Book Reviews

The Last Days According to Jesus

In this book, Sproul lays down the framework for the preterist viewpoint of the end times (in which the prophecies of Christ's coming had already occurred).

He explains that Jesus telling His twelve disciples to watch for His coming makes no sense if He would come only after their death. Is "the last hour" referring to a two thousand year period? Can "Behold, I am coming quickly" stretch over twenty centuries? Therefore, some event must have occurred in which Christ came during their lifetime and fulfilled His prophecies. That coming, according to the preterist movement, occurred in A.D. 70 when Titus surrounded Jerusalem with his armies.

Many facts are marshaled to support this view, to the astonishment of many of us who have never heard this doctrine covered in detail. He identifies the Antichrist figure of A.D. 70, the signs in the heavens, the millennium age, and so on. He frankly covers the disagreements among the preterist camps, some placing the resurrection as past, while others place it in the future.

This book does not talk about getting ready for the Lord's coming. It does, however, competently present current research regarding the preterist view.