I
When it comes to end time events, the description and order are as follows:
1. The Rapture of the Church: The rapture, describes the “catching up” of God’s people (believers) before the Tribulation period. This great event, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 happens when God calls His people up from the earth to meet Him in heaven. Those who are asleep in Christ are those whom are saved and have died before the rapture. They are called first and their bodies will rise up out of their graves. Their bodies will be glorified and be reunited with their awaiting souls. Likewise, those who are alive will then be changed from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of the eye and rise up (1 Corinthians 15:50-54) to meet with the others in the clouds.
The rapture is the next end time event that the children of God (believers) are awaiting. As the signs of the times progress toward God’s conclusion for Satan and His followers, believers can take comfort in the fact that while the rest of the world frets over the events occurring in the world, they are closer to escaping God’s judgment on the world. This makes the message of the gospel all the more important for God’s people to spread.
2. The Judgment Seat of Christ: This event may occur directly after the rapture when the saints stand before Christ to receive their rewards for the works they did while on this earth (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). In that examination, those works that are done out of a love for God or for our fellow man will be likened to gold, silver and precious stone. Those works done out of love of self will be likened to wood, hay, and stubble. These will all be tested by fire and those works that survive will result in rewards, those that don’t will be lost and result in no rewards. This is not the same as the Great White Throne Judgment for the unbelievers.
3. The Tribulation Period: This period begins at the rapture and lasts for seven years (Genesis 29:27-30; Daniel 9:27). Since the church will be raptured, this is a time known as Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) as it will be a period that Israel will endure (Matthew 24:21). It is also known as the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27)
(more details about the tribulation)
In Jer. 30:6 this period is called "the time of Jacob's trouble" because God is going to judge Israel as a nation by allowing Satan to "trouble" them (through the Antichrist) for rejecting Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Though Satan will have his own reasons for punishing the Jews, God will allow him to do it because they said concerning Christ "crucify him, crucify him" (John 19:6) and "his blood be on us and on our CHILDREN" (Matt. 27:25). God simply gives them their request. This is the time period Christ was referring to when He said, "...for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21). It will be disaster and sorrow on such a scale that the strongest men will hide in caves and beg for death (Rev. 6:15-16).
When Christ said, "I am come in my father's name, and ye receive me not, if another will come in his own name him ye will receive" (John 5:44), He was speaking of the coming Antichrist (also called "the Beast," "the man of sin," the "abomination of desolation," etc.). This evil character is second only to Christ as to the amount of information the Bible gives him. Daniel tells us he will make a covenant with Israel (Dan. 9:27) for "seven weeks" (years) and then break it in the middle (at 42 months). Many Jews will think him to be their Messiah until he breaks the covenant and demands to be worshiped as the God of Heaven (2 Thes. 2:4). When the Jews refuse, the Beast (now Satan incarnate) will persecute them with a fierce vengeance. He will slaughter millions of them (and also Gentiles who refuse to worship his image or take his mark—666, Rev. 13), but 144,000 will be sealed by God and protected from harm (Rev 14:3-4 says these are men and they are virgins). Some call this 144,000 the remnant.
Finally, after no more than seven years from the signing of the covenant, Jesus Christ will return and destroy the Beast and his armies at Armageddon. The few Jews that are left will then "look upon him whom they pierced" and receive Christ as their true Messiah and King. At that moment God will save them as a nation (Rom. 11:26). They will, after 20 centuries, have finally accepted Christ for WHO He really is—"God manifest in the flesh." Though the Tribulation will severely punish them, almost to extinction, God was forced to allow it to get them to receive the truth. Being "stiff-necked" (Acts 7:51) they would not accept it under any other means. Once they repent and receive Jesus Christ, they are then ready to receive the kingdom promised to their fathers Abraham and David.
Dispensationally, the Tribulation period is basically the Dispensation of the Law with a few added features. Since the Church will have left in the rapture, the parenthetical Dispensation of Grace will be gone along with the doctrines unique to it. Thus the nation of Israel will again be the main object of God's concern. There will be a temple in the Tribulation, sacrifices will be offered, and salvation will again have a Jewish ring to it.
4. The Second Coming: This occurs at the end of the tribulation period when Jesus returns to this earth with the believers. He comes to judge the nations (Isaiah 2:4; Revelation 11:18). He comes to set His feet on the Mount of Olives and claim the earth (Zechariah 14:1-4; Daniel 11-12, Ezekiel 38). He comes to provide living waters out of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8). The Battle of Armageddon is fought and then He binds Satan and establishes His Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14:9).
5. Great White Throne of Judgment: After the Millennium, Satan is loosed, defeated, and he is cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:7-10). All the lost, both great and small will be resurrected as part of a second resurrection and stand before Christ sitting on a great white throne. There He will judge them according to their works they have done as unsaved out of the books (Revelation 20:12-15) and cast into the Lake of Fire.
6. Eternity: Revelation 21-22 describes the blessings that await believers. This is the final destination, also known as the New Jerusalem
1. The Rapture of the Church: The rapture, describes the “catching up” of God’s people (believers) before the Tribulation period. This great event, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 happens when God calls His people up from the earth to meet Him in heaven. Those who are asleep in Christ are those whom are saved and have died before the rapture. They are called first and their bodies will rise up out of their graves. Their bodies will be glorified and be reunited with their awaiting souls. Likewise, those who are alive will then be changed from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of the eye and rise up (1 Corinthians 15:50-54) to meet with the others in the clouds.
The rapture is the next end time event that the children of God (believers) are awaiting. As the signs of the times progress toward God’s conclusion for Satan and His followers, believers can take comfort in the fact that while the rest of the world frets over the events occurring in the world, they are closer to escaping God’s judgment on the world. This makes the message of the gospel all the more important for God’s people to spread.
2. The Judgment Seat of Christ: This event may occur directly after the rapture when the saints stand before Christ to receive their rewards for the works they did while on this earth (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). In that examination, those works that are done out of a love for God or for our fellow man will be likened to gold, silver and precious stone. Those works done out of love of self will be likened to wood, hay, and stubble. These will all be tested by fire and those works that survive will result in rewards, those that don’t will be lost and result in no rewards. This is not the same as the Great White Throne Judgment for the unbelievers.
3. The Tribulation Period: This period begins at the rapture and lasts for seven years (Genesis 29:27-30; Daniel 9:27). Since the church will be raptured, this is a time known as Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) as it will be a period that Israel will endure (Matthew 24:21). It is also known as the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27)
(more details about the tribulation)
In Jer. 30:6 this period is called "the time of Jacob's trouble" because God is going to judge Israel as a nation by allowing Satan to "trouble" them (through the Antichrist) for rejecting Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Though Satan will have his own reasons for punishing the Jews, God will allow him to do it because they said concerning Christ "crucify him, crucify him" (John 19:6) and "his blood be on us and on our CHILDREN" (Matt. 27:25). God simply gives them their request. This is the time period Christ was referring to when He said, "...for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21). It will be disaster and sorrow on such a scale that the strongest men will hide in caves and beg for death (Rev. 6:15-16).
When Christ said, "I am come in my father's name, and ye receive me not, if another will come in his own name him ye will receive" (John 5:44), He was speaking of the coming Antichrist (also called "the Beast," "the man of sin," the "abomination of desolation," etc.). This evil character is second only to Christ as to the amount of information the Bible gives him. Daniel tells us he will make a covenant with Israel (Dan. 9:27) for "seven weeks" (years) and then break it in the middle (at 42 months). Many Jews will think him to be their Messiah until he breaks the covenant and demands to be worshiped as the God of Heaven (2 Thes. 2:4). When the Jews refuse, the Beast (now Satan incarnate) will persecute them with a fierce vengeance. He will slaughter millions of them (and also Gentiles who refuse to worship his image or take his mark—666, Rev. 13), but 144,000 will be sealed by God and protected from harm (Rev 14:3-4 says these are men and they are virgins). Some call this 144,000 the remnant.
Finally, after no more than seven years from the signing of the covenant, Jesus Christ will return and destroy the Beast and his armies at Armageddon. The few Jews that are left will then "look upon him whom they pierced" and receive Christ as their true Messiah and King. At that moment God will save them as a nation (Rom. 11:26). They will, after 20 centuries, have finally accepted Christ for WHO He really is—"God manifest in the flesh." Though the Tribulation will severely punish them, almost to extinction, God was forced to allow it to get them to receive the truth. Being "stiff-necked" (Acts 7:51) they would not accept it under any other means. Once they repent and receive Jesus Christ, they are then ready to receive the kingdom promised to their fathers Abraham and David.
Dispensationally, the Tribulation period is basically the Dispensation of the Law with a few added features. Since the Church will have left in the rapture, the parenthetical Dispensation of Grace will be gone along with the doctrines unique to it. Thus the nation of Israel will again be the main object of God's concern. There will be a temple in the Tribulation, sacrifices will be offered, and salvation will again have a Jewish ring to it.
4. The Second Coming: This occurs at the end of the tribulation period when Jesus returns to this earth with the believers. He comes to judge the nations (Isaiah 2:4; Revelation 11:18). He comes to set His feet on the Mount of Olives and claim the earth (Zechariah 14:1-4; Daniel 11-12, Ezekiel 38). He comes to provide living waters out of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8). The Battle of Armageddon is fought and then He binds Satan and establishes His Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14:9).
5. Great White Throne of Judgment: After the Millennium, Satan is loosed, defeated, and he is cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:7-10). All the lost, both great and small will be resurrected as part of a second resurrection and stand before Christ sitting on a great white throne. There He will judge them according to their works they have done as unsaved out of the books (Revelation 20:12-15) and cast into the Lake of Fire.
6. Eternity: Revelation 21-22 describes the blessings that await believers. This is the final destination, also known as the New Jerusalem