Review: Jesus and the Future
Introduction
If you were to ask three New Testament scholars “What is the correct interpretation of Jesus’ teaching on the future?” you would likely receive four or more answers. The end times is a difficult topic to understand and often leads to people digging their heels into various camps and launching attacks at one another. I found Jesus and the Future to be a refreshing and very helpful introduction to the end times.
Köstenberger, Stewart, and Makara’s goal is not to write an academic book or scholarly monograph. Rather, their goal is “to help interested readers understand Jesus’ teaching about the future in the Gospels” (28). In this regard, they are very successful. The book is well laid out and well written. The language is not overly technical and is easy to follow.
The structure of the book also helps the reader understand what Jesus teaches about the future. The authors have divided the book into two major parts. Part 1 focuses on Jesus’ teaching in the Olivet Discourse, which is foundational for Jesus’ teaching on the future. Part 2 looks at other teachings of Jesus found in the Gospels. The four broad themes that the authors take up in Part 2 are (1) persecution of believers, (2) judgment of “this generation,” (3) the coming of the Son of Man, and (4) the future resurrection, judgment, reward, and punishment. The final chapter of the book discusses the Gospel of John’s contributions to Jesus’ teaching on the future.
Note: This book has been reviewed by Robbie Booth, a PhD student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.
