{{Short description|Biblical interpretation}}
{{Redirect|Church Age|the Mr. Del album|Church Age (album){{!}}''Church Age'' (album)}}
{{Other uses|Dispensation (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Christian Eschatology}}
'''Dispensationalism''' is a [[Christian theological]] framework for [[Biblical hermeneutics|interpreting]] the [[Christian Bible]] which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages called ''dispensations'' in which [[God the Father|God]] interacts with his [[chosen people]] in different ways.<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|page=19}} It is often distinguished from [[covenant theology]], the traditional [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] view of reading the Bible.<ref name="RTS-Waters-2021">{{cite web |last1=Waters |first1=Guy |title=What are the differences between covenant theology and dispensationalism? |url=https://rts.edu/resources/differences-between-covenant-theology-dispensationalism/ |website=Reformed Theological Seminary |access-date=9 December 2023 |date=2 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Poythress-1986">{{cite book |last1=Poythress |first1=Vern Sheridan |title=Understanding Dispensationalists |date=1986 |publisher=Westminster Theological Seminary |location=Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania |url=https://frame-poythress.org/ebooks/understanding-dispensationalists/ |access-date=9 December 2023 |chapter=1 Getting Dispensationalists and Nondispensationalists to Listen to Each Other. The Term 'Dispensationalist'}}</ref> These are two competing frameworks of [[biblical theology]] that attempt to explain overall continuity in the Bible. The coining of the term "dispensationalism" has been attributed to [[Philip Mauro]], a critic of the system's teachings, in his 1928 book ''The Gospel of the Kingdom''.<ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last=Mauro |first=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QXjJzAEACAAJ |title=The Gospel of the Kingdom: With an Examination of Modern Dispensationalism |date=1928 |publisher=Hamilton Brothers |pages=17 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite book |last=Hummel |first=Daniel G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F1l-EAAAQBAJ |title=The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle over the End Times Shaped a Nation |date=2023-05-04 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-1-4674-6220-4 |language=en}}</ref>

Dispensationalists use a [[Biblical literalism|literal interpretation]] of the Bible and believe that [[divine revelation]] unfolds throughout its narrative. They believe that there is a distinction between [[Twelve Tribes of Israel|Israel]] and the [[Christian Church|Church]], and that Christians are not bound by [[Law of Moses|Mosaic law]]. They maintain beliefs in [[premillennialism]], [[Christian Zionism]], and a [[rapture]] of Christians before the expected [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]], who Christians believe to be the [[Messiah]], generally before the [[Great Tribulation]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Blomberg |first1=Craig L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huMlsCYyI5YC&dq=Historic+premillennialism+pierre+poirret&pg=PT69 |title=A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology |last2=Chung |first2=Sung Wook |date=2009-02-01 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4412-1056-2 |language=en}}</ref>

Dispensationalism was systematized and promoted by [[John Nelson Darby]] and the [[Plymouth Brethren]] in the mid-19th century.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Ryrie |first=Charles C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zafSmAEACAAJ |title=Dispensationalism |date=2007 |publisher=Moody |isbn=978-0-8024-2189-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=67}} It began its spread in the United States during the late 19th century through the efforts of evangelists such as [[James Inglis (evangelist)|James Inglis]], [[James Hall Brookes]] and [[Dwight L. Moody]], the programs of the [[Niagara Bible Conference]], and the establishment of Bible institutes. With the dawn of the 20th century, [[C. I. Scofield]] introduced the ''[[Scofield Reference Bible]]'', which crystallized dispensationalism in the United States.

Dispensationalism has become popular within [[American evangelicalism]]. In addition to the Plymouth Brethren, it is commonly found in nondenominational [[Bible church]]es, as well as among [[Baptists|Baptist]], [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]], and [[Charismatic movement|Charismatic]] groups.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Crenshaw |first1=Curtis I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bnk9AAAACAAJ |title=Dispensationalism Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow |last2=Gunn |first2=Grover |publisher=Footstool |year=1985 |isbn=978-1-877818-01-1 |pages=117 |language=en}}</ref> [[Protestant denominations]] that embrace covenant theology, such as the Reformed churches, tend to reject dispensationalism.

== Overview ==
Dispensationalism is a theological framework that views history as divided into distinct periods in which God interacts with mankind in specific ways. Scofield, in his ''Scofield Reference Bible'', defined a ''dispensation'' as "a period of time during which man is tested in respect of obedience to some ''specific'' revelation of the will of God".<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=23}}<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite book |last=Bass |first=Clarence B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ck1LAwAAQBAJ |title=Backgrounds to Dispensationalism: Its Historical Genesis and Ecclesiastical Implications |date=2005-02-03 |publisher=Wipf and Stock |isbn=978-1-59752-081-2 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=19}}

[[Charles Caldwell Ryrie|Charles Ryrie]] took issue with Scofield's definition as too simple, stating that such a definition opened the system to attack from nondispensationalists.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=23}} Ryrie separates the term ''age'' from ''dispensation,'' stating that the two terms are not synonymous in meaning while defining a ''dispensation'' as "a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God's purpose".<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|pages=28}} He further suggests that the defining characteristics of a dispensation are the distinct governing relationship in which God interacts with mankind during that period, and the resulting responsibility placed upon mankind in that period.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=33}}

Evangelical Christians generally agree that there are distinct periods in [[Will of God|God's plan]] for humanity.<ref name="POYTHRESS-understanding-2009">{{cite web |last1=poythress |first1=Vern |title=Understanding Dispensationalism |url=https://faculty.wts.edu/lectures/understanding-dispensationalism/ |website=Westminister Theological Seminary |access-date=9 December 2023 |date=13 March 2009 |quote=Now, the problem is that almost anyone who is an evangelical will recognize that there are distinct periods. For instance, there was a period before the fall of Adam when things were very different because there was no sin and there was no need for redemption, animal sacrifice or any of those things.}}</ref>  Dispensationalist theologians tend to hold "a particular view of the parallel-but-separate roles and destinies of [[Israelites|Israel]] and the [Christian] [[Christian Church|church]]", with a "careful separation&nbsp;... between what is addressed to Israel and what is addressed to the church. What is addressed to Israel is 'earthly' in character and is to be interpreted 'literally'."<ref name="Poythress-1986" /><ref name="RTS-Waters-2021" /> 

This view is distinct from [[covenant theology]], which holds that rather than having separate plans, "God has one people, one people of God throughout redemptive history, called 'Israel' under the Old Testament, and called 'the church' under the New."<ref name="RTS-Waters-2021" />

[[Philip Mauro]], a critic of the system's teachings in his 1928 book ''The Gospel of the Kingdom'', is considered to be the first to coin the term "dispensationalism" to describe the theological framework that had made inroads into [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalism]], calling it "a subtle form of modernism".<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":20" />

=== Typical divisions ===
The number of dispensations may vary from three to eight, but the typical seven-dispensation scheme is as follows:<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=|pages=51–57}}
* Innocence – [[Adam]] under probation prior to [[the Fall of Man]]. Ends with expulsion from the [[Garden of Eden]] in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis 3]]. Some refer to this period as the Adamic period or the dispensation of the Adamic covenant or Adamic law.
* Conscience – From the Fall to the [[Genesis flood narrative|Great Flood]]. Ends with the worldwide deluge.
* Human or Civil Government – After the Great Flood, humanity is responsible to enact the [[death penalty]], and has the authority to govern. Ends with the dispersion at the [[Tower of Babel]]. Some use the term "[[Noahide Law|Noahide law]]" in reference to this period of dispensation.
* Promise or Patriarchal Rule – From [[Abraham]] to [[Moses]]. Ends with the refusal to enter Canaan and the 40 years of unbelief in the wilderness. Some use the terms "Abrahamic law" or "[[Abrahamic covenant]]" in reference to this period of dispensation.
* Law – From Moses to the [[crucifixion]] of [[Jesus Christ]]. Ends with the scattering of Israel in [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|AD 70]]. Some use the term "[[Mosaic law]]" in reference to this period of dispensation.
* [[Grace in Christianity|Grace]] – From the cross to the [[Rapture|rapture of the church]] seen by some groups as being described in [[1 Thessalonians]] and the [[Apocalypse of John|Book of Revelation]]. The rapture is followed by the wrath of God, constituting the [[Great Tribulation]]. Some use the term "Age of Grace" or "the Church Age" for this dispensation.
* [[Millennial Kingdom]] – A literal 1000 year reign of Christ on earth ({{bibleverse|Revelation|20:1-6|KJV}}), centered in [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]], ending with God's judgment on the final rebellion.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:8%" | Dispensational schemes
! colspan="8" rowspan="1" | Bible chapters
|-
! style="width:8%" | Genesis 1–3
! style="width:8%" | Genesis 3–8
! style="width:8%" | Genesis 9–11
! style="width:8%" | Genesis 12 – Exodus 19
! style="width:8%" | Exodus 20 – Birth of the Church
! style="width:8%" | Church Age – Rapture
! style="width:8%" | Revelation 20:4–6
! style="width:8%" | Revelation 20–22
|-
| 7 or 8 step
| style="background-color:#8cffc5" | Innocence <br /> or Edenic
| style="background-color:#8cffc5" | Conscience <br /> or Antediluvian
| style="background-color:#8cffc5" | Civil Government
| style="background-color:#e5e5b7" | Patriarchal <br /> or Promise
| style="background-color:#ffcc99" | Mosaic <br /> or Law
| style="background-color:#66e0ff" | Grace <br /> or Church
| style="background-color:#ccccff" | Millennial Kingdom
| style="background-color:#FFCCFF" | Eternal State <br /> or Final
|-
| 4 step
| colspan="4" style="background-color:#e5e5b7" | Patriarchal
| style="background-color:#ffcc99" | Mosaic
| style="background-color:#66e0ff" | Ecclesial
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#ccccff" | Zionic
|-
| 3 step (minimalist)
| colspan="5" style="background-color:#ffcc99" | Law
| style="background-color:#66e0ff" | Grace
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#ccccff" | Kingdom
|}

=== Variants ===
* Classic dispensationalism
* [[Ultradispensationalism]] (Bullingerism)
* [[Hyperdispensationalism]] (Mid-Acts dispensationalism)
* Revised dispensationalism
* [[Progressive dispensationalism]]

==Theology==

=== Purpose of God in the world ===
According to [[John Walvoord]], God's purpose in the world is to manifest his glory.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walvoord |first=John F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aTJCiHoxfsC |title=The Millennial Kingdom |date=1983 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=978-0-310-34091-1 |language=en |author-link=John Walvoord}}</ref>{{Rp|page=92}} [[Charles Ryrie]] writes that dispensational [[soteriology]] focuses on man's salvation as the means God uses to glorify himself.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=40}}

=== Biblical literalism ===
{{Main|Historical-grammatical method}}

A key element of dispensationalism is its use of the historical-grammatical hermeneutic to obtain a consistent, literal interpretation of the text.<ref name=":19">{{Cite book |last=Buschart |first=W. David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QzyMCsh4CaUC |title=Exploring Protestant Traditions: An Invitation to Theological Hospitality |date=2009-09-20 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-7514-6 |pages=216, 218 |language=en}}</ref> In this method, scripture is to be interpreted according to the normal rules of [[Language|human language]] in its entirety.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=80}} This leads dispensationalists to take eschatological passages in the Bible literally. Charles Ryrie suggests that a non-literal hermeneutic is the reason [[Amillennialism|amillennialists]] apply Old Testament promises made to Israel "spiritually" to the church, and covenant premillennialists see some prophecies as fulfilled and others as not.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=90}}

===Progressive revelation===
{{main|Progressive revelation (Christianity)}}

Progressive revelation is the doctrine that each successive book of the [[Bible]] provides further [[revelation]] of God and his program. Theologian [[Charles Hodge]] wrote that the progressive character of divine revelation is gradually unfolded until the fullness of truth is revealed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hodge |first=Charles |title=Systematic Theology |url=https://archive.org/details/systematicth200301hodg/page/446 |volume=1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/systematicth200301hodg/page/446 446] |year=2003 |place=Peabody |publisher=Hendrickson |isbn=1-56563-459-4}} Also available as {{cite book |last=Hodge |title=Systematic Theology |date=May 1997 |publisher=P & R |editor-last=Gross |editor-first=Edward N. |edition=abridged |isbn=0-87552-224-6}}</ref> Charles Ryrie wrote that the Bible is not viewed as a textbook on theology, but rather as a continually unfolding revelation of God through successive ages where there are distinguishable stages in which God introduces mankind to new responsibilities.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=33}}

[[Covenant theology]] and dispensationalist theology disagree regarding the meaning of revelation. Covenant theology views the [[New Testament]] as the key to interpreting the [[Old Testament]].<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=32}} For dispensationalists, the Old Testament is interpreted on its own and the New Testament contains new information which can build on the Old Testament but cannot change its meaning.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Toussaint |first1=Stanley D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ELPsd0kf6UkC |title=Three Central Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism: A Comparison of Traditional and Progressive Views |last2=Burns |first2=J. Lanier |publisher=Kregel Academic |isbn=978-0-8254-9881-7 |pages=124 |language=en}}</ref> Each stands alone, rather than the Old Testament being reread through the lens of the New Testament.<ref name=":19" />

===Distinction between Israel and the Church===
Dispensationalists see a historic and demographic distinction between Israel and the [[Christian Church]]. For them, Israel is an ethnic nation consisting of [[Hebrews]] ([[Israelites]]), beginning with [[Abraham]].<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=127}} Believing that the Old Testament promises to Israel await fulfillment, dispensationists link biblical Israel to the modern state of Israel, viewing its establishment as fulfillment of biblical prophecies concerning Israel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stalder |first=Will |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Palestinian_Christians_and_the_Old_Testa/iqTCCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22dispensationalism%22+%22modern+state%22&pg=PA48&printsec=frontcover |title=Palestinian Christians and the Old Testament: History, Hermeneutics, and Ideology |date=2015-06-01 |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=978-1-4514-9675-8 |pages=48 |language=en}}</ref> [[Christian Zionism]] has made evangelical Christians some of the most ardent supporters of the [[State of Israel]] in American politics.<ref name=":20" />

The Church, on the other hand, consists of all [[salvation|saved]] individuals from the "birth of the Church" in the book of [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] until the time of the [[rapture]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/notwrath.html | title = Not Wrath, but Rapture | first = Harry A. | last = Ironside | author-link = Harry A. Ironside | quote = The prophetic clock stopped at Calvary; it will not start again until 'the fullness of the Gentiles be come in'. | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160203075745/http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/notwrath.html | archive-date = 2016-02-03 }}</ref> Classic dispensationalists refer to this period as a "parenthesis", a temporary interlude in the progress of Israel's prophesied history when God has paused his dealing with Israel and is dealing with his Church.<ref name="parenthesis">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yfBGAAACAAJ
|last=Ironside
|first=Harry A.
|author-link=Harry A. Ironside
|title=The Great Parenthesis
|publisher=[[Zondervan]]
|date=1943
|page=4
|quote=It is the author's fervent conviction that the failure to understand what is revealed in Scripture concerning the Great Parenthesis between Messiah's rejection, with the consequent setting aside of Israel nationally, and the regathering of God's earthly people and recognition by the Lord in the last days, is the fundamental cause for many conflicting and unscriptural prophetic teachings. Once this parenthetical period is understood and the present work of God during this age is apprehended, the whole prophetic program unfolds with amazing clearness.}}</ref><ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=134,177}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=DeMar |first=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tii3ulwqzW0C |title=Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church |publisher=American Vision |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-915815-35-7 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=410}}

There are differing views within dispensationalism as to when the church age began. Classic dispensationalism considers [[Pentecost]] in [[Acts 2]] to be the beginning of the Church as distinct from Israel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Enns |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hlIAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22dispensationalism%22%2B%22church+age%22%2B%22Acts+2%22&pg=PT745 |title=The Moody Handbook of Theology |date=2014-03-27 |publisher=Moody |isbn=978-0-8024-9115-2 |language=en}}</ref> [[Charles Grandison Finney|Charles Finney]] wrote in 1839 that Pentecost was "the commencement of a new dispensation", emphasizing the role of the Holy Spirit as a distinction.<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|page=87}} [[C. I. Scofield|Cyrus Scofield]] did not make Pentecost itself the turning point, but did emphasize its role in dividing the dispensations of "Law" and "Grace".<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|page=88}} In contrast, [[Hyperdispensationalism|hyperdispensationalists]] suggest that the church started later in Acts ("Mid-Acts") with the ministry of Paul, identifying the start of the church as occurring between the salvation of Saul in [[Acts 9]] and the Holy Spirit's commissioning of Paul in [[Acts 13]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Brock |first=Robert C. |title=The Teachings of Christ |date=2 April 2002 |url=https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/articles/1017958318.html |quote=The ministry of Christ did not stop with His ascension in the first chapter of the book of Acts. Christians have failed to realize that when Saul is saved in Acts 9, a NEW ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is begun by God, and this NEW ministry ushers in this present age of grace. Saul's name is changed to Paul, and he is designated as the Apostle of the Gentiles (Romans 11:13). He is given revelations from the risen Christ, and these are the revelations embracing Christianity.}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Couch |first=Mal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rPeo38M2d9UC |title=Dictionary of Premillennial Theology |date=1996 |publisher=Kregel |isbn=978-0-8254-9464-2 |pages=98 |language=en}}</ref> [[E. W. Bullinger]] and the ultradispensationalists taught that the church began in [[Acts 28]].<ref name=":12" /> According to [[progressive dispensationalism]], the distinction between Israel and the Church is not mutually exclusive, as there is a recognized overlap between the two.<ref name="blaising">{{Cite book |last1=Blaising |first1=Craig A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xsumJRsOWVMC |title=Progressive Dispensationalism |last2=Bock |first2=Darrell L. |publisher=BridgePoint |year=1993 |isbn=1-56476-138-X |location=Wheaton, Illinois |language=en-us}}</ref>{{rp|295}} The overlap includes [[Jewish Christians]], such as [[James, brother of Jesus]], who likely aimed to integrate Jesus's teachings with the [[Second Temple Judaism]] practiced in Jerusalem during their [[Second Temple period|historical context]]. Additionally, there were Christians of Jewish ethnicity, like [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul the Apostle]], who had differing opinions about Jewish and gentile adherence to [[Mosaic law]]. Progressive dispensationalism "softens" the Church/Israel distinction by seeing some Old Testament promises as expanded by the New Testament to include the Church without replacing the promises to its original audience, Israel.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = Progressive Dispensationalism
 |first       = Mike
 |last        = Stallard
 |url         = http://faculty.bbc.edu/mstallard/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/PDChallenge.pdf
 |quote       = some OT promises can be expanded by the NT. However, this expansion is never viewed as replacing or undoing the implications of that OT promise to its original audience, Israel. For example, the Church's participation in the New Covenant taught in the NT can add the Church to the list of recipients of the New Covenant promises made in the OT. However, such participation does not rule out the future fulfillment of the OT New Covenant promises to Israel at the beginning of the Millennium. Thus, the promise can have a coinciding or overlapping fulfillment through NT expansions of the promise.
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719142144/http://faculty.bbc.edu/mstallard/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/PDChallenge.pdf
 |archive-date = 2011-07-19
}}</ref>

=== The Law ===
Dispensationalists believe that Christ abolished the Mosaic law, and thus it does not apply to the Christian. Instead, the Christian is under the [[Law of Christ]], which embodies moral principles from God that are in both codes.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blaising |first1=Craig A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AfjEVa9ChmoC |title=Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church: The Search for Definition |last2=Bock |first2=Darrell L. |date=2010-08-10 |publisher=Zondervan Academic |isbn=978-0-310-87740-0 |pages=116 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=S. Lewis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oDcs7yoX8EkC |title=Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives on the Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments: Essays in Honor of S. Lewis Johnson, Jr |last2=Feinberg |first2=John S. |date=1988 |publisher=Crossway |isbn=978-0-89107-468-7 |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=71}} In this view, although many commandments of the Old Testament are re-established in the New Testament, only the commandments explicitly affirmed there are to be kept; this excludes the ceremonial and civil aspects of the Mosaic law.<ref name=":22" />{{Rp|page=71}}

=== Eschatology ===
{{Further|Premillennialism|Rapture}}
Dispensationalism teaches an [[eschatology]] that is explicitly [[Premillennialism|premillennial]], in that it affirms the [[return of Christ]] prior to a literal 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|pages=147–148}} This [[Millennial Kingdom|millennial kingdom]] will be [[theocratic]] in nature, and not mainly soteriological in the way [[George Eldon Ladd]] and others with a non-dispensational form of premillennialism have viewed it.<ref name=":4" /> It will be distinctly Jewish, with the throne of [[David]] restored.<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|page=31}}

The majority of dispensationalists profess a [[Rapture#Pre-tribulational premillennialism|pretribulation rapture]]. [[Rapture#Midtribulational premillennialism|Midtribulation]] and [[post-tribulation rapture|posttribulation rapture]] are minority views.<ref>{{Cite book |last= Hoekema |first= Anthony A. |author-link= Anthony A. Hoekema |title= The Bible and the Future |year=1994 |edition= revised |orig-year= 1979 |publisher= [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|Eerdmans]] |location= Grand Rapids, Michigan |url= https://archive.org/details/biblefuture0000hoek/page/164 |isbn= 0-85364-624-4 |page= [https://archive.org/details/biblefuture0000hoek/page/164 164] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Walvoord |first=John F. |title=Blessed hope and the tribulation |publisher=Contemporary Evangelical |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-310-34041-6 |pages=13}}</ref> Pretribulational rapture doctrine is what separates dispensationalism from other forms of premillennialism and other millennial views.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=409}}

Dispensational eschatology was popularized in [[Hal Lindsey|Hal Lindsey's]] book, ''[[The Late Great Planet Earth]]'' (1970). In Lindsey's version, the unfolding of events includes the establishment of modern [[Israel]] in 1948, Jews regaining control of Jerusalem's sacred sites in the [[Six-Day War|1967 Arab-Israeli War]], a rebuilding of the Temple which has yet to occur, an Antichrist who will come to power, Christians to be removed from the earth in a rapture of the Church, and seven years of tribulation ([[Book of Daniel|Daniel's]] seventieth week) culminating in a great battle of [[Armageddon]] in which Christ will triumph over evil and establish a literal 1,000 year reign of his kingdom on earth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Erin A. |date=Winter 2017 |title=The Late Great Planet Earth Made the Apocalypse a Popular Concern |url=https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2017/winter/feature/the-late-great-planet-earth-made-the-apocalypse-popular-concern |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=The National Endowment for the Humanities |language=en}}</ref> Israel and the Church being distinct in this view, the rapture must remove the Church before remnant Israel can be gathered.<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|page=42}}

==History==
[[File:History of dispensationalism (updated2).png|thumb|upright=2.4|Timeline of the history of dispensationalism, showing the development of various streams of thought]]

=== Proto-dispensationalism ===
Advocates of dispensationalism have sought to find similar views of dispensations in [[Church history]], referencing theologians or groups such as [[Francisco Ribera]], the [[Taborites]], [[Joachim of Fiore]], [[Denis the Carthusian]] and others.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pietsch |first=B. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ANPCQAAQBAJ&dq=Francisco+Ribera+dispensationalism&pg=PT229 |title=Dispensational Modernism |date=2015-07-06 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-027307-1 |language=en |quote=}}</ref> Joachim's theory of three stages of human history has been argued to have anticipated the later dispensationalist view of organizing history into different dispensations.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=65}} Joachim's stages were divided into the "Age of the Father" which was under the Law, the "Age of the Son" which was a period of tribulation, and the "Age of the Spirit" which was a period of bliss on earth.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=155}}

[[File:Portret van Pierre Poiret, RP-P-BI-4877.jpg|thumb|Pierre Poiret is seen as a forerunner of Dispensationalism.|upright=1.2]]
[[File:Isaac Watts from NPG.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Scofield followed Isaac Watts's (1674–1748) divisions of the dispensations.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=67}}]]
[[Fra Dolcino]] (c. 1250 – 1307) taught Joachim's theory of the stages of history, and dispensationalists Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice have suggested that Dolcino's teaching was of a pretribulational rapture.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=157}} The relevant teaching was that when Antichrist appears, Dolcino and his followers would be taken away and preserved from Antichrist, and that following the death of Antichrist, Dolcino and his followers would return to Earth to convert those then living to the true faith.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=David Malcolm |date=2008-04-30 |title=Raptured or not raptured? That is the question |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/27725472-08002004 |journal=Evangelical Quarterly: An International Review of Bible and Theology |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=143–161 |doi=10.1163/27725472-08002004 |issn=0014-3367 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>  However, the source is an anonymous 1316 Latin text titled ''The History of Brother Dolcino'', so it is uncertain whether Dolcino actually taught it.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=158-159}}

William C. Watson has argued that multiple 17th century Puritan theologians anticipated dispensational views. In his book ''Dispensationalism Before Darby'' (2015), he argues that Ephraim Huit (1595–1644) and John Birchensa (in his book ''The History of Scripture'' published in 1660) taught that God has differing plans for Jews and Gentiles. Watson also argues that [[Nathaniel Holmes (theologian)|Nathaniel Holmes]] (1599–1678) taught a pretribulational rapture.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=William C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1mryrQEACAAJ |title=Dispensationalism Before Darby: Seventeenth-century and Eighteenth-century English Apocalypticism |date=2015 |publisher=Lampion Press |isbn=978-1-942614-03-6 |language=en}}</ref>

Christian mystic and philosopher [[Pierre Poiret]] (1646–1719) is said by some to have been the first theologian to develop a dispensationalist system, writing a book titled ''The Divine Economy.'' Poiret taught that history should be organized into multiple dispensations in which God works with humans in different ways, including the millennium as a future dispensation.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Pierre Poiret's Sober Mysticism |url=https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/pierre-poirets-sober-mysticism-11630201.html |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=Christianity.com |language=en}}</ref> Poiret's eschatology includes a belief in two resurrections, the rise of the Antichrist, and the nation of Israel being regathered, restored and converted.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> Poiret divided history into seven dispensations: early childhood (ended in the Flood), childhood (ended in Moses's ministry), boyhood (ended in Malachi), youth (ended in Christ), manhood (most of the Church era), old age ("human decay", meaning the last hour of the Church), and the restoration of all things (the Millennium, including a literal earthly reign of Christ with Israel restored).<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=65}}

[[Isaac Watts]] (1674–1748) presented a dispensational view in ''The Harmony of All the Religions Which God Ever Prescribed, Containing A Brief Survey of the Several Publick Dispensations of God Toward Man''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Watts |first=Isaac |url=https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-harmony-of-all-the-r_watts-isaac_1742 |title=The Harmony of All the Religions Which God Ever Prescribed |year=1742 |quote=The kingdom of Christ, therefore, or the christian dispensation was not properly set up in all its forms, doctrines and duties, till the following ''day of [[Pentecost]]'', and the pouring down of the Spirit upon the Apostles}}</ref> Charles Ryrie states that Scofield's outline of dispensationalism, with the exception of the millennium, is exactly that of Watts, and not Darby.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=67}}

[[Edward Irving]] (1792–1834) in some ways anticipated dispensationalism. He used a literal approach to prophetic interpretation, he believed in a restoration of Israel as a nation, and he believed there would be a great apostasy and Christ would return to establish a literal earthly kingdom.<ref name=":4" /> But he also preached that Christ had a fallen nature, which led to him being [[Defrocking|defrocked]] by the Scots Presbyterians.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bennett |first=David Malcolm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRBNBQAAQBAJ&dq=dispensationalism+forerunners&pg=PA176 |title=Edward Irving Reconsidered: The Man, His Controversies, and the Pentecostal Movement |date=2014-11-04 |publisher=Wipf and Stock |isbn=978-1-62564-865-5 |pages=176 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Formalization by Darby ===
[[File:JohnNelsonDarby.jpg|thumb|[[John Nelson Darby]] systematized and promoted dispensationalism.]]
Dispensationalism developed as a system from the teachings of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882), considered by many to be the father of dispensationalism.<ref name="blaising" />{{rp|10, 293}} Darby strongly influenced the [[Plymouth Brethren]] of the 1830s in Ireland and England. The original concept came when Darby considered the implications of [[Isaiah 32]] for Israel. He concluded that [[prophecy]] required a future fulfillment and realization of Israel's kingdom. He saw the New Testament church as a separate program not related to that kingdom. Thus arose a prophetic earthly kingdom program for Israel and a separate "mystery" heavenly program for the church. In order to not conflate the two programs, the prophetic program had to be put on hold to allow for the church to come into existence. Then the church would need to be raptured away before prophecy could resume its earthly program for Israel.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ryrie |first=Charles C. |chapter=Update On Dispensationalism |title=Issues In Dispensationalism |editor1-first=Wesley R. |editor1-last=Willis |editor2-first=John R. |editor2-last=Master |page=17}}</ref>

In Darby's conception, dispensations relate exclusively to the divine government of the earth. The Mosaic dispensation continues as a divine administration over Earth up until the return of Christ, and the church, being a heavenly designated assembly, is not associated with any dispensations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huebner |first1=Roy A. |url=https://www.presenttruthpublishers.com/pdf/Darby_Teachings_Dispensations_Ages.pdf |title=J. N. Darby's Teaching Regarding Dispensations, Ages, Administrations, and The Two Parenthesis |date=1993 |publisher=Present Truth |publication-place=Jackson, New Jersey |pages=iii-iv}}</ref>

Darby's Brethren [[ecclesiology]] failed to catch on in America, but his [[eschatology|eschatological]] doctrine became widely popular, especially among [[Baptists in the United States|Baptists]] and [[Old School–New School controversy|Old School Presbyterians]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Elwell |first=Walter A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yu846j61u0wC |title=Evangelical Dictionary of Theology |date=2001 |publisher=[[Baker Academic]] |isbn=978-0-8010-2075-9 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=317}}

===Expansion and growth===
[[James Inglis (evangelist)|James Inglis]] (1813–1872) introduced dispensationalism to North America through the monthly magazine ''Waymarks in the Wilderness'', published intermittently between 1854 and 1872.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Sandeen |first=Ernest Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TZAlAQAAIAAJ |title=The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Millenarianism, 1800–1930 |date=2008 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-73468-2 |language=en-us}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=100–102}} In 1866, Inglis organized the Believers' Meeting for Bible Study, which introduced dispensationalist ideas to a small but influential circle of American [[Evangelicalism|evangelicals]].<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|pages=132–133}} They were disturbed by the growth of [[religious liberalism]] and saw premillennialism as an answer. Dispensationalism was introduced as a premillennial position, and it took over the evangelical movement in the course of several decades. The American church denominations rejected Darby's [[ecclesiology]] but accepted his eschatology.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=101}} Many of these churches were Baptist and Old School Presbyterian; they retained Darby's [[Reformed Christianity|Calvinistic]] [[soteriology]].<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=317}}

After Inglis's death, [[James H. Brookes]] (1830–1898), pastor of Walnut Street Presbyterian Church in St.&nbsp;Louis, Missouri, organized the [[Niagara Bible Conference]] (1876–1897) to continue dissemination of dispensationalist ideas. Brookes was well known within [[Millenarianism|millenarian]] circles, both as a prominent speaker at the Believers' Meeting for Bible Study conferences and for having written articles published in Inglis's ''Waymarks in the Wilderness''.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=134}}

[[File:Dwight Lyman Moody 1900 (Hold the Fort!, Scheips).jpg|thumb|D. L. Moody]]
Brethren theologian [[Charles Henry Mackintosh|C. H. Mackintosh]] (1820–1896) had a profound influence on American evangelist [[Dwight L. Moody]] (1837–1899),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moody |first=Paul Dwight |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jMJFAAAAIAAJ |title=My Father: An Intimate Portrait of Dwight Moody |date=1938 |publisher=Little, Brown |pages=188–189 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Kraus |first=Clyde Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJhOAQAAMAAJ |title=Dispensationalism in America: Its Rise and Development |date=1985 |publisher=John Knox Press |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=49}} who reached very large audiences with his powerful preaching in the latter half of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gloege|first=Timothy E. W.|title=Guaranteed Pure: The Moody Bible Institute, Business, and the Making of Modern Evangelicalism|publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]]|year=2015|location=Chapel Hill|isbn=978-1-4696-3343-5|pages=3|language=en}}</ref> Moody worked with Brookes and other dispensationalists, and encouraged the spread of dispensationalism.<ref name=":5" />{{Rp|pages=46–47}} It was during this time that dispensational doctrine became widely accepted among American evangelicals.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Georgianna |first=Sharon Linzey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uP4QAQAAIAAJ |title=The Moral Majority and Fundamentalism: Plausibility and Dissonance |date=1989 |publisher=E. Mellen Press |isbn=978-0-88946-851-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=vi}} It also marked a shift in dispensational theology under evangelists like Moody, from Darby's Calvinism and doctrinal rigor to a non-Calvinist view of human freedom in personal salvation.<ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Marsden |first=George M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9swPktfLJigC |title=Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism, 1870–1925 |date=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-503083-9 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=46}}

Other prominent dispensationalists in this period include [[Reuben Archer Torrey]] (1856–1928), [[James M. Gray]] (1851–1925), [[William J. Erdman]] (1833–1923), [[A. C. Dixon]] (1854–1925), [[A. J. Gordon]] (1836–1895), and [[William Eugene Blackstone]] (1841–1935). These men were active evangelists who promoted a host of Bible conferences and other missionary and evangelistic efforts. They also gave the dispensationalist philosophy institutional permanence by assuming leadership of new independent Bible institutes, such as the [[Moody Bible Institute]] in 1886, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now [[Biola University]]) in 1908, and Philadelphia College of Bible (now [[Cairn University]], formerly [[Philadelphia Biblical University]]) in 1913. The network of related institutes that soon developed became the nucleus for the spread of American dispensationalism. When the Bible Institute of the Chicago Evangelization Society (now Moody Bible Institute) formally opened in 1889, Torrey served as its first superintendent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moody |first=William Revell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSRNAAAAMAAJ |title=The Life of Dwight L. Moody |date=1900 |publisher=Fleming H. Revell |pages=340 |language=en}}</ref>

Revivalist evangelicals such as Moody and Torrey did not believe the [[Speaking in tongues|gift of tongues]] continued past the [[Apostolic age]], but their emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit merged well with [[Holiness movement|holiness]] ideas. This encouraged the spread of dispensationalism within the [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] movement.<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|page=94}}

During this time, [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] clergyman [[E. W. Bullinger]] (1837–1913) began teaching what became known as "ultradispensationalism" or "Bullingerism". Bullinger taught that the Church did not begin until Acts 28, that [[Eucharist|the Lord's Supper]] and [[Baptism|water baptism]] were for Jewish believers, and that [[Pauline epistles|Paul's epistles]] were written to the Jews.<ref name=":12" />

=== Scofield and his influence ===
[[File:ScofieldCI.jpg|thumb|Cyrus Scofield]]
A disciple of James Brookes, [[C. I. Scofield|Cyrus Scofield]] (1843–1921), began attending the Niagara conferences and became an advocate of premillennialism, specifically pre-tribulationism.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=223}} After several years of work, Scofield introduced dispensationalism to a wider audience in America through his ''[[Scofield Reference Bible]]''. Published in 1909 by the [[Oxford University Press]], the ''Scofield Reference Bible'' was the first Bible to display overtly dispensationalist notes on the same pages as the biblical text. Use of the Scofield Bible became popular among independent Evangelicals in the United States.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|pages=222–224}} Its premillennialism led to a pessimistic social view within evangelicalism, to "not polish the brass rails on the sinking social ship", so that evangelism came to be focused on saving the lost rather than expanding Christendom.<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|page=5}}

The ''Scofield Reference Bible'' came out at the peak of Bullinger's influence. Scofield's Bible confronted some of the ultradispensationalists' (Bullingerites') positions, including their divisions of dispensational time. As the Scofield Bible became popular among dispensationalists, it marginalized the hyperdispensationalist position in the United States.<ref name=":20" />

Influenced by Scofield, evangelist and Bible teacher [[Lewis Sperry Chafer]] (1871–1952) and his brother Rollin Chafer founded Evangelical Theological College in 1924. The school would eventually become [[Dallas Theological Seminary]], the main dispensationalist institution in America.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reisinger |first=Ernest |author-link=Ernest Reisinger |title=A History of Dispensationalism in America |url=http://www.founders.org/FJ09/article1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517112638/http://www.founders.org/FJ09/article1.html |archive-date=2008-05-17 |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=[[Founders Ministries]] |quote=Bible-believing people turned to Dallas Seminary, the mecca of Dispensationalism, for teaching on God's Word.}}</ref>

The [[Clarks Summit University|Baptist Bible Seminary]] now located in [[Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania]], became another dispensationalist school.

=== ''The Fundamentals'' ===
[[File:LymanStewart.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lyman Stewart]], co-founder of [[Unocal Corporation#History|Union Oil]]]]

In the 1910s, another publication took hold within American evangelicalism. Known as ''[[The Fundamentals]]'', its twelve volumes were published in quarterly installments between 1910 and 1915 by the Testimony Publishing Company. Funded by [[Unocal Corporation|Union Oil]] co-founder [[Lyman Stewart]] (1840–1923)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grem |first=Darren E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I8PmCwAAQBAJ |title=The Blessings of Business: How Corporations Shaped Conservative Christianity |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-992797-5 |pages=21 |language=en}}</ref> and managed by an executive committee of dispensationalists that included Clarence Dixon and Reuben Torrey, ''The Fundamentals'' helped solidify dispensationalist views within American Christian fundamentalism and the evangelical movement.<ref name=":20" />

The [[Scopes trial]] in 1925 served to unify fundamentalists, but the movement began to decline soon after the trial. Scopes trial prosecutor and public face of the fundamentalist movement [[William Jennings Bryan]] died a week after the verdict, and journalist [[H. L. Mencken]] portrayed supporters of that anti-evolution verdict as uneducated and ignorant. The fundamentalist movement began to decentralize after it lost Bryan. Dispensationalism's fate was tied to that breakdown.<ref name=":20" />

In 1928, [[Philip Mauro]], seeking to re-invigorate the fundamentalist movement, pointed a finger at dispensationalism and in the process coined the term. Singling it out as the source of division within the larger fundamentalist movement, he wrote that the dispensationalist view was more recent than [[Darwinism]] and it eroded fundamental truths of scripture.<ref name=":20" />

In 1934, Evangelical Theological College acquired the venerable theological journal {{lang|la|[[Bibliotheca Sacra]]}} (first published in 1844). Lewis Chafer's first public declaration that he was a dispensationalist appeared in that journal's pages. In 1936, he published a 60-page response to criticism from Mauro and other fundamentalists, entitled "Dispensationalism". That same year, Chafer renamed his school Dallas Theological Seminary.<ref name=":20" />

The conflict between dispensationalists and covenantalists continued through the 1930s and 1940s, leading to permanent divisions that shaped the fundamentalist movement.<ref name=":20" />

=== Influence of Dallas Theological Seminary ===
By the mid 20th century, evangelicals such as [[Charles L. Feinberg|Charles Feinberg]], [[J. Dwight Pentecost]], [[Herman A. Hoyt|Herman Hoyt]], [[Charles Caldwell Ryrie|Charles Ryrie]], and [[John Walvoord]] were promoting dispensationalism.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":14">{{Cite book |last=Clouse |first=Robert G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=voEVDAAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology |date=2010-04-16 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-973588-4 |editor-last=Walls |editor-first=Jerry |language=en |chapter=Fundamentalist Theology}}</ref>{{Rp|page=269}} All five of these men either studied or taught at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS).<ref name=":20" /> Pentecost taught there for more than 60 years, and published an influential work on dispensational eschatology, ''Things to Come'' (1956). A decade later, Ryrie published ''Dispensationalism Today'' (1965), which has become the primary introduction to dispensational theology.<ref name=":20" />

Furthering the rift with covenant theology, Ryrie wrote in {{lang|la|Bibliotheca Sacra}} in 1957 that dispensationalism is "the only valid system of Biblical interpretation". In 1959, Walvoord stated that no non-dispensationalists (including Catholics and mainline Protestants) offered any defense against [[Liberal Christianity|modernism]], and that they were all under the influence of hermeneutical and theological errors.<ref name=":20" />

Dallas Theological Seminary's influence grew as other schools and seminaries hired its graduates as faculty. In 1970, DTS graduate [[Hal Lindsey]] published ''[[The Late Great Planet Earth]]'', which launched dispensationalist eschatology into pop culture. His book sold 10 million copies and made ''[[rapture]]'' and [[Great Tribulation|''the tribulation'']] household words.<ref name=":20" />

=== Pop prophecy ===
The commercial success of ''The Late Great Planet Earth'' triggered a flood of books that featured dispensationalism's rapture theology. Lindsey published ''Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth'' (1972), ''There's a New World Coming'' (1973), and ''The Liberation of Planet Earth'' (1974)''.'' Other books included ''The Beginning of the End'' (1972) by Tim LaHaye, and DTS graduate Thomas McCall's ''Satan in the Sanctuary'' (1973) and ''Raptured'' (1975).<ref name=":20" /> In 1972, Iowa filmmakers [[Russell Doughten]] and [[Donald W. Thompson]] released ''[[A Thief in the Night (film)|A Thief in the Night]],'' a fictional film about the aftermath of the rapture that has been seen by an estimated 300 million people.<ref name="CT12">{{cite web
 |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/commentaries/2012/originalleftbehind.html
 |title=The original 'Left Behind'
 |last=Anderson
 |first=Dean A.
 |date=March 7, 2012
 |website=[[Christianity Today]]
 |access-date=February 8, 2021
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416053106/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/commentaries/2012/originalleftbehind.html
 |archive-date=April 16, 2012
 |url-status=live
}}</ref> Televangelist [[Jack Van Impe]] covered current events in light of Bible prophecy with a dispensational premillennialist spin.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dias |first=Elizabeth |date=2020-01-22 |title=Jack Van Impe, End Times Preacher on TV, Is Dead at 88 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/us/jack-van-impe-dead.html |access-date=2023-07-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Emergence of the Christian Right ===
The late 20th century marked a shift from the [[separatism]] practiced earlier in the century to more political engagement. This era saw emergence of the [[Christian right|Christian Right]], rooted in the dispensational theology that places Israel at the center of God's purpose in the world.<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|page=270}}

In 1978, dispensationalist television evangelist [[Jerry Falwell]] began making trips to Israel that were sponsored by the Israeli government. He became the first major American political figure to insist that the U.S. must support Israel for the fate of the nation.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Halsell |first=Grace |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_nYAAAAMAAJ |title=Prophecy and Politics: Militant Evangelists on the Road to Nuclear War |date=1986 |publisher=Lawrence Hill |isbn=978-0-88208-210-3 |pages=74–75 |language=en |author-link=Grace Halsell}}</ref> Falwell listed Feinberg, Pentecost, Hoyt, and Walvoord as his most important influences.<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|page=269}} Falwell and [[Tim LaHaye]] founded the [[Moral Majority]] in 1979, with its objective to get people saved, baptized, and registered to vote.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sutton |first=Matthew Avery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ri1gDwAAQBAJ |title=American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism |date=2014-12-15 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-74479-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=354}} The Moral Majority also provided a platform for [[Political mobilisation|political activism]]. LaHaye, a lifelong fundamentalist and dispensationalist, became a prominent figure in the Christian Right.<ref name=":20" /> He served as head of the Moral Majority for a time, and in the mid-eighties he created the [[American Coalition for Traditional Values]]. In 1987, he served as co-chairman of Republican Jack Kemp's presidential campaign, until it was reported that he had called Catholicism "a false religion".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gorenberg |first=Gershom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCZDYk0W_VcC |title=The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-515205-0 |pages=31 |language=en}}</ref>

Influenced by dispensational premillennialism, the Moral Majority lobbied for pro-Israel [[foreign policy of the United States|U.S. foreign policy]] positions, including protection of the [[Jews|Jewish people]] in Israel and continuing [[Israel–United States relations|U.S. aid to the state of Israel]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Greene |first=Richard Allen |date=2006-07-19 |title=Evangelical Christians plead for Israel |work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5193092.stm |access-date=2007-03-20}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite news |last=Kirkpatrick |first=David |date=2006-11-14 |title=For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is 'God's Foreign Policy' |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/washington/14israel.html |access-date=2018-05-06}}</ref> Opposed to [[Jimmy Carter]]'s affirmation of a [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] homeland, the Moral Majority endorsed [[Ronald Reagan]] for President in 1980.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XO9nBwAAQBAJ |title=Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints and Voices |date=2015-03-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47351-0 |editor-last=Chapman |editor-first=Robert |pages=433 |language=en}}</ref> In Reagan, they found a candidate who shared their [[apocalypticism]]. Reagan had read Hal Lindsey's ''The Late Great Planet Earth'', and it has been suggested that this eschatological view drove his [[Middle East]] policies.<ref name=":9" />{{Rp|page=43}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=McAlister |first=Melani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0PqObUNlIEC |title=Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East Since 1945 |date=2005-07-05 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24499-3 |language=en-us}}</ref>{{Rp|page=177}} In an interview with televangelist [[Jim Bakker]], Reagan said "[w]e may be the generation that sees [[Armageddon]]."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sutton |first=Matthew Avery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ri1gDwAAQBAJ |title=American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-674-74479-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=355}} Dispensational theology affected more than the Reagan administration's Middle East [[Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration|foreign policy]]. [[James G. Watt]], a member of the Assemblies of God and Reagan's first [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]], told Congress that preservation of the [[Natural environment|environment]] was made irrelevant by the imminent return of Christ.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Balmer |first=Randall Herbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSO5YDifWz8C |title=Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America, an Evangelical's Lament |date=2006-07-03 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-00519-2 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=148}}

In 1980, Hal Lindsey wrote a follow-up to his book ''The Late Great Planet Earth''. Lindsey had not previously drawn a connection from a Christian's personal obligations to a responsibility for social change, but this changed with his new book, ''The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon.'' He began encouraging his readers to elect moral leaders who would reflect that morality within government, an agenda closely aligned with Ronald Reagan's administration.<ref name=":20" />

=== The megachurch movement ===
The growth of suburbs through the 1960s led to the megachurch movement that began in the 1970s. DTS-trained pastors pioneered the movement, including [[Chuck Swindoll]], [[Erwin Lutzer]], [[David Jeremiah]], [[Robert Jeffress]], [[Tony Evans (pastor)|Tony Evans]], and [[Andy Stanley]].<ref name=":20" /> Other megachurches, such as [[John Hagee|John Hagee's]] Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, blended teachings of dispensationalism with the [[Prosperity theology|prosperity gospel]] and [[New Christian Right]] activism. Hagee's [[Christians United for Israel]] included six Pentecostal megachurch pastors and an executive from the Christian Broadcasting Network, including Jerry Falwell. This group became an example of how megachurch dispensationalism was able to find national influence in US politics and diplomacy.<ref name=":20" />

Despite success through growing megachurches, the movement revealed limits when leaders of two of the United States' largest megachurches, [[Bill Hybels]] and [[Rick Warren]], disassociated from the theology of dispensationalism. The revival of reformed theology in the emergence of New Calvinism began in the 1980s. Led by pastors such as [[John Piper (theologian)|John Piper]], [[Tim Keller (pastor)|Tim Keller]], [[Mark Driscoll]], [[Matt Chandler (pastor)|Matt Chandler]], and [[Albert Mohler]], this spawned a megachurch movement of its own, whose leaders became outspoken critics of dispensationalism.<ref name=":20" />

=== Peak and decline ===
By the 1990s, a younger generation of academics emerged as "progressive dispensationalists", opening a rift within the united front Ryrie had pushed for in ''Dispensationalism Today'' (1965). Leaders in this school of thought were [[Craig A. Blaising]], [[Darrell L. Bock|Darrell Bock]], Kenneth Barker, and [[Robert L. Saucy]].<ref name=":20" />

Dispensationalism's influence within the [[Christian right|New Christian Right]] grew stronger in the 1990s. Building on the success of Hal Lindsey's ''The Late Great Planet Earth'', the 1995 novel ''[[Left Behind (novel)|Left Behind]]'' pushed pop prophecy to further commercial success.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":21" />{{Rp|pages=3}} Conceived by Tim LaHaye and written by [[Jerry B. Jenkins]], the book spawned a [[Left Behind|multimedia franchise]] of 16 books, plus multiple movies, video games, and other spinoff works. The series brought dispensational premillennialism and its "rapture culture" into plain view.<ref name=":21">{{Cite book |last=Frykholm |first=Amy Johnson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pizKsnFzLqQC |title=Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America |date=2004-03-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803622-7 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=3}}

As with Reagan in the 1980s, the New Christian Right helped elect another '[[born again]]' president, [[George W. Bush]]. Like Reagan, Bush spoke in terms of prophecies being fulfilled in a way that had meaning to dispensationalists.<ref name=":20" /> He referred to [[Gog and Magog]] in the [[war on terror]], and said the confrontation was "willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase His people's enemies".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spector |first=Stephen |date=September 2014 |title=Gog and Magog in the White House: Did Biblical Prophecy Inspire the Invasion of Iraq? |journal=Journal of Church and State |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=545|doi=10.1093/jcs/cst003 }}</ref>

Dispensational ideas were experiencing political and commercial success, but Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye, who had become the public standard-bearers of dispensationalism, were different from their academic predecessors John Walvoord, Dwight Pentecost, and Charles Ryrie.<ref name=":20" /> By the 2010s, support for dispensational theology had peaked in academia and was largely in decline within academic settings.<ref name=":20" /> A 2009 survey of [[Southern Baptist Convention|Southern Baptist]] seminaries showed that the majority view was [[Covenant theology|covenantal]], and flagship [[Southern Baptist Theological Seminary]] had no dispensationalists on its faculty.<ref name=":20" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=David |first=Roach |date=2012-01-05 |website=Baptist Press |title=End Times: Scholars differ on what Bible says about subject |url=http://www.bpnews.net:80/BPnews.asp?ID=31963 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105064313/http://www.bpnews.net:80/BPnews.asp?ID=31963 |archive-date=2012-01-05 |access-date=2023-07-30}}</ref>

Although dispensationalism had collapsed in academic areas, its cultural influence remained. Dispensationalist ideas have persisted in popular culture. A 2004 ''Newsweek'' poll indicated that 55 percent of Americans believe Christians will be taken up in the Rapture.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gates |first=David |date=2004-05-23 |title=Religion: The Pop Prophets |url=https://www.newsweek.com/religion-pop-prophets-127971 |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref> By the turn of the 21st century, the term ''dispensationalism'' had become synonymous with "sectarian fundamentalism", and had come to be more of a [[political identity]] than a theological [[doctrine]].<ref name=":20" />

Dispensationalism, however, remains strong within theological circles which espouse [[Free grace theology|Free Grace theology]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dispensationalism and Free Grace: Intimately Linked |url=https://dispensationalpublishing.com/product/dispensationalism-free-grace-intimately-linked/ |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=Dispensational Publishing |language=en-US}}</ref> The majority of those associated with the Free Grace Alliance support dispensationalism<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=GraceLife Ministries |title=The Free Grace Alliance Within the Free Grace Movement: It is What it is! |url=https://www.gracelife.org/resources/articles/?id=23 |access-date=2024-07-10 |language=en-us}}</ref> and it is taught by the [[Grace Evangelical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=Dispensationalism |publisher=Grace Evangelical Society |url=https://faithalone.org/tag/dispensationalism/ |access-date=2024-07-10 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
The term ''dispensationalism'' originated with Philip Mauro. His critique of the system is found in his 1928 book ''The Gospel of the Kingdom'', in which he wrote that "evangelical Christianity must purge itself of this leaven of dispensationalism". He used the term to group the new premillennialism, the idea of dispensational time, and the Israel–Church distinction into a single bundled idea.<ref name=":20" />

Protestant denominations and movements that embrace [[covenant theology]] tend to reject dispensationalism. For example, Presbyterian minister John Wick Bowman has called the Scofield Bible "the most dangerous [[heresy]] currently to be found within Christian circles".<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=13}} Dispensational theology ultimately led the Presbyterian Church of America (later the [[Orthodox Presbyterian Church]]) to split from Bible Presbyterian Synod, which taught dispensationalism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerstner |first=John Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C-oEAAAACAAJ |title=Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensationalism |date=2000 |publisher=Soli Deo Gloria |isbn=978-1-57358-068-7 |pages=61 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Churches of Christ]] became divided in the 1930s as [[Robert Henry Boll]] (who taught a variant of dispensationalism) and [[Foy E. Wallace]] (representing the [[Amillennialism|amillennial]] position) disputed severely over eschatology.

=== Soteriology ===
Some dispensational Christian Zionists, such as John Hagee, reject the need for Christians to pursue the conversion of the Jews.<ref name=":20" /> Presupposing a difference between law and [[Grace in Christianity|grace]] leads to the idea that there are multiple forms of [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]].<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|page=34–35}}

In what is known as the [[Lordship salvation controversy]], there are criticisms of a lack of understanding what was necessary to be "born again".  John MacArthur called the problem "easy-believism", in which the basis of salvation is that one merely needs to claim to follow Jesus. MacArthur identified Dallas Theological Seminary founder Lewis Sperry Chafer as the source of the free grace error. Defense of the dispensational position was led primarily by Charles Ryrie and Zane Hodges.<ref name=":20" />

=== Eschatology ===
The [[pessimism]] of premillennial eschatology led dispensationalists to see social reform as wasted effort, so that they focused on converting the lost, with no effort toward the kingdom-building [[Reformism (historical)|social reform]] of [[postmillennialism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Balmer |first=Randall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SiUXtAEACAAJ |title=The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond |date=2017 |publisher=Baylor University Press |isbn=978-1-4813-0488-7 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=35–36}}

=== Political influence ===
In ''American Theocracy'' (2006), political commentator [[Kevin Phillips (political commentator)|Kevin Phillips]] wrote that dispensationalist and other fundamentalist Christians, together with the [[oil lobby]], provided political support for the invasion of Iraq in 2003.<ref name=":18">{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=Kevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pU9z669ZwEC |title=American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century |date=2006-03-21 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781101218846 |page=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=87}} He wrote that most theologians acknowledge there is no specific sequence of end-times events in the Bible, and that such a belief is the result of a century of "amplified Darbyism". He quoted theologian Barbara Rossing that such hyper-literalism is a "dangerous and false view".<ref name=":18" />{{Rp|page=253–254}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rossing |first=Barbara R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mK2fcw-GkMIC |title=The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation |date=2007-03-30 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-00496-6 |pages=173–174 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Millennial Day Theory]]
* [[Supersessionism]]
* [[New Covenant theology]] (a synthesis of Covenant theology and Dispensationalism)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Berubee, Carol. ''A Case for Pauline Dispensationalism: Defining Paul's Gospel and Mission'' (Blue Dromos Books, 2017) {{ISBN|978-1-48359-109-4}}
* Mangum, R. Todd, ''The Dispensational–Covenantal Rift'' (Wipf & Stock, 2007) {{ISBN|1-55635-482-7}}
* Mangum, R. Todd and Mark Sweetnam, ''The Scofield Bible: Its History and Impact on the Evangelical Church'' (Colorado Springs: Paternoster, 2009) {{ISBN|9780830857517}}
* Showers, Renald (1990). ''There Really Is a Difference: A Comparison of Covenant and Dispensational Theology''. Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. {{ISBN|0-915540-50-9}}
* Sweetnam, Mark. ''The Dispensations: God's Plan for the Ages'' (Scripture Teaching Library, 2013) {{ISBN|978-1-909789-00-5}}
* Walvoord, John F. ''Prophecy In The New Millennium'' (Kregel, 2001) {{ISBN|0-8254-3967-1}}

==External links==
* O'Hair, J. C. [https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/UNSEARCHABLE-RICHES-OF-CHRIST-THE.pdf ''The Unsearchable Riches of Christ'']

{{Christian Zionism}}

[[Category:Dispensationalism|*]]
[[Category:Christian eschatology]]
[[Category:Christian theological movements]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Christianity-related controversies]]
[[Category:Premillennialism]]
[[Category:Time in religion]]