The Kingdom in History and Prophecy

by Lewis Sperry Chafer

Publisher:

The Bible Institute Colportage Ass’n

, 1936

Overview

In this volume, Chafer examines the phrase, “the kingdom,” and what it means in context of Scripture, life for the Christian, politics, and future events. Chafer looks at both Old and New Testament passages to discover what the Bible has to say about how to live in light of God’s Kingdom. In a systematic yet conversational tone, Chafer leads the reader through the Scriptures in a solid and theological view of this sometimes mysterious topic. The reader will understand the context and more of the implications of this doctrine.

Key Features

• Careful examination of doctrine by one of the most influential twentieth-century theologians
• Includes detailed table of contents
• Written by one of the key founders of modern dispensationalism

Table of Contents

• The Theme
• The Kingdom Covenanted
• The Kingdom Prophesied
• The Kingdom Offered
• The Kingdom Rejected and Postponed
• Present Truth
• The Church which is His Body
• The Bride, The Lamb’s Wife
• The Mystery of Iniquity
• The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven
• The Call of the Bridegroom
• The Olivet Discourse
• The Return of the King
• Thy Kingdom Come

Top Highlights

“Jews. A right division and application of Scripture demands that a portion of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus be recognized as belonging to the divine covenants with one nation in which Gentiles have no part (Eph. 2:11, 12). During these ministrations Gentiles were not in view (Mt. 10:5) nor can they be made to so appear by any fair method of interpretation.” (Page 17)

“Following the Roman Catholic interpretation, Protestant theology has very generally taught that all the kingdom promises, and even the great Davidic Covenant itself, are to be fulfilled in and through the Church. The confusion thus created has been still further darkened by the failure to distinguish the different phases of kingdom truth indicated by the expressions ‘kingdom of heaven,’ and ‘kingdom of God.’” (Page 5)

“This, like the Sermon on the Mount, is an appeal for a righteous life and cannot be confused with the present terms of salvation without nullifying the grounds of every hope and promise under grace. The present appeal to the unsaved is not for better conduct: it is for personal belief in, and acceptance of, the Saviour.” (Page 48)

“The New Testament reveals the present age as a parenthesis in the prophetic program during which the Church is called out from among the Gentiles, a stranger and pilgrim body, belonging to the kingdom of God, but in no sense identical with the kingdom of heaven.” (Page 6)

“‘The church which is his body’ began to be formed at Pentecost through the new ministries of the Spirit.” (Page 79)

Praise for the Print Edition

No subject was more dear to the heart of Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer than the teaching of the Scriptures on the spiritual life.

—John F. Walvoord, president of Dallas Theological Seminary

I welcome therefore this present book on these fundamental truths. Having had the privilege of seeing it in manuscript, I bespeak for it the candid attention of all who are concerned for the truth of God.

—C.I. Scofield, in the preface to the 1936 edition of The Kingdom in History and Prophecy

I am glad of the privilege of calling attention to a presentation of the way of salvation which is certain to lead all who read it earnestly to a living faith in Christ, and then to a constant joy because of the abundant and assured provision of God for the Christian life.

—W. H. Griffith Thomas, in the preface to the 1917 edition of Salvation

Product Details

• Title: The Kingdom in History and Prophecy
• Author: Lewis Sperry Chafer
• Publisher: The Bible Institute Colportage
• Publication Date: 1915
• Pages: 167

About Lewis Sperry Chafer

Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952) was a Presbyterian clergyman, an educator, and the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary (originally Evangelical Theological College) in 1924, where he served as president and professor of theology until his death in 1952. Chafer was ordained in 1900 and traveled as an evangelist for 14 years before becoming a Bible lecturer from 1914–1924. Some of his most notable students include C. C. Ryrie, J. Vernon McGee, John Walvoord, and many others.

Chafer authored the eight-volume Systematic Theology, which was the first dispensational, premillennial systematic theology ever published. Several of Chafer’s other writings, such as Dispensationalism, Satan, and The Kingdom in History and Prophecy, can be found in the Lewis Sperry Chafer Collection (9 vols.). He also served as the editor of Bibliotheca Sacra, which was acquired by Dallas Theological Seminary in 1933.