The Dispensational View of the Davidic Kingdom - The Master's ...

238 The Master's Seminary JournalRyrie comments on this point:This understanding of the fulfillment of Old Testament propheciesquite naturally leads to a third feature—the clear distinctionbetween Israel and the Church which is a vital part ofdispensationalism. All other views bring the Church into Israel'sfulfilled prophecies except dispensationalism. The amillenariansays that the Church completely fulfills Israel's prophecies, beingthe true, spiritual Israel. The covenant premillenarian sees theChurch as fulfilling in some senses Israel's prophecies becauseboth are the people of God while at the same time preserving themillennial age as a period of fulfillment too. The understanding ofthe how and when of the fulfillment of Israel's prophecies is indirect proportion to one's clarity of distinction between Israel andthe Church. 92The similarities of the progressives to covenant premillenarians areboth obvious and telling and demonstrate the need for a consistentdistinction between the peoples of God.ConclusionFrom the perspective of dispensational tradition, the currentlandscape of progressive dispensationalists appears to be a differentterrain. The view of the offer, rejection, postponement, and fullyfuture fulfillment of the Davidic kingdom and the corollary view ofthe church as something different and distinct is and has been theconsistent view of normative dispensationalism. By viewing thepresent form of the church as an inaugural stage of the Davidickingdom with Christ seated on the Davidic throne in heaven, theprogressive dispensational position has distanced itself from thisdistinguishing feature of dispensationalism. The distinguishingfeature of dispensationalism, i.e., the consistent distinction betweenIsrael and the church, is all but absent. Consequently, the legitimacy ofcalling PD part of the dispensational tradition is questionable.92Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today 159.