There is no other book that has been the subject of the most fanciful interpretations than the book of Revelation. Various interpreters throughout the ages have wrestled with how to understand the many foreign and vivid images let alone present to the average Christian what it might mean for their lives. As such, the discussion of the book of Revelation has been dominated by proper interpretive method at the expense of practical and contemporary significance. Revelation was after all written to seven churches and it is for the church today.

With a desire to let the text speak for itself and a level headed approach, James Hamilton Jr. has written the newest commentary in the Preaching the Word series titled Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. Hamilton is associate professor of biblical theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor of preaching at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.

The structure of the books is simple. Hamilton has preached through Revelation twice so this commentary is the fruit of experience and a desire to bring the truth and relevance of Revelation, amidst its hard to interpret sections, to the everyday life of the contemporary believer. Each chapter is written in the form of a sermon with introduction, main point, a preview of the chapter, the overall context of the section in the book of Revelation, the body of the commentary and then a conclusion to bring it all together.

Because Hamilton is concerned with the practical application of the book, he is not wrapped up in the academic discussion of the various views of Revelation though he does mention them by name at points. Hamilton’s position is historic premillennialism but he does not explicitly push this. He sees the 70^th week of Daniel as the present church age and the future millennial kingdom as a period of time that does not necessarily have to be a literal 1,000 years. He sees overlap in the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments such that they are describing more different angels of the same thing over against a sequential description of different judgments. Hamilton touches on many of the points of tension in the various views of Revelation without handling it with a debate mentality. Perhaps the only debate point he does not mention is the idea expressed by pretribulationalists that the Rapture of the church happens before 4:1. Hamilton’s silence on this speaks to his disagreement with this (and I agree) but it would have been nice to see his argument for not agreeing with it.

At the heart of the book is the pastoral desire to bring the message of Revelation to bear on the life of the believer. Hamilton steers clear from newspaper interpretations of the book that seek to read into Scripture what is happening in current world events. Much of the referents in Revelation would have been referring to the seven churches historical situation because it was written to them and their situation. However, though Revelation was written to seven churches it is for the church today.  Hamilton rightly contends that all of Revelation is for the New Testament believer and thus speaks to the churches situation throughout time until Christ returns. Throughout his explanation of the text Hamilton weaves practical application into each chapter and is constantly driving at the spiritual life of the believer. Hamilton expresses a deep desire for Revelation to speak to the heart and mind of the believer.

Though this commentary is focused on the practical aspect of Revelation, Hamilton shows he has done his homework and is up to date with current scholarship. Hamilton shows his grasp and knowledge of the Old Testament as he ably shows the OT roots to much of Revelation. Hamilton also shows his grasp of biblical theology as Revelation is the culmination of redemptive revelation within history and serves as the climax to it all.

At the end of the day, Revelation shows that Christ the King will ultimately triumph over sin and Satan and His inaugurated kingdom will overcome the world and rule for eternity. I highly recommend Hamilton’s Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches as it will be both informative and devotional.

1. Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Books
2. The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God’s Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love
3. Understanding Scripture: An Overview of the Bible’s Origin, Reliability and Meaning

Enter to win here.

Kregel has released its newest book in the 40 Questions and Answers Series with Eckhard Schnabel’s book 40 Questions About the End Times. This book looks like an even handed approach to many questions Christians have concerning the end times. You can read an interview Matt Smethurst did over at the Gospel Coalition Blog.

To celebrate the release of this new book Kregel is hosting a giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card. Enter to win here.

Zondervan has kindly sent me a review copy of the new book The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach edited by Bryan Chapell. This is not a book on preaching methodology, theology or philosophy. Rather, this is a book that compiles a variety of sermons by contemporary pastors who are known for their relevant and sound preaching. The sections of the book are centered on topics that have proved to be the hardest for pastors to preach on like the death of a child, natural disasters, suicide, miscarriages and more. This book looks to be a great encouragement and guide for pastors who are called upon to preach on these hard subjects.

Today, Zondervan announced its Third Wave of recently released titles through Logos of which The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach is one of them.

Checkout the press release here.

John Starke interviews D.A. Carson about his new book The Intolernace of Tolerance.

Jay Thomas discusses his new book on sex titled Sex, Dating and Relationships: A Fresh Approach.

Matt Smethurst  and Marcus Glover review Thabiti Anyabwile’s new book Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons.

Matt Smethurst interviews Andreas Kostenberger about his new co-authored book Invitation to Biblical Interpretation.

Matt Smethurst interviews Greg Forster about his new book Joy of Calvinism and Ted Kluck reviews it.

Jared at Christians in Context, Arron Armstrong and Shaun Tabatt from Cross Focused Reviews review The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski.

Dave Jenkins from Servants of grace reviews Andreas Kostenberger’s new book Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue.

Trevin Wax reviews Preachers of a Different Gospel by Femi Adeleye.

At Sharperiron.org Greg Wilson reviews Christ Formed in You by Brian Hedges.

J.D. over at Missional Thinking discusses the new book Rural Church Planting: A Missional Footprint.

Fred Zaspel’s new book Warfield on the Christian Life is now available and Credomag.com has an interview about it as well as Justin Taylor.

Matthew Claridge reviews Rethinking the Trinity and Religious Pluralism over at Credomag.com.

Ed Stetzer interviews Scot McKnight about his recent book The King Jesus Gospel which I reviewed here.

Joshua Greever reviews the great new book Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A critical Appraisal to Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture.

Mark Strauss interviews Darrell Bock on his forthcoming book A Theology of Luke and Acts of the highly acclaimed Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series edited by Andreas Kostenberger.  Part1 & Part2 of a five part series are up.

Louis at Baker Book House Church Connections discusses the new Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary.

Phil Johnson discusses the forthcoming NIV MacArthur Study Bible.

Zondervan announces its Third Wave of titles releasing with Logos.

Paul Tripp, the author of Forever: Why You Can’t Live Without It, has made a 5 hour DVD that Westminster is offering for only $5.

There is only one stipulation:

“We think so highly of this DVD that we are offering you $5 off ANY order just to watch this segment (even if you choose not to buy it!). We are trusting your integrity to only use the coupon if you have watched this 10-minute video. To use the coupon, enter “forever” into the coupon code field on the shopping cart page. Limit one per customer. Coupon expires February 22, 2012″

Watch this video and then order the DVD’s here:

While the statistics on how many marriages end in divorce are often inflated (especially for Christians), there is no way to underestimate the effects it has on the children of divorce. While one or both parties in the marriage are hurt through the divorce the children are hurt the worst. The parents have the power of choice in their hands and the children are, in a very real sense, powerless victims of that choice.

Too often in the discussion of how to help children of divorce the focus is on how these children can be healed by intervening in their lives through social, educational and psychological help. According to Andrew Root this is fatally flawed and very short sighted. In his book The Children of Divorce: The Loss of Family as the Loss of Being, Root persuasively argues that divorce rips through the soul of a child and has its greatest damage on their being.

Root argues that the identity of a person is shaped by the community in which they grow up in. The family unit (made of father and mother) is the foundational community (the community within community) in which a child’s identity is shaped. When that biological community is torn apart so is the child’s identity. The result is that the children of divorce experience a true identity crisis. Root states

The child is because of the union of his or her biological parents. Without them he or she is not. When divorce, separation, or extended absence occurs the biological parents say, possibly with words definitely with actions, that they desire for their union to no longer be. But the child is the result of their union; the child has his or her primary being in relation to the community called family (p. xvii).

The Sociological Development of Divorce

While divorce itself is not a recent social phenomenon, the current rate at which divorce occurs is. Root provides a short history of the basis for marriage as the cause for the rise of divorce. In the pre-1600′s marriage was for the purpose of mergers. Mergers between families would bring together property, power as well as tradition. This is how most marriages worked until this point in human history virtually around the world. The job of the parent is to raise children who will carry on these three things (p. 7). From the sixteenth to eighteenth century, marriage moved from merger centered to labor centered. Once economies moved to money-based “marriage was about who could provide the spouse with an adequate labor-mate” (p. 11). Now children are seen as employees in the family business often going to school in order to receive an education to improve the family business. In the nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, the basis of marriage moved from labor to intimacy. “No longer did parents choose a child’s spouse, nor were people choosing spouses for their ability to work. Rather, marriage was based solely on the couple’s individual feelings of attraction and desire” (p. 16). Marriage is now centered on the self. Marriage is no longer an obligation to another but a choice. In the present day, the basis of marriage has come full swing from seeking mergers, which was for survival and the sake of others, to seeking self-fulfillment. It is here that the final brick is laid in the foundation for a culture of divorce. When marriage is all about the self and one’s fulfillment then there are no boundaries to keep one in the marriage union. Now, both the future of the child and the marriage are at risk every day. Children are “no longer the seal of a merger or a necessary laborer but is the tangible realization and monument of the love of their father and mother” (p. 23).

Modernity and the Subjective Formation of Marriage

So what has the make-up of marriage become in the present day as a result of this shift in the basis for marriage? With the rise of modernity and the focus on the self and the future, people have now divorced themselves from their spouses because of a divorce of thought and practice from the past. This loosening of the self from all constraints has had several effects on marriage and children. Since the future is uncertain people need to be mobile and so does ones marriage. If the marriage does not move you into the future the self wants then you leave it. Traditions of the past no longer determine people’s identities because the focus is on the future. This has changed our being and acting in the world as things that are based on “risk and trust” (p. 30). Marriage is now a risk one takes for their self and future and requires trust in the other partner for the future of their self-fulfillment. For the child, their existence is dependent upon the past decision of the parents to form a union and their future is dependent upon that union lasting. If the future of the parents’ marriage is on shaky grounds then so it is for the child. In divorce, parents may be able to move on in freedom to form a bond with another but the children are “not able to leave, for his or her being and acting in the world are wrapped up in this now condemned structure called family, this union of one biological parent with another” (p. 35).

Since there is no security in the future, the self within a marriage must seek to define its own identity. Thus, to protect ones identity, one must be open to move from the relationship at any time. Shaping and protecting the self is now a constant exercise of reflexivity between the self, perceived future and those around you. It is here that Anthony Giddens has identified the development of the ‘pure relationship’ which provides the “intimacy and support needed to carry out the reflexive project of the self in an unknown future” (p. 38).

This new make-up of marriage and self-identity has drastic effects on the children created from these love based unions of marriage. While an adult can simply recast their identity within the confines of a new relationship, children of divorce are now left torn between the broken relationships of the two people in whom their identity is shaped. Now we see how the break-up of a marriage is the break-up of the identity of a child’s being. The children of divorce truly have an identity crisis.

Divorce and the Ontology of a Child

If marriage gives ontological security to the children then divorce destroys it. Children rely on the stability of the marriage in the present as well as the future but divorce tears apart their stability thus severely damaging their identity. The stability of a child’s identity is based on the stability of the marriage. In a world where marriage has no hope for a stable future, the children (whether knowingly or not) have to place their trust in something unstable. Here, Root relies heavily on the psychological work of Anthony Giddens, the work of James Loder and his four part constitution of a person’s inner being as well as Martin Heidegger’s work on what he called the Dasein. Some may have a hard time tracking with the psychological depth presented here but those who can, will find it helpful even if they don’t agree with everything presented. Essentially, they are all saying that divorce divides the child at the center of their being (ontology) and this is the most destructive aspect of divorce.

Divorce, Being & Theology: Where do we get our Ontology?

The point of The Children of Divorce is to show that divorce strikes a child at the core of their being. But what is the basis for this? To answer this, Root falls on theologian Karl Barth and his well-known theology of God’s being as act (p. 69). For Barth, we know God because He has revealed himself to us in acting. God has acted to create man and therefore we find the basis for our being in the act of God. We relate and identify our being with others because God is a relational being in himself through the trinity. “Because the trinitarian God encounters God-self as a relational reality, humanity, as in the image of God, also finds its being through the act of relational encounter” (p. 70). God has created us in his image out of the self-relationship of the trinity. Thus, we exist for, in and out of relationship with God. If God were not then neither are we. We do not exist outside of relationship. The reader can see how this has huge implications for the children of divorce. Because the identity of a child is wrapped up within their parents’ marriage relationship, divorce now makes the child question their own existence. What brought them to be no longer is. For the child, “divorce is not just the end of marriage, but the end of the child’s community of being, which forces her to live between two worlds. But now these two worlds are held together at all only through her person, which is disorientingly backwards” (p. 83).

Though the theological and foundational basis for our ontology is rooted in the triune nature of God as a relational being who created man in and for relationship, this is the not the only factor that shapes a child’s identity. Here Root jumps into the field of object relations psychology. One place where a child’s identity is shaped is in the male/female distinctions. “Because we are acted upon by mother and father, these male and female realities are burrowed into our being” (p. 105). Healthy child identity development needs both male and female input. In addition, and somewhat surprisingly, the environment in which a child grows up contributes towards the identity development of a child. This speaks to the culture of the family, the culture in which the family lives and how much of both actually work their way into the identity of the child. Things as seemingly small as furniture, can shape the identity of a child. This shows itself to be true once divorce occurs and one parent takes items with them that the left-behind child held dear like a table or chair. Finally, the act of mirroring between the child and the parents is a developmental factor for the formation of a child’s identity. As a child’s identity develops they reflect back and forth with the behaviors of the parents. This relating to ones parents reflects out being back to us and shapes how we are to see ourselves, them and the world. “What happens most often in divorce, and what makes it so painful, is not that the mirror is providing a dehumanizing image, but rather that it is providing a needed true reflection and yet it is all of the sudden shattered. In the separation the mirror has broken apart; the child must now negotiate between multiple mirrors in multiple locations” (p. 110).

Is There any Help for the Children of Divorce?

So if the relationship in which a child forms their identity has been broken resulting in an identity crisis, and the biological parents never rejoin their union, which brought the child into existence and shapes their roots their identity, is there any hope for the child to recover? Thankfully, Root does not leave us without direction. In short, Roots answer is the community of the church. They need a “community in which their humanity is upheld” (p. 121). It is in the community of the church where “the children of divorce need to solidify their shaken ontology” (p. 121). As Root has argued throughout the book, divorce undercuts the four areas of ontological development: mirroring, the ability to balance autonomy and belonging, routine and bracketing out anxiety (p. 123). If these have been broken then the church is the only place that can fix them. In this final chapter, Root walks through how the church can pick up where broken families have left off in bringing back these four dimensions of ontological growth to the children of divorce. He also provides helpful tips for the youth worker, parent and friends of children of divorce.

The Children of Divorce is a must read for anyone who is a child of divorce or those who work with or know children of divorce of all ages. While the book can be repetitive at time, Root weaves a complementary dance throughout the book between theology, psychology and history to bring the best of each field to the table in order to create a balanced approach and picture of what happens to the children of divorce and what can be done to help. Most of the direction for helping is towards those who will interact with children of divorce but more needs to be said directly to the children of divorce themselves. Page after page is full of great insights, historical analysis and show a depth of understanding and passion. I give this book five stars!

Of the writing of systematic theologies there is no end. Each person who writes one does so from the conviction that they have something to contribute to the discipline and in the hopes that their work will serve not only their generation but many generations to come. While there are a great many systematic theologies that have and will continue to serve the church, the contentious reader will observe that systematic theologies have their limits. To a greater or lesser degree, systematic theologies, because of their goal, can become systematics for the sale of systematics. That is, in an effort to systematize Scripture(s) in order to show the biblical support for a particular doctrine, systematic theologies can become too much like reference books on theology that pay little to no attention to the unfolding story in which these doctrines have been developed. There needs to be more systematic theologies that work in concert with biblical theology.

To this end Michael Horton has recently written his systematic theology called The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrim’s on the Way by Zondervan. Horton has previously written several works on systematic theology relating the concept of covenant to different areas: Covenant & Eschatology, Lord & Servant, Covenant & Salvation and People & Place. Horton has also written God of Promise: An Introduction to Covenant Theology which deals specifically with the idea of the covenant as the basis for God’s dealing with man especially within the redemptive framework. The Christian Faith seeks to condense these previous works and make them more accessible to the layperson, pastor and student.

Notable Features

First, as mentioned earlier, The Christian Faith is an intentional work of biblical systematic theology. It is a systematic theology that has a respective eye on the unfolding of the major doctrines of Scripture. With Vanhoozer and Sayers in mind Horton writes, “The drama determines the big questions as well as the answers. The doctrines are convictions that arise in light of the drama (p. 15).” Horton’s goal, which he achieves, is to present the reader with the doctrines of Scripture that systematics deal with by allowing the unfolding drama of Scripture to determine their shape and structure. Horton is reluctant to use the oft repeated word ‘metanarrative’ to describe the storyline of Scripture. His fear is that this has been hijacked by postmodern’s and enveloped into making Scripture just another story. “For the Greek philosophers, the myths of the gods were ‘just a story’ – the dispensable husk that hides the kernel of timeless truth (p. 17).” Rather, says Horton:

The prophets and apostles did not believe God’s mighty acts in history (meganarratives) were dispensable myths that represented universal truths (metanarratives). For them, the big story did not point something else beyond it but was itself the point (p. 17).

Some may quibble with Horton on this but he may be onto something here.

Second, as a systematic theology Horton does the reader, both new and seasoned, when he defines exactly what the task of systematic theology is. It is the drawing together of three stages: (1) “teaching the vocabulary and rules of speech of Christianity (grammar),” (2) “investigating its inner consistency and coherence as well as comparing and contrasting it with rival interpretations (logic),” and (3) this is all done “so that we can defend our faith in an informed, compelling, and gentle manner (rhetoric) (p. 22).” The goal of number three influences the subtitle of the book, A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. Here again we see Horton trying to steer clear from systematics for the sake of systematics. This is doctrine for life and not just for the sake of the compilation of doctrinal facts.

The third notable feature of this work is the pervasive use of the theme of covenant. This is certainly to be expected from Horton given his theological bent and previous works (see above). Much in the tradition of Meredith Kline, Horton sees Scripture as one big covenant between God and man. “There can be no covenant without a canon or canon without a covenant. In fact, the covenant is the canon and vice versa (p. 155).” Thus, in chapter four Scripture is referred to as a “covenant canon (p. 151).” As a canon Scripture is a rule and as the relationship with God’s people develops, God reveals more ‘rule’ with each new covenant he establishes with man (p. 152-53). Through covenant God creates the life and shape of his people.

Another feature of the book is chapter three where Horton deals with the doctrine of Scripture as revelation. While “God is the object of theology” he is also “its self-revealing subject (p. 113).” There is a symbiotic relationship between God and his covenant word/canon – Scripture. To Horton, revelation is more than just words to man from God about himself. There is not God up there and his word down here. The words of Scripture, especially the OT, were first spoken to man. Revelation is personally given to man. “In revelation God is present in personal address (p. 117).” But more than a means for God to reveal himself to his covenant people, revelation “creates the reality of which it speaks (p. 122).” Contra to the reflective aim of truth in the Greeks mythical nature of metanarrative, revelation is means where “the truth literally incarnates itself in history. God’s speech does not merely interpret history; it creates it (p. 123).” As the Word of God, revelation (Scripture) exists in the form of Christ, proclamation and the canon of Scripture as the final 66 books of the Old and New Testaments (p. 135-36).”

A final noticeable feature of the book is the section and chapter structure. There are six parts and all refer directly to God himself. A careful read of the part titles indicates seemingly intentional following of the Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation (CFRC) structure of Scripture (with some additions) as commonly held today by many theologians. Part One deals with knowing God and how God reveals himself to us and we can know him. Part Two addresses the nature of God himself and what he reveals to man about himself through nature and Scripture. Part Three begins the CFRC grid and deals with the God Who Creates. Part Four continues with the God Who Rescues. Part Five interjects with the God Who Reigns in Grace and deals with the believer, the Kingdom, the church and its sacraments. Part Six is the final part and concludes the CFRC structure with the God Who Reigns in Glory and discusses the unifying eschatology of Scripture.

Conclusion

The Christian Faith has so much going for it that I only have one critique. While the book is a biblical systematic theology I would have liked to see more biblical development within each chapter and not just from section to section. Begin the chapter on Christ by briefly returning to the chapter on the trinity and walk through the doctrine of Christ from before Genesis to Revelation. I hope that what Horton has done here will be picked up by the next generation of systematicians and improved upon.

NOTE: This was published with permission by Sharperiron.org.

It is finally coming! The Intolerance of Tolerance by D.A. Carson has been a long anticipated book. This book is set to release this week and Westminster will be selling this for $16.08 (cheaper than Amazon).

Here is the publishers description:

We live in a culture obsessed with the idea of “tolerance.” Any viewpoint must be accepted —unless it rejects other viewpoints — and whoever is most earnest wins. This idea of tolerance must be thoughtfully challenged, argues D. A. Carson, both for the good of the church and for the good of the broader culture. Otherwise, poorly defined tolerance drifts ironically toward true intolerance.

Carson examines how the definition of tolerance has changed. It now has less to do with recognizing the right of another to disagree with us, and more to do with not saying that others are wrong. It is impossible to deploy this new tolerance consistently, so that actual practice is often whimsical and arbitrary. Worse, the word “tolerance” has almost become an absolute good, and “intolerance” an absolute bad. Tolerance and intolerance have become merely rhetorical terms of approval and disapproval.

Despite many negatives about the new, often ethically silly definitions of tolerance, from a Christian perspective there have been gains as well. In fact, Carson says, the nature of the Christian revelation is such that some tension in our understanding and practice of tolerance is inevitable.

In this extremely readable volume, Carson uses anecdotes and quotes to illustrate his points and ends with practical advice on exemplifying and promoting the virtue of civil civic discourse.

Awhile back, D.A. Carson did a lecture on this book and here is a short audio clip from the book. Listen to it and then pick up your copy:

I wrote an article with my reflections on The Elephant Room 2 for Sharperiron.org which was posted this morning. Check it out here and let me know what you think.