Dispensationalism is a system of theology (not a hermeneutical approach) that believes the Bible teaches God’s single plan for history is accomplished through Israel and the church for the purpose of His glorification. This theology arises from a consistent use of the grammatical-historical hermeneutic, also known as literal interpretation. While salvation of mankind is of extreme importance, it is accomplished within the broader purpose of the glorification of God, which is demonstrated through the various administrations of dispensational arrangements of history and also encompasses the angelic realm. Jesus Christ is the hero of history by leaving heaven and humbling Himself as a Man, winning the victory at the cross, rising from the dead, ascending to heaven, taking His bride at the Rapture, returning triumphantly at the Second Coming, and reigning for a thousand years from Jerusalem. Traditional dispensationalism attempts to systematize biblical teaching for the purpose of glorifying God through Jesus Christ. History is seen as a progression of ages in which God tests mankind, man always fails, and God judges humanity, but always provides a grace to the elect.

The father of modern dispensationalism came on the scene of history at a salutary moment, and he read his Bible with rare devotional abandon just prior to and throughout a lifetime of writing. His vast and challenging written record presents volumes of meticulous theological correspondence, popular tract- and pamphlet-writing, and a body of argumentative discourse that would leave little doubt as to his opinion on theological matters from Greek grammatical structures in the New Testament to the application of biblical principles in 19th Century British political life. From this record one can distill a rigorous and thoroughly detailed system of theology, though the desirable task of cataloging and prioritizing said systematic theology was sadly one accomplishment Darby never undertook. Darby would probably remark that the Bible has its own system, and therefore the closest thing we have to his systematic theology is his Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. This magnum opus, originally published in French, took him the better part of twenty years to complete, and in five volumes it presents a system that must be derived inductively. Darby’s priority of the Bible—illuminated to the believer by the Holy Spirit—over human reasoning was his constant appeal.