The beginning of the 3rd and last division of the book of Revelation concerns the things which must be after the rapture of the church. Revelation 1:19 says, “Write (1) the things which thou hast seen, and (2) the things which are, and (3) the things which shall be hereafter.”
After the rapture of the church (1 Thess. 4:16-17), two things will happen simultaneously: (1) The marriage of the Lamb, and (2) The Tribulation.
We discussed “THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB.” Today, we want to look at “THE TRIBULATION!” (Rev. 5:1-12). Jesus has taken the scroll already from the hand of God the Father, has come and redeemed the earth with His precious blood, but has not opened the seals. As soon as our Lord Jesus opens the seals of the scroll the curtain on the stage of the tribulation will finally be drawn.
What is the Tribulation? The tribulation is an expression of the wrath of God.
What is the purpose of the Tribulation?
a) To pour out God’s wrath on the earth just like the Flood in the time of Noah (Zeph. 3:8).
b) To bring the Jewish people to accept Jesus as Messiah (Matt. 23:39).
The entire tribulation will last for 7 years! The first half of the Daniel’s 70th week is called “The Minor Tribulation,” and the second half of Daniel’s 70th week is called “The Great Tribulation.” The first three and half years of Daniel’s 70th week is seen in Revelations 6:1 to 9:21.
When will the minor tribulation begin? As soon as Jesus opens the first seal on the scroll, the Tribulation will begin.
What must happen before the seals are opened? Before the seals can be opened, the church must first be raptured out of this world. The tribulation starts thereafter in Revelations 6 where Jesus opens the first seal in the scroll that has 7 seals.
The Great Tribulation refers specifically to the final three and half years of the entire 7-year period of Tribulation which will end up in the blazing fury of Armageddon. It refers to the last three and half years of Daniel’s 70th week. It is really the time of an unspeakable suffering as the world has never previously witnessed. It is to last for 42 months, and is measured from the point of the satanic “resurrection” of the Antichrist (Rev 13:3-5).
How do we know the entire period of tribulation will be 7 years? Daniel was one of the Jews taken captive to Babylon when the kingdom of Judah fell in 605 BC. While reading the Book of Jeremiah there in captivity, he came across the prophecy that said, “Israel would return home after 70 years” (Jer. 25:8-11, 30:3, 32:36-41, 33:6-8; Ezek. 11:17-20, Ezek. 28:25-26).
To know exactly when the prophecy that said Israel would return home after 70 years of captivity would be fulfilled, Daniel prayed earnestly to God. Then, the Lord sent angel Gabriel to show Daniel in detail not only the return of Israel to their land, but also what would happen from then to the end of the world. The following is what the angel told Daniel: In Daniel 9:24-27 God said, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city….”
What is the meaning of this prophecy? Angel Gabriel came and told Daniel that 70 weeks would be determined upon Judah and the “holy city” Jerusalem.
Since 1 week in the Bible signifies 7 years, 70 weeks is equal to 490 years. Therefore, the prophecy meant that after 490 years had passed, the transgression would be finished, sins would end, reconciliation for iniquity would be made forever, and everlasting righteousness would be brought in, all the visions and prophecies would come to pass, and the most holy – the Messiah, would come to this world to redeem it.
Angel Gabriel said that from the time Jerusalem is rebuilt to the coming of the Messiah would be 7 weeks and 62 weeks, or a total of 69 weeks. The major segment of the 69 weeks of years was divinely predicted as ending with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ under this language: “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself” (Dan. 9:26).
The final 70th week – 7 years, was not continuous from the preceding 69. The reason is clear: God ceased to deal with the Jews nationally at the point of the crucifixion of their officially rejected Messiah! Therefore, that period of time between the crucifixion of Christ and the beginning of the Great Tribulation, that is, the period between the 69th and 70th weeks can’t be determined by the revelation to Daniel. This period is the so-called Church Age (Rev. 2-3) in which we now live, a time not revealed as such to any of the ancient prophets.
On March 14, 445 BC, before Jesus was born, King Artaxerxes of Persia gave an order to rebuild Jerusalem. Consequently, some of the Israelites that have been in captivity in Babylon returned home.
On April 6, AD 32, 69 weeks or 483 years after Christ was born, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. By so doing the prophecy was precisely fulfilled.
Therefore, out of 70 weeks of Daniel 9:24, 69 weeks have already passed. What remains is only one week. In Daniel 9:27, we have a record of just 1 week. And 1 week represents 7 years in the Bible.
Daniel 9:27 says, “And he (the Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for ONE WEEK: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Who is the “he” mentioned in Daniel 9:27? It refers to the Roman Emperor who will appear at the end of the world – the Antichrist. He will confirm the covenant with the Jews for 7 years. But in the middle of that period, that is, after three and a half years, he will break the covenant and cause the worship of the Jews to cease. Thus, during the first half of the tribulation, the persecution of Christians will be less intense compared to what it will be in the remaining three and half years.
During the remaining half of the 7 years, the Antichrist will completely break the covenant with the Jews. He will enter the temple and claim to be the king. This will be the period of severe tribulation, but “that determined” [God’s wrath] will be poured upon “the desolate” (the Antichrist). At the end of the church age, which has lasted about 2000 years, the Antichrist will be revealed to begin the tribulation period.
These 7 years of tribulation will be the last period in which God will encourage [exhort] His chosen people, the Jews, to repent. Note that this week (Daniel’s 70th week) concerns Israel only and not the church because the church would have been raptured out of this world before then.
Today, you have the great opportunity to change your eternal destiny. Your name must be in the Lamb’s book of life for you to escape the tribulation. You are not going to escape the tribulation because you are acting nice. You are not going to escape the tribulation because your name is in a church register. You are not going to escape the tribulation because you are a leader in the church. You will escape the tribulation only on these conditions: (1) you MUST be Born Again (Jn. 3:3), and (2) live a holy life (Heb. 12:14).
Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (NASU). So hurry, and make peace with God right now! Get ready! Time is running out!
The question is WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THE TRIBULATION?
Watch out for the next edition of Good news from the Pulpit!
Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Head Pastor) 30th Aug., 2020 @ the HQs
No comments:
Post a Comment