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I was raised Catholic, and still process reality on deeply-embedded Catholic firmware. I still yearn to see things "according to the whole," and instinctively feel that a big-picture explanation makes sense of the immediate issues.

I understand the point of your post and that a "big picture explanation" in life "according to the whole" is certainly the way to go.

However, to believe that Rome embraces "the big picture" is somewhat misleading. It's like saying Stalin "saw the big picture."

He did. But of what?

After all this time on FR I've come to the conclusion that while dispensationalism is a mischaracterization of Christian expectations and actually works against the Holy Spirit's positive influence in men's lives and the world around us, it pales in comparison to the 24% of the American population who believe in "another Christ" and "a co-redeemer" and a works-based salvation and the alchemy of the mass and the necessity of a recurring sacrifice and confessions made to a hierarchical priesthood of elevated human beings and mystical relics and empty rituals and an infallible bunch of old guys dressed in long robes and funny hats who presume to be the sole conduit for the Holy Spirit while actually possessing a seat at the UN (thank you, Ronald Reagan,) all the while dismissing, denying and deflecting the holy Scriptures and their clear teaching of salvation by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for God's glory alone, made known to us by His holy, perfect word, our only rule of faith and practice.

In fact, as is so often the case, the roots of dispensationalism flow from the counter Reformation. Up until then, Luther, Calvin and all the reformers taught that the antiChrist was the papacy as depicted in Revelation. Then along comes a Jesuit priest, Francisco Rivera, who writes that while the first three books of Revelation had already occurred, the rest of Revelations had yet to happen, thereby giving a convenient pass to the papacy as the beast of prophecy.

For anyone interested, here's an interesting site...

THE CATHOLIC ORIGINS OF FUTURISM AND PRETERISM

And in conclusion...from Topcat54's excellent homepage...

"The Reformation is dying daily in our day when the Ecumenical Movement, and other forces like unto it, wish to soften the antithesis with Rome, today. I want to assure you that it's not my pugnacious debating nature that makes me say we must exalt that antithesis and guard it. It's my love for the Lord Jesus Christ and the purity of His word.
"Rome has not essentially changed. Rome declared that what it said at the time of the Reformation was infallible and could not change. Declared it to be irreformible truth. Rome has not changed and precious truths of God's word are still worth upholding even at the cost of unity even at the cost of being considered "troublemakers" in the religious world. We need to guard the antithesis against the destructive error of Rome." -- Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen

Reformed theology also addresses all of life, and challenges us to bring all we have to the game. Including our minds. My life, family, and vocation were transformed when a guy I'd evangelized ten years earlier turned me on to "Calvinism on steroids." There is a God, and I'm not Him.

Amen, brother!

All for the glory of Christ alone. I once was blind, but now I see, all by grace and none of me.