Book Review: The Last Things by David Höhne

The Contours of Christian Theology is a series of books published by InterVarsity Press to introduce Christians to the main themes regarding Christian Theology. The books included in this series deals with The Church, The Holy Spirit, The Person of Christ, and more. Their most recent book deals with eschatology which is associated with the study of the end times, which this book appears to be the final volume in the Contours of Christian Theology series.

The Last Things written by David Höhne, a lecturer at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia, takes a different approach to eschatology than other books do. While most books go through Revelation in dealing with eschatology, Höhne, goes through the Lord's Prayer, which I am not a fan of calling the prayer Jesus used to teach His disciples, the Lord's Prayer. So not to confuse you with what Höhne is trying to communicate, I will simply call it the Lord's Prayer.

Höhne said the advantages of using the Lord's Prayer is we can adopt it as the guiding system for expounding eschatology to see that eschatology is not an doctrine alienated from all of scripture. The other is the prayer itself is an apostolic reflection on the person and work of Christ. I think what Höhne is trying to get his readers to understand is eschatology is tied to what Jesus did in his life, death and resurrection. A lot of times we think of his Second Coming without really reflecting on his First Coming.

Höhne points out that the Lord's Prayer was the beginning of doctrine in the early church. We see how the Prayer was use to reflect what Christ wants us to ask the Father as we live here on earth waiting for His return. In this Prayer, we see a desire for the Father's will to be done and that is what all Christians want which includes the return of Christ. We should see the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven where sin cannot live and the world is restored in God's grand design. The Prayer should makes us desire for God's ultimate desire for the world to come so that He will get the praise and glory forever and ever.

I have to confess, this is the first book I have read in the Contours of Christian Theology series. There are a few books that I am eager to dive into hopefully soon. In regards to this one, I have to admit I was expecting a little more in the realm of eschatology, but I understand where the author is coming from using the Lord's Prayer as a way to integrate it with eschatology.

Thanks InterVarsity Press from letting me review this book.