Charting the End Times: A Visual Guide to Understanding Bible Prophecy

The Next Step For 'Left Behind' Readers

I reacted similarly to Lance. But I'm very pleased that I purchased this book and read it anyway. It is more substantial than the 'Left Behind' series in its Biblical content but is a much easier read then some of the books that it references. (See two of the books referenced in my 'Also recommended' list below. These two referenced books are thought by many conservative scholars of Bible prophecy to be the standard by which all other prophecy titles are measured.) This title by LaHaye and Ice does a fine job of providing their view of prophecy without requiring the reader to hold a PhD in Biblical Studies. You WILL NOT be disappointed with this book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very Well Done!

I read the first two reviews and almost didn't buy the book. Their comments did stop me from buying it online ¿ fortunately I went to the local Barnes & Noble and looked through it. After reading it, I now completely dismiss the first two reviews. As far as I can tell, they either didn¿t read the book at all or don¿t agree with the New Testament. If you are interested in what the Bible (the Old and New Testaments) has to say about prophesy, I found this an excellent book. Charting the End Times manages to summarize the Bible in a easy to read book filled with many charts that help the reader visualize what is going on. The book is not perfect ¿ the authors don¿t go into as much detail as I would have liked. But they authors have other books that serve that purpose. And in a few cases, their logic is questionable. But all-in-all, it was very well done. This book is intended to clearly show what the authors believe about Bible prophesy. They do a very good job of showing what the Bible says and then distinguishing what they think it means. Readers can draw their own conclusions. I¿m fairly well-read on the subject and found myself agreeing with about 80% of the book. I disagreed with about 2%, and am still thinking about the rest¿ It is well worth the purchase price.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

If you seek the real truth....

The author may be well-intended, but like all books that claim there will be ¿an end of the world¿ and a ¿second coming of Christ,¿ this is based on misinterpretation and misunderstanding of Scriptures. Jesus is NOT a murderous warlord who would destroy the world and send everyone to ¿burn in hell¿ who did not ¿accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior.¿ The seeker of truth should avoid this and look to other works that are realistic and knowledgeable of God. For example, Real Prophecy Unveiled, by Joseph J. Adamson, provides a very realistic and credible view of prophecy that we can celebrate. It explains how and why the myths of a 'second coming' and an 'end of the world' were created and perpetuated. This book has the message that empowers the people, and it will save the world and enable the meek to inherit the earth. Another good book is The Isaiah Effect, by Gregg Braden. It demonstrates how prophecies of global catastrophe and suffering are either symbolic or may only represent future possibilities, rather than forecast impending doom. Moreover, it establishes that we have the power to determine our future, and avoid catastrophe, which is what Adamson also emphasizes. Another good book is A Pilgrim's Path : Freemasonry and the Religious Right, by John J. Robinson. It describes the honorable history and principles of masonic orders, and then exposes the falsehoods spread by the leaders of the ¿Christian¿ Right who have condemned it. This book is of great interest for those who are alarmed by the rise of the Fundamentalist Religious Right and want to learn what Freemasonry is all about. We need to understand that this is a time of crucial contest between the dark forces of falsehood and the light forces of truth, and the dark forces disguise themselves. As the apostle Paul wrote, they are 'deceitful workers, transforming themselves into false apostles of Christ.' As Jesus said, they 'pray for the ears of men, follow the doctrines of men, and claim to do many wonderful works, but they are hypocrites.' Unfortunately, as Jesus predicted, ¿they shall deceive many people.¿ So you should avoid them, and exercise great discernment in deciding who to believe. The sooner we choose correctly, the sooner God's New Kingdom will be established on the earth, which shall last forever, never to be destroyed. That's what real prophecy foretells.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is unbiblical nonsense

This book is a bunch of unbiblical nonsense, professionally formatted with all kinds of fancy illustrations and charts, but written with the simplistic, linear, superficial reasoning of a child. It is self-contradictory, it contradicts the Bible, and it contains completely convoluted logic. Some of the ideas expressed are laughable in their absurdity. Verses are used out of context and picked apart irrationally to try to find hidden meanings. Sometimes unrelated verses are twisted to fit together or additional ideas of the authors' imaginations are added to the meaning, supposedly by implication, where it is plainly clear that nothing of the sort is said. Different versions of the Bible are used when the authors want to use a phrase from one that isn't in the others (or in the original manuscripts) in order to back up their personal ideas, which reveals a clear bias. In addition, the authors do not seem to understand metaphor, symbolism, or figurative/descriptive language and they take Bible passages literally even when it is irrational or contradictory to do so. They don't seem to understand the context in which the Bible passages were written, nor the original intended meaning when they were written, which should be the foundation of any scholarly work on the Bible, much less the enigmatic eschatological books of the Bible. They seem to lack a basic knowledge of Biblical history and culture, in addition to intelligent methods of studying the Bible, such as exegesis. Some of the ideas (which the authors have guaranteed will come true) are just speculations and guesses. The premise of the entire pre-Tribulation Rapture expressed in the book (invented in the 19th century) is based on an anti-Semitism and belief that God discriminates between Gentile believers and Jewish believers, and even more absurd, between past/present day Jewish believers and future Jewish believers. There is a strong emphasis on restoring the worldly ethnic nation of Israel and the material Temple, instead of realizing that Christ fulfills all of God¿s covenants in His spiritual kingdom Israel (which is the Church) in which the believers themselves are God's Temple (through the Holy Spirit), and which contains all of God's peoples of all ethnicities. They also present a very humanistic (and anti-angelic biased) view of God's creation, presenting angelic beings as lower than humans, unimportant as individual persons, and only existing for humankind's sake, and Paradise as being only for human enjoyment. We would not recommend this book to any person of any religion, as it just makes Christianity look bad (and silly). It is clear to us the authors are just seeking fame and fortune and are making promises they can't deliver. What else can we say? - It was co-authored by one of the authors of the 'Left Behind' series (a fictional Bible of which this is clearly intended to be a 'real-life' extension). We are just thankful the book was a gift and we didn't buy it ourselves, as we would not want to financially support such self-proclaimed 'prophets' (or 'profits').

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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