Hyperdispensationalism
Hyper-dispensationalism (or sometimes
ultra-dispensationalism), as opposed to traditional (or mainstream)
Dispensationalism, views the start of the Christian church as beginning with the ministry of the
Apostle Paul after the early part of the book of Acts. Hyperdispensationalists regard the failure of the post-Apostolic church to preserve the Pauline Distinctive as a cause of the
Great Apostasy and as a mistake of the 19th Century
Restoration Movement. Hyperdispensationalists regard what they understand to be the recovery of true
Pauline Christianity as the crowning achievement of events that began with the
Protestant Reformation.
Although variations exist in specifics, all hyper-dispensationalists view the four
Gospels and many of
New Testament Epistles, such as the
Petrine and
Johannine theology, as applying to the pre-Pauline
Jewish Christian church or to the anticipated
Davidic Kingdom; not directly applicable to the predominently
Gentile Church of today.
Two varieties of hyper-dispensationalists are distinguished, sometimes referred to as
Acts 28 Dispensationalists and
Mid-Acts Dispensationalists.
Acts 28 Dispensationalists believe the Church began with Paul's statement made to the Jewish leaders at Rome near the end of the
Book of Acts. The most notable proponent of this doctrine was
E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913). Other writers holding this position include Charles H. Welch, and Otis Q. Sellers.
Acts 28 Dispensationalists distinguish themselves with their belief that the book of Acts (along with Paul's earlier epistles) do not record the beginning of Church history, but rather the Biblical conclusion of Israel's past history (Bullinger, 1972, p.195). One rationale for this view is that Paul's epistles written during the period of Acts only proclaim those things which the prophets and Moses said would come, as Paul himself stated in Acts 26:22. The Acts-period epistles are 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans. Paul's so-called Prison Epistles, written subsequently, contain Paul's presentation of "the
mystery ... Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets" (Eph. 3:3-6). This mystery is identified as the Church, a mystery then unrevealed when he wrote his Acts-period epistles.
Mid-Acts Dispensationalists believe the Church began with Paul during his earlier evangelism, between Acts 9 and Acts 13. There are several reasons for this belief, notably that Paul was the only apostle who was ever referred to as "THE" apostle of the Gentiles (Rom 11:11-13; Rom 15:16; Eph 3:1-2; etc., compare Gal 2:7-9). In addition, Paul states that "the dispensation of...grace" was given to him (Eph 3:2; c.f., 1Cor 9:17; Col 1:25). Spokesmen for this viewpoint include J. C. O'Hair, C. R. Stam (
Things That Differ), Major R. B. Withers ( "The Greek Scriptures"), and Charles F. Baker (
A Dispensational Theology).
While adherents to the Mid-Acts Position agree that all Scripture is profitable (2Tim 3:16), in general, Mid-Acts Dispensationalists do not believe that all the doctrine in the
General Epistles (James through Jude) applies to the church today. Instead, they believe these epistles (along with the four
Gospels) will mostly apply to future
Israel, after she repents and returns to the Lord during the Tribulation. Note that the term
hyper or ultra-dispensationalist is not one that most Mid-Acts Dispensationalists would apply to themselves (although admittedly "more dispensational" than mainstream dispensationalists), yet they do tend to apply it to their Acts 28 bretheren, who are viewed as taking dispensational concepts still further.
In addition to their distinctive views on the applicability of many of the New Testament books, most hyper-dispensationalists hold unusual views on some of the key
sacraments (which they term "ordinances"). Neither holds to the ordinance of
water baptism, as they assert this has been supplanted by "one baptism", the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" [Acts 1:5, 11:15-16; 1 Cor 12:13]. While most practice the ordinance of the
Lord's Supper; a few may not, in part from Paul's post-Acts epistles, in which he states that the church today is no longer under any ordinances (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14; Col. 2:20). (See also
Antinomianism).
In contrast traditional Christians and more conventional dispensationalists might point out that, among other things, two different
Greek words in the above references are translated "ordinances" and that neither of these words is used anywhere in Scripture to refer to either baptism or the Lord's Supper.
The Grace Movement began in the 1930's. It embraces the Mid-Acts Dispensational System of Bible Interpretation and does not consider itself to be "hyper" or "ultra." It believes that there is confusion in the Christian Church today, via
denominationalism, because of a process of the loss and recovery of "four basic truths." The loss process is believed to have started near the end of the Apostle Paul's ministry and continued for fifteen hundred years until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. The recovery process has lasted for over three hundred fifty years as the truths were gradually recovered in reverse order. The four truths are (in order of loss):
* The Distinctive Message and Ministry of Paul;
* The Pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church, the Body of Christ;
* The Difference between Israel and the Church, the Body of Christ;
* Justification by Faith Alone, in Christ Alone. The Lord's Supper is widely observed in Grace churches. However,
baptism as a water ritual is deemed unimportant, if not counterproductive. Rather, there is "one spiritual Baptism" according to I Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 4:4-6. This spiritual Baptism occurs at the moment of belief (Acts 11:15-16) and "identifies" (the Greek root word for "baptism" carries the idea of "identification") the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, Grace believers hold that true believers are eternally secure, in Christ, for their assurance of eternal life.
*
Dispensationalism*
E. W. Bullinger -- describes some of the basic theology, especially the Acts 28 doctrine
* Stam, Cornelius R.,
Things That Differ, 1951, Berean Bible Society, Germantown, WI
* Bullinger, E.W.,
The Foundations of Dispensational Truth, Reprinted 1972, Samuel Bagster & Sons LTD 72 Marylebone Lane, London. W.I.
* Baker, Charles F.,
A Dispensational Theology, 1971, Grace Bible College Publications, Grand Rapids, MI
*[
1] GraceImpact.org - Richard Jordan, Rolling Meadows, IL
*
Ultra-dispensationalism from Elwell Evangelical Dictionary
*
Mid-Acts Bible Commentary A Mid-Acts perspective on each Bible verse
*
Berean Bible Society History of the Grace Movement
*
Mid-Acts Dispensational Trip through the Bible*
Grace Movement*
Mid-Acts Dispensationalism resolves Bible contradictions
