Covenant Essays. T. Hoogsteen

Third Temple after the Jewish people have returned from their worldwide captivity and before the return of the Messiah to set up His Kingdom.”13 The eye is more on Israel than on Jesus Christ, the LORD, contrary to Scriptures. This bears out elsewhere too. “An understanding of the prophecies in the Bible makes it clear that Palestine’s past, present, and future is a key to what will happen next in the world.”14 However, this longing for a return to the glories of Old Testament Israel in the future lands Dispensationalist writers in the Pharisaic problem. Gal 3:10a, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse.” The same appears in Phil 3:2, “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.” This circumcision Dispensationalists do not wish this for themselves; much less ought they, out of love for neighbors, prophesy this for the people of Israel.

      Never in the Bible, particularly not even in the Old Testament dispensation from Adam to Christ, did the Savior require salvation by works. Salvation by works became a Pharisaic invention, adapted from idolatry, for only in idolatry must followers earn salvation.

      Popular in Dispensationalism is Premillennialism, the theory that the Church will be raptured, i.e., suddenly and unexpectedly taken out of the earth before the great Tribulation, or mid-Tribulation, and thus spared its agonies. Premillennials misjudge that upon the Rapture/Tribulation, Christ will institute his thousand-year reign, during which the Jews receive the last opportunity to earn salvation by obedience to the Law, all Old Testament sacrifices included, as well as reconstruction of a temple in Jerusalem, plus rediscovery of the Ark of the Testimony.

      In effect, the Church in the dispensation of grace comes out as an oddity, a people and an institution out of sorts with the Christ’s regular way of imputing salvation.

The key is that especially Dispensational Premillennials for believing the Gospel shall escape the terrors of the Tribulation. Everyone else living may suffer, but not they. “I personally believe that the Bible teaches the Church will escape these calamities. Although believers may well experience severe persecution as the day of Christ’s return draws near, I believe Scripture teaches clearly that believers will be kept from the ‘time of trial’ which God will send upon the world to try unbelievers (Revelation 3:10).”15 This is love for neighbors in rapturism.

      Dispensationalism imposed historical divisions, which on the surface only seem believable; yet such superficiality causes confusion particularly with respect to the place of the Church in history. This type of historical interpretation controls much of the Evangelical/Dispensational world.

      Dispensationalists, Premillennials especially, seem to ignore the reechoing power of Isa 6:9–10, a terrible word of condemnation first to the Old Church.

      Hear and hear, but do not understand;

      see and see, but do not perceive.

      Make the heart of this people fat,

      and their ears heavy,

      and shut their eyes;

      lest they see with their eyes,

      and hear with their ears,

      and understand with their hearts,

      and turn and be healed.

      Thus the LORD made separation in Israel; in Isaiah’s time he already began the distinction between Church and idolatry. He made the distinction between Church and Synagogue clear in Matt 13:14–15/Mark 4:12/Luke 8:10/John 12:40. Given the conclusion to the Acts, Apostle Paul ended his ministry on this note, when with righteous anger he denounced Israel, the Old Church. Acts 28:26–28,

      Go to this people, and say,

      You shall indeed hear but never understand,

      and you shall indeed see but never perceive.

      For this people’s heart has grown dull,

      and their ears are heavy of hearing,

      and their eyes they have closed;

      lest they should perceive with their eyes,

      and hear with their ears,

      and understand with their heart,

      and turn for me to heal them.

      Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.

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      Isaiah prophesied with respect to Israel’s rebellion; Paul declared it an accomplished fact. The future belonged to the New Church. Isaiah often prophesied of the remnant which the LORD chose as the ongoing Church. At first there were only one hundred and twenty, Acts 1:15.

      Unless Scripture is rightly divided, 2 Tim 2:15, the focus of Bible interpretation will be on Israel, rather than on the Christ who since the beginning founded and created the Church.

      THE NEW CHURCH

      The LORD’s Church is a many-sided revelation, not the least of which appears in the development of her newness; in the past whenever she showed signs of aging, that is, falling into revolution, he recreated her, most frequently beginning with a remnant. In the ongoing history of the Church this was so at the time of the sixteenth-century Reformation: a remnant only fled Roman Catholicism.

      Jesus, as the first in the New Testament dispensation, called the people ekklesia; he applied this heaven-sent name to the company of disciples/apostles with him in the district of Caesarea Philippi. Matt 16:18, “. . . on this rock I will build my ekklesia, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” At this time the Twelve, through Peter, recognized him as the LORD, Messiah and Savior. On the rock, Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the LORD began the work of recreating Israel into the New Church, which is the heart of the coming Kingdom of Heaven. The Church is Messiah’s ekklesia, the ongoing Israel he established in the progressive revelation of the Kingdom.

      Later, as result of Christ’s missionary extension of the Church, the Apostles in the name of the LORD established local ekklesiae, each a manifestation of Jesus’s global Church, whom he called to believe and live in liberty and unity.

      For this living definition of ekklesia also other references apply.

      Most frequently in the New Testament dispensation ekklesia, as opposed to sunagoge, describes a circle of believers, a local congregation in a definite place. Whether gathered for holy worship on First Days or during the week, the name ekklesia remained in effect. Various references in the New Testament bear this out. For the local ekklesia assembled on Sundays, Acts 11:26b, “For a whole year they met with the ekklesia, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians.” Similarly, 1 Cor 11:18, 14:19, 28, 35; etc. For the local church as a living body during the week, Acts 5:11; Rom 16:4; 1 Cor 16:1; Gal 1:2; 1 Thes 2:14; etc. Biblically it is a fact: each local church is a full-fledged ekklesia.

      A variation of the local church consisted of house congregations, believers in Christ Jesus who met in the homes of wealthy and/or important personages for divine worship. Rom 16:23a, “Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you.” Also, 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Phil 2; etc. Each of these house congregations was an established ekklesia.

      The name ekklesia was also given to a group of congregations in a particular area. Acts 9:31, “So the ekklesia throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.” Given this meaning, the Church at Jerusalem and also at Antioch in Syria may have comprised several congregations meeting in different localities.

      Another meaning of ekklesia consists of the entire Church, globally, all who profess the Christ as Lord and Savior, and therefore organized for purposes of worship under office bearers. 1 Cor 10:32, “Give no offence to Jews or to Greeks or to the ekklesia of God. . . .” This