At the beginning of this book co-author John Dickson makes an admission that found a guilty resonance in my own heart.

"In my first decade as a Christian I was absolutely mesmerized by the "apocalyptic' aspects of the Bible " I daydreamed about them, prayed about them, told others about them " If I am honest, such longings for the future seem a little foreign to me now " [The end times are] neatly packed away somewhere in my brain's theological sub-directory."

However, his reconsideration of all things eschatological with co-author Greg Clarke has breathed new life into a mindset that is actually the new-birth-right of every believer. 666 and all that promises to do the same for all its readers.

Dickson and Clarke delve into those apocalyptic areas that are often marked "for future consideration' by confused Christians. Their historical and theological analysis of hot topics like the Rapture, Christian Zionism and Armageddon are solidly researched and referenced, but made accessible by a light style and modern referencing. I particularly valued their consideration of the misunderstandings of Biblical styles and genres that has led to so many fanciful modern theologies.

In short, if you're wondering why so many people are enamored with the American Left Behind series and how it compares to a Biblical understanding of the "end-times', 666 and all that is an excellent place to start.

This volume goes a long way to demystifying death. As a reviewer, I have often wondered at our society's simultaneous preoccupation with the subject, and its refusal to take the topic seriously. How is it that we can spend so much time considering death through the arts and entertainment, and yet not be prepared to engage in any serious conversation about it? In any other context a person who chooses to ignore something that is inevitable " the foreclosure of a loan, the demise of an unhealthy marriage " is considered to be a fool. Death, however, remains the last real "BBQ stopper' " though you won't hear any prospective Prime Minister encouraging Australians to talk about it.

Amongst other things Dickson and Clarke do a valuable service in providing a good summary of the many current ways that people approach our inevitable and "personal apocalypse'. They also go a long way to helping the reader diagnose the cause of our determined ignorance of the subject. Humanity, independent of Christ, is engaged in its own battle to defeat the Grim Reaper and its tactics involve belittling rather than big-noting our final full-stop. 666 and all that helps uncover the evidence for this campaign in a way that is entirely helpful for a Christian seeking to create conversation in this social silence.

Death is of course only one chapter in a book that attends to many truths Christians would fervently maintain but feel inadequate to speak about. The believer's state after death, Jesus' second coming, Judgment Day, Hell and the end of the world each receive considered treatment.  One of the bonuses of this book is in its dual authorship. John and Greg have together assembled an impressive work, but that doesn't mean they agree with each other on every nuance. In fact they are at pains to point out where their views differ. However the fact that they see eye to eye on so much, and that these points are so clearly well researched and tied to scripture, serves to make their conclusions all the more compelling.

666 and all that is more than an easy read for the eschatologically confused or those who find themselves dulled by the day-to-day present. It is a valuable ready reference for anyone who wishes to keep their mind eternally focused.

The end of the world as we know it (Chapter 11)

An extract from Chapter 11

Human beings seem to be wired towards having a "sense of an ending'. We seem to need the feeling that something is about to end, a new thing is about to begin, events are coming to a head and then some sort of climactic event will take place. Perhaps it is part of the way we give meaning to our lives, a shape to our every day existence and a place within the greater scheme of things.

Whatever the psychological reasons for the human sense of an ending, is it a notion found in the Bible?

The question of the world's end has a special fascination. It's an idea that attracts singers and poets. "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine", sang REM's Michael Stipe. Those whose musical tastes were formed in the 60s and 70s will recall Barry McGuire singing, "Ah, you don't believe, we're on the eve of destruction". In a different mood, the poet T S Eliot wrote: "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper".

But when we turn to the Bible, does it teach an end of the world?

The answer is not straightforward, though on reflection it leans towards a clear "no'. This may come as a shock to many readers, who have (like us) been brought up on a diet of apocalypse and rapture. Just as with Rapture theology we see a lot of speculation coming out of a little scriptural data, so with the apocalypse Bible readers have extrapolated an elaborate potential cosmic history from a range of otherwise-intentioned Bible passages.

(1) Prophecies about the destruction of nations

There are many Old Testament prophecies in which the Lord condemns the nations for oppressing the people of Israel, and condemns Israel for forgetting the ways of their God. In these prophecies, strong universal language is often used. Here is an example:

Jeremiah 51:29. The land trembles and writhes, for the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand"”to lay waste the land of Babylon so that no-one will live there.

To most readers, this is obviously a prophecy about specific places, and specific events around them. However, some Bible interpreters use Old Testament prophecies such as this to make outrageous statements about world events today and their importance for the supposed coming apocalypse. Look up any Bible dictionary or standard commentary and you will find that scholars are discussing the relationship between Babylon and Israel in the sixth century BC.
Their concerns will be historical. There is no good reason to think of this Bible prophecy as probable code for an apocalypse-heralding event that we can identify with [events like] the current war in Iraq!

The many Old Testament prophecies against the nations are just that"”declarations of judgment on those nations (coupled with pleas to Israel to repent of its own wickedness).

(2) Large-scale or cosmic apocalypses

In some parts of the Bible, God's judgment is described in language that is frighteningly cosmic and overwhelming. One such chapter is Isaiah 24, which comes after a series of prophecies against the nations of the earth who have opposed Yahweh and his people. [In it the] Lord will devastate the whole earth such that it is completely laid waste, dries up and withers. It is hard to imagine a more complete destruction. Surely this passage is describing a cosmic disaster"”an end to the world"”isn't it? But even in this passage of ultimate judgment, there is a sense that this is not the end of the road for planet earth. Its inhabitants are scattered, ruined and distressed"”but not all destroyed. The earth is split, shaken and falls"”and yet, verse 23 adds that "the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem", which certainly sounds like its on earth.

Clearly, this passage is not describing the obliteration of the earth, but its condemnation. In fact, it is not the earth that is being judged, but the people who have defiled it (verse 5). They must bear the guilt for the curse on the earth; it's their fault that the devastation is coming.
The cosmic apocalypse is rare in the Old Testament, but we haven't yet mentioned its source. The original apocalypse is the flood recounted in Genesis 6"8, which destroys every living thing except what was in the ark. The flood story is the background to biblical teaching about the end of the world, and this is all the more important because it ends with one of God's great promises:

I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. (Genesis 9:11)

The Noah story is mentioned in the one New Testament passage that at first read seems to suggest an apocalyptic scenario for the world. In 2 Peter 3, the Apostle draws a parallel between the waters of the flood and the fires of judgment day:

By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:6"7)

Notice that the emphasis is on condemning "ungodly men" not removing the physical world itself (the flood, of course, did not obliterate planet earth). This passage is arguably one of the most apocalyptic of the whole Bible, and we will return to it in the next chapter.

It may surprise readers to discover that the earth is not destroyed in the book of Revelation, the book that we usually turn to for our apocalyptic scenarios. Death and Hades are destroyed in the lake of fire of Revelation 20"”but the earth is not. Rather, the first earth simply passes into the second earth without an apocalypse on view!