“So let’s learn, let’s press on to know the Lord. His appearance is as sure as the dawn…” Hosea 6:3
Introduction
God has made the prophetic plan for the end of the age understandable for young and old alike. Not all things have been revealed at this point, some things remain God’s mysteries, but “the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may follow all the words of this Law” (Deut. 29:29).
As stewards of the revealed mysteries of God, we must be found trustworthy (1 Cor. 4:1-2). Our goal is to be like the noble Bereans who eagerly searched the Scriptures daily to test what they heard to make sure it aligned with God’s truth (Acts 17:11). It is good to be diligent and show ourselves approved, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). The Apostle Paul tells us a great wealth “comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in the true knowledge of God’s mystery” (Col. 2:2).
A word of caution…we must not get caught up in prophetic details more than we seek to know Jesus the Messiah. In Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3) and in His coming “the mystery of God is finished” (Rev. 10:7). The entire plan of redemption points to the revealing of the Messiah, so we seek to know Him above all and then everything else that follows.
With that foundation laid for our studies, we can put together prophetic puzzle pieces based purely on Scripture to create a clear timeline of events. This way when prophetic events begin to take shape on the stage of history, we’ll know how they all fit together.
Following are five main prophetic sections, focusing on the most important details covered in Scripture. You can see the biblical emphasis assigned to each by the amount of Scripture references that follow them. When you click each link, a new tab opens with all the verses listed from that bullet point. This way you can read them all at once and gain a complete understanding of that topic.
The Final Seven Years
– A man of intrigue arises, one shrewd and deceitful
(Daniel 8:9-14; Dan. 8:23-26; Daniel 11:21-24)
– A deceptive “peace and safety” leads to the beginning of birth pains, which increase in frequency and intensity (1 Thess. 5:1-3, Matt. 24:8; Mark 13:8; John 16:20-22)
– Great apostasy, falling away from the faith
(Matthew 24:9-13; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; 2 Tim. 3:1-5,10-13; 2 Tim. 4:3-5; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 2:18-20)
– False messiahs (Matt. 24:5,24; 2 Cor. 10:14-15; 1 John 2:18-24; 1 John 4:1-6; 2 John 1:7-11)
– Wars and rumors of wars (Matt. 24:6-7)
– Famines and earthquakes (Matt. 24:7)
Great Tribulation (Final 3½ Years)
– War in Heaven with the Dragon (Rev. 12:3-4,7,13-17; Rev. 13:5)
– The anti-messiah sets himself as a god in the Third Temple, this event is known as the Abomination of Desolation
(Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31-32,36-39; Daniel 12:11-12; Matt. 24:15-22, Luke 21:20-24, 2 Thess. 2:1-4; Rev. 13:5,14-15)
– Time of Jacob’s Trouble
(Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:7,11-12; Deut. 31:29; Ezekiel 20:33-37; Hosea 6:1-3; Micah 4:10; Rev. 12:1,6,14)
– Jerusalem trampled, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled
(Luke 21:24; Isaiah 10:24-27)
– War against the Saints, until the full number of Martyrs is reached
(Daniel 7:21,22,25,27; Daniel 11:32-35; Daniel 12:3,7,10; Matt. 24:9-10; John 12:24-26; Ephesians 6:13; Rev. 6:9-11,7:13-17; Rev. 12:10-12,17; Rev. 13:7-10; Rev. 20:4)
– False Prophet deceives many, gives the Mark of the Beast
(Rev. 13:11-18; Rev. 19:20-21)
– Two Witnesses in Jerusalem
(Rev. 11:3-13; Zech. 4:11-14; Malachi 3:1; Malachi 4:5; Isaiah 40:3-5; Matt. 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13)
– Gospel preached to the whole world
(Isaiah 49:6; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 14:6-7)
Day of the Lord/The Last Day
– Enemy nations gather for Armageddon
(Rev. 16:13-16; Ezekiel 38:14-17; Isaiah 13:3-13; Isaiah 34:1-10; Isaiah 66:18-19,24; Zech. 12:1-3,8-10; Joel 3:1-2,9-14)
– Sounding of the final trumpet, quite possibly on the Feast of Trumpets, announces the coming of the King of kings
(Joel 2:1-2; Zeph. 1:14-16; Zech. 9:11-16; Matt. 24:29-31; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 11:15-19)
– Dead rise, the Saints still alive added, all caught up to meet the Messiah at His coming
(1 Thess. 4:15-17; Isaiah 26:19; Matt. 24:31; John 6:39-40,44,54; 1 Cor. 15:50-58; 1 John 3:1-2)
– The Messiah returns to defeat His enemies, save Israel with the grafted-in Gentiles, and set up His eternal kingdom
(Zech. 14:3-5,12-14; Isaiah 63:1-6; Isaiah 59:16-19; Daniel 7:13-14; Rev. 11:15-19)
– Prophecy is fulfilled by the Messiah defending Israel, a display of His covenantal love and faithfulness
(Exodus 15:17-18; Deut. 20:3-4; Deut. 32:36; Psalm 57:1; Jeremiah 30:7-11; Ezekiel 39:22; Joel 3:1-2,14-17; Micah 5:3-6; Habakkuk 3:3-4,12-13; Zeph. 3:14-17; Zech. 9:16; Haggai 2:6-7,9,21-22; John 14:18-19)
– Great earthquake, torrential rain, hailstones, fire and brimstone
(Psalm 50:1-6; Psalm 97:1-6; Ezekiel 38:14-23; Isaiah 13:10-13; Isaiah 24:19-23; Isaiah 66:15-16; Joel 2:10-11,30-31; Nahum 1:5-6; Matt. 24:29-31; Rev. 6:12-14; Rev. 11:15-19; Rev. 16:17-21)
– The sky is rolled up like a scroll
(Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah 51:6; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Psalm 102:25-27; Matt. 24:35; Heb. 1:10-12)
– The earth is reaped and the Messiah treads the Wine Press of God’s wrath
(Rev. 16:1-21; Isaiah 63:1-6; Isaiah 34:1-8; Joel 3:13; Jeremiah 25:30-33; Obadiah 1:15-17; Matt. 13:36-50; Jude 1:14-15; Rev. 14:9-11,14-20; Rev. 19:11-16)
– With the conclusion of the Bowl Judgments, the wrath of God is finished (Rev. 15:1,8; Rev. 16:17)
– Satan bound for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:1-3)
– The separation of the wicked and the righteous
(Matt. 13:40-43; Matt. 13:49-50; Matt. 24:39-42; John 5:29,15:6; Acts 17:31,24:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Isaiah 26:20-21; Isaiah 27:12-13; Daniel 12:2)
– The First Resurrection of the Saints, given their eternal inheritance
(Daniel 12:13, Isaiah 61:6-10; Matt. 25:31-34; John 11:25-26; 2 Cor. 5:10; Hebrews 9:27-28; Rev. 11:18; Rev. 20:4-6, 22:12)
Millennial Kingdom
– God tabernacling with the Saints
(Isaiah 4:2-6, 12:6; Isaiah 51:3; Joel 3:16-17,21; Zech. 1:14-17; Zech. 2:5,10-12; Zech. 8:1-3,7-8; Hebrews 12:22-24; Rev. 19:7-9)
– A Sabbath’s rest for the people of God
(Hebrews 4:8-9; Daniel 7:18,27; Rev. 14:13, 20:4-6)
– Feast days celebrated in Zion
(Isaiah 66:20-23; Nahum 1:15; Zech. 14:16-19)
– Nations stream to Zion
(Psalm 22:27-31; Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 60:3,5,10-12,14-16; Jeremiah 3:17; Daniel 7:13-14,27; Micah 4:1-3)
– The earth will be full of the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea
(Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14; Zech. 9:10; Zech. 14:9)
– Satan’s final rebellion and defeat (Rev. 20:7-10; Isaiah 14:4-17)
– Great White Throne judgment, the Second Death (Rev. 20:5,11-15, 21:8)
New Heavens and New Earth
– God’s throne will be among Zion forever
(Ezekiel 37:26-28; Daniel 2:44; Psalm 76:1-2; Psalm 132:13-14; Isaiah 51:6,16; Ezekiel 48:35; Micah 4:1-8; Zech. 1:16-17; Rev. 21:1-3; Rev. 22:3-5)
– Righteousness alone dwells here, no more wickedness
(Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 52:1; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 21:27, 22:3)
– No more death or mourning
(Rev. 21:3-4; Isaiah 25:6-9; Isaiah 51:11, 60:20, 61:3,20; 65:17-19)
– New Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:1-5; Rev. 21:9-27; John 14:2-3)
– Nations bring their wealth and glory to Zion (Rev. 21:23-26)
Summary
Since all that was prophesied about the first coming of Messiah has been fulfilled, we can have faith in the complete fulfillment of the events pertaining to His second coming as well. Jesus told His disciples in Luke 24:44, “…all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Every prophetic event that is prophesied in Scripture but has yet been fulfilled will indeed come to pass!
All Scripture taken from New American Standard Bible. Photo credit: FabrikaPhoto, Envato.com.
