On a warm winter evening in central Florida, dozens of prophecy students gathered to hear the leading lights of the prewrath movement expound the scriptures. There were 73 registered attendees and 135 present for the Friday night banquet at the Prewrath Resource Institute Conference held January 10-12 in Lake Mary, Florida, north of Orlando. Unlike the other prophecy conferences, this one included a broad spectrum of ages; it was not limited to those over 50 like some are.

Registration opened on time. Thursday afternoon and saw a slow, steady stream of eager conferees joining the group in the broad, elegant hallway of the Marriott. Food was plentiful and plenty tasty. No buffeting our bodies for this crowd! We began with a dessert reception that featured chocolate cake, apple pie, and the always-expected-in-Florida key lime pie.

Left to right: Mo Dardinger, Dave Dardinger, Alan Kurschner, Jim Phillips, members of the Prewrath Only discussion group.

Those of us who attended the Rapture Riddle training in September 2005 were quick to re-connect with one another. One of our own, Allen Hadidian, had brought his labor of love, The Prewrath Chart, to share with us. It's colorful, complicated, and detailed, but have no fear - it comes with its own manual, so you won't be totally in a daze. Those who missed the conference can find it for preview and sale on Pastor Hadidian's website, www.theprewrathchart.com.

Dennis Lyons was an excellent choice for MC, as he has a great commitment to the Word of God, a marvelous sense of humor, and an exceptionally loving heart. At the opening session, Dennis introduced us to Roger Best, “the creative force behind The Sign Ministries.”

It was Reverend Best's idea to add the address and 800 # to The Sign when the first edition went to press in July 1992. This was a stroke of genius, as it enabled them to connect with people who might otherwise have rejected the position because of an unclear passage or a complicated concept. He has taught prewrath rapturism in countries all over the world, including Argentina, Uruguay, the Philippines, and India. We enjoyed hearing about his journeys and his time ministering with Robert Van Kampen, Charles Cooper, and Marv Rosenthal.

Friday morning our host, Dr. Charles Cooper, founder of the Prewrath Resource Institute, gave us his set of signs to watch for to determine that the end is near and also a preview of the startling new theories he develops in his book.

Friday afternoon, attendees chose between Dr. Cooper's session “How to Teach the Book of Revelation,” Reverend Best's session “How to Teach the Prewrath Position,” and seminarian Alan Kurschner's session “1 and 2 Thessalonians.” Kursch has promised to post his PowerPoint slides in the Prewrath Rapture Dot Com site for those of us who missed his session.

That evening, the Voices of Praise Choir from Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville, Florida, made a joyful noise between the lavish banquet meal and the keynote speech. They were quite enthusiastic and energetic, and they received a standing ovation.

Marv Rosenthal opened his speech with the sobering comment that the doctrine that we have studied at this conference is a critical one, and this is a critical hour of history. He encouraged us that we have not a vague wish, but a sure hope, in Jesus' return.

Dr. Rosenthal explained how he met the late Robert Van Kampen, whose persistent questions about biblical prophecy got him questioned his pre-trib beliefs. This led to Dr. Rosenthal's book The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, as he put aside commentaries and notes and studied the Word alone.

This conference and the keynote speech were both titled, “Pre-Wrath - Fifteen Years and Beyond!”

Why is 15 years of interest? In 1990, Marv Rosenthal predicted that prewrath rapturism would become a major position within 15 years. In 2007, just a little over 15 years later, he was given a contract by Zondervan to write the prewrath rapture view for a revised version of Three Views of the Rapture. This demonstrates that prewrath rapturism is now a major player. The scholar representing the pre-tribulation view is four months late delivering his portion of the manuscript - and, as Marv noted to approving laughter - is in danger of being left behind. The book should be out later this year.

Dr. Rosenthal exhorted us that we are rocketing quickly toward the end. We must, therefore, act quickly and with all our might. He received a standing ovation for his encouragement to us and for the stand he has taken all these years for the truth (at great cost to himself and his family). He and Dr. Cooper are examples of men who have stood for the truth against great odds, regardless of the consequences. They are to be honored and emulated.

Next came the highly anticipated book signing. Charles Cooper made a gift of his new book, God's Elect and the Great Tribulation, to every family unit present. He wrote a personal note in each copy. This was a joy-filled line and quite possibly the highlight of the conference.

Allen Hadidian exhorted us during the closing session on Saturday morning. Pastor Hadidian served as an associate pastor at John MacArthur's megachurch, preaching there when MacArthur was away. He shared with us the two major themes of God's Word, God's glory and our joy, and he challenged us with ten convictions and commitments those who study and teach end times prophecy need to adopt. It was an encouraging, upbeat ending to our time together.

Keep the second and third weeks of January open from now on for the Prewrath Resource Institute annual conference. The speakers and topics will vary year to year. Sign up at www.prewrathrapture.com to receive updates on future conferences and other PRI happenings.

As a blessing to Charles Cooper and the prewrath movement as a whole, consider purchasing as many copies of Dr. Cooper's first book God's Elect and the Great Tribulation as you can afford in the next three to four months. This is a critical time as sales now will determine whether a major publishing house is willing to take a chance on his next two titles, which are already written. God's Elect is available either through the PRI site (www.prewrathrapture.com) or here at the Strong Tower Publishing site.

Save the date and buy books in '08!

--reported by Mo Dardinger, Sixth Seal Ministries