Acknowledgments

 As the words under the chart's title  suggest, my search for the timing of the Rapture has been a journey.   Each "stop" along the way revealed another scriptural piece to the  end-times "chronology-of-events" puzzle. 
 

With that in mind, I want to acknowledge a few of the many individuals  who have influenced my search.  I have personally met only a few of  the nine listed (and some are now in the Lord's presence).  I am very  grateful for the role they have played, both past and present, in  my journey through end-times issues. 
 

I need to mention that although my search has led me to the prewrath  position, I have great respect for the biblical knowledge of those  listed below in the pretrib and posttrib camps; and certainly mean no  disrespect in mentioning them here.

Though there is disagreement among  us as to the timing of the Rapture, I am certain there is total  agreement on this one point--we all love Christ's appearing, whenever it  is, because we love Him!

Pretribulationists:
     Hal Lindsey-Where else would a young man, who  became a Christian during the “Jesus Movement” of the 60s and 70s, start  his end-times journey?  The Late Great Planet Earth!  I knew I  was hooked and wanted more!  (And only eternity will reveal the number  of people who came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ  because of his book.)

    J. Dwight Pentecost-His massive volume, entitled Things to Come, immediately grabbed my attention as a new Christian; and I dove in.

    Robert Saucy-As a systematic  theology major in seminary, I taped every theology class I took from him  at Talbot Theological Seminary.  When I got home, I would write out his  lectures word-for-word!  I didn’t want to miss anything.  Thirty-six  years later, I still reference those notes.

    John MacArthur-Attending Grace  Community Church for eleven years and on the church staff for seven of  those years (1977-1984), I learned under his ministry to both love and  teach the Word of God.  I am grateful to the Lord for those eleven years  and the opportunities he gave me to teach from the pulpit in his  absence. 
 

Posttribulationist:
 George E. Ladd-When I read two of his books in the 1980s, The Blessed Hope and The Last Things,  I was stunned!  He challenged me to rethink much of what I had been  taught regarding the pretrib position.  This was a major turning point  for me in my search for the timing of the Rapture.  In fact, three of  the five turning points in my search came from his writings.  The chart  and manual highlight them.

Prewrathers:
     Marv Rosenthal-His book, The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church,  was clearly the one that opened my eyes to a consistent, harmonious,  unforced, and biblically-based understanding of the sequence of  end-times events.  The other two dramatic turning points in my search  for the Rapture came after reading his book.  In addition to his book, I  have feasted on his magazine articles and audio messages.  Now, twenty  plus years after reading his book and searching the Scriptures on my  own, I am convinced of the prewrath timing of the Rapture.  
 

     Robert Van Kampen-His massive work, The Sign,  challenged me to think through many issues related to end-times  events. The notes at the end of his book have been a gold mine to me!   He writes with an obvious passion and pastoral heart for believers  to understand their need to be prepared to enter the events of the 70th  week.  
 

     Charles Cooper-Through his articles, seminar on the end-times, and  personal interactions, I have come to appreciate the depth of his  understanding of end-times issues, his skill in critiquing various  positions, and the passion he exudes for end-times prophecy.  He has  authored a book entitled, God's Elect and the Great Tribulation:  An Interpretation of Matthew 24:1-31 and Daniel 9. 
 

     H. L. Nigro-One of the most articulate writers and clear thinkers I’ve encountered.  The thoughts in H.L.'s  book, Before God’s Wrath,  the articles and  Q & A on the Strong Tower Publishing website and  E-newsletters, and H.L.'s comments on a prewrath discussion board,  continue to challenge me.