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

What a ride! I've been a student of the Book of Revelation for some time, and have gone through Church history on numerous occasions. So not everything in the book was new. But it was still worth it. One might criticize the book for exaggerating its case and for being too quick to make causal connections. I agree. I give the book five stars nonetheless because it contains a wealth of detailed and highly engrossing information. Kirsch does not expect his readers to believe something simply because he says so; no, he quotes extensively from historical sources, without letting the quotes overburden his prose. The result is very entertaining and very informative. I've used it more than once in my own lectures to give an outline of Apocalyptic thinking throughout the ages, starting from pre-Christian Judaism and ending in our own time. Here are a few highlights from the book about each century: ca. 200 B.C.: The starting point of Apocalyptic Literature in Judaism was the First Book of Enoch. Part of the Book was The Animal Apocalypse. At its climax, the evildoers on earth are vanquished by an army of "small lambs" that grow horns - the leader of the flock is the lamb with the biggest horn - and they go into battle with a sword bestowed upon them by "the Lord of the sheep" Quote from Enoch: "And the people of God had great joy because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed to them. And he sat on the throne of his glory, and the whole judgment was given to the Son of Man, and he will cause the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from the face of the earth. And from then on there will be nothing corruptible." The point: Apocalyptic Literature is the mother of Christianity. 2ND CENTURY B.C.: Here, for the first time in recorded history, we are able to glimpse the remarkable power of the Apocalyptic idea to move otherwise ordinary men and women to offer their lives, sometimes as soldiers and sometimes as martyrs, in the name of God. 1ST CENTURY B.C.: The Essenes retreated into the wilderness, the Zealots were willing to take up arms, others endured the situation and saw themselves as martyrs. 1ST CENTURY C.E.: John of Patmos did not intend his message in Revelation to endure for the ages for the simple reason that he was convinced: It would come to pass soon. He would have been shocked and heartbroken to know that we are all still here to read what he wrote two thousand years ago. 2ND CENTURY: In the first centuries, many Christians struggled with the message in Revelation. It was such a contrast to the other early Christian documents such as the Gospels. Revelation was, however, the favorite text of Maximilla and Prisca, who also prophesied - a movement that became known as "New Prophecy." They taught that the end was near, and discouraged remarriage and the bearing of children: "The biblical command, 'increase and multiply,' is annulled by the fact that we are living in the last age." 3RD CENTURY: A Roman bishop called H

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.

Jonathan Kirsch has written numerous books (including his famous "The Harlot by the Side of the Road") about the Old Testament, pulling the curtain away from years of misinterpretation that cloud the true meaning of the stories. Here he tackles the New Testament book of Revelations by peeling away the Christian layers to reveal the Jewish apocalypic history and vision behind it. Written in Kirsch's trademark entertaining style, the book keeps stopping you in your tracks so you can go, "Wow." As a personal aside unrelated to Kirsch's narrative, I got a kick out of the description of the whore of Babylon (Revelations 17:4) as wearing purple and scarlet -- she's a red hat lady -- who knew?

An excellent treatment of the Book of Revelation that debunks and exposes the many myths that have been built up around this controversial NT book and provides the reader with an entertaining and informative understanding of what Revelation is really about, and, more importantly, what it is clearly NOT about. If you wantto be able to respond intelligently to religious crackpots who are out to convince you that the world will end on any given date, this book will provide you with plenty of good information. Don't sell all you have and go out into the desert to wait for the "rapture", instead, read this book and enjoy life!

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.