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Rothhaar offers a chapter-by-chapter summation of the Book of Revelation in the New Testament from a Christian Evangelical perspective, presenting a chronological timeline of events he believes will take place during the earth’s final days. A figure known as the Antichrist will arise, leading a confederation of kingdoms and pretending to be the Jewish Messiah. A number of Jews will fall for the deception, but a faithful remnant will hide in an underground network of nuclear bomb shelters in the mountains of Israel.
The Antichrist will fake his own death using time-lapse photography, and much of the world will worship him. Christians will be arrested and given ten days to renounce God before being beheaded. The present earth will be destroyed, a new earth will emerge, and the saints will live together in a large pyramid known as the New Jerusalem. There they will neither sleep nor have children.
Rothhaar’s is an engaging and illuminating take on the last and most mysterious book in the Bible, with enough creativity to keep it from feeling like a retread of previous works by Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye. In this book, the emphasis is not on death and destruction, as in many books on eschatology, but on God’s protection of believers during a time of unparalleled chaos. The decision to prioritize comfort and hope over hatred and fear is commendable. In essence, this book provides a valuable glimpse into the trajectory of American eschatology after works such as the Left Behind series.