I am so pleased with the intelligent and fair review of our book by stalwart scholar and friend, Terry James, from his site, RaptureReady.com. My co-authors and I had a chance to also do a radio interview with Terry and we got along famously. He is a gentleman and a scholar, truly! Please enjoy reading his review:
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A book review of THE FINAL BABYLON by Terry James
Two of the most asked questions when we who speak on Bible prophecy open up the forums for questions and answers are: Is America mentioned in Bible prophecy? And do you think Antichrist is alive today? We all, of course, have ready answers, having had practice answering these questions so many times. None of us, however, go far beyond the oblique and obligatory responses: America isn’t mentioned by name anywhere in scripture, and According to all the other signs we see all around us today, the man who will be Antichrist must be somewhere in the shadows, awaiting his time to step onto the stage of end times history.
There have been very few full-length books written about these matters. S. Franklin Logston’s book “Is the .US.A. in Prophecy? “ and Noah Hutchings expansion on that book, “U.S. in Prophecy with S. Franklin Logston’s ‘Is the U.S.A. in Prophecy?’” come to mind. Beyond these, not much illumination has been shed on these inquiries of such interest to students of Bible prophecy –until now, that is.
The Final Babylon: America and the coming of Antichrist tackles the subjects in an intensive investigation of mounting evidence presented through historical and current issues and events of our time, in conjunction with insightful scriptural analysis. The authors have indeed written a thought-provoking book, one that has sent me back to re-read their well-ordered postulations and suppositions. I’m quite impressed and gratified that my reading and re-reading will provide much more than the oblique answers when I am next asked the questions: Is America in Bible prophecy? And do you think Antichrist is alive today?
To be honest, my answers at this point to those questions will remain in the vein of “this is what this book, The Final Babylon, has to say, rather than “Yes, America is definitely mentioned in Bible prophecy,” and “Yes, Antichrist is definitely alive today.” I will, however, not hesitate to recommend that the folks in the audience read the book for themselves, because the book deals with the subjects involved in a totally, Christ-centered way and with scholarly methodology as good as any as I’ve encountered, yet with down-to-earth communicative skills that make the complex understandable at first glance.
The book has caused me to re-think a number of positions I and probably the mainstream of premillennial teachers have traditionally come to champion. My mind isn’t necessarily changed or even in the process of changing position, but this volume grabs you from the first page and commands that serious attention be paid to what is about to be presented. It holds one’s attention at that level throughout.
The Final Babylon focuses directly on the argument that America and not Europe will be the power base of Antichrist. The book examines the Holy Scripture closely to present the biblical case that America possesses all the attributes of the Mystery Babylon of the Revelation (and the Daughter of Babylon in Jeremiah and Isaiah).
The traditional scenario in Bible prophecy since The Late Great Planet Earth is that America must diminish and Europe must become powerful again. Rome will be “revived” and the Antichrist will lead a ten nation confederacy, likely built around “the Euro” and the European Union.
The authors challenge this popular point of view. They propose America, and not a revitalized Europe, is the principal powerbase for Antichrist.
Who is Babylon?” What can we learn about Babylon from its “founders” – Nimrod and his mother/wife Semiramis? Is the future Babylon the historic city in Iraq? Is Antichrist going to be a Muslim? Should we assume the pejorative Babylon is to be interpreted literally or symbolically?
The authors offer intriguing arguments for their contention that America is destined to be the powerbase for Antichrist.
(1) America’s religious preoccupations reflect the Babylonian religion; (2) America’s national symbols reflect Egyptian (and Greco-Roman) deities and myths; (3) The infiltration of Nazi’s into America after World War II had enormous impact upon our government and “military-industrial complex;” (4) America’s unsurpassed financial muscle will not likely dissipate, neither is it likely to relinquish political domination of the “West;” (5) America’s military is global and many times the size of all of Europe’s military, with deployment of its 11 carrier groups, 80 submarines, and 1,000 military bases worldwide.
Woodward, Krieger, and McGriff ask the following: “There have been a number of great writers, researchers, and pastors, who bunked the standard prophetic scenario of dispensationalists and pointed the finger at America is the likely fulfillment of the prophecies in the Bible about the world’s final great empire headed by “the little horn” of Daniel (The Beast). How has nationalism in America caused us to miss the obvious? What attributes does Babylon possess that America clearly matches? Will the rapture cause America to diminish in power?…”
They further offer stimulating food for end times thought.
“New York City and Wall Street are arguably the most powerful force in the world, directing the global economy. Many conservative Christians argue that America is on the precipice of collapse and that the dollar is about to fail. Are we ready to enter into hyperinflation and fiscal ruin? Has “our death been greatly exaggerated?” How does our economy compare to others in the world? How does our political policy and financial policy intertwine to influence what happens around the world? Could America actually be poised to rebound?…”
Enter the first pages of this volume at your own risk. Your viewpoints and presuppositions will most assuredly be challenged –as are mine.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone wanting further perspective beyond the conventional.
The Final Babylon: America and the Coming of Antichrist
Author: Douglas Woodward, Douglas Krieger, Dene McGriff
Publisher:
ISBN
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