"Introduction to The Tribulation" Revelation 6When The Lamb Stands, series by Sharon Clemens

^^^^^^^* To see all postings from, When The Lamb Stands Series Click here only
                       * All scriptures within this study are linked to BibleGateway.com using the "NIV".

     We have come to chapter six of The Revelation, the beginning of The Tribulation. Mere mention of The Tribulation inspires great interest and great dread. The Apostle John, himself, found his vision to be both bitter and sweet [Revelation 10:10]. It is bitter because of the monumental number of deaths and the phenomenal amount of destruction visited on earth as a result of the judgments. It is sweet because it signals Christ's return to vanquish all injustice and redeem the saved. The Tribulation is an unprecedented time period in future history, and the time is near.

     In the previous installment of "When The Lamb Stands," John describes the moment when Christ Jesus grasps the Seven-Sealed Scroll from the hand of the Father [Revelation 5:7]. The Scroll is the trigger to unleash the judgments of the 70th Week of Daniel, the Tribulation.

     In this seven year period, the Lord will subject the earth to His wrath in order to prepare it for His return. The number of prophecies pertaining to The Tribulation in the Bible reveal its importance to the plan of God. The climax of The Tribulation in particular, called "the day of the Lord," appears nineteen times in the Old Testament--in six minor and two major prophetic books. According to Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, it also appears in four uncontested New Testament passages: Acts 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; and 2 Peter 3:10. [The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, p. 73] The day of the Lord is not only the climax of God's judgment in the Tribulation. It is the beginning of His reign on the earth. The Tribulation, therefore, should be of supreme interest to anyone claiming the name of Christ.

As chapter six opens, we begin the countdown to Christ's return through seven fateful years of God's determined wrath.


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SEVEN YEARS:

     It is reflective of our age that the last book of the Bible, the book that resolves all that comes before it, is either ignored or misunderstood by most of the church. Satan attempts to discredit it because it prophesies his defeat at Christ's return [Revelation 20:1-3]. How can the church be prepared to do His will if they are unfamiliar with His plan? To honor Him, we study the Revelation because it is His revealing:

     * Seven represents completion in scripture. The Revelation is filled with multiple sets of seven to describe the completed work of redemption in this time period.
     * The Tribulation also fulfills the last seven years of a much larger prophecy of seventy-times-seven [490] years in the book of Daniel [Daniel 9:20-27]. Those who refuse to believe The Revelation prophesies literal events must explain why the first 483 years of the prophecy have already been perfectly and literally fulfilled. They are a proven fact of history. Just as the 483 years of time determined for Israel have been historically fulfilled, so the last seven years will be literally fulfilled.
     * The Tribulation describes Christ's triumphant return to take possession of the earth. As surely as He left the earth after His resurrection in His physical body, He will return just as literally. [Acts 1:11 "...This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."]

DANIEL'S INCREDIBLE 70-WEEKS PROPHECY:

    Daniel 9 stands out as a monumental prophecy of the Old Testament. This portion of scripture deserves separate study, but for the purpose of our series, I can only summarize some significant points. I have listed two excellent sources at the end of this article if you would like to read more about Daniel's prophecies. Sir Robert Anderson, a lay preacher who worked for Scotland Yard, is credited with doing excellent scholarship on the historical accuracy of Daniel's seventy weeks predictive prophecy. Dr. Alva J. McClain builds on Anderson's work and condenses his scholarship to a concise study of Daniel's ninth chapter.

    One of the most incredible revelations of their work is the explanation of the mathematical formula in the 70 Weeks' prophecy that foretells THE VERY DAY on which the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem and present himself as the "Prince" of Israel. [The date was April 6, 32 A.D. See Zechariah 9:9; Luke 19:28-44.] As McClain states, "Only an omniscient God could have predicted this date over five hundred years in advance." [McClain, p. 9]

    Just as Christ's first coming was perfectly fulfilled as Daniel predicted, so Christ's second coming in the 70th Week will be just as perfectly and literally fulfilled. We know the day of Christ's return, according to Daniel, will be seven years from the day Antichrist signs or affirms a treaty with Israel--a peace treaty doomed to failure.

    Only seven years of the 490 years remain to be fulfilled. This seven years is The Tribulation, described in verses 27 of Daniel 9: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." This prophecy provides crucial information for our study of The Revelation. McClain: "...in the predictions of the Seventy Weeks, we have the indispensable chronological key to all New Testament prophecy. Our Lord's great prophetical discourse recorded in Matthew and Mark fixes the time of Israel's final and greatest trouble definitely within the days of the Seventieth Week of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15-22; Mark 13:14-20). And the greater part of the book of Revelation is simply an expansion of Daniel's prophecy within the chronological framework as outlined by the same Seventieth Week, which is divided into two equal periods, each extending for 1260 days, or 42 months, or 3 1/2 years." [McClain, p. 10]

Daniel 9:27:

     * ANTICHRIST: The "he" in verse 27 is a pronoun referring back to the closest modifier in the passage, "the people of the prince." From the historical fulfillment, the people of the prince refers to the Roman legions of Caesar sent to destroy Jerusalem in 70 AD. This future "he" will be a leader from a revived Roman empire of the future. The Bible calls him Antichrist. This truth is affirmed in Revelation 17 where he is called The Beast who ascends out of the bottomless pit of hell. The Beast is both a world system and the ruler of this system [Revelation 13]. His system is the Revived Roman Empire, the last empire of the Times of the Gentiles [Luke 21:24], also described in Daniel 2:41-43. In Daniel 7:7-8, and 7:19-27, Antichrist is described as a little horn [lesser power] that supplants three of the ten kings of this last Gentile world empire. The revived form of Rome is a global system divided among the rule of ten kings until Antichrist takes supremacy. Note that global world leaders have long envisioned a world government consisting of ten regions ruled by ten leaders according to Gary Kah [En Route to Global Occupation]. Antichrist's empire precedes the Kingdom of Christ Jesus on this earth, according to Daniel 2. Note that the Antichrist is proud [pompous] and speaks blasphemous things against the one true God, but he is allowed to persecute the believers for the last half of the Tribulation. [Daniel 7 and Revelation 13] God uses Antichrist as a pawn in His plan of redemption.
     * ANTICHRIST'S TREATY BEGINS THE TRIBULATION: The Antichrist will confirm a covenant or treaty with "many" for one week. The "many" is the nation of Israel, the same entity Rome besieged in AD 70. The treaty he will confirm with Israel is most likely a seven-year treaty promising peace in the Middle East. But Antichrist uses peace for political means and it is a false peace that will not last. The duration of the treaty defines the seven years of the Tribulation. NOTE THAT THE ELUSIVE MIDDLE-EAST PEACE THAT WORLD LEADERS SEEK TO ESTABLISH IN ISRAEL IS FINALLY "CONFIRMED" BY THE ANTICHRIST. HOWEVER, EVEN HE IS UNABLE TO KEEP IT FOR THE FULL TIME; HE BREAKS THE PEACE AFTER THREE AND ONE-HALF YEARS. ISRAEL WILL NOT EXPERIENCE LASTING PEACE UNTIL THEIR PRINCE OF PEACE, MESSIAH CHRIST JESUS, RETURNS.
     * THE GAP: The gap in time between verses 26 and 27 is now over 2,000 years in duration. THIS TIME GAP DOES NOT EFFECT THE INTERPRETATION. THE GAP IS NOT PART OF THE "DETERMINED TIME" FOR ISRAEL; THEREFORE, IT IS TIME THAT IS PASSED OVER. The time gap is between the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the signing of the treaty between Antichrist and Israel--an event still future. Our Lord prophesied that Israel would experience retribution for rejecting their Messiah when He came the first time. Israel suffered this retribution in the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 [Luke 21:20-24], and the nation has been "broken off" from God's focus since that time [Romans 11]. The church became the vehicle of God's plan during "the times of the Gentiles" [Luke 21:24], the time of the gap. But Israel is not removed from God's focus permanently. When the church is taken out in the Rapture, Israel will be restored to complete the remainder of the determined time of Daniel's prophecy, the Tribulation, the last week of years [7 years]. The Tribulation is also known as The 70th Week of Daniel because it is the last of the weeks of years to be fulfilled.
     * A BEGINNING, A MIDDLE, AN END: Daniel's 70-Weeks prophecy not only tells us the Tribulation begins with a treaty, it also describes what happens in the middle of the week when the peace is broken. Antichrist shall put a stop to Israel's freedom to practice their religion and shall end their system of sacrifice and offering, breaking the treaty he confirmed. He will also defile the Jewish Temple with what is called the abomination. Christ warned of this betrayal in Matthew 24:15. In 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Paul speaks of this abomination. Antichrist, who Paul calls the "son of perdition," defiles this future temple by presenting himself as god in God's temple. [See also Revelation 13:8 "perdition"] The false prophet, Antichrist's religious right-hand man, will force all to worship Antichrist as god [Revelation 13:15-17] at this time. The Temple Institute in Israel is actively committed to preparing to rebuild a Jewish temple on The Temple Mount in Jerusalem and has already amassed all the temple furnishings and instruments of worship. They are also training Jewish priests in the Old Testament laws of the sacrificial system. The temple will exist again when prophecy must be fulfilled, according to our Lord's timetable. [See The Temple Institute and articles on the rebuilding of the Jewish temple on-line.]
     * PERSECUTION: The mid-point abomination is strategic because it marks the turning point in the Tribulation from a false peace to out-right persecution of true believers. Christ calls the last half of the Tribulation "great tribulation" because it is so terrible [Matthew 24:21]. Daniel 9:27 speaks of determined consummation poured out on the desolate. Daniel 7:25 adds that the saints or believers shall be given into Antichrist's hand for persecution for 3 1/2 years or the last half of the Tribulation. This is what is meant by "a time [1 year], and times [2 years] and half a time [1/2 year]." Note that according to the Hebrew calendar, a year is 360 days rather than our Roman calendar of 365 days. Added together, these "times" equal 3 1/2 years. In Matthew 24:15-22, Christ warns the Jewish remnant to flee Jerusalem to escape Antichrist's persecution when they see the abomination set up in the Temple. Our Lord provides a place of refuge for this fleeing remnant, which is described in Revelation 12. Why does God allow His people to be persecuted? As Jeremiah 30:7 states, the Tribulation is the time of trouble for Jacob, or Israel, but Israel shall be saved out of it. The Lord uses the refining fire of the Tribulation to turn Israel's heart back to their God and to write the law of the new covenant in Christ Jesus on their hearts [Jeremiah 31:31-33; Zechariah 13:9]. ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED OUT OF THE TRIBULATION.
     * THE SEVEN-YEAR TRIBULATION BEGINS WITH ANTICHRIST SIGNING A TREATY WITH ISRAEL; IT IS DIVIDED IN HALF BY ANTICHRIST PLACING AN IDOL OF HIMSELF IN THE JEWISH TEMPLE AFTER 3 1/2 YEARS; IT ENDS WITH THE PHYSICAL RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE MOUNT OF OLIVES IN JERUSALEM [Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11].

    The 70th Week of Daniel resumes God's focus on His chosen people, Israel. Israel remains on God's eternal clock and has NOT been replaced by the Church. The return of the Jews to their national homeland and the re-construction of Israel and Jerusalem in our day is the most evident sign that we are living in the last days and Christ's return is near Amos 9:14-15].

    The time gap before Israel is restored was not revealed in the Old Testament. The prophecy reads as if the 490 years of Daniel's prophecy run consecutively with no interruption. However, when Israel rejected their Messiah and He was "cut off, but not for Himself" as Daniel 9:26 predicted, a gap that we now know to be the Church Age began. God halted the years of Israel's "determined time." God did not reveal such a gap would exist. He did this, in His grace, so that Israel's rejection of Christ, which He knew would take place, would not be a foregone conclusion. Israel rejected their King without the foreknowledge that they would do so.

    Although the Lord knew His rule would be rejected at His first coming, Israel was allowed to make a free-will decision without fore-knowledge. His people lauded Him with songs of "hosanna to the Son of David" on Palm Sunday, April 6, 32 A.D., but they displayed an emotional response as a nation, not a saving faith. A week later, they denied Him--they cut Him off, proving their hosannas were faithless. When Pilot asked if Jesus was their King, they answered, "...Crucify Him!...We have no king but Caesar!" [John 19:15]

ISRAEL BROUGHT THE CURSE OF RETRIBUTION ON THEMSELVES FOR THIS REJECTION.
IN A.D. 70, CAESAR, THEIR PROFESSED KING, DESTROYED THE CITY OF JERUSALEM AND DISPERSED THE JEWS TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH.
BUT ON MAY 14, 1948, ISRAEL BECAME A NATION AGAIN AND THE JEWS CAME HOME.
The re-birth of Israel as a nation signaled the open door to the fulfillment of end-times prophecy.

    [Note that by the time Rome invaded in A.D. 70, the remnant of believers had already left Israel, partly to escape the Jewish persecution of the early church. This persecution saved the remnant from the Roman invasion prophesied by Christ in Luke 21:20-24. The believers also heeded Christ's warning to flee the city because they believed His word.]

--------------------------------------

    In closing, I know that this introductory information to the rest of The Revelation is not easy reading. It has taken me over five days to put it in some semblance of order and clarity. I have far too much information on this subject than can easily be dealt with, and have merely scratched the surface. But what I have given you is what I feel is necessary to appreciate the depth and awesome brilliance of the LORD--sovereign over time and eternity! We worship an awesome God.

Next Time Rev. 6 "The Four Horsemen".

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]

-----------------------------------------------
SOURCES:
The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson. Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 2004. ISBN 0-7369-1352-1
Daniel's Prophecy of the 70 Weeks, Dr. Alva J. McClain. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1969. ISBN 0-310-29012-0
The Coming Prince, Sir Robert Anderson. Kregel Classics, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1957. ISBN 0-8254-2115-2
En Route to Global Occupation, Gary H. Kah. Huntington House Publishers, Lafayette, Louisiana, 1992. ISBN 0-910-31197-8