John F. Walvoord was a Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

  theologian

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary

Dallas Theological Seminary

Dallas Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary located in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system known as Dispensationalism...

 from 1952 to 1986. He was the author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 of over 30 books, focusing primarily on eschatology

Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...

 and theology including The Rapture Question, and was co-editor of The Bible Knowledge Commentary with Roy B. Zuck. He earned AB and DD degrees from Wheaton College

Wheaton College (Illinois)

Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...

, an AM degree from Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...

 in philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, a ThB, ThM, and ThD in Systematic Theology

Systematic theology

In the context of Christianity, systematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that attempts to formulate an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the Christian faith and beliefs...

 from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a LittD from Liberty Baptist Seminary.

History

Walvoord was brought up in a Christian home, but had little interest in the faith until he was fifteen, when his family moved to Racine after his father accepted a position as superintendent of the junior high. They joined the Union Gospel Tabernacle where he committed his life to Christ after attending a Bible study on Galatians

Epistle to the Galatians

The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, often shortened to Galatians, is the ninth book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of Early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia...

.

After continuing his education at Wheaton College, Walvoord went on to Texas Christian University and Dallas Theological Seminary where he completed his ThD in 1936. Seminary president and mentor Lewis Sperry Chafer

Lewis Sperry Chafer

Lewis Sperry Chafer was an American theologian. He founded and served as the first president of Dallas Theological Seminary, and was an influential founding member of modern Christian Dispensationalism.-Early life:...

 appointed Walvoord registrar. During his tenure, he also taught systematic theology at the seminary, and pastored the Rosen Heights Presbyterian church in Fort Worth. Walvoord became more involved in the administration of the school, serving as Chafer’s assistant and secretary to the faculty, and upon Chafer’s death in 1952, became the seminary’s second president where he served until his retirement in 1986.

In addition to his responsibilities at the seminary, Walvoord earned a reputation as one of the most influential dispensational

Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...

 theologians of the twentieth century and played a prominent role in advocating a rapture

Rapture

The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....

 of Christians from the earth prior to a time of great tribulation, followed by a literal thousand-year millennial reign of Christ, and a renewed focus of God on the nation of Israel as distinct from the church.

Selected publications

• The Revelation of Jesus Christ, John Walvoord, Moody Publishers (1966), ISBN 0802473091
• Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation, John Walvoord, Moody Publishers (1971), ISBN 0802417531
• Armageddon, Oil and the Middle East Crisis, Zondervan. (1974, rev. ed. 1976 and 1990), ISBN 0-310-53921-8
• Jesus Christ Our Lord, John F Walvoord, Moody Publishers (1974), ISBN 0802443265
• Major Bible Themes (with Lewis Sperry Chafer) (1974)
• The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation: A Historical and Biblical Study of Posttribulationism (1976)
• The Rapture Question (1979)
• The Millennial Kingdom (1983)
• The Bible Knowledge Commentary, (with Roy B. Zuck), Cook Communications (1989), ISBN 0-89693-800-X
• The Holy Spirit: A Comprehensive Study of the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit (1991)
• (contributor) Five Views on Sanctification (1996)
• (contributor) Four Views on Hell, Zondervan Corp. (1996), ISBN 0310533112
• Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago (1974), ISBN 0802451896
• The Final Drama: Fourteen Keys to Understanding the Prophetic Scriptures, Kregel Publications (1998), ISBN 0-8254-3971-X
• Every Prophecy of the Bible, Cook Communications (1999), ISBN 1-56476-758-2
• The Church in Prophecy: Exploring God's Purpose for the Present Age, Kregel Publications (1999), ISBN 0-8254-3968-X
• The Power of Praying Together: Experiencing Christ Actively in Charge, (with Oliver W. Price) Kregel Publications (1999), ISBN 0825435528
• Major Bible Prophecies, Zondervan Corp. (1999), ISBN 0310234670
• Blessed Hope, (Autobiography with Mal Couch), AMG Publishers (2001), ISBN 0899573614
• Prophecy in the New Millennium, Kregel Publications (2001), ISBN 8025439671

Audio programs

• Harold Camping (Amillennialism) vs. John Walvoord (Premillennialism) - 1980 debate MP3
  MP3
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