| Many Christians today might be surprised by the title of this scholarly monograph. It certainly doesn't sound devotional or inspirational, yet this topic is vital to a correct understanding of God and His redemptive plan in history. As Moses sang after God delivered Israel from the hands of the Egyptian army: the LORD is a warrior (Exodus 15). The authors go through both the Old and New Testaments to demonstrate the pervasiveness and importance of this theme in Scripture. Beginning with the Old Testament, the authors handle the themes of God fighting for His people, God fighting against His people, the understanding of Holy War and the cosmic battles in the spiritual realm that occur alongside physical, earthly battles. In the New Testament, many will be most surprised to find that Jesus, "meek and mild," is actually a divine warrior that defeats the enemies of God and His people. There is some really good stuff at this point, especially about the mission of Jesus. Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman and yet Immanuel, came to destroy the works of the devil and He did so when He crushed the head of the serpent at Calvary! The book ends with a discussion of the divine warrior, Christ, and the divine warfare depicted in the Revelation. This is not Christian jihad explained, far from it, rather it is an understanding that the most important battle is above and beyond our sight and power, that God fights His own battles and won the most important battle for us against what Longman and Reid call the "apocalyptic alliance:" of flesh, sin, law and death. Furthermore, this is a battle that spans Scripture and is crucial to our understanding of redemptive history, the mission of Christ, and our own salvation. Highly recommended...by the way, if you are a preacher, this stuff will preach! |
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