Where are we in the prophecy timeline?
That is a question that is on many people’s minds. Surprisingly the answer may be
in plain sight right before our eyes.
God in scripture gives us many end times
chronological parameters, one of the most important of which is contained in
Revelation 12, which details the sign of the woman clothed with the sun.
12 And there appeared a great
wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child
cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another
wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten
horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third
part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon
stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child
as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man
child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught
up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her
there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
7 And there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his
angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was
cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the
whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with
him.
10 And I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by
the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not
their lives unto the death.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye
heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of
the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time.
13 And when the dragon saw
that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth
the man child.
14 And to the woman were given
two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her
place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the
face of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast out of
his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be
carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the
woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the
dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth
with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep
the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
This passage presents a symbolic
representation of some of the events surrounding the first and second coming of
the great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The woman is the nation of
Israel, the child is the Lord Jesus.
For time sake we will not delve into all
the aspects of the passage, but let’s consider verse 6; And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of
God, that they should feed her there a thousand
two hundred and threescore days.
This verse succinctly tells us how long Israel
will flee into the wilderness during the end times to escape the persecution of
the antichrist—1260 days—3.5 years. Will this fleeing occur in the first half
of the 7 years or the second half of the 7 years?
The answer is self evident; since Israel
is running from the antichrist that infers that he is in power. So when does
the antichrist come to power? Since his reign of terror ends at Armageddon and
also lasts 3.5 years, as indicated by verse 5 below, that implies that he takes
over the world and wages his war of persecution against Jews and Christians during
the second half of the 7 years.
13 And I stood upon the sand
of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten
horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw
was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth
as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great
authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads
as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the
dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying,
Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him
a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Thus
sometime after the sign of the woman clothed with the sun occurs, the
antichrist takes over the world and persecutes Jews and Christians (Seal 5). After
his 3.5 year reign he is defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ at Armageddon.
Therefore if we know when the sign of
the woman clothed with the sun occurs, we could then know where we are in the
end times prophecy timeline.
Many believe the sign of the woman
clothed with the sun will occur on 9/23/2017. (See Chapter 12 of The
Coming Epiphany
for a detailed
explanation)Thus, if the sign
occurs just before or at the midpoint of the last 7 years, then the antichrist
will take over the world just after this sign, and that further implies that
the last 7 years has already begun J.
(Note: The other possibility for the
timing of the woman clothed with the sun is that it occurs at the beginning of
the 70th Week and not near the midpoint. If that is the case then
the timeline would begin in 2017 and the antichrist would take over the world
circa 2021.)
Along with these “order out of chaos”
planned destructions brought upon the world by the devil and his followers, the
Words of the Lord allow us to conclude that several other events are possible.
25 And there shall be signs in
the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them
for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for
the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
27 And then shall they see the
Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 And when these things begin
to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption
draweth nigh. Luke 21
In light of the Words of the Lord Jesus
above many fearful things will occur before our redemption at the rapture, and thus
before the midpoint and the time when the antichrist takes over the world. Here
are some things, in no particular order, that are possibilities for what may
occur before the takeover.
Financial downturns--hyperinflation
Large earthquakes—New Madrid, West coast,
Japan, Central America…
Large volcanic eruptions—Yellowstone,
Fuji, Popo…
Infrastructure and supply breakdowns
Hoover dam destruction—antichrist breaking
waters birthing ritual
North Korean nuclear crisis
Dividing of the land of Israel
Antichrist assassination then brought
back to life
Destruction of the sovereignty of
nations and establishment of the New World Order
Establishment of one world religion
Establishment of one world financial
system (mark of the beast)
Again these are the things that are
probable as occurring before the antichrist takes over the world. After he
takes over the world he will establish the mark of the beast financial system,
and wage his war against Jews and Christians (Seal 5).
Then after those events, at an
undisclosed time, Seal 6 will be opened, and its associated events will occur,
which includes the rapture.
12 And I beheld when he had
opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun
became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven
fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is
shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as
a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved
out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth,
and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty
men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in
the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains
and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his
wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Rev 6
Notice what happens after the opening of
Seal 6; great earthquake, sun darkened, moon to blood, meteor shower,
atmosphere splits, all islands and mountains are moved. And the people hide
underground and say “Fall on us, and hide us from the
face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”
Now why would the people say “hide us from the face…?” Because they have just seen
the Lord appear in the sky at the rapture. (For a scriptural proof of why the
rapture will occur after the opening of the Sixth Seal see The Coming Epiphany)
After the rapture God’s wrath is poured
out upon mankind during the Day of the Lord period of time. The events below
constitute God’s Wrath.
1. USA—end times Babylon is destroyed in
an all out nuclear attack. (Rev 18)
2. Sealing of the 144,000 (Rev 7)
3. Seal 7: 7 Trumpet judgments. (Rev 8:1-6)
4. Trumpet 1: Horrific hail and fire, 1/3 of plants burned up. (Rev
8:7)
5. Trumpet 2: Meteorite/Volcano explodes in the ocean, 1/3 ships and sea
life destroyed. (Rev 8:8,9)
6. Trumpet 3: Comet explodes on the earth, 1/3 of fresh water poisoned, many
men die. (Rev 8:10,11)
7. Trumpet 4: 1/3 of sunlight removed. (Rev 8:12)
8. Trumpet 5: First woe—Demon locusts, men tortured. (Rev 8:13-9:12)
9. Trumpet 6: Second woe—Demon army, 1/3 of men die. (Rev 9:13-21)
10. Ministry of 2 witnesses ended. (Rev 11:1-13)
11. Trumpet 7: Third woe—7 Vial Judgments. (Rev 11:14-19)
12. Vial 1: Boils on men. (Rev 16:1,2)
13. Vial 2: Sea turned to blood. (Rev 16:3)
14. Vial 3: Freshwater turned to blood. (Rev 16:4-7)
15. Vial 4: Great heat. (Rev 16:8,9)
16. Vial 5: Darkness. (Rev 16:10,11)
17. Vial 6: Euphrates dries up. (Rev 16:12-16)
18. Vial 7: The Lord Jesus Christ and His saints return to the earth and
defeat the antichrist and his armies at Armageddon with 100-pound hailstones.
Great earthquake, every island and mountain destroyed, America the Babylon
sinks under the ocean. (Rev 16:17-21, Rev 18:21, Jer 51:42)
19. Jesus is anointed as King of the World and the Millennium begins! (Rev
19)
He which testifieth these
things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come,
Lord Jesus. Rev 22:20
There are some things that you can do to
prepare for and even escape some of what is coming. The Coming Epiphany is an
easy to understand end time Bible prophecy book that will help you to not only
understand what is coming but to also prepare for it. Please accept my gift to
you and download a FREE copy of The
Coming Epiphany today.
Do you know what you must do to be
saved? Read a short message entitled God’s Gift of Salvation and find out what you must do to be saved.
Do you know that there is secret
information encoded on the dollar bill, including several dates, one of which
is the date of the sign of the woman clothed with the sun? Read The Dollar Code;
Revealing the Secrets Encoded on the Dollar Bill.