Commonly Held Dispensations

The label "dispensationalism" is derived from the idea that Biblical history is best understood through division into a series of chronologically successive dispensations. 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. Below is a table comparing the various dispensational schemes:

dispensational schemes	Bible chapters
	Genesis 1–3	Genesis 3–8	Genesis 9–11	Genesis 12 to Exodus 19	Exodus 20 until Birth of the Church	Church Age until Rapture	Revelation 20:4–6	Revelation 20–22
7 or 8 step	Innocence or Edenic	Conscience or Antediluvian	Civil Government	Patriarchal or Promise	Mosaic or Law	Grace or Church	Millennial Kingdom	Eternal State or Final
4 step	Patriarchal				Mosaic	Ecclesial	Zionic
3 step (minimalist)	Law					Grace	Kingdom