The Company of Hope: A History of Bible Prophecy in the Church

The Bible has over 1000 prophecies of the future, half of which have been fulfilled in Israel and her ancient neighbor, and in Jesus the Messiah. One in four verses in the New Testament addresses the wrap-up of time-space history. From the days of the early church, believers have wrestled with the meaning of these texts. While numerous books and monographs have dealt with some of these interpretations, we have lacked a single volume which purports to survey the whole of church history and the various schools of thought from an evangelical perspective. Writing narratively, Dr. Larsen seeks in these 36 chapters to focus on those key thinker who have shaped opinion and conviction on matters of prophecy and The Last Things. 62% of The American people profess to believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ - more recently fueled by Y2K, staggering world crises and the "Left Behind" series of Apocalyptic fiction. A bewildering array of competitive interpretive options confronts the inquiring student. This unique study with suggestive end-notes and bibliographical data, can open this vast literature to the beginner or the veteran student. Beginning with an introduction to The Biblical materials themselves, this study considers such early thinkers as Augustine, Joachim of Fiore, Martin Luther and The Anabaptists. Careful attention is paid to The Puritans and Continental Pietists and to such as Isaac Newton. While the thinking of John Nelson Darby is analyzed, careful attention is given to George Ladd, John Walvoord and others in our time like Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye and Billy Graham. The many shades of opinion are analyzed.