Rating: 
Summary: Using The Bible to interpret the Bible
Review: It's easy to latch onto the "Rapture"-mania of current times. One compelling reason is the perception of desperate times, and the wish to hold onto something that makes it seem a less personally-challenging era. Demar takes the most popular version of apocalyptic vision in Christian fiction, the Left Behind series (which many are reading as non-fiction accounts of what is to come) and shows how alternative interpretations of events in the Bible can be found by reading *gasp* The Bible! While less important to his piece, he also brings in relevant Biblical history, but does clearly state when assumptions are based on the Bible or history.The merit of this work comes in the numerous quotations from the Bible to discuss these ideas, and explicitly stating the assumptions that go into scriptural readings to arrive either at the LaHaye or the Demar belief system of Rapture and the Second Coming. This book makes you think, and perhaps even read the Bible for yourself. There are many different ideas about what the Bible actually says will happen "in the future". Christians and Biblical scholars alike would do well to understand them all and where in the Bible they come from. I have grown as a person and as a Christian by reading this work.
Rating:
Summary: DeMar is right! Parts were meant for first-century Judeans
Review: Most people don't realize that biblical scholars, examining sentence structure, grammar, and choice of words in Revelation notice that the book of Revelation appears to be composed by more than one person. They all agree that John the Evangelist put together the final full text in A.D. 96, the text that has been handed down to us. However, the writing style of the first three chapters is very different from the style in chapters four through eleven. Some biblical scholars believe that chapters four through eleven may have originated with John the Baptist. The evangelist, being originally a disciple of the Baptist, would have known what the Baptist had preached. These scholars believe that it is possible that the Evangelist could have combined what he heard from the Baptist with inspiration the Evangelist received directly when he put the Book of Revelation into writing at Patmos. The Anchor Bible Series covers this in some detail in their volume devoted to Revelation. The Anchor Bible is a multi-volume, detailed study of the entire Bible put together by biblical scholars from all creeds. If it is true that some predictions in Revelation came from John the Baptist, perhaps they were meant for those who heard the Baptist. I picked up on this possibility when I researched "Revelation and the Fall of Judea" by reading first and second-century history. I see what Gary DeMar means. There are early historical events that match chapters four through eleven better than modern events do.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Wrongs Don't Make an Invisible Second Coming
Review: The problem with this book is that Gary's principal premises are flawed. Both Gary's and Tim Lahaye's theology gets Left Behind once you finish the book and ponder the question "What of it?" because if you can show or point in the bible where it states any of the following, then Demar has gone astray. A. Jesus Christ did not return in 70AD.
B. the words "at hand," "quickly," "near," "a little while" - are from God's perspective, not man's.
C. the Book of Revelation was written in 90 AD not before 70 AD
D. the return of Jesus Christ will be global, not local. A. Jesus Christ did not return in 70AD. Let's start with the Trinity = God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The scriptures say that God the Father destroys Jerusalem. Psalm 110:1 says The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies they footstool. Acts 7:56 says Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right Hand of God. If Jesus is on the right hand of God, then he's not on his left. Therefore, the one that would "make thine enemies thy footstool" is God the Father. If you read Deuteronomy 18:1819, God the Father says "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. "And it shall come to pass, whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I WILL REQUIRE OF HIM." God the Father is the one that would deal with Israel in 70 AD. Gods word doesn't come back void and this is possibly the reason why Jesus wept for the city. I also believe this is a reason why God the Son, Jesus Christ, could say, in Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." In addition to that, we have Matthew 22:2-7: The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king [God the Father], which made a marriage for his son [Jesus Christ], And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king [God the Father] heard thereof, he [God the Father!] was wroth: and he [God the Father] sent forth his [God the Father's] armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city; therefore, it's my belief God the Son's Second Coming didn't happen in 70 AD. Matthew 21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder [God the Father], which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son[God the Son, Jesus Christ] saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. WHEN THE LORD THEREFORE OF THE VINEYARD [GOD THE FATHER] cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. The words "at hand," "quickly," "near," "a little while" - are from God's perspective, not man's. 2 Peter 3:8: Peter said, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" Thus, to God, time is relative. To Him, a thousand years are like one short day. A "little while" of over 500 years: The book of Haggai was written around 500 BC, "in the second year of Darius," a Persian king (vs. 1). Notice carefully: "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come..." (2:6,7). The phrase - the desire of all nations - is clearly a prophecy of Jesus Christ. Not only was Christ's coming to be "in a little while," but so was the shaking of the heavens and the earth. First of all, Christ didn't come for another 500 years; and secondly, Hebrews quotes the "end of the world" aspect of Haggai 2:6 as definitely still future! (See Hebrews 10:27; 12:26,27). Thus Haggai 2:6,7 is biblical proof that "a little while" doesn't mean only a few days or years from man's perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading for "Left Behind" fans and non-fans alike
Review: There is little doubt that the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins is a phenomenon unparalleled in the history of Christian publishing (with the possible exception of "The Prayer of Jabez"). The problem is, even though the series is presented as fiction, it is a thinly-veiled work of misguided theology. Of course, the theology presented by these books is the very popular modern theology of dispensation premillenialism, complete with the requisite doctrine of the pre-trib rapture. In "End Times Fiction", Gary DeMar takes each pet doctrine of this eschatalogical viewpoint and examines them one-by-one in light of the clear teaching of the Bible. When compared with what the Bible actually teaches, the theology that undergirds the "Left Behind" series is found seriously flawed. So many today make the assumption that there will be a "rapture" before a seven-year tribulation period, that Russia will attack Israel, that there will be a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, and that there will be one person called the Antichrist that will lead a one-world government. They believe that the seven churches in the first chapters of Revelation correspond to different periods in the church age rather than actual churches that were in existence at the time the book of Revelation was written. It would be rather eye-opening to these people to see that these interpretations have very little support in the actual text of the Bible. DeMar does a masterful job showing that most of what Revelation and what is known as the "Olivet Discourse" of Jesus has already taken place with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Unlike some texts dealing with this view of eschatology ("The Last Days According to Jesus" by R.C. Sproul comes to mind), this book is very easy to follow and to understand. It is a "must read" in today's climate of pop-religion.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for the Left Behind Fan
Review: This book is a must for the Left Behind fan. Gary puts Lahaye's prophetic theology in check and seperates the chaffe from the wheat.
Rating:
Summary: A "MUST READ" for Pastors and Teachers RE: "Left Behind"!
Review: This book is a MUST READ for pastors and teachers alike who are more concerned about discovering what the Bible says about eschatology rather than what dispensational pre-millennialists say. Gary DeMar in "End Times Fiction" provides a strong, biblically-based rebuttal to the views promoted by Tim LaHaye in his "Left Behind" series. For several years, many Bible-believing Christians have thought the outlook of LaHaye and others is the only truly Scriptural position on the end times. DeMar dispels this notion using biblical literalism and an equally high (if not higher) view of Scripture. Hopefully this book will give more Christians the boldness to allow the Bible to speak for itself, rather than reading into the Bible an eschatology that is foreign to it.
Rating:
Summary: "Left Behind" fiction ?
Review: This book is a must read for those who like to think critically
and those who prefer to allow scripture to interpret scripture.
When Gary Demar writes about the Olivet discourse, he does so
in light of what old testament passages may bring to bear on the
subject. The book is carefully thought out and very well written. " End Times Fiction" is sure to lead to discussion and
searching of the scriptures to see " if these things are so."
I applaud Gary Demar for writing this book and Thomas Nelson for
publishing it.
Rating:
Summary: For the Serious Seeker
Review: This book is for the serious seeker who wants something more than pop culture Christianity being peddled by celebrity evangelists. DeMar does an effective job in debunking false interpretations of Revelation which seem so popular but can be so misleading. By putting Revelation in its proper historical perspective, he makes it far more believable. Revelation was meant to be understood. Unfortunately, many modern evangelists have complicated it in order to sell books and videos. I also recommend "The Beast of Revelation" by Kenneth Gentry and Margaret Barker's "Revelation" book. The bottom line is - if John wrote about things that were to happen some 2,000 years in the future, he was either greatly deceiving the people he was writing to or was greatly deceived himself. DeMar makes it very clear that Revelation describes events that actually did happen making it a truly inspired book. Unfortunately, some modern evangelists have turned it into a mystery which only they can solve. They are the false prophets.
Rating:
Summary: Biblical Refutation of LaHaye, VanImpe, Lindsey, etc.
Review: This book takes all the basics ideas of dispensationalism (and specifically, the "Left Behind" books) and shows how they fail to conform to the Bible. This is a very necessary tool to anyone who wishes to know the truth about the End Times.
Rating: 
Summary: End Times Fiction -- Biblically and Historically Inaccurate
Review: Thomas Ice and I recently wrote a book titled The Truth Behind Left Behind. I would recommend to anyone seriously interested in end time prophecy that they read our book which defends the Left Behind Theology. Our book deals with most of the books that have come out attacking the Left Behind view of the end times. One of the books that we critique is Demar's book End Times Fiction. We believe that Demar's book contains several statements that are simply historically and biblically inaccurate. That is why I give it a one star rating. Here are just a couple of the inaccuracies. First, Demar maintains that Ezekiel 38-39 was fulfilled in Esther 9. We demonstrate that this view is totally inconsistent with the Biblical text of both passages. Second, Demar refers to the idea of personal, future Antichirst as a modern myth. But we show that this view is the best interpretation of the use of Antichrist in 1 John, was the view of the early church for the first 300 years, and is still the dominant view of the church today. It is not a myth, and it is certainly not modern. Read The Truth Behind Left Behind and discover the truth behind the fiction.
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