Dispensationalists see God as pursuing two distinct purposes throughout history, one related to an earthly goal and an earthly people (the Jews), the other to heavenly goals and a heavenly people (the church).Dispensationalists believe that in the Old Testament God promised the Jewish people an earthly kingdom ruled by Messiah ben David, and that when Christ came He offered this prophesied kingdom to the Jews. When the Jews of the time rejected Christ and the earthly kingdom, the promise was postponed, and the "mystery form" of the kingdom - the church - was established.
The church, according to dispensational doctrine, was unforeseen in the Old Testament and constitutes a "parenthesis" in God's plan for Israel. In the future, the distinction between Jew and Gentile will be re-established and will continue throughout all eternity.
What if a Jewish Apostle on trial before a Roman king testified in his hearing that the basic premise of dispensationalism was wrong? What if the transcript of that trial made it into the inspired New Testament? Paul states, “And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king!” (Acts 26:6–7, ESV).
The Faith Study Bible makes a clarifying comment on Paul's answer to King Agrippa.
In claiming this, the apostle establishes that he is no threat to the Jewish people. He proclaims that all the promises made to the Jewish people have come true. By preaching their hope in God’s covenantal promises, Paul supports the Jewish nation and affirms their place in God’s plan. The gospel is not antithetical to OT revelation but is the fulfillment of it.
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