In a previous book review, I have given an overview of the Gerhard dogmatics published so far in English from 2002 to 2020 by the editors and staff at Concordia Publishing House. The topics in the present volume are from two of the original quarto volumes: “On the End of the World” and “On Hell.”
Regarding the doctrine of the end of the world, Gerhard sets forth its multi-faceted practical use. We should: 1) view all visible things as fleeting, passing, and transitory and earnestly conform ourselves to godliness; 2) be called back from an inordinate love of the world; 3) be called back from the greedy acquisition of riches; 4) avoid the postponement of repentance; 5) be stirred up to sincere fear of God; 6) be stirred up to a desire and love for heavenly things; 7) be stirred up to a zeal for doing good; 8) be stirred by a desire for a blessed departure; and 9) be encouraged amidst all the persecutions and adversities that Christian face in this world (155–162). As in all his dogmatic treatises and volumes, Gerhard leads the reader to the practical use of doctrines, both for the preacher and the hearer.
Particular questions that Gerhard treats at length are the questions of the annihilation of the world, millennialism, and the duration of the world. On the matter of the annihilation of the world, the editors give a very helpful discussion (x-xiv) to complement the author’s own extensive treatment of this topic (62–108). By annihilation, Gerhard means “not just the end-time destruction of the world before God makes a ‘new heaven and a new earth,’ but the total reduction of the present world to nothingness (annihilation), with the exception of human beings and angels” (xi). Gerhard believed that this view best fits with Scripture, but does not claim it is a dogma, and he recognizes the fathers of the church and Lutheran predecessors who disagreed with this position (xiii). You will have to read Gerhard in this volume for yourself to decide whether he has made his case.
In the matter of millennialism, orthodox Lutheran readers are in for a real treat. Gerhard dredges up from the various tributaries of church history just about every idea that has ever been proposed concerning the millennium. Here he quotes or references the millennialism of some early church fathers, Anabaptists, Socinians, select 16th century Jews, a few Calvinists, a few Roman Catholics, and even Paracelsus (112–152). It seems no age has been immune to this heresy, and Gerhard refutes them all. But he does come close to advocating a type of post-millennialism in which Christ will return at the end of the thousand years, i.e., he does not interpret “one thousand” metaphorically (xiv).
Lutherans who are interested in young-earth creationism will want to read through the short section where Gerhard lists the “Gentiles” who estimated the duration of the world from its beginning to their own point in history (36). Included in this list are Plato, Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Cicero, Lactantius, Aeschylus, Sotion, Pliny, Eudoxus, and Plutarch. If you wondered whether Gerhard was a classicist, here is plenty of proof! Finally, he points to three things related to the end of the world that foreshadow the end of all things. These are: 1) the Noahic flood; 2) the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; and 3) the destructions of regions through fires, floodwaters, earthquakes, and “openings of the earth” (153).
Regarding the treatise “On Hell,” the editors preface the work by noting that in it “readers will find a thorough response to the perennially popular heresy of universal salvation regardless of faith in Christ” (xv). Lest we think that “universalism” is a modern heresy, Gerhard lists many both inside and outside the church who deny the existence of hell: 1) Juvenal; 2) Epicurus; 3) Epicureans and mockers of Christians in the ancient church; 4) Cain, son of Adam; 5) Eunomius; 6) Armenians (they teach that Christ destroyed hell, but they affirm eternal punishment for unbelievers and the evil); 7) a Frenchman named Almericus; 8) a Dutchman named Herman Ryswick; 9) the Albanensians (ca. 796 AD); 10) the Albigensians (ca. 1216 AD); 11) Nicolaus of Calabria; 12) indirect denial by Origenists, Anabaptists, Libertines, since they teach that at some time the ungodly will be saved; 13) the Photinians, i.e., the Socinians; and 14) three popes—Paul III, Julius II, and Leo X (207–208).
Gerhard treats the doctrine of hell at length. The average Lutheran pastor or lay theologian will be amazed how much we do know about hell from Scripture. As to the question of what “hell” is, Gerhard clears up that confusion right away by stating that the word “hell” may be used in two ways: 1) for eternal death and the eternal state of ungodly men; 2) the place where this happens (209). If you ever wondered, as I have, what the “worms” in hell are, Gerhard explains that they are “the constant and continual gnawing of conscience, which arises from the memory of sin; a sort of mad, displeasing, and fruitless repentance; a very great and uninterrupted anguish of heart. For just as worms gnaw away corpses by their constant biting, so also that inner worm of conscience will constantly prick the soul of the damned” (256; see also 297–298).
On the question of the degrees of punishment in hell, that is explained thoroughly (303–306). On the question of whether body or soul, or both, will be in hell, the answer is the latter (315–317). As to the location of hell, Gerhard argues convincingly that it is “truly distinct from the place of the blessed and is separated from it by a very great distance” and then admits we do not know its location (323). He thoroughly refutes the Roman Catholic view that hell is at the center of the earth (318–326).
As to the use of the doctrine of hell for the preacher and the hearer, Gerhard states that it should “turn our eyes and minds from the visible to the invisible, from the present to the future, from the temporary and momentary to the eternal” (328). The doctrine: 1) recalls us from ungodliness, security, sins against conscience, and proclivity to sin; 2) recalls us from the desires and all pleasures of the flesh; 3) leads us to a true fear of God and repentance; and 4) consoles us amid adversities, persecutions, and martyrdom, in that the sufferings of the godly in the present time do not compare at all to the eternal suffering of the ungodly (328–334).
Martin R. Noland
Pastor, Grace Lutheran Church
San Mateo, California