The End Time Bible Commentary

In 1 Peter 1:10-12, the bible says, "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully. They probed into what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ and his subsequent glory. They were shown that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things now announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things angels long to catch a glimpse of." Likewise, if we share the longings of the prophets and angels, and attempt to understand the details and timings of end time events, we are not serving ourselves but rather all who will see the fulfilment of end time events.

Matthew 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus' response to this question is known as the 'Olivet Discourse' and is recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 and 21. This discourse provides the backbone for my attempt to place major end-time events in the order in which they will occur.

Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 contain two separate visions of four empires that would rule on Earth, starting with the Babylonian Empires and ending with Antichrist's end-time Empire. While the world has seen various additional empires since the days of Daniel, the context suggests that these are four empires that would rule both Israel and the region of Babylon. The first three are easy to identify from history. The fourth is not so clear.

Revelation 17:8-13 portrays Antichrist's end-time empire as a seven-headed beast that comes up out of the abyss, that is to say, it is the restored form of an historic empire. Verses 9-11 say, "The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. This points us to a timeline of seven historic empires that have ruled Israel, one of which will be restored for a short time at the end of the age.

Revelation includes three series of chronological end-time events as portrayed by the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls. Additional sections of Revelation give us further perspective and overview but are not necessarily to be interpreted chronologically.

When Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2 at the beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:16-21), was he proclaiming a Jubilee year? And if his first coming ministry started in a Jubilee year, will his second coming also happen in a Jubilee year?

Biblical prophets all ministered and prophesied within an historical context, so any serious study of biblical prophecy includes the study of biblical history. A chart dating the kings and prophets is therefore helpful.