The Eschatology of the Christian Era

The eschatology of the Christian era has been grossly misconstrued in modern books and movies. It is outlined by the Lord in his Olivet Discourse. In Part I (Mt. 24:1-35) Jesus describes the tribulation period and the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 in significant detail. In Part II (Mt. 24:36-25:30), he describes an undefined period like the days of Noah preceding his coming (Gr. Parousia) at the end-time to judge the world. Part III (Mt. 25:31-46) describes the final judgment. Beyond what is revealed in the Olivet Discourse, the New Testament provides few details of the Christian era beyond the fall of the Roman Empire. The Apocalypse is a trope of the Christian era from c. AD 66 or 67 through the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 (ch. 18) and the fall of Rome and its false religion (ch. 19). Beyond these two events, the Revelation mentions briefly only the millennial reign of Christ, the loosing of Satan at the end-time and the final judgment in chapter 20. In chapters 21 and 22, John sees a vision of man's eternal home with God. After earning a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University, L.D. Swift worked for Motorola Government Division in Scottsdale, Az. designing microwave circuits and antennas. He then attended the Bear Valley School of Biblical Studies to prepare for the ministry. This led him to full-time and part-time ministerial work in Missouri and Texas for many years. During those years, he worked for an engineering firm in Abilene, TX that designed power plants, electrical substations, power lines, gas and oil refineries, and waste-water treatment plants. He later completed a M.S. degree and Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) after which he taught physics at UTA, electrical engineering at Lamar University and New Mexico State University and physics at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, NM. During this time, L.D. continued to serve in the ministry, teaching and preaching whenever possible.
L.D. counts himself truly blessed to have influenced the lives of many students and to have served the Lord in ministry. Now retired, he continues to study God's Word, devoting his time to writing and teaching home Bible studies. He has been married for 53 years to a beautiful lady, Dana L. Swift, and he has two grown children, Melissa and Michael. He also has a wonderful son-in-law, Roman Mayo, married to Melissa.