The Scofield Reference Bible is a study Bible edited and annotated by the American Bible student Cyrus I. Scofield. First published in 1909 by Oxford University Press, it is sometimes called the most influential theological work of the early 20th century. The Scofield Reference Bible promoted dispensationalism, a theology that divides biblical history into separate periods of time or dispensations. It focuses on eschatology, or the study of end times Biblical prophecy.
The Scofield Reference Bible includes Scofield’s study notes along the bottom and side margins of pages. These notes comment on the Biblical text and provide a guide to alternative interpretations. For example, Scofield’s notes interpret prophetic passages from the books of Daniel and Revelation in a futurist rather than historicist perspective. This means he applies them to events which would occur in the future rather than over the course of history.
Scofield’s notes teach dispensational theology, which emphasizes the differences between Israel and the church. Dispensationalism teaches that God interacts with mankind in different ways under different Biblical covenants. The Scofield Reference Bible outlines seven dispensations in God’s plan: Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, Promise, Law, Grace, and the Kingdom. Each dispensation includes specific conditions, responsibilities, and purposes for that period of time.
The Scofield Reference Bible’s focus on prophecy and end times resonated with early 20th century American evangelicalism. Its dispensational distinctions brought clarity to obscure Biblical passages for many readers. As a result, Scofield’s study Bible became enormously popular after its release. Within a few decades, over two million copies were in print. Though debated in academic circles, it profoundly influenced fundamentalist and evangelical interpretations of Scripture.
Several characteristics lead to the Scofield Reference Bible’s widespread influence:
Detailed Outline of History
Scofield divided Biblical history into seven distinct dispensations in God’s plan. This system brought order and structure to the complex Old and New Testament narratives. Many readers found Scofield’s overview clarified the Bible’s message. His dispensational grid provided a coherent philosophy of history centered around God’s purposes.
Focus on Prophecy and Eschatology
The Scofield Reference Bible paid particular attention to prophetic literature such as Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation. Scofield interpreted these as predictions of specific future events. His notes mapped the prophecies to a detailed eschatological timeline leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. This fascinated many American evangelical believers, who previously largely ignored biblical prophecy.
Premillennial Perspective
Related to his futurist position, Scofield advocated premillennialism in his notes. This is the belief that Christ’s Second Coming will occur prior to his thousand-year millennial kingdom on earth. Scofield’s popularization of dispensational premillennialism helped it displace postmillennialism as the dominant perspective in conservative Protestant circles.
Plain Language and Formatting
Unlike previous academic works on biblical interpretation, Scofield’s notes used simple explanations and everyday language. This made complex theological concepts accessible to average churchgoers. The formatting with numbered divisions and subheadings also aided the reference Bible’s readability.
Alignment with Fundamentalist Views
Scofield’s theology aligned with the growing fundamentalist movement in American Protestantism in the early 1900s. This included biblical inerrancy, creationism, prophetic literalism, and a rejection of modernist theology. The detailed annotations provided support for conservative positions on religious controversies of the day.
Influence on Bible Colleges and Seminaries
As fundamentalism grew in the 1920s, Bible institutes and seminaries taught Scofield’s system of interpretation. Graduates entering ministry further multiplied his impact across churches and denominations. Scofield’s dispensational theology became normalized in evangelical higher education for decades.
Popularization of Dispensationalism
While not the founder, Scofield prominently promoted and disseminated dispensational theology. The annotated Scofield Reference Bible exponentially increased exposure of dispensationalism beyond a small group of Bible scholars to multitudes of American evangelicals. Scofield’s work trained generations of clergy to read and interpret Scripture through a dispensational lens.
Despite its widespread acceptance in evangelical circles, the Scofield Reference Bible also prompted some controversy:
Critics argued that Scofield imposed an arbitrary theological system onto the biblical text. They claimed his presuppositions influenced his interpretation and guided him to disputable conclusions. Some accused Scofield of eisegesis rather than sound exegesis.
Some opposed Scofield’s premillennial eschatology, believing it took a too literal approach to apocalyptic literature in Scripture. Others criticized his futurist perspective for downplaying the contemporary application of prophecies for today.
As knowledge of biblical languages advanced, some accused Scofield of mistranslating or incorrectly defining Hebrew and Greek terms in places. This fueled objections that he based conclusions on questionable lexical grounds.
Some charged that Scofield’s dispensational distinctions between Israel and the church promoted misunderstandings about the unity of God’s covenant people. Critics argued this could breed false division, replacement theology, or Christian Zionism.
As mainline Protestant denominations shifted leftward theologically, Scofield’s conservative theological perspective narrowed the Bible’s appeal among more liberal Christians. Some perceived his notes as promoting a sectarian fundamentalist worldview.
Despite these criticisms from some circles, the Scofield Reference Bible left an indelible stamp on evangelical Christianity in the 20th century. By popularizing dispensational theology, Scofield profoundly influenced conservative Protestant interpretation of Scripture for generations. No Bible commentary since can match its breadth and depth of impact. Evangelical biblical scholars today overwhelmingly acknowledge the work’s significance, though debate remains on the validity of its conclusions.
The Scofield Reference Bible covered the entire canonical text of Scripture by the early 20th century. Scofield’s 1917 edition notes focused especially on interpreting prophecy in light of current events and growing global instability. World War I and the British Mandate for Palestine fueled speculation about the end times among Bible-believing Christians. Scofield’s revised edition connected these world events to the biblical narrative.
Here is a brief overview of highlights from the Old and New Testament annotations:
Old Testament Notes
Scofield saw the Patriarchal dispensation initiated with the covenant God established with Abraham in Genesis 12. The dispensation emphasized God’s promises linked to specific lands and descendants.
Notes on the Pentateuch focus on types of Christ like the Levitical sacrifices, ark of the covenant, and Passover lamb. Scofield also explained apparent Bible contradictions like Genesis’ double accounts of creation.
For historical books like Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, Scofield focused on the Davidic covenant which established Israel’s kingdom. He highlighted messianic prophecies about Christ as a descendant of David.
For Wisdom literature like Proverbs, Scofield highlighted the moral and spiritual principles. For prophetic books like Isaiah, the notes emphasize prophecies of the Messiah and the restoration of Israel.
On books like Daniel, Scofield augmented the text with date calculations and historical notes supporting traditional authorship. He interpreted apocalyptic visions as referring to specific future events on an end times timeline.
New Testament Notes
In the Gospels, Scofield emphasized how Christ fulfilled OT Messianic prophecies during his first advent. Notes include harmonies between the different Gospel accounts.
For Acts, Scofield augments the narrative with explanatory dates, places, names, and historical background. He emphasizes the church as a distinct body from Israel.
Scofield’s notes for Pauline epistles like Romans discuss theological concepts like justification and Israel’s future restoration. He includes many cross-references to OT prophetic passages.
For difficult books like Revelation, Scofield compiled extensive commentary deciphering the symbolism in light of OT allusions. He mapped the visions to a sequence of predicted tribulation events and the premillennial return of Christ.
The 1917 edition of the Scofield Reference Bible included the following supplementary material to aid Bible study:
– Introductions providing background for each book
– A detailed chronology of biblical events
– Comprehensive chain references
– Summaries at beginning of each chapter
– A concordance and maps section
– A glossary of biblical terms
This content supplemented Scofield’s extensive annotation and cross-referencing, creating a thorough resource for interpreting Scripture. The 1917 version also relocated Scofield’s dates from the text to footnotes to improve readability. These annotations helped make the Scofield Reference Bible one of the most comprehensive study Bibles of its era.
The Scofield Reference Bible played a major role in spreading dispensational theology throughout American evangelicalism in the 20th century. But its influence decreased somewhat in recent decades. Reasons include:
– Growth of progressive forms of dispensationalism departing somewhat from Scofield’s classical system. Writers have updated dispensationalism in light of changes in scholarship.
-Preferences shifting away from the King James Version. The Scofield Reference Bible was tied to the KJV text whereas modern readers favor more recent translations.
– Advancements in biblical scholarship providing additional linguistic and contextual insights. Some note factual errors in some of Scofield’s notes.
– Perception by some that Scofield imposed an external theological system upon Scripture rather than letting the text speak for itself.
– Desire by some for study Bibles with less commentary and more space for personal annotation.
– Competition from new Study Bibles focused on application and devotional insights tailored to specific audiences.
While the Scofield Reference Bible is not as dominant as in the early 20th century, it permanently changed conservative Protestant biblical interpretation. It systematized dispensational theology for dissemination to the masses. The Scofield Reference Bible’s legacy continues to impact evangelical hermeneutics in the present day. No comprehensive study Bible since matches its influence over Bible-believing Christianity.
