In recent years, there have been several books from Pentecostal/Charismatic scholars challenging what has been the traditional—or default—pre-Tribulation, pre-millennial view of the end times within many P/C circles. Among these are Daniel Isgrigg’s Imagining the Future, and Not Afraid of the Antichrist by Michael Brown and Craig Keener [Editor’s note: See Brian Roden’s review]. Assemblies of God missionary scholar Robert P. Menzies adds to this discussion with his 2022 book, The End of History: Pentecostals and a Fresh Approach to the Apocalypse. While Brown and Keener mainly focus on the exegetical deficiencies of the pre-Trib position, and Isgrigg focuses on the historical development of A/G eschatology to show that the pre-Trib view should not be the only acceptable option for that denomination’s ministers, Menzies goes a step further and actively advocates for an amillennial stance.

The book is divided into two main parts and includes seven appendices containing various Pentecostal statements of faith as well as shorter excurses that did not warrant chapter-length treatment. Part One of the book consists of two chapters, the first of which addresses problems with dispensationalism, with the second dealing with issues regarding premillennialism in general. Part Two consists of four chapters, each one presenting two theological affirmations Menzies sees as important for the Pentecostal movement. The eight theological affirmations in Part Two are interspersed with expository sermons drawn from the book of Revelation that address each pair of affirmations. Much of the content of the sermons reflects Menzies’ experience working with persecuted believers in eastern Asia.

In this chapter, the author also touches on the issues of whether Revelation’s chronology is one of linear progression or recapitulation; literal versus typological fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies; continuity and discontinuity regarding Israel and the Church; and whether Revelation’s prophecies extend and add to other New Testament prophecies about the end times or reaffirms them in a new context.

Chapter Two, “Premillennial Problems,” raises issues the author encounters with premillennialist interpretation in general (including historical or classical premillennialism). First, Menzies points out the “thousand years” of the Millennium is only mentioned in one place: Revelation 20:1–7. No other New Testament writer, nor the other books attributed to John, make any reference to it. Menzies, who finds himself more in the amillennial camp, encounters difficulty in dogmatically affirming a literal one thousand year reign based solely on a seven-verse passage. For his second objection to the premillennialist view, the author again raises the question of chronology in the Apocalypse, opting for a recapitulation pattern rather than a linear recounting of events. Menzies next deals with the binding of Satan, the question of two resurrections, and whether the nature of Christ’s reign is physical and political or spiritual. But even after arguing strongly against general premillennialist interpretations, he concludes the chapter saying, “The hermeneutical approach and theological perspective of historic premillennialists are actually much closer to those of most amillenialists than to those advocated by dispensational premillennialists” (84).

Part Two of the book is titled “A Fresh Approach,” and gets into the more practical outworkings of Pentecostal eschatology. Menzies here proposes eight affirmations to which Pentecostals should hold, while avoiding disputable minutiae:

• We believe in the personal, visible, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• We believe that Christ’s return is imminent—that it could happen at any time.
• When Christ returns, he will judge all people: the righteous, his faithful followers, will enjoy eternal and perfect fellowship with him; the unrighteous will experience eternal separation from him and his wrath.
• God will consummate his redemptive plan in response to the prayers of his people.
• In these “last days” the church is called to bear bold witness for Jesus in the power of the Spirit.
• With his first coming, Jesus inaugurates God’s kingdom by decisively defeating the power of Satan, sin, and death. With his second coming, Jesus consummates God’s kingdom by destroying evil and redeeming his creation.
• The culmination of God’s redemptive plan includes the transformation of our world and the resurrection of our bodies.
• In these “last days” Christ calls his followers to pursue holiness by persevering and remaining faithful, even unto death.

The expositions of Revelation that accompany each pair of affirmations could easily be turned into sermons to be utilized in local churches. In regard to preaching and teaching the Apocalypse, Menzies writes, “We desperately need to highlight the central truths of the book of Revelation and other key New Testament texts that speak of Christ’s second coming, the ‘blessed hope.’ But we need to do so in a manner that avoids sensationalism and exaggeration and which is rooted in sober-minded and clear exposition of the biblical text” (p. 94).

The book concludes with seven appendices, three of which list the statements of faith of the Pentecostal World Fellowship, the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, and the U.S Assemblies of God, which provides a helpful comparison of the varying levels of specificity in the statements concerning the last things.

The fourth appendix compares and contrasts the eschatological stances of two major contributors to Assemblies of God theology: Menzies’ father, the late William W. Menzies, and the late Stanley M. Horton. The author points out that his father’s stance was premillennial but not dispensational, while it was Horton’s revision and expansion of the elder Menzies’ 1971 book Understanding Our Doctrine in the 1993 volume Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective that greatly expanded the material on eschatology, going from one paragraph on the Rapture in William Menzies’ book to over three pages focused on a defense of the pre-Tribulation Rapture.

The fifth appendix gives a brief comparison of varying interpretations of “the kingdom of God,” while the sixth proposes two new categories for interpreting Revelation (the picture puzzle approach and the stained-glass window approach) the author feels work better than the traditional categories of preterist, historicist, idealist, and futurist. The seventh and final appendix restates in one location Menzies’ eight affirmations developed in chapters three through six.

Overall, I found the book an enjoyable read, even though I did not come away convinced by Menzies’ arguments for amillennialism. Perhaps it is my own leanings and bias in favor of historic premillennialism that keep me from understanding his line of reasoning, but I personally found the arguments unconvincing, though much better stated than I found Stanley Horton’s arguments for a pre-Tribulation view confusing in his book Our Destiny: Biblical Teachings on the Last Things, which I read for a class on eschatology many years ago.

The King is returning to judge, and He will reward the faithful and punish the evildoers. Knowing all the details of how that plays out is not as important as making sure as many people as possible are among the sheep that will receive rewards and the crown of eternal life. Therefore, we should not be quick to dismiss (or seek to disfellowship) someone who holds an end times view different from our own, but rather work together with all believers of good will who are seeking to carry the gospel message to the ends of the earth.

Reviewed by Brian Roden

Note from the Editor: On November 26, 2022, (after Brian Roden submitted this review) Robert Menzies wrote to friends and colleagues: “On November 16 Bob received news from the U.S. Assemblies of God Executive Presbyters (EPs) that they had determined he should be dismissed as an Assemblies of God (AG) minister in response to eschatological views expressed in his recent book, The End of History: Pentecostals and a Fresh Approach to the Apocalypse. This concluded a process that began some months ago.” If you would like more information about the on-going missionary work of Bob and Joanne Menzies in China, please Contact Us.

For a sample from The End of History: https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=Xr1dEAAAQBAJ

Eschatology—the study of the end times—seems to be a perennial topic of interest among Christian readers (and Christian publishers who seek to supply what the reading public wants). Sadly, many books that get published and rise to popularity seem to fall into one of two categories: authors who believe they have uncovered some great new insight into how biblical prophecy relates to today’s headlines (often relying on the most tenuous of speculation to link things together), and authors who know eschatology sells and jump on the bandwagon to get their slice of the revenue pie.

Biblical scholars Michael L. Brown (Old Testament) and Craig S. Keener (New Testament) break that mold. In Not Afraid of the Antichrist, the authors build their case against the dispensational, pre-Tribulation view of Christ’s second coming through careful exegesis of the relevant biblical texts, making a strong argument that Christ’s promised return will occur in one appearing that will take place after a period of great tribulation.

Brown and Keener make it clear in the book’s preface they understand the dilemma many readers will face when approaching this work: “What if the map of the end times I was taught for years earlier in my life gets challenged? What if I’ve been wrong all this time?” Such fears frequently hinder people from being willing to read views that may contradict what they have always believed (sometimes because they were taught that a certain system was “what the Bible clearly teaches,” and they see no point in reading something that “contradicts the Bible”). The authors write, “Holding the ‘right view’ does not put us in a position spiritually superior to those who differ, nor does it give us a license to put them down.” This irenic tone continues throughout the book, as the authors do not try to score “gotcha points,” but simply invite readers to examine the Scriptures on their own terms, without forcing things into a preconceived schema of how the end times will play out.

The authors observe how the prosperous West has bought into the idea that because God loves His children, He would never allow them to go through extreme tribulation, despite the fact that Jesus promised His disciples things would not be easy for them. Concerning whether believers will be taken out of the world before the terrible events described in the book of Revelation, “the issues should be whether the Bible actually teaches that we will escape it, and if not, how we should live. Such readiness is important for any kind of suffering we may face” (p. 24).

Not Afraid of the Antichrist is divided into three parts after the preface and introduction: (1) a survey of reasons many people doubt or question the popular “Left Behind” model of the end times; (2) an analysis of what the Scriptures actually say about the last things and Christ’s second coming; and (3) what the implications of the previous two sections suggest for how Christians should live their lives in light of these facts.

In Part One, Drs. Brown and Keener point out that the dispensational pre-Trib view unnecessarily complicates Bible prophecy, arguing that the simplest solution is usually more likely true. They demonstrate how various biblical passages that talk about the resurrection, death being the last enemy defeated, the time of Christ’s appearing in relation to the Tribulation, and other end-times events, end up being forced to contradict one another (or require elaborate, roundabout arguments to eliminate contradictions) when forced into the dispensational roadmap.

Both authors were initially taught dispensational pre-Tribulational eschatology when they became Christians. In chapter two, they discuss how they came to leave behind their “Left Behind” ideas. Brown relates how he began to wonder how it came to be that, “after reading the Bible day and night for two years, also memorizing thousands of verses, I could back up everything I believed with Scripture, but when it came to the Second Coming, I had to read other books? Why did I not just get this from the Word?” (p. 45). Keener relates how, when he converted to Christianity from atheism, he started out disposed to accept the teachings of his new church, which held to a pre-Tribulation view of the Rapture. But as a new convert called into ministry and attending Bible college, he felt the need to “catch up” with the other students who had grown up in church, so he started reading forty chapters of the Bible every day. Such sustained reading of large chunks of the biblical text led him to see the verses people used to support the dispensational view in their larger contexts, which did not support the way dispensationalists made use of them. When he then discovered that the pre-Trib view was not what all Christians everywhere had always believed, but was developed as recently as 1830[1], and that nearly all of the biblical scholars he respected held to a post-Trib view (although not all in the same exact way), he decided that he should follow the evidence of Scripture over denominational traditions.

Chapter three gives an overview of church history, discussing which views of the end times developed and dominated in different periods (often in relation to the Church’s social situation in relation to the rest of society). Chapter four discusses some of the major issues with the broader dispensational framework, such as arbitrary starting and ending points for the various dispensations that are not clearly marked in Scripture, the relationship of Israel and the Church as the people of God, and serious interpretive gaps introduced by the dispensational schema.

After discussing the issues that cause believers to question the dispensational framework, the second part of the book then dives into what the Bible itself teaches. In chapter five, Dr. Brown looks at the question of whether the Old Testament teaches a pre-Tribulation Rapture. He points out how time and again in the Hebrew Scriptures, even when God was pouring out His wrath on the wicked (whether pagan kingdoms or disobedient Israelites), the faithful, righteous remnant was preserved, and proposes that this could well be the pattern that will be repeated at the end of the age.

Chapter six addresses the question of whether there are one or two phases to Christ’s second coming, concluding that “there is only one second coming” (the title of the chapter). Exegetical work is done with reference to the Greek words for “coming,” “appearing,” and “revelation,” comparing the various passages where these words are employed, yet at a level of discussion that is accessible to readers who have not studied New Testament Greek. Chapter seven evaluates several arguments put forth by those who support a pre-Tribulation view, such as “We will not go through God’s wrath,” “Jesus can come at any moment,” and “Believers will be kept from the hour of testing,” among others. The authors demonstrate how some of these arguments are simply not sustainable from the text, and how others are not the “slam dunk” their proponents think them to be (by showing how the key passages in question can just as easily support a post-Tribulation view).

Chapter eight then presents several passages that the authors believe clearly argue for a post-Tribulation view of the single second coming of Christ. A helpful chart on pp. 151-152 shows how Jesus’ statements in the gospels align with Paul’s declarations in 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Dr. Keener concludes the chapter with an admonition to readers to be wiling to examine any system, eschatological or otherwise, from an outside viewpoint, so as to avoid the confirmation bias that comes from only looking at one’s theological framework from within.

Chapter ten discusses further how believers should live in light of a post-Tribulation view. Instead of speculating about the identity of the antichrist and looking for signs of his arrival, Christians should focus on living faithfully for Christ and anxiously await His appearing—not to whisk them off to heaven, but to judge the nations and reward His faithful followers. Christians should continue building for the Kingdom that is coming, including showing God’s love through the alleviation of human suffering, and not simply abandon this world to its present state because “Jesus is coming soon and the physical isn’t important.”

Chapter eleven, “A Practical Message,” points out that the passages in the Bible dealing with Jesus’ return are “less about relief from tribulation in this world than about being ready to stand before the Lord” (p. 201). The authors point out that our evangelism efforts must be more than offers of “fire insurance”—they should point out that there is a cost to discipleship, a cross to bear. Chapter twelve closes out the book, pointing out that the life Christ offers is worth any temporary pain or persecution we may face; that trials actually help to strengthen the church; that suffering can draw us closer to God because we can no longer rely on our own resources; and that, at the end of it all, God will restore paradise.

While this book may not convince everyone who holds to a dispensational, pre-Tribulational premillennialist view of eschatology, it should at least help people see that a post-Tribulation view has solid biblical support, and is not the “doom-and-gloom” scenario some pre-Tribulation supporters make it out to be. The biblical scholarship of the authors is top-notch, but presented in such a way as to be accessible to the average Christian reader with an interest in the end times.

Reviewed by Brain Roden

For further discussion by the book’s authors on this topic, check out the following video interviews:

Drs. Brown and Keener interviewed about this book in particular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntFde3GQCBw

Dr. Brown explaining post-tribulation  end times theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw-kH0CG-xM

Dr. Keener discussing disproving the pre-tribulation rapture theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzHZEyjihXk

Publisher’s page: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/not-afraid-of-the-antichrist/390720

Preview Not Afraid of the Antichrist: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Not_Afraid_of_the_Antichrist/I6FkDwAAQBAJ

Notes

[1] Editor’s note: Proponents of Dispensationalism and pre-Tribulation Rapture dispute this late date as the emergence of this doctrine.

  From the Conversations with Readers department appearing in the Spring 2008 issue.

In Tony Richie’s review of Roland Chia, Hope for the World: A Christian Vision of the Last Things (IVP, 2005), Pastor Richie says “While Chia briefly notes ‘historic premillennialism,’ he focuses almost exclusively on ‘dispensationalist premillennialism.’ The former builds on the apocalyptic literature of the Scriptures and the patristic teaching of the early Church, the latter on an ultra-literalist hermeneutic of Scripture shaped by a prefabricated paradigm popularized by J. N. Darby and C. I. Schofield [sic] around the turn of the twentieth century. Increasingly, informed classical Pentecostals are identifying irreconcilable differences with such fundamentalist versions of dispensationalism. Dispensationalists are chiefly strong advocates of cessationism, and often entrenched opponents of Pentecostalism.”

The distinctions that Richie criticizes Chia for not making are not genuine distinctions. Dispensationalism is not one-size-fits-all; there are a lot of significant differences among dispensationalists. Here are some examples of different dispensational views: cessationists who use ultra-dispensational arguments to keep the charismata in the early church, many Pentecostals that believe there will be an outpouring of the Spirit before the Rapture (whereas non-Pentecostals say that the apostasy of our culture is that mark of the end coming soon), and many Pentecostals who hold the idea that if you are not right with God that you will not “go up” in the Rapture. I agree that Chia should not lump all pre-tribulation pre-millenarians together. However, Brother Richie appears to have created a straw man of what he feels is dispensationalism. To say that dispensationalism is built on an ultra-literalist hermeneutic is simply incorrect. These are like theological swear words. I fail to see how “belief in the chronology and reality of rapture-great tribulation-millennium” is something other than dispensationalism.

Richie has developed a good reputation for himself through his writings in this publication, and I do appreciate what he has done here, even if we disagree on what dispensationalism is.

—DJ

Response from Tony Richie:

I appreciate D. J.’s penetrating insight and gracious attitude. Biblical and theological conversations in this kind of mode are always a pleasure for me. They also tend to be more informative. Moreover, I think D. J. is correct in his general assertion that dispensationalism is a complex category. We ought to avoid oversimplification. However, in a short book review, the original author’s, in this case, Chia’s, discussion limits one’s range. Yet D. J.’s critique concerns itself with my own definition of (and disputation with?) dispensationalism. Particularly, he resists charges of “ultra-literalism” and challenges whether retaining commitment to the rapture-tribulation-second coming-millennium continuum avoids dispensationalism after all. Mostly, he wishes to call attention to the complexity of the dispensationalist classification. I hope I understand and represent him correctly. Assuming I am, I will proceed to clarify my own position.

In a sense all Christians are dispensationalists in that they distinguish between the Old/New Testaments (Covenants) of Moses and Jesus (John 1:17). Furthermore, Pentecostals are generally dispensationalists in their belief in a pneumatological eschatology, or “latter rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit (cf. Joel 2:23). However, “classic dispensationalism,” goes much farther, compartmentalizing God’s dealings with humanity to a point of historical discontinuity. In other words, they tightly seal off the “dispensations” of history until the unchanging character and nature of God and his Word appear inconsistent or, worse, incongruous. Though there are other versions, for instance, the more recent (and more palatable) “progressive dispensationalism” of Marvin Pate and others, the classic form of Darby and Scofield, albeit updated and expanded by Chafer and Ryrie and others, is still by far the most prominent. In fact, later adaptations are more like departures because they acquiesce on traditionally key points. For example, they abandon or seriously alter, the traditional dispensationalist doctrine that God has two separate peoples and programs, Israel and the Church, with the Church being merely “a divine parenthesis”—as they term it—in redemptive history. As this duality was a defining tenet of classic dispensationalism, to what extent they are still truly dispensationalist remains debatable. The extreme literalism (I don’t mean to “swear”!) of classic dispensationalists is indisputable to anyone who has ever waded through tons of discussion about why kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God in the Synoptic Gospels must mean totally separate things or the difference between Israel and Jacob as denominatives for the OT theocracy. The same mindset lies behind the typical hard distinction between Israel and the Church. Although many liberal critics, such as Barbara Rossing, miss the point, belief in the Rapture is not necessarily dependent on dispensationalism. Excellent Pentecostal scholars such as Stanley Horton (The Promise of His Coming, 1967) and Hollis Gause (Revelation: God’s Stamp of Sovereignty on History, 1983) are not dispensationalist but do believe in the pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church. For me personally, belief in the pre-tribulation Rapture is a matter of imminence as much as anything. I believe the Bible teaches Christ could come at any moment and we had better be ready (e.g., Matt 24:44; Lu 12:40).

I am grateful to D. J. and to PR for an opportunity to engage each other on these important matters of our faith. I look forward to a continuing and deepening discussion.

—Tony