| Event 2: Great Tribulation |
Characteristics:
-Seven-year period
-Time
like no other on earth
-Gods
judgment and wrath begins
-Rise of
false leader and beast
-Increased
hatred towards Israel
-Great
revival and turning to God of non-believers
Description:
Coming
to earth is a period of great wrath.
Jesus referred to it in Matthew 24 as the ‘great tribulation’. Such a time has not occurred since the
beginning of creation, nor ever shall be (Matthew 24:21-22). Old Testament prophets have written
about it. You can always identify
it by the references ‘the day’, ‘the day of the Lord’, or ‘in that
day’.
Daniel 12:1 <... and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered...>
Zephaniah 1:15 <That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness>
Isaiah 13:9<Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel
both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy
the sinners thereof out of
it>
Joel 2:31 <The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.>
Amos 5:18 <Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light>
In the
New Testament Revelation 6 through 19 describes this period in detail. Wrath and judgments are poured upon the
earth and on remaining inhabitants of it.
Also during this period a great false king and leader arises. He is called the man of sin and the son of perdition by the apostle Paul. His coming is from Satan and he will deceive the inhabitants of earth (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). He will bring about a false peace to the world and exalt himself above God. The prophet Daniel describes his character in Daniel 7:25 and Daniel 8:23-25. Daniel 11 is a history of how this man came to power. Verses 1 to 35 are past fulfillments and verse 36 to 45 have not been fulfilled. The later verses is were he gathers power and develops hatred towards Israel. As we will see below, this man comes from the beast.
What is
the purpose of this period? It is a
purging and cleansing of earth and the unbelievers to prepare way for the
kingdom on earth, (Event 4).
The Jewish nation was
promised the land as told by Abraham in Genesis. They were to be a great nation and
blessed forever on earth. However the nation
has rejected and turned against God, rejected Jesus Christ and the
coming of the Holy Spirit. To
make way for the kingdom promised to
them they must ‘pass under the rod’ and be
refined, as stated in the Old Testament.
Gentiles have also rejected God, even
though
being saved by his unlimited mercy and
grace. They too will have a chance
to turn to God, and many will. But
many will not.
Ezekiel
20: 34-38
Ezekiel
22: 19-22
How
long will this period of great trouble and tribulation last? Daniel 9 explains a time line based on
weeks. You will need to study this
chapter, but the days are calculated to be seven years – a short period.
The
church or body of Christ will be spared from this wrath that will cover the
earth and its inhabitants.
Paul assures us in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9. John in Revelation 2 and 3 assures those
who accept Jesus will be spared from this wrath.
Romans 5:9 <Much more then, being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him>
Jesus in John 5:24 tells us whoever hears his word and believes in him shall not come into condemnation.
Summary of tribulation
period
:
·
Judgments
of Christ to earth begins (Revelation 6, 8, 9); the four riders on the horses,
war, famine, pestilence, intense heat, demonic spirits attacking man and great
earthquakes
·
Great
revival of multitudes of people turning to God (Revelation 7:
9-13)
·
Many
still will not repent (Revelation 9: 20-21)
·
During
mid-point of tribulation period Satan (the dragon) is cast out of the air and on
to earth; a great woe is now on the people of the earth (Revelation
12)
·
He
seeks to destroy Israel, because he knows Jesus is coming back to set up the
everlasting kingdom on earth: he has three and a half years (Revelation
12)
·
Believing
Israelites are saved and escape to the wilderness, where the Archangel Michael
protects them from Satan’s attack; Satan is wroth with remnant of her seed
(Revelation 12)
·
Johns
vision of the beast; Satan (the dragon) gives power to the beast; a mouth was given to the beast to speak great
blasphemies against God (this is the man of sin); power was given him to continue 42
months;
power was given to him to make war with
saints and nations on earth;
many worshipped him (Revelation 13: 1-10)
· John has vision of another beast (false prophet)
coming up from the earth that exercises power from first beast; he causes the
earth dwellers to worship the man
of sin;
he deceives those on earth with wonders and miracles; he
tells those on earth to make an image of the first beast; he has power to give
life to the image and kill men who did not worship the image; he causes all to
receive a mark; without the mark – the mark of the
beast
– no man can buy or sell (Revelation
13: 11-18)
·
Angels
in the air preach the word of God (Revelation 14:6-7)
·
More
judgments on the earth to people who received the mark: sores, sea and all water
turned to blood, great heat from the sun (Revelation 16); many still have not
turned to God (v9)
·
Three unclean spirits coming from the dragon, the beast,
and the false prophet go forth unto the kings of the earth and the whole world
to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:
13-16)
And they were gathered together into a place called Armageddon. The stage is set for the return of Jesus to earth!
God
has set a lot of events in motion during this period and making it exhaustive to
precisely document. A suggestion is to thoroughly read the book of Daniel, followed by Revelation. Following this the Old Testament
passages noted above should be reviewed again. It is not easy. And I pray that my notes on this section
provided a good structure and overall understanding of this period.
NOTE
& OBSERVATION: The subjects of
the beast and the ‘anti-Christ’ are one that man has taken in many
directions. The term
‘antichrist’ only appears in the New Testament book of 1
John. (
1Jn 2:22
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus
is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and
the Son.
) Books and people will give this term to
the person described in Revelation 13:1-10, but never
is ‘anti-Christ’ found in
Revelation or Daniel. Either way both books indicate they are satanic and will be destroyed
by Jesus Christ.
Scripture Reference
:
Revelation
6 – 19 – detailed description of judgments
Zephaniah 1 – 3 – note chapter 3 verse 9 shifts to period after tribulation
Jeremiah
30: 4-7 – time of Jacobs’s trouble
Isaiah
2 – judgment on earth and creation also; worthless gold and
silver
Isaiah
4 – purging the blood of Jerusalem
Ezekiel 7 - very good summary of life during this period
Matthew 24:21-22 - Jesus tells disciples about great tribulation
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Daniel 7:25 - Character of man of sin
And he shall speak great
words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and
think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a
time and times and the dividing of time.
Daniel 8:23-25 - Character of man of sin
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors
are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark
sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he
shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy
the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his
hand; and he shall magnify himself in
his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the
Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
Ezekiel 20: 34-38 - Description of great tribulation for nation of Israel
And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out
of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a
stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there
will I plead with you face to face.
Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land
of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you
into the bond of the covenant:
And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that
transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they
sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know
that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 22: 19-22 - The gathering of Israel for judgment
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become
dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
As
they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of
the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will
leave you there, and melt you.
Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath,
and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be
melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out
my fury upon you.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-9 - Believers not appointed to wrath of great tribulation
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I
write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not
in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we
are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken
are drunken in the night.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the
breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by
our Lord Jesus Christ,