a good theology of the end times

I need a good theology of the end times. Do you have one I could borrow? Do you have one I might steal? I live deep in the heart of that part of American Churchianity that is obsessed with the end times. I see it on TV (we have four Christian Television stations ranging from EWTN to all apocalypse all the time), I hear it in ecumenical Thanksgiving services, I read it on church signs, it is even on the news. Most, if not all, of this "gazing upon the chicken bones" comes from a deep desire to not miss the lesson of the fig tree from Sunday's gospel, but I'm just not convinced. I don't think wars and rumors of wars, weather patterns, economic downturns - all man made catastrophies - are the fig tree getting ready to bud.

But good theology goes beyond defining what it is not, and works hard to define what it is. So what is a good theology of the end times? What does it mean to keep awake? More to think about, lots more.