Review: Final Destiny (Dillow)

There are books you disagree with and then there are books you disagree with. This is one of those books that is worth reading even though it has extremely unconventional conclusions. There is a wealth of exegetical material here, and the author is not simply and old-style fundamentalist stuck in the debates over lordship salvation. The scope is truly massive. The book is divided into three separate "volumes" with separate theses. Volume 1, "Salvation", argues that there are different kinds of salvation, and for a distinction between "entering" the kingdom and "inheriting" the kingdom. This is probably the most convincing part of the book, and the sections on language of "saving souls" being related to temporal judgment is quite fascinating. Volume 2, "assurance", deals primarily with the subject of how we can be sure of your salvation and the meanings of the apostasy passages. It contains an excellent critique of the Puritan notion of assurance based on good works, but his own reading of the apostasy passages as almost all applying to believers is questionable. The third volume, "Destiny"", is probably the least convincing in its argument that believers can be assessed negatively and cast out from Christ's presence. The author never seems to acknowledge this, but it seems somewhat similar to the Mormon doctrine of "levels" of heaven.

This is a huge undertaking; it is impossible to summarize the book in one review. Some pros and cons:

Pros

- His critique of the Puritan doctrine of assurance is excellent.
- His recovery of the idea of rewards at the eschaton is needed.
- His variety of reasons for believers to pursue good works is very helpful.
- His arguments about God temporally disciplining believers are sobering.

Cons:
- The dispensationalism is a problem and infects a lot of the work. If you don't believe in the Rapture or premillennialism, then you will have problems with some of the arguments about rewards.
- The order of the book is not always clear, and their is some repetitive material.
- He does devote some attention to the question of the work of the Holy Spirit, but this needed to be expanded given Reformed pneumatology and the idea of union with Christ.

This book was worth reading even though I ultimately didn't come to the same conclusions as the author.

I was provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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