Before I put this book back on my shelf, I thought I’d share a timeline for anyone interested in knowing how the rapture, tribulation, and return of Christ all fit together.

One of my go-to resources when preaching on biblical prophecy is Understanding End Times Prophecy by Paul Benware. We used the book in seminary, and I always appreciate his clear and fair treatment of the issues. I know dispensationalists get teased for their complicated graphs and charts. But there’s nothing to be ashamed of for using a visual aid now and then to help visualize and harmonize complicated passages of scripture.

If you don’t believe in the rapture or a literal seven year tribulation, you still have to grapple with what the Bible means by the many passages of scriptures that seem to teach these things.

So much of this is hermeneutics — your method of interpretation — and whether to take these prophecies literal or figurative. I prefer to err on the side of being literal with biblical prophecy (rebuilt temple, antichrist, seven year tribulation, thousand year reign, etc), though obviously we know there is figurative language in the Bible and we have to account for that.