The Study of the Scriptures
Session 6,
Wednesday 8 APR 2015
Faith
Baptist Fellowship Church
Lake Ariel,
PA
Review Sessions 1-5[1]
The Means God Uses: The Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and
the Church
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have
eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)
1. Placing trust
in God: The ability of God and the sufficiency of the Scriptures — Coming to
the Scriptures with Faith
2. Putting man in
his place: The inability of fallen man and an understanding of the responses of
the creature to the revelation of God — Coming to the Scriptures with Humility
3.
The Unity of the Word of God and the First, Progressive, and Full Mention
Principles of Interpretation — Coming to the Scriptures with Hope
4. The Diversity
of the Contexts with the Canon of Scripture —
Coming to the Scriptures with Respect
5.
The Humiliation of Incarnational Hermeneutics — Coming to the Scriptures
with Caution
Historical and Personal Parameters in the Spectrum of
Abilities
for the Understanding of the Scriptures:
Created Unfallen Man
|
Fallen Unregenerate (Natural)
Man
|
Fallen
Regenerate
(Spiritual) Man
|
Maturing Regenerate
(Spiritual) Man
|
Maturing Regenerate Man: Maximizing
Resources
|
Glorified
Man
|
1. Eyes to see
2. Ears to hear
3. Mind to know
4. Heart to believe
5. Unhindered communion with God
*********
What could be better?
|
1. Eyes Blind
2. Ears Deaf
3. Mind Dark
4. Heart hard
5. Neck stiff
6. Rebellion towards God
7. Suppression of the truth of God
*************
The problem is obvious!
|
1. Eyes to see
2. Ears to hear
3. Mind to know
4. Heart to believe
5. Spirit to teach
*************
So, what is the problem?
|
1. Read
2. Memorize
3. Meditate
4. Obey
5. Testify
|
1. Knowledge of Ancient History and Culture
2. Knowledge of Ancient Languages (vocabulary, semantics,
grammar, syntax)
3. Awareness of Spiritual Warfare including Satanic
Subversion of the Word of God through False Teachers throughout history
|
Know as we are known
|
Putting the Scriptures in their Place — The
Historical Perspective in Bible Study
Hebrew 1:1-3 — 1 God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, 2 Hath
in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
“How
firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?”[2]
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?”[2]
2 Timothy 3:12-17 — 12 Yea,
and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But
evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But
continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of,
knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that
from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee
wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works.
Hebrew 1:1-2a — 1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…
Let us focus during this session on the “sundry times”
and “divers manner.”
Many authors:
Job, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah, David, sons of Korah, Asaph, Heman,
Ethan, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah, Malachi (Old
Testament: 28+); Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, unknown, James, Peter, Jude
(New Testament: 8/9)
Note: Some refer to 40+ authors of Scripture, while others
estimate apx. 44.
Many types of
literature: 3 major types in Old Testament — Law, prophets and writings; 4
major types in NT — Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation. Within each of
these major types may be found examples of one or more of the following types
of literature: history/historical narrative, legal/legislation, poetry,
proverbs, prophecy, parable, type, allegory, discourse, diatribe, treatise,
apocalypse, etc.
Many centuries of
history: spanning over 1,500 years from Moses to John minus the four
centuries of the intertestamental “silent years” between the last writing
prophet, Malachi, and the revelations surrounding the birth of Christ
The parts of the
Bible — literary and historical interpretation
Two Testaments:
Two major covenants, Old and New
Note: There is more in the Old Testament than just the
Old Covenant!
Many books: 66
total — 39 in the Old Testament, and 27 in the New Testament
The arrangement of the books of the Bible — for the Old
Testament compare the following: Luke 11:49-51 (2 Chronicles 24:20-22); and
Luke 24:27, 44
The Old Testament books:
1) Law (Torah;
also Pentateuch) — Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
2) Prophets (Nebi’im)
— 21 books
(1) Former Prophets — Joshua,
Judges 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings (6)
(2) Latter Prophets — Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and The Twelve: Hosea to Malachi (15)
Also referred to as:
Major Prophets — Isaiah,
Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (3)
Minor Prophets — Hosea to
Malachi (12)
Or:
Pre-exilic — Obadiah, Joel,
Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah,
Jeremiah (also exilic), and Habakkuk (11)
Exilic — Jeremiah (also
pre-exilic), Ezekiel (1, not counting Jeremiah twice)
Post-exilic — Zechariah,
Haggai, Malachi (3)
3) Writings (Kethubim)
— 13 books
(1) Poetical — Psalms, Proverbs,
and Job (3)
(2) Megilloth (“Five Rolls”) — Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, and Esther (5)
(3) Historical — Daniel, Ezra,
Nehemiah, 1-2 Chronicles (5)
The New Testament books:
1) Gospels and Acts (5)
2) Epistles and Revelation (22)
Pauline Epistles (13)
Ecclesiastical (9) — Romans to
2 Thessalonians
Personal (4) — Philemon and
Pastoral (1-2 Timothy, and Titus)
“Prison” (4) — Ephesians,
Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians
General Epistles (8) — Hebrews
(?) to Jude
Revelation
Many Biblical
Covenants: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Christ (6)[3]
“Excursus, Which Structures Scripture —
Covenants or Dispensations?”
O. Palmer Robertson, The
Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Co., 1980), pp. 201-227.
Getting the cart before the horse:
When systematic theology drives exegesis
When Biblical theology drives exegesis
Exegetical theology must come first, and it will fail
before it even gets out of the gate if systemic presuppositions are not placed
under the scrutiny of exegesis, rather than vice versa.
This is not about labels, which I would strongly counsel
you against. When Christ returns we are all going to discover in an instant how
wrong we were about so many things, and how right Christ was about everything.
We will all be agreed! Truth is not all in one corner, and we should be willing
to learn from those that we may disagree with in some areas. The traditional
understandings of how the Bible is put together, where the emphases lie, etc.
as found in the polar opposites of covenant and dispensational theologies are
not written in stone. If what someone presents does not meet the test of
Scripture, then reject it. If a theological construct does not help you to
understand the Bible better, then improve it. What matters is faithfulness to
the Word of God, and coming to the Scriptures with what Al Mohler recently
referred to as “the hermeneutics of submission.”[4]
Many
Dispensations: How many are there? Seven? (Scofield, Ryrie, etc.)
Augustine said: “Distinguish the ages, and the Scriptures
harmonize.”
— Scofield
Reference Bible, ed. C. I. Scofield (New York: Oxford University Press,
1909, 1917; reprint by Stonehaven Press, Greenville, SC, n.d.), s.v. “Introduction.”[5]
“Distinguish times, and
Scripture is in harmony with itself.”
— trans. R. G. Macmullen[6]
“Distinguish between the
occasions, and scripture is at peace with itself.”
— trans. Daniel Price[7]
“Distinguish the times
(circumstances), he says, and the Scripture agrees with itself…”
— trans. Paul King
Jewett[8]
“In his Introduction,
Scofield, a devout layman, makes no mention of Darby or the Brethren, but
quotes Augustine: “Distinguish the ages [dispensations] and the Scriptures
harmonize” (Sec. 10). Augustine, however, was concerned with harmonizing Jesus’
admonition to rebuke an offender privately (Mt. 18:15) with the pastoral
instruction to rebuke sinners publicly (1 Tim. 5:2). Distinguish the times
(circumstances), he says, and the Scripture agrees with itself — Distribute tempora et concordat scriptura.
(The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,
New York: Christian Literature Co., 1888; 1st series, vol. VI, p. 360.)”[9]
The Latin word
for “age” is not tempora, but saeculum.[10]
If Augustine had intended this statement to mean what Scofield, Larkin, Chafer,
and many others have understood it to mean he would have used saecula (the Latin plural of saeculum) rather than tempora. As it is, Augustine’s “dictum”
read in context only has reference to the immediate circumstances surrounding a
sinful offense regarding whether it is public or private in order to
demonstrate that there is no contradiction between the teachings of Christ and
Paul when it comes to the proper venue for rebuke.
“10. You will soon see,
Beloved, what we ought to do, and when; only I would we may not be slow to
practise it. Attend and see: “If thy brother sin against thee, rebuke him
between him and thee alone.” Why? Because it is against thee that he hath
sinned. What is that, “hath sinned against thee”? Thou knowest that he hath
sinned. For because it was secret when he sinned against thee, seek for
secresy, when thou dost correct his sin. For if thou only know that he hath
sinned against thee, and thou wouldest “rebuke him before all,” thou art not a
reprover, but a betrayer. Consider how that “just man” Joseph spared his wife
with such exceeding kindness, in so great a crime as he had suspected her of,
before he knew by whom she had conceived; because he perceived that she was
with child, and he knew that he had not come in unto her. There remained then
an unavoidable suspicion of
adultery, and yet because he only had perceived, he only knew it, what does the
Gospel say of him? “Then Joseph being a just man, and not willing to make her a
public example.” The husband’s
grief sought no revenge; he wished to profit, not to punish the sinner. “And
not willing to make her a public example, he was minded to put her away
privily.” But while he thought on these things, “behold, the Angel of the Lord
appeared unto him,” in sleep; and
told him how it was, that she had not defiled her husband’s bed, but that she
had conceived of the Holy Ghost the Lord of them both. Thy brother then hath
sinned against thee; if thou alone know it, then hath he really sinned against
thee alone. For if in the hearing of many he hath done thee an injury, he hath
sinned against them also whom he hath made witnesses of his iniquity. For I
tell you, my dearly beloved Brethren, what you can yourselves recognise in your
own case. When any one does my brother an injury in my hearing, God forbid that
I should think that injury unconnected with myself. Certainly he has done it to
me also; yea to me the rather, to whom he thought what he did was pleasing.
Therefore those sins are to be reproved before all, which are committed before
all; they are to be reproved with more secresy, which are committed more
secretly. Distinguish times, and Scripture is in harmony with itself.”[11]
“Augustine also reflects
these early dispensational concepts in his writing. Although his oft-quoted
statement, “Distinguish the times, and the Scripture is in harmony with
itself,” does not in its context apply to his dispensational ideas, he
elsewhere makes some applicable statements.”
— Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism, rev. ed. (Chicago:
Moody Publishers, 1966, 1995, 2007; orig. title: Dispensationalism Today), pp. 72-73.
All of that being said,
it is still a good principle, regardless of what Augustine may have originally
intended!
While studying the
Scriptures put what you are studying in historical perspective by maintaining a
“bird’s eye view.” The Scriptures present shifting historical focal points
sometimes moving across vast ages, while at other times focusing on one period,
one lifetime, or even one hour. Our understanding must travel to these periods
as if in a “time machine.” When we do so while reading the Scriptures it would
be beneficial to ask questions such as:
What
just happened?
What
went on here?
What
difference did what just happened make in the total scheme of things?
There are many events
focused on in the Scriptures which are presented as historically unique, and
which radically alter subsequent relationships between the Creator and the
human race, and/or the Lord and His people, the nation of Israel, and the human
race through them. In each case the “landscape” of God’s dealings with mankind
is so significantly and unmistakably affected that nothing is ever the same
from then on. Therefore, to blur the distinctions between the eras initiated by
these events, and consequently to confuse these epochs by lumping them together
into single dispensations, does not do justice to the exegetical conclusions
drawn from the content of the Scriptures.
Dispensations:[12]
1) Creation/pre-Fall to Fall;
2) Fall to Flood,
3) Flood to Babel,
4) Babel to Abrahamic Covenant,
5) Abrahamic Covenant to Exodus/Mosaic Covenant,
6) Moses to Joshua/Conquest,
7) Joshua/Conquest to United Kingdom/Davidic Covenant,
8) United Kingdom/Davidic Covenant to Solomon/Temple,
9) Solomon/Temple to Divided Kingdom,
10) Divided Kingdom: Solomon to the captivity in Babylon,
11) Captivity in Babylon to the Return,
12) Return to the last writing prophet/Intertestamental
“silent” years
13) Last writing prophet/Intertestamental “silent” years
to the Nativity,
14) Nativity to
Crucifixion/Burial/Resurrection/Ascension/Pentecost,
15) Pentecost to the Rapture/Reingrafting of Israel,
16) Rapture/Reingrafting of Israel to the Second Advent,
17) Second Advent to Final Rebellion/Little Season,
18) Final Rebellion/Little Season to the New Heavens/New
Earth, and,
19) New Heavens/New Earth continuing into Eternity.
Note: The significance of many of the epochal events in
the Biblical history are often minimized in typical dispensational structures.
Prime examples are:
1) the incident at Babel,
2) the 400 years sojourn including slavery in Egypt
followed by the Exodus,
3) the entrance into and conquest of the promised Land,
4) the anointing of the human King,
5) the construction of the Temple,
6) the captivity and return,
7) the 400 years of intertestamental silence followed by
the Redeemer, and,
8) the loosing of Satan and the rebellion of the “little
season”.
These epochs may not be “chopped up,” or sliced, diced,
and packaged as so many are prone to do. Some primary examples of to clarify
why this should not be done would be the Fall, the Flood, the incident at
Babel, etc., since the profound universal effects of these divine interventions
continue throughout the ages to the New Heavens and New Earth, and beyond. In
other words, significant overlapping must be observed involving not just
covenants and dispensations, but also other creational and international epochs
initiated by divine intervention.
Two other major
issues that must be considered in maintaining a historical perspective while
studying the Scriptures:
1) Four major clusters
of revelation accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders:
Moses/Joshua; Elijah/Elisha; Christ/Apostles; Second
Advent
2) The “Times[13] of the
Gentiles”[14] — the terminus a quo, defining features, and
the terminus ad quem
Luke 21:41 — And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led
away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.[15]
We may learn from this and related passages something
about what will occur during the “Times of the
Gentiles,” and that this epoch will have an end, or “be fulfilled.” What few
seem to focus on or address at all are the following issues:
(1)
what defines the “Times of the Gentiles,” i.e., what makes the “Times of the
Gentiles” the times of the Gentiles, and,
(2)
when the “Times of the Gentiles” began, the terminus
a quo for this period.
These two issues are
related, of course, and to answer one is to at least lay the foundation for an
answer to the other. Discussion of the “Times of the Gentiles” is usually
focused on events after Christ spoke these words, i.e., the climax, end or fulfillment.[16]
Perhaps more caution would attend references to the destruction under Titus in
A.D. 70, and to the events of 1948 and 1967, if the true nature of the “Times
of the Gentiles,” and the terminus a quo
of this period were considered and understood.[17]
Gentile
control of Jerusalem including the subjugation of the Kings of Judah began at
least with the Babylonian conquest c. 605 B.C., which led to the seventy years
of captivity, and the destruction of Jerusalem including the Temple in 586 B.C.
Perhaps an even earlier date is worthy of
consideration, i.e., four years prior
to this, in 609 B.C., when Pharaoh Nechoh of Egypt removed Jehoahaz as King of
Judah, and installed his older brother Eliakim, renaming him Jehoiakim (2 Kings
23:33-35). Jehoiakim then became the servant of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2
Kings 24:1) as a result of the Babylonian conquest and ascendancy over the
Egyptians (2 Kings 24:7).
The last Davidic King
was Mattaniah, another brother of Jehoahaz and Eliakim, who was installed by
the Babylonians, changing his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17), after
Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin was carried into captivity in Babylon (2 Kings
24:15). Zedekiah rebelled against the King of Babylon (2 Kings 24:20), and as a
result his sons were killed in his sight, following which his eyes were put out,
and he was carried to Babylon in fetters of brass in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25:7). It
is a significant indication of the subjugation of the Kings of Judah that both
the Egyptian Pharaoh and the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar signified their
authority over them by renaming the Judean Kings.
Since that time, with
one brief and noteworthy exception,[18]
there has been no King in the line of David in Jerusalem, and, without
exception, none ruling as King over Israel. Gentile control continues to this
day with Jerusalem divided, and is exemplified by the presence of the
al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City, and the Temple
mount continuing to be occupied by the “Dome of the Rock.” Israel continues
without an earthly King in the line of David, and with no Temple since the
Romans destroyed the last one in A.D. 70.
The defining features of
the “Times of the Gentiles” have to do with the answer to the question, “Who is
in control here?” This epoch began with the historic subjugation and ultimate
removal of the Davidic line of Kings between 609-586 B.C., and included control
of Jerusalem and the Temple exemplified by its repeated destruction and
continuing occupation. The prophesied terminus
ad quem will not see fulfillment until the Son of David, the King of kings,
is enthroned in Jerusalem, and the Temple mount is no longer occupied and
controlled by Gentiles following His Advent.[19]
Soli Deo Gloria,
John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel
Chapel
Greentown, PA
8 APR 2015
Revised:
10-11 APR 2015
Appendix: Basic Bible Study Materials — A
Suggested Bibliography (with links to Amazon)
This is the book
that I recommend as collateral reading for the "Scripture Study
Seminar":
Sinclair
Ferguson, From the Mouth of God (Carlisle, PA: Banner of
Truth, 2014); paperback (no Kindle available at this time) for $10.59 on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Mouth-God-Sinclair-B-Ferguson/dp/1848712421/ [accessed 18 JAN 2015].
1. In addition to Sinclair Ferguson's work
that I am recommending as collateral reading the following five recent works on
the subject may be the most helpful:
J. Scott Duvall, and J. Daniel Hays, Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008);
J. Scott Duvall, and J. Daniel Hays, Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Journey-into-Gods-Word-Understanding-ebook/dp/B000SEJRJI [accessed 14 JAN 2015].
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1982, 1993, 2003, 2014);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-All-Worth-ebook/dp/B00GS084YA/ [accessed 18 JAN
2015].
Peter Krol, Knowable Word: Helping Ordinary People Learn to Study the Bible (Minneapolis: Cruciform Press, 2014);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Knowable-Word-Helping-Ordinary-People/dp/1936760894/ [accessed 10 NOV 2014].
Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991, 2006);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Hermeneutical-Spiral-Comprehensive-Introduction-Interpretation/dp/0830828265/ref=sr_1_sc_1 [accessed 10 NOV 2014].
R. C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977, 2009);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Scripture-R-C-Sproul/dp/083083723X
[accessed 10 NOV 2014].
2. Here are five recommended older works whose
value does not fade!
James M. Gray, How to Master the English Bible: An Experience, a Method, a Result, an Illustration (London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1907);
James M. Gray, How to Master the English Bible: An Experience, a Method, a Result, an Illustration (London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1907);
in public domain, available online or as a
free downloadable digital file (PDF or ePub) on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=AOUOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 18 FEB 2012].
J. Edwin Hartill, Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1947);
available online or as a free PDF file download (60
mb) on Seminario LAMB at
http://seminariolamb.com/biblioteca/lib/lib-biblical%20analysis/Principles%20of%20Biblical%20Hermeneutics%20-%20J%20Edwin%20Hartill.pdf [accessed
9 MAR 2014];
print editions available on Amazon at
[accessed 18 JAN 2015].
Arthur T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism: Being the Second Series of Exeter Hall Lectures on the Bible Delivered in London, England in the Months of February, March and April, 1904 (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., n.d.; 1970 reprint of 1905 original by The Baker and Taylor Co., New York);
Arthur T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism: Being the Second Series of Exeter Hall Lectures on the Bible Delivered in London, England in the Months of February, March and April, 1904 (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., n.d.; 1970 reprint of 1905 original by The Baker and Taylor Co., New York);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Spiritual-Criticism-Arthur-Pierson/dp/B0045PPI6W/
[accessed 18 JAN 2015].
Robert A. Traina, Methodical Bible Study: A New Approach to Hermeneutics (Wilmore, KY: self-published, 1952; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Methodical-Bible-Study-Robert-Traina/dp/0310246024 [accessed 9 MAY 2014].
Oletta Wald, The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study, rev. ed. (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2002);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/New-Joy-Discovery-Bible-Study/dp/080664429X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1 [accessed 9 MAY 2014].
Note: This newly revised edition is
also available in Kindle.
Compiled
by:
John T.
“Jack” Jeffery
Pastor,
Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown,
PA
End Notes:
[1] The notes from the previous sessions have been posted to the Wayside Gospel Chapel blog at http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20Study%20Seminar.
[2] In John Rippon, A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors
(1787); “attributed variously to John Keene, Kirkham, and John Keith;”
on Cyber Hymnal at http://nethymnal.org/htm/h/f/hfirmafo.htm [accessed
26 JAN 2015]. The four possibilities for the “K-” ascription in Rippon (Robert
Keen(e), George Keith, Thomas Kirkham, and Kennedy or Kennady) are discussed on
Hymnary.org at http://www.hymnary.org/person/K [accessed
26 JAN 2015].
[3] See my “Covenants and
Dispensations” spreadsheet at https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13946111/Covenants%20and%20Dispensations%20-%20Structure%20and%20Relationship.xlsx.
[4] 2015 Shepherds Conference — The Inerrancy Summit.
[5] This statement in not included in the “Introduction
to the 1967 edition,” in The New Scofield Reference Bible, ed. C. I
Scofield (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. v-viii. An item of
local interest is that E. Schuyler English signed this “Introduction” at
Skytop, PA on May 27, 1966 “For The Editiorial Committee.” Op. cit., pg. viii.
Apparently while teaching at the Philadelphia Bible Institute and living in
Merion, PA during the school year, he maintained a summer home in Skytop for
many years (c. 1945 to c. 1968, or more). English died in 1981 at the age of
81.
[6] St. Augustin: Sermons On Selected Lessons Of
The New Testament, trans. R. G. Macmullen, ed. Philip Schaff, in A Select Library Of The Nicene And Post-Nicene
Fathers Of The Christian Church,
ed. Philip Schaff, Vol. VI, St. Augustin: Sermon On The Mount, Harmony Of The Gospels, Homilies On
The Gospels (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark; Grand
Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., ), pg. 360; NPNF1-06. St. Augustine: Sermon on the Mount; Harmony
of the Gospels; Homilies on the Gospels, by Philip Schaff, on Christian Classics Ethereal Library
(CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf106.vii.xxxiv.html
[accessed 7 APR 2015]; s.v. Sermon XXXII [LXXXII, Benedictine ed.], On the words of the Gospel, Matt. xviii. 15, “If thy brother sin against thee, go, shew him his
fault between thee and him alone;” and of the words of Solomon, he that winketh
with the eyes deceitfully, heapeth sorrow upon men; but he that reproveth
openly, maketh peace.
[7] cited by Hildemar of Corbie, Commentary on the Rule of Benedict, trans. Daniel Price, 7:10; on The Hildemar Project
at http://hildemar.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=128&catid=15&Itemid=102 [accessed 7 APR 2015].
[8] God, Creation, and Revelation: A Neo-evangelical
Theology, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991), pg. 119.
[9] Ibid.
[10] “saeculum: age or era; the Latin equivalent of αιών.” Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms, Drawn Principally from
Protestant Scholastic Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1985), pg.
269.
[11] Macmullen, op. cit.
[12] See my handout, “Major Epochs
or Dispensations in the History of God’s Relations with Mankind,” at https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13946111/Major%20Epochs%20or%20Dispensations%20in%20the%20History%20of%20Gods%20Relations%20with%20Mankind%20handout.docx.
[13] On Luke’s use of this term see Darrell L. Bock, “The
Reign of the Lord Christ,” in Dispensationalism,
Israel and the Church: The Search for Definition, eds. Craig A. Blaising,
and Darrell L. Bock (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), pp.
58-59.
[14] Alva J. McClain, The
Greatness of the Kingdom: An Inductive Study of the Kingdom of God (Winona
Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1959), pp. 363-365, 430.
[15] Compare also Micah 4:6-7; Zephaniah 3:10;
Matthew 21:41, 43; 22:9-10; and Mark 12:9.
[16] J. Barton Payne, Encyclopedia
of Biblical Prophecy (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980), pp. 100, 514 (s.v. Luke #63). Examples of the variety
of errors involving this fulfillment, and its significance abound. For one
variety involving prejudicial failures involving the future of the nation of
Israel see the following: Patrick Fairbairn, Prophecy Viewed in Respect to its Distinctive Nature, its Special Function,
and Proper Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, n.d.; 1976
reprint of 1865 T. & T. Clark ed.), pp. 241-243; and George Eldon Ladd, The Presence of the Future: The Eschatology
of Biblical Realism, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1964, 1974; orig. Jesus and the
Kingdom, by Harper & Row, New York), pg. 249.
[17] Eckhard Schnabel, 40 Questions About the End Times, series
ed. Benjamin L. Merkle (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic & Professional,
2011), pp. 129-135.
[18] Mt. 21:9, 15; Mk.
11:9-10; and Jn. 12:13.
[19] On this see especially
the following: E. Schuyler English, “The Gentiles in Revelation,” a message
presented at the “Diamond Jubilee Congress on Prophecy,” held May 17-25. 1970
at Calvary Baptist Church, New York City, NY; in Prophecy and the Seventies, ed. Charles Lee Feinberg (Chicago:
Moody Press, 1971), pg. 242; and Charles H. Stevens, “The Last Gentile World
Ruler,” op. cit., pp. 236-237.
