Ridderbos passes away at 98

Here's my Google chat quote of the day....courtesy of Adam York:

did you know that ridderbos passed away last thursday?
i didn't know he was still alive.

You have to realize that Herman Ridderbos was first published (correct me if I'm wrong!) in the early 1940's. So this guy has been around for a long, long time. Most of his significant and ground-breaking work took place decades ago, and he's kind of dropped off the map in recent years. I think most of us presumed he must have already passed on to glory.

His work is first-rate. His Paul: An Outline of His Theology remains the best and most-influential (yea, monumental and comprehensive!) work I've ever read on Paul's theology. It'll do more for your reading of Paul's letters than any commentary on a Pauline letter that I've seen. It's still ranks in my 'Top 5' favorites books.

His Coming of the Kingdom is one of the best (if not THE best) theological introductions for reading the Gospels. His Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures is a very helpful look at the topic of the canon from the vantage point of salvation-history.

And his When the Time Had Fully Come is a little gem of a book. I still remember buying up about 20 copies of that book for $5 a pop from some New York bookstore that obviously had no idea what they had on their hands! In many respects, it summarizes the thrust of the three previously mentioned books.

All excellent stuff. He will certainly be missed.

[HT: Matthijs den Dulk]