Not all Christians agree on end times events.

The world's final events are completely under God's control.

End time events happen because God has decreed them to occur according to a foreknown plan.

The timelines offered in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13 are the same as the events mentioned in Revelation 6-7.

The Millennial reign of Christ demonstrates that the non-elect of this world cannot repent even under ideal circumstances.  It all boils down to the sovereign election of the saved and not man's intellect or freewill.

The Antichrist will appear before the rapture.

The "man of lawlessness" is the same as the Antichrist.

The signs mentioned in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 will be witnessed by Christians prior to the rapture.

The order of signs mentioned in the Gospels are chronologically ordered.  They are not arbitrarily arranged bullet points.

There are two resurrections-one for the saved and one for the unsaved.

The resurrection of the saved will occur right before the rapture of the saints.

Those of the first resurrection will never experience the second death.

The resurrection involves this present physical body putting on another nature-the imperishable nature.

God has never withheld persecution from the church. Persecution is purposeful and serves a plan in the growing of God's Kingdom.

Setting the context
There is another note I must make about this author's view of God's plans for the end times. We believe that God chooses who will be saved and who will not.  You may know this position by the title of Calvinism or Reformed doctrine. It's not an easy position to accept for many who feel that this is irreconcilable with God's love and fairness.  But I believe that an almighty God can be both loving and fair while at the same time sovereignly determine the destiny of all mankind. We are simply too small and too simple to understand how an infinitely wise God can manage to be all these things at the same time. I don't attempt to reconcile them by figuring them out in this article, I just assume them to be true. I reconcile these matters by leaving them in the hands of God who judges rightly. I write a view of God I find most defendable from Scripture.

The sovereignty of God, that is, the complete control God has plays out in end times theology to such a great extent that it is not only part of the story, it is the story.  This world's final days are predetermined and dictated by our Lord who alone has the right to unfold these events according to his pleasure.  As the book of Revelation says regarding the Lord, "You alone are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals..." (Revelation 5:9).  The scroll and seals mentioned in Revelation 5-7 list the final events to play out in the world according to Christ's sovereign control.  Revelation makes clear that events listed beneath each seal cannot come to pass until the Lord breaks the seal. Daniel, who also writes about the end days, mentions that the prophesied events will occur "at the appointed time" (Daniel 11:29) and that "what has been determined must take place." (Daniel 11:36; cf. Daniel 8:19) God does not merely predict the future, he brings it to pass by his decree and on his own terms. As Isaiah quotes the Lord, "I [the Lord] make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that I will do." (Isaiah 46:9-11)  God is the one to bring about the fulfillment of what was said.  It is precisely under this context that all end times theology occurs.

Timeline
I would have preferred to jump right into refuting Witnesses, but realized that a more foundational response must be laid first. We shall first explain our  position to the reader before attempting to address theological differences between Christians and Witnesses. Below is the timeline some in theology (such as myself) have found most consistent with Scripture

1. From the time of Christ's ascension until the time of the seven seals (Revelation 6-7), the world will ebb and flow through various times and trials. None of the events during this period could be described as being like the times Jesus described to denote the end where "if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive." (Matthew 24:22) The signs of the end are sharply contrasted by how dreadful they will be. This is how Christ defined the time of the end.

2. After this period of history, the seven seals will begin. This is the period in which Christ says, "if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive." (Matthew 24:22) Christians will be on earth for most of this period and through 3 and 1/2 years of the Antichrist's reign until the 6th seal mentioned by John in Revelation. The first 6 seals correspond perfectly with the Sign of the End of the Age Discourse given in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. They are, in fact, one and the same events. Though each may offer a little more or less information than the others, the events between Matthew, Mark Luke and Revelation are

   (1) The same
   (2) Occur in the exact same order and
   (3) All conclude with the same climactic event--the disruption of the sun, moon and
       stars and people in fear of the Lord's wrath

Where Matthew, Mark and Luke mention the rapture, Revelation 7 mentions a great multitude that suddenly appears in heaven before the throne. The correspondence is so identical in more than one aspect that one should at least consider the possibility that are the same events. This author concludes that they are the same.

3. Once the Lord's chosen people are raptured, the period of God's wrath begins. This period includes the Seven Trumpets and Seven Bowls of God's Wrath mentioned in Revelation. Not all of the wicked die during this period with some surviving up until and through the millennial rule of Christ.

4. Upon completion of the period of wrath, Christ returns with his elect and establishes a thousand year period of ruling where those who survive the period of God's wrath are ruled over by the saints.

5. At the conclusion of the Millennial period, the wicked who survive will be yet again deceived into waging war against the Lord. It is this event that perfectly demonstrates that salvation cannot come through rational freewill methods of choosing God.  For if salvation is achieved by rationally choosing to have faith in Christ, then people who survived God's wrath and later experience the perfect rule of Christ would have denied themselves and followed our savior. This period serves what seems to be the purpose of displaying that unless one belongs to God by God's choosing, even the most ideal circumstances will not lead a man to seek salvation. In the end he is destroyed as a demonstration to the elect of God's glory (Romans 9:22-23).

6. Finally there is a Judgment Day and the unfolding of a new heavens and new earth. The elect of the Lord are to inherit the earth.  We do not inherit and occupy heaven forever, as some may believe, but the earth. If anyone is discouraged by this thought, there are compelling reasons to believe that at this time heaven and earth will be united as one Kingdom--God's Kingdom.

Proving chronology from Scripture
There are a good handful of passages that make chronological statements and do so quite clearly.  One of the major questions to answer in chronology is when will the rapture occur in relation to the appearance of the Antichrist. It is precisely this question Paul answers in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 when he writes

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

The topic being discussed by Paul was no doubt the time of the rapture. His answer was simple: that day will not come unless the "man of lawlessness" (the Antichrist) is revealed. There are a few ways people rejecting this timeline have attempted to refute the timeline set by Paul.  One argument employed is that the "man of lawlessness" isn't the Antichrist. The problem with this argument is that Paul's description of the "man of lawlessness" too closely resembles the Antichrist in other passages to which he alludes. Paul mentions that a rebellion occurs before the "man of lawlessness" is revealed. In the same way, Daniel speaks of the Antichrist as arising "when rebels have become completely wicked..." (Daniel 8:23)  Paul speaks of the "man of lawlessness" exalting himself over God.  Daniel speaks of the Antichrist who will "consider himself superior" and "take his stand against the Prince of princes [a reference to Christ]."  Paul speaks of the "man of lawlessness" perishing at the breath and glory of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:8).  Daniel says that the Antichrist "will be destroyed, but not by human power" (Daniel 8:25).  It is quite easy to argue that Paul must have had Daniel chapter 8 in mind when he wrote 2 Thessalonians 2.

Another argument often employed against 2 Thessalonians is that the Greek here does not literally say that the Antichrist must come first. It is a valid point to seek out the Greek to make sure that translators are not merely paraphrasing the Greek and prove out that Paul indeed says that the "man of lawlessness" must "come first".  If we cannot be absolutely certain that these words occur in the Greek, then the passage must be left open for interpretation.  In regards to the Greek, here again we can say with certainty that no ambiguity exists.  The Greek reads literally as

   oti              ean mh    elQh       h               apostasia            prwton    kai    apokalufQh
   because unless   comes   the  rebellion/lawlessness   first      and    revelation
   o anQropoV      thV anomiaV,      o   uioV                  thV                               apwleiaV
   of the man    of lawlessness, the son     of/[for the purpose of]*    destruction

*Genitive does not always denote possession but conveys other usages such as purpose.  In fact, genitive declension is the most versatile of cases in Greek and requires more than just basic Greek grammar studies to fully understand its uses and affected meanings.

Paul's argument is simple, the coming of the Lord and our being gathered to him will not come "unless" (ean mh) the rebellion and man of lawlessness "comes first" (elQh prwton). There is no ambiguity or confusion as the intended meaning of Paul's grammar in this sentence. Paul is clearly (1) referring to the Antichrist and (2) placing his appearance before the rapture. Another detail mentioned in passing is that the Antichrist will stand in the temple.  This is one reason why many bible scholars believe that the temple will be rebuilt prior to or during the reign of the Antichrist.

If our being gathered to the Lord occurs after the Antichrist appears, then Christians will still be present on the earth during his reign.  This is contrary to a popular view where the Antichrist arises only after the Church has been taken away from the earth. It may be a popular view, but one directly in contradiction with Scripture.  The idea that Christians will be around to witness the Antichrist setting up "the abomination that causes desolation" in the temple fits well with the Sign of the End of the Age Discourses given in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.  In the discourse, Jesus is asked by his disciples what signs they are to look for before the end comes.  Notice how many times Jesus uses the word "you" implying that this is something the believers ought to expect to see first hand

    "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars"
     (Matthew 24:6)

    "You will be handed over to be persecuted..."
    (Matthew 24:9)

    "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes
    desolation'..."
    (Matthew 24:15)

    "If anyone tells you, 'there he is'..."
    (Matthew 24:26)

Throughout the entire passage, Jesus tells his followers that it will be a personal experience--"you" will see it. It is not until after the "abomination" associated with the Antichrist and the sign of the sun, moon and stars occur that Jesus says, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky...he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather up his elect..." (Matthew 24:30-31).  The same timeline and conclusion is given in Mark 13 and Luke 21.  In 2 Thessalonians 2, Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 the chronological events include the Antichrist appearing first then the rapture. The gospels add additional chronological events allowing us to begin laying out additional timeline details such as

    Wars appear
    Famines occur
    Persecution comes*
    Antichrist appears in the temple*
    The sun, moon and stars are troubled
    People mourn the Son of Man coming
    God's elect are raptured

    *In Daniel, the Antichrist's reign goes hand in hand with persecution of the saints.

The argument is often asserted that Matthew's discourse is not necessarily intended to be in chronological order. The justification for this is almost always an assumption that the events occur in a different than written order.  The interpretation becomes one of forcing the text to comply with a preconceived conclusion rather than assuming that the order of the passage may somehow be inspired and purposeful. Contrary to the belief that Matthew has no timeline in mind, the manner in which he writes portrays a different story.  The first signs Matthew writes about are wars, earthquakes and famines.  Not only does Matthew write these events first, he literally calls them "the beginning" to denote order.  These beginning signs are then followed by persecution.  The very first word of verse 9 is "then" which can also be translated in this context as "at that time" (tote)--"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted." This again is a timeline keyword used by Matthew. After Matthew writes about the "abomination" in verse 15 he says the sun, moon and stars will be disturbed "immediately after the distress of those days..." (vs. 29).  If Matthew didn't really care to tell us when the sun, moon and stars would be disturbed, why would he use critical words such as "immediately after"?  By using timeline keywords, Matthew clearly intends us to believe that each event in this discourse chronologically follows what was written just before.  The idea that Matthew wrote this passage without a timeline in mind goes against the clarity of the text.

Another reason to believe that each of these events go in chronological order is the very fact that they correspond with the numbered seals in Revelation 6-7.  In Matthew 24 the order of events is

    Wars appear
    Famines occur
    Persecution comes
    Antichrist appears in the temple
    The sun, moon and stars are troubled
    People mourn the Son of Man coming
    God's elect are raptured

In Revelation 6-7 the order of events is

    Wars appear
    Famines occur
    Persecution comes
    The sun, moon and stars are troubled
    People mourn the Son of Man coming
    God's elect are raptured (the great multitude in heaven)

Since the events are identical in detail and order between each passage, it can be concluded with a safe measure of assurance that they are one and the same events. The fact that each of the seals in Revelation 6-7 are numbered further verifies that the order in Matthew 24 is in proper chronological order.  It is also important to note that the order of events in Matthew 24 are identical to events in Mark 13 and Luke 21 with timeline keywords being used in each of those passages as well.

The nature and timeline of the resurrection
There are two resurrections that occur in Scripture: (1) the resurrection of the righteous and (2) the resurrection of the unrighteous. Witnesses believe that there will be a simultaneous resurrection of both the righteous and unrighteous with the unrighteous being given a second chance during the Millennial reign of Christ.  Scripture has a decidedly different view of the resurrection.  In John 5, Jesus says, "those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." (John 5:29)  The righteous will rise for the purpose of living while the unrighteous will rise for the purpose of being condemned.  Nowhere in Scripture is it ever taught that the unrighteous receive a resurrection for the purpose of having a second chance.  It is simply something the Witness believes without any proof.  Their resurrection serves only one purpose--condemnation. Scripture also contradicts the Witness on the point of when the righteous and unrighteous rise in relation to each other.  Witnesses teach a simultaneous resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous, but Scripture teaches that the righteous rise at the coming of the Lord while the unrighteous wait until 1,000 years later to be risen.  Paul writes that the resurrection of the righteous coincides with the appearing of the Lord in the sky

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

It is the "dead in Christ" who rise who are taken up by the Lord even before we who are still alive are raptured. One can only imagine being able to witness their loved ones in Christ rising, yet this is precisely what will happen to us who are still living when the Lord comes.  Where Paul teaches about the resurrection of the righteous, it is John who tells us that the unrighteous must wait another 1,000 years to be risen.  In Revelation he writes

They [the righteous] came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended).  This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy are those are those who have part in the first resurrection.  The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4-6

Witnesses believe that both the unrighteous and righteous will be raised at the beginning of the thousand year reign of Christ and they also believe that those who don't repent during this time will die as part of "the second death."  Yet again Scripture is against this Witness view.  John says of those from the first resurrection that "the second death has no power over them" because they are "blessed and holy".  In order to maintain the Witness' theological position, one would need to be comfortable with contradicting what John writes here.  There are clearly two resurrections: the "first resurrection" for the righteous and second resurrection for the unrighteous. None of those in the first resurrection perish in the second death because John says that "the second death has no power over them" (vs. 6).  After the thousand years are over (vs. 7) we see the resurrection of the unrighteous (vss.12-13).  To these the sentence of the second death is given.  They "will rise to be condemned." (John 5:29)

The nature of the resurrection body is an immortal body.  Paul says of this resurrection

For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:52-53

Paul doesn't say that we will no longer have a physical body but that "this perishable" (fqarton touto) body will have placed on it (theological passive verb endusasqai) the imperishable (aqanasian).  Paul uses the demonstrative pronoun touto ("this") to emphasize that it is "this perishable" body that has placed on, that is, "clothed with" the imperishable. We do not lose this body, rather this body is transformed so that it cannot die.  The idea of being clothed furthers the picture of keeping this body but putting on an additional nature that causes it to be imperishable.  Paul says that this body puts on the imperishable and immortal, the idea being that we will literally be incapable of wasting away or being killed. We will not only never die again, we won't be capable of suffering or experiencing injury to our renewed bodies!

With the Scriptural evidence so far we are able to construct the following end days timeline

    Wars will appear
    Famines will occur
    Persecution will come to the church
    We will see the Antichrist appear in the temple
    The sun, moon and stars will be troubled
    At that time, the Son of Man will come down from heaven
    Nations will mourn when they see our Lord coming
    The dead in Christ will rise first
    Then God's elect are raptured
    Following this, there will be punishments upon the earth
    At the end of these punishments, we will reign 1,000 years with Christ on the earth
    After the 1,000 year reign, the unrighteous are raised to be condemned

God will allow the persecution of the Church
If there is any point more uncomfortable to the Christian ear, it is the idea that God is comfortable with allowing persecution of the church. Yet with the Lord, trials, persecution and death are purposeful.  Jesus reminded his disciples that their persecutions and arrest will result in their witnessing before the rulers of the land (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21).  When Paul was arrested for preaching salvation through Jesus Christ, the Lord told him that his arrest would result in being a witness in both Jerusalem and Rome (Acts 23:11). While many end times books have been teaching the church not to expect hardships and trials, Paul had a contrary message for his disciples, saying, "We kept telling you that we would be persecuted." (1 Thessalonians 3:4)  In our discussion of  2 Thessalonians 2 (above) we learned that the Antichrist would appear before the rapture. The Antichrist has always been associated with persecution of the church. Daniel saw in a vision of the Antichrist that he would be "waging war against the saints and defeating them until the Ancient of Days came." (Daniel 7:21)  It is for three and a half years that the Antichrist will have the authority to wage war on the saints (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7). What was the point of God allowing this? "This will result in your being witnesses to them," Jesus said (Luke 21:13).

Persecution spreads the Gospel and refines the church. When persecution struck the church in the book of Acts, "all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." (Acts 8:1)  The result was that "those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." (Acts 8:4)  Persecution serves a divine plan and even circumvents the work of the Devil.  The trials that Satan intends for harm, God uses for our good. James said, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)  In fact, trials prove out your faith and show you to be a true believer or a false believer.  Jesus says of the man who receives the Gospel but does not understand it, "When trouble of persecution comes because of the work, he quickly falls away." (Matthew 13:21)  Imagine the frustration of Satan when his trials only end up producing holiness and godly character in the believer!

Nowhere does the Bible lead us to despair over the trials to come.  Paul said of our hardships, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)  In fact, we have been subjected to frustration in this fallen world "in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." (Romans 8:21)  Frustrations, sufferings and trials are part of God's hope for his people where in the end "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." (Revelation 21:4)  The curse will be gone, God's people will be free and life will be eternal.

Happily ever after where?
Will Christians be in heaven forever or on the earth forever?  more coming...