Good Christians disagree about whether the people of Israel have a future in God’s plan because they have very different ways of understanding the Bible’s “big story.” Many Christians believe the people of Israel are important to the Bible’s story. But not all of them know why, other than to correctly declare “Israel is special” or “they’re God’s chosen people.” These are incomplete answers.

There are at least two reasons why we believe the people of Israel are a key part of the Bible’s “big story.”

To be a blessing. Israel is special because God plans to use her as a…

Several times in recent years, I have heard people who hold firmly to Zionism and traditional dispensational theology speak about the subject of replacement theology in a manner that I find somewhat perplexing.

While well-intentioned, they seem to think that this is a new doctrine that is now suddenly sweeping through our churches. I desire to deal with this matter here in as simple a format as possible. In order to do so, we must ask, and answer, the following questions:

What is replacement theology? How old is replacement theology? What is it that may be new about…

The coffee shop’s hubbub distracted nineteen-year-old Hani from the thoughts that troubled him. This Cairo hotel was a refuge. But the steaming cup before him could not quench the misery in his soul.

God Never Misses His Target

At the table behind him sat an American and an Egyptian. Hani could not help but overhear their conversation. The American urgently shared the gospel with his companion: “Jesus can forgive your sins,” the man insisted. “He died for you. He can…