Eschatology: Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches

by D. Jeffrey Bingham (Editor), Glenn R. Kreider (Editor)

A compendium of biblical insights on the world of tomorrow and the hope to come We live today in a world whose problems far surpass our ability to manage them. Social unrest and growing intolerance at home, terrorism abroad, worldwide simmering ecological and financial crises—the changes escalating on this planet point to a daunting future. What we desperately need is hope. Hope is what the Bible offers. From Genesis to Revelation, it points toward God's coming kingdom beyond the sufferings and injustices of this present age. "The essays in this book provide an overview of 'the blessed hope' among the people of God," writes Timothy George in the foreword, "beginning with the Bible and continuing through the many challenges, reversals, and revivals of this hope in the course of Christian history." The twenty-eight contributors to Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches communicate biblical perspectives on what the future holds for the world and the followers of Christ. In four parts it For Bible students and readers who desire a deeper biblical understanding of the future, this book offers a multifaceted view of both the challenges and the promise that lie before us.

504 pages, Hardcover

First published January 27, 2016

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A compendium of essays on the future hope of Christians reflecting a dispensational premillenialist perspective.

Craig A. Blaising is a biblical theologian whose roots are in the Baptist tradition.He has taught at three southern seminaries in the U.S. and is known for his work in what is called "progressive dispensationalism." This volume of essays, a survey of scholarship around the "last things" was compiled in honor of his 65th birthday and certainly reflects this theological tradition at its best.

Discerning what theological persuasion the writers were coming from, I thought, "O.K. here we go, prophecy charts and predictions that our conflict with ISIS is the prelude to Armageddon." There is none of that in this book. Instead, what I found was good scholarship seeking to be faithful to scripture and relatively wide-ranging in discussing the history of eschatology through church history and the implications of this all for the church, organized into a comprehensive survey that I would suggest reflects the best of dispensational premillenialism.

After introductory essays that include a biography and curriculum vita of Blaising, the book is organized into four sections:

1. The Doctrine of the Future and Its Foundations
2. The Doctrine of the Future in the Bible
3. The Doctrine of the Future in the History of Christian Thought
4. The Doctrine of the Future and Christian Ministry.

Hence, the collection moves from theological foundations to biblical theology, to historical theology, and to pastoral and practical theology.

The first section includes a fine essay by Stanley D. Toussaint on the concept of hope and the profound basis the prophetic passages offer for hope that sustains endurance and joy. Then Charles C. Ryrie and John D. and Stefana Dan Laing address the eclipse of attention to the prophetic scriptures having to do with our future hope and the impact this has in the life of the church.

The next section explores the doctrine of the future in each part of scripture, essentially doing the spade work to construct a biblical theology from the whole of scripture about our future hope. It was interesting to see the historical books in scripture discussed by Gregory Smith, exploring the implications of the Davidic covenant and its statements about David's, and Israel's, distant future hope. If you want to find arguments for a future hope for Israel as a national entity, you will find it among this and other articles in this section.

Section three turns to historical theology with articles beginning with the early fathers and concluding with contemporary European theology, capped off by David Dockery's article on Millenialism in Contemporary Evangelical Theology, which gives one of the best explanations I have seen of a-, post-, and pre-millenial positions. It was interesting that while several essays concerned Reformed, Anabaptist, and Baptist theology, there was no treatment of eschatology in Wesleyan theology, and a mere subsection of the Contemporary European Theology devoted to Catholic theology.

The final section turns to pastoral and practical concerns. J. Denny Autry discusses the place of eschatological concerns in both preaching and pastoral care. For my money, the book should have ended with R. Albert Mohler's essay of contemporary challenges. Stephen Blaising's contribution on the doctrine of the future and the marketplace felt like an add-in to include Blaising's son in the collection. Mohler concluded his essay with these words, that should have ended the book:

"The rapid disappearance of cultural Christianity in our own time will mean that Christians may soon find themselves in a situation similar to that of the early church in Rome. Preaching the Lordship of Christ and biblical eschatology rooted in the arrival of God's kingdom will be considered culturally and politically subversive. Proclaiming a biblical eschatology that heralds the message "Jesus Christ is Lord" will lead to direct confrontation with the culture.

"While the disappearance of cultural Christianity is a cultural disaster, it is also a theological gain. It is disastrous for society because it will destroy a worldview most conducive to human flourishing. A post-Christian culture will be a very inconvenient place to raise your children, minister the gospel, or speak in the public square. Yet, at the same time, the evaporation of cultural Christianity may prove a theological gain for the church. Our lives and beliefs will only make sense if indeed Jesus Christ is Lord and our hope is not bound up in the city of man, but in a city to come. From a gospel witness perspective, that is a very convenient place to be."

This quibble with the order and selection of these last essays aside, I would commend this collection, along with Dr. Blaising's own work if you seriously wish to take the measure of dispensational premillenialist eschatological thinking today. This probably could be used as a basic textbook, or at least supplemental text in theology courses in Christian colleges and seminaries sympathetic with the dispensational premillenialist position. Rather than being about prophecy charts and sensational predictions, it is about the substance of Christian hope concerning the future of every believer, the church, Israel, and the world.

____________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Jalynn Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

About the Book:

A compendium of biblical insights on the world of tomorrow and the hope to come. We live today in a world whose problems far surpass our ability to manage them. Social unrest and growing intolerance at home, terrorism abroad, worldwide simmering ecological and financial crises--the changes escalating on this planet point to a daunting future. What we desperately need is hope.

Hope is what the Bible offers. From Genesis to Revelation, it points toward God's coming kingdom beyond the sufferings and injustices of this present age. "The essays in this book provide an overview of 'the blessed hope' among the people of God," writes Timothy George in the foreword, "beginning with the Bible and continuing through the many challenges, reversals, and revivals of this hope in the course of Christian history."

The twenty-eight contributors to Eschatology: Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches communicate biblical perspectives on what the future holds for the world and the followers of Christ. In four parts it explores: The Doctrine of the Future and Its Foundations The Doctrine of the Future in the Bible The Doctrine of the Future in the History of Christian Thought The Doctrine of the Future and Christian Ministry

For Bible students and readers who desire a deeper biblical understanding of the future, this book offers a multifaceted view of both the challenges and the promise that lie before us.



My Review:

The editors of this piece have really taken the most interesting essays and put them all together in a text that is truly thought provoking and incredibly diligent on the course of the end times and end times prophecy. In day that grows in hate and thrives in evil ways more and more each day. With each tomorrow superseding the day prior, we do need hope in abundance and very quickly. The world is scarier than it was even 10 years ago---and the only thing good that could come of it is Christ's return.


The editors have taken essays and commentary from 28 different collaborators and placed them together for seminary students and ministers and the like to glean from others the words of other individuals on the subject. It is interesting to read through a lot of these and see that our blessed hope is very near and dear to us. Times are getting bad but our God instructed us to not lose hope and that is what we are to do.


**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the author.

[Craig Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) has been the flagship seminary for teaching and training ministry leaders Dispensational theology. For years, under the leadership of men like Charles Ryrie, John Walvoord, and Lewis Sperry Chafer, DTS taught Classic Dispensationalism (CD). Now, for more than a decade, DTS is at the forefront of developing Dispensational theology under what is commonly known as Progressive Dispensationalism (PD). The key difference between CD and PD is the relationship and realization of the New Covenant to the present day Church.

One such leader of PD is Craig Alan Blaising. In celebration of his work on PD over twenty contributors, including Daniel L. Block, David S. Dockery, Timothy George, Paige Patterson, Charles C. Ryrie, and David L. Turner, came together to write Eschatology: Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches under the editorial leadership of D. Jeffery Bingham and Glenn R. Kreider (Kregel, 2016).

The Man

In regards to his Dispensational roots, Blaising was trained at DTS where he completed his ThM (’76) and ThD (’79). Upon completing his ThD he became an Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at DTS in 1980 where he finished as a Professor of Systematic theology in 1995. He then moved onto Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1995 where he would teach theology until 2001. Since 2002 he has been teaching theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he is currently the Jesse Hendley Chair of Biblical Theology.

His two primary contributions to PD have been Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church: The Search for Definition (1992) and Progressive Dispensationalism (1993) which he coedited with Darrell Bock. These books have made a lasting impact on the trajectory of Dispensational theology and showed that some of its proponents were trying to seek development within the system whether in response to criticism within or outside. What marked these books, thus allowing PD to separate itself from the CD of Ryrie, was their understanding of the present blessings of the New Covenant for the Church (and not just a future restored Israel).

The Book

As the title indicates, the book contains contributions which focus on the biblical, historical, and practical approaches to eschatology. The biblical approach is covered in the first two parts with a focus on general doctrinal foundations (Part I) and the doctrine of the future in various parts of the Bible (Part II). Part III covers a sprinkling of eschatological overview throughout church history ranging from the Apostolic Father and Origen to Jurgen Moltmann and more contemporary millennialism. The final section covers practical issues to which the doctrine of the future can be applied.

The overriding theme of the book is a focus on the hope given to believer’s in eschatology. Jesus is this hope and it is provided for us in his death, burial, resurrection, and future return. This theme of hope is present in almost every chapter of the book. Stanley D. Toussaint focuses his chapter on this concept and traces the idea from Genesis 3:15, where the hope is initially given, all the way to Revelation, where the hope is fully realized. Most books written on eschatology from a Dispensational perspective do not usually have this heavy of a focus on the hope Christ gives us in his return which is encouraging about this book.

There are two aspects of the books that stick out despite the encouraging focus on eschatological hope. First, there is an underlying, and almost overt at times, rift between CD and PD. As mentioned before, the defining separation between the two Dispensational systems centers on the present benefits of the NC. This becomes clear when one compares Ryrie’s chapter The Doctrine of the Future and the Weakening of Prophecy with the aim of the rest of the book. In less than six pages Ryrie argues that prophecy is weakened if we say that some or all of it is fulfilled now. Present fulfillment, he argues, “weakens the force of the entire body of biblical prophecy.” (73) This kind of statement cannot be supported and puts on in straight jacket when it comes to interpreting various prophetic passages and books. Prophecy is not weakened when it is fulfilled (even if that fulfillment is now), its fulfilled as Scripture said. It is not a categorical rejection of future prophecy to say that some of what was once thought to be future is in fact present. With the movement towards more present fulfillment of the NC within PD, Ryrie’s chapter seems a bit out of place in the whole book.

The second interesting aspect of this book, and more encouraging, is the very minor role Pre-tribulational Rapture theology plays. In fact, it is not even mentioned for the first 390 pages until Mark L. Bailey’s chapter The Doctrine of the Future and Dispensationalism. In it Bailey gives the standard defense for a pre-tribulation view. What might have been helpful for the book, and the position, is to include at least one chapter on historical background of the tribulation but some would argue that it would be hard to go back that far in time.

Near the end of the book David S. Dockery tries to reflect on the future contribution that PD makes towards millennialism. He recognizes that the rift within the Dispensational system has been on the timing and nature of the rapture and believes that “progressive dispensationalism is an attempt to bridge that divide.” (454) This seems to be the contribution, thus far, in regards to PD and eschatology; bridging the divide among Dispensationalist’s and between Dispensationalist’s and other views.

Eschatology: Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches is an encouraging book in that, coming from Dispensationalist’s, it focuses primarily on what ought to unite all eschatological views – the future hope for the world in Jesus Christ. Hope is the focus of all eschatological views and we ought to be able to at least acknowledge that no view has the corner on it.

I received this book for free from Kregel for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Tripp Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A difficult read for the lay man. Each chapter was written by a different author. Some authors wrote in a clear, easy to understand method. Other's wrote only to the smartest people on earth, which is not me. The whole thing was really, really, like really dry. As they say in the country, dry as a popcorn fart. I should have expected this from a college textbook.

That said, I learned more about church history and end times thinking in this text than in all other sources combined to date. So if you want to dive deep, and don't mind spending time looking up big inscrutable words, this one's for you.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

D. Jeffrey Bingham and Glenn R. Kreider, Eschatology; Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches (Kregel Academic, 2016). 501 pgs.
Eschatology (or the study of the end) has fallen on challenging times. What was once understood as a facet of the gospel intended to provide the Church with hope, has now become fodder for end times prognosticators. This shift in emphasis represents a system that relegates the discussion of Eschatology proper to secondary status since it is erroneously seen as theories about the tribulation, rapture, and millennium to the exclusion of emphasis on Christ’s Second Advent and the hope that is provided therein.
Eschatology; Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches, is a festschrift (a collection of essays written in honor of a particular scholar) dedicated to Craig Blaising in honor of his sixty-fifth birthday. Blaising’s work extended to theological method, Patristics, Wesley, but he is most notably known for his work in eschatology and more precisely Progressive Dispensationalism, hence the subject matter of this festschrift. This work is without the end time’s speculations that typically make up books on eschatology. Rather, I see this work as an attempt to make inroads with the blessed hope for which eschatology was intended.
The subtitle reads “Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches” outlining the focus of the book. The book is divided into four parts, the first being The Doctrine of the Future and Its Foundation. The purpose of this section is to orient the reader on key foundational concepts such as continuities and discontinuities between Old and New Testaments, the teaching of future things and their relation to the hope that is offered to the believer, and since eschatology hinges on biblical prophecy, this section offers a discussion on the weakening of prophecy which seeks to explain how future prophetic fulfillment is undermined, hence causing a “weakening.”
No work on eschatology would be complete without reviewing the subject matter in light of Biblical Theology. Part 2 provides such a treatment with discussions on Old Testament teachings of the future, covering the Pentateuch, historical books, wisdom literature, and ending in the prophets. The discussion continues into the New Testament covering the writings of John, the Synoptic Gospels, the writings of Paul, and Hebrews.
Having covered Biblical Theology, Part 3 discusses Historical Theology. In so doing, it traces the teaching of western patristic writers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origin, Athanasius, and Augustine and in the Reformation era, such authors as John Calvin and the Anabaptists. Other collective bodies such as the Baptists and contemporary evangelical theology are also dealt with. This treatment of historical theology helps the reader understand how the biblical data was understood in various traditions, eras, and among different Christian denominations.
Lastly there is the “Practical” approach mentioned in the subtitle. Part 4 rightfully concludes the work on eschatology with a section on how to properly inculcate eschatology into ministry. I realize this might sound foreign but it is important reminding us that all good theology is practical.
There is much to commend in this book. Primarily that the message of hope is central to the study of eschatology. It isn’t uncommon to find in works of eschatology a speculative approach accompanied by an argumentative tone that leaves the reader wondering how this is at all relevant to the Christian faith. Such an approach is detrimental to this important biblical teaching. In Paul’s first letter to the Church of the Thessalonians he mentions the reason for him talking about future things is because he doesn’t want them to be uninformed like those who have no hope (4:13). It is evident that Paul’s message about the future was a message of hope. He further says, later in this discussion, to use this message to encourage (4:18).
This book is not however without its problems. The Dispensational system from which Craig Blaising is very fond of, tends to be presupposed throughout much of the book. This might be appropriate considering this volume was dedicated in Craig Blasing’s honor. However, it would be in error to present this volume as “…helpful to the student seeking to progress toward an evangelical, holistic, integrative, systematic perspective on the doctrine of the future (p.32)” since this type of language assumes an unbiased presentation of the teachings found in scripture. From an evangelical perspective, the presuppositions found in the various forms of Dispensationalism impose discontinuities throughout redemptive history that are not necessarily revealed by Jesus or His disciples who seem to understand redemptive history as one continuous crimson thread of redemption. Thus, for those who come out of a Dispensational background or have a pre-commitment to Dispensationalism, there is much in this volume that you will appreciate.
Personal rating is 3 STARS out of 5.

JAMES https://acts242blog.wordpress.com/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”