Christian Zionism - New Life Tabernacle of Chattanooga

Scofield goes much further than other Bible commentators such as Albert
Barnes or Matthew Henry in also providing comprehensive headings
embedded within the biblical text. These not only include chapter and
paragraph titles but, in many cases, verse by verse headings in chapters
deemed significant to dispensationalists that would otherwise prove obscure
without such ‘helps’. For example, in Isaiah 11 under the heading ‘The
Davidic kingdom set up’ in the space of ten verses additional headings guide
readers carefully through the chapter to ensure a dispensational reading:
‘(1) The King's ancestry (11:1); (2) The source of the King's power, the
sevenfold Spirit (11:2); (3) The character of his reign (11:3-5); (4) The
quality of the kingdom (11:6-8); (5) The extent of the Kingdom (11:9);
(6) How the kingdom will be set up (11:10-16).’ 660
Had Scofield’s notes been published as a commentary separately, they
would have eventually, in all probability, been forgotten or superseded. The
difference, however, according to one of Scofield’s biographers, is that
‘neither Henry nor Barnes had the temerity, guile or gall to get their notes
accepted as scripture itself.’ 661 Within a few years of publication the Scofield
Reference Bible, published by Oxford University Press, did indeed come to
achieve confessional status for the notes which appeared alongside the
biblical text. Charles G. Trumball, editor of the Sunday School Times,
described Scofield’s Bible as nothing less than a ‘God-planned, God-guided,
God-energized work.’ 662 Scofield’s Reference Bible has, however, undergone
significant revision since it was first published in 1909. Scofield completed the
first revision in 1917, apparently with the help of seven consulting editors,
several of whom were D.L. Moody's colleagues. 663 Further revisions
continued to adapt, modify and elaborate Scofield’s dispensational package.
The New Scofield Reference Bible was published in 1967, edited by Dr E.
Schuyler English. In 1984 a further revision based on the New International
Version of the Bible was undertaken by three of the faculty from Philadelphia
660
661
662
663
Scofield, Scofield, op.cit., p723.
Canfield, op.cit., p209.
William E. Cox, An Examination of Dispensationalism, (Philadelphia, Presbyterian &
Reformed, 1974), p55-56.
James M. Gray, President of Moody Bible Institute and William J. Erdman.
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