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Died: Tim LaHaye, Bible Teacher, Pastor, Author

Bible teacher, pastor, broadcaster, and bestselling author Dr. Tim F. LaHaye (@Dr_Tim_LaHaye) died July 25, 2016 in a San Diego area hospital, days after suffering a stroke. He was 90 years old.

According to his obituary: “Long considered a foremost expert on the Book of Revelation, Dr. LaHaye and his co-author Jerry Jenkins used a fictional backdrop to bring the topic into contemporary culture with their 16-book series, Left Behind. Combined, the books sold more than 80 million copies since the title novel was initially released in 1995, topping the bestselling lists of The New York Times, USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Christian Booksellers Association.” CT says “LaHaye and Jenkins…had readers rethinking the rapture.”

In his tribute to Dr. LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins writes, “The Tim LaHaye I got to know had a pastor’s heart and lived to share his faith. He listened to and cared about everyone, regardless of age, gender, or social standing.”

TIME magazine in 2005 named Tim LaHaye and his wife Beverly—founder of Concerned Women for America—“The Christian Power Couple.” The magazine also named Dr. LaHaye one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.

[Read about Eschatology in the Dictionary of Bible Themes on Bible Gateway]

Dr. LaHaye wrote extensively on the Bible topics of end-times prophecy, the rapture, and the tribulation. He founded the PreTrib Research Center in 1993. He also went beyond those subjects to write about such topics as sexual techniques within marriage and psychological emotions as he saw them from a biblical perspective.

Jonathan Petersen: