Eschatology: Belief or beliefs concerning the final end time destiny of man and the world. From the Greek eskhatos meaning "last."
Apocalypse: A grand or violent event usually seen to usher in the end of the world such as that described in the book of Revelation in the Bible. From the Greek apokaluptein meaning to "uncover, disclose."
Prophecy: The faculty, function, or practice of predicting future events. From the Greek propheteia.
Fundamentalism: An
area of belief in Christianity in which the adherents espouse certain "fundamental"
Protestant beliefs based on a "literal interpretation" of an "infallible"
Bible. Other beliefs include (but are not limited to) the inerrancy
of the scriptures, the ability of any individual to interpret "the word
of God" from the scriptures, and the belief that the Bible contains prophecies,
some already fulfilled and some concerning the end times of the world when
all "true" (i.e. fundamentalist) Christians will be raptured (taken out
of the world) by Jesus Christ just prior to or during or after a global
apocalypse.
What this site is all about
As the year 2000 looms large on the horizon, the anticipation of those who see in the millennium a portent of the apocalypse swells to a fever pitch. Though fundamentalist Christianity is certainly not the only belief system rife with anticipation of a coming apocalypse, it does seem to have the loudest voice in recent history fueled especially by the prophetic rhetoric of best selling fundamentalist author Hal Lindsay (The Late Great Planet Earth) and his colleagues in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. WIth the rise of the Christian Right in recent political history, the views of this growing mainstream version of Christianity have received great press and infused the pop culture of the late 20th century.
Millions of Christian fundamentalists hold fast to the rhetoric of this belief system and accept without question its fascinating colorful visions of apocalyptic prophecy. The thought of an end time apocalypse, armageddon, rapture, and "new heaven and new earth" that is "predicted" graphically and precisely in the Bible is exhilarating to believers. It is difficult to underestimate the power of this belief to enrapture so many Christians and fuel the presses of apocalyptic titles filling bookstores and apocalyptic web sites filling the Internet.
My interest is to skeptically examine the history and current rhetoric of apocalyptic belief in fundamentalist Christianity and to understand what the belief is and why it is believed by millions of people. To this end I have read scores of books and visited hundreds of web sites on the subject. I have listed these sources below. As I further investigate this area of belief I will add my personal insights to this web site. Though I am by no means an expert in this area, I would like this web site to become a major clearing house for resources on this topic. Please feel free to contact me concerning comments, questions, or additional sources.
--Jerry
Seay
Dec 2, 1998
Bibliography:
Critical Examination
Barr, James. Beyond fundamentalism. Philadelphia : Westminster Press, 1984.
Boyer, Paul S. When time shall be no more : prophecy belief in modern American culture. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.
Fuller, Robert C.. Naming the Antichrist : the history of an American obsession. New York : Oxford UP, 1995.
O'Leary, Stephen D. Arguing the apocalypse : a theory of millennial rhetoric. New York : Oxford UP, 1994.
Stackhouse, Reginald. The end of the world? : a new look at an old belief. New York : Paulist Press, 1997.
Wojcik, Daniel. The End of the World as We Know it: Faith, Fatalism, and Apocalypse in America. New York: New York UP, 1997.
Bibliography:
Fundamentalist
Faid, Robert W. Gorbachev: Has the Real Antichrist Come?. Tulsa: Victory House. 1988.
Lindsey, Hal. Homo sapiens; Extinction or Evacuation. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1970.
Lindsey, Hal. The Late Great Planet Earth. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Zondervan, 1972.
Lindsey, Hal. When is Jesus Coming Again? Carol Stream, Ill. : Creation House, 1974.
Lindsey, Hal. There's a New World Coming; A Prophetic Odyssey. New York : Bantam Book, 1977.
Lindsey, Hal. The 1980's : Countdown to Armageddon. New York : Bantam, 1981.
Lindsey, Hal. The Messiah. Eugene, Or. : Harvest House Publishers, 1982.
Lindsey, Hal. The Rapture : Truth or Consequences. Toronto ; New York : Bantam Books, 1983.
Lindsey, Hal. The Road to Holocaust. New York : Bantam Books, 1989.
Lindsey, Hal. Planet Earth, 2000 A.D. : will mankind survive? Palos Verdes, Calif. : Western Front, 1994.
Lindsey, Hal. The Final Battle. Palos Verdes, Calif. : Western Front, 1995.
Lindsey, Hal. Apocalypse Code. Palos Verdes, CA : Western Front Ltd., 1997.
Lindsey, Hal. Planet Earth : The Final Chapter. Beverly Hills, CA : Western Front, 1998.
Lindsey, Hal. The 1990s: prophecy on fast forward. The final stages of the late great planet earth.
Payne, J. Barton. Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy: The Complete Guide to Scriptural Predictions and Their Fullfillment. Grand Rapids, MIch.: Blessed Book House, 1973.
Scofield, C.I. Scofield
Study Bible. New York : Oxford University Press, 1945. (Originally
published as Scofield Reference Bible. 1909.)
This
is the definative work that is the basis for nearly all fundamentalist
apocalyptic beliefs today. All the major modern fundamentalist beliefs
pertaining to the end of the world, including premillenial dispensationalism,
began with or were codified in this turn of the century work. Scofield
edited this version of the KJV of the Bible with his own interpretive notes
in the margins such that it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference
between Scofield's comments and those of the KJV Bible. "Scofield's marginal
notes connected passages in one book of the Bible with passages in different
books of the Bible as though God himself had dictated this system of
cross-referencing" (Fuller, 125). These interpretations include,
among many other non-apocalyptical beliefs, the general chronological time
table of the coming apocalypse, the rapture of believers, a seven year
tribulation prior to the second coming of Christ in which Christians will
be persecuted, belief in Russia as Gog and Magog, a unified Europe as the
"ten nation confederacy" revived Roman Empire led by the Beast, the mark
of the Beast, the battle of Armageddon, and the millenial reign of Christ
on Earth.
Walfoord, John F. The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1976.
Walfoord, John F. Armegeddon, Oil, and the Middle East Crisis. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1990.
Whisenant, Edgar C. 88 Reasons Why the Rapture will be in 1988. Nashvill, Tenn.: World Bible Society, 1988
Webliography
Fundamentalist Sites
Jack
Van Impe Ministries
Countdown
to Armageddon
This
Week in Bible Prophecy
PropheZine
Prophecy
Central
Last
Days Herald
Saints
Home Page
Messianic
End Times Prophecy
Eschatology
Topics
Center
for Reformed Theology and Apologetics CRTA - Eschatology
Prophecy
Reformation Institute
Bible
Prophecy Page
Bible
Prophecy: The Ultimate Deception
Bible
Prophecy for the World Today
Yahoo Sites: Bible
Prophecy
Yahoo Sites: Eschatology
Christian Non-Fundamentalist Sites
Skeptical Sites
I have as yet been unable to locate skeptical
sites specific to this topic. The following sites do, however, contain
information related to fundamentalist Christian beliefs.
Skeptic
Society
Committee
for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
The
Skeptical Review