These Brothers of Mine
A Biblical Theology of Land and Family and a Response to Christian Zionism
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
While the conflict in the Middle East continues to fester, many Christians advance a theology that perceives these events to be the hand of God. Has God truly brought the Jewish people back to the land in fulfillment of biblical prophecies? Must we truly bless Israel in order to be blessed by God?
Lost in the midst of the turmoil over the Holy Land reside Christian communities. Has the church--in an effort to see prophecy fulfilled--failed to care for the least of "these brothers of mine"?
This book steps into this controversial topic with several aims. First, Dalrymple answers two key questions: Are the Jews still God's chosen people? And does the Holy Land belong to them? Dalrymple contends that just as Jesus is the fulfillment of God's purpose for the Temple, so also Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham that he would receive the Holy Land and an uncountable number of descendants.
Dalrymple also responds to some of the common assertions set forth by Christian Zionists: "Many might still ask: 'Why should I care about what happens in Israel and Palestine?' The fact is that we must care. And we must alert the Church that we must care. Too much is at stake. We have Christian brothers and sisters throughout the Middle East in general and in the Holy Land in particular who have been directly impacted by our theological opinions. As a result, the Church cannot be silent. It must not be silent."
Rob Dalrymple is the pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Bakersfield, California, and the cochairman of the book of Revelation study group for the Ev"angelical Theological Society. He is the author of Revelation and the Two Witnesses (Wipf and Stock, 2011) and Understanding Eschatology: Why It Matters (Wipf and Stock, 2013), as well as numerous articles.
"Rob Dalrymple's book on understanding the theology of Christian Zionism is a remarkable tour de force . . . It offers a thorough engagement with the meaning of Israel in Scripture, and the significance of the consistent testimony of the New Testament that all of God's promises are fulfilled in Jesus . . . Rob's great strength here is addressing his opponents on their home ground, and giving a thorough response to alternative views. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to connect Scripture with the contemporary political situation."
--Ian Paul, Honorary Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham
"Dalrymple writes with the passion and insight of a person whose eyes have recently been opened to the dangerous results of their previous way of thinking. His overall biblical theology is convincing and is marked by a passion for Jesus--just as his application is marked by compassion for fellow Christians in the complex problems of the Middle East. The Bible may yet have the answer to those problems: read this book to find out how!"
--Peter Walker, Professor of Biblical Studies, Trinity School for Ministry,
"In These Brothers of Mine . . . in light of his own theological and spiritual journey, Dalrymple persuasively demonstrates that Jesus's person and work should shape our biblical theology of important topics such as God's people, the temple, and the land. Here you have a christocentric reading of the Scriptures that offers a much-needed corrective to a shortsighted and overly literalistic way of understanding how God's promises have been and will be fulfilled . . . I recommend it highly."
--J. Scott Duvall, Fuller Professor of New Testament, Ouachita Baptist University
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