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Jesus Delayed

Name: Jesus Delayed
Author: J.E. Gulbrandsen
ISBN: 978-1-4602-9112-2

WHAT THE BIBLE IS REALLY TEACHING ABOUT THE RAPTURE

by J.E. Gulbrandsen ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2016

An important contribution to Evangelical thought.

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A radical reinterpretation of the Bible and the core of mainstream Evangelical theology.

At the heart of Evangelical thought today is its view about the final coming of Jesus. The generally accepted interpretation of it is known as “dispensationalism,” which states that Jesus will return to judge man for his sins sometime in the imminent future. Debut author Gulbrandsen, though, takes issue with dispensationalist arithmetic, asserting that the Bible unambiguously states that Jesus will appear a generation after the restoration of Israel. If the creation of the modern state of Israel counts as that restoration, he says, and a generation is approximately 40 years long, then the Second Coming should have happened around 1988. As it clearly didn’t, the author says that a new timeline, culled from a fresh reading of the Bible, is necessary. To that end, he says that Jesus’ death and resurrection ushered in a new covenant, and that his austere judgment was already delivered in 70 A.D. The implication of this new chronology is significant: in it, Satan has already been defeated, and the “Anti-Christ” discussed in the Bible, actually the Roman Emperor Nero, has come and gone. The final coming has yet to transpire, the author asserts, and it isn’t designed as a judgment of sin, but as a reward to believers. Gulbrandsen argues that his revision of dispensationalism liberates Christianity from the gloomy expectation of impending doom; the end of days, he says, is something for believers to enthusiastically look forward to. Also, he says, Christians have every reason to expect faith itself to expand across the globe: “A few years from now, most of Christianity will be catching on. A generation from now, dispensationalism will only be a few chapters in the church history books.” Gulbrandsen’s argument is a provocative one, and it’s hard not to be impressed by both his marriage of hopefulness and eschatology, as well as his willingness to challenge received orthodoxy. He articulates his exegetical positions with considerable care, if sometimes with a touch of bombast. The author is an Evangelical addressing other Evangelicals, and this theological tract likely won’t appeal beyond that particular crowd. For those within it, though, this book provides valuable fodder for serious consideration.

An important contribution to Evangelical thought.

Pub Date: July 25, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4602-9112-2

Page Count: -

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.