The Book of Revelation (part 12) Sequence of Events in Jesus’ Second Coming

 

We are going through the book of Revelation verse by verse on Wednesday nights. Our world is changing. Jesus’ return is soon! I want you to be informed as to what the scriptures have to say about His second coming and what we should be doing to prepare for that day!

The book of Revelation is an unveiling of last things. It is the revelation to us of what God will do to judge Satan and remove him and his cohorts from this fallen planet, claim this planet again as His own, rid the earth of the curse that came in the fall of man, and prepare the earth for its eternal future filled with His glory and with redeemed human families.

What is happening now with the Coronavirus very well could be another situation that is a prelude of things to come. Before Jesus returns, worldwide upheaval is coming that will make this look small. The rest of the book of Revelation shows what will transpire just before the second coming of Christ.

Luke 21:25-27 – TPT

Expect to witness amazing and perplexing signs throughout the universe with the sun, the moon, and the stars. The raging of the sea will bring desperation and turmoil to many nations. (26) Earthquakes will bring panic and disaster. What men see coming to the earth will cause the fear of doom to grip their hearts, for they will even see the powers of the heavenly realm shaken! (27–28) And at last, when you see how the Son of Man comes—surrounded with a cloud, with great power and miracles, in the radiance of his splendor, and with great glory and praises — it will make you jump for joy! For the day of your full transformation has arrived.

Before we go to Revelation 4, I want to look again at the sequence of events that will occur and give some explanation to each one.

This will help us understand the context of what we will see in the next chapter of the book of Revelation.

Revelation 4 begins the series of events that will bring about what Jesus mentions in Matthew 24: the birth pains, then the great tribulation, then the rapture of the church, and then the Day of the Lord judgments which include trumpet judgments and bowl judgments.

As I mentioned last week, I now believe that the seven years of Daniel’s seventieth week (commonly called The Tribulation) are divided up into three specific periods that are shown in scripture.

 

Chart of the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church

(Taken from The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin Rosenthall: Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, p. 61) Used by Permission.

The first period is called by Jesus the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8).

It is also spoken of in Revelation 6: 1-8.

This period will begin with some kind of peace treaty made by the antiChrist between Israel and her enemies.

Daniel 9:27 (NLT)

The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

The comes the period of birth pains – the beginning of sorrows.

Matthew 24:4-8 – TPT

Jesus answered, “At that time deception will run rampant. So beware that you are not fooled! (5) For many will appear on the scene claiming my authority or saying about themselves, ‘I am God’s Anointed,’ and they will lead many astray. (6) You will hear of wars nearby and revolutions on every side, with more rumors of wars to come. Don’t panic or give in to your fears, for the breaking apart of the world’s systems is destined to happen. But it won’t yet be the end; it will still be unfolding. (7) Nations will go to war against each other and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be terrible earthquakes—seismic events of epic proportion, horrible epidemics and famines in place after place. (8) This is how the first contractions and birth pains of the new age will begin!

The second period is called The Great Tribulation (Matthew 24: 9-28).

This is the period when the antiChrist breaks his covenant of peace with Israel, desecrates the rebuilt Jewish temple, and then begins to kill Jews and Christians in the Middle East on a wide scale. This great tribulation is also mentioned in Revelation 6:9-11.

(Taken from The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin Rosenthall: Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, p. 61) Used by Permission.

Matthew 24:9-26 – TPT

You can expect to be persecuted, even killed; for you will be hated by all the nations because of your love for me. (10) Then many will stop following me and fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. (11) And many lying prophets will arise, deceiving multitudes and leading them away from the path of truth. (12) There will be such an increase of sin and lawlessness that those whose hearts once burned with passion for God and others will grow cold. (13) But keep your hope to the end and you will experience life and deliverance. (14) Yet through it all, this joyful assurance of the realm of heaven’s kingdom will be proclaimed all over the world, providing every nation with a demonstration of the reality of God. And after this the end of this age will arrive. (15) When you witness what Daniel prophesied, ‘the disgusting destroyer,’ taking its stand in the Holy Place [let the reader learn], (16) then those in the land of Judah must escape to the higher ground. (17) On that day, if you happen to be outside, don’t go back inside to gather belongings. (18) And if you’re working out in the field, don’t run back home to get a coat. (19) It will be especially hard for pregnant women and for those nursing their babies in those days. (20) So pray that your escape will not be during the winter months or on a Sabbath. (21) For this will be a time of great misery beyond the magnitude of anything the world has ever seen or ever will see. Unless God limited those days, no one would escape. (22) But because of his love for those chosen to be his, he will shorten that time of trouble. (23) And you will hear reports from some, saying, ‘Look, he has returned,’ ‘The Messiah is over here,’ or ‘The Messiah is over there!’ Don’t believe it. (24) For there will be imposters falsely claiming to be God’s ‘Anointed One,’ and false prophets will arise to perform miracle signs to lead astray, if possible, those God has chosen to be his. (25) Remember this, for I prophesy it will happen! (26) So if someone says to you, ‘Look, the Anointed One has returned! He’s in the desert,’ don’t go chasing after him. Or if they say to you, ‘Look, he’s here in our house,’ don’t believe it.

Next, the rapture of the church occurs. You could call it a pre-wrath rapture. It’s just before the Day of the Lord begins.

(Taken from The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin Rosenthall: Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, p. 61) Used by Permission.

There will be cosmic disturbances that will precede the rapture of the church and will signal both the rapture of the church and the beginning of the Day of the Lord (Matthew 24:29-31).

This is also seen in Revelation 6:12-17.

Matthew 24:29-31 – NLT

Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. (30) And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world —from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

Revelation 6:12-17 – NLT

I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. (13) Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. (14) The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places. (15) Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. (16) And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”

Revelation 7:1-17 – NKJV

After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: 5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; 6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; 7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; 8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 – NKJV

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, (2) not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. (3) Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, (4) who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (5) Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? (6) And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. (7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. (8) And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

The third period is called the Day of the Lord, and is the beginning of the wrath of God being poured out on the enemies of the kingdom of God.

This period is mentioned clearly in Revelation 6:17, and in Revelation 8 with the breaking of the seventh seal and the blowing of the seven trumpets that start the Day of the Lord judgments.

(Taken from The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin Rosenthall: Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, p. 61) Used by Permission.

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After the rapture, the Trumpet Judgments begin after the 7th seal is opened in Revelation 8. This signifies the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord is the outpouring of the wrath of God on God’s enemies.

Because Jesus suffered God’s wrath for us, we are immune from wrath!

The Day of the Lord is spoken of frequently in scripture:

According to scripture, the day of the Lord is more than a 24-hour period. It is a time period that moves through a sequence of events where God judges through wrath the disobedience of mankind, the nations that reject His plans, and Satan as the thief that ruined His plan for a Father and His family. This Day of the Lord culminates in the Second Coming of Christ to earth, and ushers in the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth, which ends with us living in the new heavens and new earth with God as our Father and we His sons and daughters.

 

The Day of the Lord begins with the opening of the 6th seal in Revelation 6:12, and the cosmic disturbances that occur.

 

In the darkness of that hour, Jesus comes in the brightness of His glory, lights up the sky, and takes us to heaven in the Rapture of the church…

 

After we believers are raptured (Rev.7:9), the Day of the Lord begins.

 

It’s a time of intense judgment. There is nothing nice or positive about the Day of the Lord…

 

Listen to what the Bible says about the Day of the Lord…

Isaiah 2:12-22 – NIV

The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), (13) for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, (14) for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, (15) for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, (16) for every trading ship and every stately vessel. (17) The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (18) and the idols will totally disappear. (19) Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. (20) In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. (21) They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. (22) Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?

 

Isaiah 13:6-13 – NKJV

Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. (7) Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man’s heart will melt, (8) And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames. (9) Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. (10) For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. (11) “I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (12) I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. (13) Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.

 

Isaiah 34:4,8 – NKJV

All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. (8) For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

 

Joel 1:15-20 – NKJV

Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. (16) Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? (17) The seed shrivels under the clods, storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. (18) How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture; Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. (19) O Lord, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field. (20) The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures.

 

Joel 2:10-11 – NKJV

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (11) The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?

 

Joel 2:30-32 – NKJV

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (32) And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

Joel 3:14-16 -NKJV

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (15) The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. (16) The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

 

Amos 5:18-20 – NKJV

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. (19) It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! (20) Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?

 

Zephaniah 1:14-2:3 – NKJV

The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. (15) That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, (16) a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. (17) “I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.” (18) Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land. (2:1) Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, (2) Before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! (3) Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.

Zechariah 14:1-4 – NKJV

Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. (2) For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (3) Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. (4) And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

 

Acts 2:19-21 – NKJV

I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (21) And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

2 Peter 3:10-13 – NKJV

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 – NKJV

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. (3) For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 – NKJV

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, (2) not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

 

The day of the Lord encompasses a period of time that immediately follows the rapture of the church, and includes God’s wrath, judgment on, and repossession of the world system that has been stolen by Satan from Adam. It is an intense time. There is nothing nice or positive about it from a believer’s perspective.

And the good news is: the church will be in heaven during this time of God’s wrath.

Action Points:

1. Get close to the Lord. Be involved in daily Bible reading, prayer, and in regular attendance in a local church.

2. Pray for your family and friends to come to know Jesus as Lord.

3. Encourage others with the hope of Jesus’ return!