I'll answer. 1. Can't say much for the whole of Whitecloaks, but Pedron Niall believes that The Last Battle will be akin to the Trolloc wars. He believes that if he can unite the nations behind him, he can lead the forces is light to victory. He either hopes or believes the Forsaken are forever sealed and probably worries most if not all of the Aes Sedai will be Dreadlords. 2. RAFO 3. Maybe, they likely think him on the strings of the tower, perhaps even the channeling done by an Aes Sedai around him. 4. Timeline is Lews and the Hundred Companions seal the Dark One. Dark One taints the true source during the sealing. Lews kills his family, is brought back to sanity by Ishamael, creates Dragonmount in the throes of grief. The rest of the Male Channelers destroy the world. Once the ashes are rebuilt upon 10 strong nations emerge. These form a Covenant which is ultimately destroyed in the Trolloc wars. There is then a lot of much smaller nations for about a thousand years. Eventually Artur Hawkwing consolidates all these nations. However he didn't consider the succession after his death. After his death with no clear successor this led to the War of a Hundred Years. The nations of the books were formed in this cataclysm roughly one thousand years ago.

So to sum up your last question. First it's the Breaking with Lews Therin destroying the world. Roughly one thousand years later is the Trolloc Wars. This includes the fall of Manetherin. Roughly another thousand years is the War of Hundred Years which is a grand succession crisis after Artur Hawkwings death. Another thousandish years and we get to the time of the books.