Dispensationalism

Christians sometimes view the Bible through different lenses… that is, they may see different patterns in Scripture, and believe that those patterns are the best way to understand how God interacts with us.

Dispensationalists tend to view all of Scripture as describing different dispensations… that is, different periods of time in which God deals with humanity in different ways. There are, of course, different views within Dispensationalism. Dispensationalists typically identify seven different periods of time:

• Innocence (Genesis 1:1-3:7)
• Conscience (Genesis 3:8-8:22)
• Human Government (Genesis 9:1-11:32)
• Promise (Genesis 12:1-Exodus 19:25)
• Law (Exodus 20:1-Acts 2:4)
• Grace (Acts 2:4-Revelation 20:3)
• The Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).

God’s interactions with us are understood to be divided into these periods. In other words, Dispensationalists believe that God’s expectations for humanity, our responsibilities toward Him, and the way He interacted with us changes over time. Many believe that humans were saved differently in each period as well.

Dispensationalism is often contrasted with Covenant Theology, where God deals differently with humanity based on the various covenants (agreements) made with us. For example, Covenant Theologians consider God’s covenant with the ancient Israelites, given through Moses, to be very different from the new covenant begun by Jesus on the night He was betrayed.

I’m not a Dispensationalist, so I do have a bias in this area. In my opinion, this is not the best way to explain our relationship with God as seen in Scripture. Historical sources suggest that Dispensationalism traces its origin to around 1200, which suggests that the Bible itself does not express the theory directly.

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