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 PrintableVersion A case for AmillennialismUnderstanding the end timesNext stop - the Second ComingA CASE FOR AMILLENNIALISM Don't be daunted! A book on this technical and controversial subject is bound to be intimidating for those of us without formal theological training. But Dr. Riddlebarger acknowledges the problem and does an excellent job at making eschatology manageable. The sub-title of the book ('Understanding the end times') better describes its usefulness to the non-academic - the author defines key terms clearly, assumes little prior understanding, and puts all points of view. Yet his real reason for writing is to advance his own position - that there is not an earthly 'millennium' either before or after Jesus's second coming, as some argue. His convincing case is that the 'thousand years' described in Revelation 20 are a figurative description of the entire period between Jesus's first and second comings. The book is particularly hostile to dispensationalism - a view the author once held. He argues that the expectation of a 'rapture' of Gentile believers, followed by a period of earthly rule by a King of Israel, distorts many Bible texts. Riddlebarger shows very helpfully how, far from taking the Bible texts more seriously than others, dispensationalists actually handle Scripture badly, forcing New Testament texts into Old Testament patterns rather than letting the New interpret the Old. A Case for Amillennialism is not only rigorous in its handling of the key passages for this subject, but also in modelling how to understand apocalyptic writing faithfully. Despite this, not everyone will agree with the author's position on Romans 11 (which he himself acknowledges). There are a few minor ways in which the book could be made more helpful for the reader - for example, a reference work like this really should have an index - but the largest omission seemed to be the lack of a discussion about pastoral implications. Whilst the treatment of the subject is thorough, one is left tempted to ask, 'so what?' Riddlebarger would have done well to spell out the implications for ordinary believers - the difference that our expectations of the future (rapture, 'golden age' or increasing struggle, for example) make to our life in the present. This aside, A Case for Amillennialism deserves a place on every thinking Christian's bookshelf. It is an excellent introduction to the study of eschatology, and an effective antidote to the cold theology of some popular Christian writers today. Richard Bray © Evangelicals Now - March 2004 |
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