Perilous Times: A Study in Eschatological Evil

The Apostle Paul warns Timothy: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1). Paul is not alone in sounding such a foreboding alarm in the Scriptures. Indeed, throughout the Bible we learn of “perilous times” ordained by God. What Bible-believing Christian would dispute the credibility of such prophecies?

In this work, Dr. Gentry provides in-depth studies of the five principle passages defining these “perilous times”: Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:1-36; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; Revelation 13:1-18; and Revelation 17:1-11. These texts are crucial to understanding biblical eschatology.

Does not the prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9 mark off with foreboding an era of historical development in which “desolations are determined” (Chapter 1)?

Who does not sense the dread in the prophecy “wars and rumors of wars” (Chapter 2), which are but harbingers of the “great tribulation” (Chapter 3)?

And what of those evil eschatological figures casting their dark shadows over the prophetic scenery of Scripture: “the man of lawlessness,” the “scarlet beast full of blasphemous names,” and “Babylon the great, mother of harlots”?  Surely these images strike terrible chords in fearful hearts.

But how are we to understand these prophecies? Come, let us reason together!