Book Reviews on Future Events (Biblical Prophecy)

Michael J. Penfold

Views on future events are numerous, but which view is right? Pre, post or a-millennialism? Covenant and reformed or dispensational and pre-tribulational? Confused? Here at www.penfoldbooks.com we offer a selection of works from a dispensational viewpoint, all of which take a literal approach to Biblical prophecy.

 

Theologian and prolific author Dwight Pentecost has written two outstanding works on prophetic truth. His book Thy Kingdom Come is a terrific 300 page exposition of the doctrine of the Kingdom of God and how it relates to the covenants, Israel, the church, salvation and the millennium. His other major prophetic work, Things To Come (over 215,000 in print), is a classic 633 page hardback that has never been equalled in its scope and depth. In it Dwight Pentecost covers every conceivable subject and issue in prophecy from the rapture to the millennium, from Daniel’s 70 weeks to the day of God. Along the way he discusses a wide variety of views and point by point explains why he believes the pre-tribulational dispensationalism is the right one.

 

Another great author on prophetic subjects is Renald Showers. His book There Really is a Difference compares two systems of thought – covenant theology and dispensational theology. Which of these views a Christian follows will determine how that Christian understands the Millennium, the church, Israel, the relationship between law and grace and a whole host of other issues. Coming down in favour of dispensational theology, Showers does a fair and faithful job of presenting the options. His 280 page work Maranatha is subtitled A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church. It is indeed an exhaustive study, tying all the relevant scriptures together and putting the rapture in its proper place – before the tribulation.

 

Another tremendous work on the rapture is Kept from the Hour by Gerald Stanton (introduction by John F. Walvoord). This 422 page work discusses the main rapture views at length (pre, mid and post) and finds the pre-tribulation view to be the most scriptural. The book contains an excellent chapter called “Is the church in Matthew 24?”

 

In the Coming Millennial Kingdom, published by Kregel Publications, 14 different authors each contribute a chapter in favour of the pre-millennial coming of Christ. Each author takes up the subject from a chosen book of the Bible (“Evidence from Jeremiah” etc.) which makes this book uniquely helpful.

 

For two titles addressing the issue of pre-millennialism consider the following. For a small work try The Basis of the Pre-millennial Faith by Charles Ryrie. In the space of 160 pages, Ryrie does a persuasive job of showing that pre-millennialism is the correct view. For a more weighty, meaty and comprehensive work, read Millennialism The Two Major Views by Hebrew scholar Charles L. Feinberg, a highly recommended 400 page hardback.

 

Commentaries of prophetic books don’t come much better than John F. Walvoord’s contributions on Daniel and Revelation. Each book is over 300 pages long and involves detailed helpful exposition of each chapter on a verse by verse basis. Walvood was for many years at the head of Dallas Theological Seminary and was a leading light for a whole generation for the dispensational truth of scripture.

 

The little known prophetic view of preterism is refuted in The End Times Controversy by Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice. Actually there are 10 different contributors to this very handy volume and they do a wonderful job at exposing the faulty hermeneutic of the preterist view.

 

Much of the confusion about prophecy results from a faulty system of interpretation.  In other words, if one approaches prophetic scripture using an allegorical system of interpretation, a-millennialism will be the result. However, taking a literal approach to prophecy will result in the pre-millennial view. To help the reader decide which approach is right, The Interpretation of Prophecy by Paul Lee Tan is an excellent and worthy work.

 

The Bible’s information on future events can seem dauntingly complicated at times, so a book of charts can be very helpful. Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice’s Charting the End Times is a lavishly illustrated 50 chapter book containing 50 full colour charts of prophecy from a dispensational viewpoint. It illustrates and comments on all major aspects of God's prophetic plan for Israel and the nations from the Old Testament right through to the eternal state. While we are not impressed with the 'Left Behind' fiction series, we highly recommend this very user-friendly book. A huge improvement on Clarence Larkin's Dispensational Truth, which may be familiar to many readers.