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Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind

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I became a Christian in the 1970s, primarily due to Hal Lindsay's book THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH. As I grew in my faith, however, I learned that end-times eschatology is only a small part of being a Christian. I also noticed something else: the Christian Church had swallowed Lindsay's teachings wholesale, and proceeded to adopt a bunker mentality: if Jesus is coming in the 1980s (as Lindsay said), then we don't need to do any more work for the gospel.

This has always bothered me. Lately, due to the tremendously popular (but very poorly-written - am I the only one who has noticed this?) Left Behind series, the rapture and pre-milleniumism has seen a resurgence.

Yet, for me, there was always something tickling the back of my brain, telling me that something wasn't right.

Enter Currie.

His book on the rapture is devastating to the rapture cult: he shows, in methodical and well-researched fashion, how the Bible has been twisted by rapturists into supporting their heretical beliefs. Currie unravels the twistings and shows how *all* scriptural prophesies that rapturists point to have been fulfilled!

He goes through Daniel, Zechariah, Jesus Olivet Discourse, and the Book of Revelation. He points out the rapturists flawed assumptions and gives detailed historical data (much of which I had never known unitl now) supporting the fulfillment of each prophesy in the early church.

He also gives a great historical overview of previous "rapturist" and "end-times" believers, from 150AD to the present. The book is well-documented, and his research bibliography is extensive.

Devastating.

Even if you are not a Catholic, you will find this book challenging; it will certainly force you to re-examine the populist notion surrounding Christ's second advent.

David covered the material in the depth I was searching for. After talking with a fundalmentalist friend for over a year on the subject of the Rapture I was lost in the conflicting views and wondered where they came from. My friend had not gotten his information from popular books but had done an indepth research. Unfortunately I was the only cradle Catholic my friend had ever met with any knowledge of Scripture. Even with 10 years of Scripture study behind me these views were foreign.

David's book is well researched and not difficult to read. I highly recommend it to anyone. I look forward to his next book since both his books have been so helpful.

I must admit I was surprised at how good this book is. After reading many fundamentalists' books on the subject in the last 30 years, starting with Hal Lindsey's "Late great planet Earth," it was good to read Currie's common-sense, and historically grounded, work.

The author was thorough and comprehensive, yet the book was written in down-to-earth layman's terms. It answered a lot of questions I had about biblical prophecy and Revelation.

This book provided the best approach I've read concerning the Catholic view of the Apocalypse/Revelation, and the "end times."

By the way, Catholics DO believe in "the rapture," (cf. I Thessalonians 4:13-18). We just believe that it will occur in conjunction with Christ's 2nd coming. There will be no "secret rapture," with a 7 year Great Tribulation following.

It is good to have Mr. Currie on board the barque of St. Peter. Thank you, David Currie!

--John Paul

David Currie has written a masterpiece on the end-times! He conclusively and systematically refutes claims that the Bible teaches of a secret rapture and future 7 year tribulation (which is the basic premise underlying the "Left Behind" series). Without mincing words, he gives an honest account of what the Bible actually teaches in the passages (in the Old and New Testaments) that are often misunderstood (or misconstrued) by the rapturists. Especially exciting is his analysis of Revelation (or the Apocalypse), which he largely bases off the early Church fathers. There is no doubt you are getting a stimulating, thorough, and unforgettable perspective on the Biblical prophecies already fulfilled and those relating to the end of the world. I couldn't agree more with what Scott Hahn says of this book in the forward, that it is "wise...Catholic and Christian."

David Currie has written an outstanding book dealing with the many verses in the bible that deal with the end times and prophecy. David comes from a fundamentalist backround, he used to believe in the rapture and is very charitable towards others who still believe in it. In this book he has done a phenominal amount of research, he goes into the many areas of the bible dealing with the end times, prophecy, and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The book talks about nine ground rules of interpreting prophecy then talks of the prophecies of Daniel, the olivet discource in Matt:24,and in Luke and Mark then talks of the The different verses in Pauls epistles and goes through the book of revelation. In the appendixes there are many quotes from the church fathers also. This book is very well written and I recommend it to any catholic wanting to understand why the church doesn't teach the rapture and what it teaches of the end times.

It would be a fallacy not to explore the Christian concept of the end of the world, even if one is not Christian, nor particularly religious if born a Christian. The topic has significant impact on US policy. There is an institutionalize premillenialist perspective of "how the world will end" that is currently being propagated in the US, that affects the way people vote and organize themselves to promote US policies, particularly those that affect peace and human rights in the middle east and attitudes towards the EU. What really interested me is that Premillenialism seems to have less a consistent root in Protestant beliefs, than it does in a distinctly American perception of the world. Very few Christians outside of the US, believe in premillenialism, even if they belong to congregations far removed from the Catholic church

David Currie's book, "Rapture: The End Times Error that Leaves the Bible behind" is a seminal analysis of apocalyptic literature in the Bible, and a comparison of the interpretations of the amillenialist (those who believe humans will not know the date of the end of the world) and premillenialist (those who think they can tell you the exact date when the world ends) camps. He provides examples of how people' attitudes towards life and ideas of responsibility in life can be influenced of solely dependent upon which end-times scenario they believe. He surveys modern literature in the field, but the advantage of this book over its contemporaries is that the meat of the book centers on the Bible itself. He compares the results of his biblical exegesis and the biblical exegesis of the premillenialists, with historical documents from the Roman Empire, and Jewish scholars such as Josephus, and writings from a few of the early church fathers.

Currie has an excellent background to analyze both perspectives. He was raised in a premillenialist home; his parents were both teachers as Moody Bible Institute. Currie himself graduated from Divinity Evangelical Divinity School, and spent years working as a missionary teaching premillenialist theology to college students. However, as he taught, he began to question the biblical foundation of the premillenialist beliefs, and eventually abandoned them as biblically unsound. The biblical analysis of the book focuses on visions in Daniel, the Olivet Discourse in the gospels, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation (the bulk of the study). He also analyses the book of Zechariah in the appendix.

The apocalyptic passages in the Bible are often the ones I refrained most from reading, until Currie's book. His analysis thoroughly demystifies those passages, and the ground rules he provides for interpreting the Bible and information in regards to symbolic importance of numbers were immeasurable resources that enriched my study of all biblical passages, and may be helpful for everyone one, even if they are not persuaded by his interpretation. His argument completely persuaded me, and the perspective deeply reaffirmed my faith in Christianity. He wrote simply about a topic with deep implications, which made the information easy to comprehend and remember. The use of timelines that expressed his theories was invaluable. I can not recommend this book highly enough, and hope that many more come from David Currie in the future.

With Rapture, David Currie continues the recent trend of books on Christian eschatology that have placed the dispensationalist position on the defensive after years of being virtually unopposed and allowed to gather steam as a movement. At first, most scholars and apologists from traditions outside the confines of the fundamentalist movement simply did not think it was worth expending energy critiquing such an obviously distorted and unsound view. However, the explosion of interest due to the Left Behind series of novels that presuppose dispensationalism as Biblical truth necessitated a direct response from those whose churches hold to a more Scripturally and historically justified view of the Bible's prophetic passages.

There are many excellent books that have been written recently on eschatological concerns, but often these books are primarily aimed at pointing out the errors of dispensationalism to audiences in the author's own tradition than to convince the dispensationalists themselves. The more organic and historic approach favored by Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and Reformational Protestants is likely to fall on deaf ears among dispensationalists who use Scriptural passages to create isolated propositions and then build a system around them. It is here that Currie succeeds greatly and he offers his critique in much the same user-friendly style as books written by noted prophecy pundits like Hal Lindsey and John Walvoord.

It is not surprising that Currie can speak the dispensationalists' language. He was raised with this as an integral part of his faith and many key figures in the movement were family friends. It was no doubt a great shock to many friends and family when he left for the Catholic Church and he has stated that much of the concern was whether he would miss the rapture and be "left behind." Just as an earlier book of his (Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic) sought to answer questions concerning his conversion in a general sense, this book can be said to answer the specific objections of dispensationalists to historic Christianity in terms they can understand.

The book is divided into four sections with a group of appendices following the fourth section. First is an explanation of the rapture doctrine itself. Here he mainly relies on dispensationalist sources while giving only a hint of the devastating critique to follow. The basic presuppositions are explored and details of the system are then fleshed out. Even at this rudimentary level, the complete artificiality of the system is striking and leads one to wonder how it became so popular.

The second section lays the groundwork for what is to follow. Currie uses the weapon in his arsenal that no fundamentalist could dispute - the Bible. Here he sets the groundwork for an exegesis of the prophecies in Holy Scripture that is direct and easily understandable. The suggested "groundrules" for interpretation are pretty obvious, but what is remarkable is how frequently dispensationalists will be shown to negate a clear reading of passages in order to preserve their system.

The third section is the heart of the book as Currie presents an interpretation of the prophetic passages of Scripture that is consistent with Catholic teaching, a strain of interpretation from the early Church, and the groundrules he set earlier. The view he holds is a preterist amillennialism. He is quick to point out that this is not the only possible interpretation of the passages but it does stand as an acceptable one given the Scriptural and historical evidence - something that cannot be said of the dispensationalist view.

In successive chapters, Currie discusses the Book of Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, the prophetic passages in the New Testament Epistles, and finally the Apocalypse (or Book of Revelation). The latter chapter, spanning 150 pages, is a book in itself and could easily be redone as an introductory commentary. Throughout, Currie places the passages back in context and demonstrates the complete inconsistencey of the dispensationalist view with the Biblical data.

The fourth section of the book covers the proper response for Christians to the rapture doctrine. First he notes both the psychological and theological reasons for the rapture doctrine's appeal. Then he deals with the things a Christian can be sure of concerning the endtimes even if one does not accept Currie's interpretation.

The book closes with a group of useful appendices. An interesting choice was one refuting the errors of hyperpreterism. This is interesting not only because the view is often confused with orthodox preterism but because of its growing appeal. In typical fundamentalist fashion, many who have grown up in the faulty dispensationalist system have reacted by going to the other extreme and holding that the Second Coming of Christ has already occured and all Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled. Currie deals with this heresy quickly but firmly and ponts out how it springs from some of the same methodological errors as dispensationalism.

Overall, David Currie has completely exposed the futility of the dispensationalist doctrine with this book. His is one of an increasing number of critiques of the Left Behind theology now being published. Those not in agreement with Currie's Catholic views will only find a little here to dispute (and none of it essential to his thesis) as the approach is for the most part kept to questions of eschatology and not ecclesiology. This, combined with Currie's understanding of the dispensationalist mindset, makes Rapture an ideal book for introducing its followers to a more Biblical view of the end times.

This is by far the best eschatological book I have ever read. Currie writes very well. He must do years of research for the books that he writes. In this book he breaks down every bit of Bible prophecy that I can think of. His piece on Revelation is especially interesting. He provides enough information for me to look at Revelation as a great history book, full of completed prophecy. I highly recommend this book for anyone into eschatology.

I found this book fascinating to read. Mr. Currie takes a complex subject and makes it easy to understand. Even though the subject matter may seem complex the book moves so quickly it is difficult to put down. He will cause you to think deeply about some issues you thought you had resolved in your own mind. Anyone who has given this subject any thought before will be forced to revisit this issue. Be prepared to have your convictions challenged.

I was more or less familiar with rapture theology before I read Rapture. It was a great book because it helped solidify what the rapture is and how the Bible supports and does not support the rapture theology. Currie makes a thorough analysis of Daniel, the Apocalypse, Matthew, and some of the Epistles, focusing on passages that are relevant to the topic of the rapture. Furthermore, Currie cites early Church fathers to support his Biblical textual analysis. It is a wonderful read, and despite the difficulty of the topic, Currie does a good job of helping the common person understand the rapture.