Los últimos tiempos: Una escatología para personas laicas

by George Eldon Ladd

En Los últimos tiempos , George Eldon Ladd ofrece una discusión seria sobre la escatología escrita para el laico, basando su doctrina de las últimas cosas en la convicción de que "nuestra última palabra... se encuentra en la reinterpretación del Nuevo Testamento a través de la profecía del Antiguo Testamento". Las profecías bíblicas sobre el fin de los tiempos han sido tema de una gran cantidad de libros. Sin embargo, muchos de ellos son relatos popularizados que contienen poca erudición bíblica razonada. Aun así, los estudios serios disponibles son a menudo muy difíciles de entender para el lector promedio. En Los últimos tiempos , George Eldon Ladd se ha empeñado en rectificar esta situación con una discusión seria sobre la escatología escrita para el lector cotidiano. Se han ofrecido dos interpretaciones de la relación entre las profecías del Antiguo y Nuevo Testamento. Una perspectiva ve programas separados para Israel y la Iglesia cristiana, mientras que la otra reconoce la revelación progresiva y la unidad de los Testamentos. El profesor Ladd mantiene la última postura, basando su doctrina de las últimas cosas en la convicción de que «nuestra última palabra... se encuentra en la reinterpretación del Nuevo Testamento a través de la profecía del Antiguo Testamento». Solo cuando las profecías se ven a la luz de la revelación de Dios por medio de Cristo, podemos comprender claramente a lo que se refieren en relación al fin de los tiempos. The Last Things In The Last Things , George Eldon Ladd offers a serious discussion of eschatology written for the layperson, basing his doctrine of the last things on the conviction that “our final word . . . is to be found in the New Testament reinterpretation of Old Testament prophecy.” Scriptural prophecies about the end times have been the subject of a great number of books. Many of them, however, are popularized accounts containing little thoughtful biblical scholarship. Yet the serious studies available are often too difficult for the average reader to understand. In The Last Things , George Eldon Ladd has endeavored to rectify this situation with a serious discussion of eschatology written for the everyday reader. Two radically different interpretations of the relationship between the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments have been offered. One view sees separate programs for Israel and the Christian church, while the other recognizes progressive revelation and a unity of the Testaments. Professor Ladd holds the latter position, basing his doctrine of the last things on the conviction that “our final word . . . is to be found in the New Testament reinterpretation of Old Testament prophecy.” Only as the prophecies are seen in the light of God's revelation through Christ can we clearly comprehend what they mean in relation to the end times.

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2023

About the author

George Eldon Ladd (1911–1982) was a Baptist minister and professor of New Testament exegesis and theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Ladd was ordained in 1933 and pastored in New England from 1936 to 1945. He served as an instructor at Gordon College of Theology and Missions (now Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary), Wenham, Massachusetts from 1942–45. He was an associate professor of New Testament and Greek from 1946–50, and head of the department of New Testament from 1946–49. In 1950–52 he was an associate professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif, becoming professor of biblical theology in 1952.

Ladd's best-known work, A Theology of the New Testament, has been used by thousands of seminary students since its publication in 1974. This work was enhanced and updated by Donald A. Hagner in 1993.

Ladd was a notable, modern proponent of Historic Premillennialism, and often criticized dispensationalist views. His writings regarding the Kingdom of God (especially his view of inaugurated eschatology) have become a cornerstone of Kingdom theology. His perspective is expressed in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, R. G. Clouse, editor (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977) and the shorter and more accessible The Gospel of the Kingdom (Paternoster, 1959).