The History of Presbyterianism in the United States Part 4: A Closer Look at Dispensationalism A – The Scofield Bible

Master Timeline United StatesEurope 1620 – Mayflower lands 1730s-1743 – 1 st Great Awakening – American Rev – 2 nd Great Awakening 1830 – Book of Mormon – 3 rd Great Awakening – American Civil War 1870 – Scottish Common Sense 1889 – Moody Bible Institute 1891 – Briggs’ address 1909 – Scofield Reference Bible 1910 – Pres. G.A.: 5 Fundamentals – World War I 1922 – “Shall Fund.s Win?” 1923 – The Auburn Affirmation 1925 – The Scopes Trial 1929 – Westminster Theo. Seminary 1936 – Orthodox Presbyterian Ch – John Mackay, Princeton Sem – Westminster Confession of Faith – Age of European Enlightenment & of Scottish Common Sense Philosophy 1770s-1900 – Rise of German Higher Criticism – French Revolution 1827 – Plymouth Brethren begin meeting 1833 – Slavery Abolition Act of England Charles Darwin – Origin of Species – Darby travels to the United States United States (cont.) 1937 – Death of J. Gresham Machen - Bible Presbyterian Ch. (McIntyre) 1955, 1960 – Inherit the Wind 1966 – RTS, Jackson, MI 1967 – Confession of ‘67, Book of Confessions 1973 – PCA 1983 – Union of UPCUSA & PCUS

The Bible Conference Movement Niagara Bible Conference ( ) American Bible and Prophetic Conferences ( ) International Prophetic Conference (1878, 1886) Northfield Conference ( ) The Bible Institute Movement Nyack Bible Institute (1882) Boston Missionary Training School (1889) The Moody Bible Institute (1889) The Scofield Reference Bible, 1909

Cyrus Ingerson Scofield Fought for the South in the Civil War. Worked in law & politics. Converted at the age of 37. Disciple of Brookes. Pastored 1 st Cong. Church, Dallas, Trinitarian Cong. Church, E. Northfield, MA, , 1 st Cong. Church, Dallas, TX, 1903-?. Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, 1885 Regular speaker at Bible Conferences Founded the Central American Mission in the 1890s Began claiming a Doctorate of Divinity title. Scofield Reference Bible, 1909 Received into the Texas Presbytery, Southern Presbyterian Church. Founded the NY & Philadelphia Schools of the Bible, volumes of collected writings.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV)

Scofield Bible “Taking the King James Bible and adding his own Notes to it, he assured himself a place in the memory of all who read that version of the Bible. This was in violation of the policy of all well-known Bible societies, whose rules have been: ‘Without Note or Comment.’ Certainly Scofield was ignoring John the Revelator’s warning about adding or taking from his prophecy (Rev. 22:19), for he did not hesitate to pry apart John’s verses and intersperse his own idea between the sentences of John. This he did throughout the Bible, and, in the minds of many unwary people, Scofield’s ideas are equated with the Word of God itself.” (Cox. p. 13)

The Geneva Bible, 1560 The New Geneva Study Bible, 1995

Scofield Bible “The Scofield Bible has done good at points where it has dealt with the cardinal doctrines of historic Christianity. Scofield was a conservative Bible believer, and brought his Notes into existence at a time when the Bible was being attacked on many sides by the so-called higher critics and other liberal theologians. Scofield’s defense of the major doctrines of the Bible called forth a renewed interest in Bible study at a time when such a challenge was sorely needed. Followers of Scofield also manifest a respect for the authority of Scripture that is sorely lacking in many Christian circles today.” (Cox. p. 14)

Scofield Bible “An advanced Bible student might read the Scofield Reference Bible critically and get some good points from it, and at the same time avoid its erroneous doctrines. However, in the hands of a novice or young convert, this can be a dangerous book. Not least among these dangers is the superior attitude it implants in the minds of its readers. No doctrine of the Bible presents the least problem to these Bible ‘experts.’ Nor do they need any further study – all they need is contained in the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible.” (Cox. p. 14-5)

Scofield Bible From the Introduction: The distinctive features are as follows: I. It was felt that the old system of references, … was unscientific and often misleading. “Dispensationalist thought was characterized by a dual emphasis on the supernatural and the scientific. Supernaturalism was a conscious and conspicuous organizing principle. Underlying dispensational thought, however, was an almost equally important set of ideas concerning how to look at things scientifically. The unusual firmness of the facts of Scripture was believed guaranteed by its supernatural inspiration. … It was vital to the dispensationalists that their information be not only absolutely reliable but also precise. (Marsden, p )

Scofield Bible From the Introduction: The distinctive features are as follows: I. It was felt that the old system of references, … was unscientific and often misleading. II. The last fifty years have witnessed an intensity and breadth of interest in Bible study … Never before have so many … brought to the study of the Scriptures minds so free from merely controversial motive. … Expository novelties, and merely personal views and interpretations, have been rejected. VIII. The remarkable results of the modern study of the Prophets, in recovering to the church not only a clear and coherent harmony of the predictive portions, … has been closed to the average reader by fanciful and allegorical schemes of interpretation. The method followed gives ready access also to the amazing literary riches of the Prophetical Books.

Scofield Bible From the Introduction: The Editor disclaims originality. Other men have laboured, he has but entered into their labours. The results of the study of God’s Word by learned and spiritual men, in every division of the church and in every land, during the last fifty years, under the advantage of a perfected text, already form a vast literature, inaccessible to most Christian workers. The Editor has proposed to himself the modest if laborious task of summarizing, arranging, and condensing this mass of material.

Scofield Bible “A Panoramic View of the Bible.” First. The Bible is one book. (1) From Genesis the Bible bear witness to one God. (2) The Bible forms one continuous story – the story of humanity in relation to God. (3) The Bible hazards the most unlikely predictions concerning the future, and, when the centuries have brought round the appointed time, records their fulfilment. (4) The Bible is a progressive unfolding of truth. (5) From beginning to end the Bible testifies to one redemption. (6) From beginning to end the Bible has one great theme – the person and work of the Christ. (7) And, finally, these writers, … have produced a perfect harmony of doctrine in progressive unfolding.

Scofield Bible “A Panoramic View of the Bible.” Third. The books of the Bible fall into groups. PREPARATION. MANIFESTATION. PROPAGATION. The O.T. The Gospels.The Acts. EXPLANATION.CONSUMMATION The Epistles. The Apocalypse.

Scofield Bible “A Panoramic View of the Bible.” Fourth. The Bible tells the Human Story. The appointed mission of Israel was, (1) to be a witness to the unity of God in the midst of universal idolatry; (2) to illustrate to the nations the greater blessedness of serving the one true God; (3) to receive and preserve the Divine revelation; and (4) to produce the Messiah, earth’s Saviour and Lord. The prophets foretell a glorious future for Israel under the reign of Christ.

Scofield Bible “A Panoramic View of the Bible.” The Gospels record the appearance in human history and within the Hebrew nation of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, and tell the wonderful story of his manifestation to Israel, his rejection by that people, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The Acts of the Apostles record the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the beginning of a new thing in human history, the Church.

Scofield Bible – 2 Timothy 2:15 “In ‘Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth,’ an authoritative summary of his views, Scofield interpreted the phrase of his title from the King James Bible to mean that ‘The Word of Truth, then, has right divisions … so any study of that Word which ignores those divisions must be in large measure profitless and confusing.” (Marsden, p. 59)

Dispensational Bible Schools Philadelphia School of the Bible, 1919 Dallas Theological Seminary, 1924 Dispensational Books Chafer’s Systematic Theology, 8 vol.s

Lewis Sperry Chafer Ordained to the Congregational ministry, 1900 Became a Presbyterian minister Established Dallas Theo. Seminary, 1924 [T]he very fact that I did not study a prescribed course in theology made it possible for me to approach the subject with an unprejudiced mind and to be concerned only with what the Bible teaches.”

Lewis Sperry Chafer Ordained to the Congregational ministry, 1900 Became a Presbyterian minister Established Dallas Theo. Seminary, 1924 Dispensational Systematic Theology

Reasons for the Growth of Dispensationalism Protestant Postmillennialism appeared to be becoming overwhelmed and delayed. Dispensationalism seemed to answer man’s questions for the changing times. Liberalism was taking over the seminaries and there was a distrust of the graduates. The Scofield Bible gave the layman tools to respond to liberal skeptics. Bible study, once again, became relevant. Dispensationalism “rescued” God’s existence and sovereignty.

William Cox on the growth of Dispensationalism [D]octrinal preaching was all but unheard of, and any emphasis on the second coming of our Lord was held up to ridicule by the clergy. Liberalism was in vogue, and lethargy had crept into the churches. … Lay-people were being spiritually starved. They longed for some sure word of prophecy, … In a climate such as this a natural by-product would be almost total ignorance with reference to things taught in the Bible. (p. 4)

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