Nobody taking a course in Christian theology today can miss the importance of context. At one time the term was used mostly of literary context, but now in this hermeneutically conscious age there is emphasis, quite properly and helpfully, on the canonical context, the historical and cultural contexts, our contemporary and personal contexts, and so on. But there is one context our evangelical forefathers never forgot and that we may be in danger of forgetting, the eternal context. Bruce Milne traces many of the ills of the contemporary church to the loss of an eternal perspective, and he is surely right. To read his book is to be firmly and yet graciously reminded of its crucial importance.

The book is divided into three sections, dealing with the OT, the Gospels and the rest of the NT. In accordance with the series format, each of the twenty chapters focuses on a particular Biblical passage or passages. Each chapter closes with a brief summary and there are study questions. Some writers in this series have included passages which at first sight (but not when expounded) appear to have little relevance to the theme, and this is stimulating. Bruce Milne does not do this, yet there is much to stimulate the reader, as these pages are full of new insights into familiar passages. Not only so, but the wider interest is always there as the book touches so many other aspects of Christian truth, for everything is seen in its true light when viewed from an eschatological perspective.

The book will be of great value to preachers, for it engages faithfully with the Biblical text, answers objections sensitively but firmly and shows the great importance of the truths it expounds. View it as exegesis, as theology or in terms of pastoral concern and it scores highly.

Milne brings to the task considerable theological ability and acuity, previously seen in such works as Know the Truth and The End of the World, and the mature insight gained in the course of a long ministry in Vancouver based on the faithful exposition of Scripture and a concern for its evangelistic and pastoral relevance. He is thorough in his treatment of passages and he gives able answers to possible objections to his exegetical conclusions. At one point he says, ‘Today’s pluralistic instincts are inimical to antitheses. Since no single viewpoint is a final perspective, truth lies in the amalgam of diverse positions. Absolute contradictions are anathema’ (214). The Bible however deals in antitheses and nowhere does he blur these, although he is reticent at points where reticence is appropriate, for heaven and hell are pictured in Scripture not in great detail but with broad brush-strokes.

He is obviously concerned to deal adequately with the challenge of annihilationism to traditional views of hell and he does not dismiss this lightly, while himself arguing for the traditional position. He indicates treatments by others with special relevance to this issue.

Each of the three sections has much to offer, but for me his treatment of some of our Lord’s parables and of the great Cry of Dereliction were the high points. A little more engagement with Philip Johnston’s research on the subject of She’ol would have been welcome, but this is a small criticism of a fine book.