What Jesus Really Said about the End of the World

by David B. Currie

From the Mayans to Martin Luther to modern doomsday preachers, there s a long list of people who predicted the end of the age and got it wrong. Does Jesus belong on that list? After all, in the Gospel of Matthew he seems to indicate the end will come within a generation, yet many generations have now passed and the world is still around. Was he mistaken, then, and was the early Church fooled by his mistake into expecting the Second Coming in the first century? In What Jesus Really Said About the End of the World, author David Currie author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic examines Christ s end-times prophecies in an attempt to get to the bottom of this profoundly important question. Using the tools of biblical scholarship, the wisdom of the Church Fathers, plus Old Testament history and typology, he presents a fascinating and highly readable interpretation of Jesus words echoed by St. Paul and other early Christians that harmonizes with Catholic tradition and resoundingly answers the charge that Christ predicted an end that never came. In so doing he rebuts both skeptics (who crow about Jesus mistake ) and many Evangelical Christians (who resort to extrabiblical theories like the Rapture ) while giving comfort to other Christians, who have been confused or embarrassed by this seeming blow to Christ s credibility. Currie also unlocks for you the most important message behind Jesus prophecies and warnings, which is not to inspire fearful calculations about the day and hour but to remind us that our own end will surely come, so we must be always ready. Let us not look for signs to be troubled by, the Lord says to us, but instead trust in his mercy and power.

Genres: Catholic

231 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

David Currie, Research Associate of The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is a popular Catholic author, lecturer and retreat leader.

His widely read and influential 1996 book, Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic (Ignatius Press) tells the story of his conversion, along with his wife Colleen, from fundamentalist missionaries to Catholic apologists. Prominent convert, Thomas Howard, has called it “the book on this topic of Evangelicals being received into the Catholic Church.”

His most recent book, Rapture: The End-Times Error that Leaves the Bible Behind (Sophia Press, 2003), explores the Biblical, historical, and theological roots of the modern “left behind at the rapture” movement. Dr. Scott Hahn, Founder and President of the St. Paul Center, has called this book “a virtual summa of apocalyptic texts…[that] makes these difficult matters abundantly clear… [with a] steady, charitable, clear voice.”

Currie has written widely in the Catholic press and has several popular tape series distributed by St. Joseph Communications, including: “Rapture: Ruse or Reality?”

Currie and his wife Colleen live in the Chicago area with five of their eight children. Their oldest is now married and their next two are attending university.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved about this book was the elegance of the Scripture passages which David Currie was able to elucidate. What seems a jumble upon first - and most subsequent readings, frankly - becomes a clear picture of what Jesus was saying because His words fit beautifully into an inclusio and several chiasms. By tying Jesus' more obscure phrases to their OT counterparts, His meaning springs to the surface. I would like to thank Mr. Currie for shining light on this difficult subject of prophecy using Scripture itself to support his exegesis. If beauty belies truth, this is truth.

[Melissa Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for those who would like to know that the Church said about Jesus' discourse in Matthew 24 and Luke 13 regarding the "End of Days", and how a first-century follower would what interpreted these scriptures. Fear not - the Seven Signs (including tribulation, wars, etc.) pertained to the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD, and the End of Days will come when we least expect it - when all appears good and normal.

[Dim Bulb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting.