Overview

Within the past sixty years, many Biblical prophecies have been fulfilled. To name a few:

• The rise of the European Union (Daniel 7:7; Revelation 13)

• The creation of a European army (Daniel 11:38-39)

• The rebirth of the nation of Israel after about 1900 years and the return of the Jews to their own land (Jeremiah 23:7-8 and many other places)

• Personal identification chips - now used widely (Revelation 13:16-18)

• Instantaneous worldwide communication (Revelation 11:9-10)

• Explosion of knowledge in the last days (Daniel 12:4)

• Jerusalem - a source of worldwide contention (Zechariah 12:2-3)

• The Jewish Temple ready for rebuilding and sacrifices resuming (Daniel 9:27)

• A decline in the moral behavior of society (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

• Terrible catastrophes and natural devastation increasing (Luke 21:25-26; Luke 21:10-11)

But what does this mean for us? The Bible foretold that all these things would happen shortly before Jesus Christ returns to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and sets up the fifth and final kingdom that Daniel prophesied.

But before that could occur, Jesus spoke of a time of great trouble that would come upon the earth (Matthew 24:21, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be”). According to Daniel, the head of the European Union will broker an agreement with many nations including Israel. The deal will be agreed to for a period of seven years (Daniel 9:27). Under it, the Jews will be permitted to rebuild their temple, and the sacrificial system will be set up again. There will be a period of relative calm, but it will be short-lived.

Halfway through the seven year period, the Antichrist (the head of the European Union) will turn his back on the agreement and stop the sacrifices (Daniel 11:30-31). He will sit in the Jewish Temple, and proclaim himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), and cause as many as would not worship him to be killed (Revelation 13:15). He will deceive the whole world, as Satan will enable him to do great “lying wonders”, such as call fire down from heaven (Revelation 13:13-14). He will force everyone to take a mark, and if they do not, they will not be allowed to buy or sell; he will also have them killed (Revelation 13:16-17). However, those who take the mark are doomed for eternity because God says that anyone who takes the mark will not enter Heaven (Revelation 14:9-11).

There will also be terrible disasters occurring on earth during this time, among which are war (Revelation 13:4), the greatest earthquake the world has ever seen destroying the cities of the earth (Revelation 16:18-19), a possible meteor strike causing the death of a sizable amount of vegetation and sea life (Revelation 8:7-9), water problems (Revelation 8:10-11), the sun darkened possibly from terrible pollution (Matthew 24:29), problems with the ozone layer (Revelation 16:8-9), killer hail stones (Revelation 16:21) and much more. Revelation states that a fourth of the earth’s population will die because of these things (Revelation 6:8).

The Antichrist will then gather his armies, along with all the armies of the world for a final showdown, to take control of Jerusalem by force, and wipe out the Jews once and for all (Joel 3:2). As the seven year period comes to a close, the Lord Jesus Christ will return with the armies of heaven to defeat the Antichrist and his armies and save Jerusalem (Revelation 19). After all this, God will set up the fifth and final kingdom which will last for one thousand years (Revelation 20). After that, He will make everything new (Revelation 21).

The Rapture is an event that will take place sometime in the future. Jesus will come in the air, call up His followers from Earth, and then return to Heaven with His followers. There are differing views on when the Rapture will actually occur. But, whether Jesus returns for His followers before, during, or after the tribulation (the seven year period), everyone should be ready to face the Lord and give an account of their lives. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, we are given a clear description of the rapture: “…the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air...” The Rapture is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

When followers of Christ see all the things prophesied for the tribulation begin to come to pass, they are instructed to look up and lift up their heads, for their redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28). The direction of current events should alert those who are saved to lift up their heads.

Compiled from the following sources: http://www.evenmore.co.uk/prophecy/whatitmeans.html; http://www.raptureready.com/faq/faq149.html; http://www.raptureready.com/faq/faq446.html