The End Times: A Biblical Prophecy Quick Start Guide
“The end of the world!” A cause for speculation among theologians and a glimmer of
hope for the unfortunate person caught on an endless, awkward, blind date. The United States,
because of its particular democratic religious tradition, has been a hotbed of speculation about
the end of the world and the source of many of the popular definitions for words describing the
end of the world. Here is a short “starting point” guide for some of the more common words
used in this country when talking about the end of the world. While many religions think about
how things end, we here in the United States mostly use the language of Christianity, particularly
evangelical Christianity. Christian terms dominate the American discourse and seep into popular
culture. We see it in song lyrics and it comes out in movies such as The Rapture (1991),
Armageddon (1998), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Omen (1976) and many other thrillers. The
definitions in this article are not complete, have other definitions, and are all more complex than
this short glossary can do justice, but this will be a short introduction to the subject.
Millennium - The term “millennium” refers to the thousand year period mentioned in the book
of Revelation Chapter 20. How a person interprets this term indicates much about how they will
approach the other words in this glossary. That is why we begin with the millennium. This word
is usually coupled with passages from the Old Testament prophets that describe a time on earth
when things are set right. One such passage from Micah. chapter 4 reads:
. . . and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit
every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, . . .
This is powerful imagery and was a compelling idea behind many political and religious
movements in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are different kinds of millennialists.
Amillennialism - If you believe the “millennium” is a symbol, or that the reign of Christ began
when the Jesus went back to heaven leaving good and evil to fight it out here on the earth till he
comes back, you might be an amillennialist. This literally means “no millennium” but that is
misleading. Amillennialists generally believe that the “thousand years” is a symbolic period of
time. In ancient times the number 1000 was used to designate a large number or a long time.
God was said to own “the cattle on a thousand hills.” Meaning he owned lots of cattle.
Amillennialists think that the one thousand years is a symbol of a long period of time. Many
Christian amillennialists conclude that the reign of Christ began in the beginning when he
ascended to heaven and will continue while good and bad duke it out here on earth until it comes
to an end some time in the future. Some famous amillennialists: St. Augustine who’s City of
God contains many of these ideas, Martin Luther (who is hard to pin down on this subject) and
Abraham Kuyper, theologian and Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1901-1905.
Postmillennialism - If you believe that the church is going to help reform society, create a better
more just world, and usher in good, safe and just age here on earth before Christ returns, you
may be a Postmillennialist. This was the most popular approach to the idea of the millennium in
the 18th and 19th centuries as people began to think of ways to make the world better. The reason
for this is that it implies that people can bring the world to a place where it can be enough like
heaven that it will usher in the millennium and after that golden age Christ will return.
(Remember there are many variations on each of these ideas and this is but one of them) This
view was popular in the United States from the time of the “Great Awakening” under the famous
American preacher Jonathan Edwards right up until the First World War. Many American
progressives and revivalists believed that they were helping to bring about the millennium here
on earth. Evangelist Charles Finney, impressed by the revivals during the second “Great
Awakening” even predicted that at the rate of conversions the millennium might be merely
months away. This concept became part of the secular progressive landscape and shows up in
Edward Bellamy’s highly popular book Looking Backward. These progressives working on a
postmillennial intellectual foundation worked to end child labor, get the right of women to vote
and generally make the world better. . In recent years this idea has seen something of a revival
among younger theologians. Some famous postmillennialists: St. Athanasius, Eusebius,
Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge and Ian Murray.
Premillennialism - If you think there may be a rapture, that there might be an antichrist that
things may get worse, but that they might also get better. And, if you think Jesus will come back
eventually and fix it all and start a new age, you may be a traditional Premillennialist. This view
is held by those for who believe that the one thousand years in Revelation 20 is a literal thousand
years and that the return of Christ is required for it to happen. (Most amillennialists and
postmillennialists consider it a symbol.) Premillennialism, as you may have guessed from the
first two definitions, refers to the idea that Christ will return before, or pre, the millennium.
Generally premillennialists believe that the evil in this earth cannot be dealt with apart from the
return of Christ and his bringing it to an end. (Many amillennialists also agree with this)
Historically this did not cause any particular damper on working for progress in this world.
Indeed, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the famous 19th century Baptist minister did tremendous
work on behalf of the poor in London and was highly optimistic about the future, working for
reform in British society. He believed that at the end of whatever progress was made it would
still need Christ for the final fix and that after that there would be a literal millennium on the
earth. Famous historic premillennialists: Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, W. J. Erdman and R. A.
Torrey.
Dispensational Premillennialism - If you are sure we are in the last days, that the rapture of the
church will happen any day, that the nation of Israel is a sign that God is soon bringing the end
of the world. If you are suspicious for religious reasons of all international peace movements
and believe that bad news is just s sign that the end is near, you may well be a Dispensational
Premillennialist. This is the version with all the books, movies and spectacular images. There
were no Dispensational Premillennialists before the 1830's. This idea was picked up by some
radical groups within evangelical Christianity in the mid 1830's. Eventually they began to focus
on the importance of Israel being a nation, the rapture of the church, the rise of an AntiChrist as a
person who rules the world and a great battle culminating in the slaughter of the Antichrist
followers at the great battle of Armageddon and the conversion of the remnant of the Jews to
Christianity. This view makes better movies and books than does Amillennialism and seemed a
perfect religious idea for the tension in the world between the world wars and during the cold
war. Also because the rapture (“catching up”) of the church was thought by many of these to be
sudden, unexpected and even possibly secret it caused many to try to speculate and predict when
it will be. This view began with Margaret McDonald, a young girl who had a vision of a secret
rapture at a Bible conference near Glasgow, Scotland sometime around 1830. John Nelson Darby
(the founder of the Plymouth Brethren) added this idea to his system of dispensations that he
used to divide up and systematize the scripture. These ideas were later popularized in the United
States in by Cyrus Scofield in 1909 with the publication of his Scofield Reference Bible. Many
of the rest of the terms in this glossary present themselves in popular culture as a result of this 4th
and more modern interpretation of the end of the world. While there are no ancient names who
are famous dispensationalists there are, however, many well known modern proponents of this
idea. Famous Dispensationalists: Hal Lindsey who’s late 60's book, The Late Great Planet
Earth contributed to the Jesus Movement in the early 70's, Tim LaHaye, who’s series of books,
Left Behind, co-authored with Jerry Jenkins has done the most to popularize the dispensational
idea of the end of the world and of course Cyrus Scofield who published the Scofield Study
Bible.
Now for a series of terms. This is by no means complete and it does not include all the
variations on the ideas. Here in the US we love to innovate and that proves true on our
understanding of terms from the Bible. But the following will give you a starting place.
The Rapture - One of the most spectacularly popular end times words is not found anywhere in
the Bible. The concept is a reference to the idea in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. The Greek word in
the New Testament is parousia which refers to an arrival, or official visit. It is used by the New
Testament writer Paul to refer to the second coming or arrival of Christ. The word rapture was
not used in its current manner until after the 1830's and was not used popularly as it is today until
the late 19th or early 20th century. It has, however, become a central word for a generation of
evangelicals who expect to be taken up at any moment by the return of Christ and the last
trumpet. It leaves a person with a sense of the magical possibility of every day.
The Antichrist - It might surprise many to know that like the word rapture the word Antichrist
does not appear in the Book of Revelation. The word does, however, appear elsewhere in the
Bible. It shows up in the First and Second letters of John at the end of the New Testament. In
this context it may be attributed to a way of thinking or a person or persons who opposed Christ.
As in all of the New Testament these ideas are presented as being present or soon to be at the
time of the writings in the first centuries.
The Beast - In the glossary of end times words some persons have more than one name. The
“Beast” is one of those. A term that comes from both halves of the bible this designates a person
who is against God’s interests, has power and does evil. The apocalypse (the fancy name for
“revelation” the name given to the New Testament “Apocalypse”) shows a war between God and
God’s people and the Beast and his people. This person embodies the spirit of antichrist spoken
of in John’s letters. The identification of this person is shrouded in mystery but clues are given
as to who he is by the writers. Clues, we presume, that would have made sense to those who
read it originally.
666 - This is the number that clues readers in to who the Beast in the book of Revelation is.
Revelation 13 says;. . . the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who
would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great,
both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that
no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its
name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the
beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. Some ancient manuscripts have the
number listed as 616 but of course that will not do, way too many rock albums, horror movies
and evangelistic tracts have already been produced using the number 666. I do not think the
publishers or evangelistic associations would be happy with a change now. B-minus movies like
Route 666 would not quite feel the same as Route 616. A point of interest, since the Greek
alphabet that Revelation was written in uses letters for numbers the two popular spellings of
Roman emperor Nero’s name add up to both 666 AND 616. But we shall leave the speculation
on that to the afore mentioned movie producers and publishers.
Babylon - The Ancient city/state of Babylon became one of the metaphors for the other side of
the conflict between good and evil. In the book of Revelation it represents all that conflicts with
good and causes good people to compromise themselves. Historically it has been seen as a
metaphor for Rome, New York, The United States and many other cities or countries who seem
to be strong, wealthy or excessively corrupt. (I was once stranded for 20 hours in the Newark
airport on a hot summer day when the air-conditioning had failed. I suggested adding Newark to
the list but no one followed through on this)
The Whore of Babylon- On of the very vivid passages in the book of Revelation: I saw a
woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and
ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and
pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual
immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of
prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the
saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
There are a number of ideas as to who the Whore of Babylon might represent. Some early church
leaders considered it to be the Jewish leaders who had compromised with Rome and were
persecuting the Church. Later, particularly among Protestants she was thought to represent the
Catholic Church that has compromised itself with the Powerful and the forces of the Beast for
personal gain and pleasure. Among Dispensationalists today she is often representative of any
organized religious group that is popular or accepted. Most often the “Whore of Babylon” is
identified with people who don’t agree with the user of the term. Luther considered the Roman
Church to be the whore, that idea still exists among some conservative Protestants. More
recently (in the last century in particular) it has come to represent people who’s religious beliefs
allow them to be more involved in the social issues of society, who do not hold strong views on
drinking or popular entertainment and who might collude with some kind of one world
government if given the right inducement to do so.
The Apocalypse (Revelation) - The word Apocalypse means literally “to uncover or reveal.”
When a waiter in a fancy restaurant brings your plate covered in one of those silver lids and then
lifts the lid in front of you he or she has created an apocalypse. That which was covered is now
revealed. You should shout “Oh my God! The apocalypse!” And see how the others at the table
react. The term is used of a certain kind of religious or political writing in ancient times.
Apocalyptic writing still exists in more modern times as a literary device. Charles Dickens A
Christmas Carol is an apocalypse in which Scrooge is exposed to a series of visions that exposes
him to a truth that he has hidden and is now forced to see. As we read we to are drawn in to
Scrooge’s dilemma and begin to question our own motives. This is what an apocalyptic writing
does. There are many apocalyptic writings in the ancient world and they were written in ways
that conveyed information to the reader that someone who did not know the language would not
be able to understand. The last book of the Christian New Testament follows this tradition and is
called “The Apocalypse” or “Revelation.” Variously titled “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”
“The Revelation of St. John the Divine” and other titles. The book of Revelation is removing the
lid from the plate to reveal something hidden to those to whom it was written. The popular
usage of the term “Revelations” (plural) is a bastardized common American usage and not used
by Biblical scholars. The term Apocalypse, however, has come into common usage to mean any
kind of dramatic world ending event. Thus a series of historically terrible snow storms become
the newspaper headline “Snowpocalypse” a play on the word “apocalypse.” Any reader of the
book of Revelation will understand that the vivid imagery in the book lends itself to this use of
the word.
The Son of Man - In the book of Revelation as in most of the New Testament this phrase simply
refers to Christ. The Gospels record Jesus using this phrase about himself. It would make sense
as the title and opening line of Revelation tell us that this apocalypse is a “revelation of Jesus
Christ.”
The Great Tribulation - What and when this is depends upon what kind of millennialist you
happen to be. For some (Amillennialists in particular) it is symbolic of the trouble that faithful
people have at all times in this age. For others it signifies the period of Roman instability around
and following the time of Nero, when the Temple was destroyed and the Jewish Christians (to
whom the Apocalypse was sent) suffered persecution. But for Premillennialists and
Dispensationalists it represents a future coming time of terrible political, economic and social
upheaval. For those holding this view every new war, downturn in the stock market or change in
the international system feels like it might foreshadow the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
The Second Coming - Simply the idea that Jesus will return to earth one day and make all things
right. The imagery that all versions of Christian millennialsim find attractive is the idea of the
ultimate end. This idea motivates progressives to work for a better world and dispensationalists
to keep the faith. I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, . . . And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling
place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, . . . He will wipe
away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor
crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on
the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
The Battle of Armageddon - Either the symbolic conflict between good and evil or a coming
battle at the end of the age depending again upon what kind of millennial view you hold. But Wow! The picture of this battle comes in some of the most vivid language in the Bible.
Hollywood has certainly been able to gain inspiration from these passages: And they assembled
them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The seventh angel poured out his bowl
into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And
there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as
there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city
was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the
great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away,
and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell
from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was
so severe.
The Lake of Fire - The image found at the end of the Revelation. One by one all bad things are
thrown into this lake. For some it represents Hell, for others it represents the purifying of the
earth, for nearly all it means a final judgement in which all bad ends and only good survives. In
this sense an image of terror becomes an image of comfort. For oppressed people anywhere the
idea that God cares about them and will ultimately come to their aid and destroy all the evil that
they are subject to brings comfort. That is how the first readers of this book likely took this
picture.
New Heaven and New Earth - Following all things being burned up in the lake of fire there is
left only a good new heaven and earth. For many amillennialists, postmillennialists and
traditional premillennialists the new heaven and the new earth are partly here. The bringing of
good news to the earth brings the age to come partly into this age. But this view is contested by
others, particularly dispensationalists. However, both agree that the end of the world means that
evil is temporary and good is eternal. No matter what side of the millennial divide you fall this
seems like a good idea.
The Four Horsemen - Numbers are a big deal in the Bible. The numbers reappear causing
some interpreters to find meaning in the numbers themselves. So there are four rivers in Eden at
the beginning bringing life to the earth, there are four horsemen in Revelation executing
judgement and death on the faithless world in preparation of it being made new again.
Seven Seals - Then there are the seven seals. Seven happens over and over in the scripture. It is
thought to mean “completion” since God in the Bible created in six days and finished or
completed his job on the seventh day. In this case Revelation has multiple sevens; seven
churches, seven lamp stands, seven stars, seven torches, seven seals, seven horns, seven angels,
seven trumpets, seven thunders, a seven headed dragon, seven plagues, seven golden bowls,
seven mountains, seven dwarfs, . . . (oh wait that is a different book, sorry). But, back on track
here - the number seven is very important in this book. It clearly symbolizes something. From
these numbers we get multiplications of numbers that appear to have had meaning to those who
read these texts. Daniel’s seventy weeks for instance - or ten times seven. There can be much
more written about these things but for this article we shall leave it. Here complete times ten!
The Lamb - Here we come to the best part and the part where I suspect all Christians agree. This
is clearly a symbol of Jesus himself. He appropriated the Jewish idea of the lamb as a sacrifice
for the sins of the people. The reason lamb is a traditional meat to serve at Easter dinner. Here at
the end of the New Testament the idea is that the Lamb wins the war against all the big beasts
and powerful forces of evil. It is a clear turning things upside down. The image of the Lamb is a
direct repudiation of the power politics of the Roman age. While all the world respected victory
as Barbara Rossing in her wonderful book The Rapture Exposed points out, the readers of the
letter are awaiting a vision of a great conquering ruler and they see instead a wounded lamb. The
letter is a direct argument in favor of the powerless over the powerful. This was to be a comfort
to those who were powerless who read this book. In their state they would have identified more
with the lamb than with the beast - AND the lamb wins.