END TIMES 101
What is the End Times? What are the important events and figures that are in there? What are the different viewpoints of the End Times? This course outline is designed to covers the basics of eschatology for it is an introduction to the course. The purpose of this is for people to get a glimpse into the End Times and make conclusions for themselves and get an understanding of the End Times.
Rapture Views
Pre Tribulation Rapture (rapture before Tribulation)
Partial Rapture (multiple raptures for those ready)
Mid Tribulation Rapture (rapture in the middle of the Tribulation)
Pre Wrath Rapture (rapture three quarters into the Tribulation)
Post Tribulation Rapture (rapture after the Tribulation)
Tribulation
The Tribulation is an unprecedented time of trouble (Matthew 24:21)
There is debate over the length of the Tribulation. Some say 7 years based on Daniel 9:27. We do know that the Tribulation is at least 42 months or 1,260 days long (Revelation 12:14; 13:5)
The Tribulation is a time of judgment over the sinful world. There are twenty-one judgments that will be hurled at this time grouped in three sets - seals, trumpets, and vials!
Seal Judgments
Rider on white horse (Revelation 6:1-2)
Rider on red horse (Revelation 6:3-4)
Rider on black horse (Revelation 6:5-6)
Rider on pale horse (Revelation 6:7-8)
Martyred souls (Revelation 6:9-11)
Catastrophic changes on earth and the sky (Revelation 6:12-17)
Silence (Revelation 8:1-5)
Trumpet Judgments
1/3 of the earth burned; 1/3 of the trees burned and all the grass burned (Revelation 8:7)
1/3 of the sea became blood; 1/3 of the creatures died; 1/3 of the ships destroyed (Revelation 8:8-9)
1/3 of the rivers and springs were made bitter by a meteor (Wormwood) and many men died (Revelation 8:10-11)
1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars were darkened (Revelation 8:12)
Demon locusts torture and torment unbelievers for five months (Revelation 9:1-12)
1/3 of the population killed by a demonic army of 200 million (Revelation 9:13-21)
Introduces the next set of judgments (Revelation 11:15-19)
Vial Judgments (Bowls of God's Wrath)
Sores (malignant boils) affect those with the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 16:1-2)
All of the sea turned into blood and every living thing in the sea died (Revelation 16:3)
All the rivers and springs turned into blood (Revelation 16:4-7)
Heat from the Sun is intensified scorching all unbelievers (Revelation 16:8-9)
Great darkness over the earth (Revelation 16:10-11)
Euphrates river dried up to clear passage for the kings from the East (Revelation 16:12-16)
Great earthquake crumbling cities and giant hailstones falling to the earth (Revelation 16:17-21)
The order of the Judgments
Are they chronological?
Are they concurrent?
Important Figures during the Tribulation
The Antichrist
The False Prophet
The Two Witnesses
The 10 kings
The Harlot
The Dragon (Satan)
The 144,000
1. ANTICHRIST
Names of the Antichrist
The Little Horn (Daniel 7:8; 8:9-12)
A king of fierce countenance (Daniel 8:23)
The prince that shall come (Daniel 9:26-27)
The willful king (Daniel 11:36)
The man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
The son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
The Antichrist (1 John 2:18)
The beast from the abyss (Revelation 11:7)
The beast from the sea (Revelation 13:1)
The scarlet beast (Revelation 17:3)
The beast (Revelation 19:20)
Activities of the Antichrist
The Antichrist signs a covenant with Israel (Daniel 9:27)
The Antichrist suffers a fatal head wound (Revelation 13:3,12)
The Antichrist rises from the dead (Revelation 17:11)
The Antichrist breaks the covenant with Israel in the middle of the Tribulation (Daniel 8:11; 9:27)
The Antichrist performs the Abomination of Desolation, which is when he goes into the Temple and declares himself God (Daniel 11:31,36; 2 Thessalonians 2:4)
The Antichrist wars with the saints and overcomes them (Revelation 13:7)
The Antichrist will kill the two witnesses (Revelation 11:7)
The Antichrist will war with certain nations that rebel against him (Daniel 11:39-44)
The Antichrist will assemble his armies at Armageddon against other nations (Daniel 11:44-45; Revelation 16:12-14; 19:19)
The Antichrist will meet his end and will be thrown in the Lake of Fire (Daniel 11:45; Revelation 19:20)
2. FALSE PROPHET
Names of the False Prophet
The beast from the earth (Revelation 13:11)
False Prophet (Revelation 19:20)
Activities of the False Prophet
The False Prophet exercises all authority of the Antichrist in his presence (Revelation 13:12)
The False Prophet makes everyone worship the Antichrist (Revelation 13:12)
The False Prophet causes fire to come from heaven (Revelation 13:13)
The False Prophet performs signs and deceives many (Revelation 13:14)
The False Prophet tells earth dwellers to make an image of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:14)
The False Prophet gives breath to the image of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:15)
The False Prophet causes all people to receive a mark (Revelation 13:16-18)
3. TWO WITNESSES
Names of the Two Witnesses
Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3)
Two olive trees (Revelation 11:4)
Two lampstands (Revelation 11:4)
Two Prophets (Revelation 11:10)
Identity of the Two Witnesses
Elijah is definitely one of the two witnesses (Malachi 4:5)
The other witness could be Enoch since he never died just like Elijah (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 9:27)
The other witness could be Moses since he appeared with Elijah in the transfiguration (Luke 9:30)
Activities of the Two Witnesses
The Two Witnesses will prophecy for 1,260 days dressed in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3)
The Two Witnesses will have the power to kill anyone who attempts to harm by having fire come from their mouths (Revelation 11:5)
The Two Witnesses will have the power to shut up the sky so it won't rain for 1,260 days (Revelation 13:6)
The Two Witnesses will have the power to turn the water into blood (Revelation 13:6)
The Two Witnesses will have the power to strike the earth with any plague as often as they like (Revelation 13:6)
The Two Witnesses will be killed by the Antichrist (Revelation 13:7)
The Two Witnesses will lie dead in Jerusalem for three and a half days (Revelation 13:8-9)
The Two Witnesses rise again (Revelation 13:11)
The Two Witnesses ascend to heaven in a cloud (Revelation 11:12)
4. THE TEN KINGS
Names
Ten Kings (Revelation 17:12)
Ten horns (Daniel 7:24; Revelation 17:12)
Job Function
They are ten kings of the ten nations headed by the Antichrist.
Activities of the 10 Kings
Three of the 10 kings are found disloyal and are replaced (Daniel 7:24)
The 10 Kings haven't received a kingdom yet but they receive authority as kings with the Antichrist for an hour (Revelation 17:12)
Their only purpose is to give their power and authority to the beast (Revelation 17:13)
They will attempt to wage war against Jesus Christ when He comes back and He overcomes them (Revelation 17:14)
They will hate the Harlot and destroy her (Revelation 17:16)
They will give their kingdom to the Antichrist (Revelation 17:17)
Numbers 1,2,3,5,6 all take place during the middle of the Tribulation while number 4 takes place at the end of the Tribulation. The chronological order of these activities are 2,1,3,5,6,4.
5. THE HARLOT
Names
The Great Harlot (Revelation 17:1)
The woman (Revelation 17:4)
Babylon the Great (Revelation 17:5)
The Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth (Revelation 17:5)
The harlot (Revelation 17:17)
Note: This is not a literal woman. This is probably the One-World Apostate Religion that is the head during the first half of the Tribulation. But she will be destroyed during the middle of the Tribulation and the religion of the Antichrist is set up by the False Prophet in the second half of the Tribulation.
Activities of the Harlot
She seems to have some control over the Antichrist before she is destroyed (Revelation 17:3)
She also persecutes many believers during the Tribulation (Revelation 17:6)
She is very influential and many partake of her immorality (Revelation 17:2)
She is very rich but has many abominations and unclean things (Revelation 17:4)
She is destroyed by the 10 kings (Revelation 17:16)
6. THE DRAGON
Identity
The Dragon is identified in Revelation 12:9 as the serpent of old, the Devil, and Satan
Activities of the Dragon
He was going to devour the woman's child (Revelation 12:4)
He and his angels wages war in heaven against Michael and his angels but the dragon was kicked out of heaven along with his angels (Revelation 12:7-9)
He persecutes the woman (Revelation 12:13)
He runs after the woman who flees into the wilderness and tries to flood her (Revelation 12:14-16)
He went off to make war with the rest of the woman's seed who keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 12:17)
He gives the Antichrist his authority and power and his throne (Revelation 13:2)
He is worshipped because he gave his authority to the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4)
Note: The woman in Revelation is not the same as the one in Revelation 17. They are two different woman who stand for two different things. I'll cover the identity of the woman in Revelation in a future article.
7. 144,000
Who are they?
They are 144,000 persons from the every tribe of Israel (Revelation 7:4)
12,000 are from each tribe of Israel (Revelation 7:5-8)
They are sealed (Revelation 7:3)
Revelation 7:9 shows us a great multitude saved suggesting that the primary function of the 144,000 are to be preachers to their fellow brethren Israel and the rest of the world
Note: There are two groups of 144,000 in Revelation. We covered the one in Revelation 7 but the other one in Revelation 14 is different from the former in many ways. They are not the same.
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is the final important character in the Tribulation. I guess I saved THE BEST for last. He is the most important character for after the Tribulation (Matthew 24:29), Jesus will come back and destroy the armies of the Antichrist (Revelation 19:11-21) and set up His 1000 year reign on earth (Revelation 20:6). He is coming in judgment towards all those who rejected His free gift of salvation. He is going to reward those who earnestly seek Him and accept Him as Lord. His 1000 year reign will be a theocracy and He will be supreme and there will be unparalleled peace on the earth for the first time in human history. Amen :)
Recommended Reading for this class
THE BIBLE but more specifically:
The book of Daniel
The book of Matthew, chapters 24-25 (see parallel passages in Mark and Luke)
The book of John, chapter 14, verse 1-3
The book of First Corinthians, chapter 15
The book of First Thessalonians, chapters 4-5
The book of Second Thessalonians, chapter 2
The book of Revelation
That is all for now. I'll add more info to this article in the future. Look out for End Times 102!
Copyright © 2001 by STAT