Dispensationalist

Dispensationalism is a religious interpretive system for the Bible. It considers Biblical history as divided deliberately by God into defined periods or ages to each of which God has allotted distinctive administrative principles. According to dispensationalist interpretation, each age of the plan of God is thus administered in a certain way, and humanity is held responsible as a steward during that time. The harmony of history is demonstrated as focusing on the glory of God and puts God at its center as opposed to a central focus on man and humanity's need for salvation. A dispensational perspective of scripture is claimed to explain apparent contradictions and make sense of the whole of the Bible. The system was embraced by early Fundamentalist Christianity as a defense of the Bible against liberalism and modernism and became the majority position within Fundamentalism.

Each dispensation is marked by a cycle: God reveals himself and his truth to humanity in a new way. Humanity is held responsible to conform to that revelation. Humanity rebels and fails the test. God judges humanity and introduces a new period of probation under a new administration. Ultimately, dispensationalism demonstrates the progress of God's revelation to man and God's sovereignty through history.

The number of dispensations discerned by theologians within Biblical history vary typically from three to eight (See History below). The three- and four-dispensation schemes are often referred to as minimalist, as they include the commonly recognized divisions within Biblical history. The typical seven-dispensation scheme is as follows:

Numerous purposes for this cycle of administrations have been suggested. God is seen to be testing humanity under varying conditions, while vindicating His ways with humanity in originally granting them free will. The dispensations reveal God's truth in a progressive manner, and are designed to maximize the glory that will accrue to God as he brings history to a climax with a Kingdom administered by Christ, thus vindicating his original plan of administering rule on earth through "human" means. The goal of the dispensations is summarized by Paul the Apostle in Ephesians 1:9-10, "He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth" (NASB).

Below is a table comparing the various dispensational schemes:

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