Mar 7th, 2007 8:56 AM

*End times: Prophecy beliefs gain mainstream appeal
*
By Karen Lincoln Michel
Press-Gazette Madison bureau

"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the
tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming
on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." — Matthew 24:30

On a recent Sunday, the faithful at Cornerstone Family Church were
forewarned of the world's end, set in motion by an event that born-again
Christians call the rapture.

Cornerstone Church in Green Bay and many fundamentalist Christians
interpret literally the New Testament verses in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17,
which say, "Christ will descend from heaven with a shout," the dead in
Christ will rise and those alive in Christ "shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord" in the sky.

"The rapture will be a sudden catching away of all the believers of
every denomination throughout the world," said Cornerstone pastor Dennis
Toyne, whose church has roots in the Pentecostal doctrine of the
Assemblies of God ministry. "That will happen just before the seven
years of the great tribulation."

The tribulation. The second coming of Christ. Armageddon. All are
prophetic teachings in the Bible.

And while end-time beliefs vary widely in Judeo-Christian theology, the
exploration of end-of-the-world scenarios is gaining popularity in some
pockets of American mainstream culture, say some local historians and
theologians.

Paul Boyer, professor of history emeritus at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, said the interest is fueled in part by the rise in
evangelical and Pentecostal churches, which, he says, have "grown
phenomenally" since 1970. He said many are independent Bible churches,
community churches and mega churches that are without a strong
denomination affiliation.

"Overwhelmingly, these churches are fundamentalist in their theology and
do believe in the end times and the imminent second coming of Jesus
Christ," said Boyer.

That, combined with the surge in the sale of books that preach the end
times, said Boyer, has helped shape the view of the world's end among
Americans. He added that some public opinion polls have shown that about
40 percent of Americans believe the world will end in a battle at
Armageddon between Christ and the anti-Christ.

Popularity in Wisconsin

End-time beliefs have also become pervasive in Wisconsin, Boyer said.

"There used to be the view that this was limited to the Southern Bible
belt, or kooky churches in California," Boyer said. "It's really a
national phenomenon now, and there are many churches right here in
Wisconsin where prophecy beliefs is regularly preached and fully believed."

In 2000, the Catholic-based Glenmary Research Center in Nashville ranked
Wisconsin ninth nationally in the percentage of the population with
membership in a religious congregation. The analysis showed that more
than 60 percent of Wisconsin's population was estimated as claiming
membership in a church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other meeting place
defined by a religious body.

The Glenmary study also found that for every 10,000 Wisconsinites, there
are 10 places of worship, which ranked 30th nationwide. By contrast,
top-ranked North Dakota had 23 places of worship for every 10,000
residents and 15th ranked Iowa had 15 places of worship for every 10,000
residents.

Michael Lukens, professor of religious studies at St. Norbert College in
De Pere, disputes that end-time beliefs have entered the mainstream.

"Here in the United States, it is a major piece for both
fundamentalists, and in some cases, evangelical Christian groups," said
Lukens, who describes himself as a Presbyterian minister who teaches at
a Catholic institution. "Outside of those groups it is almost totally
ignored. Quite frankly, this is an American biblical interpretive
phenomenon."

He said Catholics, for example, say in Mass regularly: "Christ has died,
Christ has risen, Christ will come again."

But, Lukens said, there is a difference between the Catholic view of
Christ's return and the literal interpretations held by many
fundamentalists.

"I'm in mainstream Protestantism," Lukens said. "We don't talk about it,
and we don't hear much about it. But you step outside of Pentecostal
churches and other places and TV evangelists, and, boy, it's big."

End-times in Islam and Judaism

One of Lukens' colleagues at St. Norbert is Robert Kramer, an associate
professor of history who teaches a course on the end of the world.

Kramer, who specializes in Islamic history in Africa and the Middle
East, said his class explores ideas about the world's end from ancient
times in Mesopotamia through biblical and Islamic history, through
medieval Europe to contemporary America.

"It's a common phenomenon in Western history," said Kramer. "It's also a
recurring theme in Islamic history. We have a number of movements in
Islamic North Africa and the Islamic Middle East of people claiming to
be a messiah-like figure."

He said that although the Koran, the Muslim holy book, does not use the
word mahdi, which means messiah, the notion of a messiah is a popular
Muslim belief. He said it's a belief similar to the Judeo-Christian
notion of a messiah.

Rabbi Shaina Bacharach of the Congregation Cnesses Israel in Green Bay
says there are different views about what the end times mean to Jews.

"Most would say that it's not really the end times, but ushering in a
much better world of peace and prosperity, and people treating each
other well," said Bacharach.

She said some Jews believe the meshiach — the Hebrew word for messiah —
is coming soon, and that Jews must get ready.

"Mainstream Judaism has to say: 'Just go about your business now and do
the best you can,'" she said. "We're actually not supposed to try to
figure out when Meshiach is coming."

Bacharach said the world's end is a topic that gets very little attention.

"When I'm with other clergy, it's not something that we have talked
about," she said, adding that some ultra-orthodox Jewish groups focus on
end times, but are very much in the minority. "It's not something that
seems to be out there."

An American tradition

Kramer thinks end-time beliefs are gaining popularity in the United States.

"There's a whole industry in end-time products from books to movies to
TV shows," he said, pointing to the "Left Behind" series of books that
have reportedly sold more than 50 million copies since 1995. The series
depicts fictional accounts of the last days based on the Bible's book of
revelation.

Kramer said the larger message for Americans is how end-time beliefs
have taken hold globally, especially in the war-torn Middle East.

He spoke of the Christian Zionist movement in the United States and how
it has developed a powerful lobby that promotes the Jewish state of
Israel as part of biblical end-time prophecy.

"Insofar as it helps us appreciate what's really going on in the world,
I think being informed (about different end-time philosophies) is very
important," said Kramer. "It's important to us because to the extent
that we are better educated, ideally our democratic government works
better."

Kramer said the resurgence of beliefs in the end-times is cyclical,
occurring every 100 years or so. He said there have been such revivals
in America going back to the Puritans.

"It's really part and parcel of the American experience," he said. "It's
not an aberration. It's absolutely, historically, who we are as a nation."

Correction

The Franciscan's Custody of the Holy Land is in the Christian Quarter of
the Old City in Jerusalem. A story in Sunday's newspaper inaccurately
placed it elsewhere. Two photographs published with Sunday's end-times
stories were taken by Roberto Michel. Paul Boyer, professor at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, was quoted on A-1 Sunday. The quote was
incorrectly credited.