An Uncertain Sound
Surely . . . the Church lacks a unified voice and is trumpeting an “uncertain sound” in the area of eschatology. Consequently, “who shall prepare himself for the battle?” (1 Cor. 14:8).
But in the wise words of John Warwick Montgomery, “the search for truth can never be limited to the categories of a single modern school of thought.”
Likewise, George Eldon Ladd recognized the wisdom of a multi-view and strategic perspective when he cautioned: “the easiest approach . . . is to follow one’s own particular tradition as the true view and ignore all others, but intelligent interpreters must familiarize themselves with the various methods of interpretation that they may criticize their own views.”
I have simply taken Montgomery’s and Ladd’s advice one step further—onto a solution of synthesis. . . .
No one, however and in my opinion, has better epitomized our current eschatological dilemma and my hope for this synthesis approach than Frances A. Schaeffer with this profound insight:
“The history of theology is all too often a long exhibition of a desire to win. But we should understand that what we are working for in the midst of our difference is a solution—a solution that will give God the glory, that will be true to the Bible, but will exhibit the love of God simultaneously with his holiness.”
It is toward such a solution that this book is directed. At the least, I believe the solution of synthesis presented herein can be an effective catalyst for discussion. At the most, I believe it has massive potential for reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18b).
Flawed views of eschatology have menaced the world and discredited the Church long enough. But only God can bring about this unity of doctrine.
If He so chooses, it could produce a reformation greater and more far-reaching than the Protestant Reformation spawned by Martin Luther and others in the 16th century.
What do you think?
(Excerpted from “Unraveling the End: A balanced scholarly synthesis of four competing and conflicting end-time views.”)