The End of Days: Essential Selections from Apocalyptic Texts—Annotated & Explained

Teachings about the end times can clarify your beliefs and energize your own spiritual journey. Christian concepts of the end times involve complex beliefs that have developed over the centuries. They range from popular ideas about the rapture when believers will be swept up to meet Christ in the air, to suspicions about the Antichrist who will deceive and enslave the world, to teachings about the millennium when Christ himself will return victoriously to earth to reign in peace for a thousand years. And Christians have disagreed, sometimes violently, on exactly how and when these events will occur—or whether they will occur at all. With insightful and broad knowledge of the historical, religious and contemporary contexts of these writings, distinguished scholar Robert G. Clouse guides you through the fascinating and intricate world of apocalyptic literature. He examines key verses from Christian and Hebrew scriptures; visionary writings from Augustine and other Church Fathers; accounts of radical millennial movements of the 1600s; bold sermons from preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and Dwight L. Moody; and popular books circulating in our own day, including 1970s prophecy sensation The Late Great Planet Earth and the mega-bestselling Left Behind novels. Accessible facing-page commentary explains the apocalyptic writings for you even if you have no previous knowledge of Christian teachings on the end times. Will Christ come on the clouds in power and in judgment? Or is it up to us to usher in the golden age of the millennium? Or is the millennium spiritual, made real only within believers' hearts? This book will help you understand the complex Christian visions of the end of the world.

Table of Contents:
Introduction ix 1. Biblical Foundations The Seventy Weeks of Years Increase in Apostasy The Rapture The Tribulation Armageddon The Millennium The Last Judgment 2. Premillennialism and the Church Fathers Papias Irenaeus Justin Martyr Tertullian Hippolytus Commodianus Lactantius Origen 3. Augustine's Spiritualized Amillennialism from The City of God 4. Radical Millennialist Movements and the Church’s Response in the Medieval and Reformation Eras Anabaptist Millennialism John Calvin Martin Luther Guy de Bray The English Congregational Church 5. Seventeenth-century Revival of Premillennialism Johann Alsted Joseph Mede John Archer John Rogers Anna Trapnel 6. Eighteenth-century Postmillennialism Daniel Whitby Jonathan Edwards 7. Nineteenth-century Dispensationalism John N. Darby William E. Blackstone Dwight L. Moody 8. Twentieth-century Developments Cyrus I. Scofield William S. McBirnie Christabel Pankhurst Dr. Leonard Sale-Harrison 9. Into the Twenty-first Century Hal Lindsey Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins Notes Glossary Suggestions for Further Reading

About the Author :
Robert G. Clouse, considered the dean of Christian millennial historians, is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views. He is professor emeritus of history at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. He is also an ordained minister and has served churches in Iowa and Indiana.

Review :
"Thorough, balanced.... A must-read for serious students of our world and of the Bible." —Donald K. Campbell, president emeritus, Dallas Theological Seminary "Masterful.... [Traces] the biblical texts and Christian literature from the earliest centuries to the present.... A fine resource for the careful student." —Dr. Homer A. Kent, president emeritus, Grace College and Theological Seminary "A fascinating anthology of texts from the second century to the present, which provides a panoramic view of the development of eschatological [teachings] against the background of historical circumstances. Helpful ... and illuminating." —Edwin Yamauchi, past president, Evangelical Theological Society and professor emeritus of history, Miami University (Ohio)