Dispensationalism - Progressive revelation

One of the most important underlying theological concepts for dispensationalism is progressive revelation. While some non-dispensationalists start with progressive revelation in the New Testament and refer this revelation back into the Old Testament, dispensationalists begin with progressive revelation in the Old Testament and read forward in a historical sense. Therefore there is an emphasis on a gradually developed unity as seen in the entirety of Scripture. Biblical covenants are intricately tied to the dispensations. When these Biblical covenants are compared and contrasted, the result is a historical ordering of different dispensations. Also with regard to the different Biblical covenant promises, dispensationalism emphasizes to whom these promises were written, the original recipients. This has led to certain fundamental dispensational beliefs, such as a distinction between Israel and the Church.

This is the view that I hold.  Consider the following biblical divisions founded around God's promises:

The Adamic Covenant:  God gives rule to humankind to rule over God's creation and makes mankind in His own image (Genesis 1 - 3).

The Noahic Covenant:  God promises to never again bring about total destruction by way of a great flood and places the rainbow over the sky as a reminder of His oath (Genesis 6).

The Abrahamic Covenant.  God promises his servant Abraham to be the mediator of God's grace to the nations by bring forth from his seed a great nation in the people of Israel (Genesis 12).

The Palestinian Covenant: The giving of the land to the descendant's of Abraham.

The Davidic Covenant: The promise that David's heir (Jesus Christ) will come from the seed of David.

The New Covenant - Inaugurated by Jesus Christ that salvation for God's people will be a gift from God by grace received by faith.  This is also know as the Church Age.

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

Dispensationalism - Start of the Church Age

Mainstream dispensationalists such as Scofield^[17][18] and Ironside^[19] identify Pentecost, in the second chapter of Acts, with the start of the Church as distinct from Israel; this may be referred to as the "Acts 2" position. Grace Movement Dispensationalists believe that the church started after Acts 2, focusing primarily on the ministry of Paul. Advocates of the "mid-Acts" position, see the regular Gentile form and order of the dispensation open in the hands of the apostle Paul, the apostle of the uncircumcision, the apostle of the Gentiles. Paul does not derive his ministry from the apostles to the circumcision nor was he indeed a successor to our Lord's Jewish mission. He had a unique commission from the Lord in heaven to go to the uncicumcision. Thus they identify the start of the church with the salvation of Saul in Acts 9,^[20] or with Paul's first missionary journey in Acts 13. The 'Acts 28' position, most notably expounded by E. W. Bullinger and Charles H. Welch, posits the beginning of the church in Acts chapter 28 where the Apostle Paul quoted Isaiah 6:9,10 concerning the blindness of Israel and announced that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentile world in Acts 28:28.

Hyperdispensationalists are considered divisive^[21] notably because they reject^[22] the rite of water baptism practiced by almost all Christian denominations. They do believe in baptism, but instead of water baptism, they believe in baptism by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, which occurs when a person becomes saved by believing that Jesus Christ died for their sins. Grace Movement Dispensationalists do not see water baptism as being necessary in this dispensation. Acts 28 dispensationalists also believe in the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:5 being a spiritual baptism which identifies the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Dispensationalists are premillennialists who affirm a future, literal 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ which merges with and continues on to the eternal state in the "new heavens and the new earth",^[23] and they hold that the millennial kingdom will be theocratic in nature and not mainly soteriological, as it is viewed by George Eldon Ladd and others who hold to a non-dispensational form of premillennialism. Dispensationalism is known for its views respecting the nation of Israel during this millennial kingdom reign, in which Israel as a nation plays a major role and regains a king, a land, and an everlasting kingdom.

The vast majority of dispensationalists hold to the pretribulation rapture, with small minorities holding to either a mid-tribulation or post-tribulation rapture.^[24] 1 Thessalonians 4:16 states "the dead in Christ shall rise first" and Revelation 20:4-5 (after the tribulation and the binding of Satan) says, "They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection!"

Dispensaationalism - Influence

Dispensationalism rejects the notion of supersessionism, still sees the Jewish people as God's chosen people, and sees the modern State of Israel as leading to the Israel who will receive the fulfillment of all God's Old Testament promises.

John Nelson Darby taught, and most subsequent dispensationalists have consistently maintained, that God looks upon the Jews as his chosen people even as they remain in rejection of Jesus Christ, and God continues to have a place for them in the dispensational, prophetic scheme of things. Dispensationalists teach that a remnant within the nation of Israel will be born again, called of God, and by grace brought to realize they crucified their Messiah. Dispensationalism is unique in teaching that the Church is a provisional parenthesis, a "mystery" period, meaning that it was not revealed in the Old Testament, directly, which period will end with the rapture of the church and the Jewish remnant entering the Great Tribulation. Israel will finally recognize Jesus as their promised Messiah during the trials that come upon them in this Tribulation. Darby's teachings envision Judaism as continuing to enjoy God's protection literally to the End of Time, and teach that God has a separate 'program', to use J. Dwight Pentecost's term, for each Israel and the Church. Dispensationalists teach that God has eternal covenants with Israel, which cannot be broken.

While stressing that God has not forsaken those physically descended from Abraham through Isaac, dispensationalists do affirm the necessity for Jews to receive Jesus as Messiah. They hold that God made unconditional covenants with Israel as a people and nation in the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and the New Covenant.

Dispensationalism - Other proposed distinctions: law and grace

Classical dispensationalism teaches that law and grace are mutually exclusive concepts. Statements made by Scofield and other early classic dispensationalists teach a radical law-grace distinction.^[1][2] In other words, they teach that law contains no grace, and that grace is not conditioned on keeping the law. This does not mean that grace was missing from the dispensation of law, only that the law itself was diametrically opposed to grace, which operated by other means (such as promises and blessings). Some modern dispensationalists disagree with making such a radical distinction. In fact, Daniel Fuller, a non-dispensationalist, stated in his book Gospel and Law (p. 51) that "Although today's dispensationalism explains the relationship between law and grace in wording that is different from that of covenant theology, there is no substantial difference in meaning."

Dispensationalism - Distinction between Israel and the Church

All dispensationalists hold to a clear distinction between Israel and the Church. For dispensationalists, Israel is an ethnic nation^[10] consisting of Hebrews (Israelites), beginning with Abraham and continuing in existence to the present. The Church consists of all saved individuals in this present dispensation—i.e., from the "birth of the Church" in Acts until the time of the Rapture.^[11] The distinction between Israel and the Church is not mutually exclusive, as there is a recognized overlap between the two.^[1]:295 The overlap consists of Jewish Christians (such as Peter and Paul – although the Apostle Paul was also a Roman citizen, by birth, he was of the tribe of Benjamin and a strong Jewish nationalist at heart (Rom 9:1-3)) - who are ethnically Jewish and also have faith in Jesus Christ. Dispensationalists also believe that toward the end of theTribulation, Israel as a nation will turn and embrace Jesus as their messiah right before his second coming during the Great Tribulation. Classical dispensationalists refer to the present day Church as a "parenthesis" or temporary interlude in the progress of Israel's prophesied history.^[13] Progressive dispensationalism "softens" the Church/Israel distinction by seeing some Old Testament promises as expanded by the New Testament to include the Church. However, progressives never view this expansion as replacing promises to its original audience, 

Dispensationalixm - Historical-grammatical interpretation

Another important theological concept is the emphasis on what is referred to as the historical-grammatical, or literal, method of interpretation. Just as Israel was said to have literally experienced the curses spoken of in the Old Testament, dispensationalists believe that they will one day, literally, receive the blessings spoken of in the Old Testament. Just as it is with progressive revelation, the historical-grammatical method is not a concept or practice that is exclusive just to dispensationalists. However, a dispensational distinctive is created when the historical-grammatical method of interpretation is closely coupled with an emphasis on progressive revelation along with the historical development of the covenants in Scripture.

Dispensationalism - Progressive revelation

One of the most important underlying theological concepts for dispensationalism is progressive revelation. While some non-dispensationalists start with progressive revelation in the New Testament and refer this revelation back into the Old Testament, dispensationalists begin with progressive revelation in the Old Testament and read forward in a historical sense. Therefore there is an emphasis on a gradually developed unity as seen in the entirety of Scripture. Biblical covenants are intricately tied to the dispensations. When these Biblical covenants are compared and contrasted, the result is a historical ordering of different dispensations. Also with regard to the different Biblical covenant promises, dispensationalism emphasizes to whom these promises were written, the original recipients. This has led to certain fundamental dispensational beliefs, such as a distinction between Israel and the Church.

Understanding How God Relates to His People - Dispensationalism

In Genesis, we observed how the Triune God created the heavens and the earth, and all that was made was good.  We then saw how through the Serpent of Old tainted God's good creation by tempting humankind into rebellion against a holy God through sin and we and the earth were judged.  God, in His loving kindness, sets forth a plan to restore the world to Himself though the redeeming sacrifice of His only begotten Son so that all who come to Him in faith may be redeemed and obtain good standing before God.  A long the way, we will be a witness to various periods in which God interacts with Creation differently to lead us on a path back unto Himself.
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:
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:

Innocence or Edenic

Conscience or Antediluvian

Civil Government

Patriarchal or Promise

Mosaic or Law

Grace or Church

Millennial Kingdom

Eternal State or Final

Genesis 49 Jacob Blesses His Sons

 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

² “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
    listen to your father Israel.

³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might, the first sign of my strength,
    excelling in honor, excelling in power.
⁴ Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.

⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers—
    their swords are weapons of violence.
⁶ Let me not enter their council,
    let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
    and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
⁷ Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
    and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
    and disperse them in Israel.

⁸ “Judah, your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.
⁹ You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
    you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
¹¹ He will tether his donkey to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.
¹² His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.

¹³ “Zebulun will live by the seashore
    and become a haven for ships;
    his border will extend toward Sidon.

¹⁴ “Issachar is a rawboned donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.
¹⁵ When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
    and submit to forced labor.

¹⁶ “Dan will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

¹⁸ “I look for your deliverance, Lord.

¹⁹ “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.

²⁰ “Asher’s food will be rich;
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

²¹ “Naphtali is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.

²² “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches climb over a wall.
²³ With bitterness archers attacked him;
    they shot at him with hostility.
²⁴ But his bow remained steady,
    his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
    because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
²⁵ because of your father’s God, who helps you,
    because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,
    blessings of the breast and womb.
²⁶ Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

²⁷ “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
    in the morning he devours the prey,
    in the evening he divides the plunder.”

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

²⁹ Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. ³¹ There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. ³² The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
³³ When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

It is interesting to note that as Jacob gave his prophecy concerning his sons in this chapter, in the prior chapter Jacob gives a separate blessing to the sons of Joseph.  Remember, the Abrahamic Covenant is in the hands of Jacob (Israel).  He reckons Josephs sons as his own, but passes the blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant to Ephraim, that is the second born.  That is why national Israel is oft times referred to as Ephraim., Not all of Jacobs prophecy is blessing.  Here he also brings judgment on those sons who acted in unrighteous ways and the prophecy is a reproof to those sons. But to those who had wisdom, he brings down heaven's blessing on those and breaths his last.

Genesis 48 Manasseh and Ephraim

Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. ² When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me ⁴ and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’
⁵ “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ⁶ Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. ⁷ As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
⁸ When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
⁹ “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”
¹⁰ Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”
¹² Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. ¹³ And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
the God who has been my shepherd
    all my life to this day,
¹⁶ the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
    —may he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.”

¹⁷ When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” ²⁰ He blessed them that day and said,

“In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
    ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. ²² And to you I give one more ridge of land than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

As we know, Jacob was blessed over his older brother Essau, so the first born served the younger.  In the same way, Jacob who had the ability to bless the sons of Joseph first reckoned them as his own, giving them an inheritance of land along with the other patriarchs.  But the son Ephraim will be the first chosen.

Genesis 47 Joseph and the Famine

Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” ² He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” ⁴ They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”
⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶ and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, ⁸ Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”
⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” ¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. ¹² Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.
¹³ There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. ¹⁴ Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁵ When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.”
¹⁶ “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
¹⁸ When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹ and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
²³ Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. ²⁴ But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”
²⁵ “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”
²⁶ So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.
²⁷ Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.
²⁸ Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. ²⁹ When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”
“I will do as you say,” he said.
³¹ “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.