A Basic Guide to Eschatology: Making Sense of the Millennium

A Basic Guide to Eschatology: Making Sense of the Millennium. By Millard J. Erickson. Minneapolis: Baker, 1998, 197 pp., $12.99 paper.

With the coming of a new millennium, many writers have capitalized on the "millennial madness" that is sweeping our world by writing books on the dark and foreboding aspects of the new millennium (e.g. Y2K). Fortunately, this is not one of those kinds of books. Instead, Millard J. Erickson, Distinguished Professor of Theology at Baylor University and Western Seminary (Portland), has sought to provide readers with an introduction to the various voices of the last two hundred years in the study of eschatology. This book is actually a second edition of his Contemporary Options in Eschatology originally published in 1977. However, this book contains some updated bibliographical references, most notably in the discussion of dispensationalism, in which Erickson discusses so-called progressive dispensationalists like Craig Blaising, Darrell Bock, and Robert Saucy in light of traditional dispensationalist understandings.

This short overview of eschatology discusses various voices in this much-debated area of theology from foundational themes of theologians like Schweitzer and Bultmann to current views. As is characteristic of most of Erickson's works, he guides the reader through a diverse maze of authors and positions with clarity and brevity while accurately capturing the spirit of the view he is addressing. By doing so, he provides even those whose views stand in opposition to his own with a strong background and clear arguments for their position.

His three-part division into background issues, millennial views, and tribulational positions provides a functional model for discussing many views in a few pages. Each view discussed contains a series of positive and negative critiques from the author based upon a Scriptural and systematic approach to eschatology. He honestly defines and critiques all the views, even the ones with which he seems to agree (in his conclusion on p. 183, Erickson states that posttribulational premillennialism seems to be the most adequate position to him), in order to give the reader a fair and accurate understanding of the positions discussed. Erickson does not directly address such personal eschatological issues as hell, heaven, or the intermediate state; rather, he limits his discussion to a systematic overview of global eschatological positions.

Erickson's bibliography is somewhat dated in places, with the exception of his discussion of recent trends in dispensationalism. Noticeably absent are post-1980 works such as Anthony Hoekema's articulate defense of amillennialism (The Bible and the Future) and Adrio Konig's discussion regarding the Eclipse of Christ in Eschatology. However, these omissions do not detract from the overall usefulness of this introduction to students, pastors, and teachers of theology. Newcomers to eschatology will likely find the first section of the book (background views) the most difficult and time-consuming to work through. However, Erickson's expertise and straightforward approach to such a diverse group of foundational scholars as Schweitzer, Dodd, Bultmann, and Moltmann make this section and the entire book well worth one's time.

Charles W. Christian

Canby Chapel Church of the Nazarene, Canby, OR

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Jun 2000
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved