If you have never seen one, the older Scofield Study Bible was the mainstay for older generations. C I Scofield was an avid Dispensationalist, and he added many study helps or notes in his study bible. This was good for many people because the King James Version was getting close to 300 years old, and the everyday English most people used during the 16th and 17th centuries had changed.
Beginning in Genesis, Dr. Scofield provided notes on the seven dispensations of bible history and prophecy. It began with the Dispensation of Innocence when God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. They were told they could eat all the fruit the garden produced except the fruit of one tree. But Adam and Eve failed the test and were ejected from the garden.
This began the Dispensation of Conscience. We know very little about this dispensation. We find that Cain killed his brother, Abel, because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s. Adam and Eve had other children, and one of them was named Seth. Evidently very few people pleased God by following their conscience so God destroyed all the people on earth at that time except Noah and his family.
When the flood subsided and Noah and his family were able to leave the Ark, God instituted a new Dispensation of Government. The basis for this is found in Genesis 9:1-17. In this dispensation, God gave permission for humans to kill animals, fowl, and fish for food. It also said that if a man or animal killed a human being, the killer must be put to death. A third aspect of this dispensation was that God would never again destroy all humanity by flood, and the sign for this would be a “rainbow in the clouds”.
The fourth dispensation was the Dispensation of Promise. This dispensation revolved around a Gentile named Abram whose name was later changed to Abraham. God chose Abram out of all the people on earth to offer special blessings to him along with his descendants. This section goes from Genesis 11-25 and tells of Abraham’s ancestry, his call from God, God’s promised blessing, his trials, his children, and his death. Dispensationalists place great emphasis on this because they believe the Jews (Israelites) are God’s chosen people and will be until the end of time.
The fifth dispensation is the Dispensation of Law. This dispensation began with the Israelites being rescued from their slavery in Egypt including two years at Mt. Sinai. This dispensation ended on the Day of Pentecost described in Acts 2.
The sixth dispensation began on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. This is the Dispensation of Grace. According to Dr. Ryrie on page 64, this dispensation covers the historical period included in scripture from Acts 2:1 through Revelation 19:21.
Finally, the seventh dispensation is called the Dispensation of the Millennium. This dispensation is covered in Revelation 20:1-6. Dr. Ryrie deals with this dispensation in chapter 8 of his book. It is preceded by the rapture of the church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Rev. 4:1-2). This tribulation is also based on Daniel 9.
Dr. Ryrie’s definition of a dispensation is this: “A dispensation is a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purpose.” (Page 33). Then on page 34, he states: “To summarize: Dispensationalism views the world as a household run by God. In His household-world God is dispensing or administering its affairs according to His own will and in various stages of revelation in the passage of time. These various stages marked off by the distinguishably different economies constitute the dispensations. The understanding of God’s differing economies is essential to a proper interpretation of His revelation within those various economies.”
“This is probably the most basic theological test of whether or not a person is a dispensationalist, and it is undoubtedly the most practical and conclusive. The one who fails to distinguish Israel and the church consistently will inevitably not hold to dispensational distinctions; and one who does will.” (Page 46).
Dr. Ryrie finishes chapter 2 with an eye opening statement. The third aspect of Dispensationalism is, “It concerns the underlying purpose of God in the world. The covenant theologian, in practice, believes the purpose to be salvation (although covenant theologians strongly emphasize the glory of God in their theology), and the dispensationalist says the purpose is broader than that; namely, the glory of God. . .The Bible itself clearly teaches that salvation, important and wonderful as it is, is not an end in itself but is rather a means to the end of glorifying God (Eph. 1:6,12,14). . .The essence of Dispensationalism, then, is the distinction between Israel and the church.” (Page 48).