54. The Coming Golden Age

54. The Coming Golden Age: 31 Ways To Be Kingdom Ready. David Jeremiah. 2024. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars] [christian nonfiction]

First sentence from the introduction: I've been fascinated by biblical prophecy all my life, and nothing encourages me more than God's predictions about the future. But I don't make many predictions myself. The Bible is infallible; I'm not. 

The Coming Golden Age by its very topic may prove to be decisive. It is about the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Now there are dozens if not hundreds of positions on how to interpret the book of Revelation. All have a different view or take on the millennial reign. Some would argue that those thousand years are anything but literal. Some see the LITERAL reign of Christ on earth as the key to make sense of all the many, many, many loose ends of the Old Testament. Read the major and minor prophets, reading with the millennial perspective does bring clarity in many ways. Some choose not to engage in the battle exactly--to not argue about the details of prophecy and just focus on the glory of the coming kingdom, to focus on all the kingdom promises. So many rich promises are to be found in the book of Revelation. 

So from the get go, the perspectives you bring with you to the text might influence whether you enjoy this devotional book. Some people will automatically reject the theology--end of story. This isn't the one for you.

I don't engage in every battle regarding the details of Revelation. I see strengths and weaknesses to many of the different overall positions. Some I agree with more than others. I have my own leanings. But I also see them as more speculative than certain-certain. End of story GREAT confidence. How we get there--the details are fuzzier. But I do strongly lean towards a LITERAL interpretation of the millennial reign. [That being said, a LOT of authors I read hold different positions. It is not a deal breaker for me.]

I love the idea of this one. Thirty-one readings with the topic of the end days and millennial reign of Christ. Each reading is accessible enough and engaging. I do wish that each reading focuses a tiny bit more on Scripture itself. I wish that the book took a more methodical approach and walked readers through all the passages, the prophecies, the relevant texts. The book does value Scripture--no doubt about that. It just values stories--past and present--little factoids here and there. For example, I read the newspaper the other day and read about [fill in the blank] and then several paragraphs later drop in some verses. It makes for a casual, conversational read. Nothing unpleasant about it. I just wanted a little bit more meat. Because I DO agree with the literal reign and was hoping to learn about all the Old Testament bits in a more organized, focused, easy-to-follow way. 

I did enjoy it. I didn't necessarily love, love, love it. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible