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Victorious Eschatology: A Partial Preterist View
A biblically-based optimistic view of the future. Along with a historical perspective, Harold R. Eberle and Martin Trench present a clear understanding of Matthew 24, the book of Revelation, and other key passages about the events to precede the return of Jesus Christ. Satan is not going to take over this world. Jesus Christ is Lord and He will reign until every enemy is put under His feet!
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 20, 2010
Awesome. I loved that someone has a totally different way to look at eschatology and put it in an 'easy to read' format for those of us who aren't deep bible/language scholars. Great book to whet the appetite for more in depth study of the bible with the idea that there are different perspectives out there than the 'left behind' series. I like that the authors are up front with the fact that we don't really know for sure what the end time prophecies mean and to assume that would be hypocritical, but they offer an awesome interpretation for the ones we are most familiar with. I don't agree with them 100% but there is a respectful agreement in the book that the reader wouldn't agree 100%, and even shouldn't on their word alone.
March 1, 2019
Victorious Eschatology de Eberle est un livre qui atteint parfaitement son objectif: fournir une introduction convenablement vulgarisée à l'eschatologie "prétériste partielle", l’interprétation de référence dans la majorité de l'histoire de l'église, qui sous-tend le post-millénarisme, mais également le pré-millénarisme historique. Une lecture très agréable, volontairement peu technique et donc d'autant plus digeste, même pour des lecteurs sans trop de formation théologique. Ce n'est pas une défense complète contre toutes les objections possibles, loin de là, mais il est une bonne vulgarisation de cette position pour ceux qui ne la connaissent pas, et un bon encouragement pour ceux qui y sont. Je recommande.
May 30, 2016
This book was a great introduction to "Partial Preterism" for me, and did a good job of explaining things that didn't make sense before. It also did a great job of showing what famous Christians throughout church history believed about Jesus' prophesies and A.D. 70.
I had never heard of Partial Preterism before this, but I embraced it pretty quickly as I read this book. I had never embraced much of the popular teaching about eschatology which I had heard before, yet neither had I rejected it. I just knew that it was confusing and some things didn't seem to fit so well with scripture. What I read in "Victorious Eschatology" made so much more sense, and it also fit with what I read in Psalms and Isaiah, which are two of my favorite prophetic books in scripture. As Psalm 37 says, the righteous will inherit the land, but the wicked will be cut off and will be no more.
I had never heard of Partial Preterism before this, but I embraced it pretty quickly as I read this book. I had never embraced much of the popular teaching about eschatology which I had heard before, yet neither had I rejected it. I just knew that it was confusing and some things didn't seem to fit so well with scripture. What I read in "Victorious Eschatology" made so much more sense, and it also fit with what I read in Psalms and Isaiah, which are two of my favorite prophetic books in scripture. As Psalm 37 says, the righteous will inherit the land, but the wicked will be cut off and will be no more.
August 23, 2015
Although this book could be very helpful in debunking myths related to futurist views of eschatology, I found it tedious. I think that especially the chapter on Revelation contains many elements of dualism. Furthermore statistics are quoted and biased statements are made often without any references provided, and the Kindle edition needs serious attention to editing. I was torn between two and three stars. Just couldn't get myself to rate it at a 60%...
July 17, 2015
One of the better books on partial preterism perspective. The section on Matthew is very good but the section on Revelation not so much.
July 20, 2012
Victorious Eschatology/Second Edition
Harold R. Eberle (Author), Martin Trench (Author), Paul Jones (Illustrator)
Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” Matthew 24:1-3, RSV.
Victorious Eschatology is a profound book which challenges the popular belief in Dispensational Theology, most typified in the Left Behind series of books: a great apostasy will take place in the Church, in Israel the Temple will be rebuilt, Israel will be granted a temporary peace by the Anti-Christ for 3.5 years, a Great Tribulation will follow for another 3.5 years, before which the believers will be “raptured” out of this world, and then Jesus will return at the end of this 7 year period to establish a millennial kingdom. This popular theology of the end times is informed primarily by the Dispensational interpretation of the book of Daniel and Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24 (and parallel passages in Mark and Luke).
Victorious Eschatology makes the case that Dispensationalism has misinterpreted these passages and gives a very credible alternate explanation of Daniel’s prophesy and of Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24. The authors argue that Dispensationalists have misunderstood the chronology of Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question in Matthew 24:3. They argue that Jesus’ prediction of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. is separate from his prediction of the final judgment, which begins in verse 35. Everything leading up to verse 35, including the references to the Great Tribulation, have to do with the judgment on Jerusalem which took place in “this generation,” or approximately 40 years after his crucifixion.
I believe the most profound and simple example of their reasoning is in response to the disciples’ question about “when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming…?” When the disciples asked this question, first of all, they did not believe Jesus was going to be crucified, nor did they believe he was going to be raised from the dead (Mark 9:31-32). They could not have been asking about his Second Coming, because they didn’t know anything about it. They believed, like all good Jews of that time, that the Messiah would be a king like David, who would come and rule in Jerusalem, and kick the Romans out of Israel. Instead, they were asking, “when are you going to come into your kingdom and rule in Jerusalem.”
Jesus’ response is that they should look for signs, especially that
when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; Matthew 24:15, 16, RSV.
The authors point out the parallel passage in Luke reveals that the desolating sacrilege is not an anti-Christ sitting on the Holy Seat in the Temple, but the armies of Rome:
when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it; Luke 21:20, 21, RSV.
Obviously, this sign happened in 70 A.D. followed by the complete destruction of Jerusalem, with a great tribulation wherein the starvation was so rampant that the citizens resorted to cannibalism and over 1 million Jews either starved to death or were killed by the Roman army.
The final point the authors make is that none of the signs Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24: 1-34 need to take place in order for his Second Coming. From verse 35 on into the next chapter, Jesus emphasizes that his coming will be “in an hour you do not expect.” In the next section, they point out how perfectly Daniel’s prophesy of the 70 weeks of years is fulfilled in Jesus’ first coming and crucifixion. The prediction is so perfect that it seems to come in the exact year the Lord predicted through Daniel.
These first two sections make a very convincing argument and should be studied as a mandatory corrective to a Dispensational fear of the future. But my praise for the book ends at that point. There are three issues where I think the book becomes very questionable at best and illogical at worst.
The first issue is their theological view that everything is going to get better until Jesus comes to take over the world: that the expansion of his kingdom by the conversion of the nations is inevitable and that the history of Christian expansion is one long story of the advance of Jesus’ millennial reign. My problem with this theological retrospective is that they cherry-pick their history to show how things are improving. For some reason, the last century, where more were martyred than in all the history of Christendom combined, and where over 100 million were murdered by genocidal, atheist nations (including 6 million Jews in the Holocaust), is overlooked, while the advance of women’s rights and the end of slavery prove that Christ is conquering the nations. This facile interpretation of history reminds me of the “Social Gospel” movement of the early 20th Century that found its end in WWI, where the continuing depravity of humankind was on full display in the mass destruction of the Great War. My point is that human nature has not changed and the advance of Christianity is by no means measurable in the transformation of world governments and society as a whole.
My second issue is their unconvincing interpretation of Revelation. While David Chilton, makes an excellent argument for Revelation being a Covenant lawsuit against Israel for its rejection of the Messiah in his book Days of Vengeance, many of the arguments the authors use in this section of the book are just weak. They make a few good points, and they point out that the 7 churches do not represent the 7 ages of the Church, but most of their arguments lack scholarly citations or scriptural backing.
Finally, they make a very weak argument about the Man of Lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians. The cumulative effects of the latter sections of the book leave me with a feeling of disappointment; that they tried to twist and fit everything into their predetermined understanding of a brighter tomorrow.
While I cannot go into the full detail here, I believe the authors’ eschatology fails because it does not deal adequately with the simultaneous growth of both good and evil (wheat and the tares) until the time of the end. Yes, Jesus will conquer, but the overcoming of evil will be a cataclysmic event and not one of gradual progress.
Harold R. Eberle (Author), Martin Trench (Author), Paul Jones (Illustrator)
Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” Matthew 24:1-3, RSV.
Victorious Eschatology is a profound book which challenges the popular belief in Dispensational Theology, most typified in the Left Behind series of books: a great apostasy will take place in the Church, in Israel the Temple will be rebuilt, Israel will be granted a temporary peace by the Anti-Christ for 3.5 years, a Great Tribulation will follow for another 3.5 years, before which the believers will be “raptured” out of this world, and then Jesus will return at the end of this 7 year period to establish a millennial kingdom. This popular theology of the end times is informed primarily by the Dispensational interpretation of the book of Daniel and Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24 (and parallel passages in Mark and Luke).
Victorious Eschatology makes the case that Dispensationalism has misinterpreted these passages and gives a very credible alternate explanation of Daniel’s prophesy and of Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24. The authors argue that Dispensationalists have misunderstood the chronology of Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question in Matthew 24:3. They argue that Jesus’ prediction of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. is separate from his prediction of the final judgment, which begins in verse 35. Everything leading up to verse 35, including the references to the Great Tribulation, have to do with the judgment on Jerusalem which took place in “this generation,” or approximately 40 years after his crucifixion.
I believe the most profound and simple example of their reasoning is in response to the disciples’ question about “when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming…?” When the disciples asked this question, first of all, they did not believe Jesus was going to be crucified, nor did they believe he was going to be raised from the dead (Mark 9:31-32). They could not have been asking about his Second Coming, because they didn’t know anything about it. They believed, like all good Jews of that time, that the Messiah would be a king like David, who would come and rule in Jerusalem, and kick the Romans out of Israel. Instead, they were asking, “when are you going to come into your kingdom and rule in Jerusalem.”
Jesus’ response is that they should look for signs, especially that
when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; Matthew 24:15, 16, RSV.
The authors point out the parallel passage in Luke reveals that the desolating sacrilege is not an anti-Christ sitting on the Holy Seat in the Temple, but the armies of Rome:
when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it; Luke 21:20, 21, RSV.
Obviously, this sign happened in 70 A.D. followed by the complete destruction of Jerusalem, with a great tribulation wherein the starvation was so rampant that the citizens resorted to cannibalism and over 1 million Jews either starved to death or were killed by the Roman army.
The final point the authors make is that none of the signs Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24: 1-34 need to take place in order for his Second Coming. From verse 35 on into the next chapter, Jesus emphasizes that his coming will be “in an hour you do not expect.” In the next section, they point out how perfectly Daniel’s prophesy of the 70 weeks of years is fulfilled in Jesus’ first coming and crucifixion. The prediction is so perfect that it seems to come in the exact year the Lord predicted through Daniel.
These first two sections make a very convincing argument and should be studied as a mandatory corrective to a Dispensational fear of the future. But my praise for the book ends at that point. There are three issues where I think the book becomes very questionable at best and illogical at worst.
The first issue is their theological view that everything is going to get better until Jesus comes to take over the world: that the expansion of his kingdom by the conversion of the nations is inevitable and that the history of Christian expansion is one long story of the advance of Jesus’ millennial reign. My problem with this theological retrospective is that they cherry-pick their history to show how things are improving. For some reason, the last century, where more were martyred than in all the history of Christendom combined, and where over 100 million were murdered by genocidal, atheist nations (including 6 million Jews in the Holocaust), is overlooked, while the advance of women’s rights and the end of slavery prove that Christ is conquering the nations. This facile interpretation of history reminds me of the “Social Gospel” movement of the early 20th Century that found its end in WWI, where the continuing depravity of humankind was on full display in the mass destruction of the Great War. My point is that human nature has not changed and the advance of Christianity is by no means measurable in the transformation of world governments and society as a whole.
My second issue is their unconvincing interpretation of Revelation. While David Chilton, makes an excellent argument for Revelation being a Covenant lawsuit against Israel for its rejection of the Messiah in his book Days of Vengeance, many of the arguments the authors use in this section of the book are just weak. They make a few good points, and they point out that the 7 churches do not represent the 7 ages of the Church, but most of their arguments lack scholarly citations or scriptural backing.
Finally, they make a very weak argument about the Man of Lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians. The cumulative effects of the latter sections of the book leave me with a feeling of disappointment; that they tried to twist and fit everything into their predetermined understanding of a brighter tomorrow.
While I cannot go into the full detail here, I believe the authors’ eschatology fails because it does not deal adequately with the simultaneous growth of both good and evil (wheat and the tares) until the time of the end. Yes, Jesus will conquer, but the overcoming of evil will be a cataclysmic event and not one of gradual progress.
June 29, 2018
WOW!
Some of this I had come to see over the years but a lot if it I didn’t know. While I have always believed there would be a people who would overcome death and would be alive and remaining when he returned, there have been many scriptures in my spiritual pantry for which I had no clue, this book will literally blow your mind. They give tons of evidence for their views. I have to say that this book excited me and I plan on reading it again. Will definitely commit this to prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to confirm it all. Doing some studying on my own. This book explains the partial preterist view as opposed to the futurist view which I don’t find in scripture. All I can say is to open your mind and heart and read this book and be encouraged. Thank you to Kris Valloton for mentioning this book.
Some of this I had come to see over the years but a lot if it I didn’t know. While I have always believed there would be a people who would overcome death and would be alive and remaining when he returned, there have been many scriptures in my spiritual pantry for which I had no clue, this book will literally blow your mind. They give tons of evidence for their views. I have to say that this book excited me and I plan on reading it again. Will definitely commit this to prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to confirm it all. Doing some studying on my own. This book explains the partial preterist view as opposed to the futurist view which I don’t find in scripture. All I can say is to open your mind and heart and read this book and be encouraged. Thank you to Kris Valloton for mentioning this book.
November 26, 2019
Great insight End Times And Rapture And biblical phrases that lead to last days and end days and how close are we in 2020 with arrive of Rapture, before Rapture arrives , Jesus Christ will reveal himself in daydreams, night dreams, trance like visions, crazy biblical synchronicities daily...as for me I have seen Jesus flying above a mountain, I keep seeing his crown everywhere, and get Biblical like synchronicities popping up daily and everyone... Spread the word when you see this and surrender to Jesus only... I think the craziness at POPEYES chicken is biblical and divine, if you look at POPEYES , it means POPE YES=POPE IS A VICAR OF JESUS and “YES” IS IN REFERENCE to YESHIVA, JESUS HEBREW NAME. All this craziness appears to be people are biblical drawn subtlety to Popeyes. spread the word ...amen
November 6, 2025
It's rare that I say this about a book, but this was a game-changer for me. I have steered away from taking a strong stance on eschatology because I always felt a defeatist tone in most conversations about it. It seemed like when things got bad, many Christians would throw up their hands and say, "Jesus is coming back soon." and shake their heads.
What Eberle and Trench have done is clearly illustrated the idea that most, but not all, of Revelation, Daniel, and Matthew 24 were prophecies about events of the 1st Century and not about our own future. Once it was laid out, this was very clear and introduced me into postmillennial ideas that I had somehow missed even working in a largely reformed environment in Classical Christian Education.
If dispensational eschatology has been problematic for you as well. This is a great primer for the alternative view. I hope you read it.
What Eberle and Trench have done is clearly illustrated the idea that most, but not all, of Revelation, Daniel, and Matthew 24 were prophecies about events of the 1st Century and not about our own future. Once it was laid out, this was very clear and introduced me into postmillennial ideas that I had somehow missed even working in a largely reformed environment in Classical Christian Education.
If dispensational eschatology has been problematic for you as well. This is a great primer for the alternative view. I hope you read it.
December 16, 2023
Well and simply stated principles of Partial Preterism with variations explained. This was a quick read due to the format. I have been a Partial Preterist for many years now, but I hadn’t thought much about it for quite a while. When asked to explain my beliefs recently, I realized I needed to refamiliarize myself with the basis for my beliefs. This book provided the needed information without a lot of extra details and reconnected me to the truth of Partial Preterism allowing me to return with answers to my friend’s questions. Recommended.
November 19, 2017
A must read.
Read it and decide for yourself. You already know that what you have been taught doesn't add up, so wait no longer and search out the truth for yourself.
Read it and decide for yourself. You already know that what you have been taught doesn't add up, so wait no longer and search out the truth for yourself.
August 10, 2018
Fantastic for anyone curious about partial preterism! Easy to read, brief, but informative. Read it now.
June 10, 2020
One of the best books on the Partial-Preterist view I have read. This makes the most sense to me of all the end-times views. Written for the non-scholar, with the insight of a scholar.
July 8, 2020
Awesome!!
Such a great book filled with truth and wisdom! I couldn’t put it down!! Having scripture verses to reference each step of the way made it all make so much sense.
Such a great book filled with truth and wisdom! I couldn’t put it down!! Having scripture verses to reference each step of the way made it all make so much sense.
January 1, 2021
The authors did an excellent job of clearly and succinctly explaining the partial preterist view of eschatology as compared to the futurist view (think Left Behind series).
August 3, 2022
This book changed my life!! Love it!! Easy to read considering it is eschatology. They have done a great job laying out the partial Preterist view. Love it!
July 5, 2012
In the book, [i]Victorious Eschatology: A Partial Preterist View[/i] by Harold R. Eberle and Martin Trench the authors seek to present an optimistic view of the end times, debunking the Futurist View of the end times which tends to be more along the lines of “doom and gloom”. The authors guide the reader through passages in Matthew 24 (and other Gospels as well), Daniel, and Revelation to present their view of the end times which by their premise the majority of all end time prophecies were fulfilled by 70AD with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple; in addition they propose that the Church is to be ever growing in strength until Christ’s return.
My first impressions of the book was a growing annoyance with there facts and wording. I am the sort who likes to double and sometimes triple check things that are known facts, such as historic events and other such provable data. For instance during their discussion of Matthew 24 they list off various seismic activity happening before 70ad; they state that: “...the most famous earthquake was the destruction of Pompeii in A.D. 63” this is only partly true. While Pompeii did experience a massive earthquake it wasn’t actually destroyed until the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. I would also point out that the earthquake occurred in February of 62AD [i]not[/i] 63AD as stated by the authors. While this could possibly be a typo, it is a gross oversight by any proof-readers reading the material before publication. The wording used by the authors’ also implies that Pompeii was destroyed by the earthquake with no mention of its actually destruction by Vesuvious. While their use of historic facts is generally an excellent way of proving a point, it is best to present the accurately otherwise it can cause doubt to begin to creep into the readers mind regarding the authors’ argument.
Eschatology as a whole cannot truly be proved one-way-or-another until it happens; as humans we are bound to make errors in translation or views and as such it is extremely hard to define the “correct” eschatology. While I agree with the premise of a victorious eschatology, I do not necessarily agree with the approach the authors’ use to reach that conclusion. As I read the book I noticed an interesting dualism is their interpretation of the Bible. In several places they state that we can take Jesus’ words literally. This in and of itself can create a dangerous mentality that could result in people taking all of Jesus’ words literally which could result in bodily harm (Mark 9:43-47). They also state that Jesus’ was a prophet, which I will not deny that He was/is. They however state this after making the the statement several times that He should be taken literally. Should we thus throwout the evidence that every prophet before Him spoke in riddles? My point of contention here is that I believe that while I could take everything stated in the Bible at its surface value I believe it would be potentially foolish to disregard the possibility that there are deeper truths and meanings hidden in Jesus‘ words.
All that said, I have found several places where the authors’ have made excellent points that are certainly worth considering. What I have found however is that since I already had a victorious eschatology they aren’t having to convince me. I know the end of the story: Jesus wins. How exactly we get there I do not know, but I do know that I will seek to point the world to Him and bring as many people into an encounter with their heavenly Father. I see no point in not doing anything. I know for a fact that I was placed on the Earth for such a time as this and the question I believe as Gandalf stated is: “...All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
My first impressions of the book was a growing annoyance with there facts and wording. I am the sort who likes to double and sometimes triple check things that are known facts, such as historic events and other such provable data. For instance during their discussion of Matthew 24 they list off various seismic activity happening before 70ad; they state that: “...the most famous earthquake was the destruction of Pompeii in A.D. 63” this is only partly true. While Pompeii did experience a massive earthquake it wasn’t actually destroyed until the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. I would also point out that the earthquake occurred in February of 62AD [i]not[/i] 63AD as stated by the authors. While this could possibly be a typo, it is a gross oversight by any proof-readers reading the material before publication. The wording used by the authors’ also implies that Pompeii was destroyed by the earthquake with no mention of its actually destruction by Vesuvious. While their use of historic facts is generally an excellent way of proving a point, it is best to present the accurately otherwise it can cause doubt to begin to creep into the readers mind regarding the authors’ argument.
Eschatology as a whole cannot truly be proved one-way-or-another until it happens; as humans we are bound to make errors in translation or views and as such it is extremely hard to define the “correct” eschatology. While I agree with the premise of a victorious eschatology, I do not necessarily agree with the approach the authors’ use to reach that conclusion. As I read the book I noticed an interesting dualism is their interpretation of the Bible. In several places they state that we can take Jesus’ words literally. This in and of itself can create a dangerous mentality that could result in people taking all of Jesus’ words literally which could result in bodily harm (Mark 9:43-47). They also state that Jesus’ was a prophet, which I will not deny that He was/is. They however state this after making the the statement several times that He should be taken literally. Should we thus throwout the evidence that every prophet before Him spoke in riddles? My point of contention here is that I believe that while I could take everything stated in the Bible at its surface value I believe it would be potentially foolish to disregard the possibility that there are deeper truths and meanings hidden in Jesus‘ words.
All that said, I have found several places where the authors’ have made excellent points that are certainly worth considering. What I have found however is that since I already had a victorious eschatology they aren’t having to convince me. I know the end of the story: Jesus wins. How exactly we get there I do not know, but I do know that I will seek to point the world to Him and bring as many people into an encounter with their heavenly Father. I see no point in not doing anything. I know for a fact that I was placed on the Earth for such a time as this and the question I believe as Gandalf stated is: “...All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
June 17, 2021
This one will make you think
This book has challenged some of my biblical views more than any other I’ve read in recent memory. I feel compelled to prayerfully consider the authors’ arguments which were respectfully presented. I highly recommend this book for any maturing Christian, but read it with an open mind.
This book has challenged some of my biblical views more than any other I’ve read in recent memory. I feel compelled to prayerfully consider the authors’ arguments which were respectfully presented. I highly recommend this book for any maturing Christian, but read it with an open mind.
February 20, 2018
Time to take seriously this perspective.
March 9, 2010
Ah, where to start? On the plus side, this book provides much food for thought to those entrenched in traditional, 20th Century, American eschatology. One author is an amillenialist, and the other is a postmillenialist (I'm pretty sure I've got that right), but they're both adamant about the fact that the entire Book of Revelation along with the seventieth week of Daniel all occurred in A.D. 70 and have no bearing on us today. (In which case, I'm tempted to ask why God wasted all of that ink on publishing them in the first place, but hey, what do I know?)
My husband and I read the book separately, and we both agreed immediately that the writing seemed rushed and not well-supported... as if someone had told the authors, "hey, give me a complete manuscript in thirty days and we'll go to press!" Then we split on our opinions. I thought the authors were rather lofty and sneering in their tones, as though any dissenter couldn't be spared the time for an argument, considering such ignorants were simply taking up time and space that should be devoted to TRUE seekers. My husband, on the other hand, thought the tone was pleading and ever-so-slightly groveling, in the vein of "please believe us, please, please!" We're both sure the other is wrong, of course. Either way, we agree the tone of it was off-putting.
Anyhoo, I gave it an extra star because it DID give me some significant things to think about, though I'm not converted to their way of thinking. I wish they'd address the issue of near-far prophecy, which would seem to make room in the boat for both their way of thinking, and my own beliefs.
My husband and I read the book separately, and we both agreed immediately that the writing seemed rushed and not well-supported... as if someone had told the authors, "hey, give me a complete manuscript in thirty days and we'll go to press!" Then we split on our opinions. I thought the authors were rather lofty and sneering in their tones, as though any dissenter couldn't be spared the time for an argument, considering such ignorants were simply taking up time and space that should be devoted to TRUE seekers. My husband, on the other hand, thought the tone was pleading and ever-so-slightly groveling, in the vein of "please believe us, please, please!" We're both sure the other is wrong, of course. Either way, we agree the tone of it was off-putting.
Anyhoo, I gave it an extra star because it DID give me some significant things to think about, though I'm not converted to their way of thinking. I wish they'd address the issue of near-far prophecy, which would seem to make room in the boat for both their way of thinking, and my own beliefs.
February 13, 2020
Victorious Eschatology is a good book. It is a solid 4-- no less, but definitely no more. Not that I disliked this book (4/5 is a pretty good rating), it's just that I had a lot higher expectations for it going into reading than was delivered by the end.
Eberle and Trench seemed really rushed for some reason. So many of the really excellent theological ideas and much of the framework needed to be expounded on, but were rather truncated.
I agree with most of this partial preterism eschatology, especially the content the 1st couple parts were about. However, it seems that even in their search for context and attempt at honest interpretation, they lose sight of the types and figurative language of prophetic writings. John doesn't all of the sudden switch to a narrative or discourse form at the end of Revelation. He's continuing with his many Hebraic symbols and allusions that help describe a spiritual reality.
These guys are obviously studious men of God, and I highly recommend this book to every Christian... especially 'Futurist' believers. I just wish they had written a bit more in depth, and tackled a couple other sections of scripture that deal with the "coming" of the Lord, as well as new heaven/earth & resurrection.
I really appreciate what these guys have done and are doing to advance the minority (yet biblical) eschatological view of Preterism. It needs more adherents-- Christians who are fully willing to truly think, get rid of old traditions, thoroughly study the Word, and learn some history.
Thank you, Harold and Martin. Well done, guys.
Eberle and Trench seemed really rushed for some reason. So many of the really excellent theological ideas and much of the framework needed to be expounded on, but were rather truncated.
I agree with most of this partial preterism eschatology, especially the content the 1st couple parts were about. However, it seems that even in their search for context and attempt at honest interpretation, they lose sight of the types and figurative language of prophetic writings. John doesn't all of the sudden switch to a narrative or discourse form at the end of Revelation. He's continuing with his many Hebraic symbols and allusions that help describe a spiritual reality.
These guys are obviously studious men of God, and I highly recommend this book to every Christian... especially 'Futurist' believers. I just wish they had written a bit more in depth, and tackled a couple other sections of scripture that deal with the "coming" of the Lord, as well as new heaven/earth & resurrection.
I really appreciate what these guys have done and are doing to advance the minority (yet biblical) eschatological view of Preterism. It needs more adherents-- Christians who are fully willing to truly think, get rid of old traditions, thoroughly study the Word, and learn some history.
Thank you, Harold and Martin. Well done, guys.
March 11, 2013
Mind. Blown. I've never studied eschatology on my own and as a result have relied on what I was taught assuming it was somewhat accurate with scripture (I know, classic), but this book is a complete 180 and is much more aligned with the God I know.
This view, if adopted, will leave you shaking your head and wondering how we can get it so wrong and proves that we apply our beliefs to the bible rather than applying the bible to our beliefs.
I will read this again.
This view, if adopted, will leave you shaking your head and wondering how we can get it so wrong and proves that we apply our beliefs to the bible rather than applying the bible to our beliefs.
I will read this again.
April 8, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I've had questions for decades in regards to certain scriptures that just didn't seem to fit or make spence in regards to the end times. This book answered so many of those questions. I didn't enjoy the last part of the book though. I felt the authors were reaching for explanations which was evident in their own inability to agree. I am definitely going to be doing more research on my own on this topic.
February 9, 2016
Thought provoking
If you have questioned the standard "end times" scenarios, then you need to read this book. The position that these authors take are much more logical and consistent with scripture and history than traditional viewpoints. You need to be a Berean and study scripture for yourself to see which teaching is more in line with God's Word.
If you have questioned the standard "end times" scenarios, then you need to read this book. The position that these authors take are much more logical and consistent with scripture and history than traditional viewpoints. You need to be a Berean and study scripture for yourself to see which teaching is more in line with God's Word.
Want to read
March 31, 2012 This will change forever the way you read the book of Revelation!
Read
August 5, 2011Awesome and life-changing! finally a view that agrees with my theology of the church changing the world. do not read it if you want your paradigms to remain unchallenged!!!
Want to read
March 26, 2012Just picked this up today. A friend and I are going to study this! I heard it is wonderful and very powerful!
October 25, 2013
Good stuff. Wrote a brief review here... http://harleyvoogd.com/2013/10/22/vic...
August 26, 2014
I read this book a few years ago, and it is a good read but only an introduction to the Partial Preterist – Victorious Eschatology view.
Read
June 15, 2016this is a pretty good read. I really loved the historical data thrown into interpretation.
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