What is going to happen during the end times? Part 5

This is Part 5 and the conclusion of the End Times Series.

Although there is vast amount of more detail that can be added to the events that have already occurred, it is comforting to know that God knows exactly what He is doing, why He is doing it, and when He shall literally fulfill these events during these end times. Remember, God has used times and seasons in the past as part of His plan for humanity. In summary:

1. The Feast of Passover was fulfilled by the death of the Messiah.
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled by the righteous character and sinlessness of His blood-offering upon His death, which purged us of our sins.
3. The Feast of First-Fruits was fulfilled by the resurrection of the Messiah.
4. The Feast of Weeks was fulfilled by the indwelling of believers by the Holy Spirit.

Summary timeline of the end times events

Now, we are waiting for the final events to happen as detailed below:

1. The Feast of Trumpets will be literally fulfilled by the Rapture of the Church, which begins a seven-year tribulation period on earth. During this time the remnant of Jews will live on earth as the rest of the earth embraces the anti-Christ. The world will turn on Israel in an effort to destroy Israel and kill all of the Jewish people.
2. Meanwhile, in Heaven, the Church will stand before the Lord at the Judgement Seat of Christ to receive rewards for what they have done while they were on earth as believers out of a love for God and love for their neighbor (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Philippians 2:1-17). Likewise, the Church will attend the marriage supper of the Lamb before returning to earth with Christ at His second coming to rescue Israel at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:15-16).
3. The Day of Atonement will be literally fulfilled at the end of the tribulation period when the remnant of Israel will recognize Christ as their Messiah, confess their sin, and cry out to Him to rescue them from their enemies whom are about to destroy them. Christ, along with the Church at His second coming, rescues the remnant of Israel.
4. Christ casts the Beast and False Prophet into a lake of fire, which exists at a location that is not mentioned, and slays the rest of the wicked with the Word of God (Revelation 19:19-21). Likewise, Satan is cast down to a bottomless pit and chained for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3)
5. The Feast of Tabernacles will be literally fulfilled by the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom on earth (Isaiah 11:6; Revelation 6:9; Revelation 20:4). All believers, as part of the Church, live with Christ for 1000 years.
6. At the end of the 1000-year reign of Christ, a second resurrection of the unsaved dead occurs (John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:5-6).
7. At the end of the 1000-year reign of Christ, Satan is also released from the bottomless pit. He, deceives the nations into sending out an unholy army to surround the believers to destroy them at a final battle of Gog and Magog. However, God sends down fire from the sky to devour them (Revelation 20:7-10).
8. The devil is cast into the Lake of Fire where the beast and false prophet are to be tormented forever (Revelation 20:11).
9. The resurrected unsaved stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgement and the books documenting their lives are opened along with the Book of Life. Their sins are identified; they try to plead their case and they are judged as worthy of death. Then the Book of Life is examined for names that would have been given to them the moment of salvation. Since they are not saved, their names are not found in the Book of Life. Therefore, their documented works as unbelievers are used to determine the severity of their eternal punishment (Isaiah 51:6; Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 10:14-14; Matthew 11:16-24; Luke 19-31; Revelation 14:9-12; Revelation 20:12-13).
10. Death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, which creates the second death (Revelation 20:14).
11. Those whose names were not found in the Book of Life are cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:8).
12. A new heaven and a new earth are established where believers will live for eternity with the Lord (Revelation 21-22).

At the end of these times, God, Whom is able to make all things new, literally dissolves the universe and creates a new heaven and a new earth where He will live face to face with humanity (Revelation 20:1-3; Revelation 22:3-4). Then, God will wipe away all our tears. There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. Time as we know it will end and we will spend an ageless eternity with the Lord (Revelation 22:4-5).

What have we learned?

From the beginning of the Bible until the end there are references to events that will happen in the future. However, there is a lot of confusion about what happens in the end times. Where many people get confused is that some of these events are specific to Israel and some are specific to the Church. Although there is vast amount of more detail in Scripture about these events, it is comforting to know that God knows exactly what He is doing, why He is doing it, and when He shall literally fulfill these events during these end times. Understanding these details helps us to realize that now more than ever, we must share the gospel of Christ as a life preserver to as many people as we can while there is still time. May God bless us in our endeavors for Him.

Resources – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Williams, Michael, (2013). Bible Doctrines. Albuquerque, NM: Selah Mountain Bible Institute. Chapters 15-16.