Prophecy and Modern Times
By W. Cleon Skousen
Synopsis: Using the scriptures, this short book presents for the reader a convenient and easily understood chronicle of the events leading up to and surrounding the Second Coming. First Printed in 1939, the book contains a foreword by Ezra Taft Benson (who was W. Cleon Skousen's stake president in Washington, D.C.).
Strong Points: Characteristic of W. Cleon Skousen, this book is lucid and well-written, engaging and informative. The reader will find the book both very interesting and instructive. It lays out the prophecies understandably and sequentially, which makes for an enlightening experience for the reader. While the book is short, its conciseness actually works to its credit in a way, because it does a good job of laying out a foundation of the fundamentals of apocalyptic prophecy without spending unnecessary time in details.
Weak Points: Even though the edition I read was newer (1988), it appears they didn't update some or all of the footnotes, and so references to JST Matthew in the Pearl of Great Price are given with page numbers and are not meaningful in the modern citation system. Also, while Skousen had excellent exegetical abilities, I didn't always agree exactly with all of his interpretations of prophecy.
Interesting: 4.5/5
Must Read: 3/5
Overall: 4/5
Selected Quote: "As we look back down the corridors of the past we find that every prophetic declaration authorized by heaven has been literally fulfilled. The Great Flood was literal. The dispersion of Israel was literal. The crucifixion of the Lord was literal. And so was the destruction of Jerusalem. Prophecy is not poetry. It is history in reverse. It needs no private interpretation. It is fulfilled literally." (p. 4-5).