There is a growing interest in endtime prophecy. People want to know whether world events are leading toward some predetermined end, and whether that end has personal significance for them. That much is fine ... but the end result may not be. Interpreting prophecy can be complex, and it is easy for the uninitiated to be drawn into making or believing conclusions that go beyond the actual intent of the prophecies.
Sadly, many of the widely recognised experts in theology have little faith in anything except their own expertise. They dismiss Bible prophecy along with anything else that they cannot dissect and explain on a human level. On the other hand, many of the self-professed experts are blindly committed to making everything fit some pet theory of theirs. They come up with contrived interpretations which confuse and frustrate anyone looking for real truth.
What the public wants (and needs) is an explanation that is simple without being simplistic, and clear without being contrived. They want to know if the Bible really does predict the future, without being conned into a lot of double-talk that finishes up saying nothing.
This book is an attempt to meet that need.
Excerpt:
There is a growing interest in endtime prophecy. People want to know whether world events are leading toward some predetermined end, and whether that end has personal significance for them. That much is fine … but the end result may not be. Interpreting prophecy can be complex, and it is easy for the uninitiated to be drawn into making or believing conclusions that go beyond the actual intent of the prophecies.
Sadly, many of the widely recognised experts in theology have little faith in anything except their own expertise. They dismiss Bible prophecy along with anything else that they cannot dissect and explain on a human level. On the other hand, many of the self-professed experts are blindly committed to making everything fit some pet theory of theirs. They come up with contrived interpretations which confuse and frustrate anyone looking for real truth.
What the public wants (and needs) is an explanation that is simple without being simplistic, and clear without being contrived. They want to know if the Bible really does predict the future, without being conned into a lot of double-talk that finishes up saying nothing.
This book is an attempt to meet that need.
Keeping it Simple
We have tried to keep the explanations simple. However, the subject matter does take a lot of concentration if you hope to fully appreciate the significance of what it is saying.
Here are some tips to help you understand this book better:
1. Look up Bible references as you go. For your convenience, most references are listed in an appendix at the end of each chapter. Make the effort to turn to it each time a Bible reference is mentioned in the text of the chapter. If you do, you will be able to understand more clearly what is being said.
The more you understand the passages, the more you will appreciate that we are not taking some isolated text out of context and trying to make it say something that it does not say. What we are looking at in this book is the big picture, based on a broad understanding of the whole message. This takes more effort than simplistic “proof-texting”.
2. Read slowly. It takes time to digest the full meaning, not only of the Bible references, but also of the comments we are making. We have tried to pack a lot of teaching into just a few pages. Time is needed to reflect on the full meaning of each statement.
3. Pay special attention to key terms. We have specifically commented on some, but there are many more. A list of some key terms to watch for as you read this book appears at the end of this introduction. They are part of a very complex inter-related web, which when all put together give a totally consistent picture of what life and the future are all about.
It takes some time, as we move from tree to tree, to give a complete picture of the “forest”, but the end result will be worth the effort, and it will save you from myopic extremes that come from just focusing on one issue.
Having said that, we will now give updated comments on a few of the individual “trees”. These comments did not appear in the first editions of this book, and have been written as afterthoughts.