Yes I am, I consider myself a covenantal dispensationalist, based on my study of the different covenants of the bible. I am not saying that this view explains everything for me, but it explains more than any other view that I have come across.
When John the Baptist was declaring "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!", I believe he was referring to the Millennium Age, or the Kingdom Age. I firmly believe that if the Jews would have accepted Jesus as their messiah, then Jesus would have still died, but that when he was resurrected, he would have instituted the Kingdom age right then.
For me it explains so much.. Why does some scriptures seem to teach that you can lose your salvation and some of the seem to teach that you can't? Why did Jesus tell his disciples not to go to the gentile nations, but only to the Jewish nations at one time, and then to go to the whole world in another?
Why did Jesus respond the way he did to Mary when she asked him about the wedding party running out of wine?
Why did Jesus respond the way he did to the Samaritan woman who came to have her daughter delivered?
Plus countless others.
I believe that most (but not all ) of what are in the gospels were written to the Jewish people, to prepare them for the coming Kingdom. Most of the doctrine that I see applying to the Age of Grace, or the Church Age, came from Paul, who I believe was taught by Jesus himself when he was caught up to Heaven.
Again let me say that this view does not answer every single question that I have. I know that dispensationalism is kinda looked down on on this forum and other forums that I have been on, but like I said. It is the view that make the most sense to me and satisfactorily answers the most questions.
Joshua David
Your questions are valid, and there are answers for them. .Many Christians are taught a lot of incorrect doctrine and many do not really understand the Scriptures. Don't misunderstand me, I am not trying say I have all of the answers. What I 'm getting at is that modern Christianity is way off base. I have spent several years in a study of the Ante-Nicene church. This is the early church from approximately 100 A.D. - 325 A.D. and what I have found is that much of what was taught originally has been lost and a lot of what is taught today is either not taught originally or in some cases some of what the church teaches today was actually refuted as heresy by the original church.
One thing to take into consideration is that during Jesus' earthly ministry He went to the Jews. Today the Gospel that is preached is believe in Jesus, that He died for your sins and you will be saved. That is only a part of the Gospel that Jesus and the apostles preached. If you look in the Gospels you find a few references to salvation, but, you find approximately 100 references to the kingdom of God. That is the gospel, the kingdom of God. Salvation is only a part of that. Everything about salvation and the kingdom comes through the Jews. It was the Jews that were promised the Messiah. Today we are told to believe that Jesus died for our sins. Where does Scripture tell us to believe that Jesus died for our sins? What is the foundation of the Christian faith? Most Christians would say the Cross, But, is it? What did Jesus say?
Matthew 16:15-18 ( KJV )
He saith unto them,
But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mark 8:29 ( KJV )
And he saith unto them,
But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him,
Thou art the Christ.
Luke 9:20 ( KJV ) .
He said unto them,
But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said,
The Christ of God.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, that is the is the foundation of the church. What was the Christ? The Christ was the promised Messiah from the OT Scriptures, the one the Jews were waiting for. This confession takes us back to Psalm 2.
Psalms 2:1-12 ( KJV )
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
In the Greek Septuagint His anointed is His Christ. Peter is confessing that Jesus is this person spoken of in Psalm 2. Notice what David prophesies, 'the Lord has said to me, thou art my Son', then he says, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession" Christ is promised the heathen and the ends of the earth for his possession. It is this that Paul refers to in Romans 8 when he says we (Believers) are joint heirs with Christ. We enter into this position of sonship through adoption and become co-heirs with Christ, through the promise made to Abraham and we inherit by faith. Back in Genesis God made a promise to Abraham. Here is the first mention of it.
Genesis 12:1-2 ( KJV )
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee:
And
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Here God tells him again and gets a little more explicit.
Genesis 13:14-17 ( KJV )
And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
For
all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
And
I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for
I will give it unto thee.
And again,
Genesis 17:4-8 ( KJV )
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and
thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and
I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
And I
will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
And
I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
God also made this promise to Issac and Jacob. God promised Abraham that He would
1.Give him hte land for an everlasting possession.
2. Make him the faither of a great nation.
3. Make him hte father of many nations.
4. the world would be blessed through him.
Notice that God said he would give the land to Abraham forever. Well Abraham hasn't received that land yet. Notice Stephen's words in Acts.
Acts 7:2-5 ( KJV )
And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
And
he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
So God promised the land to Abraham, but Abraham has not yet received it. Therefore it must be that he will inherit it in the future.But notice what God said, 'I will give it to you and your seed for an everlasting posession'. The Jews understood this to mean them, they understood that God was giving them this land. But Paul says, No. He says that when God said He would give hte land to Abaraham and his Seed, He meant Seed, singular, not seed plural.That seed was Christ.
Galatians 3:6-18 ( KJV )
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Paul Says that those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham and partake of the promises. Christ is the one who will inherit the creation Abraham was promised that land and he will receive it in the future, most likely when the millennium begins. Believers will inherit the promises as co-heir with Christ by way of the faith of Abraham.
This is just a very brief overview, but i wanted to show that this is the reason that Jesus came to the Jews, all of the prophecies and promises come through the Jews, the Gentiles are grafted into Abraham through faith, we are essentially grafted into the Jewish system. Jesus came to bring this to fruition and it pertained to the Jews.
Also, if you notice this is not the gospel you see in most Churches, but this is the Gospel that the early church heard. Jesus is the Jewish messiah promised in the Jewish Scriptures. Let me suggest a website where you can delve more deeply into this if you like. I think if you do you will find many of the answers you seek. A Study of the Ante-Nicene church is a real eye opener also.
http://www.pfrs.org/studies.html
http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/articles.html
http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/articles/hebrews_hope.pdf
There are also audios on the archive and home pages.