Israel Forsaken: Eschatology in the Psalms – I’m going to do something whacky (which isn’t foreign to me). I’m recommending two books I actually haven’t quite read yet. It isn’t the first time I’ve done this. For another instance, see my review of William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour.
Book One
The first book I want to briefly talk about is called Forsaking Israel– How it Happened and Why it Matters. If you’re a Reformed Futuristic Premillennialist who loves Israel, you ought to enjoy this book. If you’re Reformed Amillennialist-Postmillennialist, it probably won’t change your mind. But if you believe Scripture means what it says about God’s attributes and you’re willing to listen honestly, it should challenge your thinking regarding God’s love for, and promises to, National Ethnic Israel. For those who for any reason don’t want to click the link, I’ve provided a preview of the Contents below.
Part One: How it Happened
- The Curious Case of the Church Fathers and Israel (Pettegrew)
- Augustine: From the “Not Yet” to the “Already” (Burggraff)
- Israel and the Dark Side of the Reformation (Pettegrew)
- Sovereign Election and Israel (Pettegrew)
- Covenantalism: Reading Israel Out of the Biblical Covenants (Pettegrew)
Part Two: Why it Matters
- An Assessment of Covenant Theology (Pettegrew)
- Dispensationalism: A Step Up for the “Israel of God” (Pettegrew)
- A Whale and an Elephant (Bookman)
- The Messiah’s Lecture on the Future of Israel (Pettegrew)
- The Gathering of Israel: A Nineteenth Century Perspective (Bishop William Nicholson)
- “In This Way, All Israel Will Be Saved” (Davey)
Appendix A: The Nature of the Old Testament Theocracy (Bookman)
Appendix B: Worldview Dissonance (Bookman)
I’ve done a speed-run on some chapters and skimmed sections in others. This book is a feast. I like what I see. The authors (mainly Larry Pettegrew) have done excellent work in identifying the processes involved in the church’s wrongful acquisition of Israel’s identity – and argued well for why it is unbiblical and contra God’s plan for future redeemed National Israel.
At one point Pettegrew notes that we can no longer speak the word “dispensationalism” in polite company. Pretribulational premillennial eschatology is especially widely seen as a populist movement sustained by popular prophecy novels. He suspects many are convinced that supersessionism is a necessary outcome of embracing the doctrines of grace. Forsaking Israel is designed to refute these premises.
Eschatological Supersessionism has crept into some non-pretrib premillennial views. I’ve called it Israel Replacement Eschatology. This is when Israel is replaced by the church in prophetic passages such as the Olivet Discourse. Larry Pettegrew rightly noted prewrather Alan Hultberg’s statements in the book The Rapture, Pretribulation, Prewrath, or Posttribulation. Hultberg, a progressive dispensationalist, has said that Jesus “fulfills the role of Israel itself”. And that, “…for Matthew the church is viewed as in some sense the inheritor of the Jewish Kingdom…”
Hultberg’s position has ramifications for the non-pretrib premil understanding of the identity of the elect in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:2, 31 etc). Ironically Robert Saucy, another progressive dispensationalist, seemed closer to traditional dispensationalism in this area than Hultberg.
Chapter 10 provides an account of Bishop William Nicholson’s 19th century interesting essay on the gathering of Israel. Nicholson recognized the elect in the OD as being ethnic Israel; he correctly noted more than one gathering of Israel, and notably this was long prior to the 1948 restoration of national Israel. He believed in the plain-sense of prophetic passages about Israel.
Get this book.
Book Two
The next book is called The Message of the Psalter – An Eschatological Programme in the Book of Psalms (1997). The author is David C. Mitchell. You can find out more about the book on his website HERE.
I began reading the Psalms as a daily devotional for comfort a few years ago. I quickly began seeing eschatological elements relating to future Israel within the Psalter. On Dr. Walter Kaiser’s recommendation I bought O. Palmer Robertson’s book The Flow of the Psalms. Unfortunately, Robertson is a supersessionist. While I gained from reading his book, he missed the eschatological plot. It was disappointing. The same can be said of Alec Motyer’s Psalms by the Day. Both books could have been so much better.
Mitchell’s The Message of the Psalter is what I’ve been looking for. The downside is that it is an academic work and over my pay grade in some sections. So this isn’t going to be the sort of book that people will rush out to buy. However, I believe persistence will pay off. Because some editions lack the huge Appendix (two parts), Mitchell provides a link to a download. See especially Appendix 2 for the eschatological Scriptures.
A summary from the website:
It [the book] proposes, in ten chapters, that the Psalter has been redacted to reflect a programme of eschatological events like that of Zechariah 9-14. These events include the ingathering of exiled Israel by a bridegroom-king; his establishment of a kingdom, followed by his violent death; the scattering of Israel in the wilderness, and their subsequent regathering and further imperilment; their rescue by a king from the heavens, who establishes his kingdom from Zion, brings peace and prosperity to the earth and receives the homage of the nations.
This book may not be for everyone. But it deserves attention.
In conclusion
We can trust God because He is immutable; cannot deny Himself (Ezek 36:22-23), and hence is faithful to His promises. If we Christians can trust Him for our salvation, He can be trusted to redeem national Israel (Zech 2:8; Rom 8:38-39). The Lord will one day return to establish His Millennial Kingdom. Part of the end-of-this-age plan is to re-establish Israel as a saved nation. Are we seeing portents of this today? I think this is a distinct possibility. Let’s pay attention to Israel.
Maranatha!
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