THE PROPHET JONAH by Hugh Martin. Paperback. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich. $6.95. Reviewed by Fred Gunnink.

Here is a commentary that should be welcomed into every preacher’s library. Its sheer volume, 460 pages, gives the indication that a thorough study and exegesis has gone into its preparation. And the reader will not be disappointed. Every additional reference to the person of Jonah or his message has been dealt with.

Some may feel that too much material is presented. Nevertheless, the author’s treatment in this commentary is so complete that a wealth of sermon material can be obtained through its use.

Even though the book was originally written in the middle of the nineteenth century, the content will prove to be relevant for our day and age.

MAN OF GENEVA by Elsie M. Johnson. The Banner of Truth Trust, P.O. Box 623, Carlisle, Penn. 17013. Reviewed by Fred Gunnink.

A short book, 129 pages, about some of the interesting facets of the life of John Calvin. The book has been written primarily for young people. It is easy to read, interesting and condensed. You will not find the complete history of Calvin’s life. Enough , however, is found to refresh your memory and possibly add some new details. For those who are not acquainted with the life of John Calvin, this booklet provides a good primer for additional reading.

HAL LINDSEY AND BIBLICAL PROPHECY by Cornelis Vanderwaal. Paideia Press, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 1978. 139 pages, paperback, $3.95. Reviewed by Rev. Louis Kerkstra, pastor of the Kelloggsville Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI.

Darbyist dispensationalism is the background of Hal Lindsey’s thought and the source of his ideas in his best seller book, The Late Great Planet Earth. Vanderwaal contends that the dispensationalist error of using Biblical prophecy to make human predictions about the future arises from the failure to take the covenant into account. This results in “a Zionizing of Christian hope,” and in pushing the church aside, thus undermining the centrality and significance of preaching. Scores of pious Christians have become infatuated with Hal Lindsey who has greatly popularized the dispensationalist approach to Biblical prophecy.

The danger of this approach is described by Vanderwaal as “. . . a revolutionary escapism that flees the here–and-now, sees no more promises to cling to, and waits for the overthrow of all that is good and just” (p. 44).

The rapid growth of dispensationalism, according to this book, stems from the cold formalism of churches which preach little more than middle class values, many of today’s preachers more interested in ethical, political and ecological issues than in the Bible, and ignoring the covenantal, redemptive, historical approach to the Bible.

Vanderwaal claims that Reformed people are not making use of the doctrine of the covenant in interpreting N.T. “apocalyptic” passages: “They fail to deal with pas· sages like Matthew 24, II Thessalonians 2, and Revelation 6–18 as covenant prophecy addressed to God’s covenant people . . . that deals with their future against the background of the covenant relationship” (p. 99).

This book is refreshing in its emphasis on the covenant as the basis for interpreting all of Scripture. This is something we need to hear and stress again in our day. Vanderwaal’s solution, however, arouses serious reservations. He argues for a re-dating of the entire New Testament, in wholehearted agreement with John A. T. Robinson who maintains that all of it, including the book of Revelation, was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. This turns the above mentioned apocalyptic passages into prophecies which have been fully fulfilled. But while it does undercut the dispensationalist error of seeing only a vague “end time” fulfillment, it leans too far in the direction of seeing all of apocalyptic eschatology as already realized.

In summary, this book constitutes a valuable exposure of Lindsey’s dispensationalism, and a challenging call to reemphasize covenant theology. Its concluding solution of calling for a complete reinterpretation of some basic Reformed eschatological beliefs, however, should be recognized as resting on a theory not adequately proved.

   

IS THE BIBLE A JIGSAW PUZZLE by T. Boersma. Paideia Press, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 1978. 193 pages, paperback, $4.95. Reviewed by Rev. L. Kerkstra.

Why two books out of the Reformed community on the same subject? For this book also is a criticism of Hal Lindsey‘s views of prophecy. Personally I believe the two books are most helpful when used together. While Vanderwaal in the above reviewed book aimed his criticism at Lindsey in reference to his failure to take the covenant into account, Boersma faults him for his failure to see the national character of the church of the old dispensation. As a result, the church for Lindsey is merely an interlude between the O.T. times and the millennial kingdom of the end time. What is so serious about this is that Christ and His Church are not given “center stage.” Rather Lindsey makes a “giant leap” from O.T. Israel which finds itself in the Middle East to the Israel of the end times.

Lindsey’s method of interpretation of prophecy is that of piecing together prophecies like one puts together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. By contrast, Boersma advocates taking into account the concrete historical situation and its relationship with the history of redemption (which also takes in the N.T.), together with the national framework of the prophecy. Only then will we arrive at the proper prophetic perspective with respect to the “day of the Lord.”

Boersma does not go into the dispensationalist background of Lindsey’s interpretation as did Vanderwaal. Rather he gives a more complete point by point evaluation of Lindsey’s teachings and follows this with his own views on each prophecy or teaching. This book is therefore a valuable one for a Reformed Christian to have at his side if he plans to read Hal Lindsey‘s books, The Late Great Planet Earth, and There’s a New World Coming.

Rev. Boersma does not neglect or play down the element of further fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. He holds that the O.T. prophecies were promises of redemption, many of which bear on Israel’s return out of captivity, but that this in no way exhausts such promises. Further stages of these promises are to be found in Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection; in the establishment and expansion of the church throughout the world; and in Christ’s return when the church will share fully in God’s salvation in the New Jerusalem.

It is Lindsey’s giant leap from O.T. prophecy to the end time, rather than the telescopic view of progressive fulfillment which causes him to come up with all sorts of bizarre conclusions such as that Ezekiel prophesied about Russia, and Daniel about a twentieth century Arab–African power and that China will invade the Middle East with 200 million troops.

There is a distinction made by Boersma between the “man of lawlessness” mentioned by Paul in II Thessalonians and the Antichrist mentioned by the Apostle John. He does not interpret these as being persons, however, but maintains that they represent forces. The “man of lawlessness” he sees as representing political forces which attack the true church from outside and the Antichrist as representing apostate forces within the church itself. With this assessment this reviewer does not agree.

All in all, Boersma’s Jigsaw Puzzle is a helpful analysis of Hal Lindsey’s dubious method of scouting through Scripture to find prophecies which he can fit into his preconceived notions of what is to happen in the end time. And just as we in Reformed circles need a renewed emphasis on the covenant, as advocated by Vanderwaal in the above reviewed book, so also we need to have the importance and significance of the church throughout both the old and the new dispensations stressed, as Boersma does. The concepts “covenant” and “church” are, of course, not contrasting concepts, but harmonizing elements in Scriptural teaching.

Books such as Vanderwaal’s and Boersma‘s are in a sense long overdue. It is interesting that they should come from Dutch authors looking across the sea rather than from American authors in the Reformed community who live in a hotbed of dispensationalism in this country. Hopefully these books will serve to counteract the inroads which dispensationalism is making into the Reformed community so that Reformed believers will be less likely to join in playing the dispensationalist’s jigsaw puzzle game with Scripture.

HE GATHERS THE LAMBS, by Cornelius Lambregtse (translated by Harry der Nederlandenl; Paideia Press, St. Catherine&, Ontario, Canada; 290 pp; $7.95; bard cover. Reviewed by JVP

His lifespan covered only a brief four years, every day of which Fransje Westrate lived to the full. His endless questioning about this world and also about the world to come was a constant challenge especially to his God–fearing mother who tried conscientiously to answer him the best she knew how. At the tender age of four Fransje was gathered as a precious lamb into heaven where he hoped he might sit on Jesus’ lap as he had seen the children do in a Bible picture-book. The strain of emotionalism, overwhelming at times even for the more phlegmatic reader, is reputedly typical of Zeelanders in the Netherlands. The story is well told, the characters clearly drawn, and the nature scenes with their seasonal changes outstanding.

Cornelius Lambregtse, the author, emigrated to the U.S.A. in 1947, studied at Calvin College, for two years taught Dutch language at Calvin, and bas since 1950 been busy writing, editing, and translating. He also serves as an elder in the Netherlands Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He Gathers the Lambs, says the author, has been written: “In precious memory of my only son CALVIN JOHN who at the age of three years and seven months had finished his earthly sojourn and on the day of his departure said ‘I am going home to Jesus. Don’t cry, Daddy.’”

What may be a strain of religious subjectivism and mysticism in this book might lead some to be less than enthusiastic in their acceptance of it. However a book as wholesome and edifying, and also as well written as He Gathers the Lambs, is nevertheless appreciated in sharp contrast to the demoralizing and shameless debauchery in so much of modern fiction. Amid an avalanche of poison in print, this quaint story about a devout and fascinating little fellow named Fransje is a precious exception deserving of wide acceptance.

THE MOON, ITS CREATION, FORM AND SIGNIFICANCE by John C. Whitcomb and Donald B. De Young. Clothbound, 1978. BMH Books, Winona Lake, Indiana, 46590. $5.95. Reviewed by JVP.

When, just a few years ago, man first set foot on the moon, interest in that heavenly body rose to a fever pitch and the President of the U.S. called that achievement “the greatest thing since Creation.” Although that intense and wide–spread interest has not been sustained, the authors of this highly informative volume rightly observe that “the time for a careful reappraisal has surely come.”

“This book,” Apollo 15 Astronaut James

B. Irwin has said, “presents the best comparison of the various moon origin theories I have ever seen. I congratulate the authors on this material. . .” This evaluation by one in a position to know is reassuring for the average reader hardly competent to judge as to the accuracy of the scientific data provided. Moreover, being decidedly true to Scripture all the way, this timely book deserves an honored place in the Christian classroom, on the shelves of every church and school library, and in the hands of everyone interested to know more about what the authors refer to as our “nearest astronomical neighbor.” While moon worship is clearly an abomination to the Lord, indifference and disinterest as to this part of His amazing creation are surely not pleasing to Him either.

For the special price of $5.95 offered to our readers (regular price $7.95) the book should be ordered from Dr. John C. Whitcomb, Grace Theological Seminary, Winona.Lake, Indiana 46590.