Book Review of “Irrevocable”
I read an earlier book by Max King, The Spirit of Prophecy, in the early 1990s (originally published in 1971). I was fascinated with King’s exegesis of scripture in ways I had not previously considered. He made me think. I expected no less in this new book, Irrevocable, likely King’s last book (he is almost 90 years old).
In Irrevocable, King goes into great depth on just three chapters of the Bible, Romans 9-11. Within these chapters, he parses and analyzes, compares and contrasts every aspect possible. I found it hard to keep up. Maybe my brain is more tired now.
From what I did grasp, King says this difficult section by the apostle Paul is good news, not bad news, for all mankind, not just the Roman readers.
King goes to great lengths to prove that God’s gift of salvation is inclusive, not exclusive. He explains that both Jews and Gentiles are invited into the Kingdom. God wants all to be united, healed, whole.
If you can stay engaged with King’s scholarly writings (I struggled to stay interested, alas), you’ll learn not only about Paul’s New Testament theology, but also about God’s dealings with Israel in the Old Testament and how it relates to the New Testament.
I wish my dad were still here to read Irrevocable. Before he died, my dad had begun compiling his own book on Romans. I’m sure he would have enjoyed King’s scholarly approach, including tons of quotes from other authors and myriads of biblical references.
If you enjoy heavily academic books and like to be challenged in your thinking, Irrevocable might be for you.
* * *
My thanks to SpeakEasy
for the review copy of this book
- Who Do You Need to Forgive This Christmas?
- 9 Reasons to Keep Hope Alive No Matter What – Lessons from 2019
Sounds a bit too “heavy” for me, Lisa, but thanks for the review.
Blessings!
sounds challenging to my dull brain. But it does the synapses good to charge them up at times, doesn’t it? Congrats on sticking with this read
No habla English… ! ?
I do love brain’s that seek deeper.
And love the insight into your dad… someday I’ll talk with him about his perfect take on Paul…
And Paul will smile and nod…
When you said this, Lisa, I nodded in understanding–> ‘I found it hard to keep up. Maybe my brain is more tired now.’
This year I randomly decided to put down a book if it didn’t capture me after 50 pages. This has served me well … and allowed me to pick up something that more clearly spoke to me. Which, these days, is non-fiction.
And that might be the biggest reading gift of 2019!
I read King’s book also. It was a tough read, so I looked him up on Wikipedia, where I learned he is what’s called a Full Preterist. He believes that ALL Bible prophecies were fulfilled by 70 AD. “All” includes the Second Coming, the Final Judgment, and the Millenial Reign. Most Preterists are “Partial” Preterists, and believe that most of the propecies are over except for those three above. Most conservative Christians who care about this stuff consider Full Preterism a heresy.
I don’t use that kind of useless name-calling. King is also a Universalist. It was fascinating to me that he worked so hard to prove that non-believing Jews AND all believers were acceptable to God simply because that’s what God promised.
For example: “For God has bound all people over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” (Romans 11:32)