The act of dispensing or dealing out; distribution; often used of the distribution of good and evil by God to man, or more generically, of the acts and modes of his administration.
A system of principles, promises, and rules ordained and administered; scheme; economy; as, the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian dispensations.
The relaxation of a law in a particular case; permission to do something forbidden, or to omit doing something enjoined; specifically, in the Roman Catholic Church, exemption from some ecclesiastical law or obligation to God which a man has incurred of his own free will (oaths, vows, etc.).
Intervals of time ordering God's grand timetable for world events. Invented by John Nelson Darby. There are seven, inserted into scripture in order to attempt to validate his non-scriptural thinking concerning the concept of the rapture.
The freeing of a religious from the obligations of the vows* he has made and allowing him to return to the life of a lay Catholic. This process usually requires the intervention of the Holy See* and is approved only for grave reasons.
A period of time in which truth from heaven is given to people on earth through prophets.
A determined period of time. "...that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him" (Eph. 1:10).
a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God's purpose
a distinguishable economy in the outworking of Gods purpose
a kind of spiritual organizing principle presented to man by God
an administration or stewardship, a period in which God deals with man in a specific way (literally Household Management)
an arranged dealing of God during a specific period of time into which man has been set and tried in respect to obedience to some definite revelation of His will, i
an economy in which God works in different periods of time with various peoples on earth in different ways
an era of time during which man is tested in respect to obedience to a definite revelation of God's will
a particular economy or administration of God's dealings with any particular people, having its own peculiar and distinctive characteristics
a particular way of God's administering His rule, but an age is a particular period of time
a period of human history explained in terms of divine revelation
a period of human history in which God reveals a particular purpose to a specific group of people which they can fulfill or fail to fulfill
a period of time during which a man is tested in respect of obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God" ( Scofield Reference Bible , p
a period of time during which God works according to a principle or test upon humankind
a phase in God's program for mankind in which He through a steward or stewards imposes on some or all of mankind specific rules to regulate their daily lives (Eph
a revelation from God to man in which he reveals His holy and perfect will for man, and the consequences if man does not do God's will
a theological term that refers to different periods of time in which God interacted with humanity in a distinct way
a time when the heavens are open and truth is dispensed or handed out to men
a unique stage in the outworking of God's program in time, whereby some or all of mankind are to have a believing response, being responsible to be good stewards of the particular revelation which God has given (Eph
One of four periods of history administered according to God's will.
an administration; a set of conditions, or governing laws. When two different groups of people (such as the Israelites under the Law and the church of today) are living under different conditions as set by God, we say that they are living under different dispensations.
The administration of God over a specific period of history. From Greek ( oikonomia)4 (1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:9; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:4).
a stewardship or administration. (More to come.)
An era of history with a distinct beginning and end. The two major dispensations are the Old and New Covenants (see CCC 1076). Dispensationalists commonly believe there are seven dispensations in history, each beginning with a test from God and ending with m an failing the test.