Jesus and the Future: Understanding What He Taught about the End Times

Book Description:

Jesus was a prophet who often spoke about future events. The challenge lies in determining when he was speaking about near instead of distant future events.

Some readers apply all of Jesus's teaching about the future to the distant future: his return, the future resurrection, and final judgment. Other readers contend that virtually everything Jesus taught about the future was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The authors conclude that the truth lies somewhere in the middle: as a prophet, Jesus spoke both about the near future events of AD 70 and the distant future events surrounding his second coming.

In Jesus and the Future, the authors examine everything Jesus said about future events as recorded in the four canonical Gospels. This includes the famous Olivet Discourse, along with many other parables and sayings. The authors situate Jesus' teaching in its original literary and first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Jesus and the Future is designed to discuss Jesus' teaching about the end times in a way that is accessible, biblical-theological, exegetical, and devotional and spiritually nurturing. Written with a scholar's mind but a pastor's heart, the book is geared for a popular audience interested in making sense of end-time phenomena and conflicting teachings on the end times.

Table of Contents:
 Part 1: Jesus' Major Discourse about the Future: The Olivet Discourse, Jesus' Prophecy and the Disciples' Questions
  1. Possible Signs, the Abomination of Desolation, and the Destruction of the City
  2. Cosmic Upheaval and the Coming of the Son of Man
  3. Concluding the Olivet Discourse
Part 2: Other Teachings of Jesus about the Future in the Gospels
  1. Persecution
  2. Growing Conflict, Rejection, and the Judgment of Jerusalem
  3. A Call to Patient Waiting for the Coming of the Son of Man
  4. Future Resurrection, Judgment, Reward, and Punishment
  5. Jesus and the Future in John's Gospel

Authors:

Andreas Kostenberger (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Senior Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and founder of Biblical Foundations™.

Alexander Stewart (Ph.D., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is academic dean and Associate Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Tyndale Theological Seminary in Badhoevedorp, the Netherlands.

Apollo Makara (M.Div., Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands) is from Kigali, Rwanda. He serves with New Creation Ministries (Kigali) as a lecturer in their Pastoral Training School and the Christian Leadership Institute of Rwanda.

Endorsement:

"In as controversial an area as eschatology, few are likely to agree with every last interpretation by the authors. But few books even try to say something on every teaching of Jesus about the future, in both the short and long term. Jesus and the Future does, and on the vast majority of texts it does so most persuasively. Written in a very straightforward and accessible style, this book is a must read by any who remain puzzled about this perennially intriguing topic."
--Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

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