Will Israel Literally Return to the Land in the End Times?

Examining a Fundamental Flaw in Dispensational Theology

Photo by Dariusz Kanclerz on Unsplash

^“7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, ⁸ and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” —Zechariah 8:7-8

The Issue(s)

Two Questions

Question: How should we understand the relationship between an Old Testament prophecy like Zechariah 8 above and national Israel? At first brush it seems pretty straightforward. Israel had been removed from the land and one day God would bring them back. And so, according to dispensationalism, this promise will find its complete fulfillment when national Israel is one day restored to her land.

But that’s not the only question that needs to be asked. Here’s two more: First, how should we understand the relationship between the Old and New Testaments? And second, what’s the best starting point for understanding their unity?

It’s the second question that I especially want to dive into in this post. Because when we do, I’m going to argue that there’s a fundamental flaw in the dispensationalist’s viewpoint. But before we go any further…

A Quick Caveat

This isn’t intended to be a bash piece against Dispensationalism. I will certainly point out my disagreements based on what I’m seeing in Scripture. But what separates me from Dispensationalists is not as deep as what binds us together, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I should also add that there are Dispensational scholars whom I deeply respect and have benefited greatly from. Examples here would include Darrell Bock and Abner Chou, whose book I recommended to you last week. I hope, therefore, that in my critiques, I fairly and charitably represent Dispensationalism.

So with all that being said, what is Dispensationalism?

What is Dispensational Theology?

Origins

Dispensationalism as a distinct theological system has its roots in the Plymouth Brethren movement of early 19th century England.¹ John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), a prominent leader of this movement from the 1830’s to 1840’s, became well-known throughout Europe for his interpretations of biblical prophecy.² Chief among them was his hard distinction between God’s dealings with Israel and the Church. So popular did his teachings become that they made their way to America by the 1860’s.³

A subsequent boom in American popularity happened with the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909.⁴ Its author, C.I. Scofield (1843-1921), was converted in 1879 and introduced to dispensational teaching not too long after that by a man named James H. Brooks.⁵ From there Scofield would go on to pastor the First Congregational Church in Dallas, Texas from 1882-1895.⁶ Following his ministry, he began working on his study Bible in 1903.⁷ And the rest, as they say, is history. So what is it that Dispensationalists actually believe?

Beliefs

The word Dispensation is rendered from the term in the Latin Vulgate which is itself a translation of the Greek word, “oikonomia.” And Gentry and Wellum define it as, “to manage, regulate, administer, and plan the affairs of a household.”⁸ The dispensations in dispensational theology refer to the unique ways God has related to Israel and, later, the Church in different historical eras.⁹ Traditional Dispensationalists divide God’s redemptive plan as follows: (1) Era prior to grace (Israel), (2) Age of grace (church), and (3) Kingdom (Christ’s millennial reign).¹⁰ Progressive Dispensationalists hold to a similar scheme as well.¹¹ Due to the clear divides between these “dispensations,” they see a marked discontinuity between Israel and the Church. And this shows up prominently in their interpretations of prophetic promises to Israel in the Old Testament as only (or primarily) for national Israel.¹² Foundational among these prophetic promises would be the promise of land made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. This promise comes under fire, however, when Israel was exiled from the land toward the end of Old Testament history.

Before, during, and after Israel’s removal in the 8th and 6th centuries BC, the tenor of her prophets was one of judgment and hope. On the one hand, they wanted Israel to understand that since she had broken covenant with the Lord through idolatry, she was therefore receiving the chief covenant curse: exile from the land (Lev. 18:24-30; 26:14-46; Deut. 4:25-31; 28:15-68; 29:1-29). On the other hand, the Prophets also maintained a consistent optimistic outlook. Throughout the literature we see references to Israel’s undergoing a glorious restoration; a restoration which included being one day settled back in the land (e.g., Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 23:3-8; Ezek. 36:24-26, 37:21-25; Amos 9:14-15; Zech. 8:7-8). And given the eschatological overtones of passages like these, dispensationalists believe that there will be a continual distinction between Israel and the nations even into Christ’s millennial reign.¹³

So what role does the Church play in this scheme? A rather temporal one. Again, this is due to the boundaries which are drawn between the dispensations, presenting the picture that God’s dealings with humanity differ based upon each dispensation. Consequently, this means that the Church is regarded as a new spiritual reality which exists between Christ’s first and second coming. In other words, the Church forms a parenthesis in God’s larger redemptive program. It inhabits a specific window of time with its beginning in the Book of Acts and its ending with Christ’s millennial reign.

Now this system is internally coherent and bases its evidence in a lot of biblical data. But I still think it falls short of the mark.

Uncovering Dispensationalism’s Fundamental Flaw

The issue, I believe, is that dispensationalism has the wrong starting point. Here’s what I mean.