The Book of Daniel gives us the timeframe for the tribulation—seven years. However, Revelation provides considerable detail and specificity about what will occur during this period. Some chapters in the Book of Revelation are parenthetical, providing a broader timeframe for more detailed events. For example, Revelation chapter twelve provides an overview of Israel’s struggle with Satan for the past two thousand years, beginning with the birth of Christ and culminating in the time of Jacob’s trouble. Another example is in chapter thirteen, where we read about the rise of the Antichrist (the beast from the sea) and the false prophet (the beast from the earth). This chapter provides more detailed information about the kingdom of the Antichrist, revealed earlier in chapter six, which begins in the first year of the tribulation. Therefore, recognizing these parenthetical chapters is essential to interpreting the prophetic timeline.
The Resurrection and Rapture
The Apostle Paul said, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52); “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
