J. Dwight Pentecost produced a massive 600 page study of the end times back in 1958. This softcover book by Herman Hoyt is a good alternative for those who don’t want to read Pentecost’s weighty tome. Hoyt begins with an overview of biblical eschatology, defining terms such as end, last, Second Coming, Imminent, Tribulation, and Mediatorial Kingdom.

The author proceeds into a study of what the Bible says about death and the intermediate state between death and bodily resurrection. He concludes from such texts as 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Phillipians 1:21-23 that the souls of believers are ushered immediately into the presence of the Lord the moment they die.

There is also a chapter about the second coming of Jesus Christ and how this event (described in Matthew 24 and Revelation 19) differs from the coming of Christ to rapture the church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). While not everyone will agree with Hoyt about seeing the coming of Christ as a two stage event, he does a good job of presenting the view. He labors hard to show why the partial rapture view and the mid tribulational and posttribulation views of the rapture are not as biblically sound as the pretribulational view. Hoyt repeatedly charges those who disagree with his take on the end times as not having a consistently literal interpretation of the Bible. I feel that this is not always the case, as there are many people who hold to different views of the rapture who do attempt to interpret literally.

There is also a helpful chapter about what the seven year tribulation will be like and another chapter about the rise of the antichrist and his evil nature. Hoyt also discusses the one thousand year reign of Christ on the earth, the different judgments in scripture, and the eterna