Students of Bible prophecy recognize that God has ordained a period in the future wherein Jesus Christ will return to the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to rule over all nations of the world for 1,000 years (see Revelation 20:4)—the millennial reign of Christ (see discussion regarding the Millennium). Prior to this millennial period, God will judge the world. The period of God’s judgment is referred to as the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:21), and it culminates in an excruciating Day of the Lord—a particularly devastating period that is concluded by the Second Coming of Christ (Matt. 24:29-30). Some of the critical considerations regarding this period along with their supporting Scriptures are noted below.
- The judgment constituting the tribulation is understood from a prophecy in Daniel 9 to extend for a period of 7 years. See Daniel 9:24-27.
- The prophecy indicates that 490 years (or 70 “sevens”—also referred to as “weeks”) were particularly ordained regarding the Jews, Jerusalem and the work of the Messiah; the prophecy is divided into 2 sections of time: 483 years (or 69 of the “sevens”) of the prophecy were fulfilled when the Messiah was “cut off” (which many Bible students understand to equate to the crucifixion of and ascension to heaven by Jesus); thus, 7 years (or 1 “seven”) of the prophecy remain; according to the prophecy the antichrist will enter into a 7-year (or 1 “seven”) covenant with “the many”; then 3.5 years into that covenant, he will break it and cause sacrifices to cease. Thus, it appears that the covenant is with the people of Israel and may have something to do with the temple and sacrifices.
· God will desolate the earth. Isaiah 24:1-13, 19-20
· God’s desolation of the earth is heralded by the breaking of 7 seals (Rev. 6&8:1-5), the sounding of 7 trumpets (Rev. 8:6-9:21&11:15-19) and the pouring of 7 bowls of wrath (Rev. 16). Each has its own consequence:
|
Event |
Consequence |
|
Breaking
of 1st Seal Revelation
6:1-2 |
A white horse comes, and
the rider has a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering
and to conquer. |
|
Breaking
of 2nd Seal Revelation
6:3-4 |
A red horse comes, and the
rider takes peace from the earth even such that people kill one another; and
a large sword was given to him. |
|
Breaking
of 3rd Seal Revelation
6:5-6 |
A black horse comes, and
the rider has a pair of scales in his hand, and it seems that the price of
wheat and barley increase dramatically. |
|
Breaking
of 4th Seal Revelation
6:7-8 |
An ashen horse comes, and
the rider’s name is Death, and Hades is following him; he kills ¼ of the
people of the earth with sword, famine, plague and animal attacks. |
|
Note that the heralds of the first 4 seals, these "Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse," may be the 4 spirits who patrol the earth
and appease the wrath of God as described in Zechariah 6:1-8. Some speculate that the rider of the white
horse is the antichrist who, in a mimicking precursor to the Second Coming of
Christ (Rev. 19:11-16), appears on a white horse. |
|
|
Breaking
of 5th Seal Revelation
6:9-11 |
The souls of martyrs for
God cry out for judgment. |
|
Breaking
of 6th Seal Revelation
6:12-17 |
A great earthquake occurs;
the sun becomes black; the moon becomes like blood; a storm of asteroids
strikes the earth; the sky is split apart like a scroll; every mountain and
island are moved from their places; all on earth cry out for death rather
than to face the Messiah. |
|
Interlude Revelation 7 |
Angels halt wind from blowing on the earth. An angel seals 144,000
men from Israel on their foreheads. A multitude who came out of the
Tribulation and whose robes have been made white by the blood of the Lamb cry
out a praise to the Lamb, and the Lamb spreads His tabernacle over them. |
|
Breaking
of 7th Seal Revelation
8:1-5 |
An angel fills a censor
with fire from the alter and hurls it to the earth with lightning, thunder
and an earthquake. |
|
Sounding
of 1st Trumpet Revelation
8:6-7 |
Hail and fire mixed with
blood are hurled to the earth; and 1/3 of the earth is burned up, and 1/3 of
the trees are burned up, and all the green grass is burned up. |
|
Sounding
of 2nd Trumpet Revelation
8:8-9 |
A great mountain burning
with fire is hurled into the sea; and 1/3 of the sea becomes blood, and 1/3
of the sea creatures die; and 1/3 of the ships are destroyed. |
|
Sounding
of 3rd Trumpet Revelation
8:10-11 |
A great star falls from
heaven, burning like a torch on 1/3 of the rivers and on the springs of
waters. The star is named Wormwood; and 1/3 of the waters become wormwood,
and many people die from the waters because they are made bitter. |
|
Sounding
of 4th Trumpet Revelation
8:12 |
1/3 of the sun, 1/3 of the moon,
and 1/3 of the stars are stricken, so that 1/3 of them would be darkened and
the day would not shine for 1/3 of it, and the night in the same way. |
|
Interlude Revelation 8:13 |
An eagle flies
and announces 3 woes for those who live on the earth because of the blasts of
the next 3 trumpets. |
|
Sounding
of 5th Trumpet Revelation
9:1-12 |
1st Woe -
The abyss is opened and smoke darkens the air and the sun, and Abaddon’s (or
Apollyon’s) scorpion like locusts come out of the smoke and attack all humans
that do not have the seal of God on their foreheads, and they torment
humanity for 5 months. |
|
Sounding
of 6th Trumpet Revelation
9:13-21 |
2nd Woe – 4
angels bound at the Euphrates River are released, and they release a 200
million horseman army (breastplate colors are hyacinth, fire and brimstone)
that kills 1/3 of mankind with plagues of fire, smoke and brimstone. The 2 witnesses appear, are
slain, are resurrected and ascend to heaven. An earthquake strikes Jerusalem;
1/10 of the city falls; 7,000 are killed. |
|
Sounding
of 7th Trumpet Revelation
11-12 |
3rd Woe –
An announcement is made in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
The temple of God in heaven appears with the ark of His covenant. Signs
appear regarding Israel, Satan, Christ and Michael, the archangel. (Rev.
12) A woe is announced regarding Satan’s being on earth filled
with wrath, because he knows his time is short. |
|
Interlude Revelation 13-15 |
The beast from
the sea and the beast from the earth appear. (Rev. 13) The Lamb appears with
144,000 special saints; angels appear declaring the gospel, doom of Babylon,
and doom for worshippers of the beast. (Rev. 14) One like the son
of man reaps from the earth. An angel then reaps for the winepress. (Rev.
14) Angels receive the 7 bowls of wrath to be poured out on the
earth. (Rev. 15) |
|
Pouring
of 1st Bowl Revelation
16:2 |
Harmful and painful sores
afflict everyone who has received the mark of the beast (the antichrist) and
worshipped his image. |
|
Pouring
of 2nd Bowl Revelation
16:3 |
The sea is turned to blood
and everything in it dies. |
|
Pouring
of 3rd Bowl Revelation
16:4-7 |
The rivers and springs of
water are turned to blood. |
|
Pouring
of 4th Bowl Revelation
16:8-9 |
The sun scorches people
with a plague of fire and heat. |
|
Pouring
of 5th Bowl Revelation
16:10-11 |
The kingdom of the beast is
darkened, and pain and sores afflict people (possibly because sunlight
provided healing and relief). |
|
Pouring
of 6th Bowl Revelation
16:12-16 |
The Euphrates River is
dried up—preparing the way (to Israel) for the kings from the East (to attack
Israel). Spirits of demons, like
frogs coming from the mouths of Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet,
summon nations to come and attack Israel (the Battle of Armageddon). |
|
Pouring
of 7th Bowl Revelation
16:17-21 |
An announcement is made
from the throne in the temple in heaven: “It is done.” The
strongest earthquake in history strikes the earth. Cities fall. Jerusalem is
split into 3 sections. Islands disappear. Mountains fall.
100-pound hailstones fall upon the people of the earth. |
· Celebrations will cease. Isaiah 24:7-11, Rev.
18:22-23
· People are scorched. Isaiah 24:6, Rev. 16:8-9
· All are subject to judgment. Isaiah 24:2, 4, 18
· The Day of the Lord and Tribulation are for judgment. Isaiah 24:5, Isaiah 30:27-28&30-32, Isaiah 35:4, Psalm 110:5-6, Joel 3:2&12, Obadiah 16, Zephaniah 3:8, Ezekiel 39:21
· The sun and moon will be impacted. Isaiah 24:23 They will become dark. Joel 3:15, Isaiah 60:2, Rev. 8:12, Matt. 24:29
· The antichrist will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, first permitting the sacrifices and then halting them and desecrating the temple. Daniel 9:27, Zech. 14:2, 2 Thes. 2:3-4, Matthew 24:15-16
· Messiah will battle and defeat all nations. Zech. 14:1-5, Zech. 12:9, Rev. 19:19-21
· An earthquake will level the land, except for part of Jerusalem. Zech. 14:10, Rev. 16:17-21. The mountain of the House of the Lord will remain. Isaiah 2:2
· All of armies of nations will essentially panic, fight each other and rot while standing when Messiah arrives. Zech. 14:12-13, 15
· Great wealth will be collected at the battle of Armageddon. Zech. 14:14
· We do not know the day or the hour when Jesus
will return. Matt. 24:42
[Updated 9/24/2021]
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