Hi Arlene
I really do understand how confusing people can make this. No, I did not get my views from C.I. Scofield. I am not a Bible scholar and have never been to a seminary. My believes have been formed from my own research and many different men who are much smarter than I. I depend on the Holy Spirit to guide me and at times when I am mistaken I cannot blame it on the Holy Spirit but on my own ignorance of just not knowing.
 
First of all since you could not "explain away" the verses I presented I presume they just cannot be explanied away. We all have to admit that we are ALL Dispensalist to some extent. We do not go to the priest to offer a sacrifice. We do not have to build a boat as Noah did. So we all now there is at least 1 division in God's plan.
 
Now let me be clear. I believe everyone is saved by the blood of Jesus. That Jesus is the sacrifice for the world. I think where most of our differences is in the "rightly dividing the Word" comes in. I went to a Baptist church all my life and was never taught about divinding the Word of God into different dispensations. I was a pre-tib believer because that was what I was taught. I then read some books about Prewrath rapture. I was convinced that was correct and was quoting all the right verses and showed my pastor where he was wrong and so on. Then one day my pastor told me when I quoted the verse in Revelation about the first resurrection and it included the people in the tribulation who had died and I knew I had stumped him. He made a comment about there is different dispensations. I shrugged it off and moved on. Then on the Five Doves letters I read a letter about dispensations and decided it was time to research. And so I spent a solid 6 months several hours a day, in all my free time studying the different beliefs.
 
When I had to twist verses to make them "fit", I would know that was not correct. Nothing made any sense except if I "rightly divided the Word". Then it all made sense.
 
Let us take a pre-trib rapture vs prewrath or post trib. When I examined the verses I would find myself twisting and justifying the verses for "either" side. I could try and make an argument for both sides. I would wonder that the verses I quoted in Revelation pertained to only the people that were killed "during" the tribulation. I would always wonder where the ones were that died before the tribulation. In the Matthew 24 where the gathering takes place I never could fit that into being the rapture because it mentioned nothing about the meeting in the air or the dead rising. On the other side(pre-trib) I could not make 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 where it says this will not happen until the falling away takes place. I always thought that was the falling away of people not believing. So that would not fit.
 
Then I started studying Dispensation. I looked at both sides. I could explain 99% of the New Testament to people with "rightly dividing the Word". I did not have to twist any verses. It made a pre-trib rapture fit perfectly.Especially when I found out the word apostasy was translated "departure" in the first 5 English transaltions in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
 
I know that the question and verses I proposed to you yesterday cannot be reconciled to a non-dispensational point of view.I do not blame you for not answering them. It just cannot be done with dividing the Word.
 
Anyway just some food for thought.
1-Everyone believes in at least 2 dispensations. Old and New Testament
2-Jesus said he came to the Jews first.
3-Paul through the directtion of the Holy Spirit said he is the Apostle to the gentiles.
4-God blinded Israel "temporarily".
5-There is 70 weeks of Daniel and most agree there is 1 week left still
6-Jesus told the apostles to go to the the Jews and NOT to the Gentiles.
7-Paul was given a "mystery gospel" that was only given to him.
8-Part of the mystery is the rapture of the Body of Christ.
9-The rapture and the second coming are 2 different events.
10-We are saved by Grace during this dispensation and do not have to prove our faith to anyone. We just have to believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior and that he did it for me and you and anyone who will believe it and accept his FREE gift.
11-During other dispensations once a person had faith they then must, for example, not take the mark of the beast. or as in the time period in Acts they were to be water baptized.
12-God is going to lift the blinders off Israel AFTER the rapture.
13- All through the book of Revelation a person is to "overcome". In this dispensation we overcome by accepting Jesus payment.
 
There are so many proves and the Bible is so very clear when we do divide it and know who God is talking to. We should always ask Who is the author talking to. There is no way you can read the book of Ephesians and not believe God chose Paul to be our spokesman. In fact all the books written by Paul fit so perfectly in the changes of dispensation from what the Apostle taught and what we are to believe and do today.
 
I know we all can read and put together any belief we want to. I have to believe what makes the most sense and is less confusing. It makes it much easier when we do as Paul told us to do and "rightly divide the Word". I cannot become a Jew and a Jew cannot become a Gentile. But the mystery is that both Jew and Gentile can become a part of the Body of Christ without any discrimination at all. The unforunate thing is the Jews are blinded so very few of them become a part of the Body of Christ. They will all be saved at the end of the tribulation when Jesus comes back for the second coming to rule the earth.
 
It all fits perfectly.
 
thanks
Mike W