Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is a Christian theological framework for interpreting the Christian Bible which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages called dispensations in which God interacts with his chosen people in different ways. It is often distinguished from covenant theology, the traditional Reformed view of reading the Bible. 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. Dispensationalists use a literal interpretation of the Christian Bible and believe that divine revelation unfolds throughout its narrative. They believe that there is a distinction between Israel and the Church, and that Christians are not bound by the Mosaic Law. They maintain beliefs in premillennialism, Christian Zionism, and a rapture of Christians before the expected Second Coming of Jesus, whom Christians believe to be the Messiah, generally before the Great Tribulation. Although similar views were held by earlier authors such as Pierre Poiret (1646–1719), dispensationalist theology was primarily systematized and promoted by John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) and the Plymouth Brethren in the mid-19th century. It began its spread in the United States during the late 19th century through the efforts of evangelists such as 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 U.S. evangelicalism, Latin American evangelicalism, and in the Faroe Islands, where they form the largest non-Lutheran Christian group in the country. In addition to the Plymouth Brethren, dispensationalism is commonly found in non-denominational Protestant churches...