Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program.
On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Together, both the Old and New Testaments contain over 2,000 prophecies.
And while the majority of these prophecies have already come to pass, others have yet to be fulfilled. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress gives us a bird's eye view of the entire landscape of end times prophecy. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome to a brand new week of Bible teaching on Pathway to Victory. Just last week, we started a fascinating study about the end times. And before we begin my next message, I want to make sure that you've had opportunity to request all three exclusive Bible prophecy resources that I've set aside for you. Each one is designed to help you prepare for the soon return of Jesus Christ. First, I want to send you my Bible prophecy chart. We've given away tens of thousands of these fold out brochures because people find them very helpful in understanding the key events on God's timeline for the future.
Events like the rapture, the tribulation, and the millennium. Second, I want to send you my bestselling book called Perfect Ending, Why Your Eternal Future Matters Today. It's the one that coincides with my current teaching series. This is a full length book with more than 200 pages of practical insights on this sometimes complicated topic of biblical prophecy. And third, I want you to have a copy of the end times illustrated. This is a 72 page book that includes 18 illustrations. Each one includes a page number that ties back to the correlated teaching in my book, Perfect Ending. Now all three of these resources are yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.
Now that's a lot of information and so we'll repeat these details later. But right now let's continue a message I began on Friday's program. This particular message will give you a bird's eye view of God's perfect ending. I titled today's message, Getting the Big Picture.
Maps can be very important, especially when you're traveling in an unfamiliar territory. To many people Bible prophecy is such a territory. I'm convinced one reason people are so confused about Bible prophecy is they've never seen the big picture before. Today we're going to try to get the big picture of Bible prophecy. And in the weeks ahead we'll look at each of the events, but today we're going to look at the map, the overview of Bible prophecy. And the first event or time period we're going to look at is called the church age. I want you to write this down as the definition of the church age.
The church age is that period of time from Pentecost in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came until the rapture during which Gentiles are invited to participate in the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. We saw last time in Genesis 12, God made a promise to Abraham and his believing descendants, Israel. And for thousands of years God has been dealing with Israel, trying to bring her into a right relationship with himself. But when Israel rejected Jesus Christ, God temporarily set aside Israel. And he's opened up his invitation list to include anyone, non-Jews like you and I who would like to become a part of the kingdom of God.
That's the period of time we're living in right now. But before God can return to Israel, something else has to happen. The end of the church age, the end of this time of Gentile blessing is going to be the second event that is on your chart called the rapture of the church. And here's the definition of the rapture.
Write it down. The rapture is the snatching away to heaven of all Christians before the beginning of the tribulation. It is the snatching away to heaven of all Christians before the beginning of the tribulation. And following the rapture comes the third event on your chart there, the tribulation. The tribulation is that seven year period that begins when the antichrist signs a peace covenant with Israel and it ends with Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Let me say it again. The tribulation is that seven year period of time that begins when the antichrist signs a peace treaty with Israel and ends with Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ. After the rapture, maybe because of the rapture itself, there is going to be worldwide chaos. And that chaos is going to center just as it centers right now in the Middle East and specifically with Israel. Now, what is the purpose of the tribulation? Folks, this is key to understand. There is a twofold purpose for the great tribulation. Number one, the salvation of Jesus.
