Who Owns The Land? A Book Review -- By: Thomas S. McCall
Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 08:24 (Aug 2004)
Article: Who Owns The Land? A Book Review
Author: Thomas S. McCall
CTJ 8:24 (August 2004) p. 156
Who Owns The Land?
A Book Review
President
The School of Tyrannus, Tyler, TX
Does modern Israel have a right to claim their ancient Biblical land in the face of Palestinian claims today? Should Bible believing Christians support Israel in its claims? These are the issues dealt with in this newly republished book. Here is the background.
An academic leader at Moody Bible Institute, Dr. Charles Dyer has republished a book called Who Owns The Land? originally written by Dr. Stanley Ellisen in 1991. The 2003 edition was updated and revised by Dyer. He is a Classical Dispensationalist (as are we), who had the unenviable responsibility of attempting to defend the Progressive Dispensationalists (PDs), whose influence in the classrooms continues to grow at Moody and at Dallas and Talbot Seminaries, and other previously strong Dispensational schools. PD blurs the distinctions between the dispensations, especially the Church Age and the Millennium, and in time develops a viewpoint that downplays Biblical prophecy in general and interest in modern Israel in particular.
Previous issues of the Levitt Letter, and the book my colleague Zola Levitt and I wrote, Battles with Seminaries, describe this disastrous theological development. In this article, however, we will endeavor to explain the main elements of this new book, Who Owns The Land?
To the credit of both Ellison and Dyer, they very clearly trace the history of the Jewish people in and out the Land, and God’s promise to Israel of ultimate possession and enjoyment of the Promised Land in the time of Messianic fulfillment, the Millennium. They make a very strong case for the inevitability of the
CTJ 8:24 (August 2004) p. 157
blessed future for Israel. If you want to know about the biblically prophetic future for Israel in the Millennium, this is a good book. Also, the book traces the Palestinian history and issues during the last one hundred years, and their involvement in various negotiations with Israel, and in the devastating terrorist attacks against Israel. If you want a compendium on these issues, this book is a good reference.
The primary issue, though, is the legitimacy of the current claims of Israel to the Land, and whether or not Christians should support the current nation. We are not living in the Millennium now, and we cannot require Israel to meet Millennial standards today before the Lord has returned to earth! Ellison appeared to be doing that when he originally concluded that we should have an “even- handed” approach to Israel and the Palestinians. Dyer improves on this by giving some reasons why believer...
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