Mid-Acts Believers / Small in Number but Mighty in the Faith
If you go to a Protestant Seminary today and you take a course on Church History and the historical development of Christian thought throughout the centuries, one of the first things you would learn about is the Early Church Fathers and their many different interpretations of Scripture. Following that, you would then proceed to learn about the historical corruption of the Catholic Church with the selling of indulgences, the worship of Mary the mother of our Lord, and praying to saints.
Eventually, you’ll come to the story of the German Priest, Martin Luther, the writing of his “95 Thesis,” and the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. From there, you will begin to discover how so many different Christian denominations came about in the world today. This is the standard outline of the great majority of books written on the history of the Christian Church.
But the one thing you absolutely will not learn about in 99.9% of American Seminaries is the distinct message that our Lord Jesus Christ gave to the Apostle Paul. No doubt you’ll learn about Paul, what he wrote, and the major contribution he made to the Christian Faith. But no one will ever dare talk about how significantly different his message was from the rest of the Apostles. Because if you do, even while standing on the basic fundamental biblical tenants, you will have no choice but to acknowledge the erroneous views of some of Christendom’s most sacred traditions.
The truth is, that the origin of Dispensational Theology can be traced as far back as Reformed Theology. This was written about by the late Dr. William C. Watson, Professor of History at Colorado Christian University in his book, “Dispensationalism Before Darby.” Not only that but there was a time when it was the leading theological line of thinking in many American Christian churches and Bible Colleges. This school of thought was upheld by men like C.I. Scofield - administrator of the Scofield Reference Bible; Lewis Sperry Chafer - founder of Dallas Theological Seminary; and Dwight L. Moody - founder of Moody Bible College.
Unfortunately, Classical Dispensationalists are few in number today. But even fewer are the Mid-Acts Dispensationalists. The major difference between Classical Dispensationalism and Mid-Acts Dispensationalism basically has to do with timing: Classical Dispensationalists believe that the church began when the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts chapter 2, while Mid-Acts Dispensationalists put the beginnings of the Body with the raising up of the Apostle Paul. The latter maintain that, among the many things that make the Body of Christ is unique is that it is composed of people from all ethnicities, that the Gentiles were not in the picture in early Acts and had “no hope” until God raised up “the Apostle of the Gentiles” (Gentiles = Ethnos = People of all ethnicities). While Classical Dispensationalism identifies divisions in biblical history and doctrine, Mid Acts Dispensationalism places a significant division later in the Book of Acts, emphasizing the unique revelation of grace and the mystery that was revealed to Paul. Contrary to what many might say, both views can be traced back to the earliest days of Christian thought after the completion of the canon.
Those who hold a Mid-Acts view firmly believe that all the Bible is for all believers; However, what God is doing today, how He is operating through His people, and the marching orders of the Body of Christ are found strictly within what Paul wrote. As a result, Mid-Acts Dispensationalism represents the smallest viewpoint within the broader spectrum of Christian Theology and Dispensationalism. Berean Church without fear stands as one of the few churches in the world with this distinct biblical heritage.
