Charting the End Times

In the 1830s and early 1840s, Baptist preacher William Miller gained thousands of followers when he announced that the world would come to an end in 1843. He was adept at parlaying his message through books and copious pamphlets, and plied his audiences with detailed prophecy charts, mathematical tables and timelines. A century and a half later, Left Behind pedagogue Tim LaHaye (writing with Thomas Ice) seems to take a leaf from Miller's book in issuing Charting the End Times: A Visual Guide to Understanding Bible Prophecy. It has charts, illustrations and maps!.Its glossy, full-color format is light-years beyond Miller's, but the prophecy content is much the same. (Unlike Miller, LaHaye rather wisely does not set a projected date for Christ's return.) (Harvest House, $24.99 144p ISBN 0-7369-0138-8; Nov.)