What Do You Think Comes Next - In Biblical Prophecy?

[VCO]

Please provide a passage which distinguishes between a "tribulation" saint and a Pre-Trib Saint?

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (NASB)
[SUP]9 [/SUP] For God has not destined us for wrath{the Church Age Saints}, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
[SUP]10 [/SUP] who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
[SUP]11 [/SUP] Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

Revelation 3:10 (NKJV)
[SUP]10 [/SUP] Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you {the Church Age Saints} from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Revelation 6:17 (NKJV)
[SUP]17 [/SUP] For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

Revelation 6:9-11 (NKJV)
[SUP]9 [/SUP] When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God {Tribulation Saints} and for the testimony which they held.
[SUP]10 [/SUP] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
[SUP]11 [/SUP] Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Revelation 20:4 (HCSB)
[SUP]4 [/SUP] Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge {the Church Age Saints} . ⌊I⌋ also ⌊saw⌋ the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands {Tribulation Saints}. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years.


Revelation 7:13-14 (HCSB)
[SUP]13 [/SUP] Then one of the elders {of the Church Age Saints} asked me, “Who are these people robed in white, and where did they come from?” {The ELDER of the Church does not recognize who they might be.}
[SUP]14 [/SUP] I said to him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation{Tribulation Saints}. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

[john832]

Beast power emerges in Europe.

 

[PlainWord]

Revelation 7:9-17 (KJV) [SUP]9 [/SUP]After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; [SUP]10 [/SUP]And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. [SUP]11 [/SUP]And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, [SUP]12 [/SUP]Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. [SUP]13 [/SUP]And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? [SUP]14 [/SUP]And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. [SUP]15 [/SUP]Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. [SUP]16 [/SUP]They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. [SUP]17 [/SUP]For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

You are showing a passage which clearly tells us there will be believers here on earth during the tribulation. But, you have not provided a passage which distinguishes between a tribulation saint and a pre-tribulation saint. Jesus tells us also in Mat 24 that the ELECT will be on earth during the Tribulation. Jesus doesn't breath a word about taking any ELECT or Saint off the earth and removing them to heaven before the Tribulation.

1. Please show me any passage which locates a return of Christ BEFORE the Tribulation.
2. Please show me any passage where two distinct returns of Christ are taught.
3. Please show me a passage where any living person is removed from the planet and taken alive to heaven to avoid the tribulation.
4. Please show me a passage that the often taught doctrine that we must endure tribulation is reversed for the end times church.
5. Again, please show me any passage where any distinction is made between a pre-trib saint and a trib saint. Or, show me a "left behind" teaching.

 

[PlainWord]

VCO,

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (NASB)
[SUP]9 [/SUP] For God has not destined us for wrath{the Church Age Saints}, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
[SUP]10 [/SUP] who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
[SUP]11 [/SUP] Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

God's wrath comes AFTER the Tribulation. You will find NO PASSAGE that locates the Wrath of God, or the Wrath of the Lamb during the Tribulation. Because of 2 Thes 2:9 and your failure to locate the wrath correctly, you jump to a false conclusion, one not taught, about the timing of Christ's return.

Go back one chapter and you will get the timing of God's wrath. Further you will see that God's Wrath is in response to the Tribulation that the wicked subject the righteous to during the Great Tribulation.

2 Thes 1:

6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,

7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,

8 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.

9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe...

We see clearly that God repays with Tribulation. This means we had to have been enduring tribulation first. We see that this wrath or vengeance comes "when the Lord is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels."

Now look at Mat 24. You will see the start and end of the Great Tribulation period. You see the ELECT are clearly on the earth and you see that God shortens those days for the sake of the ELECT. What you don't find is any wrath of God being poured out. God doesn't need to shorten His punishment to save His people. He shortens Satan's tribulation to protect His people. Then comes Christ, then comes the Wrath of God in response.

21 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.

22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.

24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

29 "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 the heavens will be shaken.

30 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.

31 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.

Clearly Christ returns AFTER the Tribulation - Not before. There is NO PASSAGE ANYWHERE that locates an additional, earlier return of Christ!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JimmieD]

So maybe you are looking at the wrong Prophecy:

I was talking about Damascus in response to another poster. The passage you list have to do with Babylon, which is a heap of ruins, btw. The Babylon that Jeremiah knew no longer exists.

 

[PlainWord]

Revelation 3:10 (NKJV)
[SUP]10 [/SUP] Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you {the Church Age Saints} from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Another false conclusion. You actually make two false conclusions here. First you think that the Church of Philadelphia represents the End Times church instead of seeing that all 7 churches are present at the end. Secondly, you see the phrase "keep from the hour of trial" and immediately conclude that this means we are taken off the planet to heaven. Was that how Noah was kept from the flood? Was that how the Israelites were kept from the Angel of Death during the Egyptian Passover? Was that how Lot survived Sodom? etc. etc.

Further you ignore the very next thing said in the passage from Rev 3:10.

which shall come upon the whole world

Do you see that??? It says the WHOLE WORLD will be tested, not just the unbelieving world. Now go back and look at Rev 2:22:

22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

Look at what the Lord threatens the Church of Thyatira with. GREAT TRIBULATION if she doesn't repent. How can she be subject to Great Tribulation if she isn't here?

Now ask yourself, "What is this HOUR of TRIAL" spoken of in Rev 3:10??? Here's the answer:

Mat 24:

23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.

24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Here it is again:

2 Thes 2:

3 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,

4 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.
Here it is again:

Rev 13:

14 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.

Here it is again:

Dan 11:

36 "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...

The Tribulation is a period of testing believers, not unbelievers. Satan already owns the unbeliever. He does not need to test them.

Now, back to the timing of God's Wrath. I just saw this again. Keep reading in Dan 11:36:

36 "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.

See that?? The False God will prosper until the Wrath (of God) has been accomplished.

 

[PlainWord]

VCO,

Revelation 6:17 (NKJV)
[SUP]17 [/SUP] For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

Revelation 6:9-11 (NKJV)
[SUP]9 [/SUP] When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God {Tribulation Saints} and for the testimony which they held.
[SUP]10 [/SUP] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
[SUP]11 [/SUP] Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Revelation 20:4 (HCSB)
[SUP]4 [/SUP] Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge {the Church Age Saints} . ⌊I⌋ also ⌊saw⌋ the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands {Tribulation Saints}. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years.


Revelation 7:13-14 (HCSB)
[SUP]13 [/SUP] Then one of the elders {of the Church Age Saints} asked me, “Who are these people robed in white, and where did they come from?” {The ELDER of the Church does not recognize who they might be.}
[SUP]14 [/SUP] I said to him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation{Tribulation Saints}. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

I see where you are going astray. You, like so many, misinterpret Revelation. The Revelation of Jesus Christ covers 3,000 + years. You are trying to fit most of it into a 3.5 to 7 year window known of the Great Tribulation. You see the 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls as all fitting into this narrow window when they don't. FYI, all of the Bowls are AFTER the Tribulation and most of the Seals are BEFORE the Tribulation. Further you don't understand that Revelation is a highly spiritual book with many spiritual symbols in use.

Because you don't understand Revelation (and I don't fully either and anyone who says they do are liars), you take misunderstood concepts from Revelation and try to apply them to passages outside of Revelation. I wonder, if Revelation did not exist, would you have the views you have about this additional, earlier return of Christ???

 

[jadeana42]

I think peace in Israel is next. I believe when Jesus died at the cross that was the start of the end times. Time in heaven and time here on earth don't match up. I believe that an hour in heaven could be a thousand years here on earth. And if you look in REVELATION, it seems to overlap like layers with all the Bible prophecy from the Old and New Testaments. My Sunday school class is really deep in REVELATION and our instructor really makes us think. I would like to think I'm on the trunk side of the tree and not the limb side, and it all boils down to whether you are a finder of God's will and ways or just a scholar looking for information.

 

[PlainWord]

Paul was crystal clear:

1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,

2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless...

Concerning the Return of Jesus and our gathering to Him, that day WILL NOT COME until there is a falling away and the Man of Sin is revealed.

Paul goes on to tell us NOT TO BE DECEIVED BY ANY MEANS concerning the timing of the Lord's return. So, if the Pre-Trib Rapture return is not real, would believing in it be an "ANY MEANS????"

Warnings are not given lightly. For Paul to warn us there must be two things:

1. A doctrine that runs contrary to Paul's teaching.
2. A negative consequence for disobeying the warning and believing in something that isn't taught.

We know this because Paul goes on to tell us this very thing.

15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

Paul NEVER teaches in an earlier return of Christ. Paul warns us against believing in anything that runs contrary to the order of appearance between Christ and the Man of Sin. The Man of Sin comes first, then Christ returns. That is the clear and consistent teaching found throughout the NT and OT for that matter.

 

[PlainWord]

I think peace in Israel is next. I believe when Jesus died at the cross that was the start of the end times. Time in heaven and time here on earth don't match up. I believe that an hour in heaven could be a thousand years here on earth. And if you look in REVELATION, it seems to overlap like layers with all the Bible prophecy from the Old and New Testaments. My Sunday school class is really deep in REVELATION and our instructor really makes us think. I would like to think I'm on the trunk side of the tree and not the limb side, and it all boils down to whether you are a finder of God's will and ways or just a scholar looking for information.

Close. A Day is like 1,000 years, not an hour.

2 Peter 3:

8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

 

[PlainWord]

You see, our faith must be tested.

Abraham was tested by God to show his obedience even to sacrificing his son, Issac. Fortunately, Abraham did not have to go through with it. His faithfulness and obedience was rewarded.

Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness prior to the start of His ministry.

We must all be tested during the Great Tribulation before we are able to enter the Kingdom of God.

[h=4]Acts 14:22 NKJV[/h] strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

There is no passage that tells us the saints of the end times are to avoid tribulation. We are to avoid God's Wrath but God's Wrath is NOT the Tribulation.

 

[JimmieD]

You see, our faith must be tested.

Abraham was tested by God to show his obedience even to sacrificing his son, Issac. Fortunately, Abraham did not have to go through with it. His faithfulness and obedience was rewarded.

Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness prior to the start of His ministry.

We must all be tested during the Great Tribulation before we are able to enter the Kingdom of God.

Acts 14:22 NKJV

strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

What does this passage have to do with the supposed "Great Tribulation?" It reads like Paul is talking about himself, Barnabas and the disciples in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. In fact, Luke had just told us about the sorts of tribulations Paul and the believers were experiencing:

14:19 But Jews came from Antioch[SUP] [/SUP]and Iconium,[SUP] [/SUP]and after winning[SUP] [/SUP]the crowds over, they stoned[SUP] [/SUP]Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead.​

 

[Agricola]

Its kind of pointless arguing over prophecy or trying to hammer home your version and interpretation of it. Prophecy gives us a few titbits of information, detailed enough to know when the events happen, but not enough we can set our watches by it. So when it happens it happens.

 

[PlainWord]

What does this passage have to do with the supposed "Great Tribulation?" It reads like Paul is talking about himself, Barnabas and the disciples in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. In fact, Luke had just told us about the sorts of tribulations Paul and the believers were experiencing:

14:19 But Jews came from Antiochand Iconium,and after winningthe crowds over, they stonedPaul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead.​

Can I suggest you search every use of the word, "Tribulation" in the Bible and see how it is used? You will find it used 22 times. 21 of those 22 times it always refers to persecution of believers by the wicked, including the passage I provided above. The only time it referred to God's wrath is in 2 Thes 1 when God will repay with tribulation those who are troubling us.

So to think the Great Tribulation is God's pouring out wrath on a sinful world while all Christians are taken to heaven to avoid this wrath is naive at best. The Great Tribulation is Christian (and Jewish) persecution on steroids. Nobody is going to be "raptured" off to heaven before this Tribulation. Proof is in Rev 7 where you find a Great Multitude of killed Christians who "came out of" Great Tribulation.

Coffee is brewing. It is time for some to wake up to the truth and start preparing your hearts, souls and minds.

 

[john832]

Can I suggest you search every use of the word, "Tribulation" in the Bible and see how it is used? You will find it used 22 times. 21 of those 22 times it always refers to persecution of believers by the wicked, including the passage I provided above. The only time it referred to God's wrath is in 2 Thes 1 when God will repay with tribulation those who are troubling us.

So to think the Great Tribulation is God's pouring out wrath on a sinful world while all Christians are taken to heaven to avoid this wrath is naive at best. The Great Tribulation is Christian (and Jewish) persecution on steroids. Nobody is going to be "raptured" off to heaven before this Tribulation. Proof is in Rev 7 where you find a Great Multitude of killed Christians who "came out of" Great Tribulation.

Coffee is brewing. It is time for some to wake up to the truth and start preparing your hearts, souls and minds.

Technically, the Great Tribulation lasts for 2-1/2 years and is the result of man under the influence of Satan. The final year is the Day of the Lord when God intervenes.

 

[dcontroversal]

I was talking about Damascus in response to another poster. The passage you list have to do with Babylon, which is a heap of ruins, btw. The Babylon that Jeremiah knew no longer exists.

True, but the one John saw by direct vision was and is not.....Mystery, BABYLON, THAT MEGA CITY<--6 times in Revelation

John knew about Rome as they had just exiled him to Patmos after an attempt to boil in oil (traditional view).........

End of the AGE city where the KINGS of the EARTH MEET............

Daughter of BABYLON...the HINDERMOST of the NATIONS

1872 BABYLON, LONG ISLAND comes into existence by the JEWS who settled there as it reminded them of their Babylonian captivity.......

 

[djness]

Eh... just cause you live near a city with a biblical name doesn't mean it's the one directly referenced in the bible. I used to live near damascus maryland. I don't think that is the damascus that is going to get razed...

Also. Jesus never went to any of these places.

• Bethlehem, Tennessee (7)​
• Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (2)​
• Bethlehem, South Dakota​
• Bethlehem, West Virginia (2)​
• Bethlehem, North Carolina (2)​
• Bethlehem, Maryland​
• Bethlehem, New Hampshire​
• Bethlehem, Connecticut​
• Bethlehem, Georgia (2)​
• Bethlehem, Ohio​
• Bethlehem, Missouri​
• Bethlehem, Mississippi​
• Bethlehem, Alabama (5)​
• Bethlehem, Texas (2)​
• Bethlehem, Arkansas​
• Bethlehem, Lousiana​
• Bethlehem, Florida​
• Bethlehem, Indiana​
• Bethlehem, Kentucky
  

  • Nazareth, Kentucky​
  • Nazareth, Pennsylvania​
  • Nazareth, Michigan​
  • Nazareth, Texas
    

    • Galilee, Rhode Island​
    • Galilee, Arkansas​
    • Galilee, Mississippi​
    • Galilee, New Jersey​
    • Galilee, New York​
    • Galilee, Pennsylvania​
    • Galilee, Texas (2)​

 

[JimmieD]

True, but the one John saw by direct vision was and is not.....Mystery, BABYLON, THAT MEGA CITY<--6 times in Revelation

John knew about Rome as they had just exiled him to Patmos after an attempt to boil in oil (traditional view).........

End of the AGE city where the KINGS of the EARTH MEET............

Daughter of BABYLON...the HINDERMOST of the NATIONS

1872 BABYLON, LONG ISLAND comes into existence by the JEWS who settled there as it reminded them of their Babylonian captivity.......

So we're now not talking about Isaiah 17 or Jeremiah 50-52, but moved on tosomething else. Ok. I'm going to drop out of the thread for a while since when I start talking about a passage up for discussion, the discussion jumps to something else.

 

[kennethcadwell]

If you're talking about Isaiah 17, that event probably occured when the Assyrians sacked Damascus in ~732 BC. The event is recorded in 2 Kings 16 and the inscriptions of Tiglath Pileser III.

2 Kings16:9 The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request;heattacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the peopleto Kir and executed Rezin.​

No those are two separate events, Isaiah 17 clearly shows that Damascus will no longer be a city.
It is still a city today, and yes biblical scholars have agreed that the Damascus in Isaiah 17 is the same Damascus in Syria.
So to those who want to say, well there are cities with the same name now that were names of cities in the bible does not mean they are the same one. To an extent you would be correct, but if you did historical and biblical study you would see that Damascus, Syria and Damascus in Isaiah 17 are one and the same city.

 

[VCO]

VCO,



I see where you are going astray. You, like so many, misinterpret Revelation. The Revelation of Jesus Christ covers 3,000 + years. You are trying to fit most of it into a 3.5 to 7 year window known of the Great Tribulation. You see the 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls as all fitting into this narrow window when they don't. FYI, all of the Bowls are AFTER the Tribulation and most of the Seals are BEFORE the Tribulation. Further you don't understand that Revelation is a highly spiritual book with many spiritual symbols in use.

Because you don't understand Revelation (and I don't fully either and anyone who says they do are liars), you take misunderstood concepts from Revelation and try to apply them to passages outside of Revelation. I wonder, if Revelation did not exist, would you have the views you have about this additional, earlier return of Christ???

No, My Understanding is as Follows. Most of Revelation is literally the Seventieth Week of Daniel, the final 7 year period before this verse Literally happens:

Revelation 19:11-21 (HCSB)
[SUP]11 [/SUP] Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness.
[SUP]12 [/SUP] His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on His head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself.
[SUP]13 [/SUP] He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is the Word of God.
[SUP]14 [/SUP] The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen.
[SUP]15 [/SUP] A sharp sword came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty.
[SUP]16 [/SUP] And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGSAND LORD OF LORDS.
[SUP]17 [/SUP] Then I saw an angel standing on the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
[SUP]18 [/SUP] so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”
[SUP]19 [/SUP] Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army.
[SUP]20 [/SUP] But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
[SUP]21 [/SUP] The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.


Therefore Rev. Chapter 4:1 through Rev. 19:21 is that Seven Year Period know as the Great Tribulation.

It is also the same Seven Year Period known as The Wedding of the Lamb, which takes place in the New Dwelling Place, the New City Jerusalem in Heaven.

The Calling Out of the Bride to go to Heaven for the Wedding of the Lamb (what some call the Rapture) takes place in the white spaces between Rev. 3:22 and Rev. 4:1. (No man knows the day or the Hour.)
http://christianchat.com/bible-disc...ng-out-bride-go-wedding-lamb.html#post1604022

The Seven Letters to the Churches, were real Churches that represented the Seven types of Churches that would exist at all times throughout Church History, and Christ recognized all SEVEN. They also were a representation of the type of Church that would dominate each age, throughout Church History, and they DID EXACTLY THAT IN THE EXACT ORDER THAT HE LISTED THEM. Therefore the Seven Letters to the Churches can also be viewed as an outline of Church History.

The Final three Chapters of Revelation take us from the imprisonment of Satan in the Abyss for a thousand years, THROUGH the Thousand Year Reign of Christ on the Throne of David, to Judgement Day, and on into the Eternal State of the New Heaven and New Earth.