The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation

Book excerpt: Eschatology is a crucial theological issue in our day. The rapture question has particular importance in premillennial eschatology. This volume confronts that question: Does the rapture of the church precede or follow the Great Tribulation? In this book Dr. John F. Walvoord examines the post-tribulationist viewpoint and calls into question its exegetical grounds and hermeneutical validity. The author examines four schools of thought within posttribulationism and challenges point by point the arguments of their leading exponents. This scholarly apologia of the events relating to the second coming of Christ reaffirms the author's conviction that pretribulationism provides the best interpretation of the biblical evidence and demonstrates the most reliable understanding of the Christian's assurance of the 'blessed hope.'