I have long been an admirer of the Independent (Baptist?) author John Bunyan. His Pilgrim’s Progress, Grace Abounding and Holy War have been frequent companions. However, I only recently had occasion to read Of Antichrist And His Ruin. The following represents my attempt at a brief review intended to assist the casual reader in making sense of Bunyan’s views and aims.
Like every pastor, preacher and author, Bunyan was to a great extent, a man of his times. He could not help but view human history from a particular vantage point. His understanding of the Antichrist and the war waged by him against the church was inevitably influenced by the history of the Protestant Reformation in Europe and particularly in England. However, as Charles Spurgeon famously suggested, Bunyan was a living Bible, “prick him anywhere; his blood is bibline.”[1] Both of these forces exert considerable influence upon Bunyan’s magisterial presentation.