Yes. The key to Pre-Millennial and Pre-Tribulation eschatology is found in the chapter 61 of the book of Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” (Isaiah 61:1-2)
Isaiah 61 teaches three periods of time; a long one like a year (Christian dispensation), followed by a short period of time like a day (Tribulation) and then the Millennial Kingdom. This prophecy shows the Messiah will usher in three different periods of time:
- A long time likened to a year.
- A short period of time likened to a day.
- A time of comfort to all that mourn in Zion.
These three periods of time are:
- The Christian dispensation.
- The seven-year Tribulation.
- The Millennial Kingdom.
Jesus began his ministry by bringing in the first period of time: the Christian dispensation (Luke 4:18-19). After He raptures the church, He will usher in the second period: the Tribulation. Then at the end of the Tribulation with His glorious appearing, He will bring in the third period of time: the Millennial Kingdom.
The length of the Tribulation in relation to the Christian dispensation is like one day is to a year. The Tribulation will be seven years in length, so the Christian dispensation will be about 360 times as long, or approximately 2520 years. This it is not an exact relationship, but an approximate one.
It has been a tradition for more than 2000 years for Jews in every congregation to read the same passage on the Sabbath. On the Sabbath Jesus went to the synagogue and read the passage in Isaiah 61, that same passage was read in every synagogue in the world. Jesus stopped reading after the phrase, “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”
He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and then said, “Today hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). He did not read on and say, “and the day of vengeance of our God [the Tribulation] and to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion” (Millennial Kingdom), because those prophecies would not be fulfilled for nearly 2000 years. This is the foundational passage for the doctrine of Pre-Millennialism, which teaches that the Second Coming of Jesus will take place before the Millennial Kingdom.
The Olivet Discourse follows the same pattern. The First Coming of Christ and the Church Age are described in Matthew 24.4-8, and the Tribulation and Second Coming are covered in verses 9-31. The beginning of the Millennial Kingdom is then described in Matthew 25:31-34.
Chapters 1-3 of Revelation describe the First Coming of Christ and the church dispensation. Chapters 4-5 give the scene in heaven after the Rapture (“Come up hither” 4:1), and chapters 6-19 describe the Tribulation and the Second Coming. Chapters 20-22 describe the Millennial and Eternal Kingdoms.