What are dispensations and why should we study them?

The word dispensation means a period of time and occurs four times in the Bible.  There are many dispensations, or periods of time in which God dealt with man differently, as seen in the Bible.  The number varies depending on who one asks, but there are ten dispensations total (Creation, Innocence, Conscience, Government, Promise, Law, Grace, Tribulation, Millennial, Eternity).  It is important to know dispensations because if we don’t then we can end up with false doctrine by applying something that was for someone else to us.  We are to rightly divide the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15) and in doing so we will have correct doctrine and know what God requires of us right now.