John Owen, 1616-1683 - Owen wrote 24 volumes, and only 23 have been available in reprint. Biblical Theology had been in Latin, and this is the first-ever English edition, translated by Dr. Stephen Westcott. It contains six sections, tracing theology from Adam to the time of Christ. Appendixed is Owen's Defense of Scripture against Fanaticism, which has much to say in the current discussions with Charismatics.

REVIEW: John Owen writes masterfully. The book is simply the finest work one can find on Biblical Theology; yes, better than Vos. There are areas Owen explores that no one else would dare go. He quotes heavily from the ancients in order to prove his points and, like his other works, he fully exhausts the subject. If you master this book you will be a fine theologian and, of course, you will have a great understanding of classical literature. I would put this on a list of the top ten Christian books available.

Trueman (Owen's best interpreter) writes: "Owen's Theologoumena Pantopada, sive, De Natura, Ortu, Progressu, et Studio, Verae Theologiae (now published under the title "Biblical Theology") embraces the whole of theology. This work has been neglected in the secondary literature, but, as Owen's most comprehensive statement of theology, it is of great importance to any understanding of his thought. The most striking thing about the work is its structure. Rather than choosing to express his theology using a synthetic arrangement whereby the order of topics follows the order of being, moving, for example, from God to Trinity to creation and so on, Owen chooses a more historically focused approach, moving from a definition of theology to discussion of the history of theology framed by the various epochs of biblical history: before the Fall; after the Fall; within the Noahic, Abrahamic, and Mosaic covenants; and under the gospel. The federal structure which Owen adopts in his Theologoumena Pantopada shows God as progressively revealing himself to his people through the covenants which have as their goal, and reach their fulfilment, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ." As a result of Owen's covenantal theology, there is, of course, a profound sense of continuity between the Old and New Testaments.