As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
The Chafer Theological Seminary Pastors’ Conference met for the 19th time at West Houston Bible Church this past Monday through Wednesday, March 4 to 6. In the aftermath of Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the conference focused on “Israel: Past, Present, and Future.”
“the spread of a thin, undertheologized pop-dispensationalism and the decline of scholarly dispensationalism—are the essence of what I mean by the ‘fall’ of this doctrine in the last half century.” - Daniel Hummel
An early look at ‘Dispensationalism Revisited: A 21st Century Restatement’ - P&D
There are at least five reasons that progressive dispensational (PD) represents a departure from a normative hermeneutic (literal grammatical historical) and reading of the Bible. The first two pertain to methodology in arriving at conclusions, and the latter three have to do with theological conclusions which are not exegetically derived.
Review of the book Dispensational Hermeneutics by Michael Vlach. It is published by Theological Studies Press (Paperback and Kindle, 111 pages).
The subtitle of the book is “Interpretation Principles that Guide Dispensationalism’s Understanding of the Bible’s Storyline.”
Introduction
As we approach this New Year, our world is weighted down with manifold troubles. Yet believers in Christ need not succumb to despair. God’s Word gives us the capacity to discern God’s work in history—in light of the prophetic Scriptures. Jesus, in fact, entreated His followers to engage in this exercise, and chided those who were unable to “discern the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3).
“of the nineteen uses of βασιλεία in the NT epistles, fully half of them occur in contexts of church membership, most often that of church discipline.” - DBTS Blog
“a collection of essays written by leading scholars in the field of dispensational theology…. a festschrift in honor of Charles A. Hauser, Jr.” - Central Seminary
“Darby, not nearly as sanguine about the prospects of the world or church, advanced a decidedly pessimistic eschatology, embracing what Hummel calls ‘new premillennialism,’ or what ended up being called ‘dispensationalism.’” - Acton
Read Part 1.
Fazio sees a cyclical aspect to this type of philosophical swing and believes that a commitment to literal interpretation might also move to another point on the globe, such as African nations or other developing countries.
Discussion