Author: Stan Guthrie
Located in: Wheaton, IL
Submitted: February 27, 2013
Tell us a little about yourself. I'm an author, blogger, literary agent, and editor at large for Christianity Today. Among my titles: All That Jesus Asks, The Sacrament of Evangelism (with Jerry Root), and Missions in the Third Millennium. I've been married to Christine for 25 years, and we've been blessed with three beautiful children.
What was your motivation behind this project? Like many, Ive had a lifelong fascination with Bible prophecy. Back in the Seventies and Eighties, I scanned the headlines for signs of the end of the world. I still wonder how current events might fit in with Christs promised return, and its hard to escape the conclusion that things may be winding up at last.
Yet the topic is fraught with controversy. Many have stepped forward to offer theories and predictions, supposedly anchored in Scripture, about the Rapture, the Antichrist, or the fall of America. Most have ended in spectacular failure, and the church has had to wipe the mud of embarrassment off its face time and again. Not surprisingly, many people, as I was, are tempted to walk away from Bible prophecy for supposedly safer topics. In so doing, tragically, they miss the comfort and encouragement that Gods prophecies are meant to provide.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? Ive written a powerful book that (I hope) avoids the excesses of common Bible prophecy interpretation while giving people solid spiritual nourishment, no matter when the end comes. A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy details 60 key predictions, from Genesis to Revelation, that give us insights about ourselves, God, and the future. This book also provides tools that will help you navigate the Bibles prophecies so that you can avoid spiritual disaster and understand Gods Word better for your daily life.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? My own faith has been deepened and strengthened as I've seen the reliability of Bible prophecy and the faithfulness of the Lord down through the millennia. I want to share that with others.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? Some of my greatest mentors and examples have been R. Kent Hughes, for his commitment to expositional preaching; Robertson McQuilkin, for his commitment to living at the center of biblical tension; John Piper, for his commitment to God as the ultimate reward of the Christian life; J.I. Packer, for his pastoral heart combined with his commitment to an intellectually rigorous and Reformed Christian faith; and Jerry Root, for his understanding that the Lord is sacramentally present with us and with those whom we meet.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: This book is informative and encouraging, no matter what perspective you bring to this topic, and it is geared to Christian and non-Christian alike.
