“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

Why does God want us to know this precise order of events? So we can know the truth! If we don't know the truth of His word we might risk falling for the lies of many counterfeit religions, even Christian religions.

When Jesus returns . . . the end begins! First, those believers who are dead in the grave will be raised, they will then join together with the believers who are alive and will meet Jesus in the air as He takes us to live with Him for a thousand years in heaven.

​“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”   ~Revelation 20:6

The remainder of the people alive on earth, those who decided to go it alone, who didn’t feel they needed a Savior, will be consumed upon Christ’s return.

​“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”   ~2 Thessalonians 2:8

​“By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of His anger they are consumed.”   ~Job 4:9

​“. . . He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.”   ~Isaiah 11:4

​Those who are dead in their graves who chose to forgo redemption will stay in the grave for the next thousand years until the second resurrection.

​“But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”   ~Revelation 20:5

Satan will be bound with his fallen angels to an empty vacated earth for this thousand year period with no humans to torture.

​“He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”   ~Revelation 20:2

​“Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? . . . “   ~1 Corinthian 6:2-3

Then after the thousand years, Jesus will bring us back to earth with Him to finish judgment. At this time Jesus will resurrect the wicked, this is known as the second resurrection.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”   ~Revelation 20:12

​Satan will now be released from his prison and will try to reek havoc with the saints who are returning with Jesus but will fail.

“​Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which ae in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.”   ~​Revelation 20:7-8

Judgment is passed—Satan, his demons (also known as fallen angels) and all of the wicked and unbelieving people will then be destroyed.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”   ~2 Peter 3:10

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”   ~Revelation 21:8

​Jesus now renews the earth where we will live eternally with Him in the City of Peace, the New Jerusalem.

“​Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”   ~Revelation 21:1

“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God…”   ~Revelation 21:10

At this time He will establish His eternal kingdom here on a recreated earth. The New Jerusalem; meaning the City of Peace, where Jesus will reign with us forever!

“And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—The Lord is one, and His name one.”   ~Zechariah 14:9

​“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”   ~Revelation 21:7

​The following timeline chart is my favorite go-to chronology table. It helps me to see everything all together for the entire thousand-year period along with the correlating verses. And most importantly, I can know it is the absolute truth because it was taken directly from a New King James Bible, and not from someone’s personal perspective, interpretation or opinion.

​“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”   ~Revelation 21:4

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