The Unknown Hour: Biblical Signs Warnings, Hope and Peace, edited by Gaylord Haan and Jerome Julien. Grand Rapids: Reformed Fellowship, 2020. Paperback. 248 pages. $18.95.
It is far easier to fill a bookshelf with hyperbolic predictions and conspiracy theories about the end of the world from ostensibly Christian authors than it is to locate a levelheaded, thoughtful, and relevant Reformed resource that summarizes the Bible’s teaching about the end times. But such studies do exist, and The Unknown Hour is one of them. This Reformed Fellowship study is a revision of Rev. Henry Vander Kam’s unpublished Bible study The Signs of the Times.
Although directed primarily toward a churched audience, this book’s simple explanation of scriptural principles may hold interest for the curious nonbeliever as well. Addressing contemporary themes such as materialism, immorality, and fear, The Unknown Hour points readers to the course of redemptive history, the warnings of imminent judgment on the wicked, and the Lord’s unfailing promises to his church.
Along the way, the authors helpfully introduce a variety of topics that generate controversy in Christian discussions of the end times, such as views of the millennium, the identity of the Antichrist, and the continued significance of the nation of Israel. Because of the book’s brevity, these discussions sometimes leave the reader wishing for a deeper and more nuanced treatment of such issues. The particular interpretations articulated in The Unknown Hour are not universally accepted, even within Reformed circles. Nevertheless, this is meant to be a primer on scriptural eschatology, not a definitive and comprehensive doctrinal statement.
As a primer, The Unknown Hour’s most significant accomplishment is that of connecting eschatology’s future focus with its very present point. The study opens by quoting Jesus’ invocation of the “sign of the prophet Jonah” against the Pharisees (Matt. 16). Jonah’s commission was to preach judgment to Nineveh, a city of abominable paganism that nevertheless repented and turned to God. As it relates to the end times, the sign of Jonah proclaims that there is still time to repent and cry out to the Lord, whose mercy is unfailing. The poignant call at the end of Revelation, “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Rev. 22:17, English Standard Version), resounds underneath each chapter of this study.
The Unknown Hour imparts sobriety and strength in tumultuous times. Because its message is firmly rooted in the eternal relevance of the Scriptures, this study is both timely and timeless. Ultimately, its end-times message issues a call not to consternation but to comfort.
Michael R. Kearney is a graduate student and research assistant in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He is a member of Covenant Fellowship Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA) in Wilkinsburg, PA.