Notes on terminology and graphics..
This timeline basically presents most of the major points, written from the perspective of Christian unity, regarding the end times, which Jesus said we Christians could all recognize if we just know the meaning of the proper signs to look for. The Christian unity of reference is the one explained extensively throughout this prophecy. This is just an overview outline, showing most of the milestones and more significant future events that demarcate the sequential stages of end times progression. As time goes on, and we thus approach the latter stages of this timeline together, many more coming events, details of stages, and explanations will be added in subsequent revisions of this document, in order to describe the latter parts of this prophecy in sufficient detail to identify them before the referenced events occur.
From the beginning of this prophecy the phrase, “end times” has been used, without definition. Before applying this term to a timeline, it’s important to clarify here this phrase as it is used to focus here on the final, several years or decades prior to the coming together of the body of Christ in the power of Christian unity, because the power of the one Spirit in us will no longer be scattered. This glorious unity in Jesus takes place at a known time, which is some unknown time prior to the return of Jesus on the Day of the Lord The day of the Lord is a day the Bible says cannot be precisely known. The Day of the Lord could be right after Christian unity in the fullness of power occurs, or any number of years thereafter, it's up to God.
The phrases “last times”, and “end times”, could be used to refer to different things. Without derivation from the original text, there's general agreement among Christians for saying that the phrase “last times”, as used in the Authorized King James Version, applies to all the time since Jesus first came to earth as a man. From that time forward, thru to His next return on the Day of the Lord at an unknowable date, we have been in what the scripture calls the “last time” or “last times”, which is a general definition with which I very much agree.
1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1 Peter 1: 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
But although these “last times” clearly began when Jesus was first manifested, Jesus makes it clear that it was not necessary for the apostles to know the details of the restoration of power to Israel, which only God has in His power. All they had to know is that they would receive power in the Holy Ghost, and that they had a job to do. The truth is, we Christians, united in the new Israel as the children of the promise, today have the same power, the same glory united in Jesus, and the same job.
Acts 1: 6 ¶ When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Scripture also makes it clear that “the end” comes after Jesus returns.
1 Corinthians 15: 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
And both Jesus and Daniel refer to some latter part of this period as “the end”, or “the time of the end”.
Daniel 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
This is how the phrase “end times” is used in this prophecy, i.e., to mean the last years or decades leading up to Christian unity in the power of the one Spirit of holiness and love in Jesus, which takes place some indefinite time period before Jesus returns on the Day of the Lord, and then “the end” comes. This is not an attempt to split hairs in terminology, or to argue for rightness or wrongness of usage of these terms, but only to state the usage as made here in this prophecy for clarity.
These events are shown below in correct sequence on a graphical representation of a time line that runs from left to right.. The first item, the Putting Forth of Fig Tree Leaves, is not precisely fixed with a label of time, partly for the reason that it has already begun. It is also the present stage of end times in which we now are.
(Graphic Note: On the timeline which is shown in the next part of this chapter, the labeled time intervals are accurately stated as labeled, but there is obviously no scale implied by the relative length of the lines themselves as shown.)