Thoughtful and accessible. An up-to-date, comprehensive overview of the most important issues in dispensationalism, underpinned with accurate scholarship and summarized with clarity.

This book has one goal in mind, to try and bring greater understanding between two dedicated groups of Christians. Dispensationalists and Reformed Christians have a very different understanding of how God has worked in this world as well as how God will continue to work. There is a theological divide that has developed after many years of discussion and stems from a mixture of ignorance; misunderstanding and actual disagreement. Robert McKenzie seeks to examine what each side believes, fleshing out the differences and misunderstandings. He takes a look at the history of each system as well as their theological developments. The author seeks to be faithful to each system pointing out their strengths and weaknesses all the while citing the Scriptures that are used to support each side's belief. It is hoped that with greater understanding the two groups will be able to engage in conversation with a clearer view of why a doctrine is believed and how the different doctrines build into the system. Whether you are a Dispensationalist, believe in Covenant theology or you aren't quite sure if you fall in either camp this book can be tremendously helpful. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ii Acknowledgments iii Introduction v 1 Reformed Hermeneutics 1 2 The Covenant of Redemption 14 3 The Covenant of Works 24 4 The Covenant of Grace 34 5 The Abrahamic Covenant 49 6 The Mosaic Covenant 64 7 The New Covenant 71 8 The Two-Age Model 81 9 The Second Coming 95 10 The History of Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology 103 11 The Hermeneutics of Dispensationalism 118 12 The Seven Dispensations 127 13 The Tribulation Period 144 14 The Millennial Kingdom 156 Conclusion 178 Bibliography 182 Scripture Index 190 Subject and Name Index 196

How do the Old and New Testaments relate to each other? What is the relationship among the biblical covenants? In this volume in IVP Academic's Spectrum series, readers will find four contributors who explore these complex questions, each making a case for their own view and responding to the others' views to offer an animated yet irenic discussion on the continuity of Scripture.

From a rich heritage of dispensational thought to the anticipated fulfillment of prophecy in the future, Issues in Dispensationalism provides a valuable overview of dispensational issues for scholar and theologian alike.

For years, critics of premillennialism have argued that John Nelson Darby was the source for the doctrine of the rapture and dispensationalism. Building upon years of research in seventeenthcentury and eighteenth-century English theological writings, William Watson argues that dispensationalism and the ideas associated with it were long part of British theological discourse. Drawing upon hundreds of early printed English books and years of archival study in primary sources and British libraries, Watson demonstrates that Darby's thought was neither aberrant nor original. To the contrary, he was following a long line of British clergy who anticipated the restoration of Jews to a national homeland and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

The relationship between Israel and the church is a crucial reference point in theology, especially in distinguishing between dispensational and nondispensational schools of thought. The writers of this book view Israel and the church as distinct theological institutions within the historical progress of divine revelation. But they are also related as successive phases of a redemptive program that is historically progressive and eschatologically converging. The goal of the book is a convergence of ideas among evangelical scholars in recognizing both continuity and discontinuity in the Israel-church relationship. - Back cover.

Dispensationalism continues to provoke heated debate within the Christian world. Highly acclaimed theologian, Dr. Charles C. Ryrie, addresses this crucial issue from the perspective of classic dispensationalism. He confronts the views of covenant theology, historical premillennialism, ultradispensationalism, and, in this revised edition, the increasingly popular progressive dispensationalism. In his best-selling book, Dispensationalism Today, written more than thirty years ago, Dr. Ryrie made this complex subject more understandable for thousands worldwide. This revised and expanded version of that book will prove to be an invaluable reference tool for your library.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

An introduction to dispensational theology