Before attempting to look at COMING EVENTS, it is desirable that we should see what is the present position of things. The inhabitants of the earth are now divided into Jews, Gentiles and the church of God (1 Cor. 10:32).
I. THE JEWS. God, in the government of the earth, chose out Israel from among the nations, as the medium whereby to manifest Himself (Gen. 12:2-3). And God viewed them with great distinction. “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance... He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance” (Deut. 32:8-9). But the people held not this high position and God allowed them to be carried away into captivity. He then turned to
II. THE GENTILES, to whom He gave the place of supremacy on the earth. “Thou, O king [Nebuchadnezzar], art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory” (Dan. 2:37-38). Then it was centered in one man; in our day the same supremacy (modified from gold to “iron and clay”) (Dan. 2:40-43) exists in several. But entirely apart from this supremacy and government on the earth, we have also, in these days,
III. THE CHURCH OF GOD, a people chosen before the world was, and now being taken out from among Jews and Gentiles — ceasing, really, to be either, and having a heavenly character and destiny. They are emphatically called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
These three classes, then, comprise the whole, and they should never be confounded with each other, nor with another important classification into which all have been, and are, divided, namely, the SAVED and the LOST. Touching salvation there are but two divisions; but in prophecy there are the above three classes; and of the chief points revealed in Scripture respecting each, we now submit the following summary.
It is suggested that the whole of the middle columns be read first, as a continuous chain of events: then read clause by clause, with all the passages referred to, seeking guidance from God to understand. It is hoped that the diagram on the last page will tend to fix the order of events on the memory.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in [the] twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Cor. 15:51-52).... for our commonwealth has its existence in [the] heavens, from which also we await the Lord Jesus Christ [as] Saviour, who shall transform our body of humiliation into conformity to His body of glory, according to the working of [the] power which He has even to subdue all things to Himself (Phil. 3:20-21). See John 11:25-26.
We Wait For (1) The Coming of the Lord Jesus, at any moment, into the air. The resurrection of the sleeping Saints, and the translation both of them and the Saints who are “alive and remain,” to meet the Lord in the air.
... for the Lord Himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel’s voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in [the] clouds, to meet the Lord in [the] air; and thus we shall be always with [the] Lord (1 Thess. 4:16-17). But each in his own rank: [the] first-fruits, Christ; then those that are the Christ’s at His coming (1 Cor. 15:23).... and if I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again and shall receive you to Myself, that where I am ye also may be (John 14:3). (See also Matt. 25:1-13).
Thus saith Jehovah: The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool: What is the house that ye will build unto Me? and what is the place of My rest? Even all these things hath My hand made, and all these things have been, saith Jehovah. But to this man will I look: to the afflicted and contrite in spirit, and who trembleth at My word. He that slaughtereth an ox, smiteth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, breaketh a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, [it is as] swine’s blood; he that presenteth a memorial of incense, [is as] he that blesseth an idol. As they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations (Isa. 66:1-4). Daniel 7:7-8. Isaiah 28:14-18.
(2) A portion of the Jews, having returned to Jerusalem in unbelief, will build their temple, re-establish their ordinances, and once more have a political existence.
But a tenth part shall still be therein, and it shall return and be eaten; as the terebinth and as the oak whose trunk [remaineth] after the felling: the holy seed shall be the trunk thereof (Isa. 6:13). Isaiah 18:1-4. And there was given to me a reed like a staff, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship in it. And the court which [is] without the temple cast out, and measure it not; because it has been given [up] to the nations, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty-two months (Rev. 11:1-2). See also Isaiah 17:10-11.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth everything, and as iron that breaketh all these, so shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And [as] the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay (Dan. 2:40-43). Daniel 7:7-8. Isaiah. 28:14-18.
(3) The Roman Empire will be revived by a confederacy of Ten Western Powers. It will grant a seven years’ protectorate to the Jewish nation.
And I stood upon the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads names of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like to a leopardess, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as a lion’s mouth; and the dragon gave to it his power, and his throne, and great authority; and one of his heads [was] as slain to death, and his wound of death had been healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast. And they did homage to the dragon, because he gave the authority to the beast; and they did homage to the beast, saying, Who [is] like to the beast? and who can make war with it? (Rev. 13:1-4). Rev. 17:3,7-8,10-13. And he shall confirm a covenant with the many [for] one week (Dan. 9:27).
But this know, that in [the] last days difficult times shall be there; for men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, evil speakers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, profane, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, of unsubdued passions, savage, having no love for what is good, traitors, headlong, of vain pretensions, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; having a form of piety but denying the power of it:... Now in the same manner in which Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, thus these also withstand the truth....for their folly shall be completely manifest to all, as that of those also became....For the time shall be when they will not bear sound teaching; but according to their own lusts will heap up to themselves teachers, having an itching ear; and they will turn away their ear from the truth, and will have turned aside to fables (2 Tim. 3:1-9; 4:3-4). 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 3-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-13.
(4) The Full Development of the corruption of Christendom will take place, the Holy Spirit as a Person having left the earth with the saints at the rapture. —The false church, at first upheld by the empire, will be afterward destroyed by it. This clears the ground for the great apostasy headed by the man of sin, the false prophet.
Come here, I will show thee the sentence of the great harlot who sits upon the many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and they that dwell on the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. And he carried me away in spirit to a desert; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication; and upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, great Babylon, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus... And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire (Rev. 17:16, 1-6). See also Rev. 2:20; 3:16.
And there was war in the heaven: Michael and his angels went to war with the dragon. And the dragon fought, and his angels; and he prevailed not, nor was their place found any more in the heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, he who is called Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole habitable world, he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a great voice in the heaven saying, Now is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the
(5) About this time Satan will be cast out of the heavens, and his operations will be henceforth limited to the earth.
authority of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been cast out, who accused them before our God day and night: and they have overcome him by reason of the blood of the Lamb, and by reason of the word of their testimony, and have not loved their life even unto death. Therefore be full of delight, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great rage, knowing he has a short time (Rev. 12:7-12).
And I stood upon the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads names of blasphemy... and the dragon gave to it his power, and his throne, and great authority... And it opened its mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those who have their tabernacle in the heaven. And there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them (Rev. 13:1-7).
(6) Satan, being cast out of heaven, will energize the beast (that is, the head of the Roman Empire) and lead him to open revolt against God. The saints, Jews and Gentiles converted since the rapture of the church, will suffer great persecution. This state of things will be permitted to last 42 months.
Then I desired to know the certainty concerning the fourth beast... The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces... And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most high [places], and think to change seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a half time (Dan. 7:19-25).
I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive Me not; if another come in his own name, him ye will receive (John 5:43). Dan. 11:36-39. Zech. 11:15-17. Little children, it is [the] last hour, and, according as ye have heard that antichrist comes, even now there have come many antichrists, whence we know that it is [the] last hour... Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist who denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:18, 22). 1 John 4:2, 8. Who opposes and exalts himself on high against all called God, or object of veneration; so that he himself sits down in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:4). Rev. 13:4, 14-18.
(7) The false prophet, who will have been received by the Jews as their Messiah, will now be manifest as the man of sin, and will be the religious head of the Jewish and Gentile apostasy. The worship of Jehovah at Jerusalem will be abolished, and idolatry enforced everywhere. Satan, the head of the Roman Empire and the Antichrist, will receive divine honors.
And I saw another beast rising out of the earth; and it had two horns like to a lamb, and spake as a dragon; and it exercises all the authority of the first beast before it, and causes the earth and those that dwell in it to do homage to the first beast, whose wound of death was healed. And it works great signs, that it should cause even fire to come down from heaven to the earth before men. And it deceives those that dwell upon the earth by reason of the signs which it was given to it to work before the beast, saying to those that dwell upon the earth to make an image to the beast, which has the wound of the sword, and lived. And it was given to it to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should also speak, and should cause that as many as should not do homage to the image of the beast should be killed. And it causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bondmen, that they should give them a mark upon their right hand or upon their forehead; and that no one should be able to buy or sell save he that had the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of its name. Here is wisdom. He that has understanding let him count the number of the beast: for it is a man’s number; and its number [is] six hundred [and] sixty-six (Rev. 13:11-18). Dan. 9:27. Matt. 24:15-24.
And when the dragon saw that he had been cast out into the earth, he persecuted the woman which bore the male [child]. And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:13-17). Rev. 11:3-8. Rev. 7:9-10, 13-14, 1-4. Rev. 14:1-5.
(8) During this time of great tribulation a testimony will be maintained for God by the faithful, many of whom will be killed, and others preserved through it.
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of distress, such as never was since there was a nation until that time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that is found written in the book (Dan. 12:1). Matt. 24:9-14. Jer. 30:7.
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and overflow and pass through (Dan. 11:40), (Dan. 8:19-24). And because of the protection of abominations [there shall be] a desolator (Dan. 9:27).
(9) The “King of the North,” or, Assyrian, head of the Eastern confederation, and backed by another power (perhaps Russia), will make war on Antichrist. The Assyrian, as of old, will be God’s scourge for Israel’s idolatry.
Behold, the day cometh for Jehovah, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. And I will assemble all the nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity; and the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city (Zech. 14:1, 2). Isa. 10:5-6; 28:14-15,17-18. Rev. 9:13-21; 16:12. See also Joel 2:1-11.
And I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and one sitting on it, [called] Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head many diadems, having a name written which no one knows but Himself; and [He is] clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which [are] in the heaven followed Him upon white horses, clad in white, pure, fine linen. And out of His mouth goes a sharp [two-edged] sword, that with it He might smite the nations; and He shall shepherd them with an iron rod; and He treads the wine-press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. And He has upon His garment, and upon His thigh, a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:11-16). Also Rev. 19:19-21. Isa.53:15-54:1. Psa. 79:1-8. Dan. 2:34, 35, 44, 45; 7:26, 9-11, 27. Isa. 11:1-4.
(10) In answer to the cry of the faithful remnant the Lord Jesus will come to the earth bringing His saints with Him (who were caught up to meet Him in the air), and will execute judgment upon the Beast and the False Prophet, and all Western Powers.
And then the lawless one shall be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall annul by the appearing of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8).... [it is a] righteous thing with God to render tribulation to those that trouble you, and to you that are troubled, repose with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with [the] angels of His power, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not God and those who do not obey the glad tidings of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:6-8). Matt. 24:27, 37-39. Luke 13:35; Matt. 26:64. The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee (Zech. 14:5). And Enoch, [the] seventh from Adam, prophesied also as to these, saying, Behold, [the] Lord has come amidst His holy myriads, to execute judgment against all; and to convict all the ungodly of them of all their works of ungodliness, which they have wrought ungodlily, and of all the hard [things] which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him (Jude 14-15).
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to exterminate, and utterly to destroy many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the mountain of holy beauty; and he shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help him (Dan. 11:44-45). Dan. 8:25. Mic. 5:1-9. Zech. 14:3-5. Isa. 11:10-16; 63:1-6. See Psa. 83. See Num. 24:17-24. Zech. 12:6,9-10; 13:6. Jer. 31:28-40. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together
His elect from the four winds, from [the one] extremity of [the] heavens to [the other] extremity of them (Matt. 24:31). Ezek. 38; 39
(11) The Assyrian will come up again to destroy Jerusalem, but will be judged by the Lord, who will now fight for His earthly people. Then Ammon, Moab, Edom and all Eastern nations will be dealt with by the Lord, who will now be once more in connection with repentant and restored Judah. The ten tribes will be gathered in and all Israel reunited under the scepter of David. Gog (Russia) invades Palestine, and is destroyed.
And it shall come to pass, when the Lord hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stoutness of heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done [it], and by my wisdom, for I am intelligent; and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and, like a valiant man, I have brought down them that sit [on thrones]; and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples, and as one gathereth forsaken eggs, have I gathered all the earth;... Therefore shall the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among His fat ones leanness, and under His glory He shall kindle a burning, like the burning of a fire (Isa. 10:12-16). Also Isa. 10: 24-25,28-34. Isa. 14:25; 31:4-9. Ezek. 37:1-24. Dan. 12:2- 3. Rom. 11:26, 27.
And I saw an angel descending from the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent who is [the] devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, that he should not any more deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be loosed for a little time. And I saw thrones; and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and the souls of those beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus, and on account of the word of God; and those who had not done homage to the beast nor to his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and hand; and they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years: the rest of the dead did not live till the thousand years had been completed. This [is] the first resurrection. Blessed and holy he who has part in the first resurrection: over these the second death has no power; but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6). The creature itself also shall be set free from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and travails in pain together until now (Rom. 8:21, 22). The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatted beast together, and a little child shall lead them... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:6-9). And He shall judge among the nations, and shall reprove many peoples; and they shall forge their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-knives: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isa. 2:4). For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). And Jehovah shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Jehovah, and his name one (Zech. 14:9).
(12) The Davidic Action of Christ being ended, He will now reign in peace as antitype of Solomon. Satan will be bound; Creation be relieved from the curse; and Christ, in whom all things in heaven and in earth are headed up, will reign over the earth a thousand years; the church and all heavenly saints being associated with Him in His heavenly glory, and Israel and the nations being blessed under Him, on the earth.
Psa. 45:3-5, 6-9. Matt. 25:31-46. Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as king, and act wisely, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in safety; and this is His name whereby He shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness. Therefore behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, that they shall no more say, [As] Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, [As] Jehovah liveth, who brought up and who led back the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land (Jer. 23:5-8). And so all Israel shall be saved. According as it is written, The deliverer shall come out of Zion; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Rom. 11:26). Rev. 21:9-27; 22:1-5. And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things (Isa. 25, read 6-8). He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. All nations shall call Him blessed (Psa. 72:8,17).... raising Him from among [the] dead, and He set him down at His right hand in the heavenlies, above every principality,... and has put all things under His feet, and gave Him [to be] head over all things to the assembly (Eph. 1:20-22). And by Him to reconcile all things to itself, having made peace by the blood of His cross — by Him, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens (Col. 1:20).... for [the] administration of the fullness of times; to head up all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth; in Him (Eph. 1:10).
And when the thousand years have been completed, Satan shall be loosed from his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which [are] in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, whose number [is] as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city: and fire came down [from God] out of the heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] both the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for the ages of ages (Rev. 20:7-10).
(13) Satan will be loosed and deceive the nations, who attack the earthly saints and Jerusalem; but the rebellious are destroyed by fire, and Satan is cast into the lake of fire.
And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled, and place was not found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is [that] of life. And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which [were] in it, and death and hades gave up the dead which [were] in them; and they were judged each according to their works: and death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, [even] the lake of fire. And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15). For neither does the Father judge any one, but has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22).
Christ [is] God’s (1 Cor. 3:23). The Christ’s head God (1 Cor. 11:8). For [My] Father is greater than I (John 14:28). But, according to His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea exists no more... And He that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He says [to me], Write, for these words are true and faithful (Rev. 21:1-5).
(14) The Second Resurrection and the Judgment of the Wicked ensue.
(15) The Lord Jesus will give up the Kingdom to His Father, and the new heavens and the new earth will be brought in, wherein GOD will be ALL IN ALL.
... Then the end, when He gives up the kingdom to Him [who is] God and Father; when He shall have annulled all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He put all enemies under his feet. [The] last enemy [that] is annulled [is] death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says that all things are put in subjection, [it is] evident that [it is] except Him who put all things in subjection to Him. But when all things shall have been brought into subjection to Him, then the Son also Himself shall be placed in subjection to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:24-28).
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I. This line represents the past history of Israel.
A. This upright line indicates the ascension of our blessed Lord to heaven, at the commencement of this period.
C. This circle represents the present period, during which the church of God is being gathered out of the world.
T. This line shows the coming of Christ to take the church to meet Him in the air, which closes this period.
W. This short line, the period of judgment, between the present period of grace and the millennium.
R. This line shows the glorious appearing, or revelation of Christ to the earth.
M. This circle represents the period of the millennium, or kingdom in power.
S. This short line, the letting loose of Satan again, after the thousand years.
E. This beginning of a circle points to the eternal state. The dotted line represents the history of the Jews, cut off during the present period (C). Since the captivities Israel is “Lo Ammi” (not my people), but it shall be acknowledged again when repentant at the close of the tribulation as “Ammi” (my people). See Hosea 1 to 3; Zechariah 13:9.
(From Fifth edition, Revised) (Scripture quotations have been changed to J. N. Darby’s translation for this edition. Written by Charles Stanley of Rotherham — 1800s)