Tag Archives: Theology

April 9, 2026

Salvation in Different Dispensations

By The Paleofundamentalist

Dispensationalists have always taught that God deals with mankind differently in different dispensations. This conclusion is obvious from even a cursory analysis of Scripture. Adam in the Garden was allowed to eat only plants (Genesis 1:29); the nation of Israel under the Mosaic covenant was prescribed a complicated and restrictive diet limited to a certain few animals (Leviticus 11:1-47); whereas all people today can eat all meat (1 Timothy 4:4). Classical dispensationalists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Scofield, Larkin, and Gaebelein, recognized that dispensational differences extended into the domain of soteriology, such that God’s requirements of men for justification have not always been the same. In contrast, more modern dispensationalists such as Walvoord, Ryrie, and Pentecost, in response to unrelenting criticism from Covenant theologians, have largely abandoned the teaching that dispensational distinctions include salvation. Ryrie’s teaching that salvation has always been by faith alone (conceding that the content of faith has changed with progressive revelation) has become the mainstream dispensational view. However, such a view does not comport with a literal interpretation of Scripture, which Ryrie himself asserted to be a sine qua non of dispensationalism.

The requirement to enter the Kingdom under the Dispensation of Law was human righteousness (Matthew 5:19-20). This righteousness was attained by personal faith (Hebrews 11:6) and the keeping of commandments [1] (cf. Matthew 19:16-17; James 2:24). According to the Bible, such human righteousness was attainable, as demonstrated by Job (Job 1:8), Zacharias and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-6), and Paul (Philippians 3:4-6). Furthermore, after the Dispensation of Grace concludes with the rapture of the Church, faith in Jesus Christ and the keeping of commandments will again be necessary during the Tribulation [2] in order to enter the Kingdom that will begin at the second advent of Christ (cf. Rev12:17; 14:12). Note that verses like Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16, and Ephesians 2:8-9 in which the Apostle Paul asserts that justification is by faith, and not by works, pertain to justification under the Dispensation of Grace; observe that these verses do not say that justification was never by works, but that it is not by works today [3].

Today, the requirement to be saved (and enter Heaven at death or the rapture) under the Dispensation of Grace is faith alone in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16-17; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4), which God “counts” for righteousness (Romans 4:3,5).

Note that it was the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ that made this dispensational change possible. Before the work of Christ, God could not justify even the believing sinner, which His divine attributes of love and mercy desired to do, because doing so would have violated His divine attributes of righteousness and justice [4]. But after the propitiatory work of Christ made for the whole world (1 John 2:2), God can justify the believer without doing violence to His attribute of justice. This is made clear in Romans 3:23-26:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood … To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

The finished work of Jesus Christ at a specific point in time accomplished something profound, not for men only, but especially for God. Before the completed cross-work of the Lord Jesus Christ, God could not justify the believing sinner without human works of righteousness; after that watershed event in the history of the world, God can, and during the Dispensation of Grace He does, justify the believer on the basis of personal faith and the imputed righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Perhaps a better understanding is the keeping of the stipulations under the Mosaic covenant (i.e., the Law of Moses; Deuteronomy 28:1).  This does not equate to perfection in the keeping of commandments, since the Law provided mechanisms for atonement for sin (i.e., the breaking of commandments).  Thus, one could be “blameless” under the Law (cf. Luke 1:6; Philippians 3:6) without being sinless.

[2] While the requirement to keep “commandments” directly applies to Jews, once again under the obligations of the Mosaic covenant, the criteria for entrance into the Kingdom observed in the Sheep and Goat Judgment indicates that certain works will also be required of Gentiles (Matthew 25:31-46).

[3] Dr. Peter Ruckman asserted that, “Every heresy in this age is the truth misplaced”; E.W. Bullinger exhorted, “Not only, therefore, must we rightly divide the Word of truth as to its Times and Dispensations, but as to its Truth and Teaching also: we must learn to appropriate each truth to the particular Dispensation to which it belongs”.

[4] The divine attributes of God are always in perfect harmony; one never takes precedent over another.

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March 18, 2026

The Appearance of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration

By The Paleofundamentalist

The transfiguration of Jesus was witnessed by Peter, James, and John, and it is recorded in Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-10, and Luke 9:28-36; Peter makes mention of it in 2 Peter 1:16-18. In addition to seeing the Lord Jesus Christ in His glorified form, Moses and Elijah also appeared, talking with Jesus. Their discussion concerned Jesus’ coming “decease” (Luke 9:31) and subsequent return in “power” and “majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).  In this vision of the glorified Christ along with saints of old the disciples experienced a foretaste of the coming Messianic Kingdom (Cp., Matthew 16:28).

Considerable debate has occurred over why Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on this occasion. Some have seen in these two men representatives of the Law and the Prophets; others, believers who have died in faith versus those taken to heaven without experiencing death (Cp., 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Many have speculated that since their conversation concerned details of the Lord’s return, the event of the transfiguration supports and strengthens the view that Moses and Elijah will be the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-13 who minister in Jerusalem during the first half of the Tribulation. All these speculations are indeed valid. However, and probably much more importantly, the vision of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ with Moses and Elijah, O.T. saints long since dead, reinforced Christ’s teaching that His own death would not prevent His coming Kingdom (Cp., Matthew 16:18), and that continued conscious existence follows death for the saints of God (Cp., Matthew 22:31-32).

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October 31, 2025

How Soon is “Shortly”?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The Book of Revelation opens, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass…” (Rev1:1a). The remainder of the book is a revelation of the details concerning the coming Rapture of the Church, the 7-year Tribulation period (i.e., Daniel’s 70th Week), the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom on this earth. When the Lord Jesus revealed these things to John the Apostle at the end of the 1st century, he said these were events that “must shortly come to pass”. To date, they have not come to pass, and almost two thousand years later we still await their fulfillment (to the scoffing of the world; Cp., 2Pet3:3-4).

Preterists connect the “shortly” of Revelation 1:1 with “this generation” of Matthew 24:34 and insist that the events of the Book of Revelation had to have occurred within the lifetimes of the Jews who were alive at the first coming of Christ. Clearly, that understanding of “shortly” cannot be valid, as the second coming of Christ did not occur in the 1st century in any literal sense. Thus, “shortly” did not mean within one generation. The question, therefore, remains, “How soon is shortly”?

The beginning of an answer to this question is found in the very passage in which the Apostle Peter warns of second coming scoffers who would arise “in the last days” (2Pet3:3-4). He goes on to conclude, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2Pet3:8; Cp., Ps90:4). The point is that God’s experience of time is not the same as ours, and this truth is observed throughout the scriptures.

Consider the following examples:

  • “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed” (Deut4:26). The LORD spoke these words through Moses c. 1400 BC. The first dispersion of the Jews from the Promised Land, the Babylonian exile, occurred c. 600 BC, followed by the Roman Diaspora in 70 AD. Thus, “soon” in this context meant at least ~800 years into the future, and perhaps ~1,500 years.
  • “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb” (Ps37:1-2). This psalm of David would have been written c. 1000 BC. The judgment of the wicked occurs at the Great White Throne, which takes place at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. Thus, “soon” in this context meant at least ~4,000 years into the future.
  • “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2Cor4:17). Here, the Apostle Paul characterizes the lifetime of a person (i.e., 70-80 years; Ps90:10) as “a moment”. In Psalm 90:10, a man’s life is said to be “soon cut off”.
  • “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Rom16:20). The Apostle Paul spoke these inspired words in the 1st century. Depending on one’s understanding, the defeat of Satan will either come at the second coming of Christ, when Satan is bound in the bottomless pit (Rev20:1-2), or at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, when Satan is cast into the lake of fire (Rev20:10). Thus, “shortly” in this context meant at least ~2,000 years into the future, and perhaps ~3000 years.

Thus, when the Lord Jesus Christ told the Apostle John that the events of the Book of Revelation “must shortly come to pass” (Rev1:1), the fact that they were yet ~2,000 years into the future was entirely consistent with the way in which God characterizes time, from His perspective, throughout the scriptures (Cp., Hos5:15-6:2).

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September 20, 2025

Gentiles and the Abrahamic Covenant

By The Paleofundamentalist

In Genesis 12:1-3, God initiated what would become the Abrahamic covenant (for its full development, cf. Gen12:1-7; 13:14-17; 15:7-21; 17:1-8).  This covenant was made by the LORD with Abram (i.e., Abraham), and it was unconditional; in it God made commitments to Abraham and put no obligations on him in order to receive its promises other than the faithfulness of God Himself.  The question today is, what is the relationship of Jews and Gentiles to the covenant God made with Abraham?

First, the Jews are a party to the covenant and stand to inherit all of its promises in the most literal way.  In Genesis 12:2, God viewed Abraham as more than merely a man, but as the “nation” He intended to make from him.  Furthermore, God extended the covenant to Abraham’s son Isaac (but not Ishmael; cf. Gen17:19), then to Isaac’s son Jacob (but not Esau; cf. Gen28:13-14).  No distinction is made after Jacob, such that all of Jacob’s descendants are included in the covenant (cf. Ps105:8-11).  In Romans 11:28, the Apostle Paul says that “as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake”, where “the election” is Israel as God’s chosen nation (Isa45:4), and “the fathers” are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exod4:5).  Today, the Jews are the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, some of which have been gathered to the nation of Israel reestablished in 1948, but many of which remain scattered throughout the world.

Second, the Gentiles are not a party to the covenant.  Nevertheless, their salvation is provided through it; namely, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen12:3; Gal3:8), since “salvation is of the Jews” (Jn4:22).  Furthermore, in the covenant there is an obligation for the Gentiles to “bless” Abraham and his descendants (i.e., the Jews), for which they are promised a blessing from God, as well as a threat that those who “curse” Abraham and his descendants will be cursed by God.  At the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, He will judge the Gentiles who survive the 7-year Tribulation period alive according to this standard (cf. Matt25:31-46).  Those Gentiles who “blessed” the Lord’s “brethren” will be granted entrance into “the [Millennial] kingdom” (Matt25:34,40), whereas those who “cursed” them will not (Matt25:41).

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September 16, 2025

Did Jesus Use the Septuagint?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The view of many mainstream scholars today is that Jesus used the Septuagint (LXX; i.e., the translation of the O.T. in Greek) as His Bible. The primary evidence offered in support of this view is that many of His quotations from the O.T. appear to better match the Greek text of the LXX than the Hebrew (Masoretic) text. That evidence, however, must be weighed against the fact that the earliest extant manuscript copies of the LXX come from several centuries after Christ, creating the possibility that the Greek text for these O.T. verses could have been taken from their N.T. quotations in order to create an exact, verbatim match (which otherwise is not the pattern of scriptural quotation seen in the Bible). Is there alternative evidence in favor of Jesus’ use of the Hebrew O.T. rather than the LXX? The answer to that question is YES, and the evidence is quite compelling.

In Luke 24:44, Jesus made reference to the written O.T. scriptures:

“And [Jesus] said unto them, These are the worlds which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.”

Implicit in these words of Jesus is the structure and organization of the Hebrew Bible (which is equivalent in content to the O.T.). The books of the Hebrew Bible (i.e., TNK, or Tanakh) are organized into three sections: the law [of Moses] (Heb., Torah), the prophets (Heb., Nevi’im), and the writings (Heb., Ketuvim; the first book in this section is the Psalms). By referring to the entirety of the (O.T.) scriptures as the law, the prophets, and the psalms, Jesus presupposed the organization of the O.T. canon that appears only in the Hebrew scriptures. In contrast, the books in the LXX (which also contains many non-canonical books) are organized much like they appear in modern English Bibles (e.g., historical books, wisdom books, and prophetic books). Thus, Jesus’ words presuppose the Hebrew Bible, not the Greek Septuagint.

This presupposition of a Hebrew Bible is seen again in Matthew 23:35, where Jesus refers to the first and last martyrs in the O.T. as:

“That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.”

Abel is the first martyr recorded in Genesis 4, and Zacharias is the last martyr recorded in 2 Chronicles 24. Genesis is the first book in the Hebrew Bible, and 2 Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible. Again, Jesus’ words presuppose the Hebrew Bible, not the Greek Septuagint.

Did Jesus use the Septuagint? NO, Jesus used the Hebrew scriptures.

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August 12, 2025

Who Are the Many?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The adjective/pronoun “many” occurs hundreds of times in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. In the vast majority of those instances, the immediate context makes clear to whom/what “many” refers. However, there are a small number of important instances in which there is no definite referent for “many” (e.g., Dan8:25; 9:27; 11:14,18,26,33,34,39; 12:10; Matt19:30; 20:16; 20:28; 22:14; 26:28; Mk10:31,45; 14:24; Luk14:16); it should be noted that these instances tend to occur primarily in the O.T. and the synoptic Gospels, whose focus is the nation of Israel under the Dispensation of Law. In these instances, the “many” refers to Israel. For a study of this issue, see the article Who Are the Many? under the Biblical Studies tab.

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June 4, 2024

The Identity of the 24 Elders

By The Paleofundamentalist

In Revelation 4:4, “four and twenty elders” are seen by the Apostle John sitting on “four and twenty [thrones]” in heaven.  The identity of these 24 elders has long been debated.  However, most Dispensationalists have traditionally held that the 24 elders represent the completed Church (i.e., the Body of Christ).  If that view is correct, the completed Church is in heaven before the 7-year Tribulation (i.e., the 70th Week of Daniel; Dan9:27) begins in Revelation 6, which all but necessitates a pre-tribulational rapture of the Church; such a conclusion is seemingly inescapable.  Hence, the correct identification of the 24 elders is pivotal to a proper understanding of the chronological sequence of eschatological events. A systematic analysis of the Identity of the 24 Elders can be found under the Biblical Studies tab.

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January 20, 2024

Noah and Adam

By The Paleofundamentalist

Noah and Adam are related, both seminally and typologically. In many ways, Noah typologically recapitulates Adam’s original fall and its consequences for humanity. For an outline of this connection, see Noah and Adam under the Biblical Studies tab.

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December 20, 2023

When Was Jesus Born?

By The Paleofundamentalist

Although Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, that is almost certainly not the correct month/date of our Savior’s birth. Actually, Scripture gives us a relatively clear indication of when Jesus was born; namely, in the September-October timeframe. See the new Chart: WHEN WAS JESUS BORN? under the Biblical Studies tab for an overview of the calculation using scriptural clues.

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February 14, 2021

Why Were the Thessalonians Shaken?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The second chapter of Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians is a mighty tour-de-force polemic for the pre-tribulational nature of the rapture of the Church.  It has long been recognized that the Restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:7 is the Holy Spirit, and that His removal before the Antichrist is revealed (i.e., before the Tribulation begins) necessitates the rapture of the Church due to the Spirit’s indwelling of the Body of Christ as a temple in the present dispensation (1Cor6:19).  It has more recently been recognized that the “falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV; Greek, apostasia) that also must occur before the Antichrist is revealed is in context better understood to be a departure (i.e., the rapture of the Church).  However, even without these clear and powerful witnesses, a pre-tribulational rapture of the Church is a necessary inference from Paul’s opening to the chapter in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2.

FIGURE 1. Timing of the Rapture in the Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib,
Pre-Wrath, and Post-Trib Views.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1, Paul introduces the subject of the chapter as “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him”.  The subject is a single event, since the first substantive clause is articulated and the second is not, being connected by an epexegetical kai in the Greek text (i.e., the Granville Sharp rule).  Paul’s subject is that particular “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” which involves “our gathering together unto him” (cf. Jn14:1-3; 1Thess4:13-18). Thus, the subject of the chapter is the rapture of the Church.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, it is revealed that the Thessalonians had become “shaken in mind” and “troubled”, apparently as a result of a “letter as from us” (i.e., a letter alleging to be from the Apostle Paul, which was in fact a forgery). Their alarm was caused by the fact that the letter asserted that “the day of the Lord” had begun. The remainder of the chapter presents an iron-clad polemic for why that could not possibly be the case. However, one must ask why this news so disturbed the Thessalonians; why were the Thessalonians shaken?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:5 Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he had previously instructed them concerning this subject. Indeed, Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians discusses the rapture in every chapter (cf. 1Thess1:9-10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-17; 5:1-11). Presumably Paul had taught them when the rapture would occur relative to the coming 7-year Tribulation (i.e., the day of the Lord; 2Thess2:2). If he had taught them that the rapture of the Church would occur mid-trib, pre-wrath, or post-trib (i.e., any view that sees the rapture of the Church as occurring at some point during the Tribulation; see FIGURE 1), there is no reason for the Thessalonians to be “shaken” or “troubled”. There would be no inconsistency between those rapture views and the counterfeit message alleging that the Tribulation had begun. Rather than causing them to be “shaken”, such news would be cause for excitement and anticipation, since it would mean that their rapture was necessarily drawing near. However, if Paul had taught the Thessalonians that the rapture of the Church would occur before the Tribulation begins (i.e., pre-trib), then it is easily understandable why news that it had begun would be so troubling; if true, it would mean either: 1) that Apostle Paul’s previous teaching was untrue, or 2) the rapture of the Church had already occurred, and they had been left behind.

Only a belief in a pre-trib rapture as taught to the Thessalonians by the Apostle Paul explains why they were so “shaken” and “troubled” by the counterfeit message that the day of the Lord (i.e., the Tribulation) had begun. No other rapture view would have troubled the believers at Thessalonica. Properly understood, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 is a powerful witness to the fact that the Apostle Paul taught that the rapture of the Church would be pre-trib!

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