Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don't Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture
Despite the popular theology of our day, Christians should
not expect to get out of experiencing the tribulation or the
end times. Nowhere in the Bible does the Lord promise us this, say
Michael Brown and Craig Keener, two leading, acclaimed Bible
scholars. In fact, they say, Jesus promises us tribulation
in this world.
Yet this is no reason to fear. In this fascinating, accessible, and
personal book, Brown and Keener walk you through what the Bible
really says about the rapture, the tribulation, and the end
times. What they find will leave you full of hope. God's wrath is
not poured out on His people, and He will shield us from it--as he
shielded Israel in Egypt during the ten plagues. So instead of
taking comfort in what God hasn't promised, take comfort in the
words of Jesus: He has overcome the world, and we live in his
victory.
From the Back Cover
What if everybody was left
behind?
Despite the popular belief that Christians will be
raptured before the start of the Tribulation, Scripture paints a
very different picture. Nowhere does the Bible promise that
believers will escape the revelation of the Antichrist and his war
on the saints. In fact, God tells His people to expect
tribulation--and to persevere through it.
In this eye-opening text, acclaimed scholars and authors Michael
Brown and Craig Keener offer encouragement and hope for the
approaching dark times. Together they walk you through an intensive
study of Bible passages, helping you gain a better understanding of
what the future holds. Through it all, there is no need to fear;
God has a plan. He will not abandon His people in the terrible days
ahead.
Take comfort in the words of Jesus: He has overcome the world. Even
in the midst of great sorrows on the earth, we live in Jesus'
victory until He returns at the end of the age.
"Filled with hard-hitting, thought-provoking
information on what the Bible says about the end times, this book
will challenge and encourage you to understand what the future
holds for believers."--MIKE BICKLE, founder, International
House of Prayer
Michael L. Brown (Ph.D., New York University) is the founder
and president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord, North
Carolina, and has served as a visiting or adjunct professor at
seven seminaries. He is host of the nationally syndicated daily
talk radio and TV show The Line of Fire and has written more
than 30 books. Learn more at www.askdrbrown.org.
Craig S. Keener (Ph.D., Duke University) is F. M. and Ada
Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological
Seminary. He is the bestselling author of 24 books. Craig and his
wife, Médine, live near Wilmore, Kentucky. Learn more at
www.craigkeener.com.
Top Highlights
“May I present you with a much simpler (and more accurate) solution? There is one Second Coming, and it has different aspects to it. First, Jesus appears in the clouds for the entire world to see, accompanied by His angelic hosts and with great fanfare. Next, we are caught up to meet Him in the air. Then, we descend to earth together with Him as He defeats His enemies and establishes His Kingdom on the earth. This all happens at the one and only coming of the Lord—the Second Coming, which includes both the Rapture and the Lord’s arrival on the earth at the end of the Tribulation period.” (Page 107)
“The problem is that there is no biblical text that actually explicitly says that the Church will be taken out before the Tribulation. If you think otherwise, try to find one! All the arguments for a pre-Tribulational Rapture require extra assumptions beyond what any passage simply says—and some passages suggest otherwise.” (Page 23)
“So far as we can tell from their surviving work, the earliest Church fathers in the second century were premillennial and post-Tribulational. That is, they believed that Revelation 20 described a literal future thousand years, but they believed that they were currently in the Great Tribulation2 or (in the case of the Didache or the Shepherd of Hermas)3 about to go through it.” (Page 57)
“Yet I quickly began to learn that nearly all of the mainstream Bible-honoring scholars I respected at that time—such as F. F. Bruce, D. A. Carson, Robert Gundry, William Lane, George Eldon Ladd, I. Howard Marshall, Leon Morris, Robert Mounce, J. Barton Payne, Herman Ridderbos and Merrill Tenney—were post-Trib. So was the main Pentecostal scholar I knew about, Gordon Fee.” (Page 50)
Product Details
- Title : Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don't Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture
- Authors:
- Brown, Michael L.
- Keener, Craig S.
- Blomberg, Craig
- Publisher: Chosen
- Publication Date: 2019
- ISBN: 9781493417391
Michael L. Brown (PhD, New York University) is the
founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord, North
Carolina, and has served as a visiting or adjunct professor at
seven seminaries. He is host of the nationally syndicated daily
talk radio and TV show The Line of Fire, and has written
more than 30 books. Learn more at www.askdrbrown.org.
Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is F. M. and Ada
Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological
Seminary. He is the bestselling author of 24 books. Craig and his
wife, Médine, live near Wilmore, Kentucky. Learn more at
www.craigkeener.com.
Reviews
2 ratings
Ray Mills
9/11/2023
Richard
1/1/2021
A good book if you want to know more about the different views of the end-time. However, there is not much historical background from the time the text on the end-times were written. By studying more books on this topic, I think that many things have already happened and that the Church should not focus on the end-times but establishing God’s Kingdom. We have still so many opportunities to do good and exalt Christ's Name. The latter chapters give a positive view of the end-times which was good to be included.