These Last Days: A Christian View of History

by Richard D. Phillips (Editor), Gabriel N.E. Fluhrer (Editor), Cornelis P. Venema (Contributor)

Gifted communicators of God's Word explain the Christian's view on life, death, and the hereafter as we live through "these last days," looking forward to the glorious age to come.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction, History, Church History, Christianity

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

Richard D. Phillips (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina. He is a council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, chairman of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, and coeditor of the Reformed Expository Commentary series.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of transcribed and edited lectures from the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology from 2010.

· Sinclair Ferguson: The Christ of History, Genesis 3:15
· D. A. Carson: This Present Evil Age, Revelation 12:5
· Alistair Begg: The Age of the Spirit, Acts 2:33
· Michael S. Horton: The Resurrection Hope, 1 Corinthians 15:20
· J. Ligon Duncan III: The Eternal Glory, Revelation 21:1
· D. A. Carson: Partakers of the Age to Come, Ephesians 1:21
· Cornelis P. Venema: The Four Main Millennial Views, Revelation 20:2
· Richard D. Phillips: A Pastoral Guide to Life After Death, Psalm 23:4
· Jeffrey K. Jue: Evangelical Eschatology, American Style, Daniel 9:24
· Paul David Tripp: The Radical Implications of Eternity, 2 Corinthians 5:4

I picked up the book solely because of the lineup of speakers. They're some of my favorite theologians (especially the two Scots). As you can expect, each essay is only a survey of the topic being addressed—only what could fit in a 30-40 minute talk. Brief, yes, but what's there is solid.

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give it six stars I would! Great sermons on Eschatology and the Christians place, appointment, and purpose in History, a History decreed and guided through God's providence and wisdom. These messages are relevant and comforting. Not technical very pastoral. I would highly recommend this work to anyone wanting to have a good understanding of personal and corporate eschatology. Well worth the investment of your time and thoughts.

[C.T. Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but it still had some helpful chapters. Venema’s summary of the millennial positions was good, and Jue’s chapter sharing the history of dispensational theology and the subsequent dominance of premillennialism is the best chapter in the book. Phillips’ and Tripp’s give some nice insights pastorally related to eschatology. Duncan’s chapter on Revelation is solid, but ultimately disappointing for me because he didn’t get into some of the weeds of interpreting Revelation.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great summary of how Christians should understand the field of eschatology and how we should live out our faith in the light of this understanding. Some great authors give their perspective on the present evil age, millennial views, resurrection hope and more. A great introduction for those who want to begin to comprehend how we live in the last days.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short essays focused on eschatological issues that are facing Christians today. Helpful for multiple perspectives in one book. Unhelpful for too many authors in one book to go into much detail for their essays, so much was left unsaid that needed to be addressed.

[Taylor Sines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conference messages do not translate as well into a book. But there is some real gold in here from Ferguson, Carson, Horton, etc. A good survey of reformed eschatology.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Last Days

Edited by Richard D. Phillips& Gabriel N E Fluhrer



This is a book about an evil age. Specifically, it is about "the present evil age" that we live in right now. For many Christians, the expression "these last days" refers to the time right before the second coming of Christ-but according to the apostles, the last days started with the first coming of Christ and continue even today. How do we biblically understand our time as the final age of world history? What does this mean for our faith? Reformed Christians have often avoided the field of eschatology-but it was this doctrine of history that thrilled the first disciples. They realized that with the coming of the "last days" they had entered the time of the kingdom, and this understanding will strengthen our faith too. Here the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology addresses this important topic and presents the following speakers' insights on: Sinclair Ferguson The Christ of History D. A. Carson This Present Evil Age Alistair Begg The Age of the Spirit Michael S. Horton The Resurrection Hope J. Ligon Duncan III The Eternal Glory D. A. Carson Partakers of the Age to Come Cornelis P. Venema The Four Main Millennial Views Richard D. Phillips A Pastoral Guide to Life After Death Jeffrey K. Jue Evangelical Eschatology, American Style Paul David Tripp The Radical Implications of Eternity Together some of the most gifted communicators of God's Word explain the Christian's view on life, death, and the hereafter.

This is a book about the times we live in and the end of these days. It was great to see many men who believe so much in the Lord. I enjoy growing in my understanding of the times we live in. I long for the end of the race on many days. The history of this world and the insight that these men have is helpful to pull more out of my Bible. I always hold the Books up to the Bible. It is realistic that I do not agree with everyone one's views but for the most part they seem to align with the Bible's view point. It is hard some days to hear the current trends on this world from inside the Church. I am thankful for men who hold onto the historical perspective that this world is a dying place.

I would like to thank Net Galley and P & R Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.

[Paul Bruggink · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very readable devotional book about living in the "last days" (the present age). This is not surprising since six of the ten chapters were written by pastors or pastor/theologians. If you are looking for information about Christian views of the end times, this book has only one 17-page chapter that gives a brief though well-written summary of the four main end times scenarios and a 19-page chapter in the history of dispensational premillennialism in the USA. The authors generally support an amillennial view of eschatology.

I was very surprised to see a totally unexpected and gratuitous swipe at theistic evolution by Rev. Richard Phillips in Chapter 8 (p. 128), saying that "one of reasons why we [evangelicals] should reject this teaching is that theistic evolution is a process in which the creative engine is death. " This personal opinion added nothing to the subject matter of the chapter, which was "A Pastoral Guide to Life after Death."

The book does not contain author biographies, an index, or a bibliography, and has very few footnotes.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a devotional view of the "end times."

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing book for me. I didn't want to ever put it down. I loved having various men's thoughts on all the various facets of death and the afterlife or I should say everlasting life (end times). The hope of resurrection chapter/essay was so encouraging as he suggested a great outlook and approach we should take on the resurrection )both the first and the coming)! The essay on death offered thought provoking talking points on all sorts of topics including cremation as well as how to talk about death. One of my favorite books now. Phenomenal!

[Mark A Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of addresses from the 2010 Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology focuses on the ‘last days’—a period that began with the resurrection of Christ and will continue until His return. Specific emphasis is put on the Christian hope amidst this present age of evil. Featuring contributions from a wide range of authors, this book has some strong chapters and others that fall a bit short of the mark, but the overall effort is helpful.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helps overcome last days madness!

[Michael Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little hit or miss but overall really good.