J. Dwight Pentecost - Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology

A STUDY IN BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY

Introduction by John F. Walvoord

The day in which we live has witnessed a surge of interest in Biblical Eschatology. Whereas a generation ago one theologian wrote: Eschatology is usually loved in inverse proportion to the square of the mental diameter of those who do the loving, The theologian who, a short generation ago, could either ignore eschatological questions entirely, or treat them disdainfully, is outmoded in his thinking if he adopts such an attitude today. The easy optimism of the past generation has been shattered by two world wars, depression and inflation, with the accompanying social and moral evils. The humanistic emphasis that characterized that theological thinking has proved fallacious. Realism has taken the place of optimism, and men have been forced to turn to eschatological considerations as the source of hope for a sin-cursed world. The Bible and the revelation it contains proves to be the one source of hope and confidence for the future, and men are turning more and more to it for light in the present darkness.

God, the architect of the ages, has seen fit to take us into His confidence concerning His plan for the future and has revealed His purpose and program in detail in the Word. A greater body of Scripture is given to prophecy than any other one subject, for approximately one-fourth of the Bible was prophetic at the time it was written. That portion is devoted to the unfolding of Gods program. Because of its prominence in Scripture it is only natural that much should have been written on the subject, and many excellent books have appeared dealing with prophetic subjects. However, the treatment of prophecy has generally been either apologetic or expository, and the themes have been developed individually apart from their relation to the whole revealed program so that much of our knowledge has been fragmentary and unrelated. There has been little attempt to synthesize the whole field of prophecy into a unified Biblical doctrine and there is a great need for a synthetic study and presentation of Biblical prophecy. In an effort to meet this need the author has attempted in this volume to synthesize the prophetic Scriptures into a systematic and complete Biblical Eschatology.

Grateful acknowledgment is given to the faculty of the Dallas Theological Seminary to whom these studies were first presented as a doctoral dissertation and by whose permission they are now presented in this form. Special appreciation is expressed to Dr. John F. Walvoord, President and Professor of Systematic Theology in that seminary, under whose personal guidance these studies were pursued, and to Dr. Charles C. Ryrie, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, who read and corrected the manuscript. Deep appreciation is expressed to Miss Nancy Miller for her work, rendered as unto the Lord, in typing the manuscript, and to Mr. and Mrs. James H. Kelley for their material assistance in the publication of this volume.

In trying to cover a large field of study as succinctly as possible the author has made extensive use of summary material gleaned from others. Acknowledgment is therefore gratefully made to those authors and publishers whose works have contributed much to the thought of these pages.

May God the Father, who gave His Son, through whose first coming we were given salvation and through whose second coming we will be brought to glory, and who gave His Holy Spirit, through whom He will shew you THINGS TO COME, be pleased to use this book to His glory as many are brought to a knowledge of His truth.

J. Dwight Pentecost,

Assistant Professor, New Testament Literature and Exegesis,

Dallas Theological Seminary

3909 Swiss Ave.,

Dallas, Texas

Walter Rauschenbush, A Theology for the Social Gospel, p. 209.

Henry P. VanDusen, A Preview of Evanston, Union Seminary Quarterly Review, IX:8, March, 1954.

Biblical Eschatology is the capstone of systematic theology. It is not only climactic, the terminus and consummation of theological study, but the presentation of eschatology is also the supreme demonstration of theological skill. Here as in no other field, except perhaps the doctrine of the person of Christ, are the important tools of exegesis, synthesis, hermeneutics, and theological system displayed. The fine judgment necessary to discern that which is to be literally interpreted in contrast to spiritual and allegorical interpretation is demanded. The consistency of the entire revelation of God contained in the Old and New Testament must be maintained. The intricate details of prophecy must be related without contradiction. A careful distinction must be observed between that which is certainly and plainly revealed and that which is still obscure. Major issues must be distinguished from minor points. The field of investigation must necessarily embrace both fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy, the former providing an important guide to the character of prediction embraced in the latter.

Eschatology more than any other major field of theology has suffered much at the hands of its interpreters. Even among those whose confidence in the inspired Word of God is unquestioned there exist widely divergent schools of interpretation. For this reason, some theologians have contented themselves with presentation of the few major events of eschatology such as resurrection from the dead, the second advent, and the final judgment, to the neglect of vast portions of Scripture which deal with other prophetic matters.

Though many learned men have written in the field of eschatology to provide that which is usually lacking in standard theologies, few if any have attempted a detailed presentation of premillennial eschatology such as is provided in this volume. Dr. Pentecost has with rare skill dealt with many controversial issues, has met and solved many prophetic problems, and has provided in large measure the substance of the prophetic Word in systematic and theological form. He has condensed a mass of material often not contained in even larger prophetic libraries and has offered his own solution to many debatable points. In large measure, his conclusions are shared by the great body of premillenarians. The work as a whole merits classification as a standard and comprehensive text in Biblical Eschatology and should serve our generation in this capacity for many years to come.