Beyond the Book with Dr. Hammett: “The Source of Hope”

Hammett, who serves as senior professor of systematic theology (retired), takes some in the following Q&A to talk about his new book and what God taught him through the study of this doctrine.

What is the purpose of this book, and who is its audience?

The purpose is to introduce the reader to all the major topics in the area of eschatology. These topics deal with what lies ahead for each person and for the world as a whole and are central to the hope we have as believers. The audience is primarily college and seminary students seeking to learn about this area of Christian theology, but secondarily for anyone interested in understanding issues they have encountered in reading their Bibles and hearing sermons. It is at an introductory level and is not only for scholars.

What motivated you to write “The Source of Hope”?

Two things. First was the lack of any comparable book. There are lots of excellent books on individual topics in eschatology (the rapture and return of Christ, the millennium, heaven and hell, for example) but no single book that introduces the reader to all of them. A second motivation was the desire to share the profound and deep hope the study of these issues gave to me.

How does this book uniquely contribute to the study of eschatology?

It is the only book I know of that introduces the student to all the major topics included under the doctrine of eschatology. It presents all the major positions on contested topics and helps the reader think through the level of importance of each topic. Some are essential to being a Christian but others are topics on which Bible-believing Christians have come to differing positions.

There are many personal approaches to the topic of eschatology, some driven by controversy and others by fear. How would you like your readers to approach this book and its conversation?

I want readers to understand why there are controversies and see that on some issues there is more than one position possible for a genuine Christian to hold. But we do confront the issues of judgment and eternal destinies. On these issues, there should be a proper fear of the Lord and an urgency to personal preparation. I want readers to approach this book thoughtfully — thinking through what Scripture teaches as well as the arguments for differing positions, especially positions that differ from what they have always heard and believed. I want readers to approach this book with open hearts — ready to be encouraged by the hope before us and sobered by the weighty decisions each person is responsible to make.

I want readers to approach this book with open hearts — ready to be encouraged by the hope before us and sobered by the weighty decisions each person is responsible to make.

As a long-time teacher, how has your own understanding of eschatology been shaped by your experiences in the classroom?

It has been profoundly shaped by the questions students have asked over the years, so much so that this book is dedicated collectively to the generations of students who have studied these topics with me.

As believers, how should our eschatology shape our witness and the way we live our day-to-day lives?

How can we hold on to hope in a world where things often seem to just be getting worse?  Eschatology should give us a stability and hope that should so puzzle others that they ask us how we can be so hopeful, opening up an opportunity for us to witness to our source of hope. Eschatology should make us forward looking, knowing that the best is yet to be, when Christ returns and makes all things new.

Eschatology should make us forward looking, knowing that the best is yet to be, when Christ returns and makes all things new.

How does “The Source of Hope” further equip readers to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission?

It serves the church by reminding church members that our source of hope does not lie in any person or in what happens in Washington, DC, or Raleigh, but only in what God will do. The fulfillment of the Great Commission assumes an even greater importance, as its fulfillment is linked to the coming of the end (Matt. 24:14); our involvement in the fulfillment of the Great Commission seems to be one way we may even hasten the coming of the day of the Lord (2 Pet. 3:12).

How has writing “The Source of Hope” shaped you spiritually?

In the writing of this book, I have thought longer and more deeply about heaven than ever before, and I long for it now more than ever. I also have thought of all that will happen when Jesus returns and long for that day more than ever as well.