...time is the one commodity none of us is guaranteed. As we have seen this week, the end can come for our world or any of us today. On this Friday the 13th we are reminded that one Friday will be our last Friday. There is no guarantee that it's not this one.

We're discussing the North Korean nuclear test and the "end times." Given the biblical prediction that one day "the elements will be destroyed by fire…and melt in the heat" (2 Peter 3:10, 12), could a nuclear war be the way God ends human history?

Is it possible that the North Korean crisis, coupled with recent conflict between Israel and Lebanon, may lead to a cataclysmic war which would end human history? Could it be that the international war on terror will play a part in this "end times" scenario? Could the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons be a significant part of this threat?

Space flight is risky; the war on terror is unlike any other we've fought; the elements cannot always be controlled. But death comes to us all. Steve Irwin's father said that his son died while doing what he loved. But he would have died eventually, anyway. Unless Jesus returns first, we will all come to the end of this road and the beginning of the next.

One way to wrap up a series on Revelation and the "end times" is to say simply that no one really knows when Jesus will return to end history. The Lord has placed this decision in his authority alone (Mark 13:32-33; 1 Thessalonians 5:1; 1 Peter 3:10; Luke 12:35-36, 38-40). No one but God knows when Jesus will return. Why, then, is this issue relevant to our lives on this Friday morning? We'll need a little longer essay than usual to answer the question and wrap up our series.

We have surveyed nine ways to read Revelation. As they relate to the "end times," they basically fall into two categories. Some, "dispensationalists" among them, believe that the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948 is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. They expect a war beginning in the Middle East to end history. Whenever a conflict occurs such as the present struggle between Israel and Lebanon, those in this view wonder if this is the beginning of the end.

Many turn to the Book of Revelation in viewing the present Middle East conflict as the beginning of the "end times." We're exploring the various ways scholars see Revelation, closing with the "apocalyptic" approach. "Apocalyptic" literature spoke to difficult times for God's people, using visions and symbols in a kind of code. It contained a predictive element, forecasting the destruction of evil and victory for the faithful.

Talking about problems helps. So it was with the ancient book of Revelation. Its words kept an entire Christian movement going in the face of life-threatening persecution Its words are still just as motivating and compelling today. But how should we read them?

We have surveyed five positions already: Revelation has no predictive elements; it is entirely a prediction of all of human history; it deals primarily with theological truth; it primarily contains spiritual principles; the founding of Israel in 1948 is a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecy, forecasting the very end of history. The last is the most popular approach here in Texas, due to the influence of schools such as Dallas Theological Seminary, but it is by no means the consensus of all scholars.

We're learning how to read the last book of the Bible. We've discussed the Author, the human writer, and the recipients of the book. Now, what approach should we take in studying its truth? There are eight main methods for interpreting Revelation, each of them held at one time by respected biblical scholars. Let's survey them very briefly.