Forsaking Israel: How It Happened and Why It Matters

by Larry Pettegrew

How is it that Israel has become so forsaken in the history of the church, and why does this matter today? With a mastery of the subject matter, the faculty of Shepherds Theological Seminary guide readers through the history of how the Christian church has been forsaking Israel from the time of the church fathers, to Augustine, and the Reformation, and then provide biblical and theological reasons to explain why forsaking Israel is so contrary to the message of the Bible itself.

Genres: Theology

400 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Sean Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read that many books about Dispensationalism. My Dispy beliefs come from a few basic definitions I've read and then reading the Bible (without bringing a system with me) and seeing God's promises to Israel. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and it is great. The authors provide more than mere primer on the Millers (Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, Amillennialism), but in a way that is accessible for a lot of interested beginners. I appreciated the demonstration of how the church has read "Israel" from the early church fathers and through the Reformers, and I appreciated the explanations of how Covenant theology needs to come to different conclusions about "Israel."

I'm holding back one star more as a personal problem, ha. I've come to really want more said about the fact that dispensational premillennialism insists that God's promises are working in "human history on this fallen earth," and yet so many Dispies are *very bad dualists*. We shouldn't be, on principle (hence Kuyperianism). Anyway, I do recommend this book to get familiar with many of the terms/arguments, and I'll be following some of the footnotes for further reading.

[Rev Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven’t been this emotionally torn over a book review in a long time. Do I love it? Do I hate it? Is it exactly what it should be but it just isn’t written for me and I just need to get over myself because everything isn’t written with Shawn Willson in mind and just because I didn’t like big chunks that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good book?
I don’t know! I do love the cover art and the formatting. It is a great looking book with a real good feel. So it has that going for it. The ending was excellent which change a lot of my views on this book but I just don’t know what to make of Forsaking Israel. It was 350 pages long but if it was 250 pages long, I might say it was excellent.
But I am guessing the author, Larry Pettegrew would have told me why those 100 pages are so important and I would probably agree but then still say. They may be important but I didn’t like them. You might just end up needing to read Forsaking Israel yourself because I don’t know how helpful I will be in my opinions.

Forsaking Israel by Larry Pettegrew and a few others tell the story of how and why the church Forsook Israel early on in our history, how Covenant Theology solidified that forsaking in granite and why you should follow the reasoning of Dispensationalism to bring Israel back.
The book begins by tracking how Israel was forgotten or replaced in the history of the church. It begins with the early church fathers and moves up through today’s Covenant Theology. I thought Pettegrew was accurate in his representation of the early church fathers and their almost immediate replacement of the church for Israel in church history. It was a very good representation. I think the only thing he missed, and I don’t know if anyone takes this view but myself. But in my own readings of Justin Martyr, I think there is an argument that one of reasons Israel was replaced or cast aside early on was as a reaction to the Jews persecution of the church.
While that wasn’t there, he was right on in how the church, in an attempt to argue for their own legitimacy to exist, cast aside Israel’s history to make it their own. His take on Augustine and the Reformers was also accurate and I felt like a good length as he covered their views without becoming overly long and burdensome to the reader. I think it is tough to balance the views of Luther and other reformers on how they saw the Jews. But Pettegrew gave an honest take.
The first 100 pages were very good. It was once he got into Covenant Theology where I felt like the book went off the rails a little. The problem was that Covenant Theology didn’t make any changes or advancements on the church’s view of Israel. The Covenant Theologians, for the most part, viewed Israel in the same way as Augustine, the Medieval Church, and the Reformers.
This means that when Pettegrew overviewed the history of Covenant Theology, which was good because it was so fair minded and even handed that I thought this book was Pettegrew’s coming out party and he had become a Covenant Theologian. If anyone complains that Dispensationalists reject Covenant Theology because they don’t understand – they should be pointed toward Pettegrew’s work here. It was an excellent summation of the views of Covenant Theology followed in the next chapter by an even better critique and Biblical examination of the views of Covenant Theology.
If you’ve never understood Covenant Theology and desired to know why Dispensationalists reject it – chapters 5-6 of the book are excellent.
My problem with these chapters is that they were entirely unnecessary, in my view, for the topic at hand. At times I forgot this was a book on Israel when going through those chapters. I believe Pettegrew could have cut them out and it would have improved the flow of the book of the arguments for the restoration of Israel in the teachings of the church.
In a 350 page book, nearly 100 pages in the middle did not serve the subject matter of the book in my view.
Now the remainder of the book, on the role of Dispensationalism very good. I could have done without the whale and elephant chapter. It was well written. The author made some good points on how Dispensationalism brings the most glory for God. I am personally just not a fan of those types of arguments, what I mean are the: Why Dispensationalism brings God the most glory? Or why Calvinism most magnifies God’s grace? Or why Covenant Theology is the most logical view of God’s decrees? I don’t like arguments that are based on what view does whatever aim the best because I believe they are too subjective and too often only resonate with those who hold the view of the writers. The points in the chapter were correct on how Dispensationalism brings glory to God. I just don’t think it will sway any Covenant Theologians to come over.
I really liked the chapter on the Olivet Discourse. Excellent, excellent stuff. The next time I walk through Matthew, I’ll be referring to Pettegrew’s work. Any Christian who struggles with their understanding of that teaching by Christ must read his work. Very good.
But what surprised me was that my favorite chapter in the book was a transcript by a sermon from a Reformed Episcopalian from 1878. I never expected to enjoy a sermon transcript for a 1900s Episcopalian but here we are. Bishop William Nicholoson spoke on the gathering of Jews to the land of Israel in 1878 in the same way a 21st century Dispensationalist would even though he never could seen any hope for the regathering of a secular Jewish nation in the land of Israel at his time.
The two installment gathering talk was basically prophetic. It’s easy for Dispensationalists to speak of that now because we have seen the establishment of the secular Jewish state in the land of Israel. Nicholoson hadn’t but his Dispensational view of the Bible led him to that conclusion even though it seemed impossible in his day.
Every Dispensationalist should read this sermon because it shows that taking the Bible literally both in God’s promises to the church and to Israel and keeping the two distinct as the Bible itself does, while it may be ridiculed by others in the church and seem nonsensical to many. This is how God is working in our own day. God is working to fulfill His Word to Israel so we must not forget them or replace them in the church.
So there were some wonderful moments in Forsaking Israel by Larry Pettegrew and the faculty of Shepherd’s Theological Seminary. I just wish they could go back and take out about 100 pages to sharpen up their arguments and keep them on point for the subject of Israel. This is a good read, every dispensationalist should read it.
And Lord willing, if you watch my review first, it might help you to avoid some of the frustrations I experienced in the middle of the book. But in the end I give it a strong recommendation.
The review is a transcript for a video review. You can watch the review on YouTube.com/revreads

[Spencer Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book out of respect for the authors (many of whom I had the great opportunity to study under). Challenging read in terms of the theological framework that surrounds issues such as dispensationalism. However, the authors did a great job in tracing the issues back through well recorded church history. If a reader isn’t in the back and forth between the dispensational view and supersessionism (and the spectrum in between), it is certainly worth reading for the historical accounts.

[Bo Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been extremely helpful in understanding the historical development of replacement theology. It is well researched and biblical and extremely charitable to non-dispensationlists. I would say it is a must read at best and a helpful read at worst for anyone who is interested and working through understanding theological systems and the importance of getting Israel right.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book three stars because the essays are well-written, and they provide a clear and robust statement of a dispensational perspective on Israel. I do not think that this book succeeds in its argument, but it is a worthy contribution to the discussion.