Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is a theological system and interpretive framework for understanding the Bible. It views the history of God's dealings with humanity as being divided into distinct dispensations or periods of time, each with its own unique characteristics and requirements.

Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences between God's covenants with humanity in the Old and New Testaments, and holds that God has different plans and purposes for each dispensation. For example, dispensationalists believe that the dispensation of the Law, which lasted from Moses to Christ, was characterized by a focus on obedience to the Mosaic Law, while the current dispensation, the Church Age, is characterized by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Dispensationalism is often associated with a futuristic, premillennial view of end times, in which a literal interpretation of prophetic passages from the Book of Revelation is used to predict the end of the world and the establishment of a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on Earth.

Dispensationalism is a minority viewpoint within Christianity and is a matter of debate among theologians and biblical scholars. Some view it as a helpful framework for understanding the biblical narrative, while others criticize it for oversimplifying the Bible's message and for promoting a divisive approach to understanding the history of salvation.