Customer Reviews

A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Three and a Half Engrossing Stars!!
"A History of the End of the World" makes it's appearance at a crucial time: when there seems to be so much war and terrorism, death and destruction, and political tension taking place across the world and in the Middle East. This book begins by citing a famous bumper sticker which says "I know the ending. God wins". This book focuses on, but is not confined to, the last book of the Bible. The Revelation (aka The Apocalypse) is a book so heavily coded that "names, numbers, colors, and images in {John's} visions are ciphers that must be decoded to yield their actual meanings". Many try to use it as comparison to today's events to determine if we are nearing "the end times" or the "left behind" phase of redemptive history.

Mr Kirsch's book diligently sorts through the optional views and influences of this magnificent biblical book of prophesy, as he digs deeper than most in this area. In fact, he surveys the history of other "apocalyptic" writings that preceded Revelation, especially noting the effect of Hellenism and Antiochus the Madman on some of those writings. And he cites the biblical Book of Daniel as a direct source for Revelation or even a mini-Apocalypse because of it's prophesies. (But Christians would state it is God who is doing the writing and the comparing.)

Many believe The Revelation was written by (Saint) John, the 'beloved' apostle. Mr Kirsch notes that despite the specific mention of John as the author, some people question the 'true' authorship of Revelation. And he makes no bones about the fact that he believes Revelation's author actually used "models and sources" from ancient biblical writings that he "knew, loved, and copied"(p.24). He relates that Satan even is given a lesser adversarial role in the heavenly court prior to the New Testament and John's Revelation which paints Satan as "the Beast". And he takes issue with statements by not only John, but Jesus himself with regard to the timing of the "end times", which may upset some Christians. Mr Kirsch may have opened himself to controversy with some of his statements, but this book is more of a survey of everything rather than a definitive study taking a hard-line position. So a Christian Fundamentalist may read some things he would rather not see. OR maybe not. I know I had some trepidation, but I kept reading. And he documents well the controversy as to whether Revelation should have been included in the Bible at all, which it finally was, according to him, in most manuscripts by the tenth century. Then he documents the twists and turns of each century, including the madness of the millennial year 1000, in dealing with Revelation. Centuries of seers, visionaries, and believers each weighing in on their interpretation.

The overall focus of this book is on the influence that Revelation has had on Western Civilization. The author states it "Changed the Course of Western Civilization". A very lofty and speculative claim. The author begins to state his case, however, by citing many common everyday terms as originating in The Revelation: "Satan", "grapes of wrath", "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", "grim reaper", "anti-Christ", "lake of fire", "fire and brimstone", the number "666", "thousand year reign", "last judgement", "Battle of Armageddon", the number "7" "a great sign appeared in the heavens", "Gog and Magog" (he makes an interesting point about these terms) and so on. Add to that the centuries old guessing game of the identity of "the Beast" and you have a book that fires the imagination, but will cause the Christian adherents to brand it as a strictly a SECULAR work of biblical scholarship.

Elsewhere he cites the effect of The Revelation on western civilization and the likes of Richard the Lion-Hearted, Hitler, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. & George W. Bush (Presidents #41 and #43), among others. In light of the controversial statements, many Christians who 'walk by faith and not by sight' may find this book ultimately disappointing and they may want to be headed in the direction of Billy Graham, Dallas Willard, or Scott Hahn for a more traditional Christian treatment of The Revelation. But, even so, it serves a double purpose of being a fascinating and exhaustive history of apocalyptic writings pre- and post-dating Revelation, whether you believe Revelation is divinely inspired or not divinely inspired. Sign me up with the former. Otherwise, buckle up, dig in, and prepare to be amazed at the incredible interest in eschatology that many of us have had over the centuries. The words of Dionysius reverberate through this book, "[T]hose things which I do not understand I do not reject, but I wonder the more that I cannot comprehend". Faith must carry the day!
Three and a Half Rigorous Stars for scholarship and diligence, with a caution for the religious squeamish!

I happened to come across this tasty volume by accident and found myself up half the night sucked into its pages. The author covers all aspects of Revelations and does an exhaustive, yet entertaining critique of the stories aka metaphors contained therein. For End of the World Enthusiasts and Conspiracy Buffs, some of your paranoia will dissipate. For die hards, forget it. They'll believe what they want to believe. For Evangelicals and Fundamentalist Yahoos, you might just lose some steam. This book has something for everyone. It's an intelligent cultural study of a book in the Bible that's been bandied about for centuries. There will be no absolutes when you get to the end. But you will have learned what all the fuss is about. Sure to tick off more than a few know it all holier than thou folks for its bold candor. Maybe that's why I like it so much.

This is an engrossing study of the most enigmatic book of the Bible: Revelation, and the impact it has had over the last two millennia. I have read and studied Revelation several times over the years. As a child the idea of the Last Judgment and the end of the world used to terrify me, and as an adult I found the bizarre imagery and even more bizarre interpretations of Revelation off-putting and ridiculous. I'm glad Jonathan Kirch has provided this history, which helps to make sense out of much that seems senseless.

Revelation is supposed to have been written by the Apostle John, but as Kirsch demonstrates, that identification is highly doubtful. I enjoyed reading the first few chapters in which Kirsch analyzes the origins of and early reception given to Revelation, but the later chapters, which trace the influence of Revelation down through the centuries, were particularly interesting. I was struck by how similar so many prophets of Apocalypse seem, even when they lived many centuries apart, and by how often they misinterpreted the same segments of Revelation.

The most important parts of Kirsch's work deal with the effect Revelation has had on the present world, particularly through what I believe is its willful misinterpretation by some so-called religious and political "leaders", whose cynical exploitation of the hopes and fears of many sincerely religious people has allowed them to gain influence and power. Hopefully, Kirsch's expose of the fraudulent nature of these misinterpretations will help repair some of the damage done to our world by those who would exploit those who fear its imminent ending.

Kirsch's book is a fast-paced zip through the grand history of Christian apocalypticism inspired by the book of Revelation. The first hundred pages are a summary of the accepted mainstream interpretation of Revelation and the last hundred pages are a KJV reprint of Revelation and loads of footnotes. This leaves only 150 pages of history, a hundred of which deal with American abuses of the text. It's not that Kirsch doesn't have details for the Medieval and Early Modern readings of Revelation, it's just that they are run through with the same velocity as a framer with a nailgun--no synthesis, no commentary, and poorly organized. It was also incredibly annoying how many times the phrase "as we shall see" was used in the first 200 pages. It was as if Kirsch wrote a superb essay on apocalypticism in America, got a book deal and had to add a bunch of preface material to meet the required word count.

All of that is why I gave it 3 stars instead of 5. Had it just been a book about American readings of Revelation it would have been excellent. Still, I enjoyed it and I'm glad that people are thinking critically about apocalyptic literature.

I found this book to be highly entertaining. It was replete with adjectives like "weird," "creepy," and "nightmarish," and his (overzealous) descriptions of the imagery in Revelation were hair raising.

This being said, I had a few problems with the book. Primarily, I wanted the author to eventually cut the mysterious, creepy language and get to the historical point. After awhile, I grew tired of hearing about how revelation was written "like a fever dream." Rather than actually spend the book pursuing what I thought was the point, tracing apocalyptic thought in western civilization, he instead discussed how the book would make people crazy. It sounds like I'm being facetious, but that is actually what he argues.

Furthermore, I'm not entirely certain that the author is qualified to make the kind of commentaries on Revelation that he makes. For instance, when he describes to the reader (whom he assumes has not actually read the apocalyptic work) the contents of Revelation, he relies more ont he fantastic imagery of the book than on what that imagery means. He decries attempts to interpret the images, but then turns around and interprets them himself. He uses a dispensational, pre-tribulation rapture model to interpret the book in a very Tim LaHaye style, completely disregarding other, more commonly held interpretations of the book like the amillenialism found among Presbyterians. (Is he aware that so many conservative Bible scholars intrepret Revelation in this manner?)

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the work was how Kirsch would state things as fact without really explaining why he believed them. His points may have been valid, but the reader has no way of knowing how he came to his conclusions. Many times he would state Christian doctrines derived from Revelation, when in fact they actually came from the letters to the Thessalonians or even Old Testament books like Daniel. Uninformed readers don't stand a chance against such sloppy explanation.

So, while I had endless fun writing notes in the margin of the book, I found it neither helpful nor scholarly. It might be an interesting read, but I didn't feel that I walked away from the book with a clearer understanding of the way that apocalyptic thinking was received and used by people throughout the ages. The tag line on the back of the book should have warned me: "Holy Scripture or Dangerous Delusion?" He spends much more time talking about that than "how apocalyptic thinking changed the course of western civilization." It's probably not work the $18 I spent, but if you can find it for cheaper it might be worth a gander.

Jonathan Kirsch offers interesting insights which allow the reader to navigate through the most mis-quoted and potentially dangerous book in the Bible. Aficianados of the "Left Behind" series beware: "A History of the End Of the World" might just change your mind about how to interpret the "Book of Revelations". Since Mr. Kirsch is a journalist by profession, the ideas expressed are in a clear and most readable manner.

The Book of Revelation in the Bible predicts - down to description of events - the end of the world and the destruction of the earth: it outlived its creator and has had a major influence on Western civilization: an influence revealed and analyzed in A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization. Chapters offer an analysis of the questions raised by Revelation, juxtaposing analysis with historical references to events and people who made decisions and led paths based on the contents of Revelation. An eye-opening blend of history and spiritual analysis results, recommended not just for Christian readers, but for any who would understand influences on the course of the world.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The book of Revelation, the last in the New Testament was written in the 1st century. It has been studied, analyzed and talked about ever since, sparking much controversy. Recent books like the LeHaye series continue to inject put this ancient text in the maintream culture.

In A history of the End of the World, Jonathan Kirsch takes a look first at the book itself and then at the reactions of various people to it over the last two millennia.

There are three basic sections, an introduction, concerning the writer of Revelation, a history section and a closing chapter.

In the first section, Kirsch attempts to examine the psyche of the author who is traditionally thought to be the disciple John. I thought this was a bit of a stretch. After reading the few verses available, the author poses that John was delusional, sexually-repressed martyr-wannabe living in a Roman world that he hated. That's a lot to gather from such a small amount of material.

The longest section of the book contains numerous historic anecdotes about how different people through history have interpreted and acted on the text of Revelation. This section, while a bit drawn out and by its nature hard to read, holds a lot of very interesting information. The fascination of some evangelicals with the End Of Times and the imagery of the subject book is not a recent phenomenon.

Finally, there is an section addressing the current day in which the author ties some of our recent (US) presidents to rather literal interpretations of Revelation. Has this book actually influenced American Foreign Policy? Yes, according to the author.

This book was interesting but some may find the authors tone insulting. With lines like "...Bible-reading [is a] crazy-making experience" it is not surprising.

For someone who has written on various Biblical topics, Kirsch shows little understanding or respect for Christians. He seems to struggle with the concept that early monotheistic believers would not want to state that Caesar is God, even if everyone else was doing it. He also looks at a few well-known evangelists and generalizes from them and makes it seem that he feels that most believers are just a stone's throw from being the next David Koresh.

Overall, though, I found this a very interesting book.

"A History of the End of the World" chronicles the history of the Book of Revelations and its impact on Western Civilization. Characterized by Kirsch, and in the minds of many readers rightfully so, as the single scariest book in the Bible (and arguably in all of Judeo-Christian writing), Revelations is a strange book that is both at odds with the rest of the Bible and yet surprisingly the biggest attraction in the Bible.

To serious scholars, much of what Kirsch discusses here is old news. He covers in great detail the theories behind the origins of Revelations and the identity of its author, and points out how Revelations borrowed and adapted the apocryphal works of the time period. But the bulk of Kirsch book is less about the Book of Revelations itself than how it has been used, and misused, by the Catholic Church, politicians, and most recently the Religious Right to both soothe the minds of the faithful and as a weapon against the "enemy," whomever that enemy might be.

One of the recurring themes in the book is the fact that, despite several millennia of biblical scholars and street corner preachers' claims; the world has "failed to end on time." Kirsch exhibits a slightly sarcastic tone on occasion as he goes through the litany of previous attempts to determine the end of the world, and how the world refused to cooperate. For casual readers, the history lesson is enjoyable and provides some perspective with which to view the current cries of the impending Apocalypse. "True Believers" will take offense to the tone, however as Kirsch points out they want to be offended. And in truth, need to be for Revelations to be legitimate.

One of the key elements of Kirsch's arguments focuses on how the Book of Revelations, and the belief in the end of the world, feeds the psychological needs of the believer. He notes that the book is written for an oppressed audience. The original audience of the Book of Revelations were early Christians who still felt the sting of persecution. However Revelations has become the favorite book of those who simply believe they are oppressed, but aren't necessarily being persecuted. Revelations is a book that does not seek to uplift the spirit of the reader, but instead seeks to sate the hunger for revenge against all the non-believers and allies of Satan that have wronged them. While violence is a normal topic in the Old Testament, nowhere do we see a Biblical author revel in depicting violence against the enemies of God like we do in Revelations. If Revelations was a "fiction" book, it would be banned from most schools.

Revelations, as Kirsch points out, is meant to provide a feeling of empowerment to those who feel they have no power; whether that feeling is based on fact or delusion (and as Kirsch explains, more often than not it is delusion). It allows the reader to shift blame for all of societies' real and imagined ills onto otherworldly forces, and provides a succor that these forces will be overcome by God for them.

One interesting point addressed by Kirsch is how Revelations factored into the push by Christian Zionist after WWII to establish the Israeli state. Kirsch notes that at the time, many Jewish leaders would have been happy with a land anywhere and were not themselves pushing for the lands of Israel, because they believed only God could restore their homeland. But for the Christian Zionists, it was vital that the Jews return to Israel in masse not out of compassion for the Jewish people, but because they considered it a prerequisite for the Apocalypse. Kirsch discusses the beliefs of these Christian Zionists when he notes "...that the Jews who returned to the land of Israel were destined to suffer and die during the reign of the Antichrist and to burn in hell for the rest of eternity." Further, he notes that "Christian Zionists, in fact, tend to regard the prospect of peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors as an obstacle to the second coming of Jesus Christ and, therefore, the work of the devil."

The book does, however, suffer a stylistic flaw. Kirsch has a tendency to pound away at a thought, rehashing it dozens of times after the point has already been made and explained. There is also an annoying tendency to overuse the phrase "as we have seen" and its evil cousin "as we shall see." Having read his previous work "God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism," which was much more succinct in its arguments, I can only chalk this up to a bad editor. Someone should have slapped his typing fingers with a red pen over this.

But that issue aside, readers with an interest in understanding the psychology and history behind the Book of Revelations will find a book written with the casual reader in mind. It is very accessible to the reader and presents complex issues in a manner that is clear without oversimplifying.

I have previously read the book of Revelation in its entirety, and I have come across various interpretations of what all the symbolism means. Somehow I never felt entirely comfortable with what I was being told. Kirsch delves into how throughout history various factions have given their interpretations to this famous book.

It is interesting to note that not a single century has passed in which some new prediction was formed to date when the prophecies would come to pass. Time and again people have interpreted Revelation to fit their era. Revelation and the whole apocalyptic tradition became a way of coping with oppression and persecution by imagining a better world to come. The book points out these examples (a partial list) and more:

* 1st century - John, the author, may have been applying the writing to the then oppressive Roman Empire near the end of the first century.
* 156 C.E. - The Montanist sect believed the end was near in their day.
* 5th century - Barbarians at the gates of Rome were seen as the armies of Satan whose arrival signaled the 2nd coming.
* ca. 1248-1298 - Hildegard of Bingen (Benedictine nun) stated the final battle in the not to distant future would involve the fall the clergy.
* 1844 - William Miller predicted the end of the world and the coming of Christ.

Down to the present, people have taken the book of Revelation to task to provide the sorely needed answers to explain the significance of the difficult times in which they lived. I find that Kirsch did a fine job and did extensive research to provide the information in this book and the effects it has had on western civilization.