Heffren's Collection

"What Is Truth?"
by H. C. Heffren

[ The Truth About Dispensational Truth ]

The following article has been selected to provide an interesting and challenging subject for consideration. It will be found: much contained herein, varies with traditional teachings and beliefs. However, it's "our burden" to encourage as many as will, to honestly consider...with an open mind, and we're trusting the Holy Spirit to verify as He Wills.

TRUTH DEFINED...
First of all, let’s ask the question that Pilate asked Jesus, "WHAT IS TRUTH?" How do we recognize truth when it’s presented? How do we sort out truth in religion when theology confronts us with thousands of claims, counter claims, conflicting and often confusing dogmas, which apparently sincere individuals assert and sometimes vehemently expound as truth? What IS truth?
Truth is a very rigid word. Courts require witnesses to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Truth is akin to reality. It is an ultimate, alone and separate from any rival. Rogert's Thesaurus enlightens us with truth being veracity, fact, naked, plain, exact, intrinsic and honest as well as fidelity. Truth is accurate, constant, unerring, unimpeachable, definite, scrupulous, meticulous and tangible, along with many other meanings. Kenneth Wuest, in his "Word Studies," defines truth from the Greek words that mean unconcealed, unhidden… that which will stand scrutiny or investigation. Further he cites the gospel of John, which uses the word more than all the rest of the New Testament, as meaning, "That which has not only the name and semblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name."
According to the above definition, there is no such thing as Dispensational "truth." There may be Dispensational doctrine, teaching, interpretation, dogma or theories, but TRUTH will not accommodate itself to any such adjective. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." He did not say, "The Dispensational Truth," for that would destroy the meaning of truth. Jesus told us that one way to identify truth is by what it does, "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) Truth is the opposite of error and has an opposite effect. Truth is simple and profound. Error is mysterious and complicated. The farther truth is pursued the easier it is to maintain, while error multiplies its weaknesses and eventually crushes the ones who support it. Error is temporary while truth is eternal.
Perhaps it is only fair to give a definition of what so-called Dispensational truth really is. Very briefly, it is allied with Premillennialism although the Dispensational emphasis of the doctrine did not originate until 1840. Its first followers were known as Irvingites and Darbyites, and later on as Brethren. Today you will find Dispensationalists among many denominations where they make bold claims of being fundamentalists. In this article we are not concerned so much about who they are or where they are, but we are concerned about their claim to bring dominant teaching of the New Testament and of the early church during the first three hundred years of its existence.
Dr. John Walvoord, in his book called, "The Millennial Kingdom," makes the following statements: "For most sober students of the Scriptures, the basic question in regard to the millennium is whether the Bible itself teaches decisively one view or the other." (P. 37) This is definitely a fair statement, for God's Word is the final arbiter concerning faith and doctrine regarding believers. Mr. Walvoord follows this statement with these quotations: "The New Testament bears no record of a millennial dispute." (P. 38) We don’t question this statement. Quote: "For 150 years after the crucifixion of Christ, the millennarians have only one disputed exponent -- Barnabas…such is the void that faces those seeking evidence of amillennialism." (P. 44) Quote: "Origen in the first half of the third century was the first to raise an influential voice against the premillennial view." (P. 24) Quote: "The second century, like the first, is devoid of any testimony whatever for amillennialism, except at its close." (P. 43) Quote: "In the first two centuries only the disputed (amillennial) testimony of Barnabas can be cited." (P. 46) Mr. Walvoord credits Augustine as being the chief scholar to promote the amillennial doctrine, which was in the fourth century after Christ.
While the foregoing list of Premillennial champions in the early church is somewhat impressive, it is not convincing because Amillennial writers can counter with an equally imposing number of Amillennialists and claim that the only Millennarian in the first century was a man names Cerinthus, who was branded as a heretic. The strange thing about this phase of the argument is that both Premillennialists and Amillennialists will claim the same church Fathers as their champions. Since no layman can possibly know which side is correct we must dismiss this evidence as irrelevant, and return to the Word of God for our answer. Remember, we are seeking for an answer to "The truth about Dispensational Truth."
The Source of Truth...
The proper place to seek truth is always at its source. There, if nowhere else, truth bubbles forth unadulterated, uncontaminated and undiluted. The fountain of truth concerning the teaching of the New Testament is found in Acts 2 where Peter enunciated the first gospel message under the anointing of the Holy Ghost. Here the truth poured forth clear and so understandable that every listener knew exactly what it meant and what he was required to do. It is the claim of Dispensationalists that Peter was a Premillennialist and that Amillennialism did not appear during the first 350 years of the early church history. This would guarantee, then, that Peter was a Premillennialist, as well as all the Apostles. This being the case we would expect the sermon on the Day of Pentecost would be a typical Dispensationalist message since it was to set the pattern of preaching for the entire church age. We will assume, therefore, that Peter was a Dispensationalist and that he would say what their doctrine teaches.
We regard this platform as fair because if Dispensationalism is the truth today, it will have to conform to the original truth proclaimed at Pentecost where the original pattern and blue print of truth was announced. To quote Dr. Walvoord again, he says, "The testimony of history unites in one river of evidence that the theology of the Old Testament and the Theology of the early church was not only premillennial, but premillennialism was practically undisputed except by heretics and skeptics until the time of Augustine. The coming of Christ as a prelude for the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness on earth in fulfillment of the O. T. prophecies was the almost uniform expectation of the Jews at the time of the incarnation and of the early church. …Premillennialism is founded principally on the interpretation of the Old Testament." Millennial Kingdom, pp. 113, 114. We readily concur with Dr. Walvoord that Premillennialism is based on the INTERPRETATION, (namely their "interpretation”) of the Old Testament. Now, if their interpretation is the truth, it must correspond with the truth, which Peter declared under the anointing of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost. We will have to concede that Peter was a Dispensationalist according to the claims that only heretics preached anything but Premillennialism during the first three centuries. That being the case, let’s listen to what Peter would have said according to the highest theological exponents of Dispensational TRUTH today. Remember "truth" does not change. What was true on the day of Pentecost is still true today.
The Perversion of Truth...
Now, if Peter were a Dispensationalist, his sermon on the Day of Pentecost would correspond with so-called Fundamentalism and Dispensational truth today. His Pentecostal sermon, therefore, would be somewhat as follows: I'm glad to see such a crowd of people out to this religious rally. How many in this great audience are Jews? I see by the hands that everyone present is a Jew. That is good, for the Jews, even in unbelief, are still God's chosen people, and will always be known as the People of God. (Scofield Ref. Bible, p. 1337.) I know that you are wondering about the Messiah and the earthly kingdom, which He is to set up. You’re absolutely right about that, just as your Talmud says, for the Messiah is coming back to set up that Kingdom, yet. In fact, He would have set it up during His ministry, but you rejected His offer and when you crucified Him, you stopped God's clock. There won't be another tick on God's clock until He starts dealing with you again. (Copied from Blackstone's Jesus is Coming and H. A. Ironside's Great Parenthesis, P. 23.)
I have a great announcement to make. We are about to enter into The Great Parenthesis, a period of time which was not revealed to your prophets. It is a HIDDEN INTERVAL known as the mystery of the church age, or age of grace. Even poor Daniel missed this Dispensation, as did all the other prophets. We must not be too hard on these men, though, for they did not have the advantage of Dispensationalism to help them "rightly divide the Word of Truth." All that they saw was the earthly kingdom in the far future, but they entirely missed the church age, which was to intervene. (Great Parenthesis, p. 12 et al). Let me ask you this question, "Could we, by any possibility, realize through reading Isaiah 61:9-11, that there was a great parenthesis between the two clauses, "The acceptable year of the Lord," and "The day of vengeance of our God?" Only a comma separates these clauses and yet the entire church age is inserted in that hidden interval." Just think of that! (Great Parenthesis, p. 34.)
Perhaps I should explain just what it means by the statement that you stopped God's clock. You will recall that Daniel prophesied that there were Seventy Weeks Determined by God on our people. However, since "Nothing can be found in history that provides a literal fulfillment of the seventieth week (of Daniel), many take this to mean that a postponement of the seventieth week is imperative. Now IF this is correct, then a parenthesis of the coming age is indicated." (The Millennial Kingdom, John Walvoord, p. 227). It bothers me a little to tell you Daniel's prophecy had to be postponed, in view of the fact that Deuteronomy 18:22 says, "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him." However, IF our interpretation of the Old Testament is correct and there’s nothing in history to provide a LITERAL fulfillment, then a postponement has to be invented by discovering a HIDDEN interval. Just how you discover a HIDDEN interval or measure HIDDEN time, I’m not prepared to say. I’m glad to announce to you, however, that the Messiah is coming back again. He will land on the Mount of Olives with such force that the mountain itself will cleave in two. This spectacular event will cause the Jews in the surrounding area to believe in the Messiah, after all. The Jewish news agency will seize on the advent with screaming headlines and blare the news around the world and whole nations will be converted. The Messiah, it seems, will get King David out of his tomb to help Him manage things acting as a prince under the Messiah. (The Millennial Kingdom, p. 300 and Israel in Prophecy, p. 121.) John Walvoord. I know you’ll be interested in knowing what conditions will be like during the millennium. I am sorry, I don't have the latest Almanac or seed catalog handy, but according to premillennial forecasts on crop and weather reports, there will be ample rainfall and abundant crops. This copious rainfall together with unprecedented crop yields, will provide a life of ease and economic security for all. (Israel In Prophecy, John Walvoord, p.127). The spiritual needs of the people during the millennium will not be forgotten for a magnificent temple will be erected in Jerusalem, on the altars of which memorial animal sacrifices will be offered continually under a new priesthood. (Scofield Ref. Bible p. 890.)
I see my time is gone. You’ve been a wonderful audience to listen so patiently. Before closing, however, I’m going to take time for one or two questions. Does anyone have a question? Yes, the brother over here wants to know when all this is going to happen. A very penetrating question indeed! Let me answer by saying that it will happen when the Gentile age comes to an end. We don't know exactly when that will be, but according to Rex Humbard's book called The Absolute Certainty of Jesus' Coming Again on page 54, he says, "No devout believer in the inspired Word of God will ignore the FACT that earthquakes UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, are to be regarded as a sign, FROM THE VERY LIPS OF JESUS, of the end of the Gentile times and the close of this age of grace." Mr. Humbard doesn’t enlighten us as to where or when the lips of Jesus uttered these words nor what the circumstances are that indicate which earthquakes reveal the end of the age. All I can say is, Keep your eye on earthquakes. One of them is sure to be right.
There's Just time for one more question. Yes, the brother over here, wants to know how the Millennial rule will end. The answer is that after the glorious rule of the Messiah for a thousand years, Satan will be paroled again, and he will subvert the followers of Christ in the Millennial Kingdom, like the sand of the sea. As a result of this insurrection, there will be a civil war with bloodshed on a scale never equaled before in history. Blood will flow, or be spattered as high as the horses bridle for a distance of 200 miles. The carnage and slaughter will be greater than all the warmongers of all time, but Christ will gain an overwhelming victory. This is the last time anyone will ever oppose Christ. He will then hang up His dripping sword and the saints will go and enjoy heaven for all eternity. (Alford).
That's all the time I have today for questions. I want you all to attend the synagogue of your choice and come back praying for this wonderful revival. If anyone wants further information we ask you to sign the visitor's cards being passed out, or just ask for literature and we will send it free of charge, telling you all about the things mentioned in my sermon. Let us pray!
Truth Declared...
Let me ask one question. Is that Acts 2? Every statement attributed to Peter is quoted from Dispensational literature. If Peter were a Dispensationalist he could not say something different from the Dispensational TRUTH for truth does not change. And yet, when we compare these statements with what actually transpired on the Day of Pentecost, we not only find that they do no correspond, but in almost every detail, they are the very opposite to what Peter said.
Let’s examine the evidence. Peter said nothing about a parenthesis, a hidden interval or of the prophets knowing nothing of the church age. Instead Peter said, "THIS IS THAT which was spoken of by the prophet Joel." Acts 2:16. When Peter confirmed Pentecost with an appeal to the prophets, he was following Christ's example in Luke 24:44-47, "…That all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, AND IN THE PROPHETS and in the Psalms, concerning Me. Then opened He their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. "…that repentance and remission of sins be preached in His name…" exactly what Peter did.
Peter did not say the Kingdom of God depended on a Jewish plebiscite, which rejected Him, but rather on God's Sovereign Will, which declared Him to be both Lord and Christ by acclamation. Acts 2:36. Peter did not see Christ's Kingdom postponed to the unknown future, but rather he proclaimed that he was an "eyewitness to HIS MAJESTY." 2 Pet. 1:16. Blackstone, in Jesus Is Coming says, "The Millennium as the teaching of the Old Testament…was the view most frequently expressed in the TALMUD." Then he says, "We can consistently, with the Jews, base our conclusions…on the great week of the Millennium." (pp 38, 39) Paul warned both Titus and Timothy to beware of fables, especially "Not giving heed to JEWISH fables." (Titus 1:14) Peter said, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables…" (2 Pet. 1:16) The Pulpit Commentaries link the fables referred to, with the Talmud, which it says is full of them. Yet this Talmud which Christ said, "Made the Word of God of none effect," is the greatest original authority for Dispensationalism.
Peter didn’t tacitly blaspheme the Holy Ghost by suggesting He made an error and telling his audience that "God's clock stopped." ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God…" (2 Tim. 3:16) The only clocks that can stop are the ones that belong to people who have clocks, like Dispensational clocks, for instance. God does not need a clock, or a Jewish "sun dial," for He dwells in eternity and "Known unto God are ALL His works from the beginning of the world." Acts 15:18.
Peter didn't come before his audience to announce a PATHETIC apology, suggesting that the prophets didn’t foresee the age of grace. Instead he came with a PROPHETIC assurance of fulfillment of God's promises. Peter didn’t see the church as a “church-crutch” for God to hobble through an embarrassing parenthetic period unforeseen by the prophets, (and therefore, unforeseen by God Himself since He inspired prophecy) but he hailed the church as a glorious fulfillment of Christ's design and purpose as He said, "I will build MY church."
Peter didn’t say that God would rouse David from his tomb to assist Him in managing His Kingdom, but he said, "David is in his sepulcher, but that God would raise (resurrect) up Christ to sit on David's spiritual throne," which he called HIS throne. Acts 2:29-32. Nor did Peter say that Christ was coming back to Jerusalem to set up His Kingdom, but that He is NOW "By the right hand of God EXALTED" (past tense) and that God HATH made (past tense) Him both Lord and Christ." That is, both King and Messiah. Peter didn't portray future earthly bumper crops and social security comparable to the promises one hears in election campaigns, nor did He predict the weather report for the Millennium like an Almanac as Dispensationalists do, but Peter proclaimed God's Kingdom through repentance and forgiveness. Peter didn’t preach future events, but he proclaimed present principles. Peter's message was not speculations about the future but regulations for the present Kingdom.
Peter didn't see the Old Testament prophecies postponed to a future age. If Peter had of preached a Dispensational sermon at Pentecost, Judaism would have been the TOMB of Christianity instead of the WOMB of the age of Grace. Peter heralded the truth that the Old Testament promises were being realized in the gospel and were bursting into reality with awe-inspiring dynamic power, supported with "many infallible proofs." Thus Christ is introduced as the new Moses, raised (resurrected) up in accordance with Deut. 18:15, as the Divine lawgiver of the Kingdom of God. (Acts 3:22) He saw Christ leading the NEW EXODUS, not from Egypt to Canaan, but from the thralldom of sin and Satan's kingdom into the glorious liberty of the Kingdom of God. (Col. 1:13) He saw Christ restoring our inheritance, which was lost through the fall. This new exodus commenced on the Day of Pentecost when the first contingent of the Remnant followed Christ through repentance and surrendered to His rule. These are the ones God calls His people. This Israel never ceased from being a nation. (1 Pet. 2:9) Christ is the new Joshua leading His followers to rest and peace in the Canaan of the New Testament, after the conquest of vice and evil. Christ is the New Testament Samson. Samson was imprisoned in Gaza and he escaped by taking the gates off their hinges and hiding them where they were never found again. In like manner Christ unhinged the tomb, destroyed its terror, and left it as a gateway to glory rather than as a prison of despair. Christ is the New Testament Melchizedek, our eternal High Priest and mediator between man and God. He is the New Testament sacrifice, once and for all. We not only do not need such a MEMORIAL in the millennium -- how can we forget HIS sacrifice. A restoration of animal sacrifices would be an insult to Him, when that’s the very thing He came to abolish with His sacrifice.
Much can be said, but we must add this statement. Peter didn’t proclaim a millennium in which an insurrection would break out and involve Christ in a carnal warfare. Perish the thought! Christ is Deity. The millennium of the Dispensationalists ends in the most colossal fiasco of the ages. The declension of subjects from Christ to Satan is not equaled in the annals of time. The barbarous means Christ uses to quell the insurrection are without parallel in history. A doctrine that "paints itself into a corner" where the Christ they serve is portrayed as a vindictive tyrannous anti-Christ bathed in human blood He has spilled, before He can enjoy eternity defies every Christian concept of the Christ of the gospels and the Christ of Calvary. The teaching is not so revolutionary as it is revolting! A doctrine so bereft of the right conclusion must be construed to have the wrong premise to start with. A doctrine that errs so far from the PATTERN of truth can’t be truth. You can call it Dispensational trash or trumpery or Dispensational interpretation, but it’s not truth. Truth doesn’t contradict itself. A Kenneth Wuest defines the word; Truth is "That which has not only the name and semblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name. Truth is unconcealed and unhidden. You don’t find it in "hidden intervals," injecting it into clauses separated by commas, not in subtle mysteries, which can only be discerned by experts, so-called.
Truth Verified...
Peter's message on the Day of Pentecost was simple, clear, understood by all, straight forward, lucid and above all, it left no doubt as to its authority. Peter's message would not be recognizable in Dispensational terms. Therefore, we must label the Dispensational claim that Peter was a Premillennialist as false. That the early church was Premillennial in doctrine is also false. There is no such evidence. That Premillennialism is in harmony with Jewish theology and thought as well as the Talmudic interpretation of the Old Testament, we readily agree. But this is the interpretation Jesus said "Made the Word of God of none effect." (Mark 7:13)
It is further observed: "Pre-millennialism is founded principally on the interpretation of the Old Testament." (Walvoord, The Millennial Kingdom, p. 114) We heartily agree with this statement. But we must add that the Old Testament is no longer in force. It was annulled, abrogated, superseded and it was done away with. Hebrews chapter 8 leaves no doubt that the Old Covenant was cancelled and revoked. Its heirs were under redemption when the New Covenant came into effect. Any doctrine that’s founded on a document such as this Old Covenant, has no claim on God's truth, for God's truth emphatically says that THAT Covenant does not exist any longer. Amillennialists are the literalists in fact, for they don’t postpone the Kingdom. They accept the promises of God and the Kingdom of God as delivered by God to His saints. Amillennialists don’t change God's Word to suit their doctrine.
You may ask if this suggests that Dispensationalists do change God's Word. I refer you to the statement of Rex Humbard where he quoted Jesus as saying earthquakes are a sign of the end of the Gentile age. Try to find it! Jesus did not say that! In Walvoord's book, The Millennial Kingdom it says on page 38, "The positive testimony of Revelation 20 with its six references to a reign of Christ ON EARTH for 1,000 years, while hotly disputed and denied significance by Amillennialists, is nevertheless their stubborn foe." I reply that there is not one single solitary reference to a reign of Christ ON EARTH in Revelation, nor even the entire New Testament. Being literal does not license any person to ADD to God's Word in order to prove his position. Revelation 20 says that those who reign with Christ are the ones who participate in the FIRST RESURRECTION and that on such the Second Death hath no power. We all know that the Second Death is permanent separation from God and it has nothing to do with the physical demise of a person. The Second Death is the penalty for sin. Now, the First Resurrection is in apposition to the Second Death, and since the second death is spiritual death, the first resurrection has to be a spiritual resurrection. As Paul said, "You hath He quickened (made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins…and hath raised (resurrected) us up and made us sit together in heavenly places. (Eph. 2:1, 6) Amillennialists accept this Scriptural resurrection in Rev. 20, and they also accept the spiritual reign with Christ, which ensues (follows).
In our search for TRUTH, we should accept the obvious meaning and refuse the devious. Truth has a fountainhead and we should go to the Source for it. Truth is not a mystery, nor a maze. Bible TRUTH does not have to zigzag its way through seven judgments, four gospels, multiple resurrections infinitesimal hair splitting definitions about Jews and Gentiles, endless detours to get around road-blocks needing experts to "rightly DIVIDE the truth." Truth is simple. God meant for ordinary people to understand it in its most apparent meaning. We reject Dispensationalism because it does not correspond to any of the meanings of truth either in the Word of God or in the Dictionary. We accept Amillennialism because it does correspond to both.
Truth is integrated. What was true for Moses was true for Peter and the TRUTH Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost will be true until the end of time. The gospel’s not a postulation, but a proclamation. It’s not a postponement theory, but Divine authority. It’s not a future conjecture, but a present reality. The Bible says, "This is the LAST time. This would not be true if there were a future millennial age. Amillennialists simply accept TRUTH. Jesus said, "I am the way and THE truth and the life." This we believe! This we proclaim! [ The End ]