End Time Delusions

Will Christians vanish in a rapture? Will seven years of apocalyptic terror overtake those left behind? Will one future Mr. Diabolical—the antichrist—rise to control the world? Will he enter a rebuilt Jewish temple, claiming to be God? Will Earth’s nations attack Israel at Armageddon? Best-selling books like Left Behind and popular apocalyptic movies predict such things. Are they correct? No area of Christianity has been subject to more misguided interpretation than end time prophecy. Millions of Christians sense we are nearing Jesus Christ’s return. Yet when it comes to what the majority thinks will happen during Earth’s last days, and what the Bible actually says will occur, the difference is seismic. With clarity and biblical accuracy, End Time Delusions exposes massive errors now flooding through media and in much of today’s sensational prophecy writing. This book closely examines tightly meshed yet speculative theories about the rapture, seven-year tribulation, antichrist, and the modern Jewish state. This book is no novelty. Buttressed with solid teachings from many of Christianity’s most illustrious scholars, it lets the Bible speak for itself about the past, present, and future.

The Rapture Delusion shatters popular myths, breaks the spell of false theories, reveals solid biblical truth, and will help prepare you for "the end of the world." Addressing His Church, Jesus Himself declared, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20 KJV). Many Christian prophecy books and end-time movies predict that all "true believers" will miss the end because they will vanish in an event called "the Rapture"-when they will supposedly be taken to Heaven early-while those left behind will be forced to endure seven nightmarish years of apocalyptic terror during the time of the Antichrist. Is this true? What does the Bible really say? About the end times Jesus Christ warned,"Take heed that no man deceive you" (Matthew 24:4). Paul also predicted that many would be ensnared by "strong delusion" because "they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 KJV). The future is upon us-but it will be different from what the majority expect. Get ready for it.

This “disturbing yet fascinating” exploration of mass mania through the ages explains the biological and psychological roots of irrationality (Kirkus Reviews). From time immemorial, contagious narratives have spread through susceptible groups—with enormous, often disastrous, consequences. Inspired by Charles Mackay’s nineteenth-century classic Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, neurologist and author William Bernstein examines mass delusion through the lens of current scientific research in The Delusions of Crowds. Bernstein tells the stories of dramatic religious and financial mania in western society over the last five hundred years—from the Anabaptist Madness of the 1530s to the dangerous End-Times beliefs that pervade today’s polarized America; and from the South Sea Bubble to the Enron scandal and dot com bubbles. Through Bernstein’s supple prose, the participants are as colorful as their “desire to improve one’s well-being in this life or the next.” Bernstein’s chronicles reveal the huge cost and alarming implications of mass mania. He observes that if we can absorb the history and biology of this all-too-human phenomenon, we can recognize it more readily in our own time, and avoid its frequently dire impact.

Religious scholar Hart argues that contemporary antireligious polemics are based not only upon conceptual confusions but upon facile simplifications of history and provides a powerful antidote to the New Atheists' misrepresentations of the Christian past.

"Steve Wohlberg has glimpsed the horizon and issued an urgent warning." — Tal Brooke, President of Spiritual Counterfeits Project, Author of One World and Avatar of Night Hour of the Witch Gazing down to Earth's last days with heavenly vision, the Bible's last book predicts, "Through sorcery all nations were deceived" (Revelation 18:23). This is no fictitious pronouncement, but the ominous truth about the end-times. Kids, teenagers, and adults around the world have become fascinated with mysterious energies flowing through witches. In rapidly increasing numbers, young and old are visiting popular witchcraft web sites, buying spell books, joining covens, mixing potions, and practicing magic. The best selling series of children's books ever written is Harry Potter, a tale about a young sorcerer. Most parents view Harry Potter as harmless entertainment, yet others are certain dark spiritual forces lurk beneath those magic-made-fun pages. Hour of the Witch offers penetrating insights into this apocalyptic phenomenon as it explores the controversial worlds of Wicca Witchcraft, Harry Potter, and the Bible.

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.

A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021 A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021 From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing. Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being. The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don’t, why some nations hold together while others splinter. Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.

It starts out as a weird but seemingly understandable assignment, bodyguarding a mad politician whose keepers have decided to let him "escape" as a sort of reality therapy. But to understand the Senator, Florin must enter the Machine, an reality will never be the same. From now on he's a Knight of Delusions.