Dispensationalism is a method of Bible interpretation that began early in the 19th century with a group of people known as the Plymouth Brethren. According to this system, the Bible portrays seven time periods, or dispensations, during which the Lord deals with man in a different way. The first six ended in failure, but the seventh is the present dispensation and will culminate in judgment. The literal Jews and the literal nation of Israel occupy a central position in this system of interpretation. "The kingdom of heaven they say refers to the earthly, nationalistic rule which Jesus offered to the Jews but which they rejected. Thus God’s program for Israel had to be postponed until later, and as an interim arrangement the Church age was ushered in. A further implication of this is the dispensationalist teaching of a secret Rapture of the Church to remove the Church from the earth so God can resume His original plan of establishing a Jewish earthly kingdom." [H.Ray Dunning, Beacon Dictionary of Theology]
In a web site of the Fellowship of Reformed Baptists in New Zealand (FRBCNZ LIBRARY) there is a link to an article by Pastor Kevin Gore entitled "“SINCE YOU ASKED” -- WHY I DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING FIVE PILLARS OF DISPENSATIONALISM." This article shows why the dispensational view is not Scriptural, and can be found here. Because this view is so widespread today among Bible believing Protestants, this article should be of general interest.