Book Review by Jefferson Vann: Erasing Hell
Review of Earth’s Final Dawn by Clinton E. Taber.
The subtitle of Clint Taber’s new book Earth’s Final Dawn 1 is “understanding this age in view of the coming new age.” It is a systematic eschatology with numerous practical insights. Taber believes that “life has no meaning without destiny” (43). The destiny he envisions is the restoration of Edenic Paradise for eternity, cleansed of all things temporary – like sickness, pain, sin and death. The Bible is the story of how those temporary things came to be, and what God is doing to bring them to an end. It reveals how God has worked through history to replace the temporary kingdoms of Satan and men with his permanent kingdom, ruled by Christ. That kingdom is now in its formation phase – where God is preparing “a people who would live in fellowship with Him in His Kingdom Paradise for His glory forever (xxii).
Humanity is on the verge of witnessing earth’s final dawn – the dawn of the age to come. In this present age, Christ dealt with our sin problem by becoming our sacrifice of atonement. In the new age, after Christ returns, he will destroy death by raising his own from their graves, and destroy all his enemies by consuming them with the fires of hell. All of this is immanent – it could happen at any moment. All of this is necessary – because God’s plan for a restored Edenic Paradise cannot happen without it.
In Taber’s explanation of these things, you will find exegetical overviews of significant eschatological books of the Bible (like Daniel and Revelation) and extensive treatments of relevant doctrines (like the resurrection, the timing of the second coming, and conditional immortality).2
His treatments are thorough, biblically sound, and up-to-date. He avoids following the party-line of popular end-times teachings, but points out that their popularity is due to the relevance that eschatology has for everyone.
Taber is not an extremist. He encourages balanced, biblical thinking on these important issues. He discourages the kind of date-setting fanaticism that has brought shame to the Church historically, and recently. He presents a powerful case that Christ could come in this generation, but stops short of saying that he definitely will. His evidence is compelling to anyone, but especially to those of us who long for our coming king.
Taber goes beyond simply proving that Christ is coming again. He gives his readers an appetite for the event. His descriptions of “main street” and “paradise park” (chapter 7) paint emotionally charged portraits of why Christ must come back. He captures the angst of this age with his descriptions of the pain, anxiety, trouble and sorrow that this world is now facing. He offers glimpses of a new age where the old limitations and sorrows are erased – the old bondages destroyed. He speaks as a man, and as a man of God who has seen much suffering, but who still believes that “God will not leave man forever in a world that falls short of his glory and purpose” (247).
Tabor neither expects nor demands complete agreement with everything he has presented. He encourages investigation. I took exception with Taber’s treatment of Rev. 20, and of some of his exegesis of Matthew 24. But these minor differences of exegesis did not deter me from my enjoyment of the work, or my benefit from it. Taber’s work is a well-written reminder that the second coming of Christ is the believer’s blessed hope. Come, Lord Jesus.
- Clinton E. Taber, Earth’s Final Dawn (Xulon Press, 2011) hereafter referred to by page number or chapter. [↩]
- Conditionalists will find particular interest in chapter 2, where Taber shows that Christ was sent to fight the battle of the ages in his own grave (63). Taber points out that “Death is the antithesis of life. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not the same as life. Death prevents man (even a believer) from experiencing the glories of God’s Kingdom Paradise. Without resurrection, there isn’t any future for man” (64). In chapter 5, Taber argues against the notion of innate immortality and for the notion of humanity’s complete dependence upon God. He investigates three views of what happens at death (reincarnation, relocation and resurrection) and concludes that “our problem with death stems from the fact that we were created for something better” (157). In chapter 6, Taber explains why the adjective eternal describes both destinies: “Eternal death is death forever. Eternal life is life forever” (193). [↩]
Book Review of The Tree of Life: A Biblical Study of Immortality & New Creation by Paul Sellman © 2010, Outskirts Press, Inc.
Reviewed by Jefferson Vann
Pastor Paul Sellman has produced a significant study in biblical theology for the modern context. Much like John Stott and Edward Fudge, Sellman came to his study of the issues of life, death and destiny convinced that people go to their rewards at death. His study of the scriptures has revealed a different outlook. He now sees that death is not the answer to humanity’s problem, it is part of that problem. The solution to humanity’s problem is Jesus Christ, whose return will mean the end of evil, and an eternal new beginning for the saved.
The genius of Sellman’s approach to this controversial subject is his way of simplifying these very complex issues. He asks his readers to put aside their preconceived notions and to imagine all history as being represented by two ages: this age, and the age to come.
This age is the age of mortality because humanity rebelled against God in Eden, thus lost the opportunity to take of the tree of life and live forever. The age to come is an age of restoration where God renews heaven and earth with life eternal as it was meant to be. The crucial event which will put an end to this age of mortality and usher in the age of eternal life is what the Bible calls the Day of the Lord.
Sellman shows from scripture that this Day of the Lord is an event taught in both Testaments. It is the Day of Jesus Christ and the Day of his return, and Resurrection Day, and Judgment Day. It is the essential event in all history, since it divides the two ages. It corrects the problems of this age, and explains the destiny of those who will by God’s grace make it into the next.
Sellman attacks some of the theological traditions within popular Christianity that tend to obscure this way of looking at things. Chief among these traditions is the concept borrowed from Greek philosophy that all human souls are already immortal. Sellman argues that this is “an unbiblical presupposition” (152) which has led Christians who read the Bible to “see something that isn’t there” (172). He calls this view “the great heresy of all existence” (195). Immortality was lost in Eden, and will not be gained back “until the rebellion that lost it is ended” (197).
To Sellman, “good theology is based upon what is clearly taught, and then filled in by the less certain elements” (91). What is clearly taught in scripture is humanity’s need for eternal life in this age; God’s plan to fill that need in the age to come; and the Day of the Lord which will make God’s plan reality.
So, until that great event of the Day of the Lord arrives, those who die wait unconscious in their graves for resurrection – either to eternal life or to the second death. That is why the Bible calls Christians who have died asleep in Christ.
It is impossible for a reviewer to like everything about a book — so there are a few changes that might improve this work in its next edition. Here is a short list of suggestions:
The frequent use of the first person is a style matter, but it seems to detract from the scholarly nature of the study.
Quotes from the Bible are everywhere in this work, but the font, italics, and justification combined in quotations tend to make some of the text run together.
Sellman steers away from a number of technical and complicated issues and avoids getting carried away in discussing particularly problematic texts. This is a good thing, but might be seen by opponents of his position as “chickening out.” A few well-placed reference notes to popular works (like that of Stott and Edwards) which do get into those texts might help.
The Tree of Life is not yet available in electronic book format. If it were, this review would have been written sooner!
The Tree of Life is a skilful and contemporary approach to questions that God’s people have been asking since the time of the patriarchs. It is the kind of book that pastors can pass on to new church members, who are just getting to know about the issues of life, death, and destiny. It helps to explain the way things are, and whet our appetites for the way things will be.
Sleeping In the Dust By Jonathan Burke
A Review by Jefferson Vann
Jonathan Burke sets a high standard for himself in his recent book, Sleeping in the Dust. Burke is a Christadelphian. He writes from the standpoint of a conditionalist, and argues that the view that human beings are born naturally immortal has always had its dissenters among the ranks of Bible believing Christians. He also fairly expresses the various forms of conditionalist thinking in the past and present. His work can serve as a valuable resource for believers in conditional immortality. His historical references and quotes show that the debate about the intermediate state and final punishment is not a new thing. He also shows the relevance of this historical debate by identifying how modern writers and writings are contributing to the issue.
Readers not familiar with the academic structure of Sleeping in the Dust may find it a bit hard to read. He writes in a comprehensive no stones unturned manner that can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, the effort in reading such a work is well expended. The book provides valuable input for those who are interested in biblical answers to questions about death and destiny. Thank you, Jonathan Burke.
Hell Under Fire CIANZ Annual Conference Address Final Part —Warren Prestidge FDTL Iss 48
A more serious weakness in the approach of contributors to Hell Under Fire is that they approach the Bible with this question is view: What does the Bible – the Old Testament, Jesus, Paul, the Book of Revelation – say about hell? Now, that whole approach is very restrictive. It simply excludes a heap of biblical evidence. What they should be asking is: What does the Bible – the Old Testament and the New – say about the final fate of the lost? Because that is the real issue and because, in fact, the idea of “hell” is only one of many ways in which the Bible talks about this subject. But if you direct attention only to passages which relate recognisably to the idea of “hell”, and particularly to the very small set of such texts which appear, at first glance, to support eternal suffering, you acquire, and create, the impression that this is the normative biblical approach. [Read more...]
Print This Post Filed Under: Annihilationism, Book Review, From Death To Life, Publications, Reviews, Theology, What's New Bell’s Base Cards
Rob Bell does a masterful job of shaking the foundations of the modern theology of human destiny in his new book entitled Love Wins.1 He exposes the fact that much of what people say about salvation and human destiny is not based on the Bible, therefore does not hold up to the scrutiny of direct questioning. He dares to ask direct questions – many of them.
His tactic is similar to that of knocking down base cards in someone’s house of cards. A house of cards can be an enormous thing, but it is only as strong as the first few cards one lays out. Those base cards serve as the foundation. If they are stable, one can build fortresses out of flimsy cards upon them. But topple those base cards and the entire thing falls apart. Bell’s identified some flimsy base cards in modern theology: the idea that only professing believers will go to heaven and its corollary that all others will suffer in hell forever.
He attacked those familiar base cards by appealing to scripture after scripture to show that the Bible addresses very different issues. He wanted to show that the whole of modern theology about human destiny was built upon assumptions that do not come from the Bible. He accomplished that mission. Each chapter in the book identifies a presupposition, and then proceeds to topple it by going to the text of scripture and comparing the presupposition to what scripture actually says. In short, Bell does theology and he does it well.
Nevertheless, Bell’s book is destined to be much maligned. He has taken on subjects which are practically taboo for evangelical Christians. “Heaven when you die” and “conscious eternal suffering for the lost” are concepts that are too holy for most good church people to investigate. Expect Bell to be branded a hopeless Universalist. Expect retaliation. Expect The DaVinci Code all over again.
…And rightfully so. Any good theologian worth his or her salt makes a difference. Bell has swung a pendulum, and one should expect the thing to swing back in the other direction. Paul told the Corinthians that “there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.”2 Bad theology can mobilize good theology.
With that in mind, let me tell you where I think Bell has it wrong. He spends numerous pages showing that the gospel message is not about going to heaven when you die – then he puts the saved in heaven when they die. He can do no other, because for Bell (and most of his opponents) the human soul has to live eternally somewhere. Bell sweeps away all of the scriptural evidence that he has amassed against the concept that heaven is a destination. In the end, he says what he has been arguing against.
He agrees with his opponents that all human beings are immortal, except that, unlike them, he argues that their immortality gives human beings hope for restoration to God even after their bodies die. He argues from scripture that God is love and therefore never gives up on his own. So, as long as there is life, there is hope. He argues for the concept of future probation on the basis of two premises: God never stops loving, and human beings never stop living.
Herein is the problem: none of Bell’s opponents want to deny either of those premises. They believe that God is both loving and just. They want to agree with what the Bible says about his love, but not forget that it gives equal time to his wrath. When they talk about Judgment Day, they envision that it will be just that – a day in which God will judge humanity, and determine the eternal fate of everyone. They cannot envision a Judgment Day that extends to however many years and centuries needed to purge humanity of all sin and rescue all. Hence, they must believe that death seals the fate of all.
The all important doctrine that Bell and most of his opponents agree upon is the concept of innate immortality: that all humans are born immortal. That doctrine will lead Bell’s opponents to insist on eternal conscious suffering in hell for the lost. It leads Bell to insist that a loving God would never condemn people to such a fate for a limited life of sin; therefore he must give opportunity for restoration.
Allow me then – in Rob Bell fashion – to suggest that it is that presupposition that keeps both Bell and his opponents from seeing what the Bible says about the destiny of the lost. The Bible says that only God is immortal.3 Immortality is a promise from God that Christ will give to the saved – it is not an innate characteristic of every human.4 For anybody to live anywhere forever, they must have eternal life. Eternal life is promised to the saved only.5
What, then, is the destiny of the lost? The God of justice who gave us his truth in his word has decreed that the lost will be destroyed.6 Since the wages of sin is death, they will die.7 They will be appropriately punished according to the decree of a God who is both loving and just, and then they will be no more.8 They have been granted one life to live. That one life is a gift of grace from God. Nobody deserves to live forever. God is under no obligation to give unbelievers an eternal life, either to suffer, or to repent. He is sovereign, and if he has decided that the wages of sin is death, no theologian has the right to convert the sentence.
Bell wrote a book about a victory. He envisions an eternity in which all sin is forgiven, all wrongs are righted, and love wins. He is absolutely right. Love will win because God will win. God will win because he is God, not because he is love. His love and justice work together to produce a heaven and earth without evil. Our participation in that victory is not a given. Some will not make it. That is what it ultimately means to be lost. In the end, God wins. Reader, where do you stand before God? Don’t take his patience for granted.
- Rob Bell, LOVE WINS: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. (Robert H. Bell, Jr. Trust, 2011). [↩]
- 1 Corinthians 11:19. [↩]
- Romans 1:23; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16. [↩]
- Romans 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:53-54; 1 Timothy 1:10. [↩]
- Matthew 25:46; John 3:15-16, 36; 4:14; 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 68, 10:28; 12:25; Acts 13:46, 48; Romans 2:7; 5:21; 6:22; 1 Timothy 6:12; 1 John 5:11; Jude 1:21. [↩]
- Matt. 10:28; 22:7; Luke 17: 27, 29; 20:16; 1 Cor. 3:17; 6:13; 15:24, 26; Heb. 10:39; 2 Peter 2:12; Rev. 11:18. [↩]
- Matt. 21:41; John 5:24; 8:51; Romans 6:16, 23; 1 Cor. 15:26, 54; James 5:20; 1 John 3:14; Rev. 21:8. [↩]
- Psalm 104:35; Ezekiel 26:21; 27:36; 28:19. [↩]
Print This Post Filed Under: Book Review, Conditional Immortality, Featured Article, Reviews, What's New From Off the Shelf: ‘Body, Soul and Human Life: The Nature of Humanity in the Bible’ — Joel B. Green
Reviewed by David Burge
Joel B. Green (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is now professor of New Testament interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, after teaching at Asbury Theological Seminary for ten years, serving as vice president of academic affairs and provost. He is the author and / or editor of a number of books, including Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Introducing the New Testament, and commentaries on Luke and 1 Peter. This is not however, what he is most remembered for in our family. Our Association brought Dr. Joel and Pam Green to New Zealand in September of 2005. The late Carl Josephson, who had organised the trip, was not well enough to tour with Joel, so I reluctantly (because my wife was pregnant and due to give birth while Joel and Pam were here) volunteered. By the providence of God, our baby boy arrived early (the only one of our eight children that arrived early). To remember the circumstances we named our boy Timothy Joel Burge and I got to spend a wonderful few weeks with Pam and Joel.
Once again, Joel has combined his extensive knowledge of biblical theology with his equally thorough grasp of the science of the brain to produce a volume that will be of interest to all Conditionalists. Some theologians have seen “that the encounter of long-held theological tenets regarding the human person with the principled reflection on neuroscientific innovation is a major storm brewing on the horizon” (p.16). Doctor Green’s list (found on page 20) of what may be at stake includes the following:
[Read more...]
Book Review:Rethinking Human Nature: A Christian Materialist Alternative to the Soul by Kevin J. Corcoran. FDTL Iss 31
Kevin J. Corcoran begins what is a philosophical book with a very personal reflection: “In 1968 I lost my father to cancer,” Corcoran recalls. “I was four years old. I can still remember the funeral home. And I can remember that as I looked into the casket, my mother told me that my father was now with God in heaven. I remember feeling perplexed. And why not? My father was lying lifeless before me. How could he be with God in heaven?”
A Summary And Review Of “What About The Soul?” Neuroscience and Christian Anthropology Edited By Joel B. Green. FDTL Iss 29
Modern neurological research is challenging the traditional concept of a “soul” or a “spirit” separable and distinct from the body and/or the mind. In light of these discoveries, this book explores such fundamental questions as, Who am I? What am I doing here? Why do I do what I do? What does it mean to be saved? How am I responsible for my behaviour? What is the meaning of resurrection? and What happens when I die? [Read more...]
The Fire That Consumes
A Book Review by Pastor Warren Prestidge
{From Life to Death Issue 4 , 1996}
The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment By Edward W. Fudge
It is encouraging to read a very positive review of Fudge’s book, The Fire That Consumes, in the latest issue of Reality Magazine (unfortunately the review is not available online). Reality is published by the Bible College of NZ, our top interdenominational, evangelical college. The Fire that Consumes is a top class full-length study of what the Bible teaches regarding the final fate of the lost, completely supporting our conditionalist view. Simon Humphrey, who writes a witty and intelligent review, is clearly very impressed by Fudge’s book.
Book Review- Two Views of Hell: A Biblical and Theological Dialogue
{From “From Death To Life” Issue 18}
Two Views of Hell: A Biblical and Theological Dialogue
By Edward William Fudge and Robert A. Peterson.
Reviewed by Carl Josephson
This book was published by InterVarsity Press this year not long before Edward Fudge came to New Zealand. By giving equal space to the conditionalist and traditionalist understandings of hell IVP have granted ‘our’ interpretation long overdue recognition as at least a viable, biblical alternative. We congratulate the publishers and authors for this significant step.
As the subtitle suggests the book takes the format of a dialogue, with Edward Fudge presenting the conditionalist case first, followed by a response by Robert Peterson, then the traditionalist case is presented with the book concluding with a response by Fudge.
This book will serve the conditionalist cause well not only because of the strength of the biblical arguments but also because of the grace and humility with which Fudge writes. Sadly this cannot always be said for Peterson who begins his response to Fudge with an emotive description of his students reacting to The Fire That Consumes with “physical symptoms including headaches and churning stomachs.” On occasion he gets perilously close to a personal attack as much as discussing the doctrines involved. He does concede however that in many ‘other’ matters of biblical interpretation Fudge is competent and sound.