The Doctrine of the Rapture

By: Dwayne Spearman

 Introduction

The purpose of this paper will be to take a look at the doctrine of the rapture. We will look at the fact of the rapture in Scripture and then at the various views as to its timing. The first view that we’ll look at is the posttribulational view which asserts that the rapture will happen at the end of the tribulation. The second view that we’ll look at is the midtribulational view which asserts that the rapture will happen in the middle of the tribulation. And finally, the third view that we’ll look at is the pretribulational view which asserts that the rapture will happen at the beginning of the tribulation.

The Fact of the Rapture

First, we must look at the fact of the rapture. Many have argued that the word rapture is not even found in our English Bible.[1] While the word rapture does not exist in our English Bible, the Latin word “rapio” does.[2] We find this word in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where it says that at the time of the rapture, “we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”[3] The verb for caught up in verse 17 means “to seize or carry off by force.” It is the notion of a “sudden swoop” or a “force that cannot be resisted.”[4] We also see it referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 were it says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

Just as those in the church who are alive at the time of the rapture, there were two men in Scripture who had the privilege of going to heaven without having to taste death.[5] The first of which was Enoch for the Bible says that he “walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch was literally raptured because of his “close fellowship” with God.[6] This prompted the Lord to transport Enoch directly to Heaven without first having him taste death.[7]  The second was the prophet, Elijah whom the Bible says in 2 Kings 2:11-12 that, “suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”[8]

So too, our Lord did promise that He would return someday and do the same for us. It was a promise that He made in John 14:2-3 when He said, “In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”[9]

In all fairness, before I proceed, there are those in the church who have denied this future event. One such man is Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones who asserts that the entire concept of the rapture was entirely the result of a vision that was supposed to have been given to a New Testament scholar by the name of Tregelles in 1830. Prior to that, he says that the church never accepted a teaching in this regard.[10] However, that is not the focus of this paper. 

The Timing of the Rapture

With the establishment of the fact of the rapture, we must now turn to the timing of this great event. For the past two-thousand years there has been great disagreement and confusion in the church over this issue. Today, among those who agree that the rapture is a yet future event to occur, there are three major views that must be considered. All of these views agree that it’s going to happen, but they disagree as to when it is going to happen.

Because of my conclusion, the first of these views to be covered is what is called the posttribulational view. This view asserts that the rapture will occur at the end of the tribulation in conjunction with the Second Coming of Christ (parousia) in Revelation 19.[11]

The second of these views is what is called the midtribulational view. This view asserts that the rapture will occur at the mid-point of the tribulation period around the time of the Antichrist’s backing out of the seven year agreement with Israel.

The third and final of these views is what is called the pretribulational view. This view asserts that the rapture will occur at the close of the church age and will be the event that ushers in the tribulation.

Each of these three views will be discussed in detail with the merits of each moving along from the posttribulational view, to the midtribulational view, and the pretribulational view.

The Posttribulational View

The first of these views to be covered is what is called the posttribulational view. This view sees the taking up of believers after the great tribulation to meet with Christ in the air just a few moments prior to his coming to earth with them to reign during the millennial kingdom in Revelation 19.[12]

Those who support this view will go to a verse like John 16:33 as a proof text for their position when it says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.” Their position would be that God has called the church suffer and that the sufferings of the tribulation period will be just one more time of suffering that will come upon the church in God’s sovereign plan, but the church will prevail.

There is no doubt that God does indeed promise that His church will suffer through grave tribulation and persecution and be preserved through it. History is replete with examples of this fact. Of this, Foxe wrote, “The history of the church may almost be said to be a history of the trials and sufferings of its members, as experienced at the hands of wicked men.” [13]

                They will quickly add that the church was built and has been sustained with the blood of the martyrs and that tribulation and hard times is what makes the church strong and purified and that God has promised that the church will always overcome. Thus, they will insist that the very thought of a removal of the church in an event called the rapture prior to this great time of persecution as escapism.[14]

They also use verses like Matthew 16:18 where Jesus said to Peter, “on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Another verse they use would include Revelation 2:10 which says, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death.” These verses no doubt indicate that

the church will suffer.

However, there are major problems with this view that must be addressed. The largest of which is that those who hold to it are confusing persecution with wrath. The dictionary says that persecution is “a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate a people because of their religion, race or beliefs.”[15] However, wrath is defined as “strong, stern, or fierce anger; deeply resentful indignation; ire; vengeance or punishment.”[16] Obviously, there is a difference between the two.

Yes, the Bible does say that God will not allow any type of persecution to overwhelm and destroy the church that Christ has established and bought and paid for through His sacrificial death on the cross, but the tribulation has nothing to do with persecution. It has everything to do with the wrath of God. With that the argument loses steam.

The tribulation is God’s wrath being poured out on an unbelieving world with whom He gave opportunity after opportunity to accept the gift of forgiveness through faith in His precious Son, Jesus, but they would not. The time of tribulation that is to come upon this earth is not about the persecution of God’s people, but the wrath of God against those who persecuted God’s people.[17] Neither should it be “understood as in any sense a time for disciplining believers or purifying the church.”[18]

Some proof texts for this include Revelation 6:16-17 which says that men will say during the tribulation to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Again, the tribulation is a time of God’s wrath, not persecution of the church.

The book of Revelation also calls it the time of God’s wrath in 19:15 where it says that the Lord will, “strike the nations…rule them with a rod of iron, and tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Again, we see that this is a time of God’s wrath on a Christ-rejecting world led by the Antichrist.

The Bible also teaches that the children of God are not appointed to this wrath that is to be poured out during because it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is also taught in Romans 5:9 that “we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” These verses seem to promise that the church will be kept from this time of wrath.

Another verse from many would also include 1 Thessalonians 1:10 which says, “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Here is a promise of deliverance from the time of wrath that is to come for the church. Clearly the Bible teaches that there is a great difference between the persecutions that are inflicted upon the church from within and without in the past, present, and even the future.

This position also serves to remove the purpose for the imminent return of Christ.[19] It is the imminent return of Christ that pushes and encourages the child of God to live a pure life because he has no idea when His Master will return.[20]

If the rapture can be determined, there would be no encouragement for the Christian to live a righteous and holy life and to be constantly prepared for the time when Jesus calls him home. This is seen in what Jesus said in Matthew 24:42-44 when He said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

The Midtribulational View

The second of these views will occur at the mid-point of the tribulation and even though the church will be on this earth for the first three and a half years, it will be removed for the final three and a half years.[21]

Many who support this view will go to Revelation 11 where it speaks of the two witnesses and say that they represent the rapture when they are taken up in Rev 11:11-12 where it says, “Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.” They equate the command is this verse to “Come up here” as the rapture of the church.

Another proof text for those who embrace this view is found in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 where it says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

While this verse does indeed refer to the rapture; they equate it with the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15-18 where it says that, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" Of course, the reasoning is that both of these verses refer to the sounding of the same trumpet or the seventh trumpet.

Another point that those who hold this view will make is that the first half of the tribulation is not the wrath of God and that it does not commence until the mid-point of the tribulation. Thus, there is room to have the church around during the first three and a half years of the tribulation without violating Scripture.

However, this is a hard point to defend because of what takes place after the mid-point of the tribulation. It says in Revelation 13:7 says, “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.” If the church is really raptured at the mid-point of the tribulation as those who hold this view say; then who are these saints that will be overcome by the Antichrist? They can’t be the tribulation saints because they would have gone up with the church.

Another problem with this view is that the rapture is referred to as a mystery in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 15:51 speaks of this mystery when it says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” A mystery by definition is something that is “kept secret, remains unexplained or unknown.”[22] It would hardly be a mystery that “remains unexplained or unknown” if the book of Revelation made it understandable!

The Pretribulational View

The third and final of these views that will be discussed is what is called the pretribulational view. This view asserts that the rapture will occur at the close of the church age and will be the event that ushers in the tribulation. Those who hold this view have a wealth of Scripture to turn to without contradicting other portions of Scripture and maintaining good hermeneutics in the process.[23]

First, if you take the book of Revelation literally, you need only look at the outline as given in 1:19 to determine the approximate time of the rapture.[24] It says, “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” Here we find the division of the book. Chapter 1 is the “things which you have seen.” Chapters 2 and 3 are the “things which are.” Most in this view agree that this speaks of the age of the church that will end at the conclusion of the Laodicean age. And chapters 4 through 22 are the “things that will take place after this.” This speaks of a time that will occur after the church is removed from this earth and the tribulation commences.[25]

The Greek word for after this in 1:19 is “meta tauta”.[26] The next time this word is seen in Revelation 4:1 when it says, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." However, there are those who contend that the significance of this word should not be taken in the “programmatic or dispensational sense.”[27] However, that is not the view of a pretribulationalist.

Also, another interesting thing to note about the book of Revelation is that after chapter 3, the church is not ever mentioned again until chapter 19 when it returns with Christ.[28] Why? There can only be one of two reasons. The first would be that the church will be wiped out through persecution. However, this is impossible because of the promise that is found in Matthew 16:18 which says, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” A pretribulationist would find this reason unscriptural. Of course, the second, and obvious reason to the pretribulationalist is that the church has been removed by way of the rapture.

The second is that the Antichrist cannot be revealed until the church is taken out of the way according to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 where it says, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,…Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed,…And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

Notice that this restrainer is in the masculine gender. This is referring to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the God-head. Some would argue that this speaks of the Holy Spirit only; while others would argue that it speaks not of the Holy Spirit specifically, but of the church that He indwells.[29] Geisler believes that the two are not mutually exclusive.[30]

The church must be removed before the Antichrist will be given permission to manifest himself to the world. Once the “salt” and “light”, the church, has been removed, there will be no one to stand in the Antichrist’s way to total world domination.

When the church is removed, God will also remove his restraining order over the evil that is in the world.[31] This will make way for the deception that is spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 where it says, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Once God’s hand is removed, all who dwell upon this earth who had ample opportunity to make a decision for Christ prior to the rapture will be deceived by the Antichrist without fail because of their rejection.

The third is that the church has not been appointed to wrath. As was mentioned earlier, the time of the tribulation is the time of God’s wrath upon a Christ-rejecting, sinful world.[32] Paul further supports this when he says in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” The church is promised deliverance from the “wrath to come.”

Another verse that seems to promise the church’s deliverance from the awful time is found in Revelation 3:10 when Jesus said, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”[33]

A fourth is that the imminent return of Christ is kept intact under this view because we do not know when the Laodicean church will come to a close. Thus we can still take the admonition of Jesus in Luke 21:28 when He said, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

If the posttribulational and midtribulational views were correct, this aspect would be removed because the first says the rapture occurs at the Second Coming and the latter says that the rapture occurs at the breaking of the covenant between the Antichrist and the Jewish people. Both of these would set a date on the rapture of the church and violate Scripture. Again, Jesus said in Matthew 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

The fifth is that the early church was living with the expectation of the imminent return of Christ. They had been plainly told in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” They were obviously expecting Him to return at any time.

This is seen when Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives in Acts 1 and angels said in verses 11, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.". They had no idea what that meant in regards to timing. They might have walked away thinking that Jesus would be back in a week, month, or year! They simply did not know. As a matter of fact, 2 Thessalonians was written to convince them that He hadn’t already![34]

Something in Scripture that might have added to this anxiety in the early church was the timing of the death of the Apostle John for some felt that the Lord would return before his death.[35] This may have been believed because of Jesus’ words to Peter in regards to John in John 21:21-23 when He said, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me." Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?"

The sixth is that the imminent return keeps the church pure. This has been referred to earlier in Matthew 24:42-44. It keeps the church pure because we don’t know when He is coming back, so we must be ready at all times.

The seventh is that God’s pattern has always been to remove His people before judgment.[36] In Genesis 7:6-7 it says, “Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. So, Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.” God removed Noah and his family before He brought about the flood.

Also, in Genesis 18 we are told of a discourse that took place between Abraham and the Angel of the Lord when Abraham asked in verse 23, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” and the Lord’s response in verses 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 was “I will not destroy it.”

Then later on in Genesis 19 we are told that the Lord sent angels into Sodom to make sure that Lot and his family were able to get out safely before the destruction came. As a matter of fact, it says in Gen 19:16 that the angels literally had to drag Lot out of the city because of his hesitation. The pretribulationalist believes that this conclusively shows us that the God will not judge the righteous with the wicked.

The Bible also says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.” What government would declare war on a hostile enemy without first calling home their ambassadors?

The eighth is found in Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9. The prophecy has to do with Israel and not the church. In Daniel 9:24 it says, “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.” This is a reference to the Jewish people and not to the Gentiles.[37]

Conclusion

With all of the facts set before us, while I must confess that each view does have merit, I am sold on the pretribulational rapture of the church view. If I did have to choose a fallback position, it would be the midtribulational view because the first three and a half years of the tribulation is described as a time of peace and it could be argued that the church could be here during that time since the Antichrist is not revealed until the midpoint and things go very badly from that point forward.

In regards to the posttribulational view, I just find no merit in their position all. Their argument really loses steam when it’s obvious that they simply cannot explain the two resurrections. As a matter of fact, they can’t seem to agree amongst themselves on the issue either!

In the end, I agree with Josh McDowell when he said that there will always be “divergent views about the end times that stem from divergent practices in the interpretation of the Scriptures.”[38] In my opinion, it is not a sufficient reason to break fellowship with any dear brother-in-Christ. I love and respect men who disagree on some things, but they all hold to the fundamental doctrines of the faith. We must simply take the admonition that was given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He said in Revelation 22:20, “I Am coming quickly, He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Bibliography

Barns, Albert. Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Grand Rapids, MI:

Baker Book House, 1951.

Bere, Michael C. Bible Doctrines for Today. Pensacola, FL: A Beka Book, 1987.

Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1958.

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/persecution (accessed February 28, 2012).

Elwell, Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Edition. Grand

Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.

Erickson, Millard. Readings in Christian Theology: The Living God, Volume. 1, The Living God.

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1973.

Foxe, John. The New Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Gainesville, Florida: Bridge-Logos Publishers,

2001.

Geisler, Norman L. A Popular Survey of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,

2007.

LaHaye, Tim & Jerry B. Jenkins. Are We Living in the End Times?: Current Events Foretold in

Scripture and What They Mean. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. Great Doctrines Series: The Church and the Last Things. London NW1

3BH: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1997.

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Handbook. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers,

2003.

McDowell, Josh. Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House

Publishers, Inc., 1991.

McDowell, Josh. Daniel in the Critics’ Den. San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life Publishers, 1979.

McGrath, Alister & James Packer, eds. Zondervan Handbook of Christian Beliefs. Grand

Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005.

Morris, Leon. The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The First and Second

Epistles to the Thessalonians. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1959.

Richards, Lawrence O. Bible Teacher’s Commentary. Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C.

Cook, 2004.

Still, William. A Vision of Glory: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation. Glasgow, G2 6PA:

Nicholas Gray Publishing, 1987.

Swindoll, Charles & Roy Zuck, eds. Understanding Christian Theology. Nashville, TN:

Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Transformed: Christ’s Triumph Means Your Transformation. Colorado

Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 1986.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Victorious: In Christ You Are An Overcomer. Colorado Springs,

Colorado: David C. Cook, 1985.

Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament. (Colorado Springs,

Colorado: David C. Cook, 2007.

Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament. Colorado Springs,

Colorado: David C. Cook, 2007.

Willmington, H.L. Willmington’s Guide to the Bible, Volume 2. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale

House Publishers, Inc., 1986.

---

[1] Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, eds., Understanding Christian Theology (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 1264.

[2] Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 983.

[3] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982.

[4] Leon Morris. The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1959), 145.

[5] Harold Willmington. Willmington’s Guide to the Bible (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1982), 10.

[6] John MacArthur. The MacArthur Bible Handbook (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003), Kindle Location 11238.

[7] Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Are We Living in the End Times?: Current Events Foretold in Scripture and What They Mean. (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1999), 97.

[8] Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), 677.

[9] MacArthur, Kindle Location 10383.

[10] Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Great Doctrines Series: The Church and the Last Things (London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1997), 136.

[11] Alister McGrath and James Packer, eds., Zondervan Handbook of Christian Beliefs (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 69.

[12] Wayne Grudem. Bible Doctrines: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999),

491.

[13] Foxe, John. The New Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (Gainesville: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 2001), Kindle

Location 242-243.

[14] Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 1225.

[15] Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/persecution (accessed February 28, 2012).

[16] Ibid.

[17] Grudem, 449.

[18] Erickson, 1224.

[19] Ibid. 1225.

[20] Ibid. 1226.

[21] Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1999), Kindle Locations 9234-9235.

[22] Dictionary.com. (accessed March 6, 2012).

[23] Erickson, 1223.

[24] Warren W. Wiersbe. Be Victorious: In Christ You Are An Overcomer. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1985), 24.

[25] Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), 1039.

[26] Albert Barns. Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1951), 56.

[27] William Still. A Vision of Glory: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation. (Glasgow: Nicholas Gray Publishing, 1987), 49.

[28] Willmington, 286.

[29] Ryrie, Kindle Location 9359.

[30] Norman L. Geisler. A Popular Survey of the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), 231.

[31] Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. (Carlisle: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1958), 700.

[32] Ibid. 286.

[33] Wiersbe, Be Victorious, 24.

[34] Lawrence O. Richards. Bible Teacher’s Commentary. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2004), 956.

[35] Warren W. Wiersbe. Be Transformed: Christ’s Triumph Means Your Transformation. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1986), Kindle Location 2939.

[36] Michael C. Bere. Bible Doctrines for Today (Pensacola: A Beka Book, 1987), 251.

[37] Josh McDowell. Daniel in the Critics’ Den. (San Bernardino: Here’s Life Publishers, 1979) , 16.

[38] Josh McDowell. Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions. (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1991), 472.