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Timeline of the End Times Illustration
What is the Resurrection?
The resurrection is the restoration of one’s body to life. When we die, as believers in Christ, our spirits go straight to Jesus. For example we can see Stephen, when martyred, was given a vision of Jesus with God in heaven, and committed his spirit to Him (Acts 7:55-60). Paul said that he longed to be with Christ, once he had died (Philippians 1 21-23).
Jesus was the first to rise from the dead and to receive a body that would never decay. See 1 Corinthians 15:1-49, especially verses 12-14 But tell me this – since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
God promises resurrection to all believers.
Romans 8:10-11 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
The promise of resurrection is our priceless inheritance.
I Corinthians 15:19-20 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
1 Peter 1:3-5 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
When will this happen?
Our spirits go straight to God, but the resurrection of our bodies will only take place ‘when He comes back’, which will be at the end of the current age.
1 Corinthians 15:23-24 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.
John 2:18-22 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
1 Corinthians 15:51-3 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die.
Resurrected bodies
When we are resurrected our bodies will be changed from the human, fleshly bodies we now have (or we had if already dead) into immortal spiritual bodies, just like Jesus.
How should we live now?
God does not want us to be idle (2 Thessalonians 3:6), or to be lured into a sinful lifestyle, but to grow spiritually in both the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus. God tell us how he wants us to live while we wait– see 1 Peter 3:8-17 and the scriptures below.
2 Peter 3:17-18 You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.
Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.
1 Peter 1:13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
1 Peter 1:17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favourites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”
The Rapture
What is the Rapture?
This is when the believers who have died, together with all who are still alive at that time, will all be “caught up” (Greek word, harpazo) to meet with Christ in the air. The bodies of all the believers in Christ who have died will be resurrected and, along with all those still alive will be transformation into immortal bodies.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
1 Corinthians 15:51-2 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
Our resurrected bodies
It will not be flesh and blood as we are now. 1 Corinthians 15:50-51
It will not be pure spirit either. Luke 24:39
It will be for eternity – incorruptible and imperishable. 1 Corinthians 15:42
It will be glorious and powerful. I Corinthians 15:43
There will no longer be death or sorrow or crying or pain. Revelation 21:4
When will this happen?
The Bible does not tell us when this will occur, but warns us that it will be unexpected. People of almost every generation have thought that Jesus would return in their life time. We have to live as if He would return tomorrow, but plan as if it will not be in our lifetimes.
There are considerable differences of opinion on when this will happen, the 3 most common views being that it will either occur before the great tribulation of 7 years (see below), during the middle of it, or at the end of this period. These are called the pre-, mid- and post-tribulation views. Articles by various bible scholars support each of these views, each with their own arguments and quoting numerous scriptures in support to their views. Others, like the renowned scholar and teacher Derek Prince, simply state that we cannot be certain of the timing.
My personal view is that the (first) rapture is more likely to precede the great tribulation, but regardless of what our view is, we all need to prepare for either the increased persecution and hardship of the tribulation, or the rapture of the church, whenever it happens, and which could occur at any time.
Matthew 25:13 So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
“Some of these events and their order of occurrence have simply not been made clear in the Bible. What is important is that all Christians hold in common that Christ will ultimately return bodily, visibly, and gloriously to reign and rule with His resurrected and transformed saints forever and ever. The details of this great event will be made known in God’s own time.”
(Billy Graham).
The rapture will be a world-wide event, since some will be working and others sleeping, and will take us all by surprise. Over the years there have been several cults that have predicted the date of Christ’s return, and the leaders encouraged their members to variously stop working, to give away all their assets, to withdraw from society, to fast, or even to commit mass suicide.
Tribulation
Tribulation means distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution. In the Bible the term ‘tribulation’ refers in particular to a specific time period of intense world-wide trouble – a time of judgement from God. The prophets of the Old Testament were all persecuted (Matthew 23:29-31) and Jesus warns us that we also can expect to face persecution in this world. However we should not confuse our daily struggles and trials with the great tribulation still to come.
“Tribulation is the normal experience of believers in this age. Not experiencing affliction is a blessed exception that we should enjoy when we have it, but we should not count on it as if it were our right in Christ. We should always be ready to suffer for Christ and always be ready for Christ’s return.” (Dr Michael Brown).
John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
Revelation 3:19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
Destruction of the Temple
In Matthew, probably written between AD 60 and 65, we read that Jesus prophesied the complete destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem, which later occurred in AD 70. His disciples asked Him when this would take place, and what would be the sign of his return, and of the end of the age.
Matthew 24:1-3 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
What did Jesus say?
The question the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24:3 appears to have two parts: 1. “Tell us, when will all this happen? (the destruction of the temple), and 2. What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
1. When will the Temple be destroyed?
Jesus’ answer to the first question appears to lie in Matthew 24:13-20, in which they were warned that they – all the believers in Jerusalem – should flee the city when the Temple was desecrated.
Verse 24: “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about – the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.”
Luke elaborates on this and adds that Jerusalem will be ‘trampled down’ until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end – probably by the rapture: Luke 21:20-24 “And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived. Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in the country should not return to the city. For those will be days of God’s vengeance, and the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled. How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against this people. They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.
In Matthew 23:1-36 Jesus pronounced 7 sorrows (or woes) over the teachers of the religious laws and the Pharisees, and ends at verse 36 “I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.” In the bible a generation is 40 years, and it is a period of judgment, as in Numbers 14:33. A “woe” is a term which carries tones of denunciation and condemnation. Jesus declared these over the religious leaders who had a significant role to play in leading their nation.
Jesus ministered around 30-33 AD. Add 40 years and we get around 70-73 AD. In 70 AD the Roman army, led by the Roman general Titus, son of the Caesar Vespasian, laid siege to Jerusalem. By the time they had taken control of it a few months later the city and the Temple had been burned, 97,000 Jews had been taken captive as slaves and 1,100,000 killed. At one point during the siege the Romans captured an average of 500 Jews a day and crucified them along the wall of Jerusalem in the hope that the Jews would give up the city out of fear. So many were crucified Josephus writes that they ran out of space. But the Christians had taken Jesus’ warning to heart. Over a million Christians fled the city during this particular period of time, and according to Josephus not one Christian was known to have lost his life during AD 70.
2. What sign will signal Jesus’ return and the end of the world?”
His answer to the 2nd question was to point out all the signs that would precede His return. In Matthew 24:4-14 Jesus warns them not to be misled by anyone claiming to be the Messiah, not to panic when they hear of wars and threats of wars, and that there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world, that they will be arrested, persecuted, and killed and hated all over the world because they were His followers. As a result of this, many would turn away from Him and betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. Only those who endure to the end will be saved, and finally that the Good News about the Kingdom will have been preached throughout the whole world, so that people from all nations would have heard it; and then only the end will come.
Matthew 24:14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:29-31 “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world – from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
As referred to in Matthew 24: 14 and also 29-31, where the ‘chosen ones’ presumably refers to those saved after the rapture, i.e. during the great tribulation. Note that the book of Revelation was only written around AD 95, well after the destruction of the Temple, and so the tribulation we find in this book cannot relate to this earlier tribulation of the Jewish nation.
The (Final) Tribulation
In answer to Daniels prayer for his people and the city of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:1-19) God sent the angel Gabriel to explain the visions he had been given relating to the end times, and to provide a timeline. 70 weeks was decreed, a week equalling 70 years. Hence there would be one week or 70 years of desolation (after the conquest by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia) until the time the decree was issue to rebuild the temple, and 490 years (seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven – 69 weeks) until Jesus came (verse 25). We are now in the church age, with the last 7 years starting when the ruler (the anti-Christ) males a treaty with Israel.
Daniel 9:24 “A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
Daniel 9:25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler – the Anointed One – comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defences, despite the perilous times.
Daniel 9:26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.
Daniel 9:27 The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
This means there is still one ‘week’ – 7 years, left over. This is understood to refer to the period of tribulation at the end of the age. Note that in the following passage in Daniel 12 there will be a time of great anguish, but that ‘every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued.’
Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.
The 144,000 Witnesses
Revelation 7:4-8 says that an angel will mark the foreheads of 144,000 from Israel with the seal of God, to spare them from judgment and death (7:3, 14:1) and anointing to preach the Gospel (7:10). This will be 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes (Jacob’s 12 sons). Apparently, most Jews alive today do not know which tribe they come from, but of course God does. In reading these verses it will be noticed that 2 tribes are missing Dan and Ebrahim, and 2 others have been substituted in their places, Levi is substituted for Dan and Joseph (Ephraim’s father), is substituted for Ephraim. They will be commissioned to be witnesses during the tribulation, and will lead many to Christ during this period. Revelation 7:9-17 tells us that after this John saw a vast crowd from every nation standing before the throne, clothed in white, and was told that “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation”.
The two witnesses
Revelation 11:1-12 speaks of two witnesses, who are also called prophets, who will testify ‘during those 1260 day’ – the 2nd half of the 7-year tribulation, being 42 moths or 3½ years. They will be given great power, and once they complete their testimony they will be killed, but after 3½ days they will be raised to life and taken up to heaven, in full view of their enemies.
Revelation 11:3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
How long will the tribulation last?
The answer appears to be for 3½ years, commencing when the ruler breaks his treaty with Israel, defiles the temple and puts an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Note that this pre-supposes that the third temple will first have been built. See Daniel 9:27 above and 12:5-7 below.
Daniel 12:5-7 Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river. One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, “How long will it be until these shocking events are over?” The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time (3½ years). When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.”
Will Christians be present in the great tribulation?
The three most popular views of the timing of the tribulation are that the rapture of the Church will occur before the tribulation, in the middle of it (after 3½ years), or at the end of the 7 year period. These are called the pre-, mid- and post-tribulation theories. My personal view is that the rapture is likely to precede this period of great tribulation. This view appears to be supported by several scriptures and reasonings:
We are meant to be encouraged by the coming of the Lord
The prospect of enduring the tribulation would be anything but something to look forward to, before being taken up to heaven. The tribulation is an outpouring of the wrath of God on a sinful world – everyone who has refused to accept the Jesus and his sacrificial death on our behalf, and on whom the wrath of God was first poured out. Note that the tribulation we all face in our daily lives is from, but the tribulation at the end of the age (Revelation chapters 6-19) will be from God.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven – Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.
1 Thessalonians 4:18 So encourage each other with these words.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
God tells us that our obedience to Him will result in our exclusion from the tribulation. Jesus warned the Church in Thyatira that unless they repented they would be thrown onto a bed of suffering, and the church in Philadelphia that because they had obeyed Him He would protect them from the great time of testing – that would ‘test those who belong to this world.’ Note the reference to ‘those who belong to this world’, which excludes those who belong to Christ, in Revelation 3:10.
Revelation 2:22-23 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
Revelation 3:10 “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
No-one knows when the 2nd coming of Jesus will be, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and Matthew 24:36. However if there were to be a post-tribulation rapture, the date could be calculated as 3½ biblical years or 42 months or 1260 days after the Antichrist enters the Temple.
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.
Matthew 24:36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
A pre-tribulation rapture seems to be pictured in the Jewish marriage custom, in which when a man about to marry would add a room on to his father’s house for himself and his bride. When ready, and his father gave the go-ahead, a trumpet would sound and the bridegroom would go to meet his bride. Following the wedding ceremony the bridegroom would take his bride to his father’s house where they would be hidden away for seven days in the newly completed bridal suite, after which the bridegroom would come out with his bride and introduce her to the community. This could be just what will occur at the rapture: Jesus, our bridegroom, prepares
a place for us in heaven – his father’s house, where the church will be secreted for the 7 year period of the tribulation. When no-one is expecting it, a trumpet will sound and Jesus will meet us in the air as his bride and will escort us to the bridal suite he has prepared for us. We will remain with him in heaven for seven years before we are presented to the world where we will rule and reign with Him.
John 14:2-3 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
The argument has been made that the tribulation will serve to bring the nation of Israel to Jesus, as promised in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 4:30-31 “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.
The above may be supported by an analysis of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 that Gabriel told Daniel, as relating to the Jewish nation. 69 weeks passed from the time the commandment was given in 445 BC by Artaxerxes to rebuild the temple and the coming of the Messiah on Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. This leaves one week, or 7 years. The church was not present during the 69 weeks, and logically may not be during the last week – the seven years of tribulation.
Daniel 9:24-27 “A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler – the Anointed One – comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defences, despite the perilous times. “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
This reasoning is supported by the last part of Daniel 12:7. Since the angel Gabriel was talking to Daniel the reference to ‘holy people’ appears to refer to the Jewish nation:
Daniel 12:7 The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.”
What will happen after this?
At the end of the 7 year period several things will happen. From Daniel 12 these include:
v1. all whose names are written in the book of life will be rescued;
v2. the dead will rise, some to everlasting life, others to everlasting disgrace;
v3. the wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.
Chronology of End-Time Events
”The following chronology will be helpful in showing the order in which prophetic events will occur. Parts of it are flexible. (For example, the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel could occur before or after the rapture. Even before the rapture, we could see preliminary signs pointing to future events.) With this chronology, we get a picture of God’s prophetic agenda in the last days. A precise timeline is difficult, but we can get a fairly clear idea of the main events yet to come. Notice that the first six events have already happened, and we are experiencing the seventh and eighth now:
God promised 490 years of His prophetic dealings with Israel and the Jewish people (Dan. 9:24).
God promised the Messiah would come 483 years after the command to rebuild Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25–26).
The command to rebuild Jerusalem was issued by King Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:7–8).
Exactly 483 years later, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt of a donkey, allowing public worship of Him as Messiah for the first time. Jesus was executed, rose from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit upon His disciples.
The world entered the church age, the mystery parenthetical age (Matt. 16:16).
Israel was regathered when Jews migrated from the nations to their ancient land. For the end-time prophecies to be fulfilled, Israel had to be a nation again. That happened May 14, 1948. The last days have begun! (See Is. 66:8; Jer. 31:8; Ezek. 20:34)
Preliminary signs pointing to the coming final shabua intensify (Luke 21:11, 25, 28).
Apostasy, deception, false prophets, lawlessness and hypocrisy accelerate (Matt. 24:4, 23–26; 2 Thess. 2:3; 2 Tim. 4:3).
Terrorist groups are dealt a severe blow, probably by Israeli defence forces (Ps. 83).
A serious crisis unfolds in southwestern Iran (Jer. 49).
Damascus, Syria, is destroyed (Isa. 17).
Israel is invaded by Russia and Islamic allies, but God performs miracles on Israel’s behalf (Ezek. 38–39). Bible commentators differ on the timing. It may happen before or after the rapture.
The bride of Christ, the Church, is caught away. Nobody except the Father knows when this event will happen. It is typically referred to as the rapture (1 Cor. 15:51–55; 1 Thess. 4:13–18). This could happen without any advance notice and may happen before numbers 9–12 in this chronology.
The Church is in Heaven (Rev. 4:1 -19:14).
There is a resurgence of the Roman Empire (Dan. 2:41–43; 7:24; Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3).
The United States dramatically weakens as a new multi-region federation in Europe mounts after a time of European chaos (Dan. 7:7; Rev. 17:3, 7, 12).
The meteoric rise of a popular and magnetic but satanic world leader occurs (2 Thess. 2:7–12; 1 John 2:18).
A peace treaty (covenant) is established, signed, and confirmed between Israel, Muslim nations, and other nations (Dan. 9:27).
The first half of time known as The Tribulation (the final shabua) begins (Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21).
The Jewish temple is erected in Jerusalem (Rev. 11:1–2).
A total of 144,000 Jewish converts emerge as impressive evangelists for Jesus Christ (Rev. 7:4–8; 14:1).
Judgments on Earth begin to intensify (Rev. 6–19).
World religions accelerate into apostasy, blending into a “harlot” religion (Rev. 17:1).
Antisemitism reaches a peak beyond anything in the past. During Hitler’s genocidal rampage, one out of every three Jews perished. Under the antichrist system, two out of every three will die (Dan. 7:21; Jer. 30:7; Dan. 9:27; Ezek. 22:19–21; Zech. 13:8–9).
The Antichrist and his public relations man (a powerful and global religious leader) introduce a new economic society involving a “mark” on the right hand or forehead rather than cash (Rev. 13:16–18).
The Antichrist moves his image into the Temple and claims to be God. His religious promoter is “allowed to give breath to the image.” From this exact point, there will be 42 months (1,260 days) until Christ’s visible return (2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:13–15).
Two supernatural prophets arise in Jerusalem (Rev. 11:3–12).
The second half of The Tribulation begins with increased disasters, calamities and judgments pouring out rapidly. Death camps are established for those who disagree with The Antichrist (Rev. 13–19). Based on today’s population, approximately 3.7 billion will die from war, hunger, persecution, epidemics and geophysical changes during the final 42 months.
The battles at Armageddon take place (Joel 3:1–3, 9–16; Zech.14:1–4, 12; Rev. 16:12–16; 19:11–21). (The demonic spirits gather all the rulers of the world for battle against the Lord, and the 7th bowl of God’s wrath is poured out on them).
Christ returns (on a white horse, symbolic of a conquering king) and is visible to the world. This is the Second Coming (Zech. 14:3, 5, 12; Rev. 1:7, 19:11-16, 19).
The nations are judged by Christ. (Rev. 19:6-10 The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Wedding Feast – possible time of the bema seat judgment of believers).
The Antichrist and his false prophet/promoter are thrown into the lake of fire, along with all who took their mark of loyalty (Jer. 23:5; Matt. 25:31-32; Rev.19 & 20).
Satan is bound for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:1–3).
The millennial kingdom is established on Earth for precisely 1,000 years, with Jesus Himself ruling from Jerusalem (Is. 2:2–4; 11:6–9; 65:20–22; Zech. 8:22–23; Rev. 20:4–6).
(All those who had not worshiped the best, or taken his mark (during the tribulation) came to life and reign with Christ for 1,000 years. (Revelation 20:4)).
Satan is loosed for a final short season after the thousand years to test those humans not resurrected and their descendants who remained on the earth after Christ returned. A final rebellion will ensue (Rev. 20:7–10). (Satan is locked away to be tormented for eternity).
The second resurrection (for the damned) takes place after the thousand years, when those in Hades (hell’s holding place) reunite with their bodies and are raised to attend the great White Throne Judgment. All Christ-rejecters will be declared guilty and banished forever (Rev. 20:11–15).
A new heaven and new earth with new Jerusalem as the capital city are established forever (Rev. 21:1–27).
- Dr Dave Williams
- Dr Brian Drury
