The Last Day 

Cleveland Brown. AtL Publishing Co., 2016. 109 pp. (Paperback).

The Last Day” is about … you guessed it — no surprises in the title. Now for the text.

The longest section of the book consists of several chapters that present current teachings about various aspects of the end of time — the rapture, the Antichrist, the temple, the Battle of Armageddon and more. The author shows verses from the Bible about these topics then explains what he believes the Bible passages mean. It is helpful that the author actually reproduced the biblical passages instead of just giving the references, since I often fail to look up the verses. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

Also included is a two-page treatise on the origin of current teachings on dispensationalism and a pretribulation rapture. The author makes the point — not a new one but perhaps not well known — that the doctrines were first developed in the 1800s and the Schofield Bible was largely responsible for disseminating the ideas and making them part of our beliefs.

Although the author failed to address a few biblical passages that might have answered some of my questions, it was an interesting and thought-provoking read overall. Since the author’s purpose was to encourage people to read the Bible and think instead of blindly accepting everything we hear, I’d say he accomplished his purpose.

Author Cleveland Brown, a former pastor and director of missions, lives in Evergreen.

—By Martine Bates Fairbanks, Ed.D.