The Bible says a lot about the end of the world, but for many, the topic is wrapped up in a maze of confusing debates and viewpoints. When does the millennium reign of Christ happen–if at all? When is the tribulation? How will we know who the anti-Christ is? Many Christians are left scratching their heads at these questions or scared of even mentioning them due to the over abundance of end-times wackos out there.
In How Will the World End? And Other Questions about the last Things and the Second Coming of Christ, a short, 93 page book, Jeramie Rinne helpfully summarizes the Bible’s teaching on the end times, keeping a gospel perspective, and focusing on the most important, non-debatable issues. Questions answered in this book each have their own chapter: How will the world end? What will happen before Jesus comes back? How will Jesus come back? Will Jesus come back before or after the millennium? What happens after Jesus comes back? And how should we live until Jesus comes back?
He compares his approach to a swimming pool:
“…this book will not take you on a deep dive to the bottom of the pool to study the tile work around the drain. Rather, this book is intended to help Christians go past their ankles, get wet, and learn to enjoy swimming in the topic without drowning.”
One major way Rinne stays focused is by reminding us that our eyes need to constantly be fixed on Jesus and His glory amidst the confusion over timelines and exact chronologies that fuel much of the eschatological debates. Rinne’s devotion to the main storyline of the Bible and the hope we have in Jesus Christ allows him to fulfill his major hope for the book, which is to,
“help you move from being confused about the end times to having a basic, common-sense understanding. I trust it will free you from fear and anxiety, and enable you to find joy and peace in thinking about the end of the world. Christians should not dread what the Bible says about the end. They should glory in it.“
This is a book you can read in an hour or two that will give you a good introductory-level grasp of eschatology (the study of the last things) in a way that provides a needed dose of big-picture perspective that stays focused on what is most important.
If you are looking for a short and accessible primer to the Bible’s teaching on the end of the world (and related issues), How Will the World End? will give you satisfy you. This is a book I will recommend to friends and people at church who want to be taught the basics in an encouraging way that will make you say, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Also in this series:
This book was provided by Cross Focused Reviews in exchange for a fair review.