Book Review -- Apostle of the Last Days -- C. Marvin Pate
Several weeks ago, I was sent a book from the Kregel
Academic Division by C. Marvin Pate, Apostle of the Last Days—The Life, Letters, and Theology of Paul. The arrival of this book coincided with a
study that I had been doing in Acts and it came at just about the time I was
going through the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.
While there was some good material about the basic history of Paul, the
whole subject matter of the book was concerned with the eschatological stances
that Paul placed in his epistles. One particular
thing I appreciated about Pate’s subject matter was his response to some of the
critics who have attempted to question the authenticity of the Pauline
letters. I have increasingly noticed in the
last five years or so that there is an increasing tide among those who once
believed in the Bible to begin to pick at its edges and question the authority
of the Word of God. Pate meets some of
that response briefly in the introduction as he moves toward a conservative
approach to the Bible. You will benefit
from what he has written and how he has responded (p. 13).
Another point that Pate builds on is the aspect that Paul’s
teaching in his epistles came primarily as a response to the opposition that
came against him in the 1st century as the apostolic church was
developing. I am certainly one in belief
that most American pastors have a tendency to shrink back from theological
conflict of any form mustering the excuse that they want to operate out of
basis of “love.” However, we must again
realize that in Acts 20 as Paul was leaving the Ephesian elders that he expressly
told them to be on the lookout for the wolves that would come along and make an
effort to subvert Scripture. Pate makes reference
to the antagonists that Paul came against (p. 20).
I found another helpful matter in this book because there
are multiple tables, charts, and diagrams that the author incorporated to help
the reader to “see” a clearer picture of the subject. Additionally, I began to appreciate greatly
an author who is willing to put footnotes that are exceptionally documented so
that if one is a motivated reader and student, he will have the ability to
ferret out the sources and content of what has been written.
Brother Jolley used to be notorious for taking a book an
underlining a sentence and saying, “This sentence right here (as he pointed it
out) is worth the price of the book!” Or
there were other times that he would say, “The price of the book is worth this
chapter!” (He told me that Alexander
Whyte’s OT/NT Characters of the Bible was
worth the chapter on Ahithophel.) For me
the best chapter in this book was the one where Pate writes about Paul being an
“apocalyptic seer” and he summarizes every one of the epistles and how that his
conversion/call to ministry had its roots in the coming events of
eschatology.
One more additional matter needs to be given also. I found that Pate did a decent job of
interpreting the matter of the operation of the gifts of the Spirit when he
writes about 1 and 2 Corinthians. It
would appear that he is not a cessationist when he notes that prophecy and
tongues will be in full operation until the rapture takes place (p. 139). Furthermore he points to the texts in Jeremiah
31, Ezekiel 36, and Joel 2 and notes that just as most apostolic believers will
give an interpretation. He notes that
aspects of the New Covenant have not been totally fulfilled but the outpouring
of the Spirit in Acts 2 began the age but it has not culminated and will not be
until after the rapture.
I would recommend this book as one to add to your library
with the understanding that it is academic in nature and will not be a quick
read if you are looking for inspirational reading.
Thanks for reading. . .
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