https://www.waterstones.com/book/it-must-be-finished/samuel-whitefield/9781732338005
Return of Jesus
Of interest to me as a reviewer as the book covers similar ground to my ‘Last Days & End Times – Making the Connection’, but in a completely different way. Whitefield’s book has some high endorsements but I wonder how much these people really read/engaged with the material in detail: Walter Kaiser, Joel Richardson, Daniel Juster. Biggish names….. There are indications book was prepared in a hurry and one or two poor bits of editing.
The book divided into 5 parts:
Why study Jesus’ return?
Promises that must be fulfilled – God’s promises to Israel & The Nations
What must be resolved – the crisis of Covenant
God’s promise to the Nations
War Over the Promises
Big thesis
Whitefiled is generally strong on the Israel question and exploring what he calls “the crisis of covenant” (which term, I like!). His big ‘thesis’ is that Jesus secured covenant promises on the Cross, but did not fulfill them (entirely). Hence there is still work to be done, and hence the title. However if I was being ‘picky’ I’d comment that on the Cross Jesus said “It is Finished”, not it needs to be finished. This dichotomy Whitefield does not explore at all. He should have.
As regards the interactions of the older covenants to the new covenant, Whitefield has some good things to say. He reminds me I have a project on my heart to write something on The New Covenant (TNC), as I have some perspectives that I think are unique. Whitefield’s general direction of travel on TNC seems broadly as per my understanding.
I’d say 80% of Whitefield’s book is good, and I’d happily recommend it to a mature Christian. Whitefield quotes hundreds of supporting scriptures (I did not double check them all). Most I did check seemed relevant, but one or two were I thought, non sequiturs!
Weakness
The big weakness of the book is that Whitefield appears to hold to a Dominionist theology. If he does not, then he fails to make clear precisely where he does stand. Nowhere in the book does the author define what he means by ‘church’. My book ‘Rebel Church’ (2013: https://www.christian-publications-int.com/default-42.html ) explores the great falling-away predicted by Jesus. Nowhere does Whitefield discuss this. In that sense his book is un-balanced. By contrast Whitefield posits a ‘mature’ and ‘holy’ church that is strongly saving souls until (and especially just prior to) the return of Jesus. He does not say ‘remnant church’, which might have been enough. Nowhere does Whitefield consider the remnant church, nor the apostate church.
Reading between the lines (and we should not have to do this !!) I think Whitefield expects some massive reawakening, revival and cleansing of the ‘church’ (not defined) to enable us to live through the Tribulation. Now this is possible and could be one of the explanations of “the two witnesses” of Revelation. I’d like to have seen that subject explored, but it would almost be a new book in its hugeness as a potential subject.
Dominionists would undoubtedly ‘see’ Whitefield as on their side. I’m not sure he is, but his ambiguity leaves one unsure just what he does believe.
Nowhere in the book does he speak of ‘rapture’. I think I understand his reticence on this and I concur with it. Whitefield evidently does not see the church being spirited away before Christ’s return. Rather, he is explicit that the church witnesses until Christ’s return. And he sees the church as the major active opposition to Antichrist. He hardly alludes to Christian suffering, however, which I think it a key theme in end-time discourse. This is an American book and perhaps for an American readership, and American Christians do not ‘do’ suffering!!
Whilst I enjoyed the book in many aspects, overall it is unbalanced and that is its core weakness.
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Peter Sammons © March 2023
Peter Sammons runs Christian Publications International and has authored several books including “One Flesh – What Jesus Teaches About Love, Relationships, Marriage – and a Lot More!” His most recent book “Last Days and End Times (or direct relevance to this book review) is linked here:
https://christian-publications-int.com/Last_Days_and_End%20Times.html
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