Stories of the end of the world. More people believe it's more imminent than you probably realize.
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Prologue
When the end of time comes, what videos will we watch? Under fundamentalist Christian doctrine, the first thing that will happen during the End Time is that all the good Christians will be whisked suddenly to heaven. We hear clips from Left Behind—a video designed to be played after all the Christians have vanished, by all the people left behind. It explains what happened to all the Christians, and what the Bible says about the Apocalypse, the 1000-year reign of Jesus on Earth, the End Time. Videos and books like this are big business now. (5 minutes)All of the Left Behind books, including Apollyon : The Destroyer Is Unleashed and Left Behind : A Novel of the Earth's Last Days, both by authors Tim F. Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins, with The Vanishings (Left Behind - The Kids), a novel for kids on the Rapture, also by the same authors, are available through Amazon.com. Visit the extensive Left Behind website for more—and don't miss the Left Behind commercials you can view on this site; they're both riveting and disturbing. You can get more detailed info on all the Left Behind books and videos here, all while you send your email friends electronic postcards featuring graphics inspired by the Rapture. (5 minutes)
Act One
Cowboys Of The Apocalypse
How fundamentalist Christians and Orthodox Jews are combining forces to breed a perfect red cow that could bring about the end of the world. Ira talks with cattleman and minister Clyde Lott, and with New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright. (17 minutes)
Song:
“The Last Round-Up” by Sons of the Pioneers
Act Two
The Cost Of Misunderstanding
The story of how an understanding of Bible prophecy by the FBI could have prevented the tragedy at Waco at the Branch Davidians compound. Host Ira Glass with James Tabor, religion professor at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, who has written a book about the tragic misunderstandings between Koresh and the FBI called Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America. (5 minutes)
Act Three
Again
How believing in the end of the world can be the best thing that ever happens to you. Writer Sarah Vowell talks about three end-of-the-world groups she comes to know. (16 minutes)
Song:
“Modern World” by The Modern Lovers
Act Four
None Shall Know The Exact Hour Or Time
Both Bonnie Gaunt and Marilyn Agee have been counting the length of time of all the events in the Bible, and through their calculations, they believe they have individually discovered the exact day that good Christians will be raptured directly to heaven. Bonnie's date: September 11, 1999; Marilyn's date: May 21, 1999. (10 minutes)You can read the Bible Prophecy Corner page mentioned in this week's final segment.
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