The Promise and the Blessing: A Historical Survey of the Old and New Testaments

The Bible is a collection of writings that together tell a unified story. But exactly how do all the pieces fit together? In a single volume, The Promise and the Blessing connects the dots of the Old and New Testament books to reveal the big picture of salvation history. Organized chronologically rather than canonically, this book traces the flow of Israel’s history and shows how the New Testament proceeds out of the Old. It begins with God's creation of the cosmos and the initial problem of the fall of man. Then it traces God's solutions to that problem as he selects first one man, Abraham, then his line, and then the nation of Israel to provide the Messiah. Finally, it focuses on the Messiah himself and looks at how the gospel of Jesus was spread throughout the known world. The Promise and the Blessing is easy to use and ideal for anyone who wants to understand the grand narrative of the Bible. It features numerous photos as well as sidebars and brief, engaging "breakouts" with supplementary information. Maps, illustrations, summaries, and insightful notes help to illuminate the text. Field-tested in the classroom, The Promise and the Blessing is designed for Old and New Testament survey classes and will provide all readers of the Bible with a better understanding of how the drama that began in Eden winds through Israel's history to its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.About the AuthorMichael Harbin (ThD and ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the chair of the biblical studies, Christian education, and philosophy department at Taylor University. The author of To Serve Other Gods, Michael lives in Upland, Indiana.