I have, in this final week of holiday, just concluded reading one of the best pieces of critical, theological research that I have read for a long time; and moreover, written by a man 22 years my junior. But there is a maturity and commanding width of perspective in this work that excites and engages me in a way that few do. The work I refer to is that of a Weslyan Pentecostal scholar, Matthew K Thompson, whose revised doctoral dissertation has been published in the Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplement Series under the title, 'Kingdom Come: Revisioning Pentecostal Eschatology' (Deo Publishing, 2010).
Few contemporary Christian writers meaningfully grasp and present the hope that is held out to us in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thompson masterfully demonstrates how that terribly misleading and ill conceived invention of J N Darby in 1830 - the 'pre-tribulation rapture of Christians' - tragically popularised in the Schofield Bible and the 'left behind' series of Christian fiction, has distorted both the Bible understanding of Salvation through Christ as well as our understanding of what it means to live by faith in Jesus Christ. But more importantly, Thomson outlines a simple and credible, whilst thoroughly Biblical, perspective which is insightful and helpful for those engages in teaching, preaching and reflecting on the nature of the end- times and the significance of biblical prophecy for today.
Don't be put off by the rather stuffy sounding title of the book. The content is food for your mind and balm for your soul. Buy it and read it carefully. The Bibliography and footnoted references are also excellent and a good resource for students of what the Bible can teach Christians about a future to hope and live for.
Get it through a library, if you can. Very expensive to buy.
