Book Briefs: “The Promise of Heaven” by Randy Alcorn

As we approach Christmas, I wanted to highlight some books which would make good gift items. I realize I’m a bit late with this, & I’m late on my shopping, too! But some of you may be in possession of a gift card soon, and wondering what to spend it on… For other gift ideas, you may want to check a new category I’ve created called “ideal gift books“.

The Promise of Heaven: Reflections on Our Eternal Home by Randy Alcorn is an absolutely beautiful book. It is filled with full color, photographs of nature scenes from the West taken by professional nature photographer, John MacMurray.

As one pages through the book, they are struck by the beauty of God’s earth, and then Randy Alcorn fills their minds with thoughts of the New Earth to come. Answering a host of questions about heaven, the book is interesting, informative and delightful. Randy shares the Gospel clearly and encourages us to worship our Lord for the Earth we have, and our future “Heaven on Earth” to come.

The production of this book is top notch. While it isn’t quite a full coffee-table sized book, it deserves a spot on anyone’s coffee table. It would make a great gift for loved ones this Christmas. If someone you know likes Mountains and nature photography, they would absolutely love this fine book. I highly recommend this.

Preview this remarkable book here. And pick up a copy of this book from any of the following online retailers: Christianbook.com, Amazon, or direct from Harvest House.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Harvest House Publishers. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

About Book Briefs: With limited time available to give every book sent my way a full review, I’ll be offering short-form book reviews called Book Briefs. Book Briefs are book notes, or my impression and informed evaluation of a book, but they stop short of being a full book review.

Book Briefs: “Holy Bible, 1611 King James Version (Anniversary Edition)”

As we approach Christmas, I wanted to highlight some books which would make good gift items. I realize I’m a bit late with this, & I’m late on my shopping, too! But some of you may be in possession of a gift card soon, and wondering what to spend it on… For other gift ideas, you may want to check a new category I’ve created called “ideal gift books“.

I have always been fascinated by the history of the English Bible. I remember being astonished when I first learned that the original 1611 King James Bible had marginal notes referencing variant readings, the literal Greek and Hebrew, and offering alternative renderings. Then came the day I got my hands on a reprint of an original 1611 King James Bible: I devoured my copy and enjoyed every minute I spent looking at it.

If you are looking for a good gift for the studious, theology geek in your life (or for any pastor or Bible teacher, for that matter), a new mass-market reprint edition of the 1611 King James Bible from Zondervan is sure to please. This edition, published in honor of the 400th anniversary this year of the King James Version, has a soft feel to its hardcover which mimics both the look and feel of the original leather. This Bible is a more handy size at 8″ x 5.4″ than the original 12″ x 16″. It comes with the original typeset – Gothic letters for the main text, and Roman for what modern Bibles have in italics. And all 7,400 plus original marginal notes are also preserved. In addition, this edition includes what some of the other reprints leave out, namely the decorative genealogies and maps that precede the book of Genesis.

The big omission of this book, is the Apocrypha. I guess since the volume is already 2.6″ thick, they didn’t want to make it even more bulky. And most Protestant readers won’t miss it. Unfortunately there are some King James Only advocates who seem to be unaware that the original KJV contained the Apocrypha, and if they don’t look too closely, this edition may bolster their mistaken assumption.

That being said, the original maps, decorations and typeset, and all the strange archaisms — like “ye” for “the”, “f”s for “s”s, and the interchange of “i” and “j” and “u” and “v” — will absolutely delight the lover of old books. It also illustrates that almost no one today truly uses a 1611 King James Bible.

This Bible is inexpensively priced if you can still find it. Walmart was selling this over the summer for around $7.99. You can still pick up a copy of this book from the following online retailers: Amazon.com. You may also be interested in A Visual History of the King James Bible by Donald Brake, if this title has caught your eye.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Zondervan. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

About Book Briefs: With limited time available to give every book sent my way a full review, I’ll be offering short-form book reviews called Book Briefs. Book Briefs are book notes, or my impression and informed evaluation of a book, but they stop short of being a full book review.

“The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology” by Jason C. Meyer

Book Details:
  • Author: Jason C. Meyer
  • Category: Theology
  • Publisher: Broadman & Holman Academic (2009)
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Page Count: 352
  • ISBN#: 9780805448429
  • List Price: $19.99
  • Rating: Highly Recommended

Review:
The nature of how the Mosaic Law relates to the Gospel and the new covenant is a perennially problematic question. Luther and Calvin wrestled over this, and we continue to wrestle over this down to today. Jason C. Meyer picks up his pen to try and tackle this problem in his book The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology, as part of the New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology from Broadman and Holman.

With such an enormous topic, it is doubtful that Meyer will please everyone. And while I found much that was excellent in his book, there were moments where I thought he didn’t handle something well enough and times where I wished he would have dealt with a topic that he passed over. But I can’t fault Meyer for not tackling head-on, an important question. He does an able job dealing with this question and his book was truly a joy to read.

Meyer’s book presents the problem of how the Mosaic covenant is handled in Paul and then focuses on the old/new antithesis in Paul as the solution to this problem. He studies Paul’s epistles to see how Paul himself presents the old vs. the new, and particularly how he talks of the covenant. From this a few key passages are identified and discussed in detail: 2 Corinthians 3-4, Galatians 3-4, and Romans 9-11. Then after dealing with Paul’s theology of the old and new, Meyer goes to the Old Testament himself to see if he can harmonize Paul with the Old Testament’s own description of the Mosaic covenant, in its own terms.

Meyer’s conclusions are that Paul sees a difference between the Old covenant and New Covenant in eschatological terms. The old was ineffectual and is proven so by the presence of the new covenant in the here and now. With the dawn of the new age, the old covenant is seen for how ineffectual it was. The new covenant has the power to create lasting change through the presence of the Spirit in far greater measure than in the old.

Along the way, Meyer offers a masterful analysis of the texts he covers and models a careful, yet thoroughly evangelical approach to Scripture, which focuses on the authorial intent and canonical form of the text. My primary issue with his exegesis is in his making too much of Romans 11 and failing to deal adequately with the fact that in the new covenant we still have those who are visible members but not actual partakers of the covenant. I also wish he would deal more explicitly with the question of Israel and the Church: does the old/new antithesis in Paul imply that the church should be seen as the new and fuller expression of believing Israel? I suspect Meyer would say yes, but he doesn’t come right out and address this.

The book makes for a fascinating read, and will be appreciated by lay students as well as pastors and scholars. Knowledge of exegesis and theology will help in being able to appreciate the book more, however. Meyer writes with clarity and has a knack for boiling down complex issues and explaining what other more technical writers are saying. He interacts with the voluminous literature on the topic well, and maintains a thoroughly evangelical approach throughout. This is a refreshing read and I highly recommend it.

Author Info:
Jason C. Meyer is associate professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Previously he was assistant professor of religion (New Testament and Greek) at Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana. He holds degrees from Oklahoma Wesleyan University (B.S.) and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M. Div., Ph. D.).

Where to Buy:
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon
  • Broadman & Holman

Related Media:
  • Book Preview

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Broadman and Holman Publishing Group for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.