The 8 Great Debates of Bible Prophecy: Understanding the Ongoing Controversies

by Ron Rhodes

You've heard about the tribulation, millennium, rapture, and antichrist, but you may wonder, what's all the debating about? Do most Christians agree on the big issues? And what about other topics--dispensationalism, interpretive views, timing of events�are they too complex for most folks to understand?

Not at all! In this concise and easy-to-read review, respected Bible teacher Ron Rhodes identifies eight of the most important end-times discussions. Avoiding complex arguments, he highlights the most important biblical passages, summarizes a few of the most popular interpretations, and provides succinct conclusions. He demonstrates that the Bible's end-times teaching is intended to be a blessing for every believer.

As you compare and contrast the various viewpoints, you'll be able to enjoy constructive conversations with other Christians and support your own informed convictions. You'll also enrich your reading of the Scriptures and see how passages fit together in God's great plan for the ages.

Genres: Christian

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2014

Reviews

[Mark Johansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was asked to teach a class in my church on competing theories about end-time prophecies in the Bible. There are many different ideas out there -- post-trib vs mid-trib vs pre-trib, dispensationalist vs covenantialist, futurist vs preterist, etc. (And if you have no idea what I'm talking about there, welcome to the fun world of understanding end-time prophecies!) So I read several books on prophecy to prepare, including this one.

As the title implies, this book takes 8 of the commonly-debated questions and presents the arguments for both (or all three or whatever) sides. I think this book does a pretty good job of fairly presenting all sides. I appreciate the author's honesty in telling you which side he takes and why he thinks it's the right one. Sometimes people trying to present both sides of a debate think it is better to conceal their own opinion. Personally I think that's a mistake. It can be hard to give a fair case for a view you disagree with, because if you found the arguments convincing, you'd agree with them, right? So if the writer does not say what his opinion is, I think there's the danger that he'll present a good case for the side he likes and a weak case for the side he doesn't like and the reader can walk away misled as to which side is really stronger. But if you say where you stand, then the reader knows your biases and can evaluate what you say a little more fairly.

He's trying to cover a lot of ground in a book of modest length, so in some cases it seems like he's breezing over the subject. But I think he does set out all the views that are at all popular, and gives a good summary of the evidence and arguments for each.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book on prophecy

I like the way different philosophies are laid out & discussed. The book is well written & enlightening but not preachy. Every believer would do well to read it.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rhodes tells his readers at the beginning of this book that he will defend his own viewpoint. And that is exactly what this book is about. I had hoped that Rhodes would be more objective but he is not. He is very critical of other viewpoints and ignores the shortcomings of his own. If you are a pre-trib rapture dispensationalist, you'll love this book. If you hold any other view, you may be frustrated, as I was, over Rhodes biased presentations of the sides of the debates.
See my complete review at http://bit.ly/1mKlNVg.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.