An End-Times-Fever Epidemic

An End-Times-Fever Epidemic

Ever since Middle Eastern terrorists destroyed New York’s World Trade Center, the requests for prophecy articles have increased dramatically. And they are not unique to our editorial office. Other Christian magazines, both small like ours, and large like Christianity Today, have already responded to the flood of requests. Secular magazines, such as Time , and major newspapers have done so as well.

Not to be outdone, national TV networks have devoted whole shows to discussing the relationship of prophecy to the current struggles between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. And words like “Armageddon” and “Apocalypse” have become commonplace – in the news, in print and even in conversations. Both Christian and secular bookstores report that while the number of new books on prophecy has increased significantly, the demand is still greater than the supply. The leader of a local Bible study said that the most asked questions concerned prophecy, and the most requested books for study were either the Prophets or Revelation. One man attending this study admitted knowing little about the Bible, but said, “I’d like to know what God says about what’s going on in the world.” And I just read that a large church nearby is hosting an End-Times-Fever seminar.

One Florida reader wrote, “I found your Features on Abraham, and Emphasis entitled ‘The Sibling Rivalry Continues’ (Nov. ’02) helpful in understanding the current heated-up struggle between Muslims and Jews in the Middle East. They told us where the struggle began. Now we need articles to show us where it’s headed.” Comments like these, plus the swirl of interest worldwide that doesn’t seem to be dying down, encouraged us to present this month’s Feature articles on Israel in prophecy, by writers from Australia, Europe and the USA. We hope they give you a biblical perspective on the past, present and future of Israel, and answer some of your questions as well.

By Larry Ondrejack