The Triumph of the Redeemed: An Eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times :: By Jonathan C. Brentner
My good friend Jonathan Brentner has produced yet another volume that gives us God’s perspective on living the Christian life in these darkening times so near the end of the Age of Grace. With all the unknowns that the immediate future holds, such a guide is one much needed. I will let Jonathan explain his excellent book and his reason for writing it.
Summary
My purpose for writing The Triumph of the Redeemed was to show how the specifics of Bible prophecy intersect with our daily lives in a way that calms our fears and encourages our hearts during the perilous times in which we live. The “blessed hope” of the gospel points us to the glorious moment when eternity begins for all who know the Savior (Titus 2:11–14). However, few believers today focus on the joy of meeting Jesus in the air. Instead, they endure affliction and heartaches with a shortsighted perspective that fails to look beyond their earthly existence.
The divorce of the Rapture from the message of the gospel has resulted in a near blackout of teaching about it. This negatively affects new believers as well as seasoned saints, as it leaves them ill-prepared to live in a fear-ridden society. In addition, this neglect, or even denial, of Bible prophecy provides no context into which a follower of Jesus can place the violence and lawlessness of our day or the push for a New World Order or what the World Economic Forum calls the “Great Reset.”
It’s a focus on the joy that lies ahead that calms our hearts amid our daily struggles as well as when reports of disconcerting world events fill our newsfeeds. This mindset enables us to put today’s widespread wickedness and thwarting of justice into a perspective that brings inner peace. The biblical teachings regarding our future are where we find relief from the anxious thoughts that so easily creep into our minds during these perilous times as well as when we suffer affliction.
In Section I, I build a case for the necessity of a two-world perspective; the one that the Apostle Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 and Romans 8:18. The heart of the message in this section is learning to value eternal realities above the fleeting things of this life.
I discovered the necessity of maintaining a firm grasp on a two-world perspective the hard way. Although I knew biblical prophecy and loved to preach about it as a young pastor, I didn’t value eternal joy above my temporal goals. When my life fell apart, I grasped for fleeting earthly aspirations rather than seize the Lord’s promise of His appearing and of my future reign with Him in His kingdom. The Lord used a renewed focus on my eternal hope to deliver me from the chains of PTSD.
Section II is all about defending premillennialism, which I call “The Foundation of Living with An Eternal Perspective.”
Premillennialism provides the key foundation for placing our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11–14) before the start of the seven-year Tribulation. If one dismisses what the Bible says about the literalness of the Tribulation and Jesus’ thousand-year reign over the nations as do amillennialists, it doesn’t matter what one believes about the placement of the Rapture in regard to the Tribulation.
In this section, rich in rehearsing many Old Testament promises to Israel, I argue for Israel’s continuing place in God’s prophetic program. A key argument that I develop is this: The certainty of the Lord fulfilling His oft-repeated promise to restore the fortunes of Israel is a necessary component of the Lord’s righteous character. Israel’s future restoration vindicates His holiness and character as a covenant-keeping God.
Section III builds on the previous one with many arguments for the pretribulation Rapture based on the assumption of premillennialism and that we must interpret biblical prophecy according to the intent of the author at the time he wrote rather than retrofit it with an understanding based on human wisdom.
I begin by demonstrating the uniqueness of the Rapture and build upon that with other arguments such as imminency, the expectation of the Thessalonians of being alive at the time of the Rapture, the surprise beginning to the Day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11), and even how the panic of the Thessalonians in Paul’s second letter to them verifies their expectation to miss all of the Day of the Lord, which includes the Tribulation period. In one of the chapters, I select several passages from the book of Revelation that point to our pre-Tribulation departure from this world.
Another chapter shows how the Jewish wedding customs of the first century AD fit with the pre-Tribulation Rapture and provide a perspective that removes fear regarding its suddenness.
I conclude with a review of church history that shows credible evidence of early beliefs in the Rapture as a separate event from the Second Coming as well as a very early quote that is definitely pre-Tribulational in nature.
Section IV is The Triumph of the Redeemed. I start the section with these words:
“Why have I put so much effort into establishing the biblical truths of premillennialism and the pre-Tribulation Rapture? It’s because these teachings not only honor the intent of the words of Scripture, but they alone provide the specifics of our hope that result in a gospel-driven, two-world perspective, one that mimics that of the Apostle Paul (see 2 Corinthians 4:17–18; Romans 8:18). These truths confirm the splendor of the future triumph we will someday share because of our union with Jesus Christ.”
This section has five chapters devoted to one aspect of how we as believers will share in Jesus’ triumph:
- We Will Receive Immortal Bodies
- We Will Celebrate with Great Jubilation
- We Will Take Part in Jesus’ Glorious Return
- We Will Reign with Christ
- We Will Spend Eternity in Paradise
In the Conclusion: One Minute to Midnight, I point out several signs of Jesus’ soon return and end with a strong Gospel message for anyone who happens to be reading and does not yet know Jesus as their Savior.
I conclude with these words:
“Our exciting eternal adventure starts with the Rapture, and it’s coming soon. We will surely share in Christ’s triumph over all His foes and forever reign with Him in the Millennium—and after that in the eternal state where the joys of exploring God’s creation will never end and our amazement of seeing the New Jerusalem and our God will continue for all eternity.”
The Triumph of the Redeemed—An Eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times
Author: Jonathan C. Brentner
Publisher: Defender Publishing
ISBN: 9781948014557
To order: From the SkyWatch TV Bookstore