More of the End Times Made Simple

by Samuel E. Waldron

This book is the second installment to Dr. Waldron’s ground-breaking work, The End Times Made Simple, in which he deftly dismantled the interpretive view that dispensationalists have of prophecy in general.



This book will go one step further, arguing that there are consequences to our eschatological (i.e., End Times) views.



Inside you will find powerful and cogent arguments for a strictly biblical hermeneutic, free from forced interpretations and presuppositions that have little to do with the actual Word of God.



Some of the topics covered



How important is eschatology?



How are we to approach biblical interpretation in general and prophetic interpretation in particular?



How are we to view the great End Times passages of the Bible?



Is there a distinction between Israel and the church…or is the church the “Israel of God”?



Is the temple of Ezekiel 40-48 literal or figurative?



What are we to make of Romans 11 that states that “all Israel will be saved”? Does this refer to a future mass conversion of ethnic Jews…or something else?





This book will forever change the way you approach the great prophecies of the Bible, and give you a renewed appreciation for the Lord Jesus Christ and His plan for His church.

Genres: Theology

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 23, 2009

About the author

Dr Sam Waldron is the academic dean of MCTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI.

Reviews

[Brandon Varnado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sequel to the first book, The End Times Made Simple. This book deals with end time prophecy from an Amillennial point of view. Both books are great and definitely recommended. The sections dealing with the parables of Christ as they relate to the end of the age and The Church and Israel and particularly helpful. The arguments are also backed up by solid hermeneutics and exegetical interpretation of scripture.

The only downside to the book is that Samuel Waldron again used endnotes instead of the far superior footnotes.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sequel to The End Times Made Simple. This book focuses mostly on peripheral questions rather than on what are the big picture questions of eschatology and therefore is a fantastic resource for someone who wants to go beyond asking "when is the rapture" and "what and when is the millennium?".

My disappointment/complaint with the book is focused on the "how" of the book rather than the content directly. About half-way through, Dr. Waldron includes a significant amount of material from another of his books - MacArthur's Millennial Manifesto. While I have no complaint with the reuse of material, the integration of that material into this book is occasionally lacking. In the opening to the first chapter of Part 2, Waldron mentions "the argument between MacArthur and Amillennialism" but there is no prior reference (that I found) to said disagreement. MacArthur suddenly appears in the text in a rather jarring fashion. This sort of inclusion of a subject or material without introduction occurs a few others times; those familiar with the eschatological debates will of course quickly recognize why MacArthur is being interacted with but those newer to the subject will be left wondering if they missed something.

Further, some of the chapter breaks come at rather strange points. In particular, chapters twenty-two and twenty-three seemed to be unnecessarily divided (or perhaps improperly divided). Chapter twenty-two largely consists of laying out Dr. Horner's argument for Dispensational Premillennialism from Ezekiel and then showing the required logical conclusions of said argument that end in theological absurdity. Chapter twenty-three then asks what the New Testament has to say regarding those conclusions. But quickly in the second chapter Waldron returns to interacting with Horner's position. While there is nothing technically wrong here, when reading through the book, the chapter break seems strained and unhelpful, leading the reader to believe a change of topic or focus is about to occur when in reality it seems to mainly signal a place to give a quick break.

My complaints are in reality quite minor. There is much excellent information in this book. Waldron shows from the parables of Christ why the amillennial position's view of the progress of the church in the world is preferable to both the mainly pessimistic premillennial view and the mainly optimistic postmillennial view. He also argues well that the study of eschatology is not optional and reminds the reader of the importance of making Scripture the basis for that study. And he demonstrates both the biblical foundation of the historic position of the Church that God's work with a distinct nation of Israel has ended but also how this neither equals Replacement Theology nor means that Israel is discarded.

If you have already read Waldron's "MacArthur's Millennial Manifesto," don't skip the repeated sections here! At first they seem to be simply lifted from the previous book but you will quickly find that the material has been added to, fixing some of the unaddressed questions from the prior book.

Dr. Waldron's conclusions regarding the "all Israel" of Romans 11 surprised me! I expected him to hold a particular view but he cogently argued a more "difficult" position (no spoilers here!). I am not sure if he convinced me, but I certainly am left wanting to further examine the question.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. It is by no means perfect, but the positives far outweigh the issues.

[NG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sequel to the 1st book. Waldron expands upon the themes brought out in the first book especially as it relates to hermeneutics, Israel/Church discussion, and exegesis of key passages (e.g. Matt 24). I wish there would have been more interaction with passages from Revelation (I will explore GK Beale's work on New Testament Biblical Theology and his commentary on Revelation to supplement).

[Simon Wartanian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for church laymen to pickup for questions on eschatology, especially relating to John MacArthur's dispensationalism.

[Marco Pompili · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel to "The End Times Made Simple". Solid teaching of eschatology from an amillennial perspective. The chapters are concise and clear, suitable for the interested layman. Compared to the first book (at least to the edition I hold), printing and graphics have much improved.
Following a brief introduction on hermeneutics, the book has two main parts: 1. 'The future of the church' which examines what scripture teaches about the church in the present age, and 2. "The future of Israel". Two crucial texts are discussed in detail: The author considers the 'Israel of God' in Gal 6:16 as referring to the church, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles (new men). In Rom 11:26 Waldron does not think the statement "and so all Israel will saved" does refer to a revival among ethnic Israel, but rather to conversions of Israelites during the church age. The author frequently interacts with the opinions of John MacArthur who holds the opposite view on this matter.
I would highly recommend Waldron's two books as a solid introduction on the topic of eschatology. Even lifelong students of the Bible will find food for thought.
Personally I would have preferred the two volumes in one book.