Recent times

In The Last Things, George Eldon Ladd offers a serious discussion of eschatology written for the layperson, basing his doctrine of the last things on the conviction that "our final word...is to be found in the reinterpretation of the New Testament through Old Testament prophecy."

Biblical prophecies concerning the end times have been the subject of a great many books. However, many of them are popularized accounts containing little reasoned biblical scholarship. Still, the serious studies available are often too difficult for the average reader to understand. In The Last Things, George Eldon Ladd has endeavored to rectify this situation with a serious discussion of eschatology written for the everyday reader.

Two interpretations of the relationship between Old and New Testament prophecies have been offered. One perspective sees separate programs for Israel and the Christian Church, while the other recognizes progressive revelation and the unity of the Testaments.

Professor Ladd holds to the latter position, basing his doctrine of the last things on the conviction that "our final word...is to be found in the reinterpretation of the New Testament through Old Testament prophecy." Only when prophecies are seen in the light of God's revelation through Christ can we clearly understand what they refer to in relation to the end times.