Dispensationalism

Definition and Meaning

Dispensationalism is an interpretive system that divides biblical history into several periods, each marked by a different way in which God governs humanity. These periods are called "dispensations" or "economies." The term does not refer to human generations or age groups; rather, it denotes the manner in which God entrusts and administers his work. The best-known scheme consists of seven dispensations: innocence, conscience, human government, promise, law, grace, and the kingdom.

The principal features of dispensationalism are as follows:

• It interprets Scripture, especially prophecy, as literally as possible.
• It distinguishes Israel and the church as distinct peoples of God.
• It holds to premillennialism, the view that Christ will return before the millennium. Many dispensationalists also hold to a pretribulation rapture, in which the church is caught up before the Great Tribulation.

Biblical and Historical Background

Dispensationalists appeal to the term "dispensation" (Greek oikonomia) found in Ephesians 1:10 and 3:2. The system was formulated in nineteenth-century Britain by John Nelson Darby of the Plymouth Brethren (Brethren movement). It later spread widely through American fundamentalism and evangelicalism by way of the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909, and Dallas Theological Seminary in the United States. In the late twentieth century, "progressive dispensationalism" emerged, which recognizes greater continuity between Israel and the church.

The Reformed tradition, which follows covenant theology, views the whole of Scripture as a single covenant of grace. It therefore understands the church as the continuation of Israel and criticizes dispensational distinctions for obscuring the unity of Scripture. Dispensationalists respond that they, too, teach that salvation in every age is received by faith.

Practice in Korean Churches

Many of the early missionaries to Korea held premillennial views, and some scholars hold that this influence is evident in the end-times preaching of Kil Sun-joo. Today dispensationalism is less the official doctrine of any particular denomination than a view that has spread across denominational lines through revival-meeting sermons, expositions of Revelation, and popular books on the end times.

• Presbyterian: Seminaries in the Westminster tradition generally teach historic premillennialism or amillennialism and tend to be critical of dispensationalism. Nevertheless, dispensational understandings of the end times are commonly heard from local church pulpits.
• Baptist and Pentecostal circles: In some churches, dispensational eschatology, including the pretribulation rapture, is relatively widely accepted.

The date-setting end-times controversy surrounding a predicted rapture on October 28, 1992, drew criticism from many denominations. In its aftermath, wariness toward date-setting eschatology increased. Many dispensationalists likewise oppose predicting dates, citing Matthew 24:36.