Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology [Hardcover]

Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1994

One's view of Israel is key in determining one's theology. This groundbreaking study investigates four approaches to the theology of Israel Past, Present and Future, and scrutinizes beliefs that tend to confuse the identities of both Israel and the Church. The Biblical Evangelist called Israelology a "tremendous, masterful book... Amillennialism, postmillennialism and other forms of Covenant Theology go up in smoke under the withering blaze of biblical light Fruchtenbaum places on them

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thankfully someone has finally taken the Biblical material on Israel and systematized it... presented it in such a helpful form." -- George Zeller

"This book is a 'must have,' 'must read,' and 'must reference.' " -- Glenn W. Campbell, Journal of Grace Evangelical Society, Spring 1994

"This is a tremendous, masterful book on a subject which is either lightly treated or completely ignored." -- The Biblical Evangelist, December 1, 1989

About the Author

Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum was Born September 26, 1943 in Russia, after his father was released from a Communist prison. Even though he is Jewish, his father was accused of being a Nazi spy when he fled Poland from Hitler. The Fruchtenbaums escaped from behind the Iron Curtain with help from the Israeli underground. They resided in Germany from 1946 to 1951, where Arnold received orthodox Jewish training. The Fruchtenbaums immigrated to Brooklyn in 1951, where they first came in contact with the American Board of Missions to the Jews (now Chosen People Ministries). At age 13, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum became a believer in the Messiahship of Jesus. Arnold's father strongly opposed his beliefs, however; he allowed Arnold to continue associating with and learning from other Jewish believers until the family moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Once in Los Angeles, Arnold was forbidden to read the Bible, attend Christian meetings, or have anything to do with Messianic Jewish groups. Arnold, however; continued to maintain contact with Jewish believers and to walk with the Lord as best he could. Upon his graduation from High School, he was informed by his father that he would have to leave home because of his beliefs. In 1962, Arnold began undergraduate education at Shelton College. In 1966 He transferred to and graduated from Cedarville University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hebrew and Greek. He moved to Israel that July, and studied archaeology, ancient history, historical geography, and Hebrew at the American Institute of Holy Land Studies and at the Hebrew University. In September 1967, Arnold enrolled at Dallas Theological Seminary. He also began working as a missionary with the American Board of Missions to the Jews. He graduated in 1971 with a Master of Theology degree. In June 1968, he married Mary Ann Morrow. In 1971, they moved to Israel, settling in Jerusalem. They worked with the local messianic congregation training young Israeli believers for service. His activities for Messiah drew the anger of the religious authorities in Jerusalem, finally forcing them to leave Israel in 1973. For the next two years he was a minister for the American Board of Missions to the Jews, and editor of The Chosen People. In 1976, he joined the staff of The Christian Jew Foundation as Associate Director of the largest Messianic Jewish broadcasting ministry in the world. In the summer of 1976, Arnold, along with others in Jewish missions, discussed the lack of discipleship and intensive biblical and theological training of Jewish believers. The early concepts of Ariel Ministries were born at that time. In December 1977 Ariel Ministries became a reality based on the principles of evangelism and discipleship. Arnold now serves as the director of the ministry. In 1989, Arnold completed his Ph.D. at New York University. He is the author of several books and has contributed articles in a number of books and journals. Frequently in demand as a conference speaker and teacher, he has traveled throughout Europe, Asia, Israel, and the United States, becoming intimately acquainted with the Messianic Jewish movement.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1052 pages
• Publisher: Ariel Ministries; Revised edition (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914863053
• ISBN-13: 978-0914863052
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Israelology: An important study for faithful Christians, September 30, 2001

By 

Doulos (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology (Hardcover)

Recommendation:

Highest Rating for believers who want to gain more insights and learned understanding into their faith, its origins and purposes.

Summary:

Dr. Fruchtenbaum's unique and very Jewish research fills a very dangerous (replacement theology) and limiting void (actually canyon) in Christian understanding and perspective. As Christians, we look at the bible through our own limited gentile eyes, and interpret everything as if it belongs specifically to us. But, Dr. Fruchtenbaum goes through the other 90% of the bible that specifically deals with Israel (the true vine, the chosen people, the people of the covenant ) and Abraham (the friend of JHWH). After all, JHWH's entire plan for mankind is through Israel. Christianity is only a temporary (but, very uniquely blessed) solution to Israel's temporary blindness (non-belief in Jesus as the Messiah).

As Paul writes "everything aforetime was written for our learning." The laws, sabbaths, history and prophecies. All of these Jewish items were written for us to learn and understand JHWH's plan and prophecies. But, this only occurs through Israel.

Review:

Dr. Fruchtenbaum's work, thoughts and writing style is logical, well-researched, deep and insightful. But, he writes so you can easily follow him and understand his subjects, arguments, and conclusions.

Dr. Fructenbaum takes the reader through the information, logic and interpretations and related verses in a manner that actually teaches the reader to improve their abilities to think (in terms of biblical interpretation). In completing this book, the reader will learn a great deal about Judaism and Christianity from the proper Jewish perspective and thought patterns. More importantly, the reader would learn how to read the bible effectively in order to logically understand the scripture and its deeper complexities and interpretations as well as learn how to think through what he has read in order to come to his own conclusions.

The book is thorough, deep and well resourced, well referenced with extensive bibliography and thorough biblical references, as well as direct references to bibliographical resources on each page.

If there is a drawback to this book (notwithstanding "A reader from Omaha, NE USA's" excellent November 14, 2000 comments) the book is deep, has a lot of information, and requires time and effort to go through (1052 pages!!). Conversely, Dr. Fruchtenbaum makes the journey easy and well worth the effort. Further, the book would not be as significant if it lacked these attributes.

A second drawback (ironically, opposite to the above) is that because the book is so extensive, it skims explanations and references to certain interpretations that are discussed within subsections of subsections. For example: in chapter X. "A Dispensational Israelology", section B. "Israel Present", subsection 1. "Israel Present", sub-subsection e. "The Mystery Kingdom" where Dr. Fruchtenbaum discusses the 9 parables of Matthew 13:1-53. Here he discusses the parables and their interpretations, but leaves out supporting references, ex. parabolic "birds" are symbolic of evil spirits (symbolic definition given by Christ himself in Matthew 13:18).

(Sorry, I coincidentally used the same pages to comment on as did the good reader from Omaha).

Please note that it would be far too much to ask Dr. Fruchtenbaum to give this detail as it would (at some point) interfere with the general mission of the book. But, it is an issue as readers dig deeper into the book's topics, research and interpretations non-the-less. It should be noted that in making this book Dr. Fruchtenbaum dramatically shortened his original 2,200 page tome. I can only suppose that the point above was induced to accomplish this dramatic reduction.

Final Note:

For readers who wish to gain additional insights into Dr. Fructenbaum's ministry and teachings, I recommend his audio tapes at ariel.org. Although, they have poorer audio qualities than other tape ministries, the tapes fully support the Dr.'s research and teachings.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Missing Link that Solves so Much..., June 26, 2005

By 

Matthew Lipsey "Pilgrimian" (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology (Hardcover)

Simply put, Israelology is the doctrine of Israel. It is what the Bible teaches about Israel...not what many in the Church want to call "Israel."

Most believers have at least some concept of what the Bible teaches about Israel. Unfortunately, however, such understanding is usually limited and somewhat general (if not "fuzzy") since the tendency among believers is to concentrate more heavily on other doctrines. The doctrine of Israel, it seems, is only addressed when it unavoidably intersects with other doctrines of the Bible, but even then the lack of a complete Israelology often leads to ambiguity, if not total error. Indeed, many theological fallacies can be traced to an incomplete, if not a totally inaccurate understanding of the doctrine of Israel. As Dr Fruchtenbaum clearly shows, Israelology is of no minor significance to a proper interpretation of the Bible.

In this work, Dr Fruchtenbaum presents the Israelology of four major theological systems: Covenant Postmillennialism, Covenant Amillennialism, Covenant Premillennialism, and Dispensationalism. He shows how each system's view of Israelology affects biblical interpretation; highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each system where they exist. He finally offers his own dispensational Israelology (which I believe ought to be published on its own, as it is superb in its analysis), effectively developing this doctrine which previous systematic theologies have failed to address completely, if at all.

Included in this work are discussions on:

*** The view of Israel (past, present, and future) in the teaching of the four major theological systems.

*** The Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian (Land), Davidic, and New covenants

*** The Kingdom of God program

*** Israel's rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua HaMashiach(Jesus) and its results and consequences

*** The relationship between Israel and the Church

*** Romans 9-11 and the Olive Tree, and

*** Anti-Semitism


In addition, appendices of this work include:

*** Discussion of Hebrew Christian / Messianic Jewish practice (in which he accurately and definitively critiques Daniel Juster's "Jewish Roots," its numerous failings and misunderstandings of both Scripture and Dispensationalism. Also, he answers clearly Juster's desire (and misuse of Scripture in this effort) that the Law of Moses still be in effect in "An Interchange on the Law of Moses and the Congregation." Juster's Theses are thoroughly and Scripturally answered/refuted. By doing so, Dr Fruchtenbaum in no way compromises his identity as a Jew who believes that Yeshua HaMashich (Jesus) is the Messiah, and actually brings to light Juster's identity crisis between the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants.

*** In Appendix 3 Dr Fruchtenbaum effectively answers critics about whether Jews should start their own Congregations. Many in the Church wish they would assimilate into Church traditions without any thought of their Jewish culture and its direct connection to the praise of our Lord.

*** Also included is a survey of the Hebrew Christian / Messianic Jewish epistles (Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude), which is now being published as its own book in Ariel's Bible Commentary.


An outstanding resource, Israelology presents a clear, comprehensive systematization of the doctrine of Israel; past, present, and future. This "groundbreaking" work is a must-read for all serious students of the Bible. I believe it is necessary reading for anyone who has a heart for Israel, and a heart for the salvation of Israel.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much needed book on a much neglected topic, November 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology (Hardcover)

Dr. Fruchtenbaum has masterfully written on the issue of Israel in systematic theology -- a topic often overlooked by Dispensationalists. His clear exegesis and well placed conclusions make for an easy read. His objectivity is also comendable. Dr. Fruchtenbaum takes about 300 pages to explain all non-dispensational perspectives. Very helpful!

There are two draw-backs to the work. First, while there is a handy scripture index in the back, there is no topical index. Since it is systematic in scope, oftentimes identical issues are discussed under different subheads. The lack of topical index in the back may have been due to the 18 page table of contents but an index in back would be very helpful in remebering where everything is located in the large, 1,100 page book.

Secondly, although this is a fabulous work, Fruchtenbaum occationally makes unguarded and hermeneutically hollow statements. For example, on page 613, refering to the three measures of meal in the Parable of the Leaven (Matt. 13:33), he writes that this passage is pointing "to the fact that Christendom develops into three main divisions: Roman Catholoicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism." This is inconsistent with dispensational bible interpretation.

All in all, this book should be required of all Christians who are ready for a little 'meat' in their diet.