In the previous installment, I primarily addressed the need for the leaders of dispensational churches—including pastors and all members of the congregation—to take their roles more seriously.

Indeed, this will be crucial to rebuilding a culture of dispensationalism in our churches. It must extend to much more rigorous theological screening of potential candidates for ministry positions. It will also necessarily involve greater commitment and boldness when it comes to providing dispensational perspectives from the pulpit.

We could apply this logic to other areas of church life as well—such as the screening of current and potential supported missionaries (who are an extension of the church’s ministry to other fields) and the training of Sunday school teachers (who are the foundation of the church’s ministry for years to come).

These topics could be addressed at length, but the dynamics of dealing with them would be similar to what I have already presented with regard to pastors. Desiring to keep a focus specifically on issues involving dispensationalism, I will therefore move ahead.

Now, someone might respond by saying that the opinions I’ve articulated here—while basic to the revitalization of the dispensational movement—will take us only so far. Unless or until we are able to make considerable headway on the academic level—in Bible colleges and, especially, seminaries and through major initiatives with mainstream evangelical publishers—the corrections I have offered will simply fall flat, and we will never reclaim our former position of prominence.

I am sure that they may very well be correct—at least as far as human measures of our dispensational movement go. May we bear in mind, however, that Christ is the ultimate judge, and His evaluation will only be disclosed at the Bema (2 Cor. 5:10).

Of course, I would love to see the re-emergence of dispensationalism in seminaries and noted publishing companies. But these things are outside of my control. I only hope, again, that perhaps one person will take up this series and determine to do something with it. If that were to happen, I would deem this effort to be wildly successful.

But what if (under the sovereignty of God) dispensationalism never regains a foothold in our Christian culture? What if it will be manifested from this point forward largely through a variety of small to midsize ministries, mission boards, schools, publishing efforts, conferences, and, of course, numerous churches?

As I stated earlier, I see some advantages to that. Yet, it certainly presents challenges we are forced to address. So, first, we need to widen our vision. We’re going to depend upon one another more and more in our traditional dispensational movement.

Certainly, many of us practice particular convictions, doctrinal emphases, and distinctives in our families, churches, and ministries. But we must also look beyond our preferences and cooperate on matters of utmost importance when appropriate.

It’s instructive to remember that the dispensational movement grew largely out of the group now known as the Plymouth Brethren in 19th-century England. Here in America, it was widely disseminated among Presbyterians, such as James Hall Brookes and, later, Lewis Sperry Chafer. C.I. Scofield was a Congregationalist. W.H. Griffith Thomas, who supported Chafer in establishing the school we know as Dallas Theological Seminary, was Anglican. There’s a rich history of premillennialism in some quarters of Lutheranism—as personified by George N.H. Peters—and even of Lutheran dispensational theology. Then, of course, there was the great Methodist dispensationalist Arno C. Gaebelein.

By the middle of the last century, dispensationalism largely coalesced inside the burgeoning Bible church movement. Thankfully, many Baptists also became enthusiastic adherents. Today, dispensationalism resides principally within these last two groups, although, gratefully, it certainly still has many other advocates.

Reflecting on our history, we ought to develop a mindset of seeking to attract and encourage as many people as possible to move toward dispensational thought. I am not calling for ecumenical ministry endeavors at the expense of truth, but for targeted cooperation with those who share agreement on significant issues—especially if they are our theological first cousins. We simply don’t have the luxury of fracturing over frivolous quarrels. We need to focus our energies deliberately on appealing to young people—certainly in the most engaging way possible, but always with solid, substantive Biblical truth and in a manner that provides answers to their concerns.

In the midst of all of this, however, we must attentively maintain our focus. I referred previously to dispensational sensationalism—certainly one danger that threatens the cohesion of our movement. Other strange doctrines are also reemerging, notably on social media, including forms of hyper-dispensationalism. We must lovingly but carefully defend against the intrusion of these kinds of spurious teachings and “guard what was committed to [our] trust” (1 Tim. 6:20).

Finally, we, as dispensationalists, need to be cognizant of looking back and looking up. Much good work is being done in the former realm by talented and determined church historians. We’ll conclude the series by considering these vital concepts.

***

Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

If you have visited here before, you may recognize the name. I had a brief spurt of activity where I had written here extensively. In the following years, the creative well has unfortunately pretty much dried up, much to my chagrin.

I return now to tell you an unusual story. The fact that I’m telling it is even more unusual, considering my past reticence to disclose much of myself to anyone.

Probably best to start with some background material.

I am presently 70 years old. My childhood was turbulent, the details of which are really not that important. Suffice it to say it played a big part in the man I would become. About 20 years ago, I was betrayed by a very close friend and her family. That essentially closed the door toward my ever allowing anyone to get “too close” from then on.

The only exception was my mother. Last year, after being essentially housebound for a considerable time, her health deteriorated, and she died at the age of 92. It was a painful death which concluded a lifetime of disappointment and hardship. That even her departure was an ordeal struck me as totally unfair.

Seven years ago, I myself nearly died of Stage 4 heart failure. My prime motivation to recover was to be around for Mom, which I thankfully accomplished at a level that could be easily considered miraculous.

Life went on after Mom’s passing.

Back on June 1st of this year (2023), I was at the gym, stepping off of an elliptical machine…. My next memory is that of waking up in the hospital, getting ready to come home two days later. Memory was tenuous for a few more days but has rapidly improved since then, as I write this about two weeks later.

And now on to the real miracle, or perhaps better expressed as a series of them. Based on what I’ve since been told, it took eight “hits” with a defib to get my heart restarted, during which time I was dead for… 10 minutes! This I just learned from my primary care physician. That I have no significant impairment, either mental or physical (besides some broken ribs), takes my story beyond the realm of science. My medical people are, quite frankly, amazed at my recovery so far – something I was told usually takes months! So am I!

As amazing as that is, it pales in comparison to what I’m about to tell you next. When I collapsed, many people at the gym whom I only knew casually have since stepped up and gone far above and beyond to help someone who was, before this, pretty much a stranger. In fact, some were directly responsible for keeping me from being a statistic.

Yet, as remarkable as this outpouring of compassion and love has been, there has been a marked change in myself – the ability to accept all of this wholeheartedly (sorry, pun unintended). This was totally unthinkable before, and I consider this change the biggest miracle of all!

I must confess that I regret that I don’t remember what happened while I was “gone,” but considering my lack of memory of even Earth events in the days which followed, it is not a surprise. My cardiologist has said that it may resolve itself as time goes by. It will certainly be amazing if it does.

Terry James has spoken of his experiences following a massive heart attack and even wrote an excellent book about it called Heaven Vision, which you should get for yourself if you haven’t already. One of the “gym people” has had an “after-death” experience, and he and his wonderful wife have since taken me under their wings – another miracle!

Another result of this has been some very interesting conversations about my own faith and interest in Bible Prophecy, the opportunity for which hadn’t existed before. I have found all those new friends in my life very accepting. Maybe they figure that I have some inside track, having been dead for 10 minutes. I don’t think I have, at least not on a conscious level. All things said and done, I am convinced that God brought me back for a reason, or maybe even several. Maybe this is part of it.

I think another was so I could experience a peace that I have never known and a release from a long-smoldering anger that circumstances have made part of my life for as long as I remember – something only now made clear by its absence.

However much time is left to me, whatever I have left to accomplish is something I believe the coming days will reveal. I thank our gracious God for taking me down a path

I have never would tread otherwise – and I can hardly wait to see what’s next!!

May the Lord bless and keep you all!

Ed Wood