Should Christians support the modern state of Israel? How should we view Israel, the Jewish people, and the church? What makes Israel so special? Israel and the Jewish people always seem to be in the headlines. Terrorism. War. Antisemitism on university campuses and around the globe. Jews are the topics of conversation in podcasts, on school campuses, and in our homes. Yet Christians are wondering about the modern State of Israel and contemporary Jewish people. Are they related to the biblical kingdom of Israel and the ancient Jewish people of the Scriptures? Others question whether Jewish people are only God’s people of yesterday, or do they have an ongoing place in God’s plan? How does the Church relate to the Jewish people and why should Christians care about the Jewish people and their homeland? A biblical worldview ought to clarify our confusion and guide our viewpoints. How Should Christians Think about Israel? seeks to answer our questions, using a scriptural outlook rather than a political perspective. With the Bible as his guide, Dr. Michael Rydelnik takes listeners to ancient prophecies and their fulfillment in modern times, exploring Israel’s unique identity and the special role Israel will play in God’s plan. This essential resource provides clear and sensible answers to your questions about Israel and the Jewish people. Having served as Professor of Jewish Studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute for more than 30 years, Dr. Rydelnik is uniquely able to bring scriptural insight and practical positions to the controversial and confusing subject of Israel and the Jewish people.
Author
Dr. Michael Rydelnik is Professor of Jewish Studies at Moody Bible Institute where he has taught Jewish Studies and Bible since 1994. The son of Holocaust survivors, he was raised in an observant Jewish home in Brooklyn, New York. Michael trusted in Jesus the Messiah as a high school student and has been teaching the Bible ever since. A sought after speaker and teacher, Michael is a biblical scholar specializing in the Hebrew Bible, the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and biblical prophecy. Michael can be heard answering listener Bible questions every Saturday morning from 9-11 AM (Central Time), on Moody Radio's Open Line with Dr. Michael Rydelnik. He is a Resource Scholar for RBC Ministries and appears frequently on the Day of Discovery TV programs. He recently appeared in the Lee Strobel film The Case for Christ. Michael also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Dallas Theological Seminary, Talbot School of Theology and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Dr. Rydelnik is the co-editor and contributor, with fellow faculty member Michael Vanlaningham, of The Moody Bible Commentary, a one-volume commentary on the whole Bible written by the faculty of Moody Bible Institute. He is the author of Understanding the Arab Israeli Conflict: What the Headlines Haven‘t Told You (Moody Publishers, 2007) and The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic? (B&H Publishers, 2010). He has contributed to numerous books, scholarly journals and magazines. He served on the translation team of the new Holman CSB version of the Bible and has contributed to both the Apologetics Study Bible (B&H Publishers) and the Holman Study Bible. Michael graduated in Jewish Studies from Moody Bible Institute, earned his B.A. degree from Azusa Pacific University, his Th.M. degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, and his doctorate from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, focusing his studies on the Messiah of the Hebrew Bible. Michael and his wife, Eva (an adjunct faculty member at Moody, teaching literature, education and Jewish studies) live in a historic Jewish Chicago neighborhood. Israel is their favorite place in the world and they enjoy showing people the Land as often as possible. Michael and Eva enjoy black and white movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood, classic literature and hiking with their two collies, Feivel and Darby (especially in the Adirondack mountains of Upstate NY). The Rydelniks have two wonderful adult sons—who always call and write.
