DISPENSATIONLISM
Let us first define what Dispensationalism is. According to those who promote this teaching, it is a method God uses to enact His purposes toward humanity. It is a way of reading Scripture that divides it into how God deals with His people in different dispensations. The purpose of each is to see how God planned for peoples' salvation in each dispensation - what relates to Israel, what relates to the church, and what the end times will look like.
Dispensationalism teaches a distinction between Israel and the Church, viewing them as two separate entities in God's plan. This theological framework is not Biblical. This man-made doctrine was developed in the 19th century. Dispensationalists believe that Israel is under God's promises to Abraham, while the Church is under the New Covenant.
The problem is, the New Covenant has not been established yet. Dispensationalism creates an artificial divide, whereas Romans 11 describes Gentiles as being grafted into Israel's Olive Tree, suggesting continuity rather than separation.
Let's talk about the ''New Covenant.'' The New Covenant is a central theme in Jewish and Messianic thought, particularly in relation to the Messianic Kingdom. According to Jeremiah 31:31-34, God promises to establish a new covenant with Israel [not a Gentile dispensation], writing His law on their hearts and granting full restoration.
Unlike the Sinal Covenant, the New Covenant promises a heart-level change, where God's law is internalized rather than just observed externally. The prophecy states that all of Israel will know the Lord, eliminating the need for intermediaries. The covenant guarantees complete forgiveness of sins, bringing Israel into full reconciliation with God.
Yeshua (Jesus) inaugurated the New Covenant, but its complete fulfillment will occur in the Messianic Age, when Israel experiences the fullness of God's promises. The New Covenant will be deeply connected to the resurrection of the dead in Jewish thought. This is one of the thirteen principles of Faith by Maimonides.
The resurrection is referenced in Ezekiel 37, where the valley of Dry Bones symbolizes Israel's restoration, and in Daniel 12:2, which speaks of the righteous rising to eternal life. If we are living in the New Covenant times, as according to dispensationalists, where is the resurrection of the righteous? Where is the Messianic Kingdom? Why hasn't Israel been fully restored?
The Second Exodus - The New Covenant will be fully established during the second Exodus or the final redemption. This is Israel's future redemption during the Messianic Age. Isaiah 11:11-12, God promises to gather Israel from the nations, cleanse them, and give them a new heart and spirit, reinforcing the idea of a renewed covenant. The Messiah will lead Israel into this final redemption, just as Moses led the people out of Egypt. This will happen at the second coming of Yeshua (Jesus). It is safe to say, that the New Covenant has not been fully instituted.
LAW VS GRACE
Sadly, dispensationalism puts antithesis between law and grace. Dispensationalism often emphasizes a sharp distinction between law and grace, viewing them as separate dispensations in God's plan. This perspective suggests that the Law of God governed Israel, while grace is the defining characteristic of the Church Age. This is simply untrue and false. Many dispensationalists argue that the Torah was for Israel and is no longer applicable under the New Covenant. However, Jeremiah 31:31 says, that God will write His Torah on the hearts of His people when the New Covenant is fully established in the Messianic Kingdom.
Under the false view of dispensationalism, the church is seen as operating under grace alone, distinct from the legal framework of the Torah. This is false as well. Israel was not saved by legal observance of the Torah but by God's grace.
Israel's relationship with God has always been based on His grace, rather than mere legal observance. The Torah is often misunderstood as a system of strict laws that people must follow to earn salvation. However, biblical and rabbinic texts emphasize that God's grace preceded the giving of the Torah, and that Israel was chosen not because of merit but because of divine love and covenantal faithfulness.
The Exodus Was By Grace - Israel's deliverance from Egypt was not due to their righteousness, but because of God's promise to Abraham (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).
God established His covenant with Israel out of divine mercy, as seen in Deuteronomy 9:4-6, where He explicitly states that Israel was not chosen due to its own goodness.
The Torah was given as a guide for living in holiness, not as a means of earning salvation. Even sacrificial atonement was based on God's forgiveness, not human efforts alone.
The Church - The earliest followers of Yeshua (Jesus) were Jewish, and they saw themselves as part of Israel, not a separate entity from it. The idea that there was no initial division between Israel and the church aligns with historical and biblical perspectives.
Yeshua's apostles and followers were all Jewish, observing Torah and participating in Jewish communal life. The Ekklesia as Israel - The term ekklesia (assembly) was originally used to describe Israel's congregation, not a separate group.
In Acts 15, the early Jewish believers debated how Gentiles could join the faith, showing that Jewish followers still viewed themselves as part o Israel. Paul describes God-fearing Gentiles as grafted into Israel's olive Tree (Romans 11), reinforcing that the Messianic community wasbuilt on Israel and not one dispensationalism.
It is important to note that the first disciples were not Christians; they were Jews who practiced Judaism. That is to say, they did not practice what we would recognize as Christianity because Christianity did not yet exist as a religious entity outside of the broader tent of Judaism.
They had a common place of assembly where the Jewish disciples in Jerusalem gathered every day for prayer, worship, and teaching: They gathered on the Temple Mount, a place called Solomon's Colonnade. The Jewish believers in Yeshua (Jesus) expected the returning Messiah to enter the Temple from the east, and they wanted to be the first to greet him. The great eastern gate, the main entrance of the Temple through the eastern gate. Ezekiel saw a vision of the Divine Presence of God returning to the Temple through that same gate. After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, the Jewish disciples used Solomon's Colonnade as their regular place of assembly (Acts 3:11, 5:12). This porch served as the meeting place of the first church, so to speak.
Yeshua's disciples revered the Temple because their Master revered it. He regarded the Temple as his ''Father's house.'' Yeshua (Jesus) was zealous for the Temple.
The Jewish believers in Jerusalem did not build a church or even a synagogue; their locus was the Temple. Even the name of their sect, ''the ekklesia,'' originated from Temple terminology. Ekklesia (assembly) is the Greek word translated as ''church'' in our Bibles, but in the Hebrew Scriptures its equivalent, Kahal, typically refers to an assembly in the Temple. The early Jewish believers were every day assembling in the Temple as the book of Acts indicates, one can imagine a natural evolution in which the believers began to refer to themselves as ''the assembly.''
The Church was not a separate entity that was known as Gentile dispensation. The assembly consisted of both Jewish disciples and Gentile disciples. The Jewish and Gentile disciples were united as one body in Messiah, reflecting the prophetic vision of God's redemptive plan for all nations. Ephesians 2:14-16, Paul states that Yeshua (Jesus) broke down the dividing wall, making Jew and Gentile one in Him. Romans 11:17-24, Gentiles are described as grafted into Israel's olive tree, sharing in Israel's covenantal blessings. Acts 15, the Jerusalem council, Jewish believers welcomed God-fearing Gentiles into faith without requiring them to become Jewish (works of the law).
This unity reflects the Messianic vision of a redeemed world where Israel and the nations worship together in harmony. There is no dispensationalism.
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