Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensationalism

'Nevertheless, covenant theologians have adamantly maintained that the OT in its entirety (see Luke 24:44-47) refers to Christ, and that the OT sacrificial system in its entirety (see Heb 10:1-18) points forward to Christ.' pp. 155-156 Gerstner relived the dramatic rise and divisive nature of dispensationalism, its notable feature since its modern inception being the ability to rear its flexible head despite critical schisms brought on by divisive leadership. In the same breath, John Gerstner denied this divergent entity any titular rights to historic millenarianism, providing several sources from antiquity pointing to the fact that although millenarianism was a distinctly Jewish prefiguration, its modern counterpart indeed had a form of the old spectre, but had morphed considerably into premillennialism. Shaped by popular demand, the desire to be expansive played into the waiting hands of the 'Brethren': 'Revivals in England tended to benefit the more scripturally-oriented Brethren as theological liberalism tended to weaken the established churches.' p 23 Derby's 'principle of separation' meant for the traditional churches' losses to become Brethren gains. Through transatlantic prophetic conferences and the mushrooming of Bible colleges in the 20th century, which based their teaching on the Scofield Reference Bible, a new systematic theology burdened with dispensationalist premise was delivered right on the doorstep of many Americans. Dispensationalism was clearly on the ascendancy, infiltrating and dividing in the process. Gerstner's approach in methodology was to seek out the philosophy dispensationalism most adheres to, but true to its erratic nature, no fixed school of thought was to be found in the area of apologetics or hermeneutics. Following an awareness of brazen alterations to Calvinistic doctrine served up by its various leading authors, formidable opposition came in the form of Reformed theologians, none more imposing than OT Allis, who noted the dispensationalist tendency to reverse the accepted method of reading history literally and to read prophecy figuratively. Following in his wake, Gerstner systematically presented the manifold flaws of dispensational publications, their revisions in tow, designating it nothing other than 'spoof-texting'. A comical example, Gerstner cited Hal Lindsey assigning modern-day weaponry to OT predictions of shields, bows and arrows, only to shame his own literalist ditty. More inconsistencies led to more exegetical embarrassment, but Gerstner saw the dilemma as operating at core level: 'We should not accuse the dispensationalists of being absolute literalists nor should they accuse non-dispensationalists as being absolute spiritualizers.' p 80 Gerstner's gracious concession has been outlived by his damning critique. A penchant for needless distinctions exposed their double-talk: 'So Scofield says of Joel's prophecy as cited by Peter: 'A distinction must be drawn between the last days when the pr

Great book for getting to the heart of the issues separating Reformed Christians and Dispensational Christians. Gerstner was a great theologian, and in this book he is able to demonstrate that in many ways those of us in the Reformed camp view the gospel much differently than those in the Dispensational camp. If you want to understand the beliefs that seperate the Dispensational Christians from those in the Reformed camp, this is the book.

Growing up in a "fundamental Baptist" church I received nothing but the "Bible Truth" of the "end times", i.e., the eschatological system called Dispensationalism. Always had a twinge of concern about what I was hearing--so often the Bible proof texts offered to certify tenets of Dispensationalism didn't seem to really say what my teachers said they said. But what did I know? I was just a kid, they were the smart adults...Reading the Bible for myself, cover to cover, year after year (trying to, anyway) led me to deeply question and doubt much of the eschatological notions I'd received from my upbringing. But not until God blessed me by some meetings with the late Dr. John Gerstner did I encounter "Wrongly Dividing the Word Of Truth."Reading this book confirmed for me that I had sound reason for all the disquiet in my soul. Much of what Dr. Gerster covered I'd sort of figured out for myself, from Scripture--but only in this work did I find a careful, historical and Scriptural demolition of the doctrine."Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth" rewards careful study. The author spends much time showing the historical roots and branches of dispensational development. He also demonstrates its Biblical and historical novelty, lack of support in the Church, and its logical fallacies and inconsistencies. Some readers may find these topics dry--I didn't, but I like reading Church history and the study of ideas and their development. Of greatest interest, I think, for the Church as a whole: Dr. Gerstner shows how the evangelical churches of North America have departed theologically from their Reformation roots. Many if not most of the "dispensational" churches arise not from the 16th-17th century Reformation but from the "holiness" movements of the 19th century. Those sects uniformly rejected the sovereign grace of God in saving dead sinners, in favor of a Finneyan/Wesleyan notion of man saving himself by his "deciding for Christ". If God no longer controls the eternal destiny of individuals (humanistic soteriology), then why should we assume that He controls the destiny of the earth? What we believe about God and about His work matters--at EVERY level of thought. Dr. Gerstner (a sound Westminster Confession adherent) demonstrates how dispensational unsoundness on basic theology and soteriology leads directly to unsoundness in eschatology. Dr. Gerstner quotes published works of dispensationalists over the years, showing their unsoundness in their own words.That dispensationalism now recedes in the Church becomes plainer with each passing year. I like to believe that our Lord has used Dr. Gerstner's challenging book to produce at least some of that benefit. I heartily endorse the book to all serious Christian readers.

I am a graduate of a solidly Dispensational Bible college. It was this book that changed my thinking. I highly recommend it.It is easy to criticize, because the book is geared toward old line Dispensationalism, the type that is not commonly held by many modern Dispensationalists. I recognize that that is true. There were certain parts of the book that didn't apply much to what I had been taught, aspects of my beliefs that had already been more in line with what Gerstner taught than what he was refuting.Never the less, there was enough relevant information in the book that it really got me to thinking about what I had always been taught and accepted as the truth. I looked more carefully, comparing what I believed to the Bible, and came away with Reformed doctrine when my study was through. I highly recommend it to any Dispensationalist who is willing to analyze what he believes, testing it with the time honored truths of God's Word. You will be glad you did it.

This book was instrumental in my becoming Reformed. (But it was God that changed me, not John Gerstner.) One of the big things that helped me see the truth of the Reformed position was Gerstner's fair analysis of Dispensational beliefs. He was careful not to overstate the dispensational position, and he avoided building faultly straw men to make it easier to tear down.Gerstner bent over backwards to correctly represent Dispensationalism, then expertly refuted it. I highly recommend it. It's too bad good books like this don't stay in print.