eschatology

On the Shelf

Left Behind and Loving It

A Cheeky Look at the End Times

by D. Mark Davis

Rapture humor

Sep 29, 2011 by Amy Frykholm

Several years ago, I was interviewed by Linda Wertheimer of National Public Radio about the then extraordinarily popular Left Behind series. At one point, she asked me if I thought the Left Behind books were funny. I paused, trying to absorb all the layers of her question, and then came up with a brilliant answer: "No. Why? Do you?"

Features

The last things

Reflections on the millennium

Dec 01, 1999 by Carl E. Braaten

The Apostles' creed ends with a statement of Christian belief in "the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." The second article of the Nicene Creed states that Jesus Christ "will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end." Eschatology, from the Greek word eschata, meaning "last things," is the technical word for the Christian v

Books

Last things

Apr 04, 2001 by Gregory S. Cootsona

The End of the World and the Ends of God: Science and Theology on Eschatology, edited by John Polkinghorne and Michael Welker

Century Blogs

Isn't one time enough?

Jan 21, 2011 by Richard A. Kauffman

Every few years a fringe Christian leader or group predicts when Jesus Christ is coming back to earth. The latest date, announced on billboards in some mid-sized American cities, is May 21 of this year.

Living by the Word

System failure

Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5; John 14:23-29

May 04, 2004 by J. Nelson Kraybill

"A virus breached the campus computer network last week and the entire system crashed. Repair has been difficult, but I bring a word of hope.” The director of information technology at the college where I was about to lecture on eschatology added, “This has been frustrating for everyone. Files have been corrupted and programs do not run properly. Please be patient. Some files have been restored. . . . Any day now we will be back to full operation.”

Cover Story

The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation

Barbara R. Rossing

Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America

Amy Johnson Frykholm

En-raptured

Apr 20, 2004 reviewed by Jason Byassee

"I heard that when the tribulation comes, China will be one of the few countries with a big enough army to take over the United States.” My parishioner looked at me earnestly, awaiting confirmation of her theological and political obs

Editor's Desk

Taken up

Being prepared
Apr 20, 2004 by John M. Buchanan
In discussing two books on the new apocalypticism, Jason Byassee confesses that he failed as a pastor to know what his people were reading and thinking about the topic. I know what he means. I don’t read this stuff either. But a lot of people are reading it.
Features

‘Beam me up’ theology

The debate over 'LeftBehind'
Sep 25, 2002 by John Dart
The hugely popular “Left Behind” series of novels continues to frustrate mainstream pastors and biblical scholars who object to an “end-times” theology they consider just as fictional as the books’ genre. The readers are real, however. The tenth and most recent volume in the series, The Remnant, picked up 2.4 million orders in the two months before its July release.
News

Left behind—It’s a good thing

Luke's apocalypse
Sep 25, 2002 by John Dart
“I tell you, that on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.” Luke 17:34-35, NRSV.