Today I’m going to share a timeline of the tribulation. We have spent three weeks building toward this moment, and I believe this is very important because Jesus said that one day soon the world will go through a time of great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again (Matthew 24:21). The Son of God, sitting on the Mount of Olives with his closest friends, looked out over Jerusalem and told them that a day is coming that will be worse than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again.

In some ways, it will be a terrible time. The unbelieving world will go through seven years called "The Tribulation," just before the second coming of Jesus Christ. But in other ways, it will be an incredible time. Masses of unbelievers will turn to Jesus, put their trust in God, and be sealed from His wrath even as the world falls into turmoil and chaos.

So during this fourth week of "The Return of the King" series, I want to walk you through the timeline of those seven years of tribulation. God has given us an itinerary for those seven years so that we could warn others. And we are going to cover some of the most fascinating chapters in the Bible.

If you'd like to follow along in your Bible, open to the book of Daniel, chapter 9. I'm going to display the Scriptures on the screen for you, but you may find it more valuable to have them in your hand while I speak.

Now, according to Daniel, chapter 9, the first major event of the Tribulation will be a peace treaty with a world ruler who will later be identified as the Antichrist. The angel Gabriel says of the Antichrist,

"He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him" (Daniel 9:27).

The Hebrew word translated "seven" is shabua, meaning a unit of seven years, much as we use "dozen" for a unit of twelve. So when Gabriel says this ruler will confirm a covenant for one seven, he means the Antichrist will make a seven-year covenant. But he will break it halfway through, at the three-and-a-half-year mark.

Now, we won't be there. The church will be caught up to be with the Lord. But those unbelievers left behind won't likely recognize the Antichrist until three and one-half years after this treaty is signed, because he will be smart, charismatic, persuasive, and even appear benevolent. But Jesus warned His Jewish audience,

"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand" (Matthew 24:15).

In other words, those who have rejected Christ will need to understand that when they see the Antichrist standing in the Temple, the abomination of desolation has occurred. He will break the peace treaty, put an end to the sacrifices, set himself up in the Temple, and declare himself to be God.

Then Jesus says,

"Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains... for then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now" (Matthew 24:16, 21).

And so God wanted us to know about this seven-year period called the Tribulation, so He wrote us a whole book about it called "The Book of Revelation."

Got it — here's the section with "1" spelled out as "one":

As we come to Revelation chapter one, the apostle John, who sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper, witnessed the crucifixion and the empty tomb, and spent time with Him after the resurrection, sees Jesus again. Now, decades later, John sees Jesus in heaven's throne room, glorified as the Alpha and Omega. John says,

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead" (Revelation 1:17).

In other words, this revelation of Jesus, now glorified, is so amazing that John fainted.

This is the kind of revelation we need in the church today: a deeper understanding of fear, or reverence, for God, who said,

"Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last" (Revelation 1:17).

As we come to verse one, Revelation will describe the Tribulation, but its major purpose is to reveal Jesus to us. The book's full title is,

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1).

But the book's secondary purpose is to give us our itinerary for the end times.

"To show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" (Revelation 1:1).

Revelation 2 and 3 are letters to seven churches of John's day. He was told,

"Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches" (Revelation 1:11).

Revelation 4 and 5 then take us into the throne room of God itself, where John says,

"There before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it" (Revelation 4:1-2).

And surrounding that throne, John hears the multitudes of heaven worshiping. He describes them as,

"Many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands" (Revelation 5:11).

Then God the Father holds up a scroll sealed with seven seals. Seven is the number of perfection, so this is a very important scroll. An angel asks in a loud voice for all to hear,

"Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" (Revelation 5:2).

Of course, no one is able, because no one is worthy of such an important responsibility.

John wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Finally, one of the worshipers points to Jesus and says,

"See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals" (Revelation 5:5).

Jesus comes forward, and John says he watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals, with perfect power, perfect insight, and perfect knowledge.

The book of Revelation is going to tell us some difficult things, some frightening things. But God has revealed the power and glory of His Son, and so no one needs to worry when the Lion of Judah is near. The Bible promises,

"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" (Romans 5:9).

The seven years of tribulation begin in chapter six, where the Lamb of God breaks open the seals one at a time, unrolling the scroll. In John's day, a scroll like this stayed sealed shut until someone with rightful authority broke it open. This scroll represents God's plan to judge the earth and reclaim what belongs to Him. And notice who does the breaking. Not an angel, not a prophet, but the Lamb Himself, the only one in heaven or earth found worthy. As each seal is broken, the scroll unrolls further, and a specific judgment is released on the earth. The same Jesus who died for our sins is directing every moment of these seven years according to His perfect will and timing.

As we move through the tribulation in the book of Revelation, God gives us three waves of judgment poured out on the earth. Each wave is more intense than the one before it. The seals are serious. The trumpets are worse. And the bowls are the most severe of all.

Each wave is building toward one final moment, and this matters because God isn't being cruel. This is God being patient, offering humanity wave after wave of opportunity to repent. Yet Revelation tells us repeatedly that even amid this severe judgment, people refused to turn to Him.

"The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands" (Revelation 9:20).

The chronology is hard to follow because these judgments overlap and sometimes sound similar, yet they unfold in a series of sevens because God's judgment is perfect.

Revelation also introduces several key characters who play a part in the drama, found in chapters 12 through 14. The first of those characters is the Dragon, who is Satan.

"The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him" (Revelation 12:9).

Chapter 12 is one of the most fascinating chapters in the entire book because, unlike much of what we have walked through so far, it doesn't move forward in a straight line. It moves across time, past, present, and future, all within the same vision. If you don't catch the context, this chapter will confuse you. But it actually gives us one of the clearest pictures in all of Scripture of the real spiritual battle behind everything happening on earth.

The second character is the woman, who represents Israel.

The imagery John uses is hard to miss because he describes her this way:

"A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head" (Revelation 12:1).

The sun, moon, and twelve stars echo Joseph's dream in Genesis chapter 37, where his father, mother, and eleven brothers were pictured in the same way, with Joseph himself as the twelfth. The twelve stars point us to the twelve tribes of Israel.

"She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth" (Revelation 12:2).

"She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter" (Revelation 12:5).

This, of course, describes Christ, born through the nation of Israel.

"And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne" (Revelation 12:5).

This depicts the power of His resurrection, His exaltation, and His majesty.

The chapter then shifts into language that describes our present reality. Not a single past event or a single future event, but the present spiritual battle the church has lived in since Pentecost.

"Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus" (Revelation 12:17).

That's us! "The rest of her offspring" refers to believers, everyone who holds to the testimony of Jesus. Since Satan was cast out of heaven and couldn't destroy the child, he has now turned his rage toward the church, the family of God, toward you and me, right now, today.

The third character is the Beast from the Sea, who is the Antichrist.

The Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 13:

"The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name" (Revelation 13:1).

"He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation" (Revelation 13:7).

John describes him further, helping us to identify him, saying,

"The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion" (Revelation 13:2).

If you are familiar with the prophecy of Daniel, you know that in Daniel chapter seven, the leopard represented the Greek empire, the bear represented Persia (modern-day Iran), and the lion represented Babylon (modern-day Iraq). Therefore, it is very likely that the beast will come from the Middle East.

The sea consistently represents the Gentile nations. We can trace this all the way back to Daniel chapter 7, verse 3, which is why the beast, empowered by Satan, is understood to be a Gentile ruler over a final world empire. John's original readers, familiar with Jewish literature, would have immediately recognized the connection.

And so the Antichrist, the beast from the sea, is a satanic counterfeit imitation of Jesus. The Bible says,

"One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed" (Revelation 13:3).

The beast, rising from the dead and mimicking the resurrection of Jesus, deceives the world into worshiping him, and they do. The Bible says,

"The whole world was astonished and followed the beast" (Revelation 13:3).

But his time of glory was short, because verse 5 tells us,

"The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months" (Revelation 13:5).

Which is, you guessed it, three and one-half years.

The fourth character is the Beast from the Earth, who is the False Prophet. John tells us,

"Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon" (Revelation 13:11).

We can infer that if a beast coming from the sea was a Gentile, a beast coming out of the earth would be a Jew. This one, called the False Prophet, will come and deceive many during the final three and one-half years, convincing them to follow the false messiah, the Antichrist. This False Prophet will control most of the world's economic system, as chapter 13, verse 16 says,

"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name" (Revelation 13:16-17).

It is these three, the Dragon and the two beasts, that form an unholy trinity mimicking God.

Next, we have a group that I will call God's messengers. Some of them are the 144,000 witnesses. John says,

"Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads" (Revelation 14:1).

They sing a song no one else can learn. They are redeemed and blameless, following the Lamb wherever He goes.

Alongside the 144,000, three angels fly overhead to announce the eternal gospel to every nation, tribe, language, and people. The first calls the world to,

"Fear God and give him glory" (Revelation 14:7).

The second announces something staggering, the fall of a great world power that had seemed unshakable:

"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great" (Revelation 14:8).

And the third gives the most sobering warning of all three, a direct word to anyone tempted to take the mark just to survive:

"If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath" (Revelation 14:9-10).

These three angels make one thing clear. In the middle of the worst days this world will ever see, God still sends out an invitation to turn to Him, right alongside the warning of what happens to those who don't.

And then finally, this sixth character includes the people of the harvest.

"Another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, 'Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe'" (Revelation 14:15).

Jesus spoke of this great harvest at the end of the age, saying that the harvesters are angels. Listen carefully to what He says in Matthew 13, verse 41:

"The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil" (Matthew 13:41).

Jesus left the glory of heaven, humbled Himself, took on flesh, and went to the cross so that none of us would have to be part of this harvest at the end of the age.

Today, He is holding out His hand, hoping that everyone would turn toward Him and accept His love and forgiveness, so that we could spend eternity with Him rather than be separated and cast out,

"Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:42).

You see, while the harvest of weeds is being burned, Jesus said,

"The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear" (Matthew 13:43).

Let's review where we have been this morning. Revelation began with seven messages to seven churches before moving rapidly through seven seal judgments, seven trumpet judgments, and seven bowl judgments. That brings us to the great battle of Armageddon, which takes place in chapter sixteen. The Bible tells us that demonic spirits go out to gather the kings of the whole world.

"They gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon" (Revelation 16:16).

This is setting the stage for the final battle of the end times. Once the troops are assembled in this central valley of Israel, the return of the King of kings takes place. John tells us that the timeline of the tribulation ends with the very rider we already met a few weeks ago, the King of kings and Lord of lords, riding out on a white horse in power and glory. This time, we see what happens when He arrives.

"Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf…" (Revelation 19:19-20).

"The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh" (Revelation 19:20-21).

At the close of the time of Tribulation, Jesus, the King of kings, returns.

As I studied these events this week, I found myself asking a question I think every believer should ask. What do I need to do before the Rapture, before the church is caught up to heaven and all of this begins to happen? Three things came to mind, and I wrote these down to share with you this morning.

The first is to walk closely with Jesus. Not from a distance, not out of duty, but close, the way you'd walk beside someone you trust with your whole life. He has promised,

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

That is not a promise for the easy days only. That is a promise for every day, including the hard ones. He also promised,

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

In other words, when I put Him first, everything I need will be provided. I don't have to carry the weight of tomorrow. I just have to walk with Him today.

The second thing I need to do is encourage others. That is why we have walked through this series together, so I could encourage you to be prepared. None of us were meant to walk through these days alone, and none of us were meant to face what is coming without a family of believers standing beside us. The writer of Hebrews put it this way,

"Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25).

The third thing I need to do is pray for the people around me and share the way of salvation with everyone I can reach while there is still time. Time is short, and every conversation, every prayer, every act of love toward someone who does not yet know Jesus matters more than we realize.

During the days of tribulation,

"There will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be equaled again" (Matthew 24:21).

But for all of us who have trusted Him and received Him, Jesus has so much more prepared for us. We are not headed toward distress. We are headed toward glory.

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you" (Jeremiah 29:11-12).

So this morning, I want to leave you with two questions. Will you walk with Him and trust Him? And will you be found faithful when He comes?

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.