A Survey of Bible Prophecy
By Arthur E. Bloomfield (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Fellowship, 1971), 238 pp., (paperback).

According to the cover:

In the early days of his ministry, Mr. Bloomfield was a pastor in the Methodist Church. For six years he served as editor of HIGLEY'S SUNDAY SCHOOL COMMENTARY. However, he left his pastorate and other duties to devote all of his time to studying and lecturing on prophecy.

The book purports to offer a survey of Biblical prophecy, taking in themes from across the entire Bible. As one might expect, in only 238 pages this proves to be a daunting task with the result being that the prophetic framework which the author sets forth is lacking in tight Scriptural justification.

In his favor, the author interprets prophetic passages using a literal hermeneutic which leads him toward dispensational conclusions. He recognizes the distinction between Israel and the Church and accepts the reality of a time of tribulation yet to come.

The treatment of prophetic topics is not without numerous troublesome aspects:

Overall, I cannot recommend this book—even though some of the author's conclusions are reasonable. The chief problem with the book is that it leads the reader toward numerous incorrect understandings by “cherry picking” a smattering of verses that support the author's conclusions—all the while omitting important passages which serve to mitigate against such conclusions. What the author leaves out is as problematic as what he asserts.

The books is basically “unsafe” for anyone to read unless they are very well grounded in a systematic view of biblical prophecy. But for those who are well acquainted with biblical prophecy, the book offers little in the way of value other than suggesting some novel (if unscriptural) approaches to certain prophetic themes.

Reviewed by Tony Garland of www.SpiritAndTruth.org.