Sophia Institute Press®
Preface
True Stories
Is This Issue Important?
Part I: What Is the Rapture?
Montanis’s Millennium
Irenaeus: Godfather of Rapturism
Tertullian’s Resurrected Antichrist
First-Millennium Madness
The Rolling End of the World
The Apocalypse as History
The Reformation Accelerates Millennial Speculation
In Search of the Real Antichrist
Predictions Galore in England
American Sects Join the End-Times Game
Enter Darby
Darbyism Necessitates a Split Covenant
Darby’s Ideas Take Hold
A Century of War and End-Times Predictions
The Rapture Dates Come … and Go
New Theories Buy Time for Rapturists
“Last Days” Prophets Continue Unabashed
*Left Behind* Brings Rapturism to the Masses
Some Groups Try to Hasten God’s Timetable
September 11: A Portent of the End?
Sorting Through the Predictions
The Antichrist
The Second Coming
The Great Tribulation
The Critical Vision of Seventy Weeks
The Church Age
The Antichrist’s Abominations
The Last Week Begins
The Final Battle and First Resurrection
Another Chance for the Jews to Recognize Their Messiah
The Rapture
The Millennium
At the End of the Millennium, One Final Battle
Don’t Be Left Behind!
Part II: Terms and Ground Rules
Premillennialism
Problems with Premillennialism
Postmillennialism
Problems with Postmillennialism
Amillennialism
Problems with Amillennialism
How We Will Proceed
Our Biblical Method
Apocalyptic Literature
Nine Ground Rules
GROUND RULE 1
“PROPHECY HAPPENS”
GROUND RULE 2
“NUMBERS ARE SYMBOLS”
GROUND RULE 3
“HISTORY IS PROPHECY”
GROUND RULE 4
“ONE EQUALS TWO”
GROUND RULE 5
“IT’S ALL POLITICAL”
GROUND RULE 6
“HERE COMES THE JUDGE ON A CLOUD”
GROUND RULE 7
“RESURRECTION EQUALS RENEWAL”
GROUND RULE 8
“DON’T CLING TO CHRONOLOGY”
GROUND RULE 9
“THE END IS NOW”
Summary of Ground Rules
Part III: The Scriptural Evidence
The Presumptuous Parenthesis
The Vital Importance of Time
Authorship of Daniel
Outline of the Visions
Section I: Initial Vision Mystery of the Kingdom Revealed (2:1–49)
Section II: Three Key Personalities (3:1–6:28)
Section III: Vision Recapitulated, with Proof (7:1–12:13)
Vision III:A: The Battle Strategy of the Beast
A modernist mistake
Who is the little horn?
For how long does the little horn make war?
Is this Christ’s second coming?
Summary of the “coming”
Summary of the beast vision
Vision III:C: The Battle Strategy of God’s People
If you build it, He will come
*Seven* is a perfect number
Calculating the sevens
Counting temples
Blessings bestowed
The end point of the seventy weeks
The last week first
Clement of Alexandria and Origen
Barnabas
Eusebius
Verse 24: Blessings bestowed when Messiah comes
Verse 25: The Temple must be rebuilt first
Verse 26: The Temple and the Messiah will meet ruin
Verse 27: The strong covenant, sacrifice, and judgment
A Catholic summary of the seventy weeks
Vision III:E: From Here to Eternity
Tribulation and resurrection
Seal the mystery
Increase in knowledge
The wicked and the wise
The abomination
The three times?
The extra thirty days
The extra forty-five days
The general judgment
Summary: Daniel’s Lessons
Looking Ahead
An Unfair Insult
Was Jesus a False Prophet?
A Deficient Solution
Some Future Generation?
*Generation* Equals *Race?*
A Better Solution: Answering Two Confusing Questions
The First Question: When Will the Temple Be Destroyed?
Sign 1: False messiahs
Sign 2: Wars
Signs 3 and 4: Famines and earthquakes
Sign 5: Persecution
Sign 6: Apostasy
Sign 7: The gospel worldwide
Sign 8: Daniel’s desolating sacrilege
Fulfillment of the Desolation
No Fleeing on the Sabbath?
Summary of the Eight Signs
Five Amplifications on the Signs
Amplification 1: Great Tribulation
Amplification 2: Heresy
Amplification 3: Political upheaval
Amplification 4: Sign of the Son of man
*The sign*
*The clouds*
*Here comes the Judge*
*The mourning*
*The four winds*
*Summary of the coming of the Son of man*
Amplification 5: The fig tree
The Second Question: What Will Be the Sign of Your Coming and of the Close of the Age?
No signs left for you
A sudden coming
You must be ready
Will some be “left behind”?
Three parables to clarify the answer
*Parable of two servants*
*Parable of ten maidens*
*Parable of talents*
The final judgment
Summary of the Two Confusing Questions
Summary of the first question
Summary of the second question
Deceptive Double Vision
The end is really the end: 1 Corinthians 15:51–54
Our glorious bodies: Philippians 3:20–21
Appearing with Christ: Colossians 3:4
Parousia in the clouds: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:3
Antichrist in the Temple: 2 Thessalonians 2:1–10
*The MIA rapture*
*Restraint of the antichrist*
*The antichrist in the Temple*
Our blessed hope: Titus 2:11–13
A Corrective Prescription for Double Vision
Galatians
Hebrews
The Winkle Warp
Preliminaries
Milieu of Daniel’s final week
Outline and theme
Timetable of The Apocalypse
Introduction
Letters to the seven churches
*Church One: Ephesus*
*Church Two: Smyrna*
*Church Three: Pergamum*
*Church Four: Thyatira*
*Church Five: Sardis*
*Church Six: Philadelphia*
*Church Seven: Laodicea*
*Summary of the seven letters*
Section I: The Initial Vision
The throne room
The mysterious scroll
The Lion and the Lamb
The singing
The seven seals
*First seal: Rider on a white horse*
*Second, third, and fourth seals: war, famine, and death*
*The fifth seal: martyrs under the altar*
*The sixth seal: heavenly disruptions*
*The seventh seal: trumpets, thunders, and woes*
Abaddon the King
The *loipos*
Seven thunders
The little scroll
The forty-two-month trampling
The two witnesses
The great earthquake
The great city
The beast
The mystery of God
Summary of the initial vision
Section II: Three Key Personalities in Chapter 12
The Child
The Woman
The dragon
Daniel’s last week
Events on earth
Parallel events in Heaven
Events on earth resumed
Another Winkle Warp
Section III: Initial Vision Recapitulated
Section III:A: The Battle Strategy of the Dragon
*Two beasts rise up*
*The gentile sea-beast*
*The mortal wound*
*Worshiping the beast*
*How to fight the invincible beast*
*The Jewish land-beast*
*The human number, 666*
*The mark of the beast*
*Summary of Vision III:A*
Section III:B: The Battle Strategy of the Lamb
The famous 144,000
Singing a new song
The eucharistic song
The three angels
Two more angels
Section III:C: The Battle Strategy of God’s People
Vision III:D: The Great Battle
*The first six plagues*
*Yet another Winkle Warp*
*The place called Armageddon*
*The seventh plague*
*The harlot and the beast*
*Seated on seven hills*
*Seven emperors, plus one*
*A new Roman Empire?*
*Ten future kings*
*The fall of Babylon*
*A millstone into the sea*
*Reaction of the dragon’s allies*
*Reaction of the Lamb’s allies*
Section III:E: From Here to Eternity
The great supper of God
The leftover *loipos*
Present benefits of Daniel’s six blessings
The Millennium
Refuting three key rapturist claims
Summary of the Millennium
Future benefits of Daniel’s strong covenant
What are Gog and Magog?
The great white throne
A new Heaven and a new earth
The New Jerusalem
Section V: Thematic Summary
The Church’s gospel
The Church’s mission
The Church’s nature
It is done!
Concluding Remarks
Two Questions in Summary
Part IV: Wrapping Up the Rapture
Three Psychological Reasons
Comfortable pessimism
“Health and wealth” gospel
Inside knowledge
Two Theological Reasons
Too “high” a view
Too low a view
An antidote to the too-low view
The Roots of Modernism
A Tradition of Authoritative Guidance
The Gospels Are Also Reliable History
Reading Scripture with the Eyes of Faith
A Pivotal Issue
Christ Will Return
The End Is “Here”
Christ’s Return Will Be Unmistakable
He Is Coming Like a Thief
Only the Father Knows When
God’s Mercy Delays Christ’s Return
The Final Battle Is Yet to Be Fought
The Antichrist Will Lead Satan’s Assault
Christ’s Return Will Win the Victory
The Resurrection Will Follow
Then Comes the Final Judgment
The Wicked Will Be Separated from God Forever
Eternal Life for the Righteous
Glorified Bodies
We Will Be in God’s Presence Forever
The True “Blessed Hope”
Watch and Prepare
The Eucharist Best Helps Us Watch and Prepare
Appendixes
Barnabas
Clement of Alexandria and Origen
Tertullian
Athanasius
Eusebius
Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Apollinaris
The Minor Misunderstanding
A Simple Solution
Daniel’s Seventieth Week
Outline and Overview
The Day of the Lord
I. Historical Setting
II. Initial Oracle
III. Historical Parable of the Good Shepherd
IV. Second Recapitulating Oracle
The feast of booths
The pierced One
The spoils of war
The Mount of Olives
Flee for safety
The Eucharist
Summary
Authorship
Dating
Frame of reference
*Internal evidence of authorship*
*“Soon”*
*People and places disguised*
*Only seven churches*
*666*
*The numbering of kings*
*St. John’s health*
*The Temple is standing*
*Language and grammar*
*Coming and mourning*
*Summary*
Ancient Witnesses
Christ’s Return
Death
The Temple
David B. Currie