Title: The End: A Complete Overview of Bible Prophecy and the
End of Days
Author: Mark
Hitchcock
Pages: 528
Year: 2012
Publisher: Tyndale
Note: I received a
complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely
my responsibility. Other reviews can be
read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/. Also follow me on Twitter @lcjohnson1988
How do you tackle such a huge
subject as Bible prophecy as well as the End of Days? When you look at books on these topics or
others, where do you begin reading or looking?
What is the final authority as you read and come across a statement of
faith that may or may not line up with your own? As a person made in the image of God, do you
have a particular stance about End Times or is your stance based on a
particular denominational stance?
When I was
preparing to write this review, these were questions I asked myself too. The first pages I turned to in this book were
the ones at the end, Appendix 2: Recommended Books for Further Study. Why start there? Actually, you can learn a lot about an author
by seeing the books, authors, teachers, and studies that are listed by the
author. You can learn if there is a sole
approach to the topic or if it includes a variety of sources from various
backgrounds and denominations. Mark
Hitchcock does list quite a few and he also helps his readers by putting the
sources under topic headings.
Next, I
looked at the Context page. There I saw
where Mark took on a host of topics, breaking them down into 14 parts and each
had subtopics underneath. Before one
begins reading his overview, there is a section called Preface, which is really
short, one page to be exact. The next
one I had to applaud the author for including before dealing with the many
topics he writes about is a section he titles “Introduction: Something We Can
All Agree On.” Here, with humor and
honesty, the author shares his heart. I
can say it is one that seeks to bring God glory and definitely not one that
seeks to divide the Body of Christ. Both
of these I respect as well as agree with.
There are a few things that are quite clear in Scripture; the rest is
open to discussion.
Were I
to write all that is in this volume, I might as well have written the text
myself; however, I didn’t and I don’t intend to here. One of the purposes of writing reviews is to cause
us all to love the Lord with our minds as we await His coming. I can say that in this book, as with all
books written other than the Bible, there are topics and conclusions I agree
with and others I don’t. What matters
most is that you don’t lift this book higher than the Word of God. Only the Bible is completely infallible. It is a book to use as a resource and as a guide
as you intentionally study the Word of God.
Remember, it is okay to come to some part of Mark’s book and say “I don’t
know”. Pray about it, leave it with God
and while you await His answer keep looking at Him!
I recommend this book with my
rating of 4 stars.
