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Book Review- From Eden to the New Jerusalem

eden

One of the dangers for students of the Bible is to get so into details that we end up forgetting how these details fit together. It is not to say that the details are bad, for we love the details. However, if we don’t have a comprehensive understanding of the big picture and how the various details fit together, then how much do we really understand these seemingly unrelated facts?

This is a good tension to realize and address. To help us in doing so T. Desmond Alexander has written a terrific book entitled From Eden to the New Jerusalem. And as the title suggests it is a study that begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. It is a study called thematic biblical theology. That is, he tackles the Bible’s meta-story of creation, fall, redemption and runs it through the various books to understand their contribution to the big story, or the whole.

Here is one of the quotes that impacted me:

God’s original blueprint is for the whole earth to become a temple-city filled with people who have a holy or priestly status. Tragically, the actions of Adam and Eve endanger the fulfillment of this project. In spite of this, God graciously and mercifully embarks on a lengthy process designed to reverse this setback and bring to completion his creation scheme. pp. 30-31

The treasure in a book like this is its simplicity. Alexander is not writing too far above us. He takes the themes and chases them down through the Scriptures while providing us with a better understanding of God’s character, our sin, our Redeemer, and our hope. In this sense it is wonderfully profound. It is a book that helps change the way you look at your Bible, not in a bad sense, but in a good one.

Many times I get asked by people for a good book on Biblical Theology and there are several (see here, here, here, and here). But, sometimes they ask for something a little more entry level, something for them to cut their teeth on. This book is a great place to start. From Eden to the New Jerusalem will not let you down.

Good deals abound on this book; see Amazon and then Westminster.

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