Left Behind?: What the Bible Really Says about the End Times

What does the Bible really have to say about the End Times?

Few books have shown the kind of popularity and stirred the kind of controversy as the Left Behind series of apocalyptic novels. The series has sold more than 100 million copies of its various books for adults, youth, and children, as well as been launched into a series of popular movies. These stories about the end times have been a pervasive influence in our churches and in our culture.

But what does the Bible really have to say about the end times? James M. Efird, a noted scholar of the Bible and apocalyptic literature, helps us explore the scriptural texts to answer the many questions raised by the series. He also guides us through an enlightening look at the peculiar history behind the books.

Ideal for use by individuals or study groups curious about the end times, Left Behind? What the Bible Really Says about the End Times contains a helpful series of questions for reflection and study after each chapter.

James M. Efird began teaching in the Divinity School at Duke University as a graduate student in 1958, joined the faculty full time in 1962, and has taught Greek and biblical studies to generations of students. He is an ordained Presbyterian (USA) minister and has served for nearly fifty years as interim supply pastor for various churches. Committed to making the Bible understandable and properly understood for pastors and laity alike, he has been extremely active in the Duke Divinity School Lay Academy program and has taught in churches of many denominations throughout the United States. He is the author of thirteen books and more than sixty articles. He and his wife Vivian live in Durham, North Carolina.

Praise for Left Behind?

"Efird has taught a legion of seminarians and many more lay people. His passion for teaching comes through especially in his teaching about the Bible's apocalyptic books. He thinks there's real homiletical gold there, which is being robbed by those he calls 'Darbyists,' dispensationalists who follow the teaching of John Nelson Darby as propagated by Hal Lindsey and the Left Behind novels. Efird provides an accessible history of that movement and the beginnings of a biblical response. Study questions and his readable style make this book ideal for ministers or laypeople." —The Christian Century

James M. Efird began teaching in the Divinity School at Duke University as a graduate student in 1958, joined the faculty full time in 1962, and has taught Greek and biblical studies to generations of students. He is an ordained Presbyterian (USA) minister and has served for nearly fifty years as interim supply pastor for various churches. Committed to making the Bible understandable and properly understood for pastors and laity alike, he has been extremely active in the Divinity School Lay Academy program and has taught in churches of many denominations throughout the United States. He is the author of thirteen books and more than sixty articles.