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God, Heaven, and Har Magedon: A Covenantal Tale of Cosmos and Telos

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Impressive! This is a must read for any Christian called to a teaching and/or preaching ministry.

Once again, Dr. Kline delivers an impressive exegetical analysis, as he traces the "Mountain of God" typology through the Bible. In this book, he argues that the "Mountain of God" helps illustrate the seen and unseen kingdoms of God, from the Garden of Eden to the final judgment sequences in Daniel, Revelation, and other apocalyptic texts. This book complements Kingdom Prologue and some of his earlier books which develop the covenant worldview/theology; it also includes academic papers which he has written.

I think this book will challenge the commonly held apocalyptic/eschatological views of many faithful Christians in the decades to come. In so doing, it will hopefully enable God's Church to come to a better understanding and fulfillment of its role in this world and the next.

Publisher Description (from the preface written by the author Meredith Kline): It could be this octogerian's last book and there were several things I wanted to do. One was to provide a primer in covenant theology. Another was to make more accessable the gist of some of my previous biblio-theological studies and to do so in a form serviceable to a wider readership than most of my publications.

The major move in this democratic direction was to enliven the analysis of the covenants by introducing the series of covenant administrations within the intriguing story line of Har Magedon, the mountain of God. Extending as it does from creation to consummation, the tale of Har Magedon readily accommodates the total history of the covenants . . . Moreover, quite apart from such considerations the current state of secularized and dispensational versions of "Armageddon" (fantastic fiction all) makes a review of the biblical Har Magedon motif timely.

Though the covenants remain the theological foundation and heart of the matter, by its adoption as our narrative framework, Har Magedon becomes the dominant serface theme. As we track this theme through the Scriptures we discover a recurring pattern, an eschatological megastructure that appears in each of the typological world ages culminating respectively at mounts Ararat and Sinai/Zion and then once again, climactically, in the antitypical New Covenant age. This Har Magedon paradigm, which shapes our telling of the covenental tale, consists in the following complex of elements: establishment of a kingdom covenant by the Lord of Har Magedon; a meritorious accomplishment by the covenant grantee, triumphant in the Har Magedon conflict; a common grace interim before the coming of the covenanted kingdom; an antichrist crisis; consummation of the Glory-Kingdom through a last judgement victory of the covenant Lord in a final battle of Har Magedon.

If only in condensed, digest fashion the present work is thus a comprehensive biblio-theological survey of the kingdom of God from Eden to the New Jerusalem.

God, Heaven, and Har Magedon (A Covenantal Tale of Cosmos and Telos) - Meredith G. Kline

[293 pages; with an author's preface]



PART ONE: GOD AND HEAVEN


I - NAMING THE METAWORLD

1. Heaven and Cosmos
2. Heaven: Glory-Temple

Conclusion



II - ALPHA RADIATION: THE CREATION OF HEAVEN

1. The Big Blaze
2. The Endoxation of the Spirit
3. The Spirit and Filiation



III - OMEGA APOCALYPSE: THE CONSUMMATION OF HEAVEN

1. Consummation and Glorification
2. Consummation and Cosmology

a. Prophecies of a Cataclysmic Finis
b. Hypothesis of Basic Cosmic Continuity
c. Hypothesis of Radical Cosmic Restructuring
d. Conclusion



PART TWO: HEAVEN AND HAR MAGEDON


IV - EARTHLY REPLICAS OF HEAVEN

1. Glory Replication
2. Replication in the Genesis Prologue



V - MOUNTAIN OF GOD

1. Eden as Replica of Heaven
2. The Mountain of God in Eden

a. Mount Zaphon and Mount Zion
b. The Original Zion in Eden
c. Sacramental Icon of Heaven



VI - HAR MAGEDON: THE MOUNT OF ASSEMBLY

1. The Meaning of Har Magedon

a. The Hebraisti Clue in Rev 16:16
b. Har Mo'ed, Mount of Assembly

2. Har Mo'ed - Mount Zaphon/Zion - Har Magedon
3. The Gathering Against Zion

Conclusion



PART THREE: HAR MAGEDON WARFARE: AN ESCHATOLOGICAL MEGASTRUCTURE


VII - ERUPTION OF THE HAR MAGEDON CONFLICT

1. Sabbath, Eschatology, and Covenant
2. Covenantal Proposal of Sabbath Grant
3. Covenant and Har Magedon Conflict



VIII - MESSIAH: THE COMING VICTOR OF HAR MAGEDON

1. Decretive Inauguration of Redemptive Holy War
2. Eternal Covenant of the Father and the Son
3. The Lord's Covenant of Grace with His People
4. The Har Magedon Pattern in Premessianic Typology



IX - ARARAT: OLD WORLD TYPE OF HAR MAGEDON

1. The Ark Covenant
2. Righteous Noah, Covenant Grantee
3. Covenant Community in the Interval
4. Antichrist Crisis
5. Parousia-Judgment and Gathering
6. Kingdom Consummation on Ararat



X - ZION: NEW WORLD TYPE OF HAR MAGEDON

1. The Abrahmic Covenant

a. Introduction
b. From Ararat to Abraham
c. Covenant of Promise
d. Two-stage Fulfillment

The King
The People
The Land


2. Obedient Abraham, Covenant Grantee
3. Covenant Community in the Interim

a. The 430 Years
b. Pilgrims and Good Neighbors
c. Continuing Remnant
d. Covenant Family Polity
e. Altars and Divine Presence


4. Antichrist Crisis

a. Pseudo-Har Magedon at Babel
b. Pharaonic Antichrist


5. Divine Judgment

a. Parousia
b. Redemptive Judgment
c. Gathering of the Kingdom People to Mount Zion


6. Kingdom Consummation: Inauguration of the Typal Kingdom at Sinai

a. Introduction
b. Covenantal Constituting
c. Enthronement of the Covenant Lord
d. Re-creation


7. Kingdom Consummation: Culmination of the Typal Kingdom on Zion

a. Introduction: Sinai Covenant and Abrahamic Promise
b. Occupation of the Kingdom Land

Prophetic Victory Hymn
Moses-Joshua: Conquest Phase
Judges: Consolidation Phase

c. The Theocratic Monarchy

The Promised King
Conquest and Victor's Palace
Davidic Covenant
Temple Construction, a Re-creation
Enthronement of the King of Glory on Zion



XI - HAR MAGEDON IN THE MESSIANIC FINALE

1. Danielic Preview

a. Introduction
b. Daniel 2
c. Daniel 9



2. Christ, Covenant Grantee and Guarantor

a. Introduction: Covenant Theology
b. Har Magedon Setting
c. Defence of Har Magedon
d. Conquest of the Dragon

Revelation 12
Revelation 20

e. Lord of the New Covenant



3. New Covenant Interim

a. Introduction
b. The 3 1/2 Years Symbol

Daniel 9
Daniel 7
Daniel 12
Daniel 2
Revelation 11
Revelation 12
Revelation 13

c. The Interim and Millennialism
d. The Millennium Symbol (Rev 20:1-6)

Millennial Nomenclature
Church Age Millennium
Pre-Kingdom Millennium

e. Conclusion



4. The Battle of Har Magedon

a. Introduction
b. The Antichrist Crisis

Global Challenge
Satan and Antichrist
Gog of Magog and the Apocalypse
Millennial Implications

c. The Parousia Day

Origins
Day of Covenant Judgment
Sabbatical Symbol
Day of Christ
Revelation 1:10 and the Sabbath
Octave Day Assemblies

d. Har Magedon Gatherings

Pre-Parousia Gatherings
Dual Parousia Gathering
Gathering of the Elect
Gathering of the Reprobate



5. Consummation of the Har Magedon Kingdom

a. Catharsis

Ethnic Cleansing
Deconstruction of Human Culture
Decontamination of the World of Nature

b. Pleroma

Glorification-Metamorphoses
Ekklesia Pleroma
Parousia Pleroma
Christ: Mediator of Pleroma Union
Final Epiphany: The Theanthropic Principle



6. The Gospel of Har Magedon


APPENDICES


Appendix A: Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony

Appendix B: Har Magedon: The End of the Millennium

Appendix C: Death, Leviathan, and the Martyrs: Isaiah 24:1-27:1

Necessary preconditions to enjoying this book:

1) Be convinced of covenant theology.
2) Have no problem reading an author who considers his thoughts so original that he constantly has to make up his own vocabulary in order to communicate them. I'm not joking. There are some authors that think putting in large words makes them sound more intelligent. Kline is in another category. Those who find the English language totally insufficient to communicate his thoughts, and thus leaving preachers and teachers the job of translating him into understandable English. Correction. . . translating him into English.

Seriously, though, Meredith Kline's work will, as usual, make you think. He is a gifted and unique scholar. I just wish he would spend a little more time making himself clear.

I purchased the book as a gift. The recipient has enjoyed every minute of his reading time.