End times timeline — rapture, antichrist, and tribulation?

Bible Question:

What is the timeline of the end times? What is the order of the rapture, the antichrist, the peace treaty, the tribulation, and the Day of Lord?

Bible Answer:

The timeline of the future end times is revealed in Daniel 9:27 and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. So, the question is what is the order of events. Is it the rapture, the antichrist, the peace treaty with Israel, and then the Day of the Lord? The answer is provided in this article.

End Times Timeline

The timing of the rapture relative to the signing of the Antichrist’s treaty cannot be known with confidence. But there is enough biblical support to provide a fairly confident timeline of the end times events.

The first important piece of the puzzle is to note that Daniel 9:27 says the Antichrist will make the peace treaty with Israel. When that occurs, the seven-year tribulation will start. That means the Day of the Lord commences with the signing of the peace treaty, unless there is a time delay as to when the peace starts. We will assume there is no time delay with the inception of the treaty.

The second piece of the puzzle is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:9. The passage describes the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 describes a time of peace and safety. Then 1 Thessalonians 5:9 promises believers that they will not have to live during the tribulation. That is, the rapture occurs before peace and safety which is the first part of the last seven-years described in Daniel 9:27. That peace starts when the antichrist signs the peace treaty (Daniel 9:27).

The third piece of the puzzle is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 where we are told the apostasy and the man of lawlessness must be revealed before the Day of the Lord will occur (v. 3). When the Antichrist signs the peace treaty, the Antichrist’s identity will become obvious. For he will sign the treaty on behalf of ten nations with Israel.

Now when does the rapture occur? Since the Day of the Lord is a time of judgment and Revelation 3:10 promises that believers will be kept from the tribulation, that means the rapture must occur before the Antichrist signs the peace treaty. When the Antichrist signs the treaty, his identity is revealed. That is when the Day of the Lord begins. The Day of the Lord includes the Tribulation, Armageddon, the second coming of Christ, the Goat and Sheep Judgment, the millennial kingdom, a short rebellion, and then the White Throne Judgment. For additional details about the future timeline, visit “God’s Plan For The Future — What does the Bible say about the future?”

Conclusion:

We should remember that God has not revealed everything in the end times timeline that He has planned. But given the biblical evidence we have, we have provided an overview that we can watch. But do not be surprised if some additional things occur.

Before we close, believers should remember that the apostle John said that when Jesus appears, we will become like Him. That promise alone should motivate us to pursue a life of righteousness.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:2-3 (NASB)

Non-Christians or unbelievers should be warned that Jesus warned unbelievers that they must be ready for His coming. That is, they must become a Christian or they will be sent to hell in (Matthew 25:1-13). Therefore, if you are not a Christian, you are urged to read “Searching for God — In Search of God — Go To Heaven.”

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