Regardless of the timing of the Rapture, the other events of the Tribulation happen in a fairly straight forward manner. This is an overview of the heart of the tribulation. We won't be covering the entire book of Revelations, but below you can see the "Seals" that are opened and the results.
Two Theaters of Events
One must keep in mind that there are two series of events taking place during the Tribulation. One on earth, and another in the spirit realm. While the earth is suffering through plagues, war and a host of other horrible events... there is a celebration in Heaven for the "bride" of Christ and the "groom" (Jesus).
The 7th seal (not shown here) includes 7 plagues which are probably the worst part of the Tribulation.
Using the Pre-Tribulation Rapture
I personally lean toward the pre-trib timing of the Rapture for the reasons I'll provide below. Of course, as a believer, I would like to be snatched away prior to the calamity that will come. I also must prepare to be 'in the world' during this time.
On the 12th month of the year on the civil calendar (Ellul 1) begins a 40 day "Teshuvah". This is translated as a "return" or "repentance". At 30 days into this period (Tishri 1 on the time line) there will begin the coronation in heaven. The "Tzaddikim" or rightous ones will be present in heaven on this day.
If you recall what the bible says about the day of judgement... "The court was seated" and "the books were opened". This refers to the "book of life". Basically, all people on Tishri 1, 600X will fall into one of three categories.
1. The Tzaddikim (aka: Righteous ones)
2. The Average
2. The Average
3. The Rashim (aka: Evil ones)
This day is known as a Yom haDin or "day of judgement". The word actually means "the gates were opened". This is the day that believers in Christ will be "raptured" or taken up to heaven to begin the coronation. At the same time on earth, corresponding events will be taking place. While the believers are celebrating, the average and evil will be left on earth for the period of 7 (years).
Unfortunately, this will be a time like has never been or ever will be again, according to the bible. All of the disasters mentioned in the book of Revelation will happen during this period. The good news is that those "average" folks will have the chance to accept and believe in Christ during this period. Some will indeed die, but will join the others already in heaven. Others will live to see Christ return with his "bride" (believers). The bible has a lot to say about what will happen to the "Rashim" or evil ones. Some people, no matter how much proof they will be provided in those last days, will refuse to believe. If you're still on the fence, I hope this blog site will changed your mind.
Now, keep looking back at the timeline. Ironically, according to Festival timing... on that Tishri 1, 6000 the Jews will lay the foundation of their new altar (remember they have been waiting almost 2000 years to rebuild it). As per Jewish law, they will begin cleansing sacrifices on this altar for 10 days. That brings us to Tishri 10, 6000. This just happens to be Yom Kippur (The day of Atonement). It also is the date that daily temple sacrifices will begin. It is also known as "the gates were closed". It may be that the rapture takes place over the 10 day period. This is also the date that the false messiah will sign a contract with the Jews which is to guarantee their peace and safety... probably in light of what has just happened (the Rapture). However, the bible states clearly that "when they say peace... sudden destruction comes".
The temple will be under construction for a period of time, but must be completed by the middle of the 7 year period on Nisan 10. It could be a temporary structure. Remember in the old testament that the temple was actually a tent and was used for years. This Nisan 10 date will be the exact day that the world figure we call the antichrist will present himself in the temple, stop all sacrifices, and claim to be the Messiah. The bible calls this the “abomination that causes desolation”. Ironically, this event will occur on Passover... the same day that Christ entered the temple claiming to be God. Remember that the Anti-Christ tries to mimic God in many ways. Satan believes that we can all be like God, and every deception he creates is an attempt to mimic God’s power and authority.
Sometime during this 7 year period, 144,000 Jews will become evangelists to the entire world. Possibly, they will realize that Christ was indeed the Messiah when they see believers disappear at the rapture. Unfortunately, other Jews will not believe until they see antichrist enter their temple. At that time they will realize how wrong they had been. As an interesting side note: Many religions have totally slaughtered this particular area of scripture. For example, Mormens believe that the 144,000 is actually the number of people that will be saved! That would mean 99% of their own church members are going to hell. Others have manipulated these verses to mean they are Christian travelers, Americans, etc. These are all incorrect. It is sad to me… because we must have an understanding of the Jewish faith to see the fulfillment of the Christian faith. The Jewish faith was God’s original plan… and the Christians were “grafted into the tree”. But I digress…
There will be a spirit of anti-christ (meaning an anti-God sentiment) globally after the Rapture. This makes sense because all the believers are gone! It is at this time that the greatest nation on earth is destroyed. I personally believe that this is the United States (or some of it's greatest cities). NOTE: There is another opinion that 'Babylon' refers to the global economic system. We'll cover that possibility in a future topic.
Fallen! Fallen is... She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries. ...for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. "When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: `Woe! Woe, O great land, land of power! In one hour your doom has come!' The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more.
NOTE: The Old Testament books have a lot to say regarding prophecy as well. A good example is in Isaiah. You can get a good overall view of what will happen by studying the 10 kings of ancient days. Those kings and their battle methods correlate to things that will happen during the wars of the 7 year tribulation. We won't go into detail here but the Kings relate to specific years of the tribulation.
The Jewish Kings and the correlating Tribulation year:
Yotham 1st Year
Ahaz 2nd Year
Hezekiahrd 3rd Year
Mariassah 4th Year
Amon 5th Year
Josiah 6th Year
Jehoahaz, Jehoikim, Johoichin & Zedekiah All 7th Year
In the beginning of the first year of the tribulation, the false messiah will have made a treaty with Israel. This would be Tishri 10, 6001... just a few days after the rapture of all Christians happens and 144,000 Jews accept Jesus (this uses the pre-trib rapture view). Russia may be the spark that ignites the tribulation since it's economy is nearly collapsed. They will destroy a great nation (?) in the first 14 days. Rev 18:17 'In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!' During the panic, the European false messiah will rise to power virtually over night to help solve this global catastrophe.
The treaty with Israel would be signed on Tishri 10, 6000. This occurs on the festival of Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement. The result of this leader coming to power will bring about the start of the "seals" of the book of Revelation. In short, this will begin with a time of spiritual deception (false Christ), multiple wars, resulting famine, and various plagues. This is a result of the power given to the antichrist.
The Bible gives us SPECIFIC dates and number of days for this time period. There is no mistaking God’s plan.
These events will all occur within a 42 month (3 1/2 year) period. Keep in mind this is all based on the 30 day month Jewish calendar. The Bible states that EXACTLY 1260 days after the signing of the covenant, this man will present himself in Jerusalem, enter into the newly built Jewish temple, and claim himself to be Christ. If you go 1260 days past Yom Kippur in any given year, you just happen to fall EXACTLY on Aviv 10. This is the same day about 2000 years before that Jesus entered the temple. Hopefully you are beginning to see how this is not just by coincidence. All these dates and events have been pre-arranged!! I’ve said it a hundred times… the festivals are to be a rehearsal of God’s appointments with mankind.
These events will all occur within a 42 month (3 1/2 year) period. Keep in mind this is all based on the 30 day month Jewish calendar. The Bible states that EXACTLY 1260 days after the signing of the covenant, this man will present himself in Jerusalem, enter into the newly built Jewish temple, and claim himself to be Christ. If you go 1260 days past Yom Kippur in any given year, you just happen to fall EXACTLY on Aviv 10. This is the same day about 2000 years before that Jesus entered the temple. Hopefully you are beginning to see how this is not just by coincidence. All these dates and events have been pre-arranged!! I’ve said it a hundred times… the festivals are to be a rehearsal of God’s appointments with mankind.
This event, known as the abomination of desolation will defile the Jewish holy place. The Jews will begin to see that this man they thought was their Messiah, is in fact a false messiah. The next 3 1/2 years will be the worst time on earth since creation. The Bible says if it were not that God himself cut these days short, no man would survive. Indeed only a small fragment of the population remaining at that time will make it to the end of this period.
A thorough review of the book of Daniel will give you insight to the following information if you desire a more detailed look.
From the available Biblical and Jewish sources, we know that this man will likely come to power in Europe, will come to power as a man of peace, will undoubtedly have Jewish roots, and will be seen as the Messiah by Israel (and probably the Muslim world as well).
The antichrist will be in charge of a 10 nation group (previously 13, but reduced to 10 somehow) comprised of the old Roman empire nations. The Bible describes the make-up of this last kingdom and after almost 2000 years, it was "revived" on January 1, 1993. It is the European Community or EU (European Union) if you will. In Europe, it is known simply as the EU or EC and has been in the news daily for the past several years. Plans are in the works for a EC national card since many of the nations already have a national I.D. card. Of course, the Bible has already predicted all of these events, and in Revelations it says that no man will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast (antichrist). We are told that in the final 3 1/2 years of the rule by antichrist, people will be required to have a mark on their hand or forehead before they are allowed to buy or sell anything. Letters of the Hebrew and Greek alphabet have number assignments, as do words. The Bible says the number of this antichrist is the number of a man, and it is 666. There is a possible second opinion on this “666” verse. I will also cover that in another topic date.
Note: An agreement in the EC in January of 2002 resulted in a unified currency called the Euro. The next action will result in a cashless society. With no cash to use, it is obvious that either a card or implant will be required for trade. The EC is in the process of tagging all livestock with computerized chips. These chips provide all the health information, breeding, location and owner information needed for the EC's trade requirements. Chilling events to say the least! Remember, this is not science fiction, it is happening today. In December of 2001 a physician on the east coast was the first human to have an ID chip implanted in his body.
By the 2nd year of the Tribulation, Israel will be attacked on all fronts by the Arabs. Syria's forces will invade from the north including the Golan and West Bank, Saudi Arabia from the south, and the Palestinians from the Gaza strip. Just as in the ancient days of Tiglat Pileser III (the Assyrian King), Russia will be asked to come to aid. At some point Damascus will be destroyed. The Jewish state will be divided prior to this happening (possibly from the Mennonite Zion group or an independent Palestinian State).
Unfortunately, by the third year of the tribulation, following a Jewish peace treaty, Russia will attack Israel (Tishri 1, 6003?) while their defenses are down. God will perform a dramatic miracle at this time, totally defeating the Russians (Tishri 10, 6003?). The bible says that fire and stones will rain down from heaven and the whole world will know that it was the Lord that defeated them. There will be a dramatic acceptance of Jesus by Israel as a whole. The EC's false messiah leader however, will also have attacked the Russians. The leader will, at the midpoint of the Tribulation, enter the temple, claim to be God, and make Jerusalem his headquarters. Some Jews, now exposed to the true Messiah will reject him and flee to the wilderness into Jordan and the area of Petra in the Succot Valley, bringing elements of the Tabernacle with them.
The false messiah will place his image in the temple for worship. Of course, by this point he is indwelt by Satan. Just as Jesus Christ became God in the flesh, the anti-christ will become Satan in the flesh. Fear of this powerful figure will bring the Asians into conflict with this EC leader in the 5th year. Their 200-million man army will cross the Euphrates river according to the bible to wage war in the Valley of Meggido (the battle of Armageddon).
Like lightening out of the east, Christ will return to the Mt. of Olives (with his bride) to defeat the armies (who all have rejected Him). There will be a great earthquake (the greatest in the history of the world) splitting the city in two on Yom Kippur, Tishri 10, 6007. This will have completed the 2520 day prophecy.
WOW… I know that was a ton of information. And if we covered all the biblical and festival references here it would take me a year. This is just a starting point for you to do your own study. And, of course my blog will continue next time...
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