Eschatology

====Protestantism====
Contemporary use of the term ''End Times'' has evolved from literal belief in Christian millennialism. In this tradition, [[Biblical]] [[apocalypse]] is believed to be imminent, with various current events as [[omen]]s of impending [[Armageddon]]. These beliefs have been put forward by the Adventist movement ([[Millerites]]), [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and [[dispensationalism|dispensational premillennialists]]. In 1918 a group of eight, well-known preachers produced the [[London Manifesto]], warning of an imminent second coming of Christ shortly after the 1917 liberation of Jerusalem by the British.

=====Millennialists and Amillennialists=====
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[[File:Antichrist1.jpg|thumb|The Antichrist, by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] (1521). Here the [[Antichrist]] is shown wearing the triple crown of the Roman papacy.]]

Protestants are divided between Millennialists and Amillennialists. Millennialists concentrate on the issue of whether the true believers will see the [[Great Tribulation]] or be removed from it by what is referred to as a Pre-Tribulation [[rapture]].

Amillennialists believe the end times encompass the time from Christ's ascension to the last day, and maintain that the mention of the "thousand years" in the [[Book of Revelation]] is meant to be taken [[metaphor]]ically (i.e., not literally), a view which continues to cause divisions within [[Protestantism|Protestant Christianity]].

There is a range of eschatological belief in Protestant Christianity. Christian [[premillennialism|premillennialists]] who believe the end times are occurring now, are usually specific about timelines that climax in the end of the world. For some, Israel, the [[European Union]], or the United Nations are seen as major players whose roles were foretold in scripture. Within [[dispensationalism|dispensational premillennialist]] writing, there is the belief that Christians will be summoned to [[Heaven]] by Christ at the [[rapture]], occurring before a Great Tribulation prophesied in Matthew 24–25; Mark 13 and Luke 21. The Tribulation is described in the Book of Revelation.

"End times" may also refer to the passing of an age or long period in the relationship between man and God.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chang Soppe|first1=Seok Lyun|title=God's Mystery That Is Christ|date=2014|publisher=WestBow Press|isbn=978-1490815947}}</ref> Adherents to this view cite the [[Second Epistle to Timothy]] and draw analogies to the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Post-Exilic Hebrew books of [[prophecy]] such as [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] and [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] are given new interpretations in this Christian tradition, while [[apocalyptic literature|apocalyptic forecasts]] appear in the Judeo-Christian [[Sibylline Oracles]] which include the Book of Revelation ascribed to John, the [[apocrypha]]l [[Apocalypse of Peter]], and the [[2 Esdras|Second Book of Esdras]].

=====Fundamentalists=====
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Most fundamentalist Christians anticipate biblical prophecy to be literally fulfilled. They see current wars, natural disaster and famine as the birth pains which Jesus described in Matthew {{bibleverse-nb||Matthew|24:7–8|}} and Mark {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|13:8|}}. They believe mankind began in the [[garden of Eden]], and point to the Valley of [[Megiddo (place)|Megiddo]] as the place where the current [[World-system|world system]] will terminate, after which the Messiah will rule for 1,000 years.

=====Adventists and Millerites=====
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[[File:Icon second coming.jpg|right|thumb|Icon of the Second Coming. Greek, {{Circa|1700 A.D.}}]]Religious movements which expect that the [[Parousia|second coming of Christ]] will be a cataclysmic event are generally called [[adventism]]. These have arisen throughout the Christian era, but were particularly common after the [[Protestant Reformation]]. [[Emanuel Swedenborg]] considered the second coming to be symbolic, and to have occurred in 1757. Along with others, he developed a religious system around the second coming of Christ, disclosed by new prophecy or special revelation not described in the Bible. The [[Millerites]] are diverse religious groups which similarly rely upon a special gift of interpretation for predicting the second coming.

The difference between the 19th-century Millerite and adventist movements and contemporary prophecy is that [[William Miller (preacher)|William Miller]] and his followers, based on biblical interpretation, predicted the time of the Second Coming to have occurred in 1844. Contemporary writing of end time has suggested the timetable will be triggered by future wars and [[moral panic|moral catastrophe]], and that this time of tribulation is close at hand.

Seventh-day Adventists believe biblical prophecy to foretell an end time scenario in which the United States works in conjunction with the Catholic Church to mandate worship on a day other than the true Sabbath, Saturday, as prescribed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8–11). This will bring about a situation where one must choose for or against the Bible as the will of God.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/statements/main_stat42.html |title = How Seventh-day Adventists View Roman Catholicism |access-date = 4 July 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061206202225/http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/statements/main_stat42.html |archive-date = 6 December 2006 |url-status = dead }} – Main Statements of Belief from the official Adventist Church website.</ref>

=====Preterists=====
{{Main|Preterism}}
Another view of the ''end times'' is [[preterism]]. It distinguishes ''the time of the end'' from ''the end of time''. Preterists believe the term ''last days'' (or ''Time of the End'') refers to, neither the last days of the Earth, nor the last days of humankind, but the end of the [[Mosaic covenant|Old Covenant]] between [[Yahweh|God]] and [[Israelites#Biblical narrative|Israel]]; which, according to preterism, took place when the [[Second Temple|Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] was destroyed in 70 [[Common Era|CE]].

Preterists believe that [[Bible Prophecy|prophecies]]—such as the [[Second Coming]], the desecration of the Jewish Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, the rise of the [[Antichrist]], the [[Great Tribulation]], the advent of [[The Day of the Lord]], and a [[Last Judgment|Final Judgment]]—had been fulfilled when the Romans [[destruction of Jerusalem|sacked Jerusalem]] and completely destroyed its Temple.

Proponents of ''full preterism'' do not believe in a coming [[resurrection of the dead]]. They place this event (as well as the Second Coming) in the year 70. Advocates of [[partial preterism]] do believe in a coming resurrection. Full preterists contend that partial preterists are merely ''futurists'', since they believe the Second Coming, the Resurrection, the [[Rapture]], and the Judgment are yet to come.

Many preterists believe first-century [[Christians]] experienced the Rapture to rejoin the [[Christ]].

According with Preterism's [[Christian views on the Old Covenant|interpretation]] of end times, many "time passages" in the [[New Testament]] foretell a [[Second Coming]] of Christ, with last days to take place within the lifetimes of his disciples: [[Gospel of Matthew|Matt.]] 10:23, Matt. 16:28, Matt. 24:34, Matt. 26:64, [[Epistle to the Romans|Rom.]] 13:11–12, [[1 Corinthians|1 Cor.]] 7:29–31, 1 Cor. 10:11, [[Epistle to the Philippians|Phil.]] 4:5, [[Epistle of James|James]] 5:8–9, [[1 Peter|1 Pet.]] 4:7, [[1 John|1 Jn.]] 2:18.

=====Dispensationalists=====
{{Main|Dispensationalism|Christian Zionism}}
Dispensationalism is an [[evangelical]] [[futurist]] Biblical interpretation that foresees a series of [[dispensation (period)|dispensations]], or periods, in which God relates to human beings under different [[Biblical covenants]]. The belief system is primarily rooted in the writings of [[John Nelson Darby]] and is [[premillennial]] in content. The [[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|reestablishment of Israel]] in 1948 provided a major impetus to the dispensationalist belief system. The wars of Israel after 1948 with its Arab neighbors provided further support, according to [[John F. Walvoord]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblio.com/isbn/0310539218.html |title=Armageddon, Oil and the Middle East Crisis |author=John F. Walvoord |orig-year=1974|year=1990|author-link=John F. Walvoord }}</ref> After the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967, and the [[Yom Kippur War]] in 1973, it seemed plausible to many [[Fundamentalist Christians]] in the 1970s that Middle East turmoil may well be leading up to the fulfillment of various Bible prophecies and to the Battle of Armageddon.

Members of the dispensationalist movement such as [[Hal Lindsey]], [[J. Dwight Pentecost]], [[John Walvoord]], all of whom have [[Dallas Theological Seminary]] backgrounds, and some other writers, claimed further that the [[European Economic Community]], which preceded the [[European Union]], would become a [[United States of Europe]], which would in turn become a Revived Roman Empire ruled by the [[Antichrist]]. The Revived Roman Empire also figured into the [[New Testament]] writers' vision of the future. The fact that in the early 1970s, there were (erroneously thought to be) seven nations in the European Economic Community was held to be significant; this aligned the Community with a seven-headed beast mentioned in Revelation. This specific prophecy has required revision, but the idea of a Revived Roman Empire remains.

Dispensationalism, in contrast to the Millerite Adventist movement, had its beginning in the 19th century, when [[John Nelson Darby]], founder of the [[Plymouth Brethren]] [[religious denomination]], incorporated into his system of Biblical interpretation a system of organizing Biblical time into a number of discrete [[dispensation (period)|dispensations]], each of which marks a separate [[Covenant (religion)|covenant]] with God. Darby's beliefs were widely publicized in [[Cyrus I. Scofield]]'s ''[[Scofield Reference Bible]]'', an annotated Bible that became popular in the United States.

Since the majority of the Biblical prophets were writing at a time when the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] was still functioning, they wrote as if it would still be standing during the prophesied events. According to preterism, this was a fulfillment of the prophecies. However, according to [[Futurism (Christian eschatology)|Futurists]], their destruction in 70 CE put the prophetic timetable on hold. Many such believers therefore anticipated the return of Jews to Israel and the [[Third Temple#Christian views|reconstruction of the Temple]] before the Second Coming could occur.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianactionforisrael.org/congress.html|title=Proclamation of the 3rd International Zionist Congress|access-date=27 November 2012|date=25 February 1996 |publisher=Christian Action For Israel|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719161650/http://christianactionforisrael.org/congress.html|archive-date=19 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leaderu.com/common/british.html|title=The Untold Story: The Role of Christian Zionists in the Establishment of Modern-day Israel|access-date=27 November 2012|date=13 July 2002|publisher=Rabbi Jamie Cowen}}</ref>