At one time I was a deacon at a conservative Bible Church.
Some time later we had a retired pastor and his wife join the church.
He was a graduate of DTS and talked the pastors into teaching Dispensational Theology in Sunday School.
One of the classes he taught was titled "Things to Come" by Dr. Dwight Pentecost. I bought the book and read it. Therefore, I do understand the doctrine promoted by the seminary. However, I would say that very few of those sitting in the pews have an understanding of the doctrine.
I presented the results of the following research to the deacon board of my Church. After the presentation, I produced the following YouTube video to document what I had found.
Some of those in the church did not want those sitting in the pews to know the results of my research. Soon after, they started finding something wrong with me.
The man who was the chief promoter of the doctrine talked to me like a dog who had wet the carpet and knew better, the next Sunday in the sanctuary of the Church.
It was a replay of an earlier event.
At one time Benjamin Newton and John Darby worked together in the early Plymouth Brethren movement. Sometime later Darby adopted the "Secret Rapture" doctrine of the Irvingites and then divided scripture into that for the Church and that for Israel. When Newton would not accept Darby's new doctrine, Darby launched a personal attack on Newton that split the group. The same spirit is alive and well today. Anyone who dares to speak against Darby's doctrine will likely experience the same thing. It has become one of the primary ways the doctrine defends itself.
You do not need to list any more names. Adrian Rogers was always one of my favorite preachers. He may not have attended the seminary, but he did teach much of the doctrine. However, I do not have to agree with everything he taught. Everything he said must be examined based on God's Word. If he were still with us, I am sure he would agree.
You have turned my disagreement with the doctrine into a personal attack upon the men you listed. In doing this, you are doing the exact same thing that Darby did to Newton.
If this is what is required to defend your doctrine, it should be exposed for what it really is...
.
There is no way for anyone to know what is the bottom line concerning your story.
Maybe you are telling the exact, whole truth and maybe you are embellishing it just a little, only you know that. Please do not get defensive, I am just stating the obvious and if it were me you would say the same thing and you would be correct in doing so. That is always the problem with "stories". There is always THREE sides to every story.
There is YOUR side, then there is THEIR side and then there is the truth which is upsell a little of both.
You posted it so I assume you wanted a comment. My comment is that being in church for over 50 years I have never heard of or experienced such a confrontation and neither would I allow it to take place......But that is just me.
Now....Dispensational Theology IS NOT A Dallas Theological Seminary exclusive doctrinal teaching.
I am sure you know what it means but I can also assure you that most Christians do not know.
IMO the
great majority has had the process take place in their lives and simply just did not know the name of it.
Some such as yourself see it as some kind of mystery or Occult teaching made up of lies and distortions. Nothing could further from the truth.
"Dispensation" simply means
...."TIME".
The truth is that is a method of Bible study that keeps the order of things—an administration, a system, or a management. In theology, a dispensation is the divine administration of a period of time; each dispensation is a divinely appointed age. Dispensationalism is a theological system that recognizes these ages ordained by God to order the affairs of the world. Dispensationalism has two primary distinctives:.......
1) a consistently literal interpretation of Scripture, especially Bible prophecy, and
2) a view of the uniqueness of Israel as separate from the church in God’s program.
Dispensationalists hold to a literal interpretation of the Bible as the best
hermeneutic. The literal interpretation gives each word the meaning it would commonly have in everyday usage. Allowances are made for symbols, figures of speech, and types, of course. It is understood that even symbols and figurative sayings have literal meanings behind them. So, for example, when the Bible speaks of “a thousand years” in
Revelation 20, dispensationalists interpret it as a literal period of 1,000 years (the dispensation of the Kingdom), since there is no compelling reason to interpret it otherwise.
Now from what you have just posted, I can understand your reason for rejecting this method. Since you have already rejected the "Pretribulation Rapture" YOU must then reject Dispensationalism.
You see, for all of you who do not know this, allow me to say to you that Dispensationalism, as a system,
results in a premillennial interpretation of Christ’s second coming and usually a pretribulational interpretation of the rapture. To summarize, dispensationalism is a theological system that emphasizes the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy, recognizes a distinction between Israel and the church, and organizes the Bible into different dispensations or administrations.
Now as for Dwight Pentecost and his book....."Things to Come". IMO, and some do not think much of it, Dr. Pentecost's production is one of if not the best book on this subject to be found.
It is concise, authoritive and most of all, completely Biblical.
And by the way......he attended DTS.
You know.......I think I may have relied to someone else who you posted to. O.........well.
If I did I am sure you will yell at me but maybe you needed to hear my thinking.
