Dispensation (period)
Encyclopedia
In certain religions, a dispensation is a distinctive arrangement or period in history that forms the framework through which God relates to mankind.
in the second century. Other Christian writers and leaders since then, such as Augustine of Hippo and Joachim of Fiore
(1135–1202), have also offered their own dispensation arrangements of history. Many Protestant, Baptist and Calvinist writers, including Herman Witsius, Francis Turretin
, and Isaac Watts
(1674–1748) also preached and taught dispensation schemes and divisions. Even the Westminster Confession of Faith noted "various dispensations" in 1646.
Within Dispensationalism
, dispensations are a series of chronologically successive dispensations of Biblical history. The number of dispensations held are typically three, four, seven or eight. The three and four dispensation schemes are often referred to as minimalist, as they recognize the commonly held major breaks within Biblical history. The seven and eight dispensation schemes are often closely associated with the announcement or inauguration of certain Biblical covenants. The variance in number relates to the extent of detail being emphasized by the author or speaker. Below is a table comparing some of the various dispensational schemes:
These different dispensations are not separate ways of salvation. During each of them man is reconciled to God in only one way, (i.e. by God's grace through the work of Christ that was accomplished on the cross and vindicated in His resurrection). Before the cross, man was saved on the basis of Christ's atoning sacrifice to come, through believing the revelation thus far given. Since the cross, man has been saved by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom revelation and redemption have been consummated. On man's part, the continuing requirement is obedience to the revelation of God. This obedience is referred to a stewardship of faith.
Although the divine revelation unfolds progressively, the deposit of truth in earlier time-periods is not discarded, rather it is cumulative. Thus conscience (moral responsibility) is an abiding truth in human life (Ro. 2:15; 9:1; 2 Co. 1:12; 4:2), although it does not continue as a dispensation. Similarly, the saved of this present dispensation are "not under law" as a specific test of obedience to divine revelation (Gal. 5:18; cp. Gal 2:16; 3:11), yet the law remains an integral part of Dispensational teaching. The Law clarifies that, although Christ fulfilled the law for us, by it we have had the knowledge of sin(Rom 7:7), and it is an integral part of the Holy Scriptures, which, to the redeemed, are profitable for "training in righteousness" (2 Ti. 3:16–17; cp. Ro. 15:4). The purpose of each dispensation, then, is to place man under a specific rule of conduct, but such stewardship is not a condition of salvation. In every past dispensation unregenerate man has failed, much like he is failing in the present dispensation, and will fail in the future until Eternity arrives. Salvation has been and will continue to be available to everyone by God's grace through faith. (The New Scofield Study Bible, 1984, pg. 3–4).
, a dispensation is a period of time in which God gave priesthood authority to men on the Earth through prophetic callings. Between each dispensation is an apostasy where the priesthood is at least partially absent. The LDS Bible Dictionary
says:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that there have been many dispensations, and use the Bible and modern revelation do identify and clarify some of them. They also make note of dispensations occurring among the Lost Tribes of Israel as well as Book of Mormon
peoples, namely the Nephites and the Jaredites.
After Enoch and the people of Zion were taken from the earth, the wicked people became very numerous.
Which Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah;
.
is the last dispensation before the second coming of Jesus
Christ
. It was begun with the restoration of the church in 1830 and continued with the restoration of all the priesthood keys of each prior dispensation restored.
Protestant dispensations
The concept of a dispensation – the arrangement of divisions in Biblical history – dates back to IrenaeusIrenaeus
Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology...
in the second century. Other Christian writers and leaders since then, such as Augustine of Hippo and Joachim of Fiore
Joachim of Fiore
Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore , was the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore . He was a mystic, a theologian and an esoterist...
(1135–1202), have also offered their own dispensation arrangements of history. Many Protestant, Baptist and Calvinist writers, including Herman Witsius, Francis Turretin
Francis Turretin
Francis Turretin was a Swiss-Italian Protestant theologian.Turretin is especially known as a zealous opponent of the theology of the Academy of Saumur , as an earnest defender of the Calvinistic orthodoxy represented by the Synod of Dort, and as one of the authors of the Helvetic...
, and Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
(1674–1748) also preached and taught dispensation schemes and divisions. Even the Westminster Confession of Faith noted "various dispensations" in 1646.
Within Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
, dispensations are a series of chronologically successive dispensations of Biblical history. The number of dispensations held are typically three, four, seven or eight. The three and four dispensation schemes are often referred to as minimalist, as they recognize the commonly held major breaks within Biblical history. The seven and eight dispensation schemes are often closely associated with the announcement or inauguration of certain Biblical covenants. The variance in number relates to the extent of detail being emphasized by the author or speaker. Below is a table comparing some of the various dispensational schemes:
| Range of Bible Chapters | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schemes | Genesis 1–3 | Genesis 3–8 | Genesis 9–11 | Genesis 12 to Exodus 19 |
Exodus 20 to Acts 1 |
Acts 2 to Revelation 20 |
Revelation 20:4–6 | Revelation 20–22 |
| 7 or 8 Dispensational Scheme |
Innocence or Edenic |
Conscience or Antediluvian |
Civil Government | Patriarchal or Promise |
Mosaic or Law |
Grace or Church |
Millennial Kingdom | Eternal State or Final |
| 4 Dispensational Scheme |
Patriarchal | Mosaic | Ecclesial | Zionic | ||||
| 3 Dispensational Scheme (minimalist) |
Law | Grace | Kingdom | |||||
These different dispensations are not separate ways of salvation. During each of them man is reconciled to God in only one way, (i.e. by God's grace through the work of Christ that was accomplished on the cross and vindicated in His resurrection). Before the cross, man was saved on the basis of Christ's atoning sacrifice to come, through believing the revelation thus far given. Since the cross, man has been saved by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom revelation and redemption have been consummated. On man's part, the continuing requirement is obedience to the revelation of God. This obedience is referred to a stewardship of faith.
Although the divine revelation unfolds progressively, the deposit of truth in earlier time-periods is not discarded, rather it is cumulative. Thus conscience (moral responsibility) is an abiding truth in human life (Ro. 2:15; 9:1; 2 Co. 1:12; 4:2), although it does not continue as a dispensation. Similarly, the saved of this present dispensation are "not under law" as a specific test of obedience to divine revelation (Gal. 5:18; cp. Gal 2:16; 3:11), yet the law remains an integral part of Dispensational teaching. The Law clarifies that, although Christ fulfilled the law for us, by it we have had the knowledge of sin(Rom 7:7), and it is an integral part of the Holy Scriptures, which, to the redeemed, are profitable for "training in righteousness" (2 Ti. 3:16–17; cp. Ro. 15:4). The purpose of each dispensation, then, is to place man under a specific rule of conduct, but such stewardship is not a condition of salvation. In every past dispensation unregenerate man has failed, much like he is failing in the present dispensation, and will fail in the future until Eternity arrives. Salvation has been and will continue to be available to everyone by God's grace through faith. (The New Scofield Study Bible, 1984, pg. 3–4).
Latter Day Saint dispensations
In the Latter Day Saint movementLatter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, a dispensation is a period of time in which God gave priesthood authority to men on the Earth through prophetic callings. Between each dispensation is an apostasy where the priesthood is at least partially absent. The LDS Bible Dictionary
Bible Dictionary (LDS Church)
Bible Dictionary is an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Since 1979, Bible Dictionary has been published as an appendix to most copies of the King James Version of the Bible printed by the LDS Church. The dictionary contains 1285 entries on 196 pages...
says:
- A dispensation of the gospel is a period of time in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the holy priesthood and the keys, and who has a divine commission to dispense the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that there have been many dispensations, and use the Bible and modern revelation do identify and clarify some of them. They also make note of dispensations occurring among the Lost Tribes of Israel as well as Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
peoples, namely the Nephites and the Jaredites.
Adamic Dispensation
According to Latter-day Saint scriptures an angel appeared to Adam and Eve soon after they were driven out of the Garden of Eden, who taught them the gospel and gave him priesthood authority which he passed down to his children. (see Moses 5:6–9, Moses 6:64–65) Eventually they “began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish” (see Moses 5:12–13) and the priesthood was lost thus ending the dispensation in apostasy.Dispensation of Enoch
See (Moses 7:69; Doctrine and Covenants D&C 107:48, D&C 107:53.After Enoch and the people of Zion were taken from the earth, the wicked people became very numerous.
Dispensation of Abraham
See D&C 84:14; Abraham 1:16,18.Which Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah;
Mosaic Dispensation
See D&C 84:6. And the sons of Moses, according to the Holy Priesthood which he received under the hand of his father-in-law, Jethro;Dispensation of the meridian of time
This dispensation's authority was in Jesus Christ himself and then with the apostles after his death and resurrection. Following their death, shortly after the record of the Bible, and before the Nicene creed, the Earth fell into the great apostasyGreat Apostasy
The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Papacy, because it allowed the traditional Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship back into the church,...
.
Dispensation of the fulness of times
The dispensation of the fulness of timesDispensation of the fulness of times
In Christianity, the dispensation of the fulness of times is thought to be a world order or administration in which the heavens and the earth are under the political and/or spiritual government of Jesus...
is the last dispensation before the second coming of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. It was begun with the restoration of the church in 1830 and continued with the restoration of all the priesthood keys of each prior dispensation restored.
Bahá'í Faith dispensations
- In the Bahá'í FaithBahá'í FaithThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, a dispensation is a period of progressive revelation relating to the major religions of humanity.