Gospel Timeline (Clicking on
an event in the above timeline will bring related information to this lower
section. You can view a basic outline of this information in a PowerPoint
Presentation called "The Big Picture", or in a series of web pages, by clicking
here.
Click here if you do not see a
timeline above in a few seconds.)
The Bible sums up the Gospel in John 3:16. "For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God is love and
everything that God has done, is doing, or will do stems from this love.
"The history of
the great conflict between good and evil, from the time it first began in heaven
to the final overthrow of rebellion and the total eradication of sin, is...a
demonstration of God's unchanging love."
Patriarchs and Prophets, page 33
In other words, the "Gospel" is the whole story of God's
efforts to save us from sin and to rid the entire universe of sin. It's
the story of how much God loves us. Much of this story is about what Jesus
did for us 2,000 years ago and what He is still doing for us today, but this story actually began long before Jesus was
born here on earth, because Jesus was not created.
He was the Creator.
Summary of these events:
God's Plan of Redemption - The
first event in the story, or Gospel, of Jesus was the Plan of Redemption. The
Bible says that the Plan of Redemption was made before the "foundation of the
world" Rev. 13:8. It was a
plan that would be used to rid the whole universe of sin, and to save any who
would completely trust God. "From the beginning, God
and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the
deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but
He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So
great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten
Son, "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." John 3:16."
The Desire of Ages, page 22
(For further study, read The
Plan of Redemption.)
Lucifer Created - Lucifer, the
one who would become Satan, was created by Jesus to be the highest ranking angel
in Heaven. He was created perfect, with no tendency to sin, yet with the
ability to freely choose to serve God or not to serve Him. (For further
study, read The Origin of Evil.
Also, see Ezekiel 28:12-15
and Angels.)
The Origin of Sin - The next event
cannot be explained. There is no reason that it happened. Lucifer
sinned. (Ezekiel 28:13-19)
If there could be found a reason, it would cease to be sin. The highest ranking
angel in Heaven began to covet the honor that was given to God's Son, Jesus.
Lucifer accused God of being unfair, of limiting the freedom of all created
beings by requiring them to abide by a set of rules (God's Laws). He claimed
that no one could keep God's rules, that even God Himself couldn't keep them,
and that no one needed rules anyway. He claimed that if given the chance to
prove that his plan was better, he would. (For further study, read
Why was Sin Permitted?)
God takes no pleasure in a forced obedience. If He had done
away with Lucifer right away, many would have served God from fear. The only way
to erase sin from the universe was to let the results of sin, the results of
breaking God's Law, be demonstrated. (This is why a loving God must
allow suffering and death today. We are a part of this demonstration.)
Creation - About 6,000 years
ago God created the inhabitants of the Earth. (See the
Creation Timeline for
details.)
First Sin on Earth - Lucifer wanted
to be in charge of all of the
"stars of God", to be "like God", but of all the worlds that God had
created in the whole universe, Lucifer could only win control of the newly
created earth. He deceived Eve (Genesis
3:1-24 & The First Great
Deception) and because Adam sinned also, Lucifer gained control of all
people. Sometime after that, he and all of his followers were forced out of
Heaven (The Bible says that there was war in Heaven.) and he was bound to this earth.
He had wanted a chance to prove that his plan was better and so God is allowing
him that opportunity right now, right here on earth. (To view this same
information in another way, see The Trial of God Timeline. This timeline
also shows in more detail why there is so much suffering today.)
"Noah's" Flood - In the next 2,000
years man became so wicked that God sent a worldwide flood. This kept man from
living such a long, cruel life. (See
Genesis 6-8 and the Noah and
the Flood Timeline.)
Jesus 1st Coming -
About 2,000 years after the Flood, and about 4,000 years after Creation, God
became a man. (Also see the Life of
Jesus Timeline, the
Ministry of Jesus Timeline and the Passion Week Timeline for more details.)
To fully understand why God (the Son - Jesus) would want to become a man is
to fully understand the Gospel, but the love that God has for the whole universe
and even for humans is beyond our ability to completely understand. Yet, we need
to try to understand this awesome story, so here are a few of the reasons
we know of that Jesus became a man:
1) Satan had claimed that the Law of God was not good, that even God
could not keep it. Jesus came to prove that it could be kept, and that it was
not only good, but perfect.
2) Satan had so misrepresented God that Jesus wanted to show us (and the
angels) what God was really like.
3) If left unchecked, Satan and sin would destroy the earth, and us. Jesus
came and died so that we could live, and because of His death, He has
a "legal" right to save all who will trust Him.
Today, because of what Jesus did, the whole universe knows that God really does
love us and that the Devil was lying. Satan proved how much he hates God
when he killed Jesus on the cross. (See
a parable of Jesus & the story of
Job.) He, Satan, has proved to the universe that his way is not better. In
fact, he has proved that any deviation from God's Law (also known
as "breaking the Ten Commandments" or "sin") would not only destroy the earth,
but the whole universe. Still, God is giving him even more time to show
just how bad things would get if all were under his control.
(*Please take note that this is the
point in the above timeline where we are right now. For more information,
about the events just before Jesus returns to rescue those who completely trust
Him, see the End-Time Events Timeline.)
Jesus 2nd Coming - After some of
the devastating effects of sin are shown, Jesus will return to rescue His people
from this earth and take them to live with Him for 1,000 years. This will
include those people spoken about in the next section. (Click here for
further study & also see the
Jesus Second Coming Timeline.)
Righteous Raised - When
Jesus returns to rescue His people, all those who have died trusting in Christ
will be resurrected (1
Thessalonians 4:13-17). The Bible calls this the "1st
resurrection", those who are resurrected here will not have a part in the
"2nd death" noted below. (For more information on this period of time,
including the "1st resurrection" and the "2nd death", see the
Death & Hell Timeline.
There is a common misunderstanding that there will only be 144,000 people saved
when Jesus comes again, but actually the Bible's book of Revelation not only
speaks of the 144,000
Rev. 7:4 but goes on to
say, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands;" Rev.
7:9 In other words, the Bible says that there will be
many more than 144,000 who will be saved. For further study read:
Hope for the Heathen)
Wicked Killed - When Jesus
returns, not only will He save those who have trusted in Him, but He will also "destroy with the brightness of His coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10) all
those who follow after Satan and "love not the truth". Notice that
Satan, himself, is not killed (see the "Bottomless Pit" section below).
1,000 Years of Peace - For 1,000
years, the righteous will judge what the results of sin have been (like a jury
does today). They will open the records in Heaven, records of every thought,
every deed that has ever been done. They will see for themselves that God is
just and fair in what He is about to do. (See Revelation 20:2-6)
Bottomless Pit - During this 1,000
years, Satan and the other fallen angels are the only ones alive on this earth.
The righteous are all in Heaven with Jesus who has just rescued them and the
wicked are all dead, destroyed by Jesus' return. The earth is in total ruins
because of what Satan and sin have done. This is the "Bottomless Pit"
spoken of in Revelation 20:1-3. and can be understood as a "bottomless pit" because Satan has no where to go and no one to tempt to sin. His whole focus has been to hurt God, but now he can do nothing except think. Satan will realize that there is no hope for him now, that he has had his chance for forgiveness, but turned it down.
Satan is in a cold, dark "solitary confinement", but Jeremiah, the prophet, says
that God isn't done with the wicked and has not made a "full end" yet. (See
Jeremiah 4:23-27 and also The Trial of God Timeline.)
Holy City Descends - At the end of
the 1,000 years, after the Judgment in Heaven is over, the Holy City, the
righteous, and Jesus return to the earth. (See Revelation 21:2 and Revelation 20:9)
Wicked Raised - The wicked
are all resurrected (Revelation
20:5-7). *
* It is
interesting to note that at this time everyone who has ever lived on this earth
will all be alive at the same time.
Judgment - God's judgment is
passed on all humans (Revelation
20:11-15), some to eternal life and some to an eternity without life. Either you will live forever, or you will not live forever
Ezekiel 13:22. There
is no such thing as an in-between. (For further study, see the
Death & Hell Timeline.)
Lake of Fire - God will destroy not only sinners, Satan, and sin itself, but
even death will be destroyed in what the Bible calls "the Lake of Fire"
(Today we call this "Lake of Fire" either "Hell Fire" or just "Hell".
Again, see the Death & Hell Timeline
for more related information.). "And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away." Revelation 21:4
Eternity Without Sin Begins -
Once sin is forever gone, God will recreate the earth and will make all things
new, and through all of Eternity the righteous will attempt to understand the
love that God has for them. He wants them to be happy, He has always wanted them
to be happy, and now they will be happy, forever. There will be so much to
enjoy that the "former things" will not be remembered. (Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1-4)
What will those who have completely trusted in Jesus do for
eternity? Will we just "sit on a cloud and play a harp" as some would lead
us to believe? No, here is what the Bible says:
"And they shall build houses, and inhabit [them];
and they shall
plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another
inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree [are]
the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they [are] the
seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall
come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet
speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the
lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the serpent's meat.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD."
Isaiah 65: 21-25
"And so shall we ever be with the Lord"
1 Thessalonians 4:17
For further study
read:
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