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"Revelation, in reference to Scripture, means the act of God whereby He made Himself and His will known to man. God gave the revelation; man received it. God has revealed His Word to many human penmen over about 1,500 years of time. The earliest and simplest revelation is just as true, just as inspired, as the later revelation. It is the amount of information about Himself and about all He has made known which has progressed. Therefore, in order to know what God has said about Himself, or any subject, the whole needs to be examined. The later revelation never changes or corrects the earlier recipients or locations as, for example, from Israel to Israel and the church or from earth to earth and heaven." (Dr. Robert Lightner, "Consistency from Genesis to Revelation," in Revelation Hoofbeats: When the Riders of Apocalypse Come Forth, gen. ed. Ron J. Bigalke Jr. [Longwood, FL: Xulon Press, 2003], 96-97).
In the progress of dispensations (distinguishable stewardships) there is gradual unfolding of God's truth, which is called progressive revelation. As God revealed His purposes through special revelation, man is able to learn more concerning God's commands. Since the transition between dispensations brings radical changes, especially in changing from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, there is evident discontinuity.
The Dispensations
In Ephesians 1:10 and 3:2, the Greek word oikonomia is used, which is translated as administration (of a household or estate); or specifically as a (religious) "economy," that is, a dispensation, or stewardship. Explaining that Scripture does used the word "dispensation" in the same theological sense that it is often taught, Dr. Ryrie wrote, "it is perfectly valid to take a biblical word and use it in a theological sense as long as the theological use is not unbiblical" [Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 27]. He then clarified this point stating that all conservative evangelicals use the word "atonement" in such a way. The word is never used in the New Testament, yet theologically it represents what is involved in the death of Christ on the cross.
Dispensations are stewardships whereby God administers a distinguishable economy in the outworking of His divine purpose; it is God's economy or method of operation in governing mankind or a group of men during a period of human history, which is marked by a crucial test, failure, and judgment; from the divine standpoint, a dispensation is a stewardship or a rule of life; from the historical standpoint, it is a stage in the progress of revelation. Dispensations are not different ways of salvation; salvation is always by grace through faith; the content of faith is what changes in each dispensation. Dispensationalism emphasizes a literal interpretation of Scripture, a clear distinction between Israel and the church, and the overall purpose of history is the glory of God (Deut. 4:27-28; 28:63-68; 30:2-4; Lk. 12:42; 16:1-13; Acts 15:14-18; Rom. 9:6; 11; 15:27; 16:23; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 9:17; 10:32; Gal. 4:2; 6:16; Eph. 1-3; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:4; Tit. 1:7; 1 Pet. 4:10).
As a developed theological system, dispensationalism did not appear until the seventeenth century when Pierre Poiret wrote about it in The Divine Economy: or An Universal System of the Works and Purposes of God towards Men Demonstrated. In these writings Poiret outlined 7 dispensations. A thorough systemization of dispensational theology took place later under John Nelson Darby. As a Church of England pastor, Darby became disenchanted with the state-church religion and began to write about the fact that the church had not taken the place of the Jews in Scripture. Throughout his extensive writings Darby developed a systematic view of Scripture during the next 30 years of his ministry. Acknowledged as the father of modern dispensationalism (that is, Darby developed the system the most systematically), he is remembered for calling the church to be prepared for the imminent return of Christ in the Rapture. Darby stated in his works, "A dispensation is an economy, any order of things that God has arranged on earth. The primary characteristics of a dispensation include governmental administration, responsibility, and revelation to fulfill both. Secondary characteristics include testing, failure, and judgment. When a group fails the test to exercise their responsibility given to them by God, judgment falls and ends the dispensation" [Floyd Elmore, "John Nelson Darby," in Dictionary of Premillennial Theology, gen. ed. Mal Couch (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1996), 84].
Other well-known modern day dispensationalists are Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921), John Flipse Walvoord (1910-2002), and Charles Caldwell Ryrie (1925-). Scofield is widely known for his Scofield Reference Bible with extensive notes concerning dispensational premillennialism. Scofield popularized the dispensational system in his study Bible printed in 1909. Not all agree as to the number of dispensations; typically seven dispensations have been identified. Scofield articulated seven dispensations regarding God's dealing with human beings: (1) Innocence (Gen. 1:28), the period of time in the Garden of Eden; (2) Conscience (Gen. 3:23), the awakening of human conscience and the expulsion from the Garden; (3) Human Government (Gen. 8:20), the new covenant made with Noah, bringing about human government; (4) Promise (Gen. 12:1), the new covenant made with Abraham; (5) Law (Ex. 19:8), the period of acceptance of the Jewish law; (6) Grace (Jn. 1:17), beginning with the death and resurrection of Jesus; and (7) Kingdom (Eph. 1:10) constituting the final rule of Christ.
Does it matter whether one understands dispensationalism? Does it matter whether one adopts a theological position that is either dispensational or non-dispensational? Both should believe in the shed blood of Christ as payment of the penalty of sin for whosoever believes. Yet, on the other hand, one's theological position impacts one's view of God's ultimate purpose for history and the unfolding of future events in Scripture. Doctrine determines attitudes and practice. Therefore, the system of doctrine to which a person is committed does make a difference. In light of this thought, it is crucial that every Christian diligently search the Scriptures to determine whether dispensational theology accurately represents the biblical view.
Os Guinness is one critic of premillennial dispensationalism stating that it "has had unfortunate consequences on the Christian mind" [Os Guinness, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1994), 64]. He accused dispensationalism as being anti-intellectual "by its general indifference to serious engagement with culture" and associated it with a "careless crossover between the Bible and historical events of its day" [Ibid., 65]. The problem with such a statement is that all conservative evangelicals, regardless of their theological viewpoint, reacted to the liberal social gospel of the nineteenth and early twentieth century when all were removed from "serious engagement with culture" because of the social gospel that was so prevalent at the time.
Ryrie emphasized the importance of dispensationalism in history and in the present:
If one does not interpret the Bible this way, will it mean that he cuts down some of its parts? Not at all. Actually, the Bible comes alive as never before. There is no need to dodge the plain meaning of a passage or to reinterpret or spiritualize it in order to resolve conflicts with other passages. God's commands and standards for me today become even more distinct, and His program with its unfolding splendor falls into a harmonious pattern. The history of dispensationalism is replete with men and women who love the Word of God and promote its study, and who have a burden for spreading the gospel to all the world [Charles C. Ryrie, "What is Dispensationalism?" (Dallas Theological Seminary, 1980), 7].
Regarding the issue of dispensationalism, Dr. Ryrie has provided particularly relevant admonition.
Dispensationalists are conservatives and affirm complete allegiance to the doctrines of verbal, plenary inspiration, the virgin birth and deity of Christ, the substitutionary atonement, eternal salvation by grace through faith, the importance of godly living and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and hope for the future in the coming of Christ. Those who are divided from us in the matter of dispensationalism or premillennialism may remember the areas in which they are united with us. . . . Some doctrines are more important than others, so it particularly behooves us not to cut off our fellowship from those who share similar views about these important doctrines [Ryrie, Dispensationalism, 212].
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