The Land of Promise: Biblical, Theological and Contemporary Perspectives

Rating:
Summary: A sober, thought-provoking collection
Review: The Land Of Promise is an outstanding selection of essays aptly chosen to help Christians better understand and come to terms with the contemporary meaning of God's biblical promise to Abraham. Contributions to The Land Of Promise come from different parts of the world, including the Middle East, and embody a variety of contrasting theological stances. Yet all the writings featured within share a burning desire to understand Scripture and how it applies today. Edited by two teachers of Biblical Studies at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, England, The Land Of Promise is a sober, thought-provoking collection highly recommended for any Christian studies reading list or church library collection.

Rating:
Summary: Challenging, Enlightening, and Convincing
Review: Those of you who want a good understanding of the role modern Israel plays in God's redemptive-history should consult this book. It is a collection of essays written by non-dispensationalists arguing that the modern Israelite state is not part of God's redemptive program since the New Covenant inaugurated by Christ "universalizes" the land promises of the Old Testament. The majority of the essays written are good (especially essays written by T. Desmond Alexander, Deryck Sheriffs, Peter Walker, and Colin Chapman). However, some essays could have been written much more better. For instance, Stephen Sizer's essay is not much help in forging dialogue and unity between non-dispensationalists and dispensationalists. I found his essay to be more of an emotional "attack" rather than a carefully laid out critique of the system. This book may challenge many dispensationalists on their approaches to interpretation and prophecy. As someone who holds to a system between dispensationalism and non-dispensationalism, I found much to be in agreement with some of the authors (some of the authors stated that they believe physical Israel still has a role to play in God's redemptive program based on Romans 11). However, the only criticism I have of the views of the authors is that dispensational premillennialism is NOT the same as historic premillennialism as held by reputable scholars like George Ladd, Walter Kaiser, and Wayne Grudem. Also, a non-Israelite approach to the land does not necessarily rule out a future Millennial Kingdom. One must interpret Revelation 20 as it is without any twists and turns even if the Biblical text demonstrates that the land promises in the Old Testament has been "spiritualized" and universalized in Christ. I believe the better approach is to see the land promises spiritualized in the New Covenant, but will be realized in its fullest in the Millennial Kingdom.