Full Text for CTM Book Review 16-5 (Text)

Book Review 355 Book Review All books reviewed in this periodical may be procured from or tluougb Con­cordia Publishing House, 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis 18, Mo. The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation. A Study of the Last Two Visions of Daniel and the Olivet Discourse of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Revised Edition.) By Philip Mauro. Bible Truth Depot, I. C. Herendeen Swengel (Union Co.), Pa. 279 pages. The present volume is a revision of the first edition, which appeared just twenty years ago. "I have found less need than might be expected for corrections and additions," says the author in an appendix in which he brings his material up to date by referring to present-day tribulations and anti-Semitic violence. It is not an easy task which the author under­takes in this book. "Our object in the present series of papers is to bring before our readers some results of recent studies of the prophecy of the 'seventy weeks' (Daniel 9) and of the Lord's discourse on Mount Olivet (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), in which he applied and ex­panded a part of that prophecy." What a job for a layman! But Mr. Mauro has studied the Scriptures, and studied them with zeal, aCU.lnen, and faith. As we fE'ad his hook, WP m~rvel at the depth as well as the scope of Scripture knowledge and understanding to which he has attained. All this was achieved without the use of the ancient languages -a tool which we often wished the author might possess for his task. How perplexing the interpretation of the "seventy weeks" in Daniel and the Lord's reference to this prophecy can be will become clear if we briefly look at the variety of views that have been held among Lu­theran exegetes on some phases of these utterances. 1. Luther himself regards the "seventy weeks" as seventy times seven years or a total of 490 years. In several sermons on the Gospel for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity and elsewhere he interprets the "seventy weeks" as coming to an end' after the death of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem. While he makes application of these texts to his own time, he does not interpret "the abomination of desola­tion" as a prophecy of the Antichrist. In their context, he says, these words refer directly to the destruction of Jerusalem. 2. In an article in Lehre und Wehre (Vol. 31, p. 230 ff.) Dr. Stoeck­hardt offers an interpretation which differs from Luther's in essential points. He says: "The 'seventy weeks' are an idealized time (eine ideale Zeit), ... which embraces the era from the rebuilding of the Temple to the end of time." The "abomination of desolation" is a prophecy of the Roman Antichrist and his reign of terror. 3. In the following year, 1886, there appeared an article in Lehre 'U.nd W·ehre over the name of H. Kanold which takes issue with Dr. Stoeckhardt's view. This writer appeals to Luther and Calov and en­deavors to show that the "seventy weeks" are 490 calendar years and that they do fit into the dates of history. This definite era, he says, 356 Book Review began in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus (N eh. 5: 14) and ended with the death of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem. "The abomination of desolation" does not refer directly to the Antichrist but is fulfilled in the words of Luke 21: 20: "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." 4. For confirmation of his view Kanold also refers to an earlier article in Lehre und Wehre (Vol. 16, p.74) on the prophecies of Daniel and signed G--r, P. Mr. Mauro's interpretation agrees with Luther's and Kanold's in these essential points: (1) he regards the "seventy weeks" as 70X7 years; (2) these 490 years came to an end with the destruction of Jerusalem; (3) the "abomination of desolation" is not the abomination of the Antichrist but was fulfilled in the horrors of the destruction of Jerusalem. Mr. Mauro does not agree with Luther and Kanold as to when these 490 years began. He brushes aside all secular chronologies based on ancient records as unreliable and insists that the 490 years began when the release of the Jews was decreed by Cyrus. The first year of Cyrus according to Mauro is 457. In the course of his study of the last chapters of Daniel the author also definitely identifies many historical events and persons on the basis of the prophetic word: Alexander, various Seleucids, several Ptolemies, the Maccabees, Herod, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Augustus. But in spite of his literal interpretation of the "seventy weeks" and the identification of historical events and characters as prophesied by Daniel, it is gratify­ing to find no millennialism in this book. Mr. Mauro insists that the time of the second coming of Christ is and shall remain a secret. The reader will want to put some question marks on the margin of the book, e. g., on the pages that speak of Kaiser William II and Adolf Hitler as a revelation of the Antichrist; on the pages that interpret the passage, Dan. 12: 2: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the ground shall awake," etc., as a spiritual awakening from unbelief; and others. But he will also find much sound Scripture doctrine, e. g., the deity and the mediation of Christ. W. R. ROEHRS Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Convention of the Ev. Lutheran Synodical Conference, assembled at Cleveland, Ohio. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 115 pages, 8% X5lj2. 20 cents. For various reasons this is a report of special interest and impor­tance for all pastors and laymen interested in the welfare and the work of our Synodical Conference. Here we have Dr. Fuerbringer's last official address and report as President of the Ev. Lutheran Synod­ical Conference, in which capacity he served for seventeen years. In appreciation of his faithful services he was given the title of Honorary President of the Synodical Conference. -Here we have a very timely and interesting doctrinal essay by Prof. E. Reim on "The Church and Christian Liberty," in which the essayist brings out that this liberty is a glorious gift in which the Church has an inexhaustible subject for profitable study and wholesome contemplation; that the basic truths concerning this liberty constitute a treasure so priceless that the Church must guard them with unflagging zeal; that the proper exercise of this Book Review 357 1iberty among brethren is a matter of such importance that neither Church nor individual may deny these obligations of true Christian fellowship. The essayist pointed out with great candor some of the dangers threatening this precious gift, warning against tendencies which might deprive us of this liberty or might lead to its abuse, and exhorted his audience to guard this privilege in every manner possible. -Here we have a very extended report of the Board for Colored Missions, covering our various fields in America and in far-off Africa. -Here we have the proposed Constitution for the organization of the Negro congregations of the Ev. Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, action on which, however, was deferred. -We have also the report of the Survey of Negro Missions made to the Conference by a committee of three men appointed by the President of the Synodical Conference for the purpose of instituting a thorough review of our colored mission work, with the hope of improving methods of operation and effecting econ­omies. This report offers recommendations for the re-organization of our Negro Missions, for the creation of regional mission districts, for procedure in discipline cases, for defining the duties and powers of the general Board, and on the continuation or closing of some of our colleges and seminaries. This report was carefully considered by a committee, which offered fifteen resolutions to the convention and whose recommendations were adopted. TH. LAETSCH Cross and Affliction. By the Rev. R. C. ReD-I.. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 77 pages, 7% X5%. 40 cents. This is a revised and enlarged edition of the author's book published several years ago. It met with such favor that a new edition became necessary. Its 77 pages offer ten meditations on the Christian's cross, eighteen on the Christian's afflictions, and a few prayers and Scripture readings. Its attractive make-up, the pages being held in the cream paper cover by a blue silk cord, and especially its contents combine to make this a very suitable gift for people going through God's school of trial and tribulation. TH. LAETSCH Gethsemane to Calvary. Olin S. Reigstad. Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minn. 131 pages, 5% X8. 1944. $1.00. The pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis presents another volume of Lenten sermons, including Sunday mornings in Lent, Good Friday, and Easter, and a special series of Midweek Lenten sermons. The book reveals a simple and straightforward homiletic method, namely, a direct utilization of the text and a genuine submission to the intended sense of the Word. To this reviewer the treatment of Matt. 21: 1-9 and of the texts from Isaiah 53 proved unusually interesting in this respect. The goals and purposes of the pericopal texts in the col­lection did not seem quite as unified and clear as those of the series of free texts. In some instances the effort to capture a cadence or to refine the individual sentence seemed to interfere with the clarity and the per­spective of the whole. Some turns of phrase, however, were quite 358 Book Review suggestive and stimulating. And the author blew a most certain trumpet, in every instance, on the great theme of the Vicarious AtonemenL Isaiah 'l'l, particularly, rang fresh and true in his treatule11i. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER The Pilgrhn. O. P. Kretzmann. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 1944. 8lj2X5ljz. 137 pages. $1.50. These selections originally appeared in the Cresset, the monthly review published by the Walther League, in the column entitled "The Pilgrim" and conducted by the editor, now the President of Valparaiso University. Dr. Kretzmann's prose has become deservedly beloved. It gives the illusion of being distilled slowly and hence of surmounting the clutter of haste out of which so many of us must write or think. It browses L,isurely in many pastUl __ , holds up flowers from many "'~lds, and then returns us to be best satisfied with the wisdom of God in Christ Jesus. It takes pains to say its thoughts by means of a complete craftsmanship, satisfied not merely to hammer ideas together, but to refine their state­ment to an ultimate simplicity. This volume will be useful in answering the question, many ye: fror ow, :.ether ::)1'. K man chil ~ ( ,sed was "the opening of unaccustomed vistas of thinking or the helping of our Church to a truer English -or both. It. lRD r -A.EMl :R 'frOB'" ':!':"age(!~1 :D 'J:r::::::pn. -C!:.arleL> l ... BehJ,l~"'C and. ~"~ermafl ""II\;. Bari:eJ.s~ Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 117 pages. 1944. 5¥2x7!f2. $1.00. The pastor of St. Mark's Church of Rochester, New York, and the pastor of Grace Church of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, each contribute a series of Lenten sermons to this slender volume. The first is entitled "Prayer in the Passion History" and the second "Peace Through the Cross." The sermon themes are centered in the respective topics. Pastor Behnke is known in the Church for his dose interest in psychiatry and his ministry to the individuaL His preaching method reflects this trend. He draws on the Passion Story not merely for the insight ir'~ the 8::·.·:or's ':::c::k 0: ~·.:;.:1em:p::V""l, bt..~ appliE;" ~LS fac.~ to the individual's own inner problems. His language is direct and fUllctional. Pastor Bartels manages a slightly more sonorous cadence and cuts a wider swath of allusion and language. Both series reveal the same effort to reach the soul of the hearer with the fact of the Atonement by saying it clearly and winningly. RICHARD R. CAEMII'LERER Lands Away. Earl Marlatt. Abi,llgdon-Cokeshury Press, Nashville, Tenn. 1944. 179 pages, 5%X8. $1.50. The Dean of Boston University School of Theology submits a series of essays providing a survey of modern literature -fiction, drama, essay, and poetry-with the endeavor to point out interpretations of man's spiritual and religious nature. His gleanings do not always reveal men at the climax of their quest i hrist Jesus; frequently the writer and his subjects are sath ~ ': wit'l a humanism and deism quite short of the Cbri.stian goal. The author's Book Review 359 use of previously printed material makes him repetitious in several instances. The little book is most useful, however, in bringing home a sensitive­ness to the spiritual in current literature, which many of us had thought sold out to materialism. The excerpts of Ridgely Torrence and Robinson Jeffers prove, among others, to be most stimulating. The author writes with an easy and relaxed competence. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER Physical Education for Elementary Grades. By Elmer A. Seefeld, M. E. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 240 pages. 9X6. Paper cover. $1.75. Modern education properly stresses the harmonious development of body and mind. In the past the physical side of education was often woefully neglected or at least not sufficiently stressed in school ac­tivities. Here is a book that deals with the body side of education. The author has had wide experience as a teacher of physical education and is eminently well qualified to write on the subject. Every page of the book betrays the experienced and practical teacher. In the first section the author discusses general principles of physical education and general and special aids for the teacher. In the second part, courses for each of the eight grades of the elementary school are outlined in detail. The course for each grade is introduced with a brief discussion of the physical, mental, and social characteristics of the children of that specific gTade. This is followed by a statement of the physical, mental, and social objectives to be gaL.'1ed by physical education. And finally the author furnishes a very complete outline and a great variety of exercises, games, dramatizations, stunts, rhythms, and songs, etc., on the basis of which the teacher will be able to build an interesting and a rich program of physical education. The instructions are clear and concise and supplemented by a unique kind of illustrations. The book contains a great wealth of helpful suggestions to the teacher. It ought to be on the teacher's desk of every parochial school of the Church. Boys' and girls' camp leaders, sponsors of Junior Walther Leagues, and all who have to deal with children will find this book very helpful. The value of the book is enhanced by an excellent bibliography. The print and its mechanical make-up are good, but it should have been bound in cloth rather than in paper. A. M. REHWINKEL Merry Hearts and Bold. By Witty, Fenner, and Nolen. Concordia Pub­lishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 438 pages. 8X6. Cloth. $1.20. This is Book V in the Reading for Interest Series. The stories and poems of this reader were selected by Barbara Nolen and illustrated by Fritz Kredel. Educational consultants were Paul Witty and Phyllis Fenner, adapted for Lutheran schools by William Bloom, William Kramer, and Alfred Schmieding. This series of readers is well known to all teachers and requires no further recommendation. However, besides its usefulness in the school, the book might well find a place in the home and supply mothers with suitable and badly needed material for bed-time stories when the little ones persevere in their cries: "Mother, tell me another one!" A. M. REHWINKEL 360 Book Review BOOKS RECEIVED From Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo.: New Highways in Reading. Practice Book IV by William Bloom and Elmer Huedepohl. Consultant: Alfred Schmieding. 60 pages, 11X8%. 45 cents. Music Reader for Lutheran Schools. One Book Course. By J. Grundmann and B. Schumacher. Fifth Edition. 272 pages, 8lJ4x61f2. $1.50. From Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Co., 334 Pearl St., N. W., Grand Rapids 2, Mich. One Master. By Bertha B. Moore. The Chicken Devil Mystery. By John Bechtel. 102 pages, 5lJ4X7%. 60 cents. Nora. By Henrietta Van Laar. 89 pages, 5lJ4X7%. 60 cents. The Captive's Return. By Sara Elizabeth Gosselink. 89 pages, 5lJ4X7%. 60 cents. Lucius, the Centurion. By Sara Elizabeth Gosselink. 86 pages, 5lJ4X7%. 60 cents. The Royal Inn. By Sara Elizabeth Gosselink. 104 pages, 51f4X7%. 60 cents. The Physician of Galilee. By Sara Elizabeth Gosselink. 87 pages, 5lJ4X7'%, 60 cents. The Mystery of Bethlehem. By Prof. Herman Hoeksema. 119 pages,. 5%X7%. $2.00. God's Way Out. By Rev. Herman Hoeksema. 217 pages, 5%X7%. $2.00. Heavenly Days. By Dr. John ,A •• Dykstra. 200 pages, 5%X7%. $2.50. From Moody Press, 153 Institute Place, Chicago 10, Ill.: Great Songs of the Gospel. Compiled by Al Smith, author of Singspiration. 5% X8; 135 songs; 25 cents a copy (5 cents extra for mailing single copy), 4 for $1.00, postpaid. To Our Subscribers It has been our custom to retain the names of our subscribers on our lists for two numbers after the subscription has expired, so that the subscriptions could be continued without interruption in case e renewal came in late. We were very happy to follow this plan at extra expense, but we are now unable to con­tinue this policy because of present conditions. Our Government has insisted that we reduce consumption of paper and eliminate all possible waste. Because of the restriction in the use of paper it will become necessary to discontinue subscriptions for all of our periodicals with the last number paid for under the subscription agreement. We shall, however, continue our policy of reminding our subscribers of the expiration of the sub­scription by inserting the usual number of notices in the second last and the last numbers of the periodicals they receive. It is our sincere hope that our subscribers will co-operate with us !!lld the Government by renewing their snb­scriptions promptly upon receipt of the first notice. June, 1943 CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE