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Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (An Exegetical and Historical Argument for a Pre-AD. 70 Composition), by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Th.D. The Institute for Christian Economics, Tyler, Texas, 1989. 409 pages, hardback. $24.95. Reviewed by the Rev. Grover E. Gunn, III, pastor, the Carrollton Presbyterian Church (PCA), Carrollton, Mississippi.
Judul Asli
1990 Issue 2 - Book Review - Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation - Counsel of Chalcedon
Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (An Exegetical and Historical Argument for a Pre-AD. 70 Composition), by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Th.D. The Institute for Christian Economics, Tyler, Texas, 1989. 409 pages, hardback. $24.95. Reviewed by the Rev. Grover E. Gunn, III, pastor, the Carrollton Presbyterian Church (PCA), Carrollton, Mississippi.
Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (An Exegetical and Historical Argument for a Pre-AD. 70 Composition), by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Th.D. The Institute for Christian Economics, Tyler, Texas, 1989. 409 pages, hardback. $24.95. Reviewed by the Rev. Grover E. Gunn, III, pastor, the Carrollton Presbyterian Church (PCA), Carrollton, Mississippi.
Book of Revelation (An Exegetical and Historical Argument for a Pre-AD. 70 Composition), by KennethL. Gentry, Jr., Th.D. The Institute for Christian Eco- nomics, Tyler, Texas, 1989. 409 pages, hardback. $24.95. Reviewed by the Rev. Grover E. Gunn, ill, pastor, the Carroll- ton Presbyterian Church (PCA), Carroll- ton, Mississippi. Myfirstrealexposure to a preter- ite interpretation of the book of Revelation was during the 1977-78 academic year. (This is the view that the prophecies found in the Book of Revelation have taken place, largely, in the past. In other words they have already taken place and are not, primarily, speaking of events which are still in the future.) I then attended a series of lectures by Dr. Greg Bahnsen at the St. Paul Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi. That extended series, which is still available through the Mt. Olive Tape Library, made me a convert. The difficulty I have had over the years since has been find- ing quality published material de- fending and explaining this posi- tion. I found J. Marcellus Kik's exegesis ofMatthew 24 most help- ful. TherewasB.B. Warfield's short I Jerusalem temple (A.D. 67-70); and 3) the Roman Civil War of A.D. 68-69, during which the Empire seemed to be in its death throes. Dr. Gentry reminds us of how tragic, cataclysmic and even un- thinkable these events were in their day. The basic point at issue is whether the Book of Revelation was written during the Neronim persecution and before the piece on Paul's eschatology which pro- other two events or after all three of these motes a preterite interpretation of the events and during the Domitian persecu- "man of sin" passage in ii Thessalonians tion. The difference between the compo- 2. And there was Jay Adams' small pre- sition dates advocated by the early and terite commentary on Revelation. Back late date positions is only about thirty when I was first wrestling with these years, and that does not seem all that issues, that was about all there was avail- significant a time difference in ancient able in print by respected Reformed writ- history. And it would not be were it not ers. Thankfully, the situation is improv- for the cataclysmic nature of the events ing. Andamajorpositivedevelopmentis which occurred during that thirty year thepublicationofKen Gentry's newwork, period and their relevance to the message BeforeJerusalemFell:DatingtheBook ofRevelation. IfRevelation was written ofRevelation. before these events, then much of the Dr. Gentry points out three earth shak- apocalyptic imagery can be interpreted in. ing events in the latter days of the apos- terms of these truly cataclysmic events tolic church: 1) theN etonian persecution, which occurred soon after the book was the first direct assault upon Christianity written. This would allow for a simple by a Roman Caesar (A.D. 64-68); 2) the andliteralfulfillmentofRevelation'skey Jewish revolt and the destruction of the statements about the imminent fulfill- The Counsel of Chalcedon March, 1990 page 22 ment of its prophecies. If the book was written after these cataclysmic events, then, except for the Domitian persecu- tion, there were no imminent events Which soon fulfilled much of the book's proph- ecy. One is then forced to interpret the book largely in terms of non-historical principles (the axiomatic interpretation) or in terms of much later historical events (the historical and the fUturistic interpre- tations ). Thus this book's dating dramati- cally affects its interpretation. Dr. Gentry challenges contemporary students of prophecy to take off their blinders and to consider with an open mind the evidence for a preterite interpretation of Revelation tied to an early composition date. Dr. Gen- tryremindsus thatjustafewgenera- tions ago, theearlydateviewwas the reigning opinion. He gives us an impressive list of scholars, both past and present, who have advocated this position. If so many luminaries have championed this view, surely the evidence is worth considering .,It is time for all students of prophecy to wake up and smell the coffee. The days arepastwhenastudentofproph- ecy coilld safely ignore the evidence for all interpretive systems other then his own, totally dismissing all such evidence as not even worth examin- ing, much less considering. In examining the dating question, Dr. Gentry deals with both externid lq'ld internal evidence. He remincJs us that this terminology can be de- ceptive. It gives the impression that we are here dealing . with. two equally weighty witnesses. Thatis not the case at all. When we say external evidence, what we are really talking about is church tra- dition. ADd internal evidence is just an- other name for the self-witness of Scripture. Sola Scriptura was the Protes- tant response to the Roman teaching that Scripture and traditiqn were equally au- thoritative of divine revela- tion. External evidence and internal evi- dence are certainly both important wit- nesses, but if we ever. have to choose between them, the proper choice is clear. When Dr. Gentry examines the exter- nal evidence for the late date, he convinc- ingly demonstrates that this is one of those cases where so much has peen built on so little. One gets the . picture of a pyramid turned on its head. The founda- tion of this inverted pyramid is one state- ment by Irenaeus, the church father known primarily for his polemic against gnosti- cism. Dr. Gentry gives us multiple rea- sons to take Irenaeus' one statement with a grain of salt. Jrenaeus was, in general, _; not the clearest of writers, and the mean- ing of this one statement is ambiguous. It is commonly translated to mean that the Apocalyptic vision was seen during Domitian' s reign. But the statement could also just as validly be translated to mean that the Apostle John, the one who saw the vision, was seen during Domitian's reign. Thus translated, the statement has no relevance to the late date argument. Even if one accepts the translation sup- portive of the late date position, there is still the larger issue of Irenaeus' prone- ness to historical error. His most glaring error is his statement implying that Jesus lived to be almost fifty after a fifteen year or longer earthly ministry. As Dr. Gentry notes, "A bold 'thus saith Irenaeus,' can- not be conclusive of the matter." Dr. Gentry goes on to examine other, less well-known external evidence, but his most interesting work is his study of internal evidence. I fmd this case most compelling. He combines the exegesis of substantive texts from the Apocalypse with documented data concerning Nero, his persecution of the church, the Jewish war, the Roman destructionoftheJerusa- lem temple, and the civil turmoil in Rome following Nero's death. Dr. Gentry demonstrates that these historical events fit the Apocalyptic message like a glove. This section of Dr. Gentry's book con- tains much valuable material. The chap- ter titles alone are enough to whet the exegete's appetite: The Theme of Revelation; The Temporal Expectations of the Author; The Identity of the Sixth King; The Contemporary Integrity of the Temple; The Role of Nero Caesar; The Role of Jewish Christianity; The Looming Jewish War. To clinch his case, Dr. Gentry also examines the historical data from the time of Domitian and critiques the efforts to interpret the imagery of Revelation in terms of these later events. Again, the chapter titles summarize well the ground covered: The Role of Emperor Worship; The Persecution of Christianity; The Nero Redivivus Myth; The Condition of the Seven Churches. In this book, Dr. Gentry has given us insightful and well-documented studies of early church history which provide illuminating background for the book of Revelation. There is just no comparison between this and the highly speculative "newspaper exegesis" we are all too fa- miliar with. The difference is like that be- tween wheat and chaff. I believe an increasing number of Chris- tians are going to grow dissatisfied with chaff and begin looking for exegetical bread that satisfies. Christians continue to wait for the bodily return of Christ, an event so many expected with such dog- matic confidence to occur at least before the end of the '80's. Of course, He will return bodily to earth, but not even He knows the time. The church is increas- ingly waking up to its responsibility to "polish the brass" and to plan for the long haul. The world political situation contin- ues to change and thus to deviate from that state of affairs which was proclaimed so dogmatically to be the political stage for the end time drama. The "terminal generation" mentality is indeed terminat- ing because it has no biblical roots to sustain it. I believe more and more Chris- tians are going to rethink their views on prophecy in the coming days. I hope many of them will read Dr. Gentry's book as a part of that effort. I do have one dissatisfaction to air. I noticed in a footnote that Dr. Gentry is planning on also publishing a full com- mentary on the book of Revelation. I am not going to be satisfied until I also have that study in my library. I greatly respect Dr. Gentry' s ability as a non-speculative grammitico-historical exegete. He deals honestly with the words and statements which God inspired the Apostle John to write and with the historical evidence which beirrs on this subject. n The Counsel of Chalcedon March, 1990 page 23
Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go To Heaven?: With contributions by Timothy Keller, R. Albert Mohler Jr., J. I. Packer, and Robert Yarbrough. General editors Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson.