Originally posted by: Crono
The Bible gets fairly specific when it comes to prophecies regarding the last days. Much more specific than any vague prophecy from anything else. Essentially, from the Book of Revelation, Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, and other passages throughout scripture, there is a rundown of all of human history, from an expansive timeline. Daniel gives a representative overview of history by naming and describing the attributes of 4 world empires that have passed (2 which were yet future at the time of Daniel). Those 4 empires were Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome (there are 2 other nations mentioned in the Bible that were significant empires, Egypt and Assyria, but not on the world scale). The first 3 world empires passed away in succession, as Daniel prophecied. The interesting thing is that the time period we are living in now, the time period since the death and resurrection of Jesus, is seen almost as a pause in between events, a time often called the "church age", during which the gospel would reach the entire world. Once the gospel has reached "every tribe, tongue, and nation", the world would have resumed a state very similar to the time before Jesus died: the Roman Empire would be back, and it would again be a world empire. 10 nations will rise in prominence out the divided, yet strong in some areas, kingdom, and 1 individual will rise (called the Antichrist, but actual name/person is unknown).
In an attempt to take control of the world, the Antichrist will promise peace and be a very persuasive leader, but his endgame is to conquer all and rule. His attempt will be successful at first. He will use political, religious, and economic unity of nations to bring into position a one world government. Politically, the union of nations (union of unions) will be necessary. Economically, one currency, and one world market and commerce system, will be employed. To control the thoughts of people, one religion, a massive ecumenical movement with the eventual false messiah worship of the Antichrist (similar to the Babylonian "mystery" religion, hence the usage of "Babylon" metaphorically in Revelation) will be employed.
That is not to say everyone will buy into the system the Antichrist sets up. Many will, but not all. The Jewish 144,000 converts at that time will not, nor will any of the new Christians at that time. And many people throughout the world won't either. Eventually, the eastern nations (possibly China and/or India) will mount a massive (1,000,000,000+ army, at least) to attack the Antichrist and his empire. The Antichrist will attack Israel, hoping to kill the Jews and the Christians there. All of this is occurring during the time of the Tribulation, a 7 year period in which great judgments are being brought upon the world, in increasing intensity, by God. These are all outlined in the book of Revelation in the bowl, seal, and trumpet judgments. The final judgment brings the return of Jesus Christ, who, in an instant, delivers the nation of Israel and defeats the Antichrist. This ushers in the 5th (or 7th) world empire, the final one, which will last 1,000 years on this earth, and it will be a time of peace and prosperity for all. Isaiah describes this time, the millennium, in his book.
What leads to the Tribulation, which marks the beginning of it, is what is referred to as "the Rapture". This is God taking out of the world, and thus sparing from the judgments if those 7 years, those who have been "born again" by repenting from sin and trusting in Him wholeheartedly. A foreshadowing of this took place in Genesis, when Lot was spared from the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah, and was taken out of the city and its suburbs before they completely destroyed. Or the example of the nation of Israel, and their settlement of Goshen, which was completely spared from the 10 plagues the Egyptians were struck with prior to the Exodus. Or even earlier than both of these examples, when the Flood was brought upon the entire wicked world, and Noah and his family were spared.
There are other prophecies and events, but to go into all of them in full detail takes time and space.