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Defending Dispensationalism (Endnotes)

1. “Systematic theology” is the attempt to bring religious truth into an organized system. Many theologians have written “systematic theologies,” and, of course, while they are alike in some respects, they vary somewhat depending on the particular beliefs of the author. Nevertheless, the Bible is true and thus there is a genuine systematic theology, even if men disagree on what that is. Close

2. Oikonomia is translated “dispensation” in the KJV in 1 Corinthians 9:17, Colossians 1:25, Ephesians 1:10 and 3:2. It is translated “fellowship” in Ephesians 3:9 in the KJV, but “dispensation” in the American Revised Version, which recognizes that oikonomia is the correct reading in the Greek text. Close

3. For a thorough listing of the principles we employ to “accurately handle the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), see our booklet 22 Principles of Bible Interpretation. Close

4. In Luke 24:25, Jesus called two of his disciples fools because they did not “put two and two together” when it came to his suffering and glory. “Fool” in the Greek text is anoetos, which is literally “one who does not think or apply his mind to the situation.” Close

5. Amillennialism denies that Christ will come to gather the Church and afterward have a literal 1000 year reign on the earth (Rev. 20). According to the teaching of amillennialism, the Christian Church is fulfilling the prophecies that were unfulfilled by Israel. The future will include a horrible time just before a final conflict called Armageddon, and then the bodies of the saved will be raised and reunited with their souls and they will enter God’s eternal kingdom. For the biblical (millennialist) position on what the future holds, listen to The Book of Revelation, our nine-hour audio tape seminar. Close

6. Interestingly, the words of the risen Christ about outreach were also misunderstood. Although Christ said to go to “all creation” and “to the ends of the earth” (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8), for years the disciples went only to Jews. They finally went to the Gentiles only when the Lord Jesus gave Peter a vivid revelation (Acts 10:9-23). Even then, Peter’s traditional belief was so ingrained in him that he argued with the Lord about it. Close

7. More information about this is in our 90-minute audio tape, The Kingdom of God: Paradise Regained (Mar / Apr ’92). Close

8. Not only can one thing have many names, but also different things can have the same name. We are used to that with people, but in the Bible it is true of cities also. Bethlehem was called “the town of David” (Luke 2:4 and 11), just as was Jerusalem. David was born in Bethlehem and moved to Jerusalem. Close

9. In most Bibles, the Greek word musterion is translated “mystery,” but it does not mean that which is mysterious or inherently unknowable. It means “secret,” that which is knowable to whom it is revealed, and it should be translated as “secret,” not “mystery,” in Ephesians 3 and many other places. Close

10. For a thorough treatise on the subject of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, a human being, the Last Adam, see our book, One God & One Lord: Reconsidering the Cornerstone of the Christian Faith and Jesus Christ: The Diameter of the Ages, our six-hour audio tape seminar. Close