Journal: Interdisciplinary Journal on Biblical Authority
Volume: IJOBA 01:2 (Fall 2020)
Article: The Calvinist Heritage Of Dispensationalism
Author: Thomas D. Ice

IJOBA 1:2 (Fall 2020) p. 119

The Calvinist Heritage Of Dispensationalism

Thomas D. Ice

IJOBA Journal Editor
Calvary University

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Modern, systematic dispensationalism is approaching at least two hundred years of expression and development. We live at a time in which dispensationalism and some of its ideas have been disseminated and adopted by various theological traditions. This is not surprising since our day is characterized by anti-systemization and eclecticism in the area of theological thought. It may be surprising, to some, to learn that dispensationalism was developed and spread during its first 100 years by those within a Reformed, Calvinistic tradition. It has only been in the last 95 years that dispensationalism and some of its beliefs were disseminated in any significant way outside of the orbit of soteriological Calvinism. However, I believe dispensationalism is fully expressed and only makes sense within a sovereignty of God framework or within some form of soteriological Calvinism regardless of some aspects of its popularity outside of the Calvinist sphere. Dispensationalism is an attempted expression of what God is doing in history as it lays out His plan of various phases as recorded in His Word. I believe dispensationalism is a system of theology actually found through a correct inductive study of the Bible.

Definitions

Before proceeding further, I need to provide working definitions of what I mean by Calvinism and dispensationalism. First, by Calvinism, I am speaking mainly of the theological system that relates to the doctrines of grace or soteriological Calvinism and not its use in a broader sense found in culture and history. This would include strict and modified Calvinism (i.e. four and five point Calvinism). I am referring to that aspect of Calvinism that speaks of the fallen nature of man and the elective grace of God.

Second, by dispensationalism, I have in mind a system of theology that was developed by John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) which gave rise to its modern emphasis of consistent literal interpretation, a distinction between

IJOBA 1:2 (Fall 2020) p. 120

God’s plan for Israel and the church, usually a pretribulational rapture of the church before the seventieth week of Daniel, premillennialism, and a multifaceted emphasis upon God’s glory as the goal of history.1 Many down through church history have held to various elements of dispensationalism before the rise of Darby’s system but did not include all aspects of Darby’s system united into a single theological system. This essay includes some who have held to such a system but may have stopped short of embracing pretribu...