Not Afraid of the Antichrist

Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

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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.

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.


Endorsements

"For the past thirty years, I have taught a course on 1 Thessalonians--the only book of the Bible to use the word translated "rapture" (harpazō). In the fourth chapter, the apostle Paul expresses the sequence of events associated with the return of Christ: (1) The Lord shall descend from heaven, (2) the dead in Christ will rise, and (3) believers who are alive shall be "caught up" (raptured) to meet the Lord in the air. The million-dollar question is, What happens next? Will believers accompany the Lord to the earth where He will begin His reign (the post-Tribulation view)? Or will believers remain with Christ in heaven while God pours out His wrath on the earth (the pre-Tribulation view)? Paul's answer: "We will always be with the Lord!" The issue of the Rapture is a very difficult question and must be answered by inference from the collected testimony of many passages of Scripture. Brown and Keener have put together a well-articulated case for the post-Tribulational position, and they have done so with grace. This book deserves a very careful reading."

Clinton E. Arnold, dean and professor of New Testament language and literature, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

"Like the authors of this remarkable book, I was raised believing that the only biblical perspective on the Tribulation was that I need not worry about it, that Jesus would remove me from this earth before the sufferings of that time began. I, too, was nurtured and even encouraged by Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth, and later educated at a seminary known for its dispensational, pre-Tribulational theology. But I came to see what Brown and Keener so eloquently demonstrate in this book, namely, that the promise of Christ to His Church is not deliverance from suffering via a pre-Tribulation Rapture but His faithfulness in preserving us in the midst of it. This is, quite simply, the best and most informative book available on this subject. Highly recommended!"

Sam Storms, senior pastor, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City; past president, Evangelical Theological Society

"I couldn't wait to read Not Afraid of the Antichrist, and I was not disappointed! Two of my favorite theologians and authors have come together to write the best book I've encountered addressing Pre-Tribulation Rapture theology. Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Craig Keener have managed to treat the subject with scholarly precision, while keeping it highly readable and even entertaining. I highly recommend this book."

Daniel Kolenda, president and CEO, Christ for All Nations

"It is so refreshing and encouraging to hear Dr. Keener's and Dr. Brown's views of the Christian life. It is in fact about a Person, and pure and simple devotion to Him above all else. Nothing that God allows to happen in this world can take away our life in Him, who has become to us everything we need. May this book center you on Him and His Kingdom more than ever!"

Dr. Rolland Baker, founder, Iris Global


The Authors

  1. Michael L. Brown

    Michael L. Brown

    Michael L. Brown (Ph.D., New York University) is Director of Spiritual Renewal and Apologetics at the Jerusalem Bible Institute in Israel and has served as a visiting or adjunct professor at eight seminaries. He hosts the nationally syndicated daily talk...

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  2. Craig S. Keener

    Craig S. Keener

    Craig S. Keener (Ph.D., Duke University) is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is author of 37 books, 5 of which have won awards in Christianity Today. More than a million copies of his books are in...

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