THE INCREDIBLE SCOFIELD AND HIS BOOK - The PreteristSite
preteristsite.com/docs/canfield1.pdf, 1988
At the Preterist Site, Canfield's book is divided into seven pdf
files, which apparently do not copy and paste as text:
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield1.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield2.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield3.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield4.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield5.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield6.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield7.pdf
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart
from evil." Proverbs 3: 5-7
John Darby, C. I. Scofield and Lewis Sperry Chafer leaned unto their
own understanding, and created a man-made theological system that is
often called dispensationalism. It has also been called Christian
Zionism, postponement theology, rotating theology, dual covenant theology and sometimes the rapture cult.. These classical
dispensationalists postulated that God has two distinct and different
peoples, "All Israel," or all of physical Israel, and the "church."
They also postulated as a second of their starting assumptions that
all scripture is to be interpreted literally. Therefore, every time
the word Israel appears in the Old and New Testaments, it must always
refer to physical Israel, the literal and physical descendants of
Abraham, not everyone who is in Christ as the spiritual seed of
Abraham (Galatians 3: 28-29).
The postulates of dispensationalism do not clearly derive from specific texts in the New Testament. Here are statements on dispensationalism by two of its main founders. Where, in the New Testament are specific scriptures that are explicit in supporting these doctrines?
"Not one instance exists of a 'spiritual' or figurative fulfilment of
prophecy... Jerusalem is always Jerusalem, Israel is always Israel, Zion
is always Zion... Prophecies may never be spiritualised, but are always
literal." C.I. Scofield, Scofield Bible Correspondence Course (Chicago,
Moody Bible Institute, 1907), pp. 45-46.
In Christian Zionism Israel is always Israel, that is, it is always Old
Covenant Israel for the followers of John Darby C.I. Scofield and Lewis S.
Chafer, and cannot be the Israel of God, (Galatians 6 : 16). Israel
cannot be anything for the Christian Zionists but the multitude of physical
Old Covenant Israel, defined as Israel of the flesh by the physical
bloodline. In Christian Zionism there are no children of the promise
counted for the seed as different from Israel of the flesh (Romans 9: 6-8).
Israel cannot be the ministration of death, the ministration of
condemnation which is done away with and there is no Israel as the
ministration of the Spirit in II Corinthians 3: 7-11 for the Christian
Zionists. And contrary to the Christian Zionists the Old Covenant was
not done away with
as Hebrews 10: 9 says.
"Israel is an eternal nation, heir to an eternal land, with an eternal
kingdom, on which David rules from an eternal throne so that in eternity,
'...never the twain, Israel and church, shall meet." Lewis S. Chafer,
Systematic Theology (Dallas, Dallas Seminary Press, 1975), Vol. 4. pp.
315-323..
Chafer says "The nation Israel, God's chosen earthly people, to whom at
least five-sixths of the Bible is addressed and with whom the great
covenants are made (Rom 9:4-5) -- which covenants secure to that nation a
land, a nation, a throne, a King, and a kingdom -- are now scattered
throughout all the nations of the earth (Deut 4:26-28; Deut 28:63-68; Jer
16:13), and are to remain scattered until they (a remnant; ed.) are
gathered into their own land (Deut 30:3-6; Isa 11:11-12; Isa 14:1-3; Isa
60:1-22; Jer 23:6-8; Jer 32:37-44; Jer 33:7-9; Eze 37:21-25; Mic 4:6-8)
under the reign of Christ Jesus at His return."
Lewis S. Chafer refers to physical Israel as God's earthy chosen people.
Lewis S. Chafer said that dispensationalism has
"...changed the Bible from being a mass of more or less conflicting
writings into a classified and easily assimilated revelation of both
the earthly and heavenly purposes of God, which reach on into eternity
to come.." Lewis. S. Chafer, ‘Dispensationalism,’ Bibliotheca Sacra, 93
(October 1936), 410, 416, 446-447
Since, for dispensationalism, physical Israel, including the majority who
rejected and still reject Christ, remain as God's people with the
strong implication that they are still the chosen people, therefore
God could not have divorced physical Israel for going after other gods
and not obeying his commandments as Jeremiah 3: 8 says. And God could
not have re-created or transformed physical Israel into Israel reborn
in Jesus Christ as the parable of the potter says in Jeremiah 18: 1-6.
God could not have said in Matthew 23: 38 that the house of Israel is
"left unto you desolate" because of false doctrines and rejection of
Christ.
Look at C.I. Scofield's reference notes in his Scofield Reference Bible, for example, for Galatians 4: 24-26.
The link for this online Scofield Bible is:
http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/view.cgi?book=ga&chapter=004
Note that Scofield does not comment on the meaning of "Jerusalem which
now is, and is in bondage with her children," but only explains that
Agar is Hagar.
He does not say anything at all about Galatians 4: 26, " But Jerusalem
which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."
Scofield does not comment on all texts, but only on some, but his
interpretations on his selected texts promote dispensationalism.
Because Scofield's dispensationalist comments, or interpretations,
appear on the same page with the word of God, his interpretations have
tended to carry greater weight than those of the more usual
commentaries.
Since the 1909, and 1917 Scofield Reference Bibles were so important
for the spread of dispensationalism, or Christian Zionism, in the
evangelical denominations of America, and in some others, then the
question is why did a publisher like Oxford University Press publish
these books?
Joseph M. Canfield, wrote The Incredible Scofield, 1988. See: http://www.eaec.org/bookstore/books/joseph_canfield_biography.htm
John S. Torell quotes Canfield as saying ""Scofield seemed to
have access to money above what he earned as a minister. Research
shows that one of his backers was a well-known Jewish lawyer from New
York, Samuel Untermeyer (1858-1941). He was a criminal attorney, but
he was more well known for his political connections, bribery, and for
being a fanatical Zionist. In 1901, Scofield was offered a membership
in the Lotus Club of New York, a prestigious club in the literary
circles of the United States catering to non-Christians. This was not
a club in which one applied for membership, rather, you had to be
invited and have a sponsor. Why would a wealthy German Jew like
Untermeyer living in America sponsor Scofield and spend money on a man
who was working on a new Bible translation and preaching Jesus Christ?"
"John Darby had been financially supported earlier, and since
Scofield was the successor to Darby, they could influence him to work
hard and make this teaching central in all Christian churches."
"The Lotos Club is an exclusive club of a sort more common in London,
as so often described in British literature. The phenomenon, while
present in the United States, has never developed on this side of the
Atlantic to the extent it did in England...The club's purpose as noted
in Article I, Section II of its Constitution, was:
"The primary object of this Club shall be to promote social
intercourse among journalists, artists, and members of the musical and
dramatic professions, and representatives, amateurs, and friends of
Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts..."...
"The Club's Literacy Committee, when Scofield's application was
presented, included Samuel Untermeyer (1858-1941), a notorious
criminal lawyer. Untermeyer's accomplishments, described in Who's Who
in America take up more than two columns. There is not one activity
listed which would suggest that Untermeyer could have appreciated
either Scofield's Bible Correspondence Course of his magazine."
"It defies understanding that an "obscure" pastor from the
hinterlands, whose literary output up to 1901 consisted of very
sectarian booklets, articles and courses, would be considered
acceptable in the Lotos Club."
"The selection of Scofield for admission to the Lotos Club, which
could not have been sought by Scofield, strengthens the suspicion
which has cropped up before, that someone was directing the career of
C.I. Scofield. Such direction probably was motivated by concerns
remote from fidelity to the person, work and truth of Jesus Christ."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Untermyer "Samuel Untermeyer[
was a Jewish-American lawyer and civic leader as well as a self-made
millionaire....Untermyer advocated the Zionist liberation movement and
was President of the Keren Hayesod, the agency through which the
movement was then and still is conducted in America.[9]......
In these pages from The Incredible Scofield and His Book, another
figure who is important for the publication of Scofield's Reference
Bible appears, Arno Gaebelein, who sought financial support for
Scofield's work on the Reference Bible from a number of wealthy men.
Gaebelein is Arno Gaebelein.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno_C._Gaebelein Arno Clemens
Gaebelein (1861-1945) was a Methodist minister in the United States of
America. He was a prominent teacher and conference speaker. "
Canfield says "...the Bible project was not originally based on the
support of a broad spectrum of the Christian constituency. It was
supported from a select group who were economically able to finance
special ideas and ride ideological hobbies."
A group of wealthy men, and at least one Zionist, Samuel
Untermeyer, supported Scofield's work on the Reference Bible.
Without that directing and help, Scofield probably would not have
gotten his Reference Bible published by Oxford University Press, whose
prestige helped sell the book and its ability to transmit the
dispensationalist man-made system to millions of American Christians
since 1909.
And many American dispensationalist missionaries to other
nations have planted dispensationalist churches in other lands. The
publication of the Scofield Reference Bible might be one date that
marks the start of the falling away of II Thessalonians 2: 3-4.
Another possible date would be the earlier Niagra Bible Conferences
held annually from 1876 to 1897. The Conferences helped to establish
dispensationalism in the U.S.
preteristsite.com/docs/canfield1.pdf, 1988
At the Preterist Site, Canfield's book is divided into seven pdf
files, which apparently do not copy and paste as text:
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield1.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield2.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield3.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield4.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield5.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield6.pdf
http://www.preteristsite.com/docs/canfield7.pdf
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart
from evil." Proverbs 3: 5-7
John Darby, C. I. Scofield and Lewis Sperry Chafer leaned unto their
own understanding, and created a man-made theological system that is
often called dispensationalism. It has also been called Christian
Zionism, postponement theology, rotating theology, dual covenant theology and sometimes the rapture cult.. These classical
dispensationalists postulated that God has two distinct and different
peoples, "All Israel," or all of physical Israel, and the "church."
They also postulated as a second of their starting assumptions that
all scripture is to be interpreted literally. Therefore, every time
the word Israel appears in the Old and New Testaments, it must always
refer to physical Israel, the literal and physical descendants of
Abraham, not everyone who is in Christ as the spiritual seed of
Abraham (Galatians 3: 28-29).
The postulates of dispensationalism do not clearly derive from specific texts in the New Testament. Here are statements on dispensationalism by two of its main founders. Where, in the New Testament are specific scriptures that are explicit in supporting these doctrines?
"Not one instance exists of a 'spiritual' or figurative fulfilment of
prophecy... Jerusalem is always Jerusalem, Israel is always Israel, Zion
is always Zion... Prophecies may never be spiritualised, but are always
literal." C.I. Scofield, Scofield Bible Correspondence Course (Chicago,
Moody Bible Institute, 1907), pp. 45-46.
In Christian Zionism Israel is always Israel, that is, it is always Old
Covenant Israel for the followers of John Darby C.I. Scofield and Lewis S.
Chafer, and cannot be the Israel of God, (Galatians 6 : 16). Israel
cannot be anything for the Christian Zionists but the multitude of physical
Old Covenant Israel, defined as Israel of the flesh by the physical
bloodline. In Christian Zionism there are no children of the promise
counted for the seed as different from Israel of the flesh (Romans 9: 6-8).
Israel cannot be the ministration of death, the ministration of
condemnation which is done away with and there is no Israel as the
ministration of the Spirit in II Corinthians 3: 7-11 for the Christian
Zionists. And contrary to the Christian Zionists the Old Covenant was
not done away with
as Hebrews 10: 9 says.
"Israel is an eternal nation, heir to an eternal land, with an eternal
kingdom, on which David rules from an eternal throne so that in eternity,
'...never the twain, Israel and church, shall meet." Lewis S. Chafer,
Systematic Theology (Dallas, Dallas Seminary Press, 1975), Vol. 4. pp.
315-323..
Chafer says "The nation Israel, God's chosen earthly people, to whom at
least five-sixths of the Bible is addressed and with whom the great
covenants are made (Rom 9:4-5) -- which covenants secure to that nation a
land, a nation, a throne, a King, and a kingdom -- are now scattered
throughout all the nations of the earth (Deut 4:26-28; Deut 28:63-68; Jer
16:13), and are to remain scattered until they (a remnant; ed.) are
gathered into their own land (Deut 30:3-6; Isa 11:11-12; Isa 14:1-3; Isa
60:1-22; Jer 23:6-8; Jer 32:37-44; Jer 33:7-9; Eze 37:21-25; Mic 4:6-8)
under the reign of Christ Jesus at His return."
Lewis S. Chafer refers to physical Israel as God's earthy chosen people.
Lewis S. Chafer said that dispensationalism has
"...changed the Bible from being a mass of more or less conflicting
writings into a classified and easily assimilated revelation of both
the earthly and heavenly purposes of God, which reach on into eternity
to come.." Lewis. S. Chafer, ‘Dispensationalism,’ Bibliotheca Sacra, 93
(October 1936), 410, 416, 446-447
Since, for dispensationalism, physical Israel, including the majority who
rejected and still reject Christ, remain as God's people with the
strong implication that they are still the chosen people, therefore
God could not have divorced physical Israel for going after other gods
and not obeying his commandments as Jeremiah 3: 8 says. And God could
not have re-created or transformed physical Israel into Israel reborn
in Jesus Christ as the parable of the potter says in Jeremiah 18: 1-6.
God could not have said in Matthew 23: 38 that the house of Israel is
"left unto you desolate" because of false doctrines and rejection of
Christ.
Look at C.I. Scofield's reference notes in his Scofield Reference Bible, for example, for Galatians 4: 24-26.
The link for this online Scofield Bible is:
http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/view.cgi?book=ga&chapter=004
Note that Scofield does not comment on the meaning of "Jerusalem which
now is, and is in bondage with her children," but only explains that
Agar is Hagar.
He does not say anything at all about Galatians 4: 26, " But Jerusalem
which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."
Scofield does not comment on all texts, but only on some, but his
interpretations on his selected texts promote dispensationalism.
Because Scofield's dispensationalist comments, or interpretations,
appear on the same page with the word of God, his interpretations have
tended to carry greater weight than those of the more usual
commentaries.
Since the 1909, and 1917 Scofield Reference Bibles were so important
for the spread of dispensationalism, or Christian Zionism, in the
evangelical denominations of America, and in some others, then the
question is why did a publisher like Oxford University Press publish
these books?
Joseph M. Canfield, wrote The Incredible Scofield, 1988. See: http://www.eaec.org/bookstore/books/joseph_canfield_biography.htm
John S. Torell quotes Canfield as saying ""Scofield seemed to
have access to money above what he earned as a minister. Research
shows that one of his backers was a well-known Jewish lawyer from New
York, Samuel Untermeyer (1858-1941). He was a criminal attorney, but
he was more well known for his political connections, bribery, and for
being a fanatical Zionist. In 1901, Scofield was offered a membership
in the Lotus Club of New York, a prestigious club in the literary
circles of the United States catering to non-Christians. This was not
a club in which one applied for membership, rather, you had to be
invited and have a sponsor. Why would a wealthy German Jew like
Untermeyer living in America sponsor Scofield and spend money on a man
who was working on a new Bible translation and preaching Jesus Christ?"
"John Darby had been financially supported earlier, and since
Scofield was the successor to Darby, they could influence him to work
hard and make this teaching central in all Christian churches."
"The Lotos Club is an exclusive club of a sort more common in London,
as so often described in British literature. The phenomenon, while
present in the United States, has never developed on this side of the
Atlantic to the extent it did in England...The club's purpose as noted
in Article I, Section II of its Constitution, was:
"The primary object of this Club shall be to promote social
intercourse among journalists, artists, and members of the musical and
dramatic professions, and representatives, amateurs, and friends of
Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts..."...
"The Club's Literacy Committee, when Scofield's application was
presented, included Samuel Untermeyer (1858-1941), a notorious
criminal lawyer. Untermeyer's accomplishments, described in Who's Who
in America take up more than two columns. There is not one activity
listed which would suggest that Untermeyer could have appreciated
either Scofield's Bible Correspondence Course of his magazine."
"It defies understanding that an "obscure" pastor from the
hinterlands, whose literary output up to 1901 consisted of very
sectarian booklets, articles and courses, would be considered
acceptable in the Lotos Club."
"The selection of Scofield for admission to the Lotos Club, which
could not have been sought by Scofield, strengthens the suspicion
which has cropped up before, that someone was directing the career of
C.I. Scofield. Such direction probably was motivated by concerns
remote from fidelity to the person, work and truth of Jesus Christ."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Untermyer "Samuel Untermeyer[
was a Jewish-American lawyer and civic leader as well as a self-made
millionaire....Untermyer advocated the Zionist liberation movement and
was President of the Keren Hayesod, the agency through which the
movement was then and still is conducted in America.[9]......
In these pages from The Incredible Scofield and His Book, another
figure who is important for the publication of Scofield's Reference
Bible appears, Arno Gaebelein, who sought financial support for
Scofield's work on the Reference Bible from a number of wealthy men.
Gaebelein is Arno Gaebelein.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno_C._Gaebelein Arno Clemens
Gaebelein (1861-1945) was a Methodist minister in the United States of
America. He was a prominent teacher and conference speaker. "
Canfield says "...the Bible project was not originally based on the
support of a broad spectrum of the Christian constituency. It was
supported from a select group who were economically able to finance
special ideas and ride ideological hobbies."
A group of wealthy men, and at least one Zionist, Samuel
Untermeyer, supported Scofield's work on the Reference Bible.
Without that directing and help, Scofield probably would not have
gotten his Reference Bible published by Oxford University Press, whose
prestige helped sell the book and its ability to transmit the
dispensationalist man-made system to millions of American Christians
since 1909.
And many American dispensationalist missionaries to other
nations have planted dispensationalist churches in other lands. The
publication of the Scofield Reference Bible might be one date that
marks the start of the falling away of II Thessalonians 2: 3-4.
Another possible date would be the earlier Niagra Bible Conferences
held annually from 1876 to 1897. The Conferences helped to establish
dispensationalism in the U.S.