Dispensationalism is a theological system that understands the Bible through a series of dispensations. A dispensation in this case is a way that God was generally working among mankind. The word is taken from verses such as Ephesians 1:10 which says, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ…” (KJV).[1] Classical standard dispensationalism understands seven dispensations of God’s working in the world, but there are others who see more dispensations and some who find fewer.
John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) is generally credited as being the first person to advocate for a dispensational understanding of the Bible. His teachings became popular in British Evangelicalism in the 19th Century and influenced men such as George Muller, Hudson Taylor, and D.L. Moody. It was through the Bible teaching of C.I. Scofield (1843-1921) and his popular Scofield Reference Bible that dispensationalism became popular in the United States.
Dispensationalism is characterized by a primarily literal, historical-grammatical reading of Scripture. One of the hallmarks of dispensational teaching is the differentiation of Israel and the Church. Covenantalism, the counterpart to dispensationalism, sees the Church as the present people of God and, thus, the inheritors of all the promises made to the people of Israel who were the people of God in the Old Testament. Dispensationalists, on the other hand, maintain a distinction between Israel in the Old Testament and the Church in the New Testament and, therefore, there are some promises specifically meant for the people of Israel and other promises meant specifically for the Church.[2]
Classic dispensationalism teaches that there are seven dispensations.[3] They are: (1) The Dispensation of Innocency. This is the time period in which Adam and Eve were created and enjoyed fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden. (2) The Dispensation of Conscience. After the Adam and Eve’s sin, mankind was plunged into a relationship with God that was broken but through a voluntary faith-response to God the relationship could be repaired. The was the time period between the Fall and the Flood. It is found in Genesis 4:1-8:14. (3) The Dispensation of Civil Government. After the Flood, a new dispensation began but almost immediately Noah and his descendants disobeyed. This time period includes the Tower of Babel and the mixing of languages. It is found in Genesis 8:15-11:9. (4) The Dispensation of Promise. Beginning with Abram and continuing through the Patriarchy, the promise of God to Abram was that mankind would be blessed through a specific person. The Hebrew people specifically became the medium by which God would bless the world. (5) The Dispensation of the Mosaic Law. From the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, this period covers the majority of the Old Testament and the Gospels. It is characterized by God’s administration through the Israelite people and his witness to the world through them. (6) The Dispensation of Grace. Also known as the church age, it is the period we find ourselves in right now. It is characterized by God’s grace poured out on sinners because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. God’s work goes beyond the ethnic and religious confines of Israel and extends to every person, regardless of culture and ethnicity. This period extends until the second coming of Jesus Christ. (7) The Dispensation of the Millennium. This period is when Christ returns to rule on the throne of David. All the ethnic promises made from the Abrahamic period through the Davidic period will be fulfilled. At the end of the Millennium, Satan will rebel for one final assault on God’s people. His rebellion will be unsuccessful, however, and he will be thrown into Hell for eternal punishment, never to deceive mankind again. After this will come the new heavens and the earth.
While the above seven points are known as ‘Classical’ dispensationalism, more commonly the dispensationalism you will encounter today is properly called ‘progressive dispensationalism.’ Progressive dispensationalism maintains a certain continuity with the earlier dispensational system but it also admits a progressive accomplishment in God’s administration towards a “holistic and unified redemption [of all his people].”[4] Simply put, progressive dispensationalism sees some overlap in God’s dealing with Israel and the Church; that the church may indeed benefit from some of God’s promises to Israel; and that some of God’s promises to believers may also extend to Israel. Much of this debate centers around Paul’s analogy of a ‘wild olive shoot’ which is grafted into the olive tree and what is meant by the metaphors Paul is using in Romans 11. As the name might suggest, in progressive dispensationalism there is also some overlap in the dispensations outlined above. Progressive dispensationalism also moves closer to some tenets of Covenantal Theology (and, likewise, Progressive Covenantalists move closer to some of the tenets of Dispensational Theology).
If you have ever read the popular Left Behind series of books or have seen any movie about the End Times, you have witnessed the fruit of dispensational theology. Likewise, if you have heard about the Rapture, what you are hearing about is dispensationalism. It is perhaps dispensationalism’s interpretation about the end times that has really captured the imagination of so many people. Ideas such as pre-tribulational rapture, mid-tribulational rapture, and post-tribulational rapture, as well as pre-millennial return of Christ have all gathered notoriety because of dispensationalism. While much has been made of eschatology, what makes dispensationalism important is its system of interpretation—its hermeneutic. Dispensationalism has historically eschewed allegorical interpretations of Scripture (although that is now changing depending on the Scripture passage.) Dispensationalism has embraced the historical-grammatical approach to the interpretation of Scripture, believing that God used normal, ordinary language to communicate in normal, ordinary ways.
As stated earlier, on a theological spectrum, dispensationalism lies on one side and covenantalism lies on the other side; hermeneutically, the spectrum goes from ultra-literal to ultra-metaphorical/allegorical. While early Dispensationalists (e.g., the early 1800’s) taught that God had a different system of salvation for Jews than he did for Gentiles, most modern dispensationalists argue that salvation has always been by grace through faith in the Messiah. In terms of the Calvinist-Arminian debate, Dispensationalism is in a different realm entirely. Many Dispensationalists are Calvinistic in their outlook but do reject Calvin’s allegorical interpretations and the amalgamation of the Church and Israel. The two systems are not mutually exclusive for they generally deal with different issues (Calvinism basic assertions regard the nature of man and salvation; Dispensationalism asserts a Biblical interpretation and the nature of the church.)
In the 20th century, American and British Evangelicalism were largely characterized by a dispensational approach to Scripture. Dallas Theological Seminary’s founding in 1924 marked a turning point in Evangelical history as the first major seminary that was not linked to a denomination. Dallas Theological Seminary since its inception has been a bastion of dispensational thought (although not all its graduates are dispensational.) The Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, with its educational, media, and publishing arms, has also been a bastion of dispensationalism. For much of the 20th Century, popular Evangelical Christianity has been dispensational. Many of the popular television and radio Bible teachers are dispensational in their hermeneutic.
There are signs that dispensationalism is still developing and in the 21st Century it will continue to evolve as theological issues ebb and flow. It clearly is not as influential as it once was. However, what is certain is that it is not going away and people will continue to debate Scripture and interpretive systems. All this is good and healthy and gets us into the Word more as we seek conformity to His will. In fact, we ought to seek clarity in subjects where we disagree and if we can come to consensus, even better. The truth is that the Lord is still preparing His Bride for the day of Christ’s return, and that includes purifying her theology. Therefore, no matter if you are dispensational, covenantal, or somewhere in between, remember that there ought to be a measure of grace in admitting that our understanding of difficult passages in Scripture may be less than perfect. Debate and dialogue are appropriate, but division is probably not the best answer. So, let us embrace God’s word together as well as the hope of Christ’s return and say in unison: “Amen, come Lord Jesus!”
[1] When dispensationalism was made popular, the most common English version of the Bible was the King James Version (aka Authorized Version). Some newer English translations have opted to avoid the use of the (sometimes) archaic term ‘dispensation’ and use words such as ‘plan,’ ‘administration,’ etc. The underlying Greek word is οἰκονομία, oikonomia, from which the English word ‘economy’ is derived.
[2] These positions between Covenant Theologians and Dispensationalists are greatly simplified in this article. There are nuances to both positions that we cannot cover in a brief description.
[3] The following seven points have been summarized from Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism: Revised and Expanded (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 51-57. See also: Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology (Dallas: Dallas Seminary Press, 1976), 1:40-41.
[4] Craig A. Blaising and Darrell L. Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 56.
