For Zion's Sake

by Paul Richard Wilkinson, Thomas Ice (Foreword by)

Overview

By locating Christian Zionism firmly within the Evangelical tradition, Paul Wilkinson takes issue with those who have portrayed it as a ""totally unbiblical menace"" and as the ""roadmap to Armageddon."" Charting in detail its origins and historical development, he argues that Christian Zionism lays the biblical foundation for Israel's restoration and the return of Christ. No one has contributed more to this cause than its leading architect and patron, John Nelson Darby, an ""uncompromising champion for Christ's glory and God's truth."" This groundbreaking book challenges decades of misrepresentation and scholarship, exploding the myth that Darby stole the doctrine of the pre-tribulation Rapture from his contemporaries. By revealing the man and his message, Paul Wilkinson vindicates Darby and spotlights the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of his theology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498251075
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	12/01/2008
Series:	Studies in Evangelical History and Thought
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Paul Wilkinson holds a BSc in Mathematics from York University, and a BA, MA, and PhD in Theology from Manchester University. He has studies at the International School of Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem, and is currently writing on philo-Semitism. He is Assistant Minister at Hazel Grove Full Gospel Church in Stockport, Cheshire.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Thomas Ice     xvii
Acknowledgements     xix
Abbreviations     xxi
Defining Christian Zionism     1
Introduction     1
Jewish Zionism     2
Religion, Art, and Folklore     4
The Centrality of Eretz Yisrael     4
The Jewish Question     5
Cultural Zionism     8
Political Zionism     8
Rebirth of a Nation     12
Christian Zionism     13
The Zionist Badge     14
The Fundamentals of Christian Zionism     15
Classifying Christian Zionists     16
The Church and Israel     17
The Land of Israel     19
Can These Bones Live?     22
Reviving the Hebrew Language     24
The Magna Carta of Christian Zionism     25
The Prophetic Clock of World History     26
The Midnight Cry     28
Antichrist and the Great Tribulation     31
The Third Temple     34
The Second Holocaust     35
Facing the Consequences     36
Israel and Islam     38
The Palestinian Hoax     41
The Jewish Roots ofthe Christian Faith     42
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem     44
In Conclusion     46
Christian Palestinianism     48
Introduction     48
Stephen Sizer's Conversion     49
Anxious for Armageddon     51
Zionist Apartheid     53
The Nazification of the Jews     54
The Charge of Anti-Semitism     55
The Biblical Legend     56
Hiding behind the Holocaust     58
The Institutionalisation of Christian Palestinianism     59
The Palestinian Messiah     60
Sabeel: The Nerve-Centre of Christian Palestinianism     61
Throwing Down the Gauntlet     62
In Conclusion     65
John Nelson Darby     67
Darby's Early Years     67
An Indefatigable Curate     68
The Catholic Millennium     71
The Prophecies of Pastorini     72
The Prophecy Man     72
Trinity College, Dublin     73
'My Kingdom is not of this World'     75
The Plymouth Brethren     76
The Plymouth Assembly     78
Powerscourt     80
Love for the Brethren      81
Darby and Newton     83
The Bethesda Circular     84
Darby's Response to the Rift     85
The Man behind the Message     86
A Man of One Aim     88
The Heart of Darby     89
Darby's Farewell     93
In Conclusion     94
Darby's Eschatology     95
Reading Darby     95
Jerusalem in Focus     97
Darby's Dispensations     98
Defining Terms     99
God's Dealings with Man     100
Israel and the Church     101
The Apostasy of the Church     103
Darby and the Bible     104
Darby's Convalescence     106
Church Tradition     107
Darby and Prophecy     108
Three Principles of Prophecy     109
Darby and Politics     110
The Scriptural Mirror     111
Covenant     112
The New Covenant     113
The Parenthesis of the Church     113
The Greater Inheritance of the Church     115
Restoration to the Land of Israel     115
Not My People, Always My People     116
The Feasts of Israel      118
The Second Coming and the Rapture     119
A Secret Rapture?     123
The Great Tribulation     124
Israel Renewed in Heart     127
Two Kinds of Christianity?     129
The Third Temple     130
The Jewish Remnant     131
The Faithfulness of God     132
In Conclusion     133
The Puritans     135
The Post-Apostolic Church     135
Apocalypticism in the Middle Ages     136
England and the Bible     138
All 'Israel' shall be Saved     140
The English God     140
Restorationism in Puritan Literature     141
Thomas Brightman: Muddying the Waters     142
Hugh Broughton     143
Sir Henry Finch     144
The Popularisation of Puritan Restorationism     146
Oliver Cromwell and the Readmission of the Jews     149
Captivated by Hebrew     150
Menasseh ben Israel     152
The Fifth Monarchists     154
Sabbatai Zevi     156
The Eighteenth-Century Awakening     157
In Conclusion     160
Nineteenth-Century Restorationism     162
The French Revolution     163
James Bicheno     163
Napoleon's Proclamation     164
George Stanley Faber     165
Signs of the Times     166
The London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews     167
Underlying Historicism     168
Edward Bickersteth     169
Charles Simeon     170
The Keystone of Prophecy     173
The Clapham Sect     175
The Albury Park Conference     177
Albury Historicism     178
Henry Drummond     179
The Catholic Apostolic Church     180
Hugh McNeile     181
William Cuninghame     181
Lewis Way     182
Edward Irving     184
The Lacunza Legacy     185
Irving and the Jews     188
The Rapture Controversy     191
Darby and Irving     192
Darby and MacDonald     193
Exploding the Myth     196
The Morning Watch     197
In Conclusion     199
Rediscovering the Land of the Bible     202
The Desolate Land     202
The Church of Scotland Mission     203
The Stones Cry Out     205
Edward Robinson     207
The Palestine Exploration Fund     208
Thomas Cook's Tours     210
Lord Shaftesbury     211
The Jerusalem Bishopric     214
William Henry Hechler     217
In Conclusion     220
Darby and the United States     222
The Balfour Declaration     222
A Window of Opportunity     223
The British Mandate     225
Arab Appeasement and the White Paper     227
America and the Jews     230
Colonial Zionists     230
For Whom the Liberty Bell Tolls     232
A Land of Milk and Honey     233
Noah and the American Eagle     235
Mission to the Jews     236
The Revival of Premillennialism     237
Preparing the Ground     238
Dispensationalism     239
Darby's Letter from America     241
Boston     242
Chicago     243
Brethren Literature     244
The Millerites     246
Darby's Farewell to America     246
The Bible and Prophecy Conference Movement     247
The Niagara Conference      247
The Fundamentalist Movement     250
Wearing Darby's Mantle     251
William Eugene Blackstone     252
Arno C. Gaebelein     254
Cyrus Ingerson Scofield     256
In Conclusion     257
Afterword     259
Appendix     262
Margaret MacDonald's Utterance     262
Bibliography     265
General Index     303

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Few dedicated Christian scholars have been attacked more unfairly than John Nelson Darby. . . . This well researched and readable book carefully sets the record straight and makes a valuable contribution to prophetic studies."
—Tim LaHaye, minister, educator, and best-selling author

"I highly recommend this excellent treatment of a controversial subject that has confused many."
—Dave Hunt, author, cofounder of The Berean Call

"This work should quickly become a standard on Christian Zionism and Darby's influence on this important movement."
—Mark Hitchcock, Adjunct Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and Pastor of Faith Bible Church, Edmond, Oklahoma

"For Zion's Sake represents a major step forward in the study of the origins and impact of Christian Zionism, balancing scholarly rigor with personal commitment in a fine work of historical and theological reflection."
—Crawford Gribben, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Print Culture, Trinity College, Dublin

"For any student of ecclesiastical and political history, as well as systematic and historical theology, this book is essential reading."
—Randall Price, Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, Liberty University

Editorial Reviews

"Few dedicated Christian scholars have been attacked more unfairly than John Nelson Darby. . . . This well researched and readable book carefully sets the record straight and makes a valuable contribution to prophetic studies."
—Tim LaHaye, minister, educator, and best-selling author

"I highly recommend this excellent treatment of a controversial subject that has confused many."
—Dave Hunt, author, cofounder of The Berean Call

"This work should quickly become a standard on Christian Zionism and Darby's influence on this important movement."
—Mark Hitchcock, Adjunct Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and Pastor of Faith Bible Church, Edmond, Oklahoma

"For Zion's Sake represents a major step forward in the study of the origins and impact of Christian Zionism, balancing scholarly rigor with personal commitment in a fine work of historical and theological reflection."
—Crawford Gribben, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Print Culture, Trinity College, Dublin

"For any student of ecclesiastical and political history, as well as systematic and historical theology, this book is essential reading."
—Randall Price, Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, Liberty University

From the Publisher