A Note from Pastor Sonny:
I am also pasting below a thorough timeline of events....assuming we are raptured first and that triggers the 7 years of tribulation. We can't be 100% sure of the below timeline but it does make the most sense with what scripture in the OT and NT state.
Remember, the 3 sets of 7 signs overlap and retell a similar story? That can be confusing as we aren't accustom to reading books where the chapters don't lead to the next sequence of events in following chapters.
We are living in the latter of the last days and as I said last week, we are in the dress rehearsal. God is patient to have as many as possible turn to Him.
Here is the link to watch on YouTube of my full Revelation study with my opening fluff trimmed out :)
A Proposed Chronology of the End Times
As we work our way through the book of Revelation, it can easily become confusing to fit the pieces of the Bible’s prophetic puzzle together. We should keep in mind that God reveals details concerning the future to us so that we can have hope in things to come! To aid in this process, I want to attempt to put the pieces into a chronological sequence for you. I certainly wouldn’t insist on the correctness of every detail in this outline, but my prayer is that it will help you get a better grasp of the overall flow of event in the end times.
Events in Heaven:
The Rapture of the Church. (1 Cor. 15:51-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 3:10)
The Judgment Seat of Christ. (Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:9-15; 4:1-5; 9:24-27; 2 Cor. 5:10)
The Marriage of the Lamb. (2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:6-8)
The Singing of Two Special Songs. (Rev. 4-5)
The Lamb Receiving the Seven-Sealed Scroll. (Rev. 5)
Events on Earth:
Seven Year Tribulation
Beginning of the Tribulation
i. Tribulation begins when the Antichrist signs a covenant with Israel, bringing peace to Israel and Jerusalem. (Dan. 9:27; Ezek. 38:8, 11)
ii. The Jewish temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt. (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 11:1)
iii. The reunited Roman Empire emerges in a ten-nation confederation. (Dan. 2:40-44; 7:7; Rev. 17:12)
First Half of the Tribulation
i. The seven Seal Judgments are opened. (Rev. 6)
ii. 144,000 Jewish believers begin their great evangelistic ministry. (Rev. 7)
iii. Gog and his allies invade Israel, while Israel is at peace under the covenant with Antichrist, and are supernaturally decimated by God. (Dan. 11:40-45; Ezek. 38-39). This will probably occur somewhere near the end of the 3½ year period. The destruction of these forces will create a major shift in the balance of power that will enable the Antichrist to begin his rise to world ascendancy.
The Midpoint of the Tribulation
i. Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel and invades the land. (Dan. 9:27; 11:40-41)
ii. Antichrist begins to consolidate his empire by plundering Egypt, Sudan, and Libya, whose armies have just been destroyed by God in Israel. (Dan. 11:42-43; Ezek. 38-39)
iii. While in North Africa, Antichrist hears disturbing news of insurrection in Israel and immediately returns there to destroy and annihilate many. (Dan. 11:44)
iv. Antichrist sets up the abomination of desolation in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. (Dan. 9:27; 11:45a; Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:5, 15-18)
v. Sometime during these events the Antichrist is violently killed, possibly as a result of a war or assassination. (Dan. 11:45; Rev. 13:3, 12, 14; 17:8)
vi. Satan is cast down from Heaven and begins to make war with the woman, Israel (Rev. 12:7-13); the chief means he uses to persecute Israel is the two beasts in Rev. 13.
vii. The faithful Jewish remnant flee...
Apr 9 202041 mins