On The Return of Christ: An Interview with Steve Lemke

Steve Lemke, one of the contributing editors to SBC Today, recently published The Return of Christ: A Premillennial Perspective. Charles Savelle, editor of the Bible X(position) blog, recently posted information about The Return of Christ, and interviewed Dr. Lemke about the book. You can read the interview at bibleexposition.net.

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The Return of Christ is the second book that Dr. Lemke has co-edited with Dr. David Allen, Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Both of these books arose from two conferences sponsored by Jerry Vines Ministries and co-sponsored by a number of theological institutions. The first book was Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five Point Calvinism, from the John 3:16 Conference at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, GA in 2008.  Likewise, The Return of Christ: A Premillennial Perspective arose from the Acts 1:11 Conference at Metro First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, GA in 2009. Both books address key theological issues of interest to the church and contemporary evangelical Christians.

The first section of the book has printed versions of all the major presentations at the Acts 1:11 Conference, and five additional articles which fill out the description of premillennial eschatology more completely. The chapters from the Acts 1:11 Conference participants include sermons from well-known Baptist preachers:

• “Stargazers or Soul-Winners?” by Jerry Vines
• “What to do Until Jesus Returns,” by Junior Hill

The conference also featured five other presentations about different aspects of premillennial eschatology:

• “The Patience of Hope,” by Ergun Caner, Provost of Arlington Bible College
• “A Rapture You Can’t Miss, A Judgment You Must Face, A Supper You Will Want to Attend,” by Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
• “Israel and the Great Tribulation,” by Paige Patterson,  President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
• “The Millennial Reign of Christ,” by David Allen, Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• “The Great White Throne Judgment, Heaven, and Hell,” by Richard Land, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

In the second half of the book are valuable supplementary chapters by other contributors:

• “The Doctrine of Eschatology,” by R. Stanton Norman, Provost of Oklahoma Baptist University
• “The Kingdom that Comes with Jesus,” by Craig Blaising, Provost of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
• “The Second Coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament,” by Lamar Cooper, Provost of the Criswell College
• “The Eschatology of the Gospels,” by Steven Cox, Research Professor of New Testament at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary
• “The Eschatology of the Pauline Epistles,” by Michael Vlach, Professor of Theology at the Master’s Seminary

If you’re interested in eschatology, SBC Today recommends that you consider adding The Return of Christ to your library!

Read more at SBC Today