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are not raptured have a second chance during the sevenyear
tribulation; and (3) the Antichrist, a lone individual,
appears only during the tribulation, so that the faithful
who have been raptured escape persecution and the mark
of the beast. Wohlberg traces the basis for this erroneous
teaching to the work of futurist Jesuits Ribera and Bellarmine
(late 16th century), later adapted by Darby and popularized
by the Scofield Bible in the early 20th century.
With the passion of one compelled by “orders from
above” to speak the truth (p.165), in 192 small pages,
Wohlberg presents biblical teachings on the Second Coming,
the Antichrist, the two beasts of Revelation 13, the
women of Revelation 12 and 17, Babylon, law and grace,
the Sabbath, the image of the beast, and the mark of the
beast. He gives in detail the traditional Adventist interpretation.
He also adds his own details, such as the conviction
that the two horns of the lamb beast represent “a special
teaching of Jesus Christ” (p. 109), the separation of
church and state. At the same time, each chapter summarizes
the section of Left Behind that he wishes to counter.
Wohlberg knows his Bible, at least in English. Yet I’m
not sure that God’s people are called to “overcome where
Lucifer failed” (p. 169). Perhaps that is a slip of the pen,
rather than a theological mistake. He has used copious additional
sources, many of them from the 19th century. Interestingly,
Le Roy Froom’s four volumes of The Prophetic
Faith of Our Fathers are not even quoted.
Wohlberg has attempted to write the results of his research
in a popular style; but phrases such as “sizzling
apocalyptic message” (p. 17) or “a truth so shocking it can
hardly be written” (p. 147) seem more appropriate to tabloids
than to scholarship.
The book is billed as a sharing book, but the perspective
is WASP (White Anglo-Saxon, Protestant). Given its North
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American focus, it will be best understood in this context.
Yet, it is a useful presentation of endtime prophecies. Adventists
who read it will learn to share their beliefs and
counter the position of those who accept the Rapture.
Evangelicals who read it will learn of the errors of dispensationalism.
Truth Left Behind will need a great deal of softening
to be palatable to Roman Catholic readers.
Nancy Vyhmeister (Ed.D., Andrews University) is a former professor of
missions at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews
University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A.
Fulgores de esperanza: Las ocho
profecías escatológicas más
importantes de la Biblia,
by Ángel Manuel Rodríguez (Miami:
Asociación Publicadora Interamericana,
2002, 158 pp.).
Reviewed by Humberto R. Treiyer
T
he author is the director of the Biblical Research Institute
at the General Conference and has distinguished himself
as an Old Testament scholar, researcher, teacher, and writer.
He has the rare gift of expressing complex subject matter
in easy-to-understand language. This book is no exception.
Rodríguez deals with eight eschatological prophecies
found in Daniel 2, 7, 8, and 9, Matthew 24 and Revelation
12, 13, and 14. Strangely absent is any reference to Daniel
11 and 12, Gabriel´s explanation of chapters 7 and 8, as
well as Revelation 17 and 18. As the author claims to be
dealing with the “greatest end-time prophecies in the Bible,”
these omissions are painful and rather difficult to
understand.
Right at the outset, Rodríguez introduces his book
through an excellent summary of the four main characteristics
of apocalyptic prophecies, and devotes the first
chapter to a concise presentation of the eight basic principles
relevant to the interpretation of such prophecies.
Chapter two deals with “the ABC of the apocalyptic
prophecies,” as they apply to Daniel 2 and 7. Chapter 3 is
devoted to two very relevant aspects of Daniel 7, implied
but not spelled out in detail in Daniel 2: the Son of Man
and the final judgment. Chapter 3 is notable for some revealing
original insights, which also characterize Chapter
4 in its analysis and interpretation of Daniel 8.
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