Critical Book Review of The Millennial Maze by Stanley J. Gr

The author, Stanley J. Grenz, was born in Alpena, Michigan, in 1950. Grenz earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder, as well as his M.Div. from Denver Seminary. Grenz has also earned his D.Th. from the University of Munich, Germany, where he wrote a dissertation entitled "Isaac Backus--Puritan and Baptist". In 1976, Stan was ordained into the gospel ministry. He has served as youth director, assistant pastor, pastor, and interim pastor on three occasions. He has preached and lectured in numerous churches, colleges, universities and seminaries in North America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia.

Currently Stan Grenz has authored or co-authored twenty-three books. He has served as president of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion and as a member of the national board of the American Academy of Religion. He participates in both the Doctrine Commission and the Theological Education Committee of the Baptist World Alliance, is a consulting editor of Christianity Today.

The Millennial Maze provides a helpful introduction to eschatology, the study of the last things or the end times. Grenz introduces his work with a bi

ographical section where he tells how he became interested in and realized the importance of eschatology. Although he grew up in classical dispensationalism , in seminary he moved first to historic premillennialism and then to amillennialism . Next, Grenz gives a brief overview of the historical theology, and of the various changes and developments throughout church history. He then outlines the four major eschatological theories: Postmillennialism, Dispensationalism, Historic Premillennialism, and Amillennialism. Grenz discusses the criticisms that each of these schools of thought have for each other and what he sees as the shortcomings of each. The seventh chapter asks the question, "So what?" by dealing with the significance of the whole debate. The book concludes with a chapter explaining how eschatology should shape us here and now in the work of the Christian church.

Dispensational premillennialism insists on a very literal interpretation of prophecy. It understands history as divided in distinct dispensations and looks for a literal millennium on earth after the Second Coming, which will occur only after worsening world conditions.

Grenz concludes with an edifying chapter on "corporate eschatology" which emphasizes that biblical eschatology does not prima

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