How Close Are We to the End of This Age?

A prominent London newspaper reported that "a 2002 survey revealed that 59 percent of the [American] population believes the prophecies of the book of Revelation. Seventeen percent believe that the end of the world will happen during their lifetimes." So how close are we to the end?

by John Ross Schroeder

Millions of dollars have been made from novels and so-called nonfiction books about Armageddon—now a symbolic expression, generally used for the climactic battle to occur just before the end of this age and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Popular author Tim LaHaye has said, "Our generation has more reason to believe that Christ will return than any other" (The Daily Telegraph, April 1, 2004, also cited in drophead).

His doomsday novels have sold more than 40 million copies. Many mainstream Christians in America have shifted their reading habits to include these books about chaotic world events that climax at Christ's return. (However, LaHaye's books, among others, erroneously portray Christ taking Christians off to heaven in a secret rapture. See our reprint article "Have You Been Misled by the Rapture Theory?"on our Web site at www.ucg.org/reprints for the biblical proof that the theory is wrong.)

Critical articles about these prophetic books, like the one published in The Nation (New York), say, "Obsession with doomsday prophecy increasingly affects U.S. policy in the Middle East" (quoted in This Week, April 17, 2004).

An erroneous approach to fulfilling prophecy

Whether American foreign policy is really affected or not, there are disturbing factors about how some fundamentalist groups approach their role with regard to end-time events in the Mideast. The Independent on Sunday summed up these radical tendencies: "The evangelical view of Israel is terrifyingly simple. Biblical prophecies have started to come true ever since 1948, when the State of Israel was created. The in-gathering of the Jews to the Holy Land is, of course, all part of His [God's] plan to bring on the final battle.

"This is where the forces of Good (the U.S. and Israel) will confront the forces of Evil (the Arabs, Muslims, Europeans and the UN). This battle will lead to the destruction of the earth, at which point Jesus can return to rule for a thousand years. All the Jews have to do in return for the evangelists' support is precipitate the apocalypse by blowing up the Dome of the Rock, building the third temple on the site. And—when Jesus arrives—repent for failing to see that He is the true Messiah" (Supplement, June 20, 2003).

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0405/endage.htm

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