{"id":248,"date":"2005-08-07T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-07T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/top-ten-books-responding-to-le.html"},"modified":"2005-08-07T09:11:00","modified_gmt":"2005-08-07T09:11:00","slug":"top-ten-books-responding-to-le","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/top-ten-books-responding-to-le.html","title":{"rendered":"Top Ten Books: Responding to Left Behind"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Since the Left Behind series has come out, I have been asked hundreds of times “What do you think of the Left Behind series?” My answer has always been something like this: “I disagree completely with how they understand prophetic language.” Here’s where the problem begins, because they always then ask, “What should I read to gain another view?” The following list is the sort of thing I mention, and you may have others. Feel free to comment. I’ve only linked to one of these books; you can chase down any you’d like to purchase or read.<\/p>\n

1. B.M. Metzger, Breaking the Code.<\/span><\/a> This is a lay-level, readable commentary on Revelation.<\/p>\n

2. G.B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible<\/span>, chps. 12-14. A definitive study on the nature of eschatological language.<\/p>\n

3. P. Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More<\/span>. A leading American historian charts the relationship of American politics and dispensational eschatology.<\/p>\n

4. G.E. Ladd, The Blessed Hope<\/span>. Ladd contested dispensationalism in the 50s and this book had a major influence. One of my college teachers told me he would not recommend this book because, as he said it,”it was too good.”<\/p>\n

5. R.H. Gundry, The Church and the Tribulation<\/span>. In the 70s Bob Gundry furthered the thinking of Ladd with a book that studied each significant biblical text. For awhile many thought this book might have ended the dispensational grip.<\/p>\n

6. R.T. France, Matthew<\/span> (Tyndale Commentary on Matthew; read his section on Matthew 24:29-31)<\/p>\n

7. R.C. Sproul, The Last Days according to Jesus<\/span>. A mild preterist (already fulfilled) view.<\/p>\n

8. S. McKnight, “Catching the Wave, or Facing the Tsunami?”<\/a> My own public lecture on how I understand the eschatology of Jesus\/Matthew 24.<\/p>\n

9. A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future<\/span>. A good study of what the Bible says about the future from an amillennial (millennium is a metaphor) point of view.<\/p>\n

10. Carl E. Olson, Will Catholics be Left Behind?<\/span> A former fundamentalist now RC convert responds to the Left Behind series.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of things to read, and I just hope that there are enough pastors who will resist this latest trend to think about the future in the terms of dispensationalism. I once thought of writing a book that responded to the Left Behind series and gave it the title: “Still Here (and loving it).” A little cheeky? Yes, perhaps. But, it is annoying to see a view gain such an influence when many evangelical scholars know it is not supported by careful exegesis.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the Left Behind series has come out, I have been asked hundreds of times “What do you think of the Left Behind series?” My answer has always been something like this: “I disagree completely with how they understand prophetic language.” Here’s where the problem begins, because they always then ask, “What should I read…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-ten-lists"],"yoast_head":"\nTop Ten Books: Responding to Left Behind - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/top-ten-books-responding-to-le.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Ten Books: Responding to Left Behind - 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