Readers of the Bible recognize that there are continuities and discontinuities in God’s dealings with people. Examples of continuities include the fact that salvation has always been by God’s grace and appropriated through faith in Him, and God is faithful to the one who puts his or her trust in Him.

Understanding the continuities and discontinuities is cardinal to knowing the Bible and its message. This is the basis of dispensation. Many people attack dispensation, not really understanding what it means. It is a theological system for studying the Bible by recognizing both continuities and discontinuities in God’s revealed plan. Another theological system is called covenant theology, which focuses on continuities and not much on discontinuities. Our readers here in our group, we hope, do not use comments/languages that ridicule the systems of thought behind them. Dispensation recognizes the observed continuities and discontinuities in the Bible. Basically, that is all the truth. Covenant theology does not pay attention to discontinuities, but dispensational theology does. Covenant theologians and Dispensational theologians do not hate each other. They present the results of their studies. Based on this truth, try to study and analyze the scripture without commenting in ignorance. When we respond in comments, there is no place for unnecessary arguments or hate speech. Covenant theologians are brothers in Christ.

However, careful readers who observe the scripture also understand certain things have changed over time. These must be observed as discontinuities. For Example, the Law was given through Moses only in a later time in the Bible, and the period before that was not under the Law, because the Law was not given before the Law. The Law and ordinances had a period of time. Now we do not bring animals to our churches to sacrifice on our pulpit, do we? The church does not stone children who curse (Lev 24:10-16). There was a distinction between clean and unclean foods in the period of Law, but not anymore because of what God advised Peter to do (Acts 10:9-15) and Paul wrote in Romans 14:14.

Now, if one wants to know what ‘traditional’ dispensational theology is, read the writings of Dr. Ryrie, Dr. Walvoord, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, etc. Dr. Ryrie’s dispensational theology is a good book to begin with.

There are two dangers we should be aware of- one is failure to see the distinctions or discontinuities as the apparent issue of covenant theology (for example. How God dealt with the people before the period of the Law, and what changed after the Law given by Moses, how God dealt with His people in the Old Testament, and now in the New Testament period, the distinction between the promises given to Israel and the promises given to the newly formed church in the NT.)

The second danger is the ‘ultra dispensationalism approach’ of inserting discontinuities where they do not occur. The traditional dispensationalist theologians warned against the possibilities of ultra-dispensationalism in their writings. This is why mid-act dispensationalism is generally viewed as ultra dispensationalism because of its adamant approach to another dispensationalism beginning in Acts 9, and their argument that the beginning of the church happened only after Acts 9 and not in Acts 2 when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as He promised. Acts 9 is only about the conversion of Saul to Paul, and it does not say anything about the beginning of the church. They emphasize two gospels, one for Jews only before Acts 9, and a gospel for the Gentiles and the church beginning only in Acts 9 by the effort of Paul, the Apostle.  Mid-Act dispensationalism also rejects the need to get baptized. Mid-Act also rejects the Spirit baptism that happened in Acts 2.

Now, the above points suggest that the mid-act dispensationalism is an ultra-dispensational approach by inserting discontinuities where they do not really occur. Jesus himself commanded, and it is recorded in Mathew 28:19 this, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all ‘nations’, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” There were no two gospels in this command. There is only one gospel, and that is for all the nations as he commanded there, and not just for Jews only. This is further amplified by Jesus’s command in Acts 1:8 that says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. Their witness duty commanded by Christ was not just for Jews only up until Acts 9, but it was immediate and universal, including a gentile plan of salvation in it. Jesus also said in the preceding verse in 4 this – For John baptized with[a] water, but in a ‘few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’.” Did we notice Jesus said they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a ‘few days’, which was fulfilled in Acts 2? Baptism of the Holy Spirit and water baptism both happened simultaneously in Acts 2.

Mid-Act dispensationalism inserts discontinuities and ignores continuity of the New Testament by saying the baptism of the Holy Spirit happened only later in Acts, with the emergence of Paul. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is essential to prove the forming of the body of Christ, called the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13, where it says, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit”). This is the only definition of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Bible to know what that means. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the work of the Holy Spirit by which He adds people of varied backgrounds to the body of Christ, which is the church, He being the head of it.

The book of Acts validates that the Spirit baptism happened on the day of Pentecost thereby church was formed when Jesus sent His Spirit as He promised. The two verses that support this view are in the book of Acts and do not need to go to any other places. They are Jesus’s own statement in Acts 1:4  when he said – You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days, which was the arrival of the Holy Spirit and His baptism of the first body of believers into to Church in Acts 2, and 11:16 where Peter looks back to the Acts 2 incident and attests Spirit baptism already occurred. This verse attests that baptism of the Holy Spirit happened to ‘Gentiles’ prior to the conversion of Paul (11:18). Read these two verses and compare. We will be convinced of the Spirit baptism in Acts 2. Spirit baptism was also followed by water baptism of 3000, all of whom were not Jews only, but people from every nation under heaven (Acts 2:5), and amplified by verse 9- Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia.

I also want to say Mid Acts dispensationalism believers are believers in Christ and our brothers and sisters. I fully believe they and all believers will be in heaven by the merit of Jesus Christ. However, wanted to write a brief essay about different forms of theological studies that our readers will be aware of.