Saturday, October 1st, 2022.
Israel is not the Church. According to Charles Ryrie (and others) this is the sine qua non of dispensational thought. It is the essential component.
Why, then, would Pauline (mid-Acts) dispensationalists think the Church can find its calling, doctrine, position, or destiny in Matthew-John or Hebrews-Revelation?
Pauline (or mid-Acts) dispensationalists separate the Church, the Body of Christ, from both Old Testament Israel and New Testament Israel.
This would mean the Church, according to the revelation of the mystery, is not found in the Old Testament books of Matthew-John, nor in the New Testament books written to and about Israel (Hebrews-Revelation). If it were, then we would need to appropriate Israel’s language to describe the Church. The dispensational distinction would disappear.
Likewise, if the twelve apostles of Israel were placed into the mystery fellowship revealed to Paul, then we would be pushing the identity of the Church onto members of New Testament Israel. Again, the dispensational distinction would disappear.
Pauline dispensationalism advances dispensational thought, but not at the expense of what our predecessors had right.
The way to grow in understanding is not to reject what is essential, but to stand firmly upon it. Separate Israel and the Church.
The mystery Church is not Israel, neither in the Old nor New Testaments. Israel is not the mystery Church, neither before it was revealed nor after.
For Truth,
Justin “making it clear” Johnson