The White Badger Inn

Medieval Roots of Dispensationalism?
Seven dispensations, the Church, future conversion of the Jews & the invasion of Gog and Magog
Edward E. Hindson, the Dean of the Institute of Biblical Studies (Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia) has written that,
"Dispensationalism grew out of the heritage of Medieval (Catholic) eschatology...

A typical early English version reads:

The World shall last sixe thousand yeeres;
Two thousand thereof shall be a vacuitie;
Two thousand the Law shall continue.

Eventually the Six Ages were popularly distinguished as:

1. Adam to Noah
2. Noah to Abraham
3. Abraham to David
4. David to the Captivity
5. Captivity to Christ
6. Christ to last Judgment.

This concept of distinguishing specific ages of biblical and contemporary history became entrenched in medieval theology. It was later paralleled to the six days of creation. Thus, it was observed that man was created on the sixth day and that Christ came in the sixth age. Eventually, the concepts of the Three Eras and the Six Ages were conflated (since they both totalled 6,000 years) by Martin Luther in the title page to his Supputatio Annorum Mundi (1541):

ELIA Propheta
Sex milibus annorum stabit mundus.
Duobos milibus inane.
Duobos milibus Lex.
Duobos milibus Messiah.
Insti sunt Sex dies hebdomadae coram Deo.
Septimus dies Sabbatum acternum est.
Psalm 90. Et 1 Pet. 2
Mille anni sicut dies unus."

Many Catholic thinkers accepted the popular Medieval concept that the "Prophecy of Elijah" limited human history to six thousand years. The belief that the six days of creation corresponded to the six ages of human history was established as early as Isidore of Seville (560-636) and Bede (673-735). Bede even paralleled the morning and evening of the days of creation to the six ages. All of this figurative imagery was based, of course, on pure hypothesis and conjecture, as much of the early Catholic (and dare I say, LATER Catholic) theology.

By the twelfth century, commentators such as Rupert of Deutz (c. 1075-1129) and Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) interpreted the Apocalypse as outlining all of church history. As the Catholic church strayed from orthodoxy, others viz., Otto of Freising (1111-1158) began to view the Book of Daniel as predicting the rise of the Roman Empire (fourth monarchy) and Revelation as predicting the struggle of the Roman Church. They forsook an Historic stance on the Apocalypse, and emphasized the literal interpretation of prophecy and its relevance to universal history. Otto also introduced the idea that the 1,000 year binding of Satan began with Constantine's legalization of Christianity (325) and would end in about 1325, when Satan would be loosed to deceive the world prior to his ultimate destruction.
The concept of Satan's binding from 325-1325 was thereafter commonly accepted by Medieval writers. It led to the idea that the Antichrist would appear in the fourteenth century.

Joachim of Fiore (1135-1202) became the most influential Medieval scholar in the area of apocalyptic eschatology. Joachim viewed the seven seals of the Apocalypse as predictive of seven ages of Church history, an idea that was also popular with early dispensationalists. He saw the last stage as the "Age of the Spirit," followed by the final cataclysm. He also viewed Mohammed as the False Prophet and the Turks as Gog and Magog.

One scholar noted that "The widespread popularity of his views held sway over European scholars until the time of the Reformation."

I respond by saying, "How true. When the light of the gospel shines in upon the imaginations of men, their foolishness ceases, and they accept the doctrines of God."