Am 8:2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

If you look at the beginning/calling out of the nation of Israel in the old covenant you can see a kind of "rehearsal" of the first coming of Jesus Christ; a prophetic picture of the "things to come":

You see a deliverer sent by God to call the people out of bondage; this exodus from bondage beginning on Passover. Now look at the gospels and what do you see? You see a Deliverer sent by God to call the people out of bondage; this exodus also begins on Passover with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

But Jesus didn't do things according to the earthly fashion. He did not liberate an earthly people from earthly bondage; whereas Moses accomplished a NATURAL deliverence, Jesus accomplished a SPIRITUAL deliverence: not from a carnal nation- but from bondage to sin and death by the curse of the law.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

So we see that the beginnings of the old and new covenant are the same, and begin even at the appointed time: Passover (and even run the same course of time): but there is a key difference: the FIRST being NATURAL, the SECOND being SPIRITUAL.

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Now then, let's look at the ending/judgment of the nation of Israel in the old covenant to see our "rehearsal" of the events leading to the second coming:

Though God had caused the natural to flourish into a kingdom, the priesthood became corrupted, and began teaching false doctrines and traditions of men in place of the WORD OF GOD. Thus in His wrath, God sent the King of Babel to carry the people away captive into Babel.

Jer 15:1 Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.

Thus God sent prophets among them saying, turn from your false traditions to the truth, but the people would not:

Jer 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

So God sent the King of Babel, His servant, to trample them down, overcome them with the sword, destroy their heritage, and carry them away into Babel. The false prophets sent to fight Jeremiah promised the people the Lord would never do such a thing, and the King of Babel would not come; yet:

Jer 52:4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.

And the people were carried away captive into Babel; only a remnant was spared.

Jer 15:11 The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
Jer 31:7 For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

Now look at the Revelation and what do you see? A king who comes conquering, overcoming the saints by the sword, and carrying them away captive into Great Babel. In the old covenant the King of Babel built an image and gathered all the nations to worship it, or else be killed. In the Revelation you see the same.

Look at the beginning of Israel and you see the beginning of the church- only instead of NATURAL deliverence it is SPIRITUAL deliverence.
Look at the judgment of Israel and you see the judgment of the church- again be sure to understand the former as NATURAL, the latter as SPIRITUAL.

This is what is to come, and this Nebuchadnezzar is a "rehearsal" of the Destroyer and the Desolater:

Jer 4:7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the nations is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.

Jer 7:34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

The beginning and the ending - the same. Natural deliverence/spiritual deliverence -> natural conquering and captivity/spiritual conquering and captivity

Ec 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.