There are three major beliefs that I know of:
Dispensationalism, Covenant, and New Covenant Theology
Dispensationalism
In its original form claimed God has dealt with man in many different ways or "dispensations". Many have identified these seven periods.
Dispensationalism is tightly tied to its eschatology in that it is exclusively premillennial. It also holds a futurist and literalist view of the book of Revelation where most of its events (except the letters to the seven churches and a few other things) are yet future and are expected to be fulfilled literally. This is in contrast with post and amillinialists viewpoints that accept a spiritual interpretation of Revelation.
So salvation under the age of Law was obtained by obeying the Law but now under grace, salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ.
Dispensationalism also leans towards an unchanging moral law of God and is similar to Covenant Theology in that way.
Dispensationalism also maintains that the Church and Israel are separate entities in the Bible. This is key to its prophetic viewpoint. John MacArthur points out that the separation of the Church from Israel is the key tenet of Dispensationalism. He also asserts that replacement theology requires one to spiritualize major portions of prophetic scripture for the position to stand. To me that isn't a Biblical approach to determining what the scripture is saying.
- Innocence (ended with the fall of Adam).
- Conscience (Enoch followed his conscience and was approved of God),
- Human Government (given to Noah after the flood)
- Promise (given to Abraham)
- Law (given to Moses)
- Grace (given by Jesus to us)
- Kingdom (when Christ returns and physically rules the world from Jerusalem).
Dispensationalism is tightly tied to its eschatology in that it is exclusively premillennial. It also holds a futurist and literalist view of the book of Revelation where most of its events (except the letters to the seven churches and a few other things) are yet future and are expected to be fulfilled literally. This is in contrast with post and amillinialists viewpoints that accept a spiritual interpretation of Revelation.
So salvation under the age of Law was obtained by obeying the Law but now under grace, salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ.
Dispensationalism also leans towards an unchanging moral law of God and is similar to Covenant Theology in that way.
Dispensationalism also maintains that the Church and Israel are separate entities in the Bible. This is key to its prophetic viewpoint. John MacArthur points out that the separation of the Church from Israel is the key tenet of Dispensationalism. He also asserts that replacement theology requires one to spiritualize major portions of prophetic scripture for the position to stand. To me that isn't a Biblical approach to determining what the scripture is saying.
All prophecies that have been fulfilled have been fulfilled literally. Spiritualization allows the interpreter to imagine what it is he wants the Bible to say to him.
John MacArthur has adopted a stand that salvation has always been by grace through faith alone, but retains the eschatology and separation of the Church from Israel and dubs his position Biblical Dispensationalism.
John MacArthur has adopted a stand that salvation has always been by grace through faith alone, but retains the eschatology and separation of the Church from Israel and dubs his position Biblical Dispensationalism.
This form of dispensationalism joins with the Covenant and New Covenant Theology camp and maintains that salvation is by grace through faith.
Covenant and New Covenant theology believe that anywhere Israel is mentioned that is now referring to the Church. A dangerous belief for many reasons. One reason is that they will likely be fooled when the Anti Christ shows up to save humankind from the perils of our day. The other is that it also tends to cause people to join in on the bandwagon of hate against Israel.
Little do many of these Christians know they are playing into the hands of Satan. Satan hates Christians and Jews because God has chosen them. Do a little research on the UN and you will see that they are very much against Israel and Christians too.
In fact many of the people that established the UN and that are running it now are known Satanists or Luciferians. It is so crazy that most people don't believe it. Those that don't believe this also tend to think that dispensationalism is crazy.
