Basic Overview of
Main End Time Events

n part 1 of this series of articles, I am going to go ahead and outline all of the main events that will be occurring that will be leading up to the 2nd coming of Jesus to our earth. This will be a basic overview of the main events. I will then go into additional parts giving you more detail into some of these specific events. The Bible once again very specifically and very explicitly lays out exactly what is going to happen before Jesus returns back to us for His second coming.

The problem is that all of the verses pertaining to the second coming of Jesus to our earth are all scattered throughout the Bible. You thus have to search them out and then match them up like you would pieces to a jigsaw puzzle to be able to see exactly what is coming down the road. God always seems to want to make you hunt and search for all of the knowledge that is in the Bible. Seek and then you will find. The subject of Revelation and end time events is no exception.

I will keep this article focused on the basic main events so as to give you a good roadmap as to what may be getting ready to come our way. This subject can get very detailed due to all the incredible events that will occur before Jesus comes back to us in His second coming.

Basic Outline of the Main Events

1. Miscellaneous Signs

Here are some of the specific signs that will be occurring as told by Jesus to His apostles in the New Testament.

a. Perilous times will come.

b. False Christs and False Prophets will come to deceive even the elect.

c. Wars and rumors of wars.

d. Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

e. Increase in famines, pestilences and earthquakes.

f. Lawlessness and immorality will abound.

g. The love of many will grow cold.

h. Some Christians will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

i. Men will become lovers of self, lovers of money, unholy, proud, boasters, blasphemers, unloving, disobedient to parents, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, traitors, headstrong, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God and unthankful.

j. The Holy Spirit will be poured out on all flesh.

k. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will preached to the whole world and then the end will come.

l. God will open up end time prophecy for all to understand and interpret so as to prepare for His second coming.

2. Restoration of the Jewish People Back to the State of Israel

3. Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple

4. Rise of the Antichrist, False Prophet and a 10 Nation Confederacy From Which They Will Rule This Earth From

5. The 7 Year Great Tribulation

6. The Battle of Armageddon

7. The Return of Jesus to our Earth to set up a 1000 Year Millennium Kingdom

8. The New Heaven and New Earth

The Miscellaneous Signs

1.  Per the above miscellaneous signs listed, Jesus tells the apostles what the signs are going to be that will let us know when He is about ready to come back to our earth for His second coming. The verse is from the gospel of Matthew and it reads as follows:

"Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:3-14)

2.  Here is another verse on the false christs and false prophets that will come.

"For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, the elect." (Matthew 24:24)

3.  Paul also talks about how bad the state of man is going to get in the latter days in the following verse.

"But know this, that in the LAST DAYS perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power." (2 Timothy 3:1)

4.  Paul also states in the latter days that some Christians will be departing from their faith in God and Jesus due to the influence and doctrines of demons. Here is the verse specifically telling us this.

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in LATTER TIMES some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

5.  Here is the verse about end time prophecy being sealed up until the end of time, at which time this verse implies that God will then be opening up our understanding of it. This is an angel speaking to Daniel in the Old Testament after he just got done giving him visions and knowledge of what was to come at the end of times.

And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end ... and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand." (Daniel 12:9-10)

All of the above are what I call the miscellaneous signs that will start to take place as we start to approach the time of Jesus' second coming to our earth. The next 7 are specific events that will take place in perfect chronological order. Only one of these events has come to pass at this time, the other 6 have not.

The 7 year Great Tribulation will be the countdown to when Jesus will be coming back to us. This 7 year Great Tribulation will be the last 7 years on earth before Jesus comes back to us in His second coming.

There's an event that will occur right in the middle of the Great Tribulation called the "Abomination of Desolation." Once this events takes place, the Bible tells us that there will be exactly 42 months before Jesus comes back to our earth for His second coming - which is three and half years from the time of this one event. The Abomination of Desolation will be when the Antichrist seats himself up in the rebuilt Jewish Temple to proclaim himself to be God.

This event will be very easy to pick up and spot once it happens with the technology that we now have in place to pick up news events as it is actually occurring throughout the world.

Here is a brief explanation of the other 7 key events that will be occurring, with one of them having already occurred.

The Restoration of the Jewish People
Back to the State of Israel

This is the event that has already occurred. In 70 AD, after Jesus' death on the cross, the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the entire world. The Romans destroyed their Temple, and they were then scattered throughout the whole world as prophesied in the Old Testament as a result of their failure to get their act together with God the Father. God the Father pronounced this judgment on the Jewish people as you get near the end of the Old Testament.

However, God then says after pronouncing this judgment on them, that He will still be their God, that He will still keep the original pact and covenant that He had made with their earlier forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that He would bring them back to their homeland of Israel at the end of time shortly before Jesus would come back to our earth for His second coming. Here are two verses specifically telling us this.

1. "I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them: they shall make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God. (Amos 9:14-15)
   
   
2. "It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush ... He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Isaiah 11:11-12)

This major event occurred on 5/14/48. After the German holocaust, Jews from all over the world started coming back to their native homeland Israel and were able to re-establish it as their home state on the above date.

Then on 6/7/67, they recaptured the city of Jerusalem in what was called the 6 Day War. However, they were not able to recover the Temple Mount which is where they want to rebuild their Holy Temple once again.

Jesus uses the analogy of a fig tree when talking about this. He says that the generation that sees this restoration take place with the Jewish people will not pass away until He comes back for the second time.

There thus is a very good chance that we may witness the return of Jesus back to our earth in this lifetime. I don't know what the time frame is when Jesus uses the word "generation." It could be 100 years or maybe a little less. If so, His second coming could occur anytime between now and the year 2048.

The Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple

The Jewish people were able to recover their homeland Israel and their main city of Jerusalem, but they were not able to recover the Temple Mount, which is the ground they want to rebuild their Holy Temple on.

However, this Jewish Temple has to be rebuilt once again in order for all of the prophecies in the Bible to be literally fulfilled. The Jewish people have already made plans as to how they will rebuild it should they ever get the chance. Apparently it will only take them about 2 years to rebuild it once God supernaturally clears the way for them to be able do it.

The first Temple was built by King Solomon back in the Old Testament. It was then destroyed in 586 BC. The Temple was then rebuilt a second time around 26 BC and then once more destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD when the Jews were dispersed out of Rome and into all the other nations of the world as a result of God's judgment on them as a people and as a nation.

This Temple has to be rebuilt once again because there is an event involving the Antichrist called the "Abomination of Desolation." Remember these 3 words! When this event happens, we literally have a countdown of 42 months before Jesus comes back.

What the Antichrist does in this event is to seat himself up in the Temple of God proclaiming himself to be God, and from this point on, the second half of the tribulation takes place, which will then have the greatest persecution of Jews and Christians the world has ever seen!

The Antichrist cannot seat himself up in this Temple unless it has already been rebuilt. The consensus is that in the first three and half years of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will establish some kind of peace treaty or covenant with Israel.

He will then allow the rebuilding of the Temple, and once that is completed, he will then break his pact with Israel and seat himself up in the Temple proclaiming himself to be God. Remember, it will only take two years to rebuild the Temple, so this could easily happen in the first half of the 7 year Tribulation.

I am sure this event will be televised throughout the whole world due to the conceit and arrogance of the Antichrist. He will want the whole world to know what he has just done.

Think about this. The devil has always wanted to be like God and to have His throne for his own. Now he will get his one and only chance to be able to rule this entire earth through this coming Antichrist.

The Antichrist will be under the guidance and influence of Satan. Satan, through the Antichrist, will now be able to seat himself up in God's Holy Temple for the next three and half years - and from that position, start the greatest mass slaughter of Jews and Christians that the world has ever seen. He will literally kill two thirds of the Jewish people. Believe it or not, this persecution will be worse than the German holocaust where 6 million Jews were killed. More on this under its own caption below.

Bottom line - the Jewish Temple has to be rebuilt so the above event with the Antichrist can take place. It will also serve as a main key event for the rest of the world to lock in on as it will literally tell us exactly how much time we will still have left before Jesus returns back to us for His second coming - 42 months!

Rise of the Antichrist, False Prophet
 and a 10 Nation Confederacy

The Bible says that an unholy trinity will arise in the latter days. This unholy trinity will be Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. Satan is called the Dragon in the Book of Revelation. He has always wanted to be like God, if not God, and this will be his one and only chance to actually play God in the last 7 years on earth.

Satan will take the role of God the Father, the Antichrist will take the role of Jesus and the False Prophet will take the role of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's job is to lead people to Jesus. In the same way, the False Prophet will be the one to lead the world to serve the Antichrist. He will be instrumental in arranging for people to have the mark of the beast put on either their right hands or their foreheads.

The 10 nation confederacy will be 10 nations that the Antichrist and False Prophet will rule from. The consensus among many prophecy scholars is that the 10 nation confederacy will be 10 nations from Europe. This will be a revived Roman empire. Right now, there are 25 countries in what is called the European Union. By the time the Antichrist gets ready to take center stage, there can only be 10 countries left to fulfill this part of Scripture.

I'm going to list the main verses from Scripture having to do with the Antichrist, the False Prophet and the 10 nation confederacy they will rule this earth from. Read these verses very carefully! You are getting an incredible look into the future from the Word of God as to what will becoming our way!

1.  The Antichrist is called the Beast, the Lawless One, the Man of Sin and the Son of Perdition in the following verses. The first verse is right out of the Book of Revelation.

"Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name ... And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?

And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:1-10)

Jesus is the Lamb. Notice that Satan is the one who arranges to give full power to the Antichrist to be able to rule with the power and authority that he will have. This verse literally tells us that the Antichrist will have full rule over the entire world for a short period of time before Jesus finally comes back to defeat him.

2.  The next verse will tell you that the 10 horns mentioned in the above verse are 10 kings - 10 nations that will give their allegiance to the Antichrist.

"And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdoms as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." (Revelation 17:12-14)

3.  The next verse comes from the prophet Daniel out of the Old Testament. Daniel was given very powerful dreams and visions as to what was going to happen at the end of time. The first verse was a dream given to him by God on the Antichrist. This verse also tells you that the Antichrist will be a man!

"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the other beasts before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words." (Daniel 7:7-8)

Notice Daniel's description of the Antichrist. He tells us that this man will be the worst dictator the world has ever seen. He will make Hitler look pale in comparison to what he is going to do once he gets on center stage. He says that this beast is "different" than all of the other beasts that have ever come before him and that he will be terrible, dreadful and exceedingly strong!

The above verse also implies that 3 of the kingdoms under the Antichrist may not at first go willingly under his rule. He will have to subdue them to get their allegiance as will be shown in the next verse.

4.  The next verse from Daniel also interprets the 10 horns as being 10 kingdoms. It goes on to say that the Antichrist will subdue 3 of these kings. It also says that he will be allowed to persecute the saints of God for three and half years. An angel from God is giving him this message.

Thus he said: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom.

And another shall arise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, shall intend to change times and laws. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time." (Daniel 7:23-25)

A time = 1 year. Times = 2 years. Half a time = half a year. This comes to a total of three and half years. The first verse from Revelation 13:1-10 states he will have authority to continue for 42 months, which is also three and half years.

5.  The next verse from Daniel gives more information as to some of the personality traits of the Antichrist. He will have fierce features, understands sinister schemes, will be very cunning and will be the epitome of conceit and arrogance.

"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have revealed their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human hand." (Daniel 8:23-26)

Notice the last sentence. He will not be destroyed by any one man or nation, but by Jesus Christ Himself when He comes back to our earth in His second coming. The description of what Jesus does with him will be in the caption on the battle of Armageddon.

6.  The next verse from Daniel gives some additional information on this man. He may be gay as he has no desire for women. He also may have some Jewish descent in him as it states he has no "regard" for the God of his fathers.

"Then the king shall do according to his own will; he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above them all." (Daniel 11:36-37)

This man will end up being the ultimate ego-maniac of all time! He will be Satan incarnate with the amount of pride, conceit, and arrogance he will have operating through his personality.

7.  The next verse out of John tells us that his name is Antichrist.

"Little children, in the LAST HOUR; and as you have heard that the ANTICHRIST is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour." (1 John 2:18).

8.  The next verse tells us that he is also called the lawless one.

"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders." (2 Thessalonians 2:9)

Also notice that the Antichrist will be working and operating on the power that Satan himself will be giving to him.

9.  The next verse shows that he is called the man of sin and the son of perdition. This verse also tells us that when he seats himself up in the rebuilt Jewish Temple at the halfway point in the Tribulation, he will literally pronounce himself to be God!

"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

10.  The next two verses are on the False Prophet. The first verse tells exactly what this man is going to do. The second verse gives us his name - the False Prophet. The Bible also calls him another beast.

"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive the mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666." (Revelation 13:11-18)

"Then the beast was captured, and with him THE FALSE PROPHET who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image." (Revelation 19:20)

You will also note that the Antichrist apparently receives some kind of wound that should kill him. My guess is that there is probably some kind of assassination attempt on his life. He miraculously survives this wound and apparently receives a real healing, obviously from Satan himself, and this then causes the entire world to marvel at him and makes it easier for the rest of the world to fall under his demonic spell and follow him.

Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will now set the stage for what is called the 7 year Tribulation. This 7 year Tribulation period will be the worst period of time that the world has ever seen. Jesus Himself told the apostles that there never has been a time of trouble throughout human history as bad as this time is going to be, and that there will never ever be another period as bad as this one is going to be!

Just as God gave His Son Jesus three and half years to walk with His power on this earth, God is going to allow Satan, through the Antichrist, to wreak as much havoc and destruction on this earth as he possibly can in the last three and half years of this Tribulation.

The 7 Year Tribulation

As you will see in the Scripture verses listed below, the Great Tribulation will last 7 years. At the midpoint of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will seat himself up in the Temple of God that will have to rebuilt by the Jewish people. He will proclaim himself to be God. This event is called the abomination of desolation by the prophet Daniel. Jesus Himself specifically refers to this event in the New Testament.

Jesus says that once this event occurs, that His people are to literally run for the hills. Jesus says that the last three and half years of the Tribulation set off by this abomination of desolation will be the worst tribulation and time of trouble that the world has ever seen. He says that had these days not been shortened by God the Father, that no flesh would have been saved.

I believe Jesus is implying that man probably would have destroyed the entire earth at or shortly after the Battle of Armageddon. The Antichrist starts to lose control of his empire. Other nations come against him in the battle of Armageddon.

With the availability of nuclear weapons, my guess is that the Antichrist may have been willing to hit the button if he thought he was going to lose his empire. If he hits the button, chances are the other nations he is going to fight against will also be willing to hit the button, and you thus could end up in a full scale nuclear war.

You have already seen what an ego-maniac this man is going to be from the description of his personality in the above verses. With him being under the influence and guidance of Satan, I believe the most logical conclusion is that both he and Satan would be more than willing to hit the nuclear button if they thought they could not retain control of their built up empire.

I really feel that this is what Jesus meant when he said that no flesh would be saved if God had not shortened these days at the end of this Tribulation. Here are the key verses from Scripture on the 7 year Tribulation.

1.  This first verse from Daniel shows that the 7 year Tribulation is initially established by the Antichrist confirming a covenant with Israel and then in the middle of the covenant he will set up the abomination of desolation.

"Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." (Daniel 9:27)

One week has been determined to be 7 years. How do you know that? Because in the middle of the week, the Antichrist sets up the abomination of desolation. And we already know that once the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 42 months or three and half years to go before the end. So this tells us that one week is equal to 7 years. This is how you know that the Tribulation is for a 7 year time period.

2.  The next verse from Daniel specifically tells you that once the animal sacrifice is taken away from the Jews and the abomination of desolation is set up, that there will be 1290 days until the end! 1290 is three and half years and 13 days.

"And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days (1290). Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty five days (1335)." (Daniel 12:11-12)

Notice in the first part of the above verse that it says that the daily sacrifice is taken away. This refers to the fact that when the Jewish people rebuild their Temple, they will once more reinstate the practice of animal sacrifice as they did in the Old Testament.

The Antichrist will allow this to go on for a time, but when he sets himself up to sit in the Temple of God in the abomination of desolation, he will then take this privilege away from the Jewish people! This verse is thus giving you two key pieces to let you know when we are at the midpoint of the Tribulation - the taking away of animal sacrifices and the Antichrist seating himself up in their Temple proclaiming himself to be God.

At that point, we have 42 months or as Daniel says above, 1290 days which is three and half years plus 13 days. The last sentence refers however to the people going a little longer - 1335 days. This may be referring to when Jesus comes down and destroys the armies that have come against Jerusalem in the battle of Armageddon - the time period for the Jews to come back to their homes since many of them will have been in hiding during the last three and half years.

3.  Here is another verse that bears repeating under this caption, once again showing that the persecution of the Jews and saints of God will only last three and half years.

"He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time." (Daniel 7:25)

Again, a time = 1 year. Times = 2 years. Half a time = half a year. Total comes to three and half years.

4.  Here is another verse showing that the Antichrist will have a period of 42 months to continue his carnage. This verse uses the unit of time of 42 months, which again is three and half years.

"And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty two months." (Revelation 13:5)

5.  Here is the verse from Jesus telling everyone to run for the hills once the abomination of desolation occurs with the Antichrist. This is where Jesus also tells us that this Tribulation will be the worst tribulation that the world has ever seen or will ever see again.

"Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, then those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

But woe to those who are pregnant and to those nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." (Matthew 24:15-22)

6.  And here is the final verse showing the carnage that will result from the Tribulation. This next verse says that two thirds of the Jewish people will be killed by the Antichrist. This is going to be worse than the German holocaust!

I think in one of the books I read, two thirds of the Jewish people will equate to 9.3 million Jews being killed by this one man. This will top the 6 million Jews that were killed in the German holocaust. However this verse does not tell us how many of the Christians will be killed by the Antichrist.

"And it shall come to pass in all the land," says the Lord, "THAT TWO-THIRDS IN IT SHALL BE CUT OFF AND DIE. BUT ONE-THIRD SHALL BE LEFT IN IT: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people'; and each one will say, ‘The Lord is My God.’ " (Zechariah 13:8-9)

The end of the Great Tribulation will now lead up to the Battle of Armageddon, which will be the last and final battle before Jesus comes back to put an end to the Antichrist, the False Prophet, Satan and all the other nations who are coming against Israel in this final battle.

The Battle of Armageddon

This will be the last and final event of the Great Tribulation. The Bible says that immediately after the Tribulation occurs, Jesus will return back to us for His second coming! Here are 2 key verses on this battle and how it all gets set up to occur.

1.  This 1st verse is very interesting. It implies that the Antichrist does not have full control over the entire world. It says that he hears news from the east and north that trouble him. This news causes him to go out in great fury to annihilate many. My guess is that China and Russia do not want to come under his rule and they are setting up to come directly against him. Here is the verse:

"But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him." (Daniel 11:44-45)

2.  In this next verse, the word Armageddon is actually used to describe the place where this battle is going to take place. Armageddon is the plain of Megiddo which forms the only pass through the mountains which enters from the North and South of Israel. It is in northern part of Israel and it is a natural pass from the Mediterranean Sea through the mountains and the interior of Israel.

This next verse tells us that the Euphrates River will dry up so that a pass and a way is made for the kings of the east to come against Israel and the Antichrist in this last battle. Here are the verses describing all of this:

"Then the sixth angel poured his bowel on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty ... And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon." (Revelation 16:12-16)

Also notice that the demons that are in the Antichrist and False Prophet will be the ones that will go out and draw the rest of the nations to Armageddon for this last and final battle. Talk about sheep being led to the slaughter!

The stage is now set. You have what is probably China and some other Asian nations coming in from the east. Possibly Russia and her Arab allies coming from the north and the troops from the Antichrist’s 10 nation European confederacy coming in from the east - all converging onto Armageddon to battle it out to see who will rule the world. What happens next? Read on.

The Second Coming of Jesus

1.  In this first verse, God says He will allow all the nations of the world to come against Jerusalem. This verse tells us that Jerusalem will be taken, the houses will be rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city will actually go into captivity, but the one third remnant will not be killed during this takeover. Remember, two thirds of the Jewish people will be killed, one third will not.

It’s right at this point that Jesus will come forth to fight for His people and put an end to all this bloodshed and carnage. His feet will land on the Mount of Olives. Here is this most powerful verse!

"Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

Then you shall flee through My mountain valley ... Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You ... And the Lord shall be King over all the earth ... The people shall dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths." (Zechariah 14:1-12)

2.  Notice the very graphic description of what God is going to do to Israel’s enemies. This will be the wrath of God coming into full manifestation.

Now watch what happens in the next verse. God calls out to the birds in the air and will allow these birds to feed off the flesh of the army that He has just destroyed. The last part of this verse will then tell you what Jesus will do with the Antichrist and False Prophet. These two will be the first ones to actually get thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet, who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh." (Revelation 19:17-21)

3.  Now what happens to Satan, the Dragon who orchestrated all of the events of the Great Tribulation? Jesus will now have him chained up and thrown into the bottomless pit for the entire length of His Millennium Kingdom. Here is the verse specifically describing this incredible event.

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him up for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while." (Revelation 20:1-3)

As you will see a little further down, God will let Satan loose for a little while at the end of the 1000 Millennium to set up one more battle before we finally get the new heaven and new earth.

4.  Here is another verse that shows us that Jesus will be coming back immediately after the Great Tribulation has run its course.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31)

Here is another verse on Jesus' second coming and the vengeance that He will be taking on the wicked.

"... since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed." (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)

5.  Now here is the verse that says that Jesus will be setting up a 1000 year Millennium Kingdom where He will rule this entire earth from the city of Jerusalem.

"And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. AND THEY LIVED AND REIGNED WITH CHRIST FOR A THOUSAND YEARS." (Revelation 20:4)

6.  Now what happens after the 1000 years are up? Two events will occur. Satan is let loose for a short period of time to try and set up one last battle against God and His people. God then finally throws him in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where He had just thrown the Antichrist and False Prophet 1000 years earlier. And we then get a new heaven and a new earth. Here are the two verses.

"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle ... They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and its beloved city.

And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." ( Revelation 20:7)

Notice in the above verse that Satan once more surrounds what would appear to be the city of Jerusalem. But this time it appears that God will stop him dead in his tracks before he can even begin to launch an attack against God’s people. He is then thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone and that will be the last that we will ever hear from this blasphemous creature - ever again!

Now here is the final chapter to the whole saga. After Satan is permanently taken out for good, the old earth and old heaven will pass away, and a new heaven and new earth will now be given to God's people. Here is the verse that describes what our incredible final ending will be with the Lord.

"AND I SAW A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I will make all things new."

And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son.

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:1-8)

Notice that in addition to a new earth and a new heaven, we also get a new city - the New Jerusalem. God the Father will also dwell with us in this new heaven and new earth along with His Son! There will be no more death, no more pain and no more sorrow.

Now here is another verse telling us what this new heaven and new earth will be like.

"But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light.

And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in the light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (and there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." (Revelation 21:22-27)

Here is another verse on the new heaven and new earth and what we will have in it.

"And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall be no night there: they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever." (Revelation 22:3-5)

This verse tells us that the curse of Adam and Eve will have finally been broken and done away with. We will never die again. No more sickness, disease, hunger, crime, Satan, demons, bad people or any type of aging or corruption. We will truly be in paradise in this new heaven and new earth and we will forever remain in this perfect God-environment for all of eternity! Is this a storybook ending or what!

The above verse also tells us that both Jesus and God the Father will dwell and live with us in this new paradise and we will all have direct access to the both of Them! We will no longer have need of a Jewish Temple because God and Jesus will now be the temple of God Themselves. We will now be able to worship Them direct.

Conclusion

1.  Where is the Rapture in all of this? There is a big debate in the Body as to whether or not there is going to be a Rapture. If there is going to be a Rapture, it will probably occur at one of three possible points:

a. Right before the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation.

b. Right at the midpoint of the Tribulation at the three and half year mark where the Antichrist seats himself up in the Temple and proclaims himself to be God and starts the persecution of Jews and Christians.

c. Right before the battle of Armageddon.

I will be doing a separate article specifically on the possibility of a Rapture. I personally believe that there will be a Rapture of God’s saints - and that it will occur sometime BEFORE the start of the 7 year Great Tribulation.

2.  Where is the United States in all of this? People who study Bible Prophecy are having a hard time finding where we fit into all the above events. There is one very interesting verse that might give us a clue.

This verse says that once the last part of the Tribulation starts with the persecution of the Jews, that Israel was given "two wings of a great eagle" to fly into where nourishment and protection was given to her.

Some people think that it might be referring to the United States since our national symbol is that of an eagle. Others feel that the eagle refers directly to God Himself, and that God will arrange for some type of protection for the one-third of the Jews who will not be killed by the Antichrist.

I cannot find any other verses at this time that would answer this question. If it is us, then that would mean we do not become part of the 10 nation confederacy that the Antichrist will rule from. We would continue to hold our superpower status and would somehow stay isolated out of all these events.

However, the other possibility is that once God raptures all of the Christians out of America, that we will lose our superpower status and will cease to have any bearing or influence on future world events. Once America’s power has been completely taken off of the world scene, this will then free the Antichrist to be able take center stage as ruler over a 10 nation European confederacy.

Of these two possibilities, I would say the second scenario may be the most plausible and most logical. And that may explain why America does not seem to be mentioned anywhere in the Bible in reference to end time events.

Our country has been truly founded on the basics of true Christianity. Once all of the real Christians have been taken up to heaven in this Rapture, our country could literally fall apart overnight since God’s hand operating through all of His people will no longer be in control of things. Our country may end up going down as a final history lesson on what will happen to a country that has been founded on God and true Christian principles and then those Christians are taken out of the big picture.

The only reason we are the world’s only superpower at this time is due to the anointing that God Himself has placed on this country as a result of our initial Christian foundations that were established with Him. It has only been the power of God operating on this country that has made us the superpower we are today.

Once God’s people are taken out of this big picture, I believe that our country will literally fall apart overnight, and the Antichrist and his 10 nation European confederacy will move in very quickly to take our place as the world’s only true superpower.

This also may explain how the Antichrist will literally be able to take control of the entire world in such a short period of time. With America being left completely powerless with the loss of so many Christians, and no other countries big enough or powerful enough to take our place, the Antichrist, with his 10 nation European confederacy, will be the next one in line to have the muscle, technology and ability to replace us as the next world superpower.

Now here is the verse about Israel being given protection under the two wings of a great eagle if the first possibility actually occurs where our country will be used by God to provide safe harbor for the persecuted Jews:

"But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent." (Revelation 12:14)

You definitely know that verse is talking about the last half of the Tribulation because it uses the words "time and times and half a time." This is the same phrase used by Daniel in his prophecy and it has already been determined to be three and half years!

3.  One last point to mention on all of the above. Why would God allow such bloodshed and persecution to come upon His own chosen people, the Jewish people?

First they go through horrible persecution after they are dispersed out of Rome in 70 AD. Then they go through the German holocaust where 6 million of their own are killed by Hitler. And now they are going to have two thirds of their own killed in the coming holocaust with the Antichrist.

Here is the verse that specifically tells us why God has allowed so much persecution to fall upon these people throughout the ages:

"The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them." (Ezekiel 39:23-24)

The Bible also says that the Jewish people will go into extreme mourning when they see Jesus come back for the second time. They will see the nail scars in his hands and feet and will realize that Jesus was their true Messiah and they were the ones who initially rejected Him and His message of eternal salvation. However, God, in His incredible love and mercy for these people, will take them back and they will continue to be His chosen people.

God said in the Old Testament that He would not forsake the covenant that He made with their earlier forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that He would bring them back to their homeland of Israel in the latter days. And once the Great Tribulation has fully ended, they would never again be uprooted or suffer any more persecution from anyone else ever again.

The Jewish people will serve as a final testament to all of us regarding the consequences of forsaking and going against God the Father. There are no middle roads or neutral grounds on each person's choice as to who they should be serving in this life. You either choose God and Jesus and live this life the way They want you to live it, or your choose your own way or the ways of this world and die!

The sad thing about all of this is that God will never force Himself on you to make you choose Him and His ways of living in this life. He will make sure that the knowledge is given to each and every person, but it is up to each person to make their own individual choice on this matter. There will only be maximum life in the New Heaven and New Earth or maximum death in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone for each individual when everything is all finally said and done.

The above commentary on end time events literally tells us that everyone is either going to end up in the New Heaven and New Earth, or in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone with the Devil, all of his demons, the Antichrist and False Prophet - where everyone will be tormented in this horrible place forever and ever!

There are no middle or neutral grounds! It's all or nothing. Jesus Himself has said that those who are not with Him are against Him. There is no middle ground for people to go into if they don’t want to accept God or the devil. If you don’t want God and accept what He has to offer to you through the Blood of His Son, then you will eventually end up in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

This is the cold hard reality of what the real big picture is all about - and the sad thing about all of this is that an awful lot of people are going to end up making the wrong choice on the most important decision that they will ever make in this life, and not even God Himself will interfere with each person's individual choice on this matter.

For those of you who do not know much about end time events, you may want to print this article out and keep it on the shelf in the event that all of this starts to occur in our lifetime. All of the above is a broad overview of all the major events and the order in which they will occur. I just wanted to stay with the big main events in this article. There is a lot more to all of this.

For more additional detailed information on all the incredible end time events that will be occurring, please go to our section titled "The 2nd Coming of Jesus." In this section will be additional end time articles giving you more details on some of the other incredible events that will be occurring during this time period.

 

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Michael Bradley
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Scripture taken from New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005-2008 by Michael Bradley.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.