The reason why God warns us of impending disaster is that we as well as children after us may be diligent to observe to keep His word by doing righteousness and justice. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He informed His servant Abraham of the impending destruction.

“And the LORD said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him , that he will command his children after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him”(Gen.18:17-19).

When God gives us a warning of an impending destruction as He gave to Abraham concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, it is not for us alone, but for our generation and the subsequent ones. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was used as an example to warn us of the the terrible Day Of The LORD’s wrath in order that we and our children may keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice. For this same reason, we are cautioned over and over again to live godly lives, looking for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ our Lord(Titus 2:12,13).

” Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, To whom be glory both now and for ever. Amen”( 2 Pet.3:11-14,17,18).

All believers are to be steadfast, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord(Rom.12:11), looking and waiting for the Day Of The Lord. We are to be holy in conduct and godliness, diligent, spotless and blameless. We are to be on our guard, growing in grace, and the knowledge of the Lord(2 Pet.3:18). These admonitions are not limited to any generation, but to all generations of believers, because any generation of believers could be called upon to enter the 70th week, and face the horrors of the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist. To what extent therefore any believer falls short of these admonitions, he shall be unprepared for the Day Of The Lord.

In the Olivet Discourse, our Lord Jesus the Christ gives the admonition to His disciples to watch for the sign of His coming in order not to be unprepared for the Day Of The Lord. ” Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When the branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors”(Matt.24:32,33). The fig tree is a sign of approximation. It is the commonest tree in Israel, and also a symbol of the nation. His disciples could well relate to it. Our Lord Jesus being the good teacher that He is uses simple and common things with which the people are familiar to illustrate His teachings. The reference to the fig tree in this parable does not relate to its symbolism of the nation of Israel but to its commonality. It grows in the wild, but it is also cultivated. In the Lukan account, it says “all the trees.”(Lukk.21:29). All the trees could not be the symbol of the nation of Israel. Our Lord Jesus was referring to a natural seasonal observation. In the land of Israel, after the Winter, in the Spring, the fig tree and all the others trees begin to bud having been denuded of leaves in the Autumn or Fall which signals the nearness of Summer. In like manner, when we see the events enumerated by our Lord Jesus the Christ in the Olivet Discourse begin to unfold, we know that the Day Of The Lord is at hand. “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled”(Matt.24:34). The generation that shall witness the unfolding of these events shall not pass before the Day Of The Lord comes. This statement is predicated upon the faithfulness of the Lord. ” Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away”(Matt.24:35). Heaven and Earth may pass away, God’s word remains eternally true.

Therefore we should be watchful and prayerful in order that these things do not come upon us unawares, and that we may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand blameless before the Son Of Man(Luk.21:36).

Because of the confusion arising from the divergent views on the rapture, some believers have adopted a nonchalant attitude towards any teachings on the end times. They call themselves pantribulationists; it will all pan out in the end. They say it does not matter whether we go through the Great Tribulation or not, all we need do is to get ready. How in the world will anyone get ready if the one is not sure whether one goes through the Great Tribulation or not? How well prepared would a student be for an examination when he is not sure he would sit for the examination? Or how well prepared would a soldier be for a battle he is not sure he would fight? Or an athlete if he is not sure he will compete? Those who hold this view are deceived already because they are unprepared for the hard times ahead. This kind of attitude fosters ignorance. When I dialogue with these brethren I find out that they have no knowledge of the sequence of events of the end times. Am yet to find anyone of them who is knowledgeable in eschatology.

There is another segment of believers who believe that they should not bother about the end times, because our God is so loving He would take care of them whether they are prepared or not. This view is slightly different from the first, but the end result is the same. These believers are deceived already and are unprepared for the hard times ahead. They live under the self-deluding notion that God because of the immensity of His love for us, His children, He[God] will do everything for us even that which falls within the domain of human responsibility. They are ignorant of the fact that divine sovereignty does not preclude human responsibility. They forget that we are in partnership with God. There are things which God only can and must do, and there things which man only can and must do.

God is not going to do our studies for us. He can and will guide and help us in our studies. Nevertheless, to study is our responsibility. We are to study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of God(2 Tim.2:15). A believer who neglects the word of God will be spiritually stunted in growth. As new born babes, we must desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby(2 Pet.2:2). God said that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Spiritual malnutrition kills as much or perhaps even more than does physical malnutrition. God told the Levites, because you have rejected knowledge, I also have rejected you from being preists(Hos.4:6). We reign by faith through knowledge. Faith is a function of knowledge. Faith begins where the will of God is known. Faith is the word of God that controls us. If we do not know God’s will, then there is no faith. And God’s will is God’s word. And the word masters and dominates us to the extent that we master it.

There is a subset of believers who believe that the events outlined by our Lord Jesus the Christ in the Olivet Discourse are real and will be literally fulfilled, only it all concerns unrepentant Israel not the Church. By this wave of the hand they relegate the Olivet Discourse and the whole Gospel of Matthew to the Jewish waste paper basket. This is theological skullduggery and should not be allowed to stand. These men are intellectually dishonest. They do not hesitate to appropriate to themselves the good things in the Gospel of Matthew.

There is yet another segment of believers who allegorize, spiritualized, rationalize, customize, personalize, and culturalize everything in the Scriptures concerning the end times until its intended meaning is lost. By this they strip the Scripture of its normative reading, understanding, authority, and applicability to the people of God.

We must understand that the degree to which we are prepared, to that extent we shall have the protection of God during the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist. To that extent also we may or may not feel the fury of the wrath of Satan in his persecution of the children of God. The wrath of Satan is against the saints of the Most High. Believers who are unprepared, who have not heeded Christ instructions concerning perseverance(Rev.3:10) shall face the full brunt of the persecution by the antiMessiah; for he shall attempt to kill all who do not bow to his image, nor take the mark of allegiance to him. Anyone who does not get branded as a loyal citizen of his Satanic kingdom is earmarked for liquidation. A believer’s theological view on the end times is therefore of paramount importance, especially for those of us who live at the edge of history.

We can indeed be prepared. God has given us His word to prepare us ahead of time. He has called us to understand, persevere, look forward to and to hasten the coming of the Day Of The Lord. He has called us to godly living and righteous prayer, both of which are at the edge of the kingdom.

We affirm in the strongest terms the following biblical principles in relation to the end times:

(1) The last days are marked by a 7-year period, the 70th week. It is the last of the 70 sevens of years(70 x 7=490) spoken of by the prophet Daniel(Dan.9:24-27). The starting point of this 7-year period is the signing of the 7-year peace treaty by the antiChrist with the many from within Israel(Dan.9:27). We are now in the gap of time between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy.

(2) Three major events will occur within this period, the emergence of the antiChrist as a prominent world ruler(Rev.6:1,2), the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist(Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21,29; Mk.13:19; Rev.6:7,8), and the commencement of the Day of the Lord wrath(Rev.6:15-17). This time period is called the 70th week, never the Tribulation Period.

(3) The 70th week of Daniel is divided into two equal halves of three and one-half years each. The first three and one-half years is called the beginning of sorrows or the beginning birth pangs(Matt.24:8). The second three and one-half years is divided into two unequal halves, the Great Tribulation, and the commencement of the Day Of The LORD.

(4) The Scriptures teach that there are three major sections to the 70th week: the beginning of sorrows or the beginning birth pangs(Matt.24:8), the Great Tribulation(Matt.24:21), and the Day of the LORD(Matt.24:29-31).

(5) The Day Of The LORD or simply the End(of the ages) is the point of transition between the present age, olam haze, and the age to come, olam haba. Within this period in the eschatological timeline, the wrath of God is poured out on the living wicked earth-dwellers who worship the Beast or his image.

(6) The Day Of The LORD begins at the breaking of the seventh seal, at the last trump(1 Cor.15:51,52; Rev.8:1-6), and ends with the defeat of the armies of the Gentile nations gathered against Christ at Armageddon, 30 days after the end of the 70th week of Daniel(Dan.12:11; Rev.19:11-21).

(7) The end of the 70th week is marked by the death of the two witnesses whose ministry lasts precisely three and one-half years(Rev.11:3-14).

(8) The ministry of the two witnesses occurs within the second half of the 70th week, and lasts throughout its entire length(Rev.11:3).

(9) The Scriptures teach that the Great Tribulation or better still the Tribulation the Great begins precisely at the midpoint of the 70th week, but does not run to its end. The Great Tribulation is cut short or better still amputated by the cosmic and celestial disturbances(Matt.24:22; Mk.13:24,25; Luk.21:11b, 25,26).

(10) If the Great Tribulation lasts the entire length of the second half of the 70th, we can calculate the Day of the Lord’s Coming by reckoning from either the signing of the covenant with death with the many from within Israel at the beginning of the 70th week, or from the abomination of desolation that occurs precisely at the midpoint of the 70th week, thus invalidating the words of our Lord Jesus the Christ which states that no man, nor the angels in heaven, neither the Son knows the Day and the Hour of His Coming, but My Father only(Matt.24:36; Mk.13:32). This feat is unachievable even by flights of higher mathematics.

(11) On the other hand, if the 70th week is cut short, instead of the Great Tribulation as some pretribulationists teach, then, the 70th week will no longer be seven years in duration, thusly, invalidating the 70 sevens of years of Daniel’s prophecy which was affirmed by our Lord Jesus the Christ(Dan. 9:24-27; Matt.24:15).

(12) The Bible teaches that Elijah or more appropriately another with the spirit and the anointing of Elijah must first appear before the commencement of the Day Of The LORD(Matt.17:10, ; Mk.9:11). If the Day Of The Lord begins at the commencement of the 70th week, it therefore follows that Elijah must appear before the commencement of the 70th week. If Elijah appears before the commencement of the 70th week, the pretribulational doctrine of imminence is invalidated. If he appears after the commencement of the 70th week, the Day Of The LORD cannot commence at the beginning of the 70th week as the pretribulation rapture position teaches.

(13) The Scriptures teach that the apostasy and the revealing of the man of sin must occur before the Day Of The LORD(2 Thess.2:1-4). Both of these two events, the apostasy and the revelation of the man of sin occur within the 70th week of Daniel. It therefore follows that the Day Of The LORD cannot start at the beginning of the 70th week, before the first five seals are broken.

(14) The Scriptures teach that cosmic and celestial disturbances must occur before or precede the Day Of The LORD(Joel 2:31; Matt.24:29-31; Rev.6:12-14). The cosmic disturbances are associated with the breaking of the sixth seal. The breaking of the sixth seal which amputates the Great Tribulation occurs sometime within the second half of the 70th week.

(15) The Bible teaches that when the Day Of The LORD begins, it will be obvious to everyone; there will be no guesswork. All the inhabitants of the Earth shall know that God has come down to punish the wicked earth-dwellers for their evils(Rev.6:15-17).

(16) The saints shall be rescued before the wrath of God begins; and the saints are exempt from the wrath of God(1 Thess.1:10,5:9). The fact that the saints are rescued implies danger before rescue. The Bible teaches that the rapture is concurrent, coincident, and simultaneous with commencement of the wrath of God. The very same day the rapture occurs, the wrath of God begins(Luk.17:26-30). The very same day that Noah entered the Ark, the rains deluged the heavens and the Earth was submerged in the waters(Gen.7:13-24). The very same day that Lot and his family left Sodom and Gomorrah, the heavens rained fire and sulphur upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain, Zeboim and Adammah(Gen.19:23-25). Therefore to preach Rapture before the consummate battle of the ages for the saints, the Great Tribulation, is to court disaster, and to sell the saints short to the antiChrist, the Chief eschatological antagonist who is destined to make war with the saints and to overcome them. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”(Rev.13:7).

(17) The Bible teaches that the believers are exempt from the wrath of God(1 Thess.1:10, 5:9). However, there is no biblical evidence that the Church shall be exempt from the wrath of Satan(Rev.12:12). Rather there is overwhelming evidence the church will witness the wrath of Satan.

(18) The Bible distinguishes between the wrath of God and the wrath of Satan(Rom.2:5; Rev.6:17, 12:12). The wrath of Satan is administered by the antiChrist against the believers and all others who repudiate the authority of the antiChrist during the Great Tribulation. The wrath of God is administered by God Himself against the living wicked earth-dwellers who remain after the rapture of the Church during the Day Of The LORD judgment(Rev.14:9-12).

(19) The Scriptures teach that the Day Of The LORD will be a time of unprecedented judgment of the wicked inhabitants of the Earth who remain after the translation of the saints. It shall also be a time for purifying Israel.

(20) The Scriptures also affirm that there is one second coming of the Lord, not one for the Rapture of the Church at the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel, and another seven years later at its end as the pretribulation rapture position affirms.

(21) The Scriptures affirm that the second coming of Christ, the parousia means arrival and continuous presence in order to accomplish certain divine purposes. It will begin with the appearance of the Son of Man in the heavens, the Shekinah(Matt.24:30; Mk.13:26 ;Rev.1:7), the sealing of the 144,000, the rapture of the Church(Matt.24:31; Mk13:27), the multitude which no man could number(Rev.7:1-17), and followed by the Day Of The LORD wrath on the wicked who remain(Rev.6:15-17), and the Lord’s literal return to the Earth.

(21) The Bible teaches that the rapture occurs at the end or end of the ages. ” I am with you unto the end of the ages”(Matt.28:20). The end of the ages is the time of the final harvest, and the reapers are the angels(Matt.13:39). The final harvest is the time of separation of the righteousness, the wheat, from the unrighteous, the tares, weeds or better still wild wheat(darnel).

(22) The Scriptures affirm that the Church will remain on Earth until the end of the ages which is the time of the final harvest( Matt.13:39,40, 28:20). The end of the ages occurs inside the second half of the 70th week not prior to its commencement.

(24) The Scriptures teach that the end begins with the breaking of the seventh seal. The righteousness, the wheat are raptured(harvested into God’s barn), and the unrighteous(tares, weeds, wild wheat) are harvested to be burned(judged) during the Day Of The LORD, concluding with Christ physical return to the Earth

(25) The Bible teaches that at Christ’s return the surviving remnant of Israel shall be saved, and the final ingathering of Jews from all over the globe effected. This shall be the literal fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob(Rom.11:25,26).

(26) The Scriptures teach that at Christ’s return, all nations shall be gathered to Jerusalem in the Sheep and Goat Judgment. The goats shall be condemned and executed, but the sheep shall be justified to enter into the Kingdom of God during the millennial reign of Christ(Matt.25:31-46).

Our world is old, decrepit, dilapidated, and antiquated, reeling to and fro under the weight of sin. It is in grave danger. It wobbles on collision course with its Maker. ” For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now”(Rom.8:22). Through sin, disobedience and utter disregard to his creator, man has pressed the self-destruct button. With an alarming rate, the foundations of godliness are crumbling; things once sacred and sacrosanct have become unzipped, and are treated with disgusting commonality and levity. In our world today, men call good, evil, evil good(Is.5:20). Black is no longer black but white, and white is no longer white but black. Such is the depth of moral decay in our world today. It has become fashionable to live in sin. Those who strive to live right are ridiculed, and their lives endangered. So much of the world has been imported into the Church, so much so that the Church which is called to be a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, a holy nation, and to display the excellencies of His Divine Majesty, is neither royal nor peculiar, nor is it different from the rest of the world, neither does it display the excellencies of the God of Israel.

Except for a few lone voices here and there, the light has almost but gone out. The Church has stooped to commonality with the rest of the world, and in lifestyle to similarity with the unregenerate in the midst of whom we live. By the virtue of his calling, the voice of the pastor ought to be heard, but instead many pulpits are weak and vacillating. Even amongst conservative evangelicals and Pentecostals, some urge us to return to the Romish Church and tell, the Pope: ” the children have come to roost”. How strong and effective will the witness of a local assembly of believers be if the pastor is not sure Jesus is the only way to God(Acts 4:12)? ” Thus saith the Lord which ought to be a thundering voice is reduced to almost an inaudible whisper. More often than not, it is the politician, the philosopher, the scientist, the celebrity, and the social activist that is heard instead of the voice of those with divine mandate. How can our voice be heard when we are not divided from what is commonplace and ordinary. The Church ought to stand out through her holiness, righteousness, miracles, signs, and wonders(Rom.8:19), rather what we see is opulence, blatant display of flamboyance, Pentecostal showmanship and jingoism, and worldliness. Where are the dead raised, the blind see, the deaf hear, the maimed made whole? They line the avenues into our opulent auditoria, and beg, but remain much the same.

There is a lot of stealing going on in the Church. Brethren lie to one another in their business dealings. Some have become utterly serpentine, crafty, sleek, and greasy in their dealings with fellow believers. There is hardly anyone that consistently tells the truth. Lost of believers are utterly unreliable, and inconsistent, untrustworthy, and vain and banal. A lot of our motivations are driven by monetary gains. It has become extremely dangerous to trust anyone. Often we betray one another. As for immorality, it is drunken like water. Will a church like this be raptured? I trow not.

To many church goers, the Church provides entertainment not worship. To many church goers, the Church is a club where they go to recreate themselves, to meet business partners, find new ones and get connected. Some go to Church solely to steal, and to find new sex partners. Some are there to find wives or husbands. That, of course is more honorable. There are some in the Church who are messed up with one another in all kinds of sexual immoralities. There are single ladies in the Church who practise lesbianism. They comfort themselves by the fact that they do not become pregnant and abort. They are homosexuals in the Church also. And the pulpit is silent because it has to be politically correct. Some see the Church as a business institution; and they are there to market their products, and nothing else. Should the Church provide a hedged-in, antiseptic, club-like atmosphere, and not a ” Go ye out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in”(Luk.14:23)?

At the present moment, the Church is splintered, polarized, canal, materialistic, humanistic in her philosophy, and impotent. We are fiddling, and the world is burning. There is no other institution that can stem the tide of evil other than the Church. “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do”(Ps.11:3)?

If the Church continues with business as usual, and enters the 70th week of Daniel, it will be catastrophic. There is need for right teaching and correct theology on the end times in order to correct the wrong thinking in the Church today. The Prewrath Rapture position is a catalyst for holy living(Marvin. J. Rosenthal). The Church must understand that any generation of believers could be called upon by heaven to enter into the 70th week of Daniel, experience the horrors of the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist, and be raptured after the cosmic disturbances associated with the breaking of the sixth seal, before God pours out His wrath on the living wicked earth-dwellers, adorers, and worshippers of the antiMessiah, in The Day Of The LORD judgment, at the breaking of the seventh seal.

Avraham Shallom.

Some of the disciples of our Lord while with Him on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Temple Mount, asked Him this question:

“Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of the thy coming, and of the end of the ages?”(Matt.24:3).

The first part of the question concerns the destruction of the Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah which was accomplished in 70 AD by the Roman general Titus, and was witnessed by some of His disciples who were still alive at that time. Surprisingly, Jesus did not address that part of the question. To answer the second question, Our Lord started by enumerating a series of events in sequential order that shall unfold starting from the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel.

The 70th week of Daniel is divided into two equal halves of three and one-half years each. The first half shall begin when the antiChrist signs a seven-year peace treaty with Israel:

“and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week”(Dan.9:27a).

Events that shall transpire within the first half of the 70th week of Daniel are the emergence of false christs(Matt.24:4,5; Rev.6:1,2)), wars and rumours of wars((Matt.24,6,7a; Rev.6:3,4), famines, pestilences and earthquakes(Matt.24:7b;Rev.6:5,6). The first thing that Jesus did before he enumerated these events was to warn His disciples to take heed that no one deceives them no matter how holy his life and stellar his biblical scholarship;

“For many shall come in My Name saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many”(Matt.24:4,5).

These three events are the same as the first three seals of Rev.6:1-6.

Precisely at the midpoint of the 70th Seven, after the first three and one-half years, the antiChrist shall abolish his covenant with Israel, putting a stop to animal sacrifice and grain offering which were presumably resumed at the beginning of the 70th Seven.

“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”(Dan.9:27b).

This shall happen when he relocates his headquarters to Jerusalem(Dan.11:45), surrounds Jerusalem with his armies in what is called the Jerusalem Campaign(Luk.21:20,21). At the same time, he withdraws the military protection he has offered Israel during the first three and one-half years of the 70th Seven of Daniel. He deifies himself, demands worship of all mortals by requiring everyone to take his mark of allegiance on the forehead or right hand(Rev.13:16,17). The antiMessiah positioning himself as God in the Holy of Holies of the rebuilt Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah built only for the worship of Jehovah, the one true God, Yahweh of Israel, is the abomination that maketh desolate. The unveiling of the antiChrist as God and his demand to be worshipped shall spark the apostasy and the Great Tribulation(2 Thess.2:3,4; Matt.24:15). The chief architect of the apostasy is the antiChrist himself, The eschatological antagonist. These events are the same as the fourth and fifth seals of Rev.6:8-11.

Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ, makes it clear in His Olivet Discourse that the Sign of His Coming And Of The End Of The Ages shall occur immediately after the Tribulation of those days:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken: and then shall appear the Sign Of The Son Of Man in heaven: and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son Of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”(Matt.24:29,30).

There is only one sign of His coming, but it consists of two parts. The Greek word translated sign is “seimeon” and is singular. This sign signals His coming and the End of The Ages. This sign is given in the Sun, Moon, and Stars. The two parts occur back-to-back: the cosmic disturbances and the appearance of the Son Of Man in the heavens, the Shekinah, the visible presence and glorious manifestation of the Yahweh of Israel. The Scroll of Revelation makes it clear that this sign shall be preceded by a great earthquake. This is necessary to halt the Jehoshaphat Campaign which the antiChrist shall embark upon with the armies of the ten nation confederation of the 8th And Final Beast Empire to ferret out and kill all in the land of Israel who have not accepted his mark of allegiance. When this great earthquake occurs, the sun shall become black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon as blood, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and every mountain and island shall move out of their locations.

“And I beheld when he has broken the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when shaken of a mighty wind. And the Heaven departed as a Scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island moved out of their places(Rev.6:12-14).

This earthquake shall be worldwide to have this kind of effect on the sun, moon, and stars, and every mountain and island. It will most probably be a series of earthquakes accompanied by tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, spewing lava and ash. Or do we suppose that this is limited to the land of Israel? Even if it were so, the effects on the sun, moon, and stars shall be worldwide. This great earthquake is different from the earthquakes associated with the third seal in the first half of the 70th week of Daniel(Matt.24:7). The Earth itself and the elements shall be ashamed because the Almighty is about to punish the world for her evils.

“Then the moon shall be a confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously”(Is.24:23).

The darkening of the sun and the turning of the moon into blood are preludial to the coming of the Son Of Man in the heavens, and the outpouring of the Day Of The LORD’s Wrath(Joel 3:31).

The eclipse of the sun and moon shall darken the heavens and frozen the earth. The stars shall fall from the heavens. We do not suppose that these are actual stars. The Sun is one of the smallest stars, and it is approximately 189 million km away from the Earth. If it gets closer, the Earth shall melt away. If it gets farther away, the Earth shall be frozen into one solid rock, and no flesh will survive. The prophets were using known terminology of their day to describe events in the last days. These are probably comets, asteroids, meteorites, or fragments of disintegrated novas and supernovas. Whatever they are, we can rest assured they are not actual stars; for one star impinging upon the Earth shall pulverize it.

How will the inhabitants of the Earth react to those cosmic and celestial disturbances? There are different kinds of people on Earth at this time, and they react differently to the cosmic and celestial disturbances depending on their relationship to God and understanding and interpretation of what these celestial and cosmic phenomena portend.

The Unbelievers

By and large, the largest group of people on Earth at that time shall be the unbelievers, both branded and unbranded. More or less their reaction shall be the same. At the breaking of the sixth seal, every man on Earth shall acknowledge that there is God. Beyond that, they shall know that God is about to punish them for their evils. The atheists, the humanists, and all false religionists shall acknowledge that there is one and only true God, the God of Israel. This admission however does not bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ having sinned beyond repentance; for sin is a sicatrisant that sears the soul and deadens and hardens the conscience.

“And the kings of the earth, and all the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, every free man, hid themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand”(Rev.6:15-17). They shall know automatically and instinctively that God is, and He is about to punish them for their evils, and their reaction shall be one of terror without true repentance.

Apart from the enlivened images of the Beast which shall be stationed at strategic locations for all to worship, the Second beast, the false prophet and enforcer shall instruct all worshippers of the Dragon and the First Beast to make images of the First Beast in gold, silver, precious stones, and wood to worship in the privacy of their homes, in their cars and offices, each according to what he can afford.

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the Beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”Rev.(13:14).

At that time these branded worshippers of the image of the Beast shall cast their icons to the bats and to the moles to hide in the caves, rocks and mountains of the Earth.

“And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”(Is.2:9-22).

Humanism is the philosophy behind the rise of the antiChrist. Humanistic evolution says man was not created, he evolved. If man was not created, then, there is no God. If there is no God, then there is no standard for morality. Then every man is a law unto himself. If there is no God, man is god unto himself. But all that forsake God are cursed, and all that seek Him shall be blessed.

“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”(Rev.14:9-13).

Any man that bows to the image of the Beast shall never receive forgiveness from the Lord. The wrath of God abides on Him.

“Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.”(Jer.17:5-14).

The 144,000

Let us look at the 144, 000. They are perhaps the fewest of all the groups on earth at this time. The Scriptures do not tell us how they shall react in the face of the cosmic and celestial disturbances. Unlike the believers, they shall not be taken away from the Earth before the wrath of God is poured out on the living wicked Earth-dwellers. Instead, they shall be sealed for protection with the seal of God on their foreheads(Rev.7:1-8). Their reaction shall be probably more or less like those of believers. They shall be looking up for their deliverance from the antiChrist by the coming of the Messiah of Israel.

The Saints

The next group of people we shall look at are the believers who do not take the mark of the Beast. They are probably one of the fewer groups, the Great Tribulation having taken its toll on them. The Scriptures tell us exactly how they shall react when they see the sign given in the sun, moon, and stars from their hiding places from the security agents of the antiChrist.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”(Luk.21:25-28).

The believers shall not be frightened by these signs in the sun, moon, and stars, accompanied by the Son Of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. It portends deliverance. They know they are about to be rescued from the Earth, the scene of their persecution by the antiChrist and his cronies. They shall look up, for their redemption draweth nigh. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, there shall be cosmic and celestial disturbances, and there shall appear the sign of the Son Of Man in the heavens, and all the tribes of the Earth shall mourn, and then shall He dispatch His angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four corners of the Earth, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt.24:29-31). The elect, the saints of the Most High, the unbranded believers who did not bow to the image of the Beast shall be raptured after the cosmic disturbances which interrupt the Great Tribulation, and the appearance of the Shekinah in the heavens, and the subsequent dispatch of the angels with the sound of a great trumpet of the archangel to gather them from all corners of the Earth(Matt24:15-18).

The Unbranded Jewish Remnants

The other group of people we shall examine their reaction are the unbranded Jewish remnants other than the 144,000. These also are being hounded by the antiMessiah and his acolytes. They are in hiding in Jerusalem, and the whole land of Israel, and other parts of the world. They are also waiting for the coming of the Messiah to rescue them from the persecution of the antiChrist. However they do not believe that the Messiah is Jesus. When they see the sign in the sun, moon, and stars, and the other wonders God will show in the heavens and in the Earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke, the seas roiling, and the waves roaring(Joel 3:30; Luk.21:25-28) which are reminiscent of the presence of God at the dividing of the Sea of Reeds(Exod.14:19,20), at the giving of the Ten Commamdments on Mount Sinai(Exod.19:16-18 ), at the rearing up of the Tabernacle in the wilderness(Exod.40:34,35), and God’s presence amongst the children of Israel in their wilderness journeys(Exod.40:36-38; Numb.10:11-13), and the dedication of the temple built by Solomon( 2Chron.7:1-3), and the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal(1 Kin.18:38,39 ); they will begin to rejoice, saying: “peace and safety”(1 Thess.5:3). But they do not know they are not exempt from the trumpet judgments of the wrath of God. Their rejoicing is premature. Whereas the Great Tribulation is sufficient to purify the Church to appear before God, the unbranded Jewish remnants shall go through the first six trumpet judgments in order to be adequately purified, purged and cleansed to meet the Messiah of Israel. Therefore when they shall say peace and safety, sudden destruction shall come upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape(1 Thess.5:3). They are the only ones on Earth at that time who can say peace and safety. The branded Beast worshipers are cowering in the dens, caves and rocks of the mountains for fear of the Lord and The Glory of His Majesty(Is.2:21; Rev.6:15-17). The unbranded unbelievers are also in hiding. Who wouldn’t anyway! Besides they know nothing of God’s protection. The surviving unbranded believers are looking up for their redemption draweth nigh. The believers are not longing for the day of the Lord’s wrath. They are exempt from the wrath of God(1 Thess.1:10; 5:9). They will be raptured on that day before the wrath of God begins. The unbranded Jewish remnants are the only ones longing for the day of the Lord. They know nothing about the Rapture, and are not expecting to be raptured. But they do not know that they are not totally exempt from the day of the Lord wrath. The prophet Amos chided them saying:

“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. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?”(Amos 5:18-20).

The prophet Amos here speaks of the children of Israel who are under siege by the forces of the antiChrist in the Jehoshaphat campaign during the terminal stages of the Great Tribulation. They long for the day of the LORD. They shall take comfort in the Scroll Of the prophet Joel. When they see the sun darkened and the moon turned into blood, and the appearance of the Shekinah in the heavens, they begin to rejoice, saying: peace and safety, not knowing that the day of the LORD portends first of all wrath for them in the trumpet judgments before being exempted from the bowls which target specifically those with the mark of the Beast. The beast marked unbelievers cannot be the ones saying peace and safety because they know they are doomed once the sun is darkened and the moon turned into blood inasmuch as the wrath of God is about to fall on them, and they have to hide from the Shekinah in the heavens which no mortal man in sinful flesh can behold(Rev.6:15-17).

As I have pointed out, those who are beast branded cannot be the ones invoking peace and safety; for they know they are doomed once the Shekinah appears in the heavens following the earthly and celestial disturbances. The unbelievers who are not beast marked, know nothing about the day of the LORD. They, like the branded beast worshippers are cowering in fear in the caves and mountains. The ones on Earth at this time who know something about the day of the LORD are the unbranded observant remnant of Israel who have not the mark of the beast. They are the ones under seige by the forces of the antiChrist in the Jehoshaphat campaign which is an attempt by the antiChrist to once and for all put a period to Jewish opposition to his rule in the land of Israel during the final stages of the Great Tribulation shortly before the breaking of the sixth seal which is associated with the cosmic and celestial disturbances and the appearance of the coming of the Son Of Man, the Shekinah in the heavens. Once the sixth seal is broken, the sun is darkened, and the moon turned into blood, and the Shekinah appears in the heavens, the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel are sealed for protection from the day of the Lord’s wrath having being brought into a saving relationship with the God of Israel, and the Church is raptured from the Earth, physically removed from the scene of the Great Tribulation and the impending wrath of God.

This leaves only the observant remnants of Israel who have rejected the mark of the Beast, who have knowledge of the day of the LORD. They are the ones the prophet Amos chided, saying, why do you desire the day of the LORD? It is darkness and not light. You are fleeing from the lion(the Great Tribulation), but a bear(the day of the LORD) is going to meet you. You are fleeing from a lion(the Great Tribulation), you are going to get into the house, and lean your hand on the wall, but a serpent(the day of the LORD) shall bite you. This is so because while the Great Tribulation was sufficient to purify the Church to stand before the presence of the Lord, Israel, with the exception of the 144,000, would need go through the trumpet judgments in order to be purged, purified and cleansed to stand before God. The bowls specifically destroy those with mark of the Beast, culminating in the war of Armageddon. The unbelieving Gentiles who have not the mark of the Beast, though not specifically targeted during the bowl judgments of the unrighteous wicked may suffer collateral damages, shall be further processed and purified in the Sheep and Goat judgment, to determine eligibility for entry into the Millennium to repopulate the renovated Earth.

Finally, when Jesus appears in glory, all the Earth shall mourn.

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the Earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”(Rev.(1:7).

This of course excludes the 144,000 who shall be sealed for protection during the Day Of The LORD Wrath, and the unbranded believers who shall be raptured. The rest of the inhabitants of the Earth shall mourn. The branded worshippers of the Dragon-Beast because they shall face the unmitigated wrath of God. The unbranded unbelievers because of their unbelief. The unbranded Jewish remnants because of their rejection of the Messiah of Israel whom thy shall discover to be the Christian Jesus with nail-pierced hands. Jesus Himself corroborated these words in His Olivet Discourse that all the tribes of the Earth shall mourn when the see the Son Of Man coming in glory:

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the Earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”(Matt.(24:30).

The prophet Zechariah declared that the whole house of Israel, that is the unbranded remnants of Israel shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only begotten son when they look upon Him whom they pierced.

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.”(Zech.(12:10-14).

Having been purified through the Great Tribulation and the trumpet judgments, the unbranded remnants of Israel, shall receive from the Lord the Spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon Him who they pierced.

“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”

What this means is that they shall receive grace and find favour in the eyes of the Lord to repent and be cleansed from the defilement of their sins and uncleanliness.

They shall mourn and repent as a nation for their betrayal of the Messiah of Israel. Even those that pierced Him shall wail because of Him(Rev.1:7). The Scripture makes it clear here that the whole house of Israel shall be involved, the royal family of David, the High priestly family, members of the house of Aaron, the prophets as represented by the house of Nathan the prophet, the levites, the priests, the remnants of the tribe of Levi, and the house of Shimei, the remnants of the other tribes of Israel, the Am Ha’ aretz, the ordinary people of the land. All the tribes of Israel shall be represented.

As we have pointed out, this event shall occur at the expiry of the 70th Week when Israel shall have been purified, purged, and cleansed from sin by the six trumpet judgments. To be precise, it shall occur on day 3 of the 30-day Reclamation Period. Three of the six purposes of God to be accomplished within the 70 weeks allotted to the Gentiles to persecute Israel would have been fulfilled.

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”(Dan.9:24).

The transgression of Israel would be finished, her sin brought to and end, and reconciliation made for her iniquity. This is the reason why Israel must go through the Great Tribulation and the six trumpet judgments. The seventh trumpet has no judgment of its own, but opens into the seven bowls which specifically target the branded Beast worshippers. The remnants of Israel are exempt from the bowl judgments. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, God Almighty reclaims His rule over the Earth. Thereafter, the other three purposes shall be accomplished, the sealing of the vision and the prophecy, the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, and the anointing of the Most Holy.

“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”(Zech.13:8-9).

As we have pointed out, Israel shall be relatively quiet and peaceful during the first half of the 70th week, enjoying the protection offered her by the antiMessiah secured through the 7-year peace treaty. But from the midpoint of the 70th week, trouble begins. After passing through the Jerusalem Campaign, the Great Tribulation, the Jehoshaphat Campaign, two parts of the Jewish population especially in the land of Israel would have been decimated, leaving only a third part. It is this third part that shall pass through the fires of the six trumpet judgments in order to be purified, purged, and cleansed from the defilement of sin. They are the ones that shall be reconciled to God when the nation’s transgression is finished and her sin brought to an end.

“Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”(Is.66:8). This shall be the national salvation of Israel.

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”( Rom.11:26 ).

This event shall occur on top of Mount Zion on the third day of the 30-day reclamation period, shortly before the sounding of the Seventh trumpet on the 5th day. On this day, the mystery of God shall be finished, as God completes His spiritual kingdom by bringing in the purified and saved and reconciled remnants of Israel.

“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”(Rev.10:7).

Once the seventh trumpet is blown on the 5th day of the 30-day reclamation period, God Almighty reclaims His rule over the Earth, and begins His final purging and cleansing of the Earth from the defilement of Sin culminating in the war of Armageddon.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”(Rev.11:15).

One more important point to note. There shall be no secret appearance of the Lord to rapture the Church. The events spoken of here are worldwide phenomena, to be witnessed by all living earth-dwellers. “Every eye shall see Him, even those who pierced Him. Even so. Amen.”(Rev.1:7).

Avraham Shallom.

A sincere brother whose view on the rapture is Pretribulational asked this question. Here is what he said: “I personally do not believe in a Prewrath rapture after the Great Tribulation. But I believe in a Pretrib rapture, and place the Great Tribulation within the Day Of The Lord. My question to Prewrath believers is; How come you separate The Day Of The Lord from the Great Tribulation? Is there Scriptural evidence? God bless.”

Here is my response to his question.

This is a very pertinent question, in that, if it can be proven from the Scriptures that the Great Tribulation is not an integral part of the Day Of The Lord, one of the fundamental pillars of Pretribulationism is fatally flawed. The wrath of God occurs in the Day Of The Lord. And the believers are exempt from the wrath of God. So, if the Great Tribulation occurs in the Day Of The Lord which is the wrath of God, and the believers are exempt from the wrath of God, then the believers cannot pass through the Great Tribulation. This is the fundamental pillar of pretribulationism. On the other hand if it can be proven from the Scriptures that the Great Tribulation is not part of the wrath of God which occurs in the Day Of The Lord, from which believers are exempt, it therefore follows that the believers will pass through the Great Tribulation.

The Pretribs teach that the whole length of the 70th week is the wrath of God which occurs in the Day Of The Lord. Some Pretribs teach that the day of the Lord is that lengthened period from the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel to the end of the Millennium. Although Prewrathers do not agree with this definition, it immediately makes it clear that the Great Tribulation cannot be the same as the Day Of The Lord inasmuch as the Great Tribulation does not begin until the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel. How can the Day Of The Lord which is darkness and not light include the Millennium which is Christ’s Rulership Of The Kingdom? “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. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?”(Amos 5:18-20). The Day Of The Lord cannot include the Millennium because it is darkness and not light. The millennium is Christ glorious rule over the earthly domain of the Father’s universal kingdom and cannot therefore be part of the Day Of the Lord during which the wrath of God is meted out on the unrighteous wicked.

According to this definition, the Great Tribulation is included in the Day Of The Lord. But this is not biblically accurate because the cosmic and celestial disturbances(the sixth seal) that terminate the Great Tribulation mark the commencement of the Day Of The Lord. Pretribs label the first half of the 70th week of Daniel the Tribulation and the second half the Great Tribulation. These labels fly in the face of scriptures.

There is no scriptural evidence that the wrath of God begins at the commencement of the 70th week of Daniel. The first three and one-half years witness the first three seals of Rev.6. These are the emergence of false christs and the ultimate false christ called the antiChrist(Rev.6:1,2; Matt.24:5; Mk.13:5,6; Luk.21:8,9), then wars, commotions, threats and rumours of wars(Rev.6:3,4; Matt.24:6,7aMk.13:7,8a; Luk.21:9,10), and finally famine, pestilences and natural disasters like earthquakes(Rev.6:12-14; Matt.24:7b; Mk.13:8b; Luk.21:11). Bear in mind that Rev.6 marks the starting point of the 70th week of Daniel, and bears a remarkable resemblance to the Olivet Discourse which it parallels(Matt.24; Mk.13; Luk.21).

Although the antiChrist has sponsored and brokered a peace pact between Israel and her Arab and Islamic neighbours: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:”(Dan.9:27a), he is not yet known to the world and Israel as the antiChrist. He is veiled. The only ones who know him are believers like us who have learned about him from the Scriptures and members of his inner circle. His unveiling to Israel and the world will await the middle of the 70th week of Daniel when he abrogates the animal, drink, and grain offerings recommenced at the ratification of the peace treaty. “And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,”(Dan.9:27b, cf: Matt.24:9,15 & ff; Mk.13:9,14 & ff; Luk.21:12 & ff; 2 Thess.2:4 & ff). The Great Tribulation does not begin until the antiChrist unveils himself as a dead man come back to life (who had ruled over one of the seven previous Beast Empires) to rule over the revived seventh or Eighth Beast Empire.

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”(Rev.13:3-4).

It is at this point that he receives power from Satan to reign over the whole Earth for three and one-half years. “……and the Dragon gave him his power, seat, and great authority.”(Rev.13:2b). “And power was given him to continue forty and two months.”(Rev.13:5b). Forty and two months is the length of the second half of the 70th week of Daniel. This is the length of the period of time allotted to the antiChrist to reign of the whole Earth. In the first half of the 70th week of Daniel, he does not have power to reign over the whole Earth.

He protects Israel in the first half of the 70th week of Daniel. He stations a protection force in the land of Israel to ensure Israel is not attacked by her Arab and Islamic neighbours. Israel enjoys a relative peace while the antiChrist busys himself with conquering the rest of the world for the first three and one-half years of the 70th week of Daniel. He does not also specifically target Christians for genocide during the first half of the 70th week of Daniel because he has not yet declared himself God nor demanded that men worship him. That is not to say that the first three and one-half years will be an easy period and rosy for the believers. It will not be, considering the preponderance of false christs, wars, commotions, rumours and threats of wars, famines, plagues and earthquakes, and the usual hatred of believers by the unbelievers.

Let us for once assume that the Pretrib view is correct and that the wrath of God or the Day Of The Lord begins at the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel, the Great Tribulation does not begin at the beginning of nor does it occur in the first half of the 70th week of Daniel. Nearly all Pretribs concede this point that the Great Tribulation begins at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel. If it begins at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel, why is it synonymous in your view to the wrath of God that begins, according to Pretribs , at the commencement of the 70th week of Daniel? So, you see, there is distinction between the wrath of God or the Day Of The Lord and the Great Tribulation. They do not have the same terminus-a-quo(starting point), neither do they have the same terminus-ad-quem(end point).

The Pretribs would want us to believe that the Great Tribulation is comprehended in the Day Of The Lord, that is, occurs within it. This is false because the Great Tribulation is not concurrent with the Day Of The Lord, neither is it an integral part of the Day Of The Lord, nor does it occur within it. How can the antiChrist kill Christians in the day when God alone is exalted? The Great Tribulation and the Day Of the Lord occur at different times in the second half of the 70th week of Daniel. One is a consequence of the other. The Day Of the Lord is a consequence of and God’s response to the persecution of the saints by the antiChrist during the Great Tribulation. Therefore, the Great Tribulation proceeds the Day Of The Lord. Hear what Prophet Isaiah says about the Day Of the Lord:

“Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”(Isaiah 2:10-22).

How can the antiChrist arise in the Day when the Lord alone is exalted in all the Earth, achieve world domination, get the majority of the people of the world to worship him and the Dragon(universal mass idolatry) and kill millions and perhaps billions of believers in Jesus Christ? For further elucidation see “Exposition On Isaiah 2:1-22.” Link: https://mtzionheritage.com/?s=Exposition+on+Isaiah.

This is the major problem with Pretrib teaching. They are unable to distinguish the wrath of God in The Day Of the Lord from the Great Wrath Of Satan which is the Great Tribulation. To them, they are concurrent, coincident and simultaneous, but the Scriptures teach otherwise. If the Great Tribulation is part of The Day Of The Lord, then God is responsible for the death of the fifth seal martyrs. This cannot be allowed to stand. The Day Of The lord’s wrath is God’s affirmative response to the plea of the fifth seal martyrs for vengeance.

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”(Rev.6:9-11).

This killing of the saints is in progress under the fourth seal which is the Great Tribulation. In the fifth seal God tells the martyrs under the altar in heaven to wait until their fellow believers destined to be killed during the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist and his gang is fulfilled. This killing is concurrent, coincident, and simultaneous with the fourth seal as we have pointed out. This means that the killings here on Earth were still going on at the time the fifth seal martyrs appeared under the golden altar of incense in heaven and made their plea of vengeance to God. The fifth seal is a heavenly scene, a heavenly reflection of the martyrdom of believers who repudiate the authority of the Beast by the rejection of his mark of allegiance. It does not necessarily advance the chronology of the narrative of the Scroll of Revelation.

There is no distance in the realm of the spirit. As the saints are being martyred here on Earth, the disembodied spirits and souls are arriving in Heaven. There is a certain number of saints to be martyred under the fourth seal. When that number is reached, God interrupts the Great Tribulation with cosmic and celestial disturbances(sixth seal) and turns the table on the antiChrist and his gang of humanists. The captivity is taken captive, and those who kill with the sword are themselves killed with sword. It therefore follows that the Great Tribulation which is the Great Wrath Of Satan must precede the Day Of The Lord. The wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord is not prejudicial nor extrajudicial. It is not before the facts, but after the facts. God cannot begin to punish men for the sins they have not committed or intend to commit. God cannot begin to punish the unrighteous wicked if they have not first persecuted the righteous saints. Their cup of iniquity must be full before they can be brought to book. God did not evict the Amorites from the land of Canaanan until their cup of iniquity is full, though He had already given the land to Abraham and his descendants for ever with a covenant of salt. “But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”(Genesis 15:16). They must kill the righteous saints in a rage that reaches up to heaven before God can begin to punish them for their evils and pour out His wrath upon them.

Secondly, the wrath of God is preceded by cosmic and celestial disturbances whereas the Great Tribulation is amputated by the cosmic and celestial disturbances. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:”(Matthew 24:29, cf: Rev.6:12-14). The prophet Joel declared that the Day Of The Lord must be preceded by the darkening of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.”(Joel 2:30-31). But the darkening of the Sun, Moon, and Stars which inaugurates the Day Of the Lord amputates the Great Tribulation. So, how can the Great Tribulation occur within the Day Of The Lord when the sign given in the Sun, Moon, and Stars which occurs after the Great Tribulation inaugurates the Day Of The Lord? This is an inescapable fact which Pretribs must contend with.

This singular fact alone destroys the Pretrib doctrine of imminence, the fundamental pillar of pretribulationism which states that no prophesied event will precede the rapture. In other words, that the rapture must be signless. If the wrath of God begins at the commencement of the 70th week of Daniel, it therefore follows that the cosmic and celestial disturbances must have occurred before the commencement of the 70th week of Daniel. This is biblically false and unsustainable because the scripture has stated unequivocally in Matt.24:29 that the cosmic and celestial disturbances occur after the [Great] Tribulation of those days. And we have shown from the Scriptures that the Great Tribulation begins at the Middle Of The 70th week when Satan is cast down from the Dark Void and Starry Heavens to the Earth which almost all Pretribs concede.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”(Rev.12:7-9, 12-14).

The three and one-half years spoken of here is the time allotted to the antiChrist to persecute the seed of the woman. It is synonymous with second half of the 70th week of Daniel. The offspring of the woman consist of two groups of peoples, those who keep the commandments of God, the observant Jews, and those who have the testimony of Jesus, the believers in Jesus the Christ. If the antiMessiah is allowed of God to go on killing the offspring of the woman for the whole three and one-half years allotted to him, no offspring of the woman will survive. Therefore, God must of necessity cut short or better still amputate the Great Tribulation. So, the Great Tribulation does not last the entire length of the second half of the 70th week of Daniel. “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”(Matt.24:22). Therefore some believers must be raptured alive, translated to receive glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies without passage through the intermediate process of death. This is to grant them exemption from the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord which is about to begin. Apostle Peter wrote: “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:”(2 Peter 2:9). There is no escaping the fact that the deliverance of the righteous from the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist is followed by the judgment of the unjust in the Day Of The Lord.

Cosmic and celestial disturbances precede the Day Of The Lord’s wrath(Joel 2:31). And the the wrath of God begins after the rapture which all Pretribs concede. In the debate whether the Great Tribulation occurs in the Day Of The Lord or independently, the sign given in the Sun, Moon, and Stars is a great divide, a watershed as it were. The Great Tribulation cannot be comprehended or occur in the Day Of The Lord if it is amputated by the sign given in the Sun, Moon, and Stars which precedes And heralds the Day Of The Lord.

Thirdly, our brother Apostle Paul in his second epistle to the Thessalonians wrote: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”(2 Thessalonians 1:3-10).

First, our brother Apostle Paul thanked God for their(Thessalonian Christians’) exceedingly growing faith in the Lord and their love toward one another. Second, Apostle Paul and his companions in the ministry are proud of the Thessalonian Christians for their faith and patience in the face of persecutions and tribulations which they endure. Third, he stated that their commendable faith and patience(endurance in the face of affliction, trial, trouble, temptation etc) in the face of persecutions and tribulations is a manifest token evidence of the righteous judgment of God in order that they may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which they also suffer. In other words it was necessary for them to go through these persecutions and tribulations in order to manifest God’s righteous judgment. Fourth, because God is righteous, He will payback tribulation(singular: which means it is specific, that is, the wrath of God, from which believers are exempt) to those who trouble the Thessalonian believers. This is the only place in the whole of the Scriptures where the wrath of God is described as tribulation to the unrighteous wicked.

Fifth, that God will give the Thessalonian believers REST with us, that is, with all believers who suffered persecutions and tribulations at different times in the history of the Church, and ultimately during the Great Tribulation which begins at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel. Sixth, this REST will be granted us(all believers) when Christ is revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus the Christ. When is Christ revealed from Heaven to take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel? Is it not after the Tribulation of those days when He appears in the heavens, dispatches His angels to gather the saints from one end of heaven to the other(for the saints are not appointed unto His wrath) and to punish the unrighteous wicked who know not God and obey not the gospel? If this REST is given the raptured saints at Armageddon, it therefore follows that the raptured saints must wait for seven years after rapture to receive this rest according to Pretrib rapture teaching inasmuch as Armageddon occurs in the 30-day Reclamation Period of the Kingdom after the end of the 70th week of Daniel. Seventh, those who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus the Christ shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.

Eighth, this punishment shall be meted to the unbelievers when Christ shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all those who believe in Him. When shall Christ come to be glorified in the saints and to be admired in those who believe? Is it not when the saints are raptured? “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”(Matthew 24:29-31). Why are all the tribes of the Earth mourning? Is it not because God is about to punish them for their evils? What is that other than the wrath of God in the Day Of the Lord? Will the saints partake of the punishment of the wicked who know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus the Christ? No: for God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus the Christ(1 Thess.1:10, 5:9).

Fourth, the Scriptures make distinction between the wrath of Satan and the wrath of God. When Satan is cast down from the heavens with his fallen evil angels, he comes down to the Earth with great wrath.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”(Revelation 12:7-12).

He possesses the antiChrist, gives him his power, seat and great authority to act on his behalf(Rev.13:2). This is when the Great Tribulation begins which is the manifestation of the Great Wrath Of Satan. Those who refuse the mark of the beast are the target of antiChrist’s Great Tribulation. They are mostly believers and a few unbelievers in Jesus Christ who are nonconformist nuts. It will take a great deal of inner fortitude to resist the antiChrist because he is a dead man come back to life. “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”(Revelation 17:8).

On the other hand, the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord is directed against the antiChrist and his gang, and all unrighteous wicked. The unbelievers are the children of wrath.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”(Ephesians 2:1-3).

We can see that unbelievers are the children of wrath. When we were unbelievers, we were the children of wrath. Now that we are born from above, we are no longer the children of wrath, and the wrath of God no longer abides on us. If believers go through the Great Tribulation, and the Great Tribulation is the wrath of God, or part of the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord as the Pretribs teach, it therefore means that the wrath of God abides on the believers. But it is explicitly stated in the scriptures that the believers are exempt from the wrath of God(1 Thess.1:10, 5:9). It is also equally clearly stated in the scripture that the present heavens and Earth are reserved unto fire in the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”(2 Peter 3:7). No truly born again follower of Jesus will be on Earth in the Day Of The Lord. It is a horrible period of time on Earth when God pours out His wrath on the unrighteous wicked who know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ. The present Heavens and Earth being on fire shall melt with fervent heat.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”(2 Peter 3:10-14).

It therefore follows that the Great Tribulation is not part of the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord because believers will be here on Earth during the Great Tribulation. There is no escaping the fact that some believers will go through the Great Tribulation because the antiChrist will make war with the saints and overcome them. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”(Revelation 13:7). Call them whatever you will, “tribulation saints” or “those left behind.” What is means is that the Great Tribulation is not part of the Day Of The Lord’s Wrath because some believers must of necessity pass through it; and believers are not appointed to God’s wrath.

The wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord is a recompensation, a payback to the unbelievers for their persecution of the saints during the Great Tribulation. So, it must occur after the Great Tribulation. You cannot punish a man in anticipation of a crime he is yet to commit. They must trouble us during the Great Tribulation in order that God may trouble them during the Day Of The Lord. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”(Revelation 6:12-17). The Day Of The Lord is preceded by the breaking of the sixth seal which is cosmic and celestial disturbances that interrupt the Great Tribulation.

The breaking of the sixth seal signals the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord. When it happens, all the inhabitants of the Earth will know that God is about to punish them for their evils. That is why they will wail(Matt.24:30; Rev.1:7). Is it at Armageddon they will mourn? No. At Armageddon, they have resolved to fight to finish, even though they will not prevail. They will run to hide and seek nonexistent refuge under the rocks and the mountains at the breaking of the sixth seal which signal cosmic and celestial disturbances which are preludial to the Day Of The Lord. They will know that the wrath of God is about to begin and who is able to withstand it? When the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord begins, no one shall be a able to stand, not even the antiChrist and his gang of humanistic evolutionists. Therefore, there is no way the Great Tribulation can occur in the Day Of the Lord. The wrath of God is not hazy and nebulous. It is clear and distinct from the wrath of Satan. Even the great wrath of Satan, the Great Tribulation is not hazy and nebulous either. It is also clear and distinct also from the wrath of God and from every previous persecutions and tribulations of the sons of God. The object of Satan’s wrath is the believer in Jesus the Christ who repudiates the authority of the Beast by refusal to bow to his image, and refuses to give him allegiance by refusal to take the mark of the Beast. The object of God’s wrath is the unbeliever who rejected the love of God freely offered in Jesus the Christ to all mankind and persecuted the saints of the Most High. They have shed blood; therefore God shall give them blood to drink, for they are worthy.

The wrath of God begins in Rev.8:1 at the breaking of the seventh seal. It consists of the trumpets and the bowls(Rev.8-20). But remember that Rev.10-14 are parenthetic and do not advance the chronology of the Scroll Of Revelation. They contain flashbacks and periscopes on previously discussed events and highlights on the dramatic personae in the scroll of Revelation. Because the saints are exempt from the wrath of God, they must be taken away, evacuated from the scene of God’s wrath in the Day Of The Lord before it begins(Rev.7:9-17). The 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel who will be God’s representatives on Earth in the absence of the Church after the rapture must be sealed in order to protect them from the wrath of God in the Day Of The Lord(Rev.7:1-8).

Avraham Shallom.

The Timing of the rapture is the sequence of events leading up to the rapture. On the other hand, the time of the rapture is the exact time and locus in the eschatological timeline that the rapture occurs. This does not however mean that we know the day and the hour in which the rapture shall occur. We may know the general time period of the rapture, but we cannot know the day and the hour of the rapture.

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”(Matt.24:32-36).

“And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”(Luk.21:29-33).

There are some that urge us to believe that the fig tree is symbol of Israel. And Israel became independent again in 1948 after nearly two thousand years in exile. When the fig tree begins to bud, we know that summer is near. When Israel begins to thrive as an independent nation, then the rapture can take place at any moment. The fig tree may well be the symbol of Israel. For several centuries, there were believers who wondered aloud how end time prophecies were going to be fulfilled when there were no independent nation of Israel , and no temple. Admittedly, end time prophecies centered around the nation of Isreal and her Holy City, Jerusalem(Dan.9:24). Therefore the resuscitation of Israel as an independent state in her ancient homeland in Eretz Yisrael was a supernatural fulfillment of prophecy, and a practical step in the right direction, as would be the rebuilding of the temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, any time it takes place.

Was the major thrust of the parable of the fig tree the symbolism of Israel? That would be very doubtful; for that would mean that all the trees symbolize Israel as does the fig tree: for Christ called attention to not only the fig tree but also to all the trees, inasmuch as it is not only the fig tree that begins to bud in the Spring: ” Behold the fig tree, and all the trees.” The symbolism here is a reference to a natural seasonal observation. In temperate countries, in Autumn which American call Fall, all the trees are denuded of their leaves, and they remain bare of leaves throughout Winter. In the Spring, as the temperatures begin to rise, and the weather becomes warmer, and there is rainfall, the trees begin to bud. The people are cheerful again and will say, ” Summer will soon be hear.” I have heard Americans say this in the Spring. This is the exact analogy that Christ made in this parable. Just as people “will see and know” in the Spring when the trees begin to bud, that Summer will soon be here: in like manner, believers, who are in expectation of the coming of the Messiah, shall see and know, when these events outlined in the Olivet Discourse begin to unfold that the coming of the Lord draweth near, that the Kingdom Of God is nigh at hand. These events are, the emergence of false christs, wars, commotions, and rumours of war, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes,the Jerusalem Campaign, the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist, the Jehoshaphat Campaign, the cosmic disturbances, and the appearance of the sign of the coming of the Son Of Man in the heavens. When ye shall see these things come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh.

Jesus went on to say: ” Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” He also underscored in the strongest terms that ” Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Here is the clincher. It is now sixty some odd years since Israel gained independence. Although a generation is reckoned differently in various dispensations, it is now more or less generally reckoned as forty years. Considering the inviolability and infallibility of the word of God, we cannot but conclude that the fig tree in this parable does not refer primarily to the re-establishment of the state of Israel, but a general reference to natural seasonal observation. If it were not so, the words of Jesus would be of none effect. This cannot be allowed to stand.

It is therefore a sign of approximation that Summer is near. Likewise these events signal the nearness of the time of His coming. The budding of figs and all the trees in the Spring does not tell us the Day and the Hour that Summer will begin, but the general time period. So, also these events do not tell us the Day and the Hour of our Lord’s Second Advent, but the general time period. ” But that Day and the Hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only”(Matt.24:36). The words in Mark are even more wonderful: ” But of that Day and that Hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only”(Mk.13:32). What Jesus says neither He nor the angels in heaven know, but the Father only, let us not think we can access this knowledge by flights of Higher Mathematics. No height of spirituality will grant us access to this divine secret. Jesus did not say that we the saints cannot know the time of His coming, that is the general time period of His coming, but the Day and the Hour. The Day and the Hour of His coming constitute a divine secret. And the secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law(Deut.29:29).

We know that Jesus is God, and knoweth all things. But as the Son , He has ceded certain decisions to the Father. It is only the Father who will decide on which Day and in what Hour He will come. As God, Jesus know, but as the Son Of Man, He does not know.

The day and the hour of the rapture are the exclusive preserve and prerogative of the Father alone. In this article we shall enumerate in chronological order the sequence of events leading up to the rapture in order that when we see these events unfold before our eyes we shall recognize them , and also know that our redemption draweth nigh. The generation of believers that shall enter the 70th week, witness these events unfold, shall be the generation that shall be raptured alive. Until the cosmic disturbances associated with the breaking of the sixth seal, the coming of the Lord, the appearance of the sign of the coming of the Son Of Man in the heavens occur, and the attendant rapture of the Church is not imminent. This is the doctrine of expectancy which is the central pillar of the prewrath rapture position. This generation of believers shall enter into the 70th week of Daniel, witness the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist, and be raptured prior to the commencement of the wrath of God during the Day Of The LORD. This is a biblical mystery: one generation of believers shall receive glorified immortal resurrection bodies without passage through the intermediate process of death. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”(1 Cor.15:51-55).

The 70th week of Daniel’s 70-week prophecy shall begin when the antiChrist signs a 7-year peace agreement with Israel. “And he 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.”(Dan.9:27). The prophet Isaiah called this peace agreement “the covenant with death.” “Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people

which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:”(Is.28:14-15).

The 70th week is the last seven years of the present age. It is divided into two equal halves of three and one-half years each which is equivalent to 42 months or 1,260 days according to Jewish calendar which is lunar. “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”(Rev.11:2-3). The reference here is to the second half of the 70th week within which the two witnesses shall minister as also says the prophet Daniel. “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”(Dan.12:7). It is within this period also that the Great Tribulation shall be instituted against the saints of the Most High. “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.”(Dan.7:25). During this period also, the unbranded remnants of Israel shall take refuge in the Edomite and Judaean wildernesses in order to survive the the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”(Rev.12:6).

There are extra 75 days beyond the expiry of the 70th week according to the prophet Daniel. “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”(Dan.12:11-12). This extra 75 days are divided into 30 days and 45 days. Within the 30-day period, the wrath of God in the bowls are poured on the living wicked earth-dwellers and worshippers and adorers of the antiChrist culminating in the battle of Armageddon. This period is dubbed the Reclamation Period Of The Kingdom by Robert Van Kampen. Within the extra 45 days, the Earth is renovated after the devastation caused by outpouring of the wrath of God. This period is dubbed the Restoration Period of The Kingdom by Robert Van Kampen.

The First Half Of The 70th Week

The first half of the 70th week is dubbed the beginning of sorrows. “All these are the beginning of sorrows.”(Matt.24:8). There are three major events that shall occur within this period of three and one-half years.

(1) The emergence of false christs: the breaking of the first seal

When the disciples asked our Lord Jesus of the sign of His coming and of the end of the ages, He started by warning them to take heed that no one deceives them. “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”(Matt.24:4-5). This is as far as the religious scene is concerned. On the political scene, the antiChrist shall begin to flex his muscle by signing a 7-year peace treaty to protect Israel from her hostile Arab and Islamic neighbors. Besides, he shall endeavor to conquer the whole world without firing a shot, as it were, through subtle peace diplomacy. “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”(Rev.6:1-2). We must remember that Revelation chapters 6 – 19 run parallel with Matt.24 & 25, the Olivet Discourse, ending with the Sheep and Goat Judgment which occurs at the end of the battle of Armageddon. Certain details which border on earthly and heavenly events which are omitted in the Olivet Discourse are filled in by the Scroll of Revelation.

(2) Wars and rumours of wars: the breaking of the second seal

The second event in the first three and one-half years shall be wars and rumours of wars. “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” ( Matt.24:6-7a ). Wars and rumours of wars shall precede the end at which point in the eschatological timeline the rapture shall occur and the Day Of Lord inaugurated. The end here is the end of the ages, the point of transition between the present age and the age to come. Our Lord Jesus the Christ promised to be with us, His Church, until the end of the ages. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world(Ages). Amen.”(Matt.28:20).

This event corresponds with the second seal of Rev.6. “And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”(Rev.6:3-4). At the breaking of the second seal, wars shall break out on Earth. Nations shall go to war one with another. “And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.”(Mk.13:7-8). The end(of the ages) at which point in the eschatological timeline the Lord shall appear and the saints taken to meet Him in the air shall be preceded by wars and rumours of wars. “But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.”(Luk.21:9). We can see that all the three synoptic gospels are unanimous in their assertion that the end, at which point in the eschatological timeline, the Lord appears, and the Church is raptured, must be preceded by wars, commotions, and rumours of wars.

(3) Famines, Pestilences, and Earthquakes: the third seal

The third event is a cluster of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. “And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”(Matthew 24:7). This cluster of events corresponds with the third seal of Rev.6. “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”(Rev.6:5-6). Weighed food is a condition of famine. Famines and pestilences are the natural consequences of wars and natural disasters like earthquakes. This cluster of events brings closure to the first three and one-half years. The famine, the pestilences, and the Earthquakes shall make the inhabitants of the Earth whose names were not written in the Lamb’s book of life vulnerable to the manipulations and machination of the antiChrist. The poor and the unprepared shall find it extremely difficult to survive.

The Midpoint Of The 70th Week.

The midpoint of the 70th week witnesses a convergence of events. To avoid being tedious, we shall enumerate these events with the relevant scriptural references.

(1) War in the heavenlies

After the satanic revolt in heaven in eternity past, Satan and his hordes of fallen angels were evicted from heaven’s premises to the dark void and starry heavens. Precisely at the midpoint of the 70th week, there shall be war in the heavenlies. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”(Rev.12:7-8). The leader of this divine assault against Satan and his host of fallen evil angels is Michael, the warrior prince that standeth for the people of God(Dan.12:1,2).

(2) Satan cast down to the Earth

In this war in the heavenlies, Satan and his host of fallen evil angels shall defeated by Michael and the angels of God under his command and be evicted from the dark void and the starry heavens and cast down to the Earth. “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”(Rev.12:8-10). With Satan cast down to the Earth, his frequenting heaven to accuse the brethren in the divine court in heaven ceases.

(3) The removal of the restrainer

With Satan and hist hordes of fallen angels cast down to the Earth, the restrainer, archangel Michael is removed. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: 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, every one that shall be found written in the book.”(Dan.12:1). Without the removal of the restrainer, the antiChrist shall not manifest. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”(2 Thess.2:7-10).

There are some that teach that the restrainer is human government, and others, the Holy Spirit. None of these is tenable inasmuch as the antiChrist is the ultimate human government, and the Church is still present till the end of the ages. Our Lord Jesus the Christ promised to be with His Church till the end of the ages(Matt.28:20). Those who teach that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit are pretribbers who believe the Church shall be raptured before the commmencement of the 70th week, and the Holy Spirit therefore hitchhikes with Church at the rapture. The Holy Spirit needs hitchhike with the Church inasmuch as He has been working here on Earth with the people of God before the inception of the Church on the day of Pentecost. What happened on the day of Pentecost was a new relationship between God and man initiated by the soteriological and finished works of Christ on the Cross of Calvary. The restrainer is not an NT doctrine. He is a well known personality in OT Judaism.

The mystery of iniquity is already at work on Earth. The restrainer is the one who hinders iniquity on Earth. When the restrainer is removed, the antiChrist, the man of lawlessness, the ultimate iniquity shall manifest.

(4) Satan possesses the antiChrist

Because Satan is cast down to the Earth in preparation to his subsequent eviction from the Earth’s premises into Hell with his evil angels, he has great wrath. “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”(Rev.12:12). But he cannot possess the antiChrist and manifest his wrath until the restrainer is taken out of the way. God shall tell archangel Michael, do not defend my people anymore. Therefore Michael shall “amad.” Then Satan will possess the antiChrist, and give him his seat and Great authority. “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”(Rev.13:1-6). Satan like God is a spirit being without a physical body. So, he cannot rule the Earth directly; he must do so by proxy as also does God the Father. The antiChrist will be Satan’s representative on Earth. Satan shall possess him as he did Judas in order pursue his purpose on Earth.

(5) antiChrist relocates his headquarters to Jerusalem

The antiChrist who is also called Gog of the land of Magog, the head of Meshech and Tuval(Ezek.38:2,3), shall relocate his headquarters from somewhere in the land of Magog to Jerusalem. “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”(Dan.11:45). There are any number of reasons why he does this. Firstly, Israel is the center of the Earth. It is the gateway to the three major continents. In preparation to world rule and domination, the antiChrist must have a more central headquarters from where he can best command his forces and administer his rule over the Earth. It is at the Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem that he shall deify himself. He is against the God of Israel and the Christians. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is important to three major religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Since he is against anything that is called God or worshipped, he must possess this piece of real estate, the most contested property in the whole world.

(6) The antiChrist makes his debut at the Temple.

When the antiChrist arrives in Jerusalem, he makes his debut at the Temple Mount. He violates the sacred precincts of the Temple Mount by threading on it with his acolytes and cronies. Like his prefigure, the Greek ruler Antiochus Theos Epiphanes, he violates the Holy Of Holies of the rebuilt Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah by entering into it and placing a statue of himself in it. The Holy Of Holies is forbidden to all except the High Priest alone from the house of Aharon, and that once a year, only on the day of Atonement( Yom Kippur), after he has offered blood sacrifice for himself and the people of Israel(Heb.9:7). Because the antiChrist shall not regard the God of Israel, nor any god for that matter, he shall violate the sacred precincts of the temple and the Temple Mount.

(7) The antiChrist declares himself God

Apart from the court of the Gentiles, every other part of the Temple on Mount Moriah was forbidden to the Gentiles. By venturing beyond the courth of the Gentiles, the antiChrist was claiming to himself the position due only to the God of Israel, the Sovereign Lord of the Universe, the creator of all mankind. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”(2 Thess.2:3-5). He shall sit in the Holy Of Holies Of The Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah built for the worship of Jehovah displaying himself as God.

(8) Abomination of desolation.

The antiChrist sitting in the temple of God, displaying himself as God shall be the extreme point of abomination. “And he 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.”(Dan.9:27). This shall be the height of abomination. It shall make the temple desolate. That is why it is called the Abomination of desolation or the abomination that maketh desolate. This event shall cause the Jewish worshippers in the temple to desert it. We can see that the prophet Daniel tells us this event shall occur precisely at the midpoint of the 70th week.

(9) Abolition of the daily sacrifice

At the same time that the antiChrist declares himself God, he abolishes the daily animal, grain, and drink offering reinstituted at the beginning of the 70th week or any time after the erection of the Third Temple . He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease(Dan.9:27b).

(10) antiChrist unveiled

Prior to the midpoint of the 70th week, the identity of the antiChrist shall be unknown to most people, except those of his inner circle and believers who have learned about him from the word of God. But at the midpoint of the 70th week, he shall unveil himself as dead man come back to life. The antiChrist is one who had ruled over one of the seven previous Beast Empires of Satan, and was killed with a military weapon. He shall rise from the dead to rule over the 8th and Final Beast Empire of Satan. “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”(Rev.17:8-11). He is the son of destruction. He ascends out of the bottomless pit and shall go into perdition. “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.”(Rev.11:7).

Since he shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition, it is most probable he is a fallen angel. Apollyon or Abaddon which means destruction or destroyer is the king and angel of the bottomless pit. “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”(Rev.9:11). The antiChrist is the son of destruction and goeth into destruction. The angels imprisoned in the bottomless pit were those fallen angels who did not keep their first estate, but left their own habitation to cohabit with human females(Jude 6; 2Pet.2:4,5). In Hebrew, they are referred to as nephelim which means fallen ones. Nephelim is the plural derivative of naphal which means to fall. These fallen angels caused the destruction of the antediluvian world by their corruption and hybridization of the human race. God had to destroy the antediluvian humans, sparing only Noah and his family in order to preserve a pure human race, inasmuch as Noah and his family were the only ones who were not hybridized. If God did not intervene, the whole of humanity would have been hybridized.

The statement that Noah was righteous in his generation is better rendered ” Noah was pure in his descendants”(Gen.6:9). In order words, Noah and his family were the only ones who were not hybridized. Satan has a large stock of these demons. He fielded some others immediately after the deluge who became the ancestors of the giants, the Anakim. These were they who frightened the children of Israel into disbelief of their ability to possess the land of Canaan which God gave to their fathers and their descendants after them by a covenant of salt. “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”(Num.13:33). Today, Satan is at work in his endeavors to hybridize the human race by the same means of fallen evil angels as well as through alteration of the human genome, and by the creation of cyborgs. A cyborg is a person who controls everything around him through microchips implanted in his body, who, in turn, is controlled by a giant computer somewhere run by the Big Brother. Today on BBC news, I heard someone say he no longer sees himself as a human being, but a cyborg. These things are going on around us unobserved by the uninformed.

Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians made it clear to them that the day of the Lord, and our gathering together unto Him(Rapture) shall not occur unto the man of sin(antiChrist) is revealed. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”(2 Thess.2:3). It is the Revelation of the man of lawlessness that brings about the total abandonment of covenantal relationship with the God of Israel by Jews and Christians.

(11) antiChrist demands worship

At the same time that the antiChrist is unveiled as dead man come back to life, he shall demand that men worship him. He shall introduce a mark of allegiance to his rulership and deity to be borne on the forehead or arm by all loyal citizens of his kingdom. He shall also attempt to enforce this all over the World, and to a very great extent, he shall be successful. The second Beast, the false prophet shall be his enforcer. “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wondes, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”(Rev.13:11-18).

Apart from enlivened images of the Beast place at strategic locations for public worship, the false prophet shall instruct the followers of the Beast to make images of the Beast in gold, silver, metals, precious stones, and wood to worship in the privacy of their homes, in their cars, and offices. These images or statuettes of the beast shall they throw away to the bats and the moles when God arises to shake terribly the Earth in the Day of the Lord. “And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”(Is.2:19-22).

(12) Jerusalem surrounded by armies

When the antiChrist signs a seven year peace treaty with Israel, he stations a protection force in the land of Israel consisting of the armies of the three power base nations of Magog, Meshech, and Tuval. These shall be the best armies in the world with the best sophisticated weaponry ever. This accounts for the relative quietness that Israel enjoys in the first three and one-half years of the 70th week. Any attempt by Israel’s hostile neighbors to attack her shall incur the wrath of the antiChrist. But at the same time that the antiChrist relocates His headquarters to Jerusalem, he surrounds Jerusalem with his armies for two reasons: for his own personal protection and to enforce the apostasy in the land of Israel. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”(Luk.21:20-22).

Both evangelists Matthew and Mark make it clear that the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies is coincident with the abomination of desolation. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.”(Matt.24:15-18). “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.”(Mk.13:14-16). Christ’s advice to the Judaeans to flee to the mountains is associated with both the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies and and the abomination that maketh desolate. We conclude therefore that these two incidents, the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies and the abomination of desolation are concurrent and simultaneous.

(13) The Great Tribulation begins

The demand by the antiChrist to be worshipped, the abomination of desolation, and the the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies as well as the unveiling of himself as a dead who had ruled one of the seven Beast Empires in the past, and is come back to life to rule over the 8th and Final Beast Empire all converge to spark the Great Tribulation. The inhabitants of Jerusalem must run away from the city as far as possible to avoid being killed on the refusal to worship the Beast or his image. And it would be more horrible if this incident occurs in the winter or on the sabbath day. It would even be more scary for pregnant women and nursing mothers. “But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.”(Mk.13:17-19).

This affliction or better still tribulation shall make any past or future ones pale in comparison. “And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”(Matt.24:19-21). The same Greek word rendered affliction in Mark is rendered tribulation in Matthew, and qualified with the adjective great, and also described as incomparable to any past or future tribulation. “But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”(Luk.21:23-24 KJV). The same phrase rendered great tribulation in Matthew is rendered great distress in Luke, and related to the invocation of woe on pregnant and nursing mothers. We can see that the abomination of desolation, the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies and the beginning of the Great Tribulation are related. They all occur at the same time, at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel.

(14) The apostasy begins

The English word apostasy is derived from the Greek word apostasia. It means the total abandonment of a cause or a person. Here it is used to describe Jews who abandon covenantal relationship with the God of Israel, and Christians who deny Christ and betray one another due to persecution by the antiChrist. It will begin at the middle of the 70th week, and throughout the whole length of the Great Tribulation. It is therefore coincident, concurrent and simultaneous with Great Tribulation. “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”(Luk.21:24). Although the epicenter shall be Jerusalem and the whole land of Israel, the ripples shall be felt worldwide.

(15) The ministry of the two witnesses begins.

The ministry of the two witnesses which lasts for three and one-half years, 42 months, or 1,260 days begins precisely in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel. There is a consensus of opinion amongst biblical scholars that the ministry of the two witnesses occurs in the second half of the 70th week. “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”(Rev.11:3-4). The death of the two witnesses marks the terminus-ad-quem of the 70th week of Daniel. “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”( Rev.11:7-8).

(16) The three angelic announcements

There are three angelic announcements made precisely at the midpoint of time 70th week.

(1) The first is the everlasting gospel to be preached to the whole Earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This announcement is made by a horizontal flying angel. “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”(Rev.14:6-7). This is necessary at this time because of the presence of a false god, the antiChrist, the eschatological antagonist, who demands worship of all mortals. As the horizontal flying angel makes this announcement, it shall be chorused by believers on Earth who have committed themselves to the desemination of the message of the gospel to all peoples, tongues and nations, most of whom shall pay with their lives. It is at this time, that the remote villages and unreached peoples groups shall be evangelized because believers who are persecuted in the towns and cities shall seek refuge in these remote areas.

(2) The second announcement is made by a second horizontal flying angel who shall announce to the whole world the demise of Babylon. “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”(Rev.14:8). Babylon is the philosophical concept called humanistic evolution instituted by Nimrod which denies the existence of God and His creation of man. This concept issues forth in false human government, false religion, false education based on the notion that there is no God, and man was not created, and the attendant commercialism and consumerism. This concept was epitomized by the city of Babel also founded by Nimrod, the son of Cush, the son of Noah. At the center of this concept is the notion that man is God which shall find its ultimate fulfillment in the antiChrist, and the rebuilt city of commercial and religious Babylon. Precisely at the midpoint of the 70th week, God dispatches His angel to warn all mankind of the demise of all human institutions which shall occur during the Day Of The LORD judgments in order that no one will be left uninformed, and that no one might unknowingly put ones trust in man whose breath is in his nostrils. “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of.”( Is.2:22).

(3) The third angelic announcement is a warning not to worship the Beast, nor to receive his mark on the forehead or hand. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”(Rev.14:9-12).

The wrath of God abides on anyone who is Beast branded. This is the reason for the patient endurance of those who keep the commandments of God(unbranded observant Jews), and the faith of Jesus Christ(Christians). It is therefore ridiculous for anyone to posit that the Church will be absent on Earth during the Great Tribulation.

The Second Half Of The 70th Week

(1) The Great Tribulation: the fourth seal

The Great Tribulation shall begin with the Jerusalem campaign when the antiChrist surrounds Jerusalem with his armies. It shall end with the Jehoshaphat campaign when the antiChrist and his acolytes shall attempt to ferret out and liquidate all those who have refused the mark of the Beast who are hiding in Jerusalem in basements, underground bunkers, sewers, and on rooftops and cellars. Within these two campaigns, believers shall be called upon by heaven to stand up for their faith. Some believers and observant Jews will be led captive into all nations. Others will be killed for their faith. Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Believers shall betray one another. So also members of the same household. A man’s foes shall be members of his own household. Believers who have not adequately prepared for this period could die of starvation and expose to the elements. It will be extremely difficult for pregnant and nursing mothers, the elderly, and children. There shall be also believers and observant Jews who shall take it upon themselves to warn their brethren not to worship the Beast nor to take his mark of allegiance. They shall pay with their dear lives when apprehended by the security agents of the antiChrist.

It is during this period of Great Distress that the everlasting gospel announced at the midpoint of the 70th week shall be preached to the whole world, and then shall the End come. Two very important things must be accomplished before the amputation of the Great Tribulation: (1) the complement of believers to be martyred, and (2) the gospel must be preached to the whole world. At this time, genuine believers shall know they have nothing to loose, and some shall go all out to get the gospel to the whole world. A good number of these brethren, men and women, boys and girls, whose spiritual blinders have been removed, shall sacrifice everything for the sake of the gospel. Some shall pay with their lives. Due to economic boycott, many will die of starvation, and exposure to the elements.

(2) Martyrs under the altar: the fifth seal

This event is a heavenly scene. It is superimposed on the Great Tribulation. Therefore the fifth seal is coincident, concurrent, and simultaneous with the fourth seal, the Great Tribulation. It is a heavenly reflection of the killings going here on Earth. There is not distance in the realm of the spirit. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”(Rev.6:9-11).

As soon as the saints are martyred here on Earth, their disembodied spirits and souls are arriving in heaven, and are kept under the Golden altar of incense in the Holy place of the temple in heaven until a complement of believers are martyred. When that number of martyrs is reached, the Great Tribulation is amputated with cosmic disturbances, the sixth seal. The complement of believers to be martyred is a divine secret. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”(Deut.29:29). The fifth seal promises the wrath of God upon the perpetrators of the martyrdom of the saints.

(3) The cosmic disturbances: the sixth seal

When the full complement of believers to martyred is reached, and the gospel of the kingdom preached to the whole world, then God brings the Great Tribulation to an abrupt end with cosmic disturbances. The two points shall be reached simultaneously. No one knows the number of believers to be martyred: it is a divine secret. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:”(Matt.24:29). According to the record in Revelation, this event shall be initiated with a series of worldwide earthquake and tsunamis. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”(Rev.6:12-14).

The breaking of the sixth seal incapacitates the antiChrist and his acolytes. The Earth shall be darkened, cold, and frozen. Communications shall be disrupted all over the world by EMP, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the cold and frozen conditions on Earth. This will make it impossible for the antiChrist to continue to enforce the apostasy and to kill nonconformists. If the Great Tribulation is not cut short, no believer or observant Jew, nor anyone else without the mark of the beast shall survive the persecution by the antiChrist. “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”(Matt.24:22). Google has mapped out the whole Earth. There will be no where to hide. If the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist is allowed to run the full course of three and one half years allotted to the antiChrist, no unbranded human will survive.

The Interlude Between The Sixth And The Seventh Seal

There are three events that occur in the interlude of unknown duration between the end of the sixth seal and the breaking of the seventh seal. These three events occur in chronological order. The essence of the interlude is to protect the people of God, the unbranded believers, and the 144,000 Jews marked with the seal of God.

(a) The Shekinah in the heavens

After the Great Tribulation is the cosmic disturbances which in actual fact effectively put a period to the Great Tribulation. The sixth seal portends the wrath of God. The cosmic disturbances are accompanied by the appearance of the sign of the son of man in the heavenlies. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” ( Matt.24:29-30 ).

This back-to-back sign given in the sun, moon, and stars constitute the sign of His coming and of the end the ages. This is the answer Jesus gave to His disciples to the second part of the question they asked Him: what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the ages? It is at the appearance of His coming at the end of the ages that the Church shall be gathered unto Him. Our brother, Apostle Paul, in his passionate appeal to the Thessalonians linked the coming of the Lord and our gathering together unto Him. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,”2 Thess.2:1). These two events are linked together and are therefore inseparable. When the Son Of Man appears in the heavens, we the saints shall be gathered unto Him. And His appearance occurs after the tribulation of those days at the commencement of the end of the ages.

(b) The sealing of the 144,000

The cosmic disturbances which portend the wrath of God promised by the fifth seal, the martyred saints under the altar of incense in the Holy place of the temple in heaven indicate that the Church is about to be taken away from the Earth inasmuch as the Church is not appointed unto wrath(1 Thess.1:10, 5:9). The appearance of the Son Of Man in the heavens seals it. If the Church is taken away from the Earth, God will have no witnesses on Earth except the two witnesses whose ministry is limited more or less to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and will end at the termination of the 70th week of Daniel. Therefore the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel must be brought into saving relationship with God of Israel, and sealed to represent God on Earth, and for protection from the wrath of God which is about to be poured out on the living wicked earth-dwellers immediately after the translation of the saints.

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.”(Rev.7:1-8).

The 1444,000 are here on Earth in this mortal body of ours. Therefore they must be sealed for protection from the wrath of God. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”(Rev.14:1-5). These dear saints are not raptured. They are not part of the Church. They are selected strictly from the twelve tribes of Israel. Thaye are in their natural mortal bodies. They follow Christ whereas He goes here on Earth. They are members of His earthly entourage.

(c) The rapture of the church

When He comes, the saints shall be gathered unto Him. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”(Gen.49:10). This verse of Scripture is the first indication that the people of God shall be gathered unto Him at His coming. After the tribulation of those days, shall He appear in the heavens, and then, the saints shall be gathered unto Him. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”(Matt.24:29-31).

After the appearance of the sign of the Son Of Man in the heaven, His angels shall be dispatched to the four corners of the Earth to gather together His elect, from one end of heaven to the other; for where the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered.“ For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”(Matt.24:27-28). The saints shall be gathered to meet Him in the air. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”(1 Thess.4:14-18). We shall be gathered to meet Him in the air at the last trump which is the breaking of the seventh seal. “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”(1 Corinthians 15:50-52). This is the time of the rapture, the exact locus in the eschatological timeline. This does not however mean that we know the day and the hour. We can know the general time period as indicated by the parable of the fig tree, but not the day and the hour which are the exclusive preserve of God the Father. The secret things belong unto God, but the things which are revealed are for us and our children(Deut.29:29).

The Breaking Of The Seventh Seal: Wrath Of God Begins

The very same day that the rapture takes place, the wrath of God begins. Therefore the seventh seal pronounces and announces the wrath of God. The wrath of God occurs at the sounding of the last trump which corresponds with the breaking of the seventh seal. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the day when the Son Of Man is revealed. The same day that Noah entered the ark, the rain deluged the heavens. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”(Matt.24:37-39). “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”(Gen.7:11). “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”(Luk.17:26-27).

So was also in the day of Lot. The same day Lot left Sodom and Gomorrah, fire and sulfur fell from Heaven and destroyed them all. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”(Luk.17:28-30). We can see from these scriptures that there is no gap of time whatsoever between the rapture of the Church, and the commencement of the wrath of God, because the very same day the Church is raptured, the wrath God commences.

The trumpet is brown on Israel’s feast days, on the new moon, to call a solemn assembly , and to prepare for war, and in their wilderness journeys(Num.10:1-10). When the last trump is blown, the saints are gather before the Lord. What a solemn assembly? Then God goes to war with His enemies, to recompense tribulation to those who trouble us.“ We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”(2 Thess.1:3-10). God will recompense tribulation to those who trouble us. There is no way the Church can be taken away before the Great Tribulation which is the ultimate tribulation which the saints shall suffer at the hands of Satan and his acolyte, the antiChrist. The wrath of God will come upon the children of disobedience after the tribulation by the antiChrist which is the great wrath of Satan mated out on children of God.

The seventh seal has no judgments of its own, but opens into the seven trumpets. In like manner also, the seventh trumpet has no judgments of its own, but opens into the seven bowls. The seventh bowl culminates in the war of Armageddon. Therefore the wrath of God is contained in the seventh seal, and consists of the seven trumpets and seven bowls.

Avraham Shallom.

It is biblically unjustified for anyone to teach that after the Rapture, the antiChrist will arise to persecute those left behind. Shortly before the Rapture, the antiChrist will be paralyzed, masterly inactivated by the cosmic disturbances and the appearance of the Shekinah in the heavens. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”(Rev.6:12-17).

It is after the cosmic disturbances that the clans of Judah who have been hiding in the Judean wilderness and Jerusalem and its environs shall be able to wage guerrilla warfare against the antiChrist and his armies. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”(Zech.12:2-9).

After the cosmic disturbances, the clans of Judah shall be able to retaliate against the armies of the surrounding nations that gathered against Jerusalem in the Jehoshaphat campaign. The prophet Zechariah was using the language of his day to communicate divine truth. However, these shall be sophisticated modern tanks metaphorically referred to as horses. The tank drivers and crew shall lose their minds, and the tanks themselves shall malfunction. This should not surprise us inasmuch as the EMP from the sun, stars, comets, meteorites and asteroids shall disrupt communication, making it extremely difficult for both tanks and crew to function at all let alone efficiently.

We can see here that from the breaking of the sixth seal, the condition on Earth is one of utter chaotic confusion as men scramble and scurry for safety under the rocks and mountains, invoking the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them as they instinctively realize that God is about to punish the world for her evils. Men’s heart will fail them for fear of those things that coming upon the Earth. “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”(Luk.21:25-26). The primary concern of people on Earth at this time is personal safety, not the enforcement of some law by the antiChrist. Even the kings of the Earth including the antiChrist and his most senior military commanders and security agents are terrified, paralyzed, and masterly inactivated and incapacitated by the cosmic disturbances and the appearance of the coming of the Son Of Man in the heavens(Rev.6:15). At this time, the saints are looking up for their redemption draweth nigh. “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”(Luk.21:27-28).

The Great Day Of The Lord is come and who shall be able to stand? The answer is of course no one including the antiChrist. The only two things he will be permitted to do will be to kill the two witnesses at the expiry of their ministry at the end of the 70th week and to gather his armies for destruction 30 days later at the battle of Armageddon. “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.  The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly”(Rev.11:7-14). ” And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”(Rev.16:16).

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”(Rev.19:17-21). It is inconceivable that the antiChrist would have so much worldwide influence and persecute those who refuse to be branded with his mark of allegiance once the Day Of The Lord has begone, a time when God alone is supposed to be exalted.

Up until now, the restrainer is the one that hinders the antiChrist from manifesting. “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:”(2 Thess.2:6-8). And the restrainer is archangel Michael according to Dan.12: 1.

After the removal of the restrainer, the antiChrist will manifest and persecute the saints during the Great Tribulation. But as soon as the Lord appears in the heavens, he is masterły incapacitated. What follows is the Day Of The Lord. The antiChrist cannot persecute the saints in the Day Of The Lord. In that Day, only the Lord is exalted. In that Day the haughtiness of men and the loftiness man shall be bowed down. In that Day, men shall throw away their idols, the demonized images of the Beast which they have made for themselves to worship in their homes, offices and cars, being instructed by the enforcer, the second Beast, also called the false prophet(Rev.13:14), to the moles and the bats to hide in the rocks and mountains from the glory of the Lord when He arises to shake terribly the Earth(Is.2:8-18). Both the prophet Isaiah and Apostle John the revelator are unanimous in testifying that the wicked earth-dwellers shall seek refuge in the rocks and mountains. In that Day no mortal will be exalted. In that Day no idol will be exalted. And the idols He shall utterly abolish. In that Day, the gods that have not made the heaven and the Earth shall perish from under the Earth and from under these heavens. “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the Earth, and from under these heavens.”(Jere.10:11). No man or idol will be exalted in that Day.

The reason why the antiChrist cannot persecuted the saints after the Rapture is two fold. Firstly, there are no saints to persecute. The believers have been raptured, taken to heaven. Anyone in the Church who is unbranded with the Mark Of The Beast and left behind is not a true believer in Jesus Christ in the first place. The one has been a false believer all along. The 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel are sealed for protection and hidden in the modern day red rose city of Petra which is biblical Sela, a very difficult terrain to access. In New Testament times, it was called Pella. It is in the Edomite wilderness which is in modern day Jordan(Rev.7:1-8). Even during the outpouring of the bowls, the newly saved remnant of Israel are hidden in Azel(Zech.14:5). No one knows the location of Azel. It is an undisclosed location being unmentioned in biblical times either in the land of Israel or anywhere else in biblical history and geography.

Secondly, the antiChrist will be masterly inactivated by the cosmic disturbances(Rev.6:12-17; Matt.24:39-30), and by the  brightness of Christ’s Coming(2 Thess.2:8). The only two groups of people left on Earth unprotected at that time will be branded followers of the antiChrist who will be the majority, and unbranded Gentiles, the minority. We come to this understanding through the process of elimination. Remember that during the first part of the wrath of God, the trumpet judgments(Rev.8,9), all the inhabitants of the Earth are targeted including the surviving unbranded remnants of Israel. This is to cleanse, purge, and purify Israel. Only one-third of the Jewish population which enter the 70th week of Daniel will survive. “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”(Zech.13:8,9). This is horrible. It is sad. Only one-third of the Jewish population that enter the 70th week will survive. Even if it were only in the land of Israel, that is a staggering number.

Every Jew who survived the 70th week unbranded will be automatically saved because Israel have been purged, purified, and cleansed by the Great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s trouble(Jer.30:7), and the trumpet judgments, and her  sin atoned for. Because by the end of the 70th week, her transgression is finished, her sin ended, and reconciliation made for her iniquity(Dan.9:24). And then they will look upon Him whom they pierced and mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only son when they see that their Messiah has nail pierced hands. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.  In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo.  And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;  The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;  All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.”(Zech.12:10-14). 

The only ones exempted from the trumpet judgments are the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel(Rev.7:1-8). These are Jews who have devoted, dedicated, and consecrated themselves to the God from their youth. They were not only unmarried but were virgins all of their entire life. It is possible to be a celibate but not a virgin. These men were not only celibates but also virgins. The unbranded Jews other than the 144,000 will be rejoicing when they see the Shechinah in the heavens, that their Messiah has finally come to deliver them, not knowing that they are not exempt from the trumpet judgments. “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.”(1 Thess.5:3). These unbranded Jews are in expectation of the coming of the Messiah. But they do not know that they are not exempt from the trumpet judgment segment of the wrath of God. The day of the Lord is first darkness and gloominess before light for them. “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. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?”(Amos 5:18-20). For the believers in Jesus the Messiah of Israel, the Day Of Christ is light in perpetuity.

The branded followers of the antiChrist will be the object of God’s wrath in the bowls, being specifically targeted(Rev.16,17,18,19). The unbranded unbelievers will not be specifically targeted in the bowl judgments. Any hurt they incur will be collateral damage. By the way, it is the unbranded Gentiles who survive the wrath of God that will appear at the Sheep and Goat Judgment(Matt.35:31-46).  The sheep will be justified to repopulate the Earth in the Millennium alongside the saved remnant of Israel(Rom.11:25, 26). The goat will be executed and banished to Hell. We can see the enormity of the teaching that some believers will be left behind after the rapture to face the antiChrist. There are no two Great Tribulations, but one which occurs beginning from the midpoint of the 70th week before the Rapture of the Church. After the Rapture is the wrath of God which is contained in the seventh seal. The breaking of the seventh seal which occurs on the same day the Church is raptured opens into the wrath of God consisting of 7 trumpets and 7 bowls.

Avraham Shallom.