Dispensationalism Before Darby Summary

Last week, this author spent several hours researching background information on the Church of England and the English Puritan beliefs centering on the fate of the Jews in eschatology. As it was determined, and with the actions of King Henry the VII, and the restrictive nature of the clergy, the Church of England found itself going through its own sort of reformation which was separate from the Protestant Reformation started by Luther. Therefore, it was concluded that the Church of England was both in disarray and a breeding ground for dispensational thoughts and beliefs. Thus, the focus of this week’s research, using Ehlert’s Bibliography of Dispensationalism and Watson’s text, Dispensationalism Before Darby, centered on identifying the major players and their beliefs about dispensationalism just prior to Darby.

As it was discovered, the year 1825 was the dividing line between old dispensationalism and new dispensationalism, and prior to that year, the word dispensation was never used (Ehlert, 1944). In fact, Millennialism, periods, and ages were the words most often

It was discovered that there was a dividing line between old dispensationalism and new dispensationalism that was delineated by the year 1825. Many of the major proponents of dispensationalism were also discovered along with their beliefs. Furthermore, it was also revealed that the word dispensation was not used prior to the dividing line and was characterized by the terms Millennialism, periods, and ages. Finally, it was revealed through research that many dispensationalists in the period before Darby drew their beliefs on the separation of history through the early church fathers. Next week, it this author’s intent to examine the teachings of Darby and how they led to the rise of modern dispensationalism and the teachings of a pre-tribulation