged. Colloquially, we talked about going to the meeting and would only use the word church for the benefit of non-Christians. The official term was 'assembly.' I was 'in the Assembly.' I was taught that it was a great privilege to belong to God's Assembly. However, to get to my point, the word church was more often used to refer to the mystical church or the universal Church. It was never referred to as the Assembly which is His Body even though 'assembly ' and 'church' are both translations of the same Greek word ecclesia.
However, the dominant interpretation of prophecy in the Christian circles in which I grew up was heavily influenced by Dispensationalism. I had sat through several Bible teaching sessions where a chart was used to explain the complicated sequence of prophetic events. I was always told that the present day was a parenthesis - a temporary halt to the prophetic calendar. The next event would be the rapture. That great event, the subject of much rousing hymn singing would restart God's prophetic calendar. The church would be in heaven while a period of cataclysmic events were happening on earth.
There would be another advent when Jesus returned to this earth to set up his kingdom. This was the fulfilment of all the prophesies relating to Israel. But as a believer in the Lord Jesus, I would come back to earth with the Lord. The church would somehow or other be part of Christ's perfect reign on earth for 1,000 years.
There was a great judgement awaiting this earth but this would not involve the church which is His Body - the universal church. Christians would be judged at the Bema or the judgement seat of Christ. This would not be with a view to punishment - rather a loss of reward or status in heaven would be the consequences of our deeds done in the body- our lack of commitment. There was another judgement ahead but the believers would not be part of this- the Great White Throne judgement. This interpretation of prophecy is heavily influenced by dispensationalist thinking.
A few years ago, I conducted a critique of one of Bullinger's books or part of his book which he entitled, Enjoy the Bible. I have made my analysis available for download from the website. This is perhaps a bit more academic than my usual outputs but I hope that someone will find it useful. I would welcome comments - perhaps via email as only those who are website members are able to add comments. My email address is dayshare153@gmail.com. Alternatively, if you want to become a member that is fine with me.
I know that many readers have been influenced by dispensationalist thinking. I wanted to delve into its origins and to see what Biblical basis there was for this teaching. I found it interesting that W.E. Vine, another scholar who was revered in the Gospel Hall circles, is adamant that there is no basis for the use of this word 'dispensation' to describe a particular time or epoch with distinctive characteristics. I go through all of this in the PDF document below. Here is the link:
Although Dispensationalism, or Darbyism, goes off track its roots in septa-millennialism of church fathers is correct - Ignatius, Polycarp, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Augustine. Bullinger wrote an excellent books on Numbers and Stars in Scripture