Central theme of the Bible
Oct
14
As we grasp the whole picture of the Bible as we interpret and peruse it in its literal sense, we come to realize that the entire vast volume of the Bible is also a single unified and harmonious book.
There are two main theological systems by which evangelicals organize the entire Bible volumes.
* Covenant Theology - This is the mainstream and is adopted by most denominations.
* Dispensational - It is in the minority and, as you may have noticed, is the author's position.
❶ Central themes of the Bible as understood by covenant theology.
It is the salvation of man.
It is the only way for the glory of God to be manifested in man's salvation.
And he understands the spread of the Kingdom of God as the spread of the Church Christian power.Augustine's "Kingdom of God" was written at that point in time about the struggle against secular power.Therefore, the plan of redemption is the principle that harmonizes and unifies the entire Bible.
* Its hermeneutics
They try to read the Old Testament around the cross of Christ who completed the atonement because human salvation must be the center of it.
It is right to use the New Testament to understand the Old Testament.But it is wrong to impose the New Testament on the Old Testament.The effect is to take the revelation of the New Testament and apply it to the Old Testament and read it into the Old Testament.
As a result, the Bible is interpreted figuratively, and its meaning is determined by the figurative interpreters.
*The Church Theory of it
Some say that the church began with Adam and others say that the church began with Abraham.This is an unreasonable interpretation of the result of adopting the "one God's people theory" that the people of God are the church.Thus, Israel today is already excluded from the "chosen people".In the transition from the Old to the New Testament era, it adopts a replacement theology, which says that the people of God have been replaced by the church from Israel.
* That theory of salvation
He states that the faith is one and the same.
That is, they assume that the saints of Old Testament times were also saved by the cross and resurrection of Christ.In some divine way they are deemed to have known.
He explains, "The saints of Old Testament times waited for the cross, and the saints of New Testament times looked back to the cross for salvation.”
❷ The central theme of the Bible as understood by Dispensations.
*That it is the glory of God.
Human salvation is certainly a central theme as well, but it is not the only one.The created world was already complete before man was created on the sixth day of creation.Adam's fall brought the negative effects of sin and death upon the whole creation, but the redemption of the whole creation, and the glory of God shining in it, is the theme of the Bible.
"Even the creation itself is freed from the bondage of destruction and is set free in the freedom of the glory of God's children.
We know.All of creation is groaning together and suffering in childbearing together until now."
Romans 8:21-22
*The benefits of recognizing "the glory of God" as a Bible-centric theme
There will be continuity and harmony between the Old and New Testaments.
There will be no need to read into the Old Testament at all for the full atonement of Christ and its revelation.
There will be continuity and harmony between the Old and New Testaments.
The three basic pillars of dispensationalism by Riley.
(1) Consistent literal interpretation.
The important point is "consistent.Covenant theology interprets certain parts of Israel and eschatology figuratively.In dispensations, any part of the Bible is interpreted literally.
(2) The distinction between Israel and the church.
The Bible clearly distinguishes between the two.In other words, there are two kinds of people of God, Israel and the church, each with its own separate plan of salvation.
(3) The central theme of the Bible is the glory of God.
In other words, the ultimate goal of the Bible is that the whole world is affected by the Fall and destroyed, but the glory of God will be restored to the state of the Garden of Eden that it was in at the time of creation and the glory of God will fill the whole world.The salvation of man is only one part of it.Salvation (the restoration of the whole world) is completed in the second coming of Christ to sit on the throne of Jerusalem and rule the whole world, rather than the expansion of the Christian church's power to save the world.