And Then the End Will Come!: But Five Things You Need to Know in the Meantime

by Brandon Andress

Most people, at one time or another, have wondered about the End Times. When is this thing going to go down? What kind of crazy stuff can we expect before Christ returns? Do we need to rent some angel wings or know how to play the harp? But what if we have been asking the wrong questions all along? And, what if there was a question that could cut through all of the opinion and clutter and divisiveness of the End Times? In AND THEN THE END WILL COME! author and teacher Brandon Andress goes directly to the words of Jesus to pose an entirely different question - Who are we becoming right now and who will we be if and when the world begins to come apart at the hinges? Combining his funny, charming, and heartfelt message with a knack for simplicity, you will ride a wave of emotions as Andress lays out the five things every follower (and potential follower) needs to know today about the End Times in order to make sense of an increasingly upside-down world. AND THEN THE END WILL COME! is for anyone who wants to reconnect to the larger story and narrative in which we live and breathe and who wants to rediscover the purpose for which we live today. This is the wake-up call every single person needs to hear!

Genres: Nonfiction, Contemporary, Humor, Self Help

190 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Brandon Andress is the author of Deep Calls to Deep: Meditations for Your Spiritual Journey, Volume 1, the novels What Can’t Be Hidden and And So By Fire, and the bestselling Beauty in the Wreckage: Finding Peace in the Age of Outrage.

A dedicated freelance writer, Brandon shares his weekly reflections at Deep Calls to Deep (brandonandress.com). He holds a degree in Psychology from Hanover College and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. Brandon lives in Columbus, Indiana.

Reviews

[DJ Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

AND THEN THE END WILL COME!: But Five Things You Need to Know in the Meantime by Brandon Andress

Heartfelt thanks to both Brandon Andress and GoodReads for my FREE COPY of the book AND THEN THE END WILL COME!: But Five Things You Need to Know in the Meantime. I was the lucky winner in the GoodReads Giveaway and appreciate the opportunity to read and review this enlightening and hilarious novel very much.

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this little ditty to Christians, Non-Believers, End Times Enthusiasts, Cynics, Over Zealous Sleuth Sayers, Preppers, Anti-Christ Seekers, Talk Show Hosts, Cult Leaders, Preachers, Priests, Future Leaders of the World, and Everyone Else to whom the afore mentioned does not apply! Anyone who reads it will enjoy the light hearted humor, the informative (but not preach-y!) text, and simple to follow writing style. I think everyone could find something to get out of this book, from; Alex Jones, to Glenn Beck, to Jon Stewart, to President Obama, to Benjamin Netanyahu, to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad… whew! I could go on forever! Hey, maybe we should send them all a copy?

I don’t want to give away any of the book’s secrets, but I will say that no matter what you think you are getting with this book, you’re not. I love surprises! This was a definite one!

Excerpt:

“We seek after those who seem to have an insider’s take on what to expect, how to prepare, and what to buy.

We are especially drawn to those who seem to have special insight into deciphering the symbols and language of esoteric and ancient texts.”

When I won the book I immediately wrote to Brandon Andress and emphatically thanked him. I was so ecstatic! Of course, I thought I was getting a big checklist of what every religious text on earth said about the last days. A virtual, “What Jesus Had to Say about the End Times for Dummies”, of sorts. Instead I received a roller-coaster ride inside the mind of a Real Christian, a True Believer.

Being someone who abhors the concept of organized religion as a whole, but not the concept of a deity (or deities) respectively, warming up this much to a biblical text for me was almost enough of a miracle for me to dig up a number for the Vatican and nominate Brandon Andress for Sainthood. I just can’t drive home the point of how immense this event really truly is, the man deserves at least a metal!

Think about how many groups, and individuals, in the past have declared the End Times were upon us and they indeed had, or in some cases “have”, all the answers you seek. Brandon Andress isn’t trying to be anyone’s savior. He is trying to keep things in perspective and look and things in, what some may consider, a new light.

Forget the over-the-top predictions you’ve heard before, such as; Harold Camping, The Mayan Calendar, The Seekers, William Miller and the Millerites, Heaven’s Gate, Shoko Asahara, Y2K, and more. That is nowhere near the message Brandon Andress is trying to convey. If it were the brand of crazy he was selling, I wouldn’t be buying!

A well-educated man, MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University and BA in Psychology from Hanover College, Brandon Andress’ work has been featured by Relevant Magazine, Faith Village, and Blessed Earth among others. I don’t know him, and he didn’t tell me that, I just snooped on the web to get some background on the guy. He has also served as an elder and teaching pastor at The Living Room Church in Columbus, Indiana. If you want to you can keep up to date with what Brandon Andress is working on by following his Blog.

Brandon Andress is also the author of UNEARTHED: How Discovering the Kingdom of God Will Transform the Church and Change the World. I have not read it yet, but intend too if it is anywhere as good as this book is.

Excerpt:

“It’s like telling my kids a story about how important it is to be loving and kind and pure from the inside toward others… and then ending it by saying, ‘Treating other this way is as sweet as ice cream.’

You know that they are going to focus on that sweet, creamy addition at the end!”

The only thing that frustrated me about the book is that because of its lack of subtlety, I think many people will miss the message. Much like the kids and the ice cream, they will read about java toward the end of the story and become sidetracked. Unintentional delete. By-the-way, I like my coffee black, but when I go to Starbucks I can’t resist their Macchiato. Then again, I see the inside of a Starbucks maybe twice a year!

Excerpt:

“Here we are… living and breathing… smack dab in the middle of our own story, and all of a sudden we become more preoccupied with trying to figure out how it ends than how we are going to live presently.”

“We neglect the 150 pages in the middle.”

Busted! When I first received my copy of AND THEN THE END WILL COME!: But Five Things You Need to Know in the Meantime in the mail I poured myself a drink, turned off the television, shut the door to my room, and cozied up for a read very different to what I got. When I was only a page or two in I was so upset that the book was not what I had built it up to be in my mind that I skipped to the back and started reading the chapter labeled “conclusion”. After reading the final 30 or 40 pages of the book I settled down enough to give it a chance and started from the beginning. I almost lost it when just a few pages in the author called me on my sh*t! I had definitely neglected the 150 pages in the middle! Sorry about that.

Excerpt:

“I haven’t heard one person talk about the importance of being people who are not worried and who are not alarmed, frightened, or troubled, not just presently, but when it gets really crazy and chaotic.”

Not everyone out there is looking to be Chicken Little. I am not a Christian, but I watch them on TV! I personally think Jack Van Impe does a pretty good job of spreading the “just chill” and “don’t worry, be happy” vibe in all states of calm and chaos. That is, In-between peddling the latest New World Order conspiracy DVD anyway. If you don’t know, Jack Leo Van Impe is a televangelist who is known for his half-hour weekly television series Jack Van Impe Presents, an eschatological commentary on the news of the week through his interpretation of the Bible.

I hate to say it, but Brandon Andress will not be successful in changing many people’s “God-in-a-box” mentality with this book, but if it reaches even one person, and it has, it’s done its job.

Please Buy a Copy of AND THEN THE END WILL COME!: But Five Things You Need to Know in the Meantime by Brandon Andress on Amazon Now!

[starlys nyte · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been a two page essay.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple? Funny? Practical? End Times? I ain’t never heard them words put together like that, so you can imagine I was mighty interested.

Introduction? Hooked. First chapter? Couldn’t put it down. I read the whole thing in 3 days. Which, again, considering the young adult action books that I normally read, is quite impressive. The writing style is probably unlike anything you’ve read before (what my husband likes to call one-word paragraphs, but he reads astrophysics textbooks for fun so we’ll ignore his opinion about that for now). It’s almost like you’re having a conversation with Brandon. I don’t even know the guy, but I can hear his inflection, maybe even picture his facial expressions as I’m reading. It’s what my 3 year grad school program has taught me to identify as “voice”.

The real star of the book, though, is the point. Each chapter starts with something Jesus said about the End Times. Brandon goes into the cultural background, the context of the verses, and heavens to Betsy, the Greek meanings, if he needs to. Then he says, “Here’s what this means for us today.” Simplicity is the perfect way to describe the book. He gets rid of all the fluff that has accumulated around the End Times phenomena and gets straight to the heart of the issue.

If we aren’t living like Christ presently, when times are relatively good, then we will never live like Christ if times get really difficult in the future. (p. 137)

Where the book lands is that all of us, whether we’re curious, zealous, apathetic, or cynical about End Times, have been called to live like Christ now, in this moment. How can we be ready for when Jesus comes back? We can do what He asked of us, by loving God and loving people.

Brandon’s ability to interpret these passages into “Here’s what you do with this” could be unifying in the Body of Christ. Whether you think the book of Revelation is literal, metaphorical, or bologna, Brandon gives us some Truth that we can all grab on to.

I’ve told several people about it and they all seem interested, even Alex, my Academic husband, who likes to study the heck out of things. He’s been reading it and, while there aren’t enough statistics or graphs for him, he wholeheartedly agrees with the message.

If you’re even remotely interested, I highly recommend that you check it out. There’s something unique and unifying about Brandon’s take on the End Times. People need to hear it…

[Brandon Andress · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone wanting the book summarized in one line it truly is this- If we, as Christians, have been so quick to compromise our character in Christ presently when things are not even that bad, what will we do and who will we be if things get really bad in the future. For those of us who follow the way of Christ, we are to be Christ no matter how good or bad our life situation becomes. This is the central issue AND THEN THE END WILL COME! wrestles with and that every Christian must come to terms with. Hopefully I have done that in a funny, conversational, tongue-in-cheek sort of way that is relatable to everyone. Peace and Love, Brandon Andress

[Robert Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is rather interesting reading this book in the context of the culture of 21st century USA. It seems that all the things that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24 are happening now. There are earthquakes in Iran and China, there is war in the middle east in Afghanistan, Syria, and Palestine. There's all sorts of economic unrest in Europe. With trials like Kermit Gosnell going on in Philadelphia and James Holmes in Colorado, it seems like everyone is basically living their own morality and just doing their own thing. If we aren't living in the "End Times", then they must be pretty close.

Enter Brandon Andress and the book And Then the End Will Come!. And suddenly, we get to frame the whole conversation differently. When all is chaos around us, Brandon points out that either we get obsessed with the "End Times" and start making all our charts and predictions, we get cynical and start to discredit everything we hear, or we get indifferent. And that's OK. What's most important about Jesus words about the "End Times" in Matthew 24 are not the timing of when things will happen and the specifics, but more on the lines of what his followers are supposed to do as the world becomes more and more chaotic.

Brandon frames out five things that, as we consider the "End Times" in which we live, we cannot forget. Briefly, they are:

1) No matter what happens, follow Jesus. Bad things will happen, the world will turn upside down around us, we may even lose our lives in the process as the world gets more and more hostile towards Christianity. But what we are called to do is to follow him no matter what.
2) We are not the center of the universe, God is. Instead of trying to figure out how God is supposed to take care of us, we now re-orient ourselves to how we serve God through serving others. Brandon asks "Are you a sheep or a goat?"
3) We stand between those who have a need and the one who can meet that need. Our job on this planet is to make real in the lives of others the full gospel of the inbreaking of God's kingdom and what that means to others. It's not just a sales pitch of salvation, but a full story of God's Kingdom and all it entails, from the counter-cultural ethics to the immense treasure of a life fully lived.
4) We need to become "one with them". In other words, rather than whining and complaining about the little inconveniences in our lives, begin to fully identify with what it means to be persecuted in the world. And, beyond that, to actually become one with the suffering people around us every day. Take time to experience life and be out there among them and know what it means to feel pain.
5) Do not be led astray. There are going to be so many things in this world that will distract us from following Jesus, that will demand our allegiance that we should be giving to Jesus. There is so much that will do that from political ideologies to nationalistic fears to individual selfishness. The big thing we need to remember is to not lose site of Jesus and remain intimately close to him.

Brandon, in his concluding chapter, sums it all up. With all the chaos going on around us, with, really, how easy we have it, we have no clue what is to come. When it comes down to it:

If we aren't living like Christ presently, when times are relatively good, then we will never live like Christ if times get really difficult in the future.

In other words, a better eschatology is not to try and figure out when the end will come and how it will happen, but to have a better view of what we are supposed to be doing in the hear and now. What happens at the end will happen...and nothing we can do can change that. But where we are right now, that we have control over.

I think Brandon's last "Extra" chapter is extremely important in understanding this. If all we have as an eschatology is a view that this world will be blown to bits and we'll "escape" into some non-physical heaven, then of course nothing we really do here matters beyond just getting people to go to that heaven (that salvation sales pitch again). But if we realize that the "new" Creation is not a "brand new" creation but a "renewed and restored" creation, if we realize that the "new" bodies we have will be redeemed and restored bodies, if we realize that when the end DOES come, it will be to be, for the first time, FULLY human in a world that has been healed and restored to the way it was always intended to be, and that means a fully physical and solid reality. The Kingdom that came when Jesus first appeared will be completed when he comes back. The "End of the Age" is the end of the Present age before Jesus comes back and will inaugurate the NEXT age when God will be completely on the thrown for the rest of the time.

We in the West need an eschatology book like this one. We are so caught up in our civic religion, we are so caught up in our political ideologies and competing allegiances, we are so caught up in protecting what we have as physical things that we forget to see that we are truly called to give it up so that we can TRULY experience treasure. We need to be reminded, that it's not about us, but it's all about him.

I rated this book four out of five stars, not because I didn't think it was amazing and only really liked it. The only drawback to this book was the writing style. I appreciate the way the "broken sentence" style adds a bit of the poetic speaking voice of a preacher/teacher totp the book, but after about 100 pages, it started to feel like verbal whiplash and started losing it's effect. There are places when the broken sentences were necessary for impact and emphasis, but it got long after a while.

The other 4 stars? If I could give this book a percentage of stars, it would be 4 stars and 99% of the fifth star...excellent read and highly recommended. We need this book. YOU need this book. Anyone who wants to know what a believer is supposed to do about the end times needs to read this book. I pray that people who do read it will find it as transforming as I did.

You might appreciate reading a sermon I gave a year or so ago on a similar topic.  Check out Encouragement in the End Times

Note: I received this book for free from the author with the understanding that the book would be reviewed honestly. I was in no way compensated for this review and all views are solely and completely my own. I was not required to offer a positive review either through the publisher or author.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't stop thinking about what I read in this book. One of the many things I loved about it was that it took a complicated subject and put it in laymen's terms for the average person who needs to be able to freely question this topic. It was a quick, easy read, that left me feeling confident about this subject. I also enjoyed the author's style of writing. Information is given in short spurts and reiterated in a conversational tone that made it easy to absorb the facts. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is scratching their head about the end times.

[Katarzyna · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is clearly preaching, and the book is clearly directed toward Christians. There is many additional stories that are hardly relevant and it should be a few page essay rather than a book.

The language was simple so it was an easy read, but as much as I believe I understand what author wanted to say this book had not convinced me to followup. Really too much preaching.

[Lara Gemma M · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40 pages….
well this is a book for uhm… yeah christians

[Blake Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

And Then the End Will Come!: But Five Things You Need to Know in the Meantime can be a quick read, though its ideas may require further reflection. Ostensibly a Christian "end times" book, Andress only uses the end times as a backdrop to his deeper, more current question: "Who are we becoming right now and who will we be if and when the world begins to come apart at the hinges?"

Unfortunately, the Rob Bell-esque style and repetition of many lines wore on me. Admittedly this is a stylistic preference that some love and others tolerate. However, Brandon did make me laugh in a few spots, and the fact that he self-deprecatingly references his somewhat ridiculous title earns him points in my book.

If you've never thought about how your life now should be different as a result of the world possibly falling apart someday, you may be interested in And Then the End Will Come!

[Caleb Blevins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good in the sense that I carry’s a lot of great messages within it. It stands on the foundation of Christianity throughout the entire book which made it more of an interesting read since I am agnostic, but this book came highly recommended by Timothee Chalamet.

[Alphekka · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was baited by the title but… I hate everything about this book. The writing style is insufferable. The content is irrelevant to my interests. Get this and all books like it out of my sight immediately.

[Calvin Golas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a hopeful friendly sermon that is a bit more against the zeitgeist of those who practice religion? Glad I read it but I don’t think I’d ever want to read anything like it again.