Luther Seminary's Bible Q & A

Craig Koester, Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary, responds to the question, "Is the end near?" with reflection on his lifetime of study of the Book of Revelation. Koester traces the roots of rapture theology back to John Nelson Darby and explores the problems with this theology.

Well, it depends on whose Bible you are talking about.

If you are a mainline Protestant, that is, not Roman Catholic, your Bible is made up of two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament is organized into four parts: the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Writings, and the Prophets.

• The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. You may also hear it referred to as the Torah.
• The Historical Books …