xxii | Introduction
known as the “War Scroll” (late first century BCE), reflects Zoroastrian influence
and details a dualistic eschatological war between the “Sons of Light” (the term
used by community members to refer to themselves) and the “Sons of Darkness”
(the enemies of the community). This eschatological battle would continue for 49
years, culminating in the restoration of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
Christian Eschatology
The central figure in Christian eschatology is Jesus, who represented the fulfill-
ment of Jewish eschatological expectations. As did many of his Jewish contempo-
raries, Jesus expected the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment. Jesus
expressed hope in God’s future plan, which will bring salvation to humankind.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christians likewise expressed hope in
his return to earth. Subsequent eschatological speculation in the New Testament
attached apocalyptic themes to risen Jesus and his eschatological return to earth.
One such scheme is premillennialist Dispensationalism, well known to those who
watch television preachers such as Jack Van Impe or John Hagee.
The Dispensationalist Narrative
Dispensationalism is a variant of premillennialism, which believes in the literal
return of Jesus (the Second Coming, or parousia) to the earth prior to the establish-
ment of a 1,000-year terrestrial kingdom (the millennium). John Nelson Darby, one
of the founding members of the Plymouth Brethren movement and a key figure in
the history of Dispensationalism, was instrumental in introducing the theology of
the rapture into American discourse. Dispensationalism, or rapture theology, seeks
to incorporate the words of the Prophet Daniel, the First and Second Epistles of
Paul to the Thessalonians, and the Apocalypse (or Revelation) of John into a coher-
ent scheme. What set the speculative wheels in motion for this scheme was the
reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, truly the linchpin of dispensational
thought. Once the Jewish people reoccupied their ancestral home, the End Times
were imminent. The stage was now set for the return of Jesus to earth.
The event that will launch the End Times in motion is the Rapture. The term
derives from the Latin term rapere (to carry off) and is not found in the New
Testament. There is considerable debate in evangelical Christian circles whether
the Second Coming occurs simultaneously with the Rapture. Certain evangelical
adherents believe that true believers in Jesus will be taken (raptured) from the earth
by God. They point to 2 Thessalonians 4:16f: “For the Lord himself will descend
from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound
of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive,
