Changes

Ultimately world events will lead to a final battle between the nations of the world (led by the Antichrist) and Israel culminating at the Battle of [[Armageddon]].  Israel will find itself on the brink of extinction when Jesus Christ Himself will return with an army (commonly believed to consist of all Christians from all of history) and defeat the Antichrist and False Prophet.

Ultimately world events will lead to a final battle between the nations of the world (led by the Antichrist) and Israel culminating at the Battle of [[Armageddon]].  Israel will find itself on the brink of extinction when Jesus Christ Himself will return with an army (commonly believed to consist of all Christians from all of history) and defeat the Antichrist and False Prophet.

===Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse===

====Plagues====

Revelation first describes the arrival of the [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]: Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. However, the Bible itself only directly names one horseman, "death".

During the Tribulation period a total of 21 judgments are pronounced on the earth, grouped into three series of seven judgments each.  The first seven are announced by the breaking of Seals, the next seven announced by the blowing of Trumpets, and the final seven announced by the pouring out of Bowls.

There is wide agreement concerning the identity of the first horseman, which many interpret to represent the Antichrist. Some equate it to worldwide gospel preaching, as many post-millennialists believe.

The first four seals are widely-known even in the secular world by their appearance as four horses and riders, commonly referred to as The [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]].  Traditionally they are referred to as Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death; however, the Bible itself only directly names Death.  The first horseman is believed by some to refer to the Antichrist (as it appears early in Chapter 3), while other interpretations (common among those holding to Postmillenial views) equate it to world-wide Gospel preaching.  Some scholars hold to a direct correlation between the events of the seals and the list of events found in the Olivet Discourse, as found in Matthew 24. According to this view, the first four seals are usually perceived as being the ''beginning of birth pangs'' (Matthew 24:4-8).

The four horsemen are synonymous to the first four seals, and there is a direct correlation between the events of the seals and the list of events found in the Olivet Discourse, as found in Matthew 24. According to this view, the first four seals are usually perceived as being the ''beginning of birth pangs'' (Matthew 24:4-8).

However, the sequence of the order of these plagues are disputed among prophecy teachers. There are two main camps:

 

*The "concurrent" or "overlapping" interpretation postulates that the judgements overlap each other, with the Seal judgments being the longest in duration, the Trumpet judgments being shorter, and the Bowl judgments the shortest.

 

*The "consecutive" or "crescendo" interpretation teaches that the next set of judgments occur after the previous set of judgments, and increase in harshness between them. As such, the Seal judgments are followed by the Trumpet judgments and finally by the Bowl judgments.

 

 

Twenty-one judgements are pronounced on the earth: the seven Seal Judgements, the seven Trumpet Judgements, and the seven Bowl Judgements. The sequence of the order of these plagues are disputed among prophecy teachers. The concurrent or overlapping interpretation postulates that the judgements overlap each other while the 7 Seals are the longest in duration, while the Trumpet plagues are shorter, and while the Bowl plagues are the shortest. The consecutive or crescendo interpretation teaches that the next set of plagues occur after the previous set of plagues. Therefore, the 7 Seals occur first, the 7 Trumpets next, and the 7 Bowls afterwards.

==In Popular Culture==

==In Popular Culture==