dispensationalism: why I have begun to disagree

I have been taught dispensationalism for most of my life growing up in Southern Baptist Churches but more recently have been finding biblical texts that seem to contradict what I have been taught. This is an excerpt from a publication that I found on another message board. I have taken a few of the points out of the 95 they stated to establish some of the reasons why I am no longer considering myself as a dispensationalist.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 95 thesis against dispensationalism 58. Despite the dispensationalists’ widespread belief that we have been living in the “last days” only since the founding of Israel as a nation in 1948, the New Testament clearly and repeatedly teach that the “last days” began in the first century and cover the whole period of the Christian Church (Acts 2:16-17; 1 Cor 10:11; Heb 1:1-2; 9:26) 59. Despite the dispensationalists’ claim that the expectation of the imminent Rapture and other eschatological matters are important tools for godly living, dispensationalism’s founders were often at odds with each other and divisive regarding other believers, so that, for instance, of the Plymouth Brethren it could be said that “never has one body of Christians split so often, in such a short period of time, over such minute points” (John Gerstner) and that “this was but the first of several ruptures arising from [Darby’s] teachings” (Dictionary of Evangelical Biography). 60. Contrary to the dispensationalists’ creation of a unique double coming of Christ—the Rapture being separated from the Second Advent—which are so different that it makes “any harmony of these two events an impossibility” (Walvoord), the Bible mentions only one future coming of Christ, the parousia, or epiphany, or revelation (Matt. 24:3; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8; Jas. 5:7; 2 Pet. 3:4; 1 Jn. 2:28), and states that He “shall appear a second time” (Heb 9:28a), not that He shall appear “again and again” or for a third time. 61. Despite the dispensationalists’ teaching that “Jesus will come in the air secretly to rapture His Church” (Tim LaHaye), their key proof-text for this “secret” coming, 1 Thess 4:16, makes the event as publicly verifiable as can be, declaring that he will come “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” 62. Contrary to dispensationalism’s doctrine of two resurrections, the first one being of believers at the Rapture and the second one of unbelievers at the end of the millennium 1007 years after the Rapture, the Bible presents the resurrection of believers as occurring on “the last day” (John 6:39-40, 44, 54; 11:24), not centuries before the last day. 63. Contrary to dispensationalism’s doctrine of two resurrections, the first one being of believers at the Rapture and the second one of unbelievers at the end of the millennium 1007 years after the Rapture, the Bible speaks of the resurrection of unbelievers as occurring before that of believers (though as a part of the same complex of events), when the angels “first gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up” at the end of the age (Matt 13:30b).

self sufficiency in the Trinity

God is fully self-sufficient and does not need us to be who He is.  God is love … with or without man and I wonder how someone who denies the Trinity would deal with the issue of God’s being fully self suffifient before the creation of man.

God is love.  God is just.  God is holy.  God is faithful.

God is these things and He always has been for He is unchanging.  How could God be any of these without existing in a relationship with Himself within the Trinity as these are attributes that only exist in relationship.

ending financial stress

It is such a great blessing to have little to no stress over financial issues.

 My wife and I have been attending seminars through Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey and have learned a lot.  We are on week 7 now and I am starting to get the hang of managing our finances according to the guidelines Dave gives. 

 When we started the program I hadn’t balanced our checkbook for about three years and we just signed on our first home.  That is proof of God’s providence if I ever experienced it.  I know that God put this all together in perfect timing.  Without God’s help our finances would be in shambles.

 So far, we have kept a zero balanced budget for two months, we are practicing the envelope system using 5 envelopes and from what I recollect, the system has cut our spending back nearly $200 dollars a month at Wal-Mart alone.  We have started building our emergency fund and we are ahead of schedule.  God is so good.