Things to watch for

1. Damascus destroyed – Isaiah 17 describes the destruction of Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city known. This is important as it may be a trigger for the next event…
2. An invasion of Israel from the north,south, east and west – Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe a coalition of nations including Russia, Iran, Libya and its neighbour and Ethiopia and its neighbour.”Other nations” are said to be involved. Curiously, Syria, one of Israel’s harshest enemies, is not mentioned explicitly. This could be because it was destroyed beforehand.
3. A seven year peace treaty between Israel and her enemies. If this is achieved it will begin the seven year “tribulation period” and the “Man of Peace” will be revealed
4. The temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt and animal sacrifice reinstated. This is probably a result of the peace treaty mentioned before.

I did not mention the rapture because that will occur “…in the twinkling of an eye…” 1Cr 15:52 We shall be “… caught up…” 1Th 4:16-17 That is silly to watch for if you are involved because you will not be here any more. If you are not caught up, chances are good you are not reading this beforehand, but you will probably notice a couple billion people disappear.

The timing of all of these events is disputed among scholars. Pre Tribbers would say # 3 & 4 are definitely after the rapture and # 1 & 2 could happen at any time, even at the end of the millenium. As a Pan Tribber I say keep watching – if you are not here to witness it, cool beans; if you are, it means things are going to step up in intensity a bit.

Obviously this is only an overview. To understand more deeply you should study Daniel, especially chapter 2, chapter 7 and chapter 9