Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is an evangelical, futurist, Biblical interpretation that foresees a series of "dispensations", or periods in history, in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.

As a system, dispensationalism is rooted in Scripture and expounded in the writings of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) and the Brethren Movement. The theology of dispensationalism consists of a distinctive eschatological end times perspective, as all dispensationalists hold to premillennialism and most hold to a pretribulation rapture. Dispensationalists believe that the nation of Israel is distinct from the Christian Church, and that God has yet to fulfill his promises to national Israel. These promises include the land promises, which in the future world to come result in a millennial kingdom and Third Temple where Christ, upon his return, will rule the world from Jerusalem for a thousand years. In other areas of theology, dispensationalists hold to a wide range of beliefs within the evangelical and fundamentalist spectrum.

With the rise of dispensationalism, some conservative Protestants came to interpret the Book of Revelation as predicting future events (futurism), rather than predicting events that have taken place throughout history (historicism) or predominantly associated to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, a position known as Preterism.