Dispensationalism

Ross Woods, 2022

The notion of dispensationalism was created by Darby in the early nineteenth century, but is not uniform and has various versions. It normally comprises three elements: a series of eras, premillenialism, and a distinction between between the Christian church and the Jewish people.

A series of eras, called “dispensations”

History can be divided into a series of eras, each of which has its own theological characteristics. It normally means that man’s relationship with God is based on different principles in each era such that man has different rights and responsibilities. Mankind fails in each each era, necessitating a following dispensation. These eras are used as a set of assumptions to interpret Scripture.

One of the most common divisions into eras is a follows1:

1. The age of innocence: Adam and Even before the Fall
2. From the Fall to the time of Noah: the age of human conscience
3. From the Noah to the time of Abraham: the age of human government
4. From the time of Abraham to the time of Moses: the age of the promise to Abraham
5. From the time of Moses to the time of Pentecost in Acts 2: The time of the Law of Moses
6. From the time of Pentecost to the return of Christ: The time of salvation by grace
7. From the return of Christ for 1,000 years: the time of the Kingdom.

Here is another set of eras:

1. Before the creation of the world
2. From the creation of the world to the Law of Moses
3. From the time of Moses to the time of Pentecost in Acts 2: The time of the Law of Moses
4. From the time of Pentecost in Acts 2 to the return of Christ: The time of salvation by grace
5. From the return of Christ the the final judgment: 1,000 years of the time of the Kingdom
6. Eternity: the New Jerusalem

Other events that have been used to divide history into dispensations are:

1. The coming of Christ
2. The Crucifixion
3. The mission to the gentiles

Two other dispensational ideas

Two other ideas are associated with dispensationalism, although they do not depend logically on it. First, premillenialism is the idea that the rapture will occur and Christ will set up a kingdom of 1,000 years. This teaching is not recent and dates back back to movements in the early church. Second, dispensationalists sharply differentiate between the Christian church and the Jewish people.

Moderate and extreme versions

The most moderate versions are a simple way of understanding the covenants of Scripture and are no different from the Calvinist view.

The most extreme versions have one or more of the following characteristics:

1. People in the Old testament could be saved by works.
2. Zionism: The Jewish people will return to Palestine and re-build the Temple in Jerusalem.
3. Fundamentalism
4. Predictions about the time that Christ will return based on current events
5. Dispensations are sharply contrasted to biblical covenants, so dispensationalism is a logical system that is imposed on Scripture rather than derived from Scripture.

Calvinistic theologians have usually opposed dispensationalism, at least in its more extreme forms2:

1. Calvinistic theologians think in terms of covenental theology, that is, the biblical history is a series of covenants and dislike the extra “layer” of biblical interpretation.
2. They dislike the notion that God has has two peoples: Israel and the church. They argue that “God has one people, one people of God throughout redemptive history, called ‘Israel’ under the Old Testament, and called ‘the church’ under the New.”
3. They suggest that it undermines the unity of Scripture.

Other considerations

• Dispenstionalism is within the bounds of orthodox Christianity. All dispensationalists are evangelicals or fundamentalists, and no form of dispenstionalism so far has been heretical.
• Romans 4 explains that the people of the Old Testament were saved by grace through faith, just like the New Testament.
• Hebrews 1-11 explains that the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament rather than abrogates or contradicts it.
• The idea of separating the church and the Jewish people is hard to understand in the world of the New Testament. All but one of the New Testament writers were Jewish, many (perhaps most) Christians were Jews, and much of the New Testament is an exposition of passages of the Old Testament.

Questions and answers

Q. If mankind fails in each each era, how can we has assurance of salvation?
A. Scripture gives assurance of salvation for Christians, but says that God will punish those who do not accept salvation.

Q. What about premillenialism?
A. Evangelicals have different views, but it is more important to emphasize the essential beliefs, which we share. The main thing is the main thing. The different views are inconclusive even though each of them has some biblical support.

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1. Lewis Sperry Chafer, 1974. Major Bible Themes: 52 Vital Doctrines of Scripture Simplified and Explained Revised by John F. Walvoord. (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan). Pp. 126-138.
2. See “What are the differences between covenant theology and dispensationalism?” Guy Waters, November 2, 2021 https://rts.edu/resources/differences-between-covenant-theology-dispensationalism/