Weekly Recommendation: "The Second Coming

As I prepare for next weeks message, I have been reading through John MacArthur's excellent book, "The Second Coming: Sign's of Christ's Return and the End of the Age." MacArthur is my favorite living author and pastor and I turn to him frequently for help and guidance. I bought this book when I was a teenager and deeply interested in the end times and Revelation.

MacArthur marches the reader primarily through the Olivet Discourse (the subject of the next few weeks sermons) which deal with Christ's second coming. What I like about MacArthur is his straightforward and ability to write with clarity about this difficult subject. MacArthur is not afraid to deal with difficult issues (for example, the question of why does Christ move from the temple in His time to the end of the world thousands of years later). What is most helpful is MacArthur's consistency in turning to Scripture as the answer to all of these issues.

MacArthur is convicted by Scripture and offers a book rooted in Scripture. If anyone wants to know about the end times, and especially through the lens of Jesus' own words on the subject, I can think of no greater book than this. I have enjoyed reading it. At times it is deep, but it is always profound and understandable. Which is a difficult task for anyone writing about the end times.

One of my biggest frustrations on reading book about the end times is that they are primarily full of predictions that we cannot know for sure. For example, many Christians have believed many people to be the antichrists only to end up not to be correct. Likewise, many end times writers will take the latest news event and declare it to be the last sign. MacArthur is not one to jump at such oppurtunities. When he points to current events, he does so carefully and rationally.

Therefore, anyone wanting a more sober read into the end times, MacArthur is a great place to turn.