Dispensationalism and

why evangelical Christians embrace

Zionism so strongly.

Markus Reichenbach

University of the Nations

2016
Dispensationalism -Zionism Markus Reichenbach

Index
1 Introduction 2
2 What is the theory of Dispensationalism? 3
2.1 Introduction 3
2.2 What does dispensation mean? 3
2.3 Different views on dispensation 3
2.4 The Millennium 4
2.5 Darby's basic assumptions 5
2.6 The speech of the Mount of Olives 6
2.7 Theory of the Rapture 8
2.7.1 Gospel of John 9
2.7.2 Thessalonica 9
2.8 Great Tribulation 10
2.9 The Antichrist 10

3 Why do a lot of evangelical Christians embrace Zionism? 10

3.1 History 11
3.2 How the nation in the Middle East came into existence 11

4 What does the Bible say about Israel 12

4.1 The relationship between Jewish and Greek 12
4.2 Will all of Israel be saved? 14

5 Bible passages? 15
5.1 New Testament (there is no difference of Jewish and Gentiles) 15
5.2 Old testament 17
5.3 What arguments do the Dispensationalists have? 18

6 Replacement theology 19
7 Conclusion 19
8 Bibliography 20

1 Introduction
In Christian communities there are a lot of controversies about the future and the end times.
Why is this so important to Christians? Should Christians not lead morally correct lives rather
than argue over these issues?

It seems to be very important to Christians to see how the future will look like. Paul said:
"What good is it to me if the dead are not raised? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we are
dead!1" Paul mentioned when there is no resurrection and a life after dead there is all in vain.
Therefore, the resurrection and the afterlife are at the centre of Christian doctrine.

Now why do Christians argue about so many different variations of the end times? What is
the problem and where do these discussions come from?

1 1 Kor 15.32

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2 What is the theory of Dispensationalism?

2.1 Introduction2
In the 19th century, the so-called theory of Dispensationalism and the doctrine of Rapture
were preached by John Nelson Darby. He taught a premillennialist eschatology that awaits a
1000-year reign of Jesus Christ over the earth. This reign is preceded by the Great
Tribulation in which the Antichrist reigns over the earth. Every believing Christian will be
removed from the earth before or during the Great Tribulation in the so-called "Rapture".

The Anglican Bishop, N. T. Wright, vehemently criticized this theory. He said that
Dispensationalism spreads a one-sided, pessimistic worldview for Christians. They do no
longer hope for God's renewal and transformation of the world through his salvation, which is
already taking place in a fragmented manner3.

2.2 What does dispensation mean?

Dispensationalism is a doctrine taught by John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). It divides the
Bible into households (dispensations). In each section, God works and intervenes in different
ways. This has already been done by various church fathers and does not seem to be
fundamentally questionable.

Overview of Darby's concept of households.

2.3 Different views on dispensation

An overview of the development of different dispensationalist views 4:

2 Wikipedia, Dispensationalism
3 N.T. Wright, a quote from Wikipedia, the worldview what would react to a new view were dispensationalism
would have no place is in the book; surprised by hope, 2009
4 Ronald M. Henzel: Darby, Dualism and the decline of Dispensationalism, p 158

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Darby Dispensationalism Dispensationalism Progressive

Dispensationalism (after 1880 Moody, (After 1960 named after Dispensationalism
(Ca. 1830 Darby, Scofield, Larkin) Scofield, Walvoord, (after 1980 progressive
Kelly) Classical styl Revised Pentecost, Ryrie) revelation, block,
Blaising)

An eternal heavenly- Eternal dualism is Dualism is completely The dichotomy between

earthly dualism rejected. There rejected, which leads to Israel and the church is
determines the whole remains the eternal a temporal dichotomy rejected. Distinguishing
theology, resulting in dichotomy of Israel between Israel and the between Israel and the
an eternal dichotomy and the church, in church (that is, they are church (two phases in
between Israel and the world dualism is not eternally separated). the one divine plan of
the church. only in eschatology. salvation).

2.4 The Millennium

Throughout the history of the church different theologians have written about the Millennium,
the thousand-year period, in different ways. With Darby, the discussion about the thousand-
year period and the end time really flared up. Especially the passage in the Revelation of
Jesus Christ 20: 1-9 is regarded by many Dispensationalists as proof of their theory.

Before the nineteenth century the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation was regarded
as a pastoral book written in a poetic form. They considered the Revelation to be a book
showing that despite all affliction and suffering, good will win and evil will be destroyed in the
end. In the nineteenth century, the view of Revelation changed significantly and people
started to interpret the Revelation literally.

Those new interpretations were developed by Darby about 150 years ago. Before 1800 there
was hardly any debate about the end times. During the Enlightenment, theologians tried to
prove the doctrine of the Bible scientifically and this led to confusion. The Bible is not a
scientific book, but a personal letter written with a lot of poems and symbolism. By
interpreting the Bible just literally will obviously not help. One would never do that to a work
by Goethe. Goethe is poetic like many
parts of the Revelation and of the Bible too.
Therefore, it is impossible to try to read the
Bible just literally.

The question remains, however, in which

literary style the Revelation was written. Is
a literal interpretation of the Revelation
helpful or does it oppose the original
author's intention?

Does not a literal interpretation leave

people in fear over all these terrible events
of the future, instead of giving them hope? In
any case, this has led to confusion and
unnecessary quarrelling amongst
Christians. That is why the doctrine of
Darby needs to be assessed with a critical

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mindset.

There are basically three different views of the millennium as shown in the graphic below.

The first schema; Premillennialism describes the Rapture and Jesus coming back before the
Millennium.

The second schema (Pretribulation Premillennialism) is the view of Darby. He indicates the
Rapture and Jesus coming back before the tribulation.

The third schema, Postmillennialism describes Jesus coming back after the Millennium.

The fourth schema depicts Amillennialism, meaning that the Millennium has already begun
with Jesus. In the fourth view, the Millennium is to be seen as symbolic and not literal.

Darby said that Jesus has risen and is taken to heaven. There is a separation between the
kingdom of God in heaven and the kingdom of the world until Jesus returns. Christians are
removed and separated from the Jews in the Rapture. Before this the Jews return to their
homeland. This is followed by a tribulation of seven years. Then Jesus comes back and the
Millennium begins. After that the judgment and the final transfer into the new creation for all
who believe take place. Let us look at a passage from which a lot of Christians deduce a
dispensationalist view.

2.5 Darby's basic assumptions

1827-1831 Darby studied theology. During this time, he was strongly influenced by Prof
Richard Graves (1763-1829), a supporter of the Jews Community. He believed that the
people of God (Israelites) would initiate the 1000-year kingdom by their conversion and
return to their old homeland5.

Graves stated; "Since Israel rejected Jesus as a Messiah, a non-Jewish move had taken
place. The Old Testament promises to Abraham and his seed are, however, not linked to
conditions. The blessings prophesied to the Jewish people could soon be fulfilled by a
dedicated mission service among the Jews6». Darby embraced Graves' convictions.

The first theories of Darby originated around 1830 in the communities of the Brethren
movement in England and spread rapidly throughout Europe. Through his travels to the
United States, his teachings became very well known amongst Presbyterians and Baptists.
Evangelists like Dwight L. Moody and Cyrus I. Scofield became convinced representatives of
this view7.

In order to base their teaching on biblical grounds, the following assumptions were made:

a) The era of the Church was over. They didn’t take their mandate and therefore God
took it away from them and gave it back to ethnic Israelites.
b) Interpretation of the Old Testament just literally. The Old Testament speaks
exclusively of Jews and not of Christians. The main goal is the eternal separation
between the church and Israel.

5 The Gathering Storm: Understanding Prophecy in Critical Times, 2013

6 dito
7 In Germany, it was Carl Brockhaus, Rudolf Brockhaus and Emil Dönges who represented his writings.

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c) The New Testament is not to be understood literally. It must mainly be understood in

a spiritual manner.

The doctrine of Darby is mainly an Old Testament doctrine, or in other words, a Jewish
doctrine. Therefore, the church of Jesus Christ has no place in the Jewish Kingdom. He
came to the conclusion that there must be a so-called Rapture. Darby believed that
Christians have to be taken away before the Millennium can come, so that the Old
Testament promise could be fulfilled.

Darby says: " The Scriptures know only a single covenant, and this is the covenant with the
house of Israel and the house of Judah. This will be accomplished in the future, and the
church of Christ will not stand in the way of this covenant. The covenant of this letter was
concluded with Israel and not with us. The gospel is not a covenant, but a revelation of the
salvation of God. We enjoy all the advantages of the New Covenant, whose foundation God
has laid through Jesus, but we enjoy them spiritually and not literally8».

This view, however, does not match the Bible, especially the New Testament. The suspicion
remains that Darby wanted to prepare Christians for the acceptance of Zionism.

The Bible clearly says that this is not true.

A) The whole Bible is God's word. One part may not be considered literal and the other
not9.

B) Jesus has clearly effaced the differences between Jews and Gentiles10.

Darby's presuppositions for his theory

1. Return of the Jews to their old homeland

2. Separation of Israel from Christians.

3. The blessings of the Old Testament concern only the ethnic Israelites.

4. The Old Testament is to be understood literally, while the New Testament is to be

understood spiritually.

Darby rejected the authority of the Bible, the preaching of Jesus, and also Jesus himself. He
downgraded the doctrine of the New Testament. Darby misused the Word of God in his
theory and must therefore in his theory be denied.

2.6 The speech of the Mount of Olives11

It seems that in this speech Jesus uses the typical Jewish poetic language to describe what
will happen. He does not tell a literal story.

One day, Jesus was in the Temple in Jerusalem with his disciples. As they left the temple,
one of Jesus' disciples (Peter) said with pride; “Jesus, look at this great monumental building
of the Jews. What a wonderful building this temple is.“

8 William Kelly, he Collected Writings of J.N. Darby, 1867–1900

9 Mt 5.17-20, Rom 3,31, Heb 9.15-17, 2 John 9
10 Mt 8.11,28.11ff, Gal 3.28, Ep, 2.11-22
11 Mk 13.1-37

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Jesus’s answer shocked all of them. What did he say? “This temple will lose its entire
splendour and everything will be destroyed.” This totally messed up their thinking.

Now, Peter, James, John and Andrew came and asked him, but probably not with the same
certainty as before, “Jesus, when will this be and what signs will indicate that this is going to
happen”?

It seems that the disciples asked two questions. The first one was about the destruction of
the temple but the other question was probably deeper. It was a question about the end,
when God will come and judge all the people and destroy evil forever. For Matthew, who
mainly wrote to the Jews, it was very important to make clear that the disciples asked two
questions. He added: “Jesus tell us when the time is for your coming and when is the end of
the days”12. It is obvious that there were two open questions. This is important to know in
order to understand what Jesus says next.

Jesus answered: "Watch out, many will come and claim I am Jesus, but don’t let anyone fool
you, and don’t be troubled when you see battles and wars, earthquakes and famines. Such
things will happen but it doesn’t mean that the end has come. You will be arrested and taken
before courts. Be strong and don’t be tempted." Jesus understood that they had some
confusion in their mind about the end times. He calmed them and gave them an answer that
they did not even directly ask for in the Gospel of Mark: "listen, many things will happen but
this will not mean that it is the end. Before the end comes the gospel must be preached to all
people. So, don’t be afraid when you see destruction or persecution. All who remain
steadfast until the end will be saved."

Then he answered the question that they asked him directly in the Gospel of Mark. When will
the destruction of the temple be? When you see awful things happen (the destruction of the
temple) as is it written in the Prophet Daniel, then run away. Daniel prophesied that the King
of the North (Syria) would come and desecrate the temple. When we read Daniel, we should
keep in mind that most of those prophecies of Daniel had already been fulfilled by the time of
Jesus. Here, Jesus specifically meant the desecration of the temple in 168 BC by Antiochus
Epiphanies and the ensuing destruction of it. It seems that Jesus pointed to this story and
said it will happen again, that the king of the north will come (Daniel 11.31) and destroy the
temple again. In 69 AD, the Romans destroyed it again. But it was not the end and it was not
the end after Antiochus either. But when you see it, run away, because it will be awful. Those
days will be a time of suffering like never before. It was an awful, horrible time when the
Romans destroyed the temple and Jerusalem in 69 AD. The temple was destroyed and
many Jews were killed. It was a brutal, awful time and a lot of blood was shed in Jerusalem.
But the Christians ran away to a city called Pella and were saved. It seems that the
Christians understood this message and reacted according to Jesus teaching. “I told you
everything in advance”.

"But after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its
light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken”. Now, Jesus
turns from Jerusalem to a general judgement of the world.

Joel used this language (Joel 2.10) to describe the destruction of Israel and of the nations.
After these destructions, the sun and the moon were still there and the heavens didn’t

12
Math. 24.3

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disappear. The passage seems to be written in poetic language and it means that God will
intervene tremendously and the earth will no longer look the same.

“Watch out and be ready as you don’t know when Jesus will come back”.

Others will come and proclaim, “Here is the Messiah.” Don’t be confused or seduced. It will
be like a master leaving his household in the hands of his servants. He will come back. So
make sure that the household is in order, as no one knows when it will be.

Matthew added three more parables (Mat 25.1-46) and made it very clear. He added the
story of the ten widows, the talents and the story of the sheep and the goats. All of them tell
us the same thing: that people should be ready when Jesus comes back. In the last story, he
made it even clearer. A lot of people say that they follow Jesus, but they do not. It is obvious
that this is what the passage is about. Always be ready.

Matthew (24.40-41) added the analogy “one shall be taken, and the other left”. This is also
written in John 14.3. A lot of people think this passage is about the Rapture. Jesus takes the
good people to heaven and leaves the evil ones behind. In Greek “shall be taken” means to
"receive" and not "to go away". I assume that this is also an analogy expressing the fact that
there will be a separation. But it didn’t say which one goes away.

The story tells Christians that there will be persecution and suffering, but Jesus will win in the
end. Be watchful and stand firmly in his promises. So (don’t) be alarmed and don't live like
the people in Noah’s.

It is therefore wrong to deduce from this passage the doctrine of the Rapture and tribulation.
The Dispensationalist’s interpretation of this passage is highly speculative. Therefore,
Dispensationalism should be viewed very critically.

2.7 Theory of the

Rapture13
The doctrine of the Rapture teaches
that Christians are taken away from
the earth before the tribulation
period. There are mainly three
different views.

The Rapture will happen: Before

during or after the tribulation. Pre-,
midst or post tribulation.

We already looked at what Jesus

said in the three synoptic gospels.
We will also take a closer look at two
more passages from the Bible that,
according to Darby, prove the
Rapture.

13 Wikipedia, Rapture

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2.7.1 Gospel of John14

In Greek, this expression means "preserved" or "saved", and not "taken away", as it is
sometimes translated. This passage can hardly serve as proof that God would take us away
from the earth.

2.7.2 Thessalonica15
But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who have died, so that you may not
grieve like other people who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
through Jesus God will bring those who have died with him. For we declare to you what the Lord has
told us to say: We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede
those who have died. With a shout of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of God's
trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will
rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet
the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. So then, encourage one another with these
words.

In the original Greek language, the word "caught up" is "harpazo", which means "to tear". It
doesn’t mean Rapture or going up to heaven. God is "taking us into his presence" would be a
better translation.

"Jesus comes", in verse 15, is "parousia" in Greek. This word appears seven times in
Thessalonians and signifies: The king arrives in a city. It was a common term at this time
used to express that a high official was coming into the city and that the people receive him
or run towards him. "Parousia", however, does not only mean that Jesus comes back, but
also applies to Paul or Stephen who come back in 1 Co 16.17.

The cloud in the Old Testament is a symbol for God: The cloud in the desert. The cloud filled
the temple and the tabernacle. Now the temple is destroyed and the cloud has come over
Jesus. It is not the visible cloud in the sky. It is a symbol of God's presence, which all the
Jews would have understood at that time.

"Air" (in Greek "aemi") means mind or breath. It doesn’t mean the natural air around us. It
means the breath of God, his presence or his spirit.16.

Also, this passage does not support the theory of Rapture. In general, we can see that the
Rapture is not a concept from the Bible. This concept is an invention coming from the time of
Darby or from Darby himself. This passage only emphasis that the living will have no
advances before the death when Jesus is coming back. The living gets transformed and the
death raise almost in the same time.

14 Jn 14.3
15 1 Thes. 4.13-17
16 Mt 24,21, Mk 13.9, Luk 21.24

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2.8 Great Tribulation17

This idea is mainly deduced
from Daniel and the
Revelation18. As we have seen,
the Rapture theory has been
seen in a variety of ways and so
has the tribulation. But this is
the most common view.

The great tribulation of the end times is portrayed as an accumulation of distress, a time of
war and disasters. These include, in particular, the Seven Seals and the Apocalyptic
Horsemen. The Rapture of the Church will take place before the Tribulation. Then Israel will
make a covenant with the Antichrist. This is supposed to last seven years, which is deduced
from the book of Daniel. The tribulation shall be a judgment of the nations and of Israel, and
ultimately lead to the repentance of the people of Israel. Israel, according to this doctrine, will
acknowledge Jesus as Messiah at the end of the tribulation.

This interpretation mainly comes from a literal interpretation of the Bible. But in Darby’s
doctrine, concerning the understanding of Israel, he said that the New Testament is to be
understood spiritually and not literally. But for is own purpose he change revelation against to
a literally interpretation. It leaves us with the feeling that Darby read and interpreted the
Bible whichever way he wanted.

2.9 The Antichrist

Likewise, the antichrist is always a hot topic among Christians. However, this concept does
not occur in Revelation even though many people think it does. It appears in the letters of
John19, which Dispensationalists never mention. Why do they take a name from the Bible and
use it to describe something different? The antichrist is a human who rejects Christ as the
Son. Speculations that the antichrist is the Pope or Obama are far from what the Bible says.
According to the Bible, there have been many Antichrists and many others will appear. To
expect that a particular person will appear at any time is therefore not substantiated biblically.

3 Why do a lot of evangelical Christians embrace

Zionism?
Darby’s theory rests strongly on the restoration of Israel as a nation. As this was never
strongly debated before 1800, it seems that Darby and the Zionist initiative, (that Israel
should become a nation) have a strong connection. So, let’s have a look at the History of
Zionism.

17 Wikipedia, Great Tribulation

18 Rev 7.14, Rev 20
19
1 John 2.18,22 4.3, 2 John 1.7

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3.1 History20
Zionism is a political movement of Jews who want to rebuild Israel as a nation in Palestine.
The beginning of the Zionist movement is the Hovevei Zion, which originated in 1880. They
gathered about 3,000 emigrants to settle in Palestine. Theodor Herzl (1880-1904), wrote the
book "The Jewish State" in 1896. He concluded that, when Israel has its own state, then anti-
Semitism would end. In the main, it was not a religious movement, but more of a political
liberation movement.

On 29 August 1897, the first Zionist Congress convened in Basel. There, Herzl demanded,
for the first time, a legal Jewish state in Palestine. The Zionist World Organization (World
Zionist Organization, WZO) was founded.

On 14 May 1948: David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of the state of Israel under a
portrait of Theodor Herzl.

Some theologians argued, in the beginning of the 20th century, that the Bible does not say
that the Jews would return to Jerusalem. Years later, the Jews returned to Jerusalem and
these theologians were seen a proven wrong. Through the founding of Israel, the doctrine of
Darby has now gained a real boost. Many Christians now support Zionism.

3.2 How the nation in the Middle East came into existence21
In 1648, during the Peace of Westphalia, the present European nations were founded.
Before that time, Europe was an empire; The Holy Roman Empire. The Middle East
remained an empire (Ottoman Empire) until the First World War. The Caliphate of the
Ottoman Empire held the Middle East together.
The victory of the British in the First World War ended the Ottoman rule in 1917. Following
the conference of San Remo in 1920, the League of Nations, in 1922, gave the United
Kingdom the mandate for Palestine (today Israel and Jordan). The obligation of the mandate
was that the British should complete the Balfour Declaration from November 2, 1917, in
which they had promised the founding of a national homeland for the Jewish people in
Palestine, while preserving the rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. They
should not be affected in their culture and tradition. It was be explicitly ensured that nothing
should be done that could restrict the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish
communities in Palestine. On the board, new states were created - Palestine, Syria,
Lebanon.

In July 1922, the British divided Palestine into two administrative districts, Palestine and
Transjordan. Transjordan and Palestine were still regarded as an administrative entity. Jews
were only allowed to settle west of the Jordan.

In 1937 the British Peel Commission presented the first plan of division. According to the
plan, it was a distribution of population; Galilee and a coastal strip as Israeli and the larger
part as the Arab area. The new immigrants were immediately enthusiastic, but the Arabs not
so much and they reacted. The plan failed.

20 Wikipedia, Zionism
21 Vishal Mangalwadi, Die offene Wunde des Islams, 2016

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In 1941, al-Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem, and influential leader of the Arab national
movement, was welcomed by Adolf Hitler in Berlin. From Berlin, he and Adolf Eichmann
planned the murder of the Jews living in the Arab world.

On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted by a two-thirds
majority for the UN plan of division for Palestine, into a Jewish and an Arab state, with
Greater Jerusalem being placed under international control. With the aim of actually
establishing an independent Jewish state and creating a homeland for the survivors of the
Holocaust, the Jewish population accepted the plan. The Arabs, on the other hand, rejected
the plan because they saw the Jewish presence in the region as a provocation. The Arabs
then rejected Israel's right to exist, which has had consequences for the region to this day.
David Ben Gurion proclaimed the independence of Israel on May 14, 1948. The colonies in
the Middle East were now abandoned. One day after the decision of the UN General
Assembly, the disputes escalated in Palestine.

4 What does the Bible say about Israel

Because of the doctrine of salvation of Israel dispensationalism came into existence.
Dispensationalism is not based on the Bible. It is simply a justification of the doctrine of
Dispensationalism. Therefore, let us now have a closer look at what the Bible says about
Israel.

4.1 The relationship between Jewish and Greek

Do the Israelites still have a biblical promise for Israel? What exactly does the Bible say
about the future of ethnic Israel?

Abraham was the father of all nations. That includes all nations 22.

Therefore, the promise is based on faith, so that it may be a matter of grace and may be
guaranteed for all of Abraham's descendants—not only for those who were given the Law,
but also for those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. As it is written,
"I have made you the father of many nations." Abraham acted in faith when he stood in the
presence of God, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that don't yet
exist. Hoping in spite of hopeless circumstances, he believed that he would become "the
father of many nations," just as he had been told: "This is how many descendants you will
have."23.

You see, then, that those who have faith are Abraham's real descendants. Because the
Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the
gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be blessed."
Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed.24.

Because all of you are one in the Messiah Jesus, a person is no longer a Jew or a Greek, a
slave or a free person, a male or a female. And if you belong to the Messiah, then you are
Abraham's descendants indeed, and heirs according to the promise25.

22 Gen 17,1-8
23 Rom 4:16-18
24 Gal 3:7-9
25 Gal 3:28-29

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for the salvation of everyone
who believes, of the Jew first and of the Greek as well26.

Certainly, all who depend on the actions of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, "A
curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the Book of the Law!" Now
it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the Law, because "The righteous
will live by faith." But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, "The person who keeps
the commandments will have life in them27.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly
wrong. Until some men arrived from James, he was in the habit of eating with the gentiles,
but after those men came, he withdrew from the gentiles and would not associate with them
any longer, because he was afraid of the circumcision party. The other Jews also joined him
in this hypocritical behavior, to the extent that even Barnabas was caught up in their
hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I
told Cephas in front of everyone, "Though you are a Jew, you have been living like a gentile
and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the gentiles must live like Jews?" We
ourselves are Jews by birth, and not gentile sinners, yet we know that a person is not
justified by doing what the Law requires, but rather by the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah.
We, too, have believed in the Messiah Jesus so that we might be justified by the faithfulness
of the Messiah and not by doing what the Law requires, for no human being will be justified
by doing what the Law requires. Now if we, while trying to be justified by the Messiah, have
been found to be sinners, does that mean that the Messiah is serving the interests of sin? Of
course not! For if I rebuild something that I tore down, I demonstrate that I am a wrongdoer.
For through the Law I died to the Law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with
the Messiah28.

including us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but from the gentiles as well? As
the Scripture says in Hosea, "Those who are not my people I will call my people, and the one
who was not loved I will call my loved one. In the very place where it was told them, 'You are
not my people,' they will be called children of the living God." Isaiah also calls out concerning
Israel, "Although the descendants of Israel are as numerous as the grains of sand on the
seashore, only a few will be saved29.

Now does this blessedness come to the circumcised alone, or also to the uncircumcised?
For we say, "Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness." Under what
circumstances was it credited? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised? He had not yet been
circumcised but was uncircumcised. Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as a
seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. Therefore, he
is the ancestor of all who believe while uncircumcised, in order that righteousness may be
credited to them. He is also the ancestor of the circumcised—those who are not only
circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had
before he was circumcised30.

This means that all who believe as Abraham did will be blessed, the Jews and also the
Gentiles. Therefore, a real Jew is someone who accepted Jesus. They both have the same

26 Rom 1:16
27 Gal 3:10-12
28 Eph 2:11-19
29 Rom 9:24-27
30 Rom 4:9-12

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promises. The Israelis have no special role in the future. This was precisely the reason for
the many letters of Paul, especially Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. He opposed the
separation of Christians and Jewish Christians. This was one of the misunderstandings and
challenges of the Early Church. Graves and Darby seem to have reversed this.

The doctrine of Darby, in his own view, is superior to the writings of the Apostles and of Paul.
Without the separation of the church from the Jews, Darby's dispensationalism is not tenable.
His theory is built upon wrong assumptions.

4.2 Will all of Israel be saved?

For I want to let you know about this secret, brothers, so that you will not claim to be wiser
than you are: Stubbornness has come to part of Israel until the full number of the gentiles
comes to faith. In this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come
from Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob31.

This text is often cited by the dispensationalists as proof of their theory. The meaning of the
statement, “All Israel” can be interpreted differently and is determined by the worldview of the
individual person. The question is not whether the interpretation is logical, but the question is,
which world view is behind it. Calvin thought that “all” means; All who believe in Jesus,
because Paul previously defined, in his letter, “Israel” as Gentile and Jewish Christians.

There are four basic assumptions of the word ‘all’.

1. All Jews are those who believe in Jesus Christ. No matter if Jews or Gentiles.
2. All Jews means all ethnic Jews. All Jews are saved.
3. All Jews until the appearance of Jesus, who acknowledge Jesus
4. All Jews who accept Jesus as the Messiah when Jesus appears again

In all his letters Paul states that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. At first
Christians had a huge discussion about it and the Jewish Christians always forced the
Gentile Christians do follow their Jewish laws. They could not eat together or go to church
together when not all of them were circumcised. It was a two-level community, something
which Paul criticised vehemently. Paul believed strongly that there are only one people.

But gradually Christians became arrogant. As we know from history it ended in

discrimination. Rome, strongly influenced by Hellenism, was the first community where the
Gentile Christians started to look down on their Jewish brothers. The saw the law of the Jews
as an obstacle to grace and blamed the Jewish for having killed Jesus.

It is possible as Paul wrote to Rome people form Rom came down and told him about the
situation in the roman Churches. So he added the eleventh chapter to tell the Christians that
they should not become arrogant, because the Jews are the original olive tree and the root.
He says that if Jesus had grace for those who were not his children, he will also have grace
for those who are his children but rejected him. So, God has not rejected the Israelites, they
have only stumbled. The Jewish people can also become Christian and be accepted into the
family again. They have the same promise and the same status.

31 Rom 11:25-26

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Therefore, it seems that the third interpretation fits the best in the context of Romans and the
Bible. All Jews means all the Israelites who accept Jesus. The other two interpretations
would not fit in the context.

If people just read chapter 11 they see and read all Israelites. But in the context of the whole
Bible especially the New Testament, it seems to be clear that this interpretation is wrong.

“The covenant of all the fathers is so far from differing substantially from ours, that it is the
very same; it only varies in the administration32.»

5 Bible passages?
Some more passages which undermine the teaching of Darby.

5.1 New Testament (there is no difference of Jewish and Gentiles)

"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes
in him might not be lost but have eternal life. Because God sent the Son into the world, not to
condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him
is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he
has not believed in the name of God's unique Son. (Joh 3:16-18)

This happened in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the gentiles
through the Messiah Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Gal
3:14)

Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it
announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be
blessed." (Gal 3:8)

And so the Law was our guardian until the Messiah came, so that we might be justified by
faith. But now that faith has come about, we are no longer under a guardian. For all of you
are God's children through faith in the Messiah Jesus. Indeed, all of you who were baptized
into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah. Because all of you are one in the
Messiah Jesus, a person is no longer a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a male or a
female. (Gal 3:24-28)

The Messiah has set us free so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. So keep on
standing firm in it, and stop putting yourselves under the yoke of slavery again. Listen! I,
Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, the Messiah will be of no
benefit to you. (Gal 5:1-2)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for the salvation of everyone
who believes, of the Jew first and of the Greek as well. For in the gospel God's righteousness
is being revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The righteous will live by faith." (Rom
1:16-17)

For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just
external and physical. No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the

32 John Calvin, Institutio christianae religionis, 1536

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heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law. That person's praise will come from
God, not from people. (Rom 2:28-29)

including us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but from the gentiles as well? As
the Scripture says in Hosea, "Those who are not my people I will call my people, and the one
who was not loved I will call my loved one. In the very place where it was told them, 'You are
not my people,' they will be called children of the living God." Isaiah also calls out concerning
Israel, "Although the descendants of Israel are as numerous as the grains of sand on the
seashore, only a few will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his plan decisively, bringing it
to completion on the earth." It is just as Isaiah predicted: "If the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
had not left us some descendants, we would have become like Sodom and would have been
compared to Gomorrah." (Rom 9:24-29)

There is no difference between Jew and Greek, because they all have the same Lord, who
gives richly to all who call on him. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved." (Rom 10:12-13)

which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been
revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret: The gentiles
are heirs-in-common, members-in-common of the body, and common participants in what
was promised by the Messiah Jesus through the gospel. (Eph 3:5-6)

The secret that Paul wrote in the letter of Ephesians and Colossians is that gentiles and
Jews will be saved. If we take this as, “all the Jews”, of the flesh only, then it would contradict
the rest and would change the understanding of the church for 1900 years that people get
saved through grace.

…, and reconciling both groups to God in one body through the cross, ... (Eph 2:11-20)

See to it that no one enslaves you through philosophy and empty deceit according to human
tradition, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to the Messiah,
because all the essence of deity inhabits him in bodily form. And you have been filled by him,
who is the head of every ruler and authority. In union with him you were also circumcised
with a circumcision performed without human hands by stripping off the corrupt nature by the
circumcision performed by the Messiah. (Col 2:8-11)

and have clothed yourselves with the new nature, which is being renewed in full knowledge,
consistent with the image of the one who created it. In him there is no Greek or Jew,
circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free person. Instead, the
Messiah is all and in all. (Col 3:10-11)

This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "Here is my Servant
whom I have chosen, whom I love, and with whom I am pleased! I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the gentiles. He will not quarrel or shout, and no one will hear
him shouting in the streets. He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick
until he has brought justice through to victory. And in his name the gentiles will hope." (Mat
12:17-21)

That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a
people who will produce fruit for it. The person who falls over this stone will be broken to
pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls." When the high priests and the Pharisees
heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. (Mat 21:43-45)

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Because my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared for all people to see a light
that will reveal salvation to the gentiles and bring glory to your people Israel." (Luk 2:30-32)

Then the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed that the gift of the
Holy Spirit had been poured out on the gentiles, too. For they heard them speaking in
tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, "No one can stop us from using water to baptize
these people who have received the Holy Spirit in the same way that we did, can they?" (Act
10:45-47)

When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they
determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem
unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the
church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles:
and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. (Act 15:2-3)

Paul approached Peter in Antiochian because he didn’t want to eat with the Gentiles and a
conflict arose. They came to Jerusalem and made the first apostolic creed: Therefore, I have
decided that we should not trouble these gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should
write to them to keep away from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from
anything strangled, and from blood33.

from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing in front of the throne and
the lamb and were wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands. (Rev 7:4-9)

5.2 Old testament

Now if some of the branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive branch, have been
grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast about being better
than the other branches. If you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root
supports you. Then you will say, "Branches were cut off so that I could be grafted in." That's
right! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you remain only because of faith.
Do not be arrogant but be afraid! For if God did not spare the natural branches, he certainly
will not spare you, either. (Rom 11:17-21)

"It will come about in the last days that the mountain that is the LORD's Temple will be
established as the highest of mountains and will be raised above the hills; all the nations will
stream to it. Many groups of people will come, commenting, "Come! Let's go up to the
Temple of the God of Jacob, that they may teach us his ways. Then let's walk in his paths."
(Isa 2:2-3)

"I let myself be sought by those who didn't ask for me; I let myself be found by those who
didn't seek me. I said, 'Here I am! Here I am!' to a nation that didn't call on my name.
(Isa 65:1)

And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed. (Gen 12:3)

33 Act 15:1-20 /Gal2.11-14

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5.3 What arguments do the Dispensationalists have?

Often these verses can easily confuse people because they take such verses out of the
context to prove what they believe. Therefore, it is important that we look at these verses in
their respective context and take time to read the whole passage or even the whole book.
People have to understand who is writing to whom in what time and why.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 12:3)

The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all
the ends of the earth fear him! (Psa 67:6-7)

"Comfort! Yes, comfort my people," says your God. (Isa 40:1)

Who has ever heard of such a thing? And who ever sees such things? Can a country be born
in a single day, or can a nation be brought forth in a single moment? Yet no sooner was Zion
in labor than she delivered her children. (Isa 66:8)

"Therefore you are to say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says, 'Although I've removed them far
away to live among the nations, and although I've scattered them throughout the earth, yet
I've continued to be their sanctuary, even for the short time that they will be living in the lands
to which they've gone.' "Therefore you are to say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says, "I'm
going to gather you from among the nations, assembling you from the lands among which
you have been dispersed. I'll give you the land of Israel. When they return from there and
cast away all of their loathsome things and detestable practices, then I'll give them a united
heart, placing a new spirit within them. I'll remove their stubborn heart and give them a heart
that's sensitive to me. When they live by my statutes and keep my ordinances by observing
them, then they'll be my people and I will be their God. But to those whose hearts delight in
loathsome things and detestable practices, I'll bring the consequences of their behavior
crashing down on their own heads," declares the Lord GOD.'" (Eze 11:16-21)

I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my
heart and all my soul. "For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster
upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. (Jer 32:41-42 )

I will gather all nations, bringing them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will set out my
case against them there, on behalf of my people, my heritage Israel, whom they scattered
among the nations, apportioning my land among themselves. (Joe 3:2)

"Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces
leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things taking
place, you will know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door. I tell you with certainty, this
generation will not disappear until all these things take place. (Mar 13:28-30)

"In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise
up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, (Amo 9:11)

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6 Replacement theology34
Replacement or supersessionism theology is a widespread Christian doctrine, which
opposes people who don’t believe in the doctrine of a special role of Israel in the future.
These people often see other Christians as false prophets.

Often, Christians who do not accept the theory of Darby are seen as anti-Semites and are
named believers of replacement theology. Whoever does not explicitly bless or support Israel
will be cursed. There is often no other option for dispensationalists. Either you are a
dispensationalist or a supersessionalist. This is a very narrow view on reality and pushes
people to accept dispensationalism or at least not reject it, because they don’t want to be
seen as anti-semitic.

7 Conclusion
In this paper, we looked at two strands of thought from the last 150 years - Zionism and
Dispensationalism. It seems that these have something to do with one another.

Zionism is a political movement of Jews, who want to rebuild Israel as a nation in Palestine.
They conclude that when Israel has its own state, anti-Semitism would end. There is nothing
wrong with this intention, but it seems wrong to connect Zionism to Christianity.

Many passages in the Bible are interpreted too freely in order to support Zionism. Therefore,
Christians should not conflate secular Israel with the biblical Israel and should not try to
interpret the current events in Israel with the Bible. Also, they don’t have to treat the people
of Israel differently than any other people or nation.

For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just
external and physical. No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the
heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law. That person's praise will come from
God, not from people.35.

It seems theologically based Zionism creates a division between Jews and non-Jewish,
which Jesus Christ clearly took away. According to the Bible, there is no difference between
ethnic Jews and other nations.

Also, Herzl did not justify his theory with religious motives, but with the Jewish claim to self-
determination. According to the Bible true Israelites are not ethnic Jews, but those who are
circumcised in their heart. This means that the ethnic Jews have, according to the Bible, no
claim to the nation of Israel. The Christian-based Zionism must therefore be rejected.

The other theory that we looked at, is the theory of dispensationalism. It seems that
dispensationalism functions only with the idea of a nation Israel promised in the future.
However, this is not proven by to the Bible, so this theory of dispensationalism is weak.
Darby invented the doctrine of the Rapture to separate the church and the Jewish people.
Also, all these speculations about the end-times and the tribulation seem to be freely
interpreted from the Bible. One time they interpret the Bible literally then they interpret it
spiritually.

34 Wikipedia, Substitutions theology

35 Rom 2:28-29

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This movement led Christians to long for a new literal translation. But by reading the Bible
only literally a lot was lost. The reformers needed a translation so that people could
understand it. That is why the Bible was translated into their own language and the mass
was no longer held in Latin. The important thing was not the literal translation, but a
translation which made sense for the people of their time.

However, since the Bible uses a poetic language in many parts, a literal translation makes no
sense. The Bible is not a scientific book, but a personal letter with images and symbolism.
One would never regard a work by Goethe as science. It is poetic like the Revelation and
many other parts of the Bible.

It seems that Darby interpreted the Bible whichever way he wanted. Therefore, it seems to
me that the doctrine of Darby cannot be tenable on the basis of the Bible. It suggests that
Darby was so taken by Zionism that he wanted to convince Christians to accept it. Did Darby
use the Bible simply to spread Zionism among Christians?

The question remains whether a more moderate kind of dispensationalism could be accepted
biblically. This cannot be discussed here in detail. In principle, however, it is clear that Darby
laid the foundations of these theories. Darby's theory of future promises to the Jews have to
be rejected and for this reason the moderate dispensational doctrines must also be critically
questioned or even rejected.

8 Bibliography
• N.T.Wright, Surprised by Hope, 2009
• Mal Couch, The Gathering Storm: Understanding Prophecy in Critical Times, 2013
• Ronald M. Henzel: Darby, Dualism and the decline of Dispensationalism
• The Gathering Storm: Understanding Prophecy in Critical Times, 2013
• William Kelly, he Collected Writings of J.N. Darby, 1867–1900
• John Calvin, Institutio christianae religionis, 1536
• Vishal Mangalwadi, Die offene Wunde des Islams, 2016
• Bible Transition; International Study Bible
• Wikipedia, Dispensationalism, Zionism und Substitutions theology

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