Progressive Dispensationalism, the Church, and Israel: Why the Church Is Neither Israel’s Replacement Nor God’s Parenthesis

"In carefully laid out and sequenced steps this fine book takes a detailed look at [the eschatology debate in the evangelical church]… The subtitle says it all clearly: the Bible teaches 'Neither Israel's Replacement Nor God's Parenthesis.' The kingdom is already/not yet.This book presents the kingdom program so fully and beautifully. It lays the backdrop for a biblical portrait of God's kingdom that restores what was lost when sin flooded the world. It shows the balance Progressive Dispensationalism brings to a debate where either/or can become a both/and, yielding a conceptual reconciliation that can serve the church's theology and its eschatological hope."— Darrell L. Bock,Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies,Dallas Theological Seminary(from the Foreword) This book defends a Progressive Dispensationalism reading of the church and Israel through a detailed study of Ephesians 1-3.Against supersessionism, it affirms that the church does not replace Israel. Against traditional dispensational readings that isolate the church from the Old Testament plan, it argues that Gentiles in Christ have been brought near to the covenants of promise. The church is neither Israel’s replacement nor God’s parenthesis, but the first manifestation of the new creation in Christ.The result is a careful defense of continuity and discontinuity held together. The church participates in the blessings promised in Scripture, while Israel remains distinct within God’s redemptive purpose. Read more