Introduction  What will happen to believers during the end times?  This question, I believe, can only be answered after one has put together a complete Biblical picture of the end times.  My brother challenged me to do this in the late 1980’s.  What resulted was “A Chronology of the End Times” which parallels the main Biblical accounts to determine the order of events.  After doing this, I discovered the view which I had arrived at was called “Classic Premillennialism” which has been held by Christians since the earliest centuries.  To piece together what happens to Christians during the end times, I have compiled the Biblical clues in each of the time periods.  These periods follow “A Chronology of the End Times.”        The Beginning of Birth Pangs  During this time period of terrible distress on earth, there is a great martyrdom described in Revelation 6:9-11:  When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;  and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”  And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also. This states there would be “a completion of martyrdom.”  When would the martyrdom be “complete?“  The clue is found in the following passage.  The next set of plagues are allowed to occur only after God’s 144,000 chosen are sealed (Rev 7:3-5):  “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”  And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:  From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, I take this passage literally to mean 144,000 Christian Jews.  There is then a picture of believers in heaven (Rev 7:9-17):  After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;  and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”  And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”  Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?”  I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.  “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;  for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” What appears to have happened is that persecution during “the beginning of birth pangs” has eliminated all Christians from earth - all but the 144,000 believing Jews.  The martyred Christians are now in heaven where there is no pain.  I believe there is a “completion of martyrdom” shown here in both the sealing of the 144,000 and the scene of believers in heaven.    The onslaught of plagues continues during this period as described in Revelation 8-9:12.  This ends the “first woe.”  We notice in Revelation 9:4 that only the unsealed are harmed which supports the view that only the 144,000 “sealed” Christians remain on earth:  They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.    The Great Tribulation (two 3½ year periods)  The plagues during the “Great Tribulation” are far more severe than those during “the beginning of birth pangs.”  God’s two witnesses preach His gospel and the Anti-Christ becomes a prominent figure during this time.  Those who come to believe are persecuted (Rev 13:7-10):  It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.  All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.  If anyone has an ear, let him hear.  If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. Again, there is a picture following of “those victorious over the beast” which is a comforting contrast to this perilous period (Rev 15:2-3):  And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.  And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,  “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! This passage indicates that some Christians during the tribulation die and go to be with the Lord.  Their death is quite likely due to persecution from the beast as suggested by Revelation 13:10 above.  Matthew 24:22 supports both notions of the dreadfulness of the tribulation and that there are Christians who experience it:  “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”    The Day of the Lord  This period encompasses both the resurrection of believers and the Battle of Armageddon.  Six of the seven bowls of wrath are poured out and in Revelation 16:15 which describes the gathering for the Battle of Armageddon there is an interesting aside:  (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) This appears to be a clue that the resurrection of believers is imminent.  The judgment of the harlot Babylon follows in Revelation chapters 17-18 and there are two clues that it is during this time the resurrection of believers occurs (Rev 18:4, 23):  I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;”  and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; Who are resurrected?  The 144,000 sealed Christians and any converts remaining that have not been martyred.  Revelation 19:14 gives the final picture of the battle where Christ and His “armies” come to overtake the earth:  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.    Conclusion  While this is not necessarily a popular view, I believe it is consistent with the Biblical picture as a whole of the end times.